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   Title: Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations - Volume 2
   Creator(s): Calvin, John (1509-1564)
   (Alternative)
   (Translator)
   Rights: Public Domain
   LC Call no: BS491
   LC Subjects:

   The Bible

   Works about the Bible
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   COMMENTARIES

   ON THE

   BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH

   AND

   THE LAMENTATIONS


   BY JOHN CALVIN



   TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN, AND EDITED

   BY THE REV. JOHN OWEN,

   VICAR OF THRUSSINGTON, LEICESTERSHIRE



   VOLUME SECOND



   CHRISTIAN CLASSICS ETHEREAL LIBRARY
   GRAND RAPIDS, MI

   [1]http://www.ccel.org
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   CHAPTER 10
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   Lecture Thirty-Ninth
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   Jeremiah 10:1-2

   1. Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of
   Israel:

   1. Audite verbum quod loquitur (sermonem quem profert) Jehova ad vos,
   domus Israel:

   2. Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not
   dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

   2. Sic dicit Jehova, Viam gentium ne didiceritis, et a signis coelorum
   ne metuatis; quoniam metuunt ab illis gentes.


   Jeremiah enters here on a new subject. Though he had, no doubt, taught
   this truth often, yet I consider it as distinct from what has gone
   before; for he begins here a new attack on those superstitions to which
   the Jews were then extremely addicted. He exhorts them first to hear
   the word of Jehovah; for they had so hardened themselves in the errors
   which they had derived from the Gentiles, and the contagion had so
   prevailed, that they could not be easily drawn away from them. This,
   then, is the reason why he used a sort of preface, and said, Hear ye
   the word of Jehovah, which he speaks to you, O house of Israel [1]

   He then mentions the error in which the Chaldeans and the Egyptians
   were involved; for they were, we know, very attentive observers of the
   stars. And this is expressly stated, because the Jews despised God's
   judgments, and greatly feared what were foolishly divined. For when any
   one, by looking at the stars, threatened them with some calamity, they
   were immediately terrified; but when God denounced on them, as with the
   sound of a trumpet, a calamity by his Prophets, they were not at all
   moved. But it will be better to examine the very words of the Prophet,
   as then we shall more plainly see the drift of the whole.

   Learn not, he says, the way of the nations The Hebrew grammarians take
   'l, al 't at. [2] Way, we know, is everywhere taken for all those
   customs and habits by which human life is regulated, He then forbids
   them to pay attention to the rules of life observed by the Gentiles.
   And one thing he specifies, Be not terrified by celestial signs. He
   afterwards shews how vain were the practices of the Gentiles; being
   devoted to idols, they worshipped them in the place of God, though
   framed by the skill of man. But there are other words added, For the
   heathens are terrified by them There is a threefold exposition of this
   clause. Some take ky, ki, properly a causative, in the sense of k,
   caph, which denotes likeness, "as the Gentiles are terrified by them."
   Others regard it as an adversative, "though," and ky, ki, has often
   this meaning. There are also others who give this explanation, "For it
   is the case with the Gentiles, that they are terrified by them;" as
   though God had said, that it was extremely absurd in the Jews to be
   terrified by celestial signs, for they ought to have left this folly,
   or rather madness, to the Gentiles, as God regarded them as wholly
   blind. Let us now come to the subject.

   Learn not, he says, the way of the Gentiles This is a general precept.
   The law was to the Jews a rule which was sure, and prescribed to them
   the limits of duty; they ought, therefore, to have followed what God
   taught them in his law, and not to have turned aside either to the
   right hand or to the left, according to what Moses also had said. But
   as human minds are always wanton, they were very desirous of knowing
   what the Gentiles observed; but whenever this wantonness possesses
   men's minds, they necessarily blend darkness with light. It was then,
   for this reason, that Jeremiah reminded them, that nothing was to be
   learnt from the Gentiles; as though he had said, "Ye ought to be
   satisfied with the simple doctrine of the law; for unless ye are
   content with having God as your teacher, ye will necessarily go astray:
   unless, then, ye seek wilfully to err, keep the way which is pointed
   out to you in the law, and turn not aside to the rites and practices of
   the Gentiles."

   After having given them a general command not to turn aside from the
   plain doctrine of the law, he specifies one thing in particular, Be not
   terrified by celestial signs, that is, "Do not suppose that prosperity
   or adversity depends on the position or aspect of the stars." There
   seems, however, to be here some inconsistency, for he mentions the
   stars as signs; it hence follows that something is intimated by their
   position; and Moses also says, that the sun and moon, and all the
   stars, (and especially the planets,) would be for signs. There are, at
   the same time, in the firmament, twelve signs by which astrologers
   especially make their calculations. Since then God has, from the
   beginning of the creation, appointed what they call the fixed stars in
   the firmament, as well as the planets, to be for signs, the Prophet
   seems not to have done right in forbidding the Jews to fear such signs;
   for these signs in the heavens are not the vain fictions of men, but
   what God has created and appointed; and we have already stated that the
   stars are not called signs through the foolish conceit of men, but this
   character was given them by God himself when they were first created;
   and if the stars presage to us either prosperity or adversity, it
   follows that they ought to be dreaded by us.

   But the Prophet here does not use the word signs in its proper meaning;
   for he refers not to its true origin, but accommodates himself to the
   notions which then prevailed; [3] and we must bear in mind what I have
   already said, that the Egyptians and Chaldeans were much given to that
   astrology, which is called at this day judiciary. The word itself may
   be allowed; but it has been long ago profaned by wicked and
   unprincipled men, whose object has been to make gain by mere
   falsehoods. There is no doubt but that the Egyptians and the Chaldeans
   were true astrologers, and understood the art, which in itself is
   praiseworthy; for to observe the stars, what else is it, but to
   contemplate that wonderful workmanship, in which the power, as well as
   the wisdom and goodness of God, shines forth? And, indeed, astrology
   may justly be called the alphabet of theology; for no one can with a
   right mind come to the contemplation of the celestial framework,
   without being enraptured with admiration at the display of God's
   wisdom, as well as of his power and goodness. I have no doubt, then,
   but that the Chaldeans and the Egyptians had learned that art, which in
   itself is not only to be approved, but is also most useful, and
   contains not only the most delightful speculations, but ought also to
   contribute much towards exciting in the hearts of men a high reverence
   for God. Hence Moses was instructed from his childhood in that art, and
   also Daniel among the Chaldeans. (Acts 7:22; Daniel 1:17, 20.) Moses
   learned astrology as understood by the Egyptians, and Daniel as known
   by the Chaldeans; but the art among them was at that time much
   adulterated; for they had mingled, as I have already said, foolish
   divinations with the true and genuine science.

   As then the Prophet's meaning seems evident, the truth remains fixed,
   that the sun, and moon, and other planets, and the fixed stars in the
   firmament, are for signs. But we must notice also here the purpose for
   which God intended the sun and moon to be signs. His purpose was, that
   the lunar course should complete one month, and that the solar course
   should complete one year. And then the twelve signs were designed to
   answer another purpose: for when the sun is in Cancer it has not the
   same power and influence as when it is in Virgo; and it differs as to
   the other signs. In short, as to the order of nature, the stars, the
   planets, as well as the fixed stars, are to us for signs. We number the
   years by the solar course, and the months by the lunar; and then the
   sun, with respect to the twelve signs, introduces the spring, then the
   summer, then the autumn, and lastly the winter. There are other
   purposes; but we include in one sentence whatever can be said of the
   celestial signs, when we say, that they have a reference to the order
   of nature. Whosoever, then, seeks to make more of these signs,
   confounds the order established by God, as the Chaldeans formerly did,
   and also the Egyptians, when they sought to ascend higher than reason
   warranted: they tried to conjecture by the position of the stars what
   would be the fates of all nations; and then they dared to come down to
   the cases of individuals. Hence arose the casters of nativities. Then
   they first began more anxiously to philosophize, that the sun, when in
   a certain sign, portends the death of an only son, and happy events to
   another. But these are things, as we have said, which are beyond the
   usual order of nature. That there is to be, for instance, summer and
   winter, this is natural and common; but that there is to be war between
   one nation and another, this is not by the usual order of things, nor
   takes place according to what nature appoints, but through the ambition
   and avarice of men. The hidden providence of God, indeed, rules; but we
   speak of causes, which ought to be understood by us, and which can be
   comprehended by us, for they are within the reach of our understanding.
   It must at the same time be observed, that the course of the stars is
   in itself of no moment; for we see that God varies the seasons: there
   is not the same state of weather; we have no winters and no summers
   exactly alike; there is no year which is not dissimilar to the former;
   and the third which follows, differs from the second.

   We hence, then, learn that God has so formed and ordered the sun, and
   the moon, and all the stars, that he himself still governs and changes
   the seasons as it pleases him. In this way we account for sterilities,
   and pestilences, and other things of this kind. When the air seems
   temperate, pestilence prevails, the year is less fruitful, and men are
   famished, and no cause appears. Then this diversity in nature itself
   shews that God has not resigned his power to the stars, but that he so
   works by them, that he still holds the reins of government, and that
   he, according to his own will, rules the world in a way different from
   what even the acutest can divine by the stars. Yet this is no reason
   why we should deny to them the office which I have mentioned. But they
   who exceed the limits fixed by God, and seek to form conjectures
   respecting war in this country and peace in that countrymthey who thus
   seek to learn from the stars what is beyond the order of nature, blend
   heaven and earth together. The Prophet, no doubt, intended to condemn
   this madness when he forbade the Jews to attend to the celestial signs
   so as to dread them.

   But the reason also must be noticed, why the Prophet so severely
   condemned that fear which prevailed among the Gentiles: it was for
   this, because when the opinion prevailed that all events depended on
   the stars, the fearof God was removed, and nothing was ascribed to his
   judgments, faith was extinguished, and prayer to God, and all the
   ordinances of religion, were reduced to nothing. For all the
   astrologers, who falsely assume so honorable a name, yea those
   unprincipled men, who add to their impostures the name of judiciary
   astrology, hold and maintain, that a judgment respecting man's life
   ought to be formed by the horoscope, as though the fortune of every one
   depended on the stars. When, therefore, any one is born at a certain
   hour, this or that condition, according to them, awaits him. Thus they
   imagine that there is a fate, or some necessity, which holds a man
   bound to the influence of the sun, moon, and stars: for he was born
   when the sun was in the tail of that sign or in the head of another;
   his birth portends such and such fortune; he will live but a short
   time, or he will live long. Thus they judge. And they go still farther,
   and pronounce on every occurrence, "Such will be the issue of this
   expedition; this during the year will be unhappily undertaken, but that
   will succeed." Afterwards, when nativity is not taken into an account,
   they subject the whole human race to the uncontrollable influence of
   the stars: "See, if you undertake this business on such a day, you will
   succeed; but if you begin before mid-day, the issue will be
   unsuccessful." Thus they divine concerning the whole life of man with
   regard to each of his actions: but God never intended the stars to be
   signs for such purposes.

   Now, as I have said, it hence follows that God does not rule, and that
   thus faith is extinguished, and all the exercises of religion are
   reduced to nothing. For whosoever is persuaded that he is bound by
   necessity, because the horoscope is of such a character, he must
   necessarily die at such an hour, and necessarily die of a certain kind
   of death, -- will any one who has this conviction call on God? will he
   commend his life to his keeping? And then, when any adversity happens,
   who will bear it as a punishment for his sins? Will he acknowledge that
   he is called to judgment by God? And if he should prosper, will he be
   led to sing praises to God?

   We hence see that this divination extinguishes all religion; for there
   will be no faith, there will be no recognition of punishment, no
   acknowledgment of God's blessings, and no concern for sin, whenever
   this diabolical error possesses our minds, -- that we are subject to
   the stars, that such and such is our nativity, and that the stars
   portend some kind of death every day and every moment. This, then, is
   what is especially intended by the Prophet in forbidding the Jews to be
   terrified by the celestial signs; for the Chaldeans, no doubt,
   prophesied that they should have a new empire; and thus they frightened
   the miserable Jews: "It is all over with us, for the astrologers among
   the Chaldeans have so spoken; and on the other hand the Egyptians see
   also that this has been foreshewn by the position of the stars." Thus
   it happened that the Jews became, as it were, wholly lifeless. Nor did
   they remember what God had so often, and for so many years, threatened
   by his Prophets to do, in case they continued to provoke his wrath. Of
   God's judgment they made no account; and yet the persuasion, that the
   Chaldeans announced a judgment by the stars, and that there would be
   some convulsion, filled them with terror and amazement. Hence the
   Prophet, in order to lead them to repentance, as well as to faith,
   which are the two essentials of religion, and include in them the
   perfection of true wisdom, speaks thus to them in effect, "Fear not the
   stars, but fear God." For there is implied a contrast between God and
   the stars; as though he had said, "When any adversity happens to you,
   know that you are chastised by God's hand, who is a just avenger of
   sins." This was to teach them repentance; it was to shew them that they
   justly suffered, because they had been perverse in their wickedness.
   Then follows the other fact, that though the stars threatened calamity
   and destruction, they were to flee to God's mercy and never doubt of
   their safety, provided he was propitious to them. We now then
   understand the Prophet's object in telling them not to fear the stars.

   More things might be said, but! study brevity as far as I can; and I
   trust that I have briefly included what is sufficient for the
   understanding of this passage. There are many, I know, at this day
   foolishly curious, and hence wish some account to be made of judiciary
   astrology; and this delirium has taken possession of some pious men and
   really learned: but we see what God here declares by his servant. And I
   wonder that some are thus credulous as to the stars, who yet speak with
   extreme subtlety on free-will. They would have the events of things
   fortuitous, they would have it that men act freely in both ways, and
   they hate and abhor fate; and yet they confine God as it were in a
   prison, and would have the stars to rule. This is to me a prodigy, not
   a sign. But all these things I leave. Let the plain doctrine of the
   Prophet be deemed sufficient by us, when he says, that we are not to be
   terrified by signs, for it belongs to the Gentiles to be thus
   terrified; for I am disposed to take this meaning, -- that the Prophet
   says that this was a kind of blindness which belonged to them: "Leave,"
   he says, "this folly to the Gentiles; it is no wonder that they labor
   under so many errors and delusions, for celestial truth has never shone
   upon them; but it becomes you to fear God and to rely on his mercy." It
   follows --
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   [1] Here the preceding lecture ends in the original; but in order to
   keep the chapters distinct, this section has been transferred to the
   present lecture. A similar arrangement is adopted as to the last
   lecture in this volume. -- Ed.

   [2] The Sept. and Vulg. render it "according" -- kata -- juxta. It is
   omitted in the Syr. Blayney renders the line thus: -- "Unto the way of
   the heathen conform ye not." We may view it as a negative, thus: --
   "No, the way of the heathen learn not." But it is most probable a
   typographical error for 't as Jeremiah so writes at least in two other
   instances, Jeremiah 2:23, and Jeremiah 12:16. -- Ed

   [3] Blayney gives a similar explanation -- "The sun, moon, and stars
   are said indeed to have been created and set in the firmament for
   signs.' (Genesis 1:14) But hereby is meant, that they should serve as
   natural marks, serving to distinguish, by their periodical revolutions
   and appearances, the various times and seasons; which, however, is a
   very different use from that of prognosticating future events, or
   causing any alteration in the fortunes of men." -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:3

   3. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out
   of the forest (the work of the hands of the workman) with the axe.

   3. Quoniam statuta populorum vanitas est: nam lignum a sylva scindit,
   opus manuum artificis dolabra (vel, in securi; nam ponitur v, quoe est
   nota instrumenti apud Hebroeos.)


   The Prophet seems to break off his subject, and even to reason
   inconclusively; for he had said in the last verse, "Learn not the rites
   of the Gentiles, and fear not the celestial signs;" and he now adds,
   Because the rites of the Gentiles are vanity; for wood they cut down
   from the forest. He seems then, as though forgetting himself, to have
   passed off to idols. But we must observe, that the Jews were influenced
   by that ancient opinion, that the Chaldeans and the Egyptians were
   alone wise, and that they had acquired a fame of this kind among all
   nations. We find also that heathen writers, when speaking of the origin
   of the sciences, trace them up to the Chaldeans and the Egyptians; for
   with them, it is said, have originated astrology and all the liberal
   sciences. The Jews then, no doubt, allowed so much authority to the
   Chaldeans and the Egyptians, that their minds, being possessed by that
   prejudice, could discern nothing aright. The Prophet then shakes off
   from them this stupidity, and shews how foolish they were, who yet
   would have themselves to be alone deemed wise, and regarded others,
   compared with themselves, as barbarous and ignorant. We now then see
   why the Prophet connects idolatry with that false and spurious
   astrology which he had mentioned.

   He says, Laws: the word, chqvt, chekut, means strictly, statutes. The
   word, chq chek, signifies to decree, or to write; and hence decrees are
   called chqvt, chekut. The word Law is general; and one of those which
   are special and often occurs in Scripture, is the statute. Some render
   it "Edict;" and the verb means to publish by edict. But this word is
   often applied to ceremonies and rites. He then says, that the rites of
   the nations were vanity.

   He then proves this, Because they cut for themselves trees from the
   forest; and after having polished them by art, they think them to be
   gods. How detestable was this madness, to think that a tree, cut from
   the forest, was a god, as soon as it assumed a certain form or shape!
   As then a madness, so great and so monstrous, prevailed among the
   Chaldeans and the Egyptians, what right knowledge or judgment could
   have been in them? The Jews then were very foolish in thinking that
   they were very clear -- sighted. "They are," he says, "brute animals;
   for it is wholly contrary to reason to suppose that a god can be made
   from a dead piece of wood. When, therefore, the Chaldeans and the
   Egyptians amaze and astonish you through the influence of a false
   opinion, derived from nothing, that they are alone wise, do ye not see
   that ye are doubly and trebly mad? for where is their wisdom, when they
   thus make gods from trunks of trees?"

   We now then perceive the design of the Prophet: but as these
   circumstances have not been considered by interpreters, they have only
   elicited a frigid doctrine and gathered some general thoughts. But when
   any one rightly and carefully examines the design of the Prophet, he
   will find how important is what he teaches; and no one can otherwise
   rightly understand what Jeremiah means.

   A tree then does one cut, etc.: he uses the singular number. [4] He
   then adds, the work of the hands of the artificer by the ax He shews
   that nature itself is changed through the false imagination of men; for
   as soon as it takes a new form, it seems to be no longer a tree. The
   tree, while it grows, when it produces fruit, is not worshipped as God;
   but when it is cut down, the dead and dry trunk is substituted in the
   place of God: for what reason? even because the ax has been applied.
   Some render it "hatchet," hache, ou doloire, which is the same; for
   there is no ambiguity in the meaning: they cut down trees from the
   forests; and then after the tree was formed by the ax and worked by the
   hands of the artificer, what follows was done to it --
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   [4] This is not correct, the verb is plural, and there is no different
   reading. The Vulgate has led Calvin and our translators astray here.
   The other versions never changed the form of the sentence. The verse
   may be thus rendered, -- 3. Verily, the customs of the nations are very
   vanity; For a tree from the forest they cut down, -- The work of the
   hands of the worker with the ax! Then verbs in the plural number follow
   in the next verse, -- 4. With silver and with gold they beautify, With
   nails and with hammers they fasten them, So that none may move them The
   verb for "move" is in Hiphil; it means in Kal to totter, "that none may
   cause them to totter." But the Septuagint have rendered the verb "cut
   down" as a passive participle, krvt, transposing the v; and Venema
   takes this as the proper reading, -- "For a tree from the forest is cut
   down." But this does not run well with the following verse. The nations
   or heathens, is the nominative to all the verbs. Venema renders the
   last line of the fourth verse, -- That nothing may make them to reel.
   He considers that l' means often "nothing;" but it means also
   sometimes, "none," or no one. -- Ed
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   Jeremiah 10:4-5

   4. They deck it with silver and with gold; the fasten it with nails and
   with the hammers, that it move not.

   4. Argento et auro pulchrificant (hoc est, exornant) illud; clavis et
   malleis fortificant (hoc est, bene defigunt;) et non movebitur (hoc
   est, ut non moveatur.)

   5. They are upright as the palm-tree, but speak not: they must needs be
   borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot
   do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

   5. Sicuti palma aequalis (hoc est, stat effigies illa aequalis tanquam
   palma, id est, assurgit in rectitudinem;) et non loquuntur; et tollendo
   tolluntur, quia non ambulabunt (hoc est, non possunt ambulare:) ne
   timeatis ab illis; quia non male faciunt, atque etiam bene facere non
   penes ipsos.


   He goes on with the same subject, and borrows his words from the forty
   -- fourth chapter of Isaiah (Isaiah 44); for the passage is wholly
   similar. Jeremiah, being later, was induced to take the words from his
   predecessor, that his own nation might be more impressed, on finding
   that the same thing was said by two Prophets, and that thus they had
   two witnesses.

   He then says that these wise men, who filled the Jews with wonder and
   astonishment, adorned their images, or statues, with silver and gold,
   and afterward fixed them with nails and with hammers, that they might
   not move Some refer the last word to the metal, "that the pieces might
   not come off," as the verb sometimes means to depart. But the simpler
   meaning is, that the statues were fixed by nails and hammers, that they
   might not be moved. Then the Prophet adds by way of concession, They
   are indeed erect as the palm-trees; and thus there appears in them
   something remarkable: but they speak not; and then, being raised they
   are raised, that is, they cannot move themselves; for they cannot walk
   Then he says, Be not afraid of them; for they do no evil, nor is it in
   their power to do good

   We now see what the Prophet meant to teach us, -- that the wisdom of
   the Chaldeans, and also of the Egyptians, was celebrated throughout the
   world, and also so blinded the Jews, or so enraptured, them, that they
   thought that nothing proceeded from them but what deserved to be known
   and esteemed. In order therefore to remove and demolish this false
   notion, he shews that they were beyond measure foolish; for what could
   have been more sottish than to think that the nature of a tree is
   changed as soon as it receives a new form? How? By the hand of the
   artificer. Can it be in the power of man to make a god at his will?
   This is a folly which heathen authors have derided. Horace has this
   sentence: --

   "When the workman was uncertain whether to make a bench or Priapus, He
   chose rather to make a god." [5]

   That poet, as he dared not generally to condemn the madness which then
   prevailed, indirectly shewed how shameful it was to make a log of wood
   a god, because the workman had given it a form. The very richest
   worshipped a wooden god, while he despised the artificer! He who would
   not have condescended to give the workman a cup of water, yet
   prostrated himself befbre the god which the workman had made! This then
   is what our Prophet now says, "Behold, with silver and gold do they
   adorn trunks of trees; they indeed stood up, for they are erect
   statues;" and he compares them to palm-trees, because they stood high:
   and he says, "but they speak not; they are raised up, for they have no
   life; hence fear them not:" and then he adds, "They cannot do evil, and
   it is not in their power to do good."

   The Prophet seems to speak improperly when he says that they were not
   gods, because they could do no evil; for it is wholly contrary to the
   nature of the only true God to do evil: but the Prophet, according to
   what is common, uses the word for the infliction of punishment. God,
   then, is said to do evil, not because he does harm to any one, not
   because he does wrong to any mortals, but because he chastises them for
   their sins. And it is a way of speaking derived from the common
   judgment of man, for we call those things evils which are afflictions
   to us; for famine, diseases, poverty, cold, heat, disgrace, and things
   of this kind, are called afflictions or adversities. Now, the Prophet
   says, that the idols of the Gentiles, or their fictitious gods, do no
   evil, that is, they have no power to inflict punishment on men. And
   this is taken from Isaiah. God uses there a twofold argument, while
   claiming divinity to himself alone: he says,

   "I alone am he who foresees and predicts future things;"

   and hence I am God alone; and then he says,

   "I alone am he who do good and evil;"

   hence I alone am God. (Isaiah 45:22; Isaiah 48:3, 5.) He says, that he
   doeth evil, because he is the Judge of the world. We hence see that
   this expression is not to be taken in a bad sense, but, as I have said,
   it is to be taken in a sense used by men; for we consider and call
   those punishments, with which God visits us, evils. It follows --
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   [5] Cum faber incertus scanmum faceretne Priapm, Maluit esse Demu." --
   Hor. Lib. 1, Sat. 8.
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   Jeremiah 10:6

   6. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great,
   and thy name is great in might.

   6. A non [6] (vel, ab eo quod non, hoc est, ab ultimis temporibus non)
   sicut tu Jehova reperietur; magnus tu, et magnum nomen tuum in
   fortitudine.


   As the truth respecting the gods of the heathens, that they are mere
   figments, would be useless and of no moment, were not the knowledge of
   the, true God added, the Prophet now introduces God himself. And there
   is another reason; for no one could know that these wooden and stony
   gods are of no account, were not the truth respecting the true God to
   shine forth. Whosoever does not understand that there is a God, and
   does not know who or what he is, can never be really influenced by this
   truth, that the gods of the heathens are demons, and that all their
   superstitions are sacrilegious.

   We now then perceive why the Prophet turns to the true God: it was,
   that the brightness of God's glory might dissipate the darkness in
   which the Gentiles were involved, and also, that true religion might
   really influence the hearts of men, so that by acknowledging the one
   true God, to whose power we ought to submit, they might not only
   despise and repudiate all idols, but also hate and abhor them. The rest
   to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [6] The word is, m'yn: the m here is not a preposition, but a
   formative, and the word means none. So all the versions and the Targum
   render it. The proper rendering of the verse is -- None is like thee,
   Jehovah; Great art thou, And great is thy name, in strength. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast made heaven and earth for our
   sake, and hast testified by thy servant Moses, that the sun, as well as
   the moon, to which foolish heathens ascribe divinity, are to be
   serviceable to us, and that we are to use them as though they were our
   servants, -- O grant that we may, by thy so many blessings, have our
   minds raised upwards and contemplate thy true glory, so that we may
   faithfully worship thee only, and surrender ourselves so entirely to
   thee, that while we enjoy the benefits derived from all the stars, and
   also from the earth, we may know that we are bound to thee by so many
   favors, in order that we may be more and more roused to attend to what
   is just and right, and thus endeavor to glorify on earth thy name, that
   we may at length enjoy that blessed glory which has been provided for
   us by Christ our Lord. -- Amen.
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   Lecture Fortieth

   We began yesterday to explain the sixth verse, in which Jeremiah says,
   From no time has there been found any like the true God, for he is
   great, and great is his name in power. This sentence appears, indeed,
   unmeaning or very common as to its idea, in negativing the notion that
   there has been any in all the ages like to God: but as the world by its
   figments has ever obscured the glory of the true God, there is in this
   sentence what is of great importance, for it says that God possesses
   his own peculiar dignity, and shines far above all fictitious deities.
   The same view is to be taken of the second clause, Thou art great Who
   will not concede greatness to God? yet he is deprived of it by most;
   for when any one devises for himself a god, he robs the true God of his
   own greatness, and makes him as it were one like many other gods. If we
   bear in mind how men depreciate God's glory, it is easy for us to see,
   that he is not uselessly called here great, as he is in many other
   places. But I only touch here on these things briefly, as I have
   elsewhere discussed them more at large.

   He says that God's name is great in power; for idols had a celebrated
   name among all nations, but had no power. Though many things have been
   related of their idols by the Grecians and Italians, as well as by the
   Orientals, yet it is certain that no proof has been given to shew that
   they worshipped true gods. Hence the Prophet.declares here that
   greatness belbngs to God alone, as his power has been made known, and
   has fully manifested his own peculiar glory. It now follows --
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   Jeremiah 10:7

   7. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it
   appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in
   all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

   7. Quis non timebit to rex gentium? quia tibi convenit; nam inter omnes
   sapientes gentium et in omnibus regnis eorum, a nullo tempore similis
   tibi, (vel, sicut tu, ad verbum.)


   The Prophet exclaims, Who will not fear thee? This question is very
   emphatical, as though he indignantly rebuked the stupidity of all those
   who acknowledged not the only true God, as if he had said, "Whence is
   it that thou art not feared throughout the whole world? Surely were
   there a spark of right knowledge in men, they would acknowledge thee as
   the only true God, and having found this truth, would submit to thy
   power. When, therefore, men invent for themselves various gods, and
   when every one is led here and there without any judgment, it is a
   monstrous thing; for when the subject is pressed on the attention of
   the rudest, they confess that there, is some supreme deity, and are at
   length constrained to allow that there is but one true God; whence then
   is it that there is such a multitude and variety of gods in the world?
   How is it that they who hold this principle -- that God ought to be
   worshipped -- fall away, and adopt many gods, and never can determine
   who the true God is, or how he is to be worshipped?" We now understand
   the object of the Prophet in exclaiming, as through astonishment, Who
   will not fear thee, the King of nations?

   We know that the true God was then despised by the heathens; and we
   also know that his law was regarded with contempt, and even els an
   abomination: What then does this question mean? even what I have
   already stated: The Prophet indignantly says, that it was a monstrous
   thing, bordering on madness, that men paid no regard to the only true
   God, but went astray after their own foolish devices. And he calls him
   the King of the nations, not that the nations submitted to his
   authority, but because he manifested evidences of his power everywhere,
   which might have induced the rudest to shew him reverence, were they
   not extremely stupid. We then see that this is not said to the honor of
   the nations, but on the contrary, that their ingratitude might be
   exposed to shame in not honoring God, who manifested his power among
   them.

   Then follows what confirms this: For to thee it belongs; for among all
   the wise of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, from no time has
   there been one like to thee He says that it belongs to God, that is,
   that all the world should fear him. Some render y'th iate, as a noun,
   and take it as signifying "honor;" and others render it "government,"
   or authority; but this cannot be received. He then says, it belongs to
   God. What? Some say, "glory or dominion belongs to thee." But it must
   be referred to the beginning of the verse: there is here a figure
   called Zeugma, and the meaning is, God deserves this, that is, to be
   feared by all. H.e then speaks of fear, and says that it belongs to
   God. What is meant is, that the glory of God shines so much as to be
   sufficient to arrest and engage all the thoughts of men, and that they
   are therefore extremely stupid when they pass by and forsake him, and
   turn to their own devices, and invent gods according to their own
   fancies. [7]

   The Prophet then confirms what we have already said -- that all men who
   worship not nor fear the only true God are detestable beings, because
   so much of his glory shines forth, that renders all bound to
   acknowledge him. It then follows, that those who are carried away into
   various superstitions are to the last degree stupid and brutish; for
   God renders his glory conspicuous everywhere, so that it ought to
   engage and occupy the thoughts of all men; and it would do so were they
   not led away by their own vanity.

   We hence also learn that the pretext of ignorance made by unbelievers
   is wholly vain. There are those who on the first view seem to be
   excusable for their error, as they have not been taught, and never
   understood who the true God is; but yet there is in them the blame of
   neglect as well as of wickedness, for they wilfully neglect and despise
   the only true God. As then the unbelieving take delight in their
   errors, they are to be held guilty. And this is what the Prophet means
   by saying that God was worthy of glory -- the glory of being feared by
   all: and this he more fully confirms when he says, "Among all the wise,
   and in all kingdoms," that is, among all the princes who seemed to
   excel in wisdom in governing the world, "no other God could be found
   throughout all the ages."

   He repeats again the word m'yn main, of which we spoke yesterday. [8]
   It is the same as though the Prophet had said, "Let all the wise men
   and philosophers come forth, let all those counsellors who assume great
   wisdom appear, and let them adduce whatever they can allege; doubtless
   God will ever defend his own glory against all their frivolous
   arguments, so that they must depart confounded; nor shall they be able,
   however willing they may be, to bring any solid objection against him."
   By these words, then, the Prophet intimates that it is vain to boast of
   philosophic reasons, and that the counsels of princes, who esteem
   themselves very acute in civil affairs, will be adduced in vain; for
   all will be covered with shame, and be constrained to be silent, when
   God makes known his glory. Indeed the glory of God appears everywhere
   so conspicuously, that the rudest ought to perceive it, that the wise,
   who fly above the heavens as philosophers, who search all the secrets
   of nature, do not understand what is, as they say, abroad in the open
   air; for God manifests himself to the simple, and even to children. We
   now perceive the design of the Prophet, when he says, From no times has
   been found any like to God, not only among the vulgar or common men,
   but among the wise, and princes, and kings' counsellors. He afterwards
   adds --
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   [7] This verse is omitted in the Septuagint. The sentence, "To thee it
   belongs, is in the Vulgate and Syriac, "Thine is the honor;" and in
   theTargum and Arabic, "Thine is the kingdom." Blayney gives this
   version, -- "When he shall approach unto thee." But this has hardly a
   meaning here, and far less has the rendering of Horsley, -- "Surely
   unto thee shall be the coming;" i.e.," The general coming, the
   universal resort." The bishop saw predictions everywhere. The
   explanation of Calvin is the most satisfactory. The act mentioned in
   the preceding clause, "fear," is to be understood as the nominative
   case. -- Ed.

   [8] All the versions and the Targum, as in the former instance, do not
   regard the m as a preposition, but render the word by "none," or no
   one. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:8

   8. But they are altogether brutish and foolish; the stock is a doctrine
   of vanities.

   8. Et in uno stulti sunt et fatui sunt; eruditio vanitatum lignum est.


   The Prophet shews here, in one sentence, that the wisest in the whole
   world could be proved guilty of the greatest madness, or of a twofold
   folly, because they willingly worshipped the trunks of trees, and they
   worshipped stones; for Under one kind he includes the other. There is
   no one, he says, however intelligent, who does not approve of the
   superstitions of the people, who does not bend the knee before a wood
   or a stone. There have been, indeed, a few in the world who ridiculed
   such sottishhess, but no one dared openly to condemn it, and no one
   introduced anything better. And even the Platonics hold that the Greeks
   had not without reason invented gods like men; and they say that there
   was not so much judgment among the barbarians as to form such ideas of
   the gods as were suitable to their nature. However this may have been,
   it is evident that the grossest superstitions of the nations were ever
   approved by all their wise men.

   The Prophet then shews that there was no need of a long discussion to
   discover the vanity of the wise; In one, in one thing, he says; and
   there is emphasis in this word, when he says, In one thing they are
   foolish and fatuitous; for there is to be understood a contrast, as
   though he had said, "I will not here join together many heads of
   accusation against them to expose their folly, one thing is sufficient;
   this one sentence is enough to condemn them, -- that wood is the
   teaching of vanities." [9] We have stated what the Prophet means,meven
   that all the wise, who together with the vulgar worshipped gods made of
   wood and stone, were very foolish: but we must notice the import of the
   expression, The teaching of vanities is the wood. It is, as we have
   said, an instance of a part being put for the whole; for under "wood"
   Jeremiah includes statues of stone, and others made of different
   materials; as though he had said, "Every form or effigy, representing a
   god, is the teaching of vanities." He takes this as granted; and yet
   there had been, as we have lately stated, a great and fierce contention
   among the wise men on this subject; but the Prophet deigned not to
   contend or seriously to dispute with them, for the thing itself was
   sufficiently evident, that is, that nothing can be more absurd than to
   worship the trunk of a tree or a stone.

   Now we may from this passage draw a general truth, -- that when men
   seek to represent God under any visible form, they give way to the
   delusions and impostures of Satan. Well known is that sentence of
   Gregory to Serenus, the Bishop of Marseilles, when that good man cast
   down the images which he saw led to ungodly worship, and purged the
   churches of Marseilles from such pollutions: Gregory, though a pious
   man, yet wrote very foolishly -- that Serenus acted rightly and wisely
   in forbidding images to be worshipped, but that he yet acted
   inconsiderately by emptying the churches of them; for "they are," he
   said, "the books of the simple:" this is the conclusion of his epistle.
   And it is ever in the mouth of Papists -- that images are the books of
   the simple. At the same time I would they retained this truth avowed by
   Gregory, that they ought not to be worshipped. They worship and adore
   them, as it is well known, in the place of God. But as I have already
   said, that answer of Gregory was puerile and foolish: for we hear what
   the Prophet says, -- that in wood and stone and in every outward
   representation there is vanity, as Habakkuk also in the second chapter,
   where He speaks of idols, calls an idol the teacher of vanity. Every
   statue, every image, by which foolish men seek to represent God, is a
   teacher of falsehood. So our Prophet says, -- that the teaching of
   vanities is found in all statues, because God is thus misrepresented;
   for what can be in a wood or stone that is like the infinite power of
   God, or his incomprehensible essence and majesty? Men, therefore, offer
   a serious affront to God when they thus deform him, as Paul also in
   Romans 1:25, says, -- that the truth was thus changed into falsehood,
   that is, when he is supposed to have anything like to what external and
   dead figures have; as the same Paul further reasons in Acts 17:29, when
   he says, Do ye think that God is like to wood or stone, to silver or
   gold? And his argument was at that time suitable; for he had to do with
   heafilens: he did not refer to the law, though he might have quoted a
   passage in Deuteronomy, where God reminded the people that he so
   appeared to them that they saw no similitude; and he might have
   referred to the testimonies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and of the other
   Prophets; but as he addressed heathens, even the Athenians, he says,
   "One of your poets has said, that we are the offspring of God:" if we
   are then, He says, the offspring of God, do ye not draw God down from
   his celestial throne, when ye seek to delineate him according to your
   fancies, and suppose that he lies hid in wood or stone, in silver and
   gold? For some life appears at least in men, they are endued with mind
   and intelligence, and so far they bear some likeness to God: but a dead
   wood and stone, which are void of sense, -- gold also and silver, which
   are metals without reason, which have no life, -- what affinity, He
   says, can these have to God? This subject might be more copiously
   handled; but I merely explain what the Prophet means, and also shew the
   import of his doctrine, and how it may be applied for general
   instruction. It now follows --
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   [9] The word v'cht is rendered by the Versions and the Targum, alike,
   equally or together. Literally, "in one," that is, altogether. Calvin
   rather refines here. The verse may be thus rendered, -- But they are
   together brutish and stupid; The teaching of vanities the wood is.
   Literally, "the wood it," but as Gataker says, the pronoun is often
   used in Hebrew for the substantive verb. The phrase is elliptical, no
   unusual thing in Hebrew. It may be thus, rendering in full, -- The
   teaching of vanities, is the teaching of the wood,
   or respecting the wood. What they taught respecting the wooden idols
   was "vanities," that is, very or extremely vain; for so the plural
   often means. The version ofBlayney, after Castellio, and approved by
   Horsley, is the following, -- "The very wood itself being a rebuker of
   vanities." But it is a sentiment not suitable to this place. The most
   strict meaning of mvsr is restraint, and not rebuke; it often means
   teaching or instruction. -- Ed
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   Jeremiah 10:9

   9. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from
   Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue
   and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

   9. Argentum percussum (vel, diductum, hoc est, malleo sic contusum, ut
   redactum sit in laminas; hoc enim significat verbum rq percutere, et
   ita contundere, ut res diducatur vel protrahatur: argentum ergo
   laminatum, ut ita loquar, vel, malleo contusum) e Tharsis affertur, et
   aurum ex Ophas, opus artificis et manus conflatoris; hyacinthus et
   purpura, vestes eorum; opus sapientum omnes!


   The Prophet, anticipating what might be said, refers to the splendor
   and pomp of idols, and declares that all was frivolous and extremely
   puerile. Whence was it that the world shewed so much honor to idols,
   except that their pomp dazzled the eyes of men? The devil has also by
   this artifice ever deluded the unbelieving; for he has exhibited in
   idols something that involved men's minds in darkness.

   The Prophet then assails these foolish imaginations, and says, Silver
   is brought from Tharsis, that is, from Cilicia; for so the Scripture
   designates that transmarine country, which lies opposed to Judea; and
   we know that Cilicia was over against Judea; for the Mediterranean Sea
   intervenes between Syria and Cilicia; and the sea of Tharsis is what
   they call that part which extended towards Cilicia and Asia Minor. The
   Prophet then says; that it was brought from a far country. Well, he
   says, the fact is so; and then it is added that gold was brought from
   Uphaz Some have explained this last word wrongly, by saying that it
   means pure or fine gold; but it appears from this place and many
   others, that it is the name of a country, that is, Persia, or one not
   far from Persia: it was at least a country eastward of Judea. He then
   says, gold is brought from Uphaz; and he mentions the workmanship, the
   work of the artificer; that is, it is not silver and gold in its rude
   state; but they are so elegantly wrought, that they readily attract the
   eyes of men. Then he adds the hands (he speaks in the plural number) of
   the melter; that is, the silver and gold were melted and were made to
   assume a certain form; and then art was employed, which gave an
   increased polish to these forms which came out of the furnace. He
   afterwards says, The hyacinth and purple are their vestments; that is,
   it is not enough to have the precious metal, and that cast into an
   elegant and lovely form, but it must be clothed in purple and hyacinth.
   He says in the last place, that the work was that of the wise; that is,
   skillful men were chosen, who could in the most perfect manner give
   expression to every lineament; in short, nothing was left undone. [10]

   But the Prophet, though he concedes generally to the unbelieving that
   they added whatever could add beauty to their idols, yet declares that
   they were mere trumperies: they are puppets, he says; for man, who is a
   mortal, cannot make a god: and then, what can art and the toil and
   labor of man do in this respect? can he change the nature of things?
   can he make a god from wood and stone? and when a vestment covers the
   idol of gold or of silver, can it raise it above the heavens, that it
   may attain a new divinity? We hence see that the Prophet mentions all
   that was done, that he might taunt the heathens and ridicule their
   fatuitous trifles; for in their idols there was nothing real, nothing
   that could be dependd upon. He then subjoins --
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   [10] The verse is literally thus, -- 9. Silver extended, from Tarsis it
   is brought, And gold from Uphaz, -- The work of the artizan And of the
   hands of the founder; Blue and purple their garments, -- The work of
   the wise, all of them. The Septuagint and Arabic have "Mophaz;" the
   Vulgate, "Ophaz;" the Syriac and the Targum, "Ophir." Probably the same
   country is meant, and that it had two names. "Blue" is rendered
   "hyacinth," violet-color, by all the versions and the Targum. "Uphaz,"
   according to Bochart, was a country near the Ganges in India, and the
   same with Ophir. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:10

   10. But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an
   everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations
   shall not be able to abide his indignation.

   10 Atqui Iehova Deus veritas (qui vertunt, Deus veritatis, non
   observant syntax in Hebraicam; dixisset enim yhl' hvhy tm'; Iehova ergo
   Dens veritas,) ipse Deus vita, et rex seculorum; a furore ejus
   contremiscet terra, et non sustinebunt gentes iram ejus.


   The Prophet here exults and triumphs in the name of his God, as though
   he had overcome and put to flight the erroneous notions of the
   heathens: for he had spoken, as it appears, contemptuously of their
   gross errors, and shewed that the wise men of the world were extremely
   sottish, who were so charmed with wood and stone. He now highly extols
   the glory of God, and says, But Jehovah is God; that is, let the
   nations worship their gods, let them recite fables as to their power,
   and falsely ascribe to them many miracles; but Jehovah, he says, is God
   When all things are faithfully examined, it will appear evident that He
   is the only true God, and all the gods of the heathens will of
   themselves vanish into nothing. This then is the meaning of the
   Prophet, as though he had said, God himself is sumcient to put to
   flight all the errors of the heathens, when his majesty appears; for so
   great is its brightness that it will reduce to nothing whatever the
   world admires.

   He then adds truth. He sets truth here in opposition to vanities. He
   had said that wood was the teaching of vanities; he now says, God is
   eternal truth; that is, he has no need of adventitious ornaments; they
   mask, he says, the idols of the heathens, they are clothed and adorned;
   but these things have nothing real in them: Jehovah is God the truth;
   that is, God borrows nothing from anything else, but is satisfied with
   himself, and his power possesses of itself sufficient authority. God
   then is truth, and God, he says, is life. After having said that God
   has real and solid glory in himself, he adds another proof, taken from
   what is known to men, even that God is life; for though God is in
   himself incomprehensible, yet he not only sets before our eyes
   evidences of his glow, but he also renders himself in a manner the
   object of feeling, as Paul says in Acts 14:17. What he means is, that
   though men were blind, they could yet by feeling find out God. Though
   the blind have no sight, yet they can find their way by feeling; they
   go round a hall or a room, and by feeling find the door; and when they
   wish to enter into a room, they find the door by the same means. But
   there is no need, says Paul, for us to depart from ourselves; for
   whosoever will examine himself will find God within; for in him we live
   and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28.) Were we then to object and
   say, that God is incomprehensible, and that we cannot ascend to the
   height of his glory, doubtless there is life in us, and as we have
   life, we have an evidence of his divinity; for who is so devoid of
   reason as to say that he lives through himself? Since then men live not
   of themselves, but obtain life as a favor from another, it follows that
   God dwells in them. [11]

   Now, then, the Prophet, after having spoken of God's essence, descends
   to what is more evident. And doubtless it is a real knowledge of God,
   not when we speculate in the air as philosophers do, but when we know
   by experience that there is one true God -- how? because we exist. We
   exist not of ourselves, but in and through another, and that is,
   through the one true God. It hence follows that human life is a clear
   proof of one supreme God. God then is life and the King of ages For as
   the world has also been made, as years succeed years, and as there is
   in this revolution variety and yet such perfect order, who does not see
   in all this the glory of God? Now, then, we also perceive why the
   Prophet calls God the King of ages

   He then adds, Through his fury tremble will the earth, and the nations
   will not sustain his wrath As he could not succeed with the heathens,
   He warns liere the Jews not to provoke the wrath of God, who will be
   the Judge of the whole world, and will destroy the unbelievers, however
   blind in darkness they may be. He then warns the Jews not to close
   their eyes to the glory, which had been more fully open to them. But
   the Gentiles might by the works of nature have known God, and were
   inexcusable; yet, the knowledge of him was made plain to the Jews by
   the law. For this reason Jeremiah says, "Even though unbelievers now
   boldly despise God, yet when he shall appear as the Judge of the world,
   the whole earth must of necessity tremble, and will not be able to bear
   his presence, though they now proudly reproach true religion."

   But it was not without reason that the Prophet took so much pains on
   this subject; for the ten tribes had been driven into exile, and the
   Assyrians and Chaldeans triumphed over God himself, as though he had
   been overcome, inasmuch as he did not defend the kingdom of Israel,
   which was under his care and protection; and the miserable Israelites
   could not but despond when they found themselves so distressed, and
   cruelly treated and oppressed by the most shameless tyranny; for what
   could they have thought, but that they had not been the objects of
   God's care, and that his promises were vain, or that he possessed no
   sufficient power to preserve them? It is, then, for this reason that
   the Prophet now so highly extols the power and glory of God, that is,
   that their calamities might not deject them and lay prostrate the faith
   of those who thought that they were forsaken.

   And this will be more evident from the following verse, where the
   Prophet uses the Chaldee language; and this is the only verse in the
   whole book written in Chaldee; and the Chaldee differs much from the
   Hebrew. We have seen before that Daniel wrote in Chaldee, when he spoke
   of things pertaining to the Chaldeans; but when he addressed his own
   people and announced prophecies, belonging especially to the Church of
   God, he wrote in Hebrew. Hence the book of Daniel is written in Hebrew,
   except in those parts which he wished to be understood by the
   Chaldeans; and so does the Prophet in this place.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [11] The verse, literally rendered, is as follows: -- "But Jehovah, God
   the truth he, God the life and King eternal;
   At his wrath tremble will the earth, And not bear will the nations his
   indignation." It is usual in Hebrew to put nouns for adjectives;
   divested of this peculiarity, and the future being taken for the
   present, the verse would run thus: "But Jehovah, the true God is he,
   The living God and King eternal;
   At his wrath tremble does the earth, And the nations cannot bear his
   indignation." "The true God," and "the living God," is the version of
   the Vulgate and of the Targum; but that of the Syriac and Arab., "the
   God of truth," and "the God of the living," but no doubt incorrect. --
   Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:11

   11. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the
   heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from
   under these heavens.

   11. Sic (secundum hoc) dicetis illis (inquit) Dii (prorsus diverso modo
   loquitur quam ante, et proximo etiam versu loquitur; dii ergo) qui
   coelum et terram non fecerunt, pereant e terra et de sub coelis istis.


   Now, the reason why he bids the Israelites to speak in the Chaldee
   language is, because they had been led into exile, and were mingled
   with the Assyrians and Chaldeans. He then required from those despised
   exiles an open and a bold confession, as though he had said, "Even
   though ye are now in the most miserable bondage, and though the
   Chaldeans disdainfully oppress you, as if ye were slaves, yet proclaim
   the glory of God and shrink not from an open confession of your
   religion, and say to them, in contempt of all their idols, perish must
   your gods from the earth and from under heaven, for they have not made
   heaven nor the earth." We now understand the meaning of the Prophet.
   But the rest I shall defer until tomorrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast exhibited thy glory to be
   seen by us, not only in the heavens and the earth, but also ill the
   law, in the Prophets, and in the Gospel, and hast so plainly made
   thyself known to us in thine only -- begotten Son, that ignorance can
   be no excuse, -- O grant that we may make progress in this knowledge by
   which thou kindly invitest to thyself, and may so constantly cleave to
   thee, that none of the errors of the world may draw us aside; but may
   we stand firm in thy word, which cannot deceive us, until we shall at
   length come to that celestial blessedness, when we shall enjoy thee
   face to face in thy glory, having been made fully conformable to thine
   image in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-First

   We began yesterday to explain the declaration of the Prophet, in which
   he exhorted the Israelites to constancy, though scattered among the
   Chaldeans. Their condition was then miserable, because we know that it
   was that of bondage, and conquerors ruled in a very petulant manner,
   when a people were subdued by war; but they had been led into exile for
   the very purpose of degrading them. The Prophet therefore animates them
   here, that they might not be dejected, but continue in the pure worship
   of God, and faithfully profess his name.

   What he said to them was, May those gods, who created not the heaven
   and the earth, perish from the earth and from under heaven He assumed
   this principle -- that no one ought to be counted God but he who is the
   creator and maker of heaven and earth; and who could say that gods of
   wood and stone had created the world? for wood, as well as stone, is a
   corruptible material. All the statues, which were created gods, had
   received their form and shape from mortal men. It is hence manifest,
   that to ascribe divinity to thenl was not only false, but foolish and
   monstrous. This, then, is the reason why he says, "May the gods who
   made not the heaven and earth perish." The verb is indeed in the future
   tense; but we know that the future is often to be taken as an optative
   in Hebrew. If, however, any one prefers to retain this tense, "Perish
   shall the gods who made not the heaven and the earth," I shall not
   contend with him; yet the other view is what I approve, that the
   Israelites were to imprecate destruction on all idols. [12]

   Now that he uses the Chaldee language, is what deserves, as we said
   yesterday, to be observed; they had then to do with the Chaldeans, who
   insultingly triumphed over the true God, thinking that they were his
   conquerors; and they triumphed over him, as though he had been overcome
   by their swords. Then the Prophet bids the Israelites, boldly and
   courageously, to proclaim the name and the glory of the true God.
   Doubtless this could not have been done without immediate danger of
   death; but it was their duty, as God's true servants, to prefer his
   glory to their own lives, in opposing the fury of the enemies who then
   ruled over them, and who had led them to remote countries.

   We see how much God makes of the confession of faith; and the whole
   Scripture shews that this sacrifice is especially approved by him.
   Hence also it appears how foolishly they talk who say that they cherish
   faith secretly in their hearts, though they may hide from the world
   their real sentiments. We see how frigid, nay, how foolish is this
   excuse, while they seek, by a perfidious silence, to save their own
   life and to remain in peace with the ungodly. They who at this day live
   under the Papacy, think that they justly exempt themselves by such an
   excuse as this -- that they ought not rashly to endanger their lives,
   as facts prove that such is the rage of the enemies of the gospel, that
   were any to confess the truth, they would be immediately led to
   punishment, But we may compare the condition of the ancient people with
   our own; certainly ours is better than that of the ten tribes, who
   lived in a foreign land and were treated as slaves. As then the
   Chaldeans watched them, did they not find the sword daily and
   constantly ready to be used against them? And yet God bids them to
   close their eyes to their danger and faithfully to profess what they
   believed, yea, to detest the idols, which was still more displeasing to
   the Chaldeans; for he bids them to say, "The God whom we worship made
   himself known to Abraham our father, and we worship him, because we
   have found him to be a Redeemer and a constant preserver of our
   safety:" and this is not the only thing that the Prophet bids them to
   say, but also, "May your gods perish." This was certainly enough to
   kindle rage in the Chaldeans, even if they had been men of temperate
   millds; but as they were elated with pride on account of their victory
   and hated the Jews, such a declaration must have been intolerable to
   them. What, then, call the Nicodemites of this day say, who indulge
   their own delusions? for they think it enough if they deny not God in
   their hearts; and yet being frightened with danger, they either pretend
   to deny him, or openly shew that they consent to errors.

   In short, we see that there is no true religion in the hearts of men,
   except a confession is made, for there ought to be a consent between
   the heart and the tongue. But some one may object and say, Is it
   necessary for the faithful to cry through cross -- ways and the streets
   of the city, "There is but one true God?" I answer, that all have not
   been chosen to the prophetic office, in order to preach everywhere; but
   it is commanded to all without exception, to detest idols, where they
   see the glory of God reproachfully traduced by enemies; for the Prophet
   meant, that they were to make this answer to the reproaches of those
   who then took the occasion insultingly to rise up against the true God.
   It now follows: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [12] Critics have unnecessarily suggested a doubt as to the genuineness
   of this verse, written in Chaldee. They have nothing but conjecture,
   and even for that conjecture there is no solid reason. It is not
   omitted in any MS. but one, nor by any of the early versions, nor by
   the Targum, though paraphrased more than what is commonly done. As to
   the context, it seems to be wholly necessary; for the meaning of the
   two following verses cannot be well understood without it, provided
   they are rendered correctly. I shall first give the three verses, and
   then point out the connection: -- 11. Thus shall ye say to them, "The
   gods, who have not made the heaven and the earth, Perish from the
   earth, even from under heaven, shall they: 12. He who made the earth
   through his power, Who has set in order the world by his wisdom, And
   through his understanding expanded the heavens, -- 13. At his voice
   when given, Abundance of waters is in the heavens, For he brings clouds
   from the extremity of the earth; Lightnings for rain he makes, And
   sends forth the wind from his treasures." The Prophet's object was to
   shew that the Creator of the world is its ruler. As false gods did not
   create the world, they do not rule it. The name of the true God is not
   given in these verses, nor are the gods of the Chaldeans specially
   named. The gods who were no creators are alone mentioned, and
   contrasted with them is he who made all things; and of him he says,
   that "at his voice when given," or literally, "at the voice of his
   giving," abundance of waters appear, which he brings from the extremity
   of the earth. He states things as they appear; clouds arise from the
   horizon, said here to be the extremity of the earth. Then he mentions
   the most terrific things in nature, thunders, lightnings, and storms,
   (for that is what is meant here by wind,) as being under the entire
   control of him who made the heaven and the earth. Thus we see that when
   the passage is rightly understood, the eleventh verse is necessary as a
   portion of the context. "He who made," etc. He is put as a sort of
   nominative absolute, as "gods" is in the former verse. This kind of
   phraseology is often to be met with in Hebrew. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:12-13

   12. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world
   by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

   12. Faciens terram in virtute sua, disponens orbem in sapientia sua, et
   in sua intelligentia extendit coelos.

   13. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
   heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the
   earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out
   of his treasures.

   13. Ad vocem dando sonitum aquarum (vel potius copiam aquarum) in
   coelis; et ascendere faciens elevationes ab extremitate terrae, fulgura
   ad pluviam creans (faciens, ut prius,) et educens ventum e thesauris
   suis.


   Jeremiah speaks now again in Hebrew, for he on purpose spoke in
   Chaldee, to shew that the ungodly were not to be given way to, if they
   blasphemed and wantonly derided the holy name of God. But as it is
   necessary that the confession of the mouth should proceed from faith,
   as fruit from the root, the Prophet here reminds the Israelites that
   there is but one true God; for, besides him who created the earth, set
   in order the world, and extended the heavens, there is no other to be
   found. Since, then, this cannot be said except of one, it follows that
   all the deities which the world devises for itself, are false and mere
   inventions of Satan, by which he deludes mankind. And doubtless no one
   can courageously oppose such errors, except he who believes in the one
   true God. We know that there were formerly some among the philosophers
   who jocularly and facetiously ridiculed the delirious notions of the
   vulgar; but no one in earnest undertook this cause, nor could they take
   upon themselves the defense of God's glory, for he was unknown to them.
   It is therefore necessary, as I have said, that we should be really and
   truly grounded in the faith before the building can be carried on; for
   the profession, by which we ascribe glory to God, is, as it were, the
   superstructure, but faith, concealed within the heart, is the
   foundation.

   We now then understand the Prophet's design in saying, that there is
   but one, who made the earth. He speaks indeed concisely; but what tie
   says has more force, when he does not mention God's name, but sets
   before us his power, as though he had said, "There is one, there is
   one, who has created the earth; there is one, who has set in order the
   world and extended the heavens; as these things cannot be ascribed to
   many, it follows that men are very absurd in imagining that there are
   various gods."

   He says that God created the earth by his power He alludes to the solid
   state of the earth. The philosophers indeed hold that the earth stands
   naturally in the middle of creation, as it is the heaviest element; and
   the reason they give that the earth is suspended in mid-air, is,
   because the center of the world attracts what is most heavy; and these
   things indeed they wisely discuss. Yet we must go further: for the
   center of the earth is not the main part of creation; it hence follows
   that the earth has been suspended in the air, because it has so pleased
   God. When, therefore, the Prophet commends God's power in fixing the
   earth, he refers to its firm state.

   He then adds, There is one who hath by his wisdom set the world in
   order He does not indeed say that He is one, but this is what is
   implied. Though the term tvl, tabel, is taken for the earth, it has yet
   a wider meaning. The Prophet, I have no doubt, includes in it at least
   the sea. And we know that the Spirit has not spoken in the Law and the
   Prophets with rigorous exactness, but in a style suited to the common
   capacities of men. He says then that the world was set in order by
   God's wisdom: for it is wonderful how the waters mingle with the earth,
   and yet retain their own habitation, and are restrained from covering
   the earth: in the earth also itself there is amazing variety; we see in
   one part mountains, in another small hills; there are meadows, forests,
   and fields for corn. Indeed, man's industry contributes to this
   variety; but we see how God hath fitted the earth for different
   purposes, here then shines forth the wonderful wisdom of God. When
   again he speaks of the heavens, he says, that they have been expanded
   by God's knowledge, He indeed employs various expressions, but he means
   the same thing, -- that God's singular wisdom may be seen in the earth
   and in the heavens.

   Some connect the following verse and explain the verb nth nuthe,
   differently, -- that God extends the heavens when he covers them with
   clouds; for the verb ttv, tatu, which means the same thing, follows:
   but the infinite mood is often to be taken for the preterite. As then
   this is a strained explanation, and too far-fetched, I reject it. The
   Prophet, no doubt, speaks of the original formation of the heavens: for
   when God covers the heavens with clouds, their true form does not
   appear; besides, the meaning of the verb is perverted, when taken to
   express the obscuring of the heavens by clouds. They who will
   impartially examine the passage, will be ready to admit, that the
   Prophet speaks of the expanding of the heavens. So the Scripture
   everywhere sets forth God's wisdom as displayed by this wonderfill
   workmanship; and the heaven is said to have been expanded over the
   earth, so that it covers it around. (Psalm 104:6.)

   Now, though Jeremiah mentions only the word "heavens," yet he includes
   the wonders which appear in them, such as that the sun performs its
   daily course -- that it changes its track daily -- that the planets
   have two motions -- that they appear in different parts -- and that the
   sun seems now to ascend and then to descend. In short, Jeremiah here
   extols all the secrets of astrology, when he says, that the heavens
   have been expanded by God, and expanded with singular and incomparable
   wisdom. Though, then, he only briefly touches on this wonderful
   workmanship of God, yet he would have us carefully to dwell on it in
   our meditations; for all errors and all fancies will soon vanish, when
   we duly consider the power and wisdom of God, as manifested in the
   creation of the heavens and of the earth, and in the order observable
   in the world.

   The Prophet then descends to the other works of God, to those which are
   changeable, for there is in nature a perpetual constancy as to the
   heavens and the earth; and there are many things subject to changes; as
   when God darkens the air, when he raises winds, when he pours down
   rain. These things happen not according to the settled order of the
   world of which he had spoken. We see then that the Prophet has hitherto
   referred to the fixed and regular government of the world, to what had
   been done at the creation. But now, as I have said, he sets before us
   things of another kind, -- that God gives or sends forth, by his voice,
   abundance of waters from the heavens Some render hmvn emun, "sound;"
   but it is, on the contrary, to be taken for "multitude," or abundance.
   Moreover, he takes "voice" for thunder: for though it often rains
   without thunder, yet when God thunders from heaven, there is a sudden
   change, which not only disturbs the air, but also fills us with dread.
   As then in this sudden and unexpected change the power of God more
   strikingly appears, the Prophet says, At his voice he gives abundance
   of waters

   He then says, he makes elevations to ascend; for we see that vapours
   arise from the earth and ascend upwards. Philosophers shew how this
   happens: but yet the power of God cannot be excluded, when we say that
   anything is done according to nature. For we hence more clearly see
   what the Prophet means, that is, that God has so set in order the
   world, that when he causes vapours to ascend, he shews that he rules in
   the heavens and on the earth. And he adds, from the extremity of the
   earth: for we see that vapors rise at a distance and immediately spread
   over our heads. Is not this wonderful? And were we not accustomed to
   such a thing, it could not but fill us with admiration. The Prophet
   then rouses men here from their torpor, that they may learn to consider
   what is presented to their view. He goes on and says, creating or
   making lightnings for the rain, or with the rain: for l, lamed, is
   taken by some, as though he had said, that lightnings are mingled with
   rain: and doubtless we see that these things, fire and rain, are
   contrary to one another; yet fire generates water, and it dwells also
   in the midst of a mass of waters: it rains, and yet the air is at the
   same time kindled with lightnings. Since then God thus mingles contrary
   things, and makes fire the origin and the cause of rain, is it not so
   wonderful that it is sufficient, to move the very stones? How great
   then must be the stupidity of men, when they attend not to so
   conspicuous a work of God, in which they may see the glory of his
   wisdom as well as of his power!

   He then says, that God brings forth the wind from his treasures He
   calls hidden places the treasures of God; for whence the winds except
   from the caverns of the earth? Since, then, the earth, where it is
   hollow, generates winds, rightly does the Prophet say, that they were
   the bidden treasures of God. The philosophers also find out the cause
   why the winds arise from the earth; for the sun attracts vapors and
   exhalations; from vapors are formed clouds, snows, and rains, according
   to the fixed order of the middle region of the air. From the
   exhalations also are formed the thunders, lightnings, the comets also,
   and the winds; for the exhalations differ from the vapours only in
   their lightness and rarity, the vapors being thicker and heavier. Then
   from vapor arises rain; but the exhalation is lighter, and not so
   thick; hence the exhalations generate thunders as well as winds,
   according to the heat they contain. How, then, is it that the same
   exhalation now breaks forth into wind, then into lightnings? It is
   according to the measure of its heat; when it is dense it rises into
   the air; but the winds vanish and thus disturb the lower part of the
   world. These are the things said by philosophers; but the chief thing
   in philosophy is to have regard to God, who brings the winds out of his
   treasures, for he keeps them hidden. We wonder that the wind rises
   suddenly when it is quite calm; who ought not to acknowledge that winds
   are formed, and are sent here and there at God's pleasure? And hence in
   Psalm 104:4, they are called the swift messengers of God,

   "who makes spirits his messengers."

   It follows: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:14

   14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded
   by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no
   breath in them.

   14. Stultus est omnis homo a scientia (vertunt alii, praescientia; sed
   perperam, meo judicio,) pudefactus est omnis conflator a sculptili;
   quia mendacium conflatile, et non est spiritus in illis.


   Some too refinedly explain the beginning of this verse -- that their
   own subtlety or wisdom, which they arrogate, infatuates men, according
   to what Paul says, that men become vain in their minds, when they form
   an idea of God according to their own imagination. (Romans 1:21.) But
   the Prophet speaks more plainly, for he says, that all artificers were
   foolish The word lrnowledge is not to be taken here for knowledge of
   truth, but for the knowledge of artificers, whether carpenters or
   blacksmiths, or those who either melted or grayed or formed gods of
   wood, stone, and silver, as we may learn from the second clause of the
   verse. There is no difficulty as to what is meant, if we duly consider
   the words of the Prophet; he expresses the same thing in two ways;
   foolish, he says, are all our artificers; then he specifies one sort,
   every founder or melter, etc. We hence see that the Prophet does not
   use the word knowledge according to its strict meaning, but extends it
   to skill in workmanship. [13]

   But when he says that the artizans were foolish, he connects with them,
   no doubt, all the worshippers of false gods; but he reprobates their
   knowledge, who applied whatever skill and knowledge they had to so vain
   a purpose. Bellold, he says, the worker in gold, and every other
   artificer, think that they are very ingenious when they elegantly form
   an idol; they spend all their wits on so vain a thing; what is this but
   folly? But they think that they make a god by their own hands; yet they
   cannot change the nature of gold and silver. It is the form only that
   they add; but this form contains no life. Hence he subjoins, There is
   no spirit in them He had said before, that they who formed the graven
   image would be ashamed, or convicted of folly; for he had called them
   foolish and brutish. Now, vr, bor, in Hiphil, means to be foolish; but
   the noun means a brute animal. Hence he reproachfully compares these
   illustrious artizans, who gained repute by the elegant forms they gave
   to their gods, to asses, and oxen, and other brute animals. Some render
   nsk, nusak, "covering;" but it signifies, I doubt not, a molten image;
   for he repeats what he had said, that the founders would be ashamed of
   the graven image In short, He says, that the molten image was
   falsehood, for there was in, them no spirit He changes the number, but
   the meaning is evident.

   We have seen before that idols were said to be the teaching of
   vanities; for they were extremely deceived, and became wholly foolish,
   who ascribed the glory of God to wood and stone. The heathens might
   say, that they had never thought such a thing; but facies proved that
   they were liars and made only vain pretences; for why did they place
   confidence in their idols? -- why did they bow down before them? -- why
   did they address to them prayers and supplications? They then believed
   that God was present in the visible form. Now the Prophet says, that
   this was the teaching of vanities; because they who made a figure or
   image of God thought that he was like to gold and silver, and that he
   had some affinity to dead elements, destitute of reason and
   understanding. For the same purpose he now adds, that the molten image
   is falsehood; why? because the truth of God is turned into falsehood,
   as Paul says, (Romans 1:25.)

   It is, therefore, a monstrous absurdity when men imagine that wood or
   stone is an image of God; for there is no similarity, nor can such a
   thing enter into man's mind without a grievous and an atrocious
   indignity being offered to God. The reason also is to be noticed, For
   there is no spirit in them God, so to speak, is the life of all things
   living; now, to call a dead thing an image of God, a thing in which
   there is no mind nor life, is it not to turn light into darkness? This
   reason, then, ought to be remembered by us; and it is a sufficient
   refutation of all such errors, when the Prophet says, that there is no
   spirit in idols, that is, in wood, stone, gold, and silver, and that
   they are therefore a He; for God will not have himself to be compared
   to dead things, without mind and life. He then adds --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [13] The first, clause of this verse is rendered by the Sept. and
   Vulg., "Foolish has become every man by knowledge;" by the Syr.,
   "Foolish have all men become without knowledge;" the Arab. and the
   Targ. convey the same idea with the last. Gataker takes this view and
   gives this version, "Every man is become brutish for want of
   knowledge." But as the framers of idols were called, in Jeremiah 10:9,
   "wise" or cunning men, it is more probable that their boasted knowledge
   is what is meant here. The verse may be thus rendered -- 14. Brutish
   has every man become by his knowledge; Disgracefully has every founder
   done as to the graven image, For deception is his cunning; And no
   spirit is in them. To render the different parts of this verse
   correspondent, it is necessary to take hvvys as a Hiphil. The
   connection is between the first and last line, and between the two
   middle lines. Every man, both the carver and the founder, or melter,
   were brutish, in employing their knowledge and skill in making idols or
   images, because there was, after all their toil, no spirit, no life in
   them. Then the founder acted shamefully in taking the carved thing or
   image, to cover it with gold or silver, because what he melted was a
   mere deception. This verse is no prediction, but a representation of
   the extreme folly and stupidity of idol-makers. This is confirmed by
   the following verse. -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:15

   15. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their
   visitation they shall perish.

   15. Vanitas sunt, opus illusionum; in tempore visitationis ipsorum
   peribunt.


   He confirms the same thing. What he called before falsehood, sqr,
   shikor, he calls now vanity, hvl ebel. They are vanity, he says. He had
   said that they were falsehood, which means, that men were grossly
   deceived when they sought the presence of God in dead things, now he
   says, that they were vanity, and also the work of illusions; but some
   render the last word "mockeries," taking it in a passive sense; and
   hence the Chaldee interpreter renders it, "a thing worthy of ridicule
   and laughter." [14] But I prefer to take it for imposture or deception.
   Jacob said to his mother, "I shall be found in the eyes of my father a
   deceiver;" but some render the word there "a mocker." But Jacob, on the
   contrary, meant that he should be found out as one of no credit, or
   acting in guile, as though he had said, "I shall be an impostor, and
   rny father will flnd out the fraud." So also in this place, he calls
   idols the work of deceptions, by which men infatuated themselves. He
   does not then teach us here that idols deserved to be ridiculed, but he
   refers to the madness of those who imagined that they were gods, for he
   had before called them vanity and falsehood; and there is no doubt but
   that in these various ways he repeats and confirms the same thing.

   He afterwards adds, In the time of their visitation they shall perish
   The pronoun "their" may be applied to idols or to the Chaldeans: when
   the time of visitation shall come; that is, when God shall punish the
   enemies of his Church, then their idols shall perish: or, when the time
   shall come for God to visit the idols, they shall perish. Either sense
   may be admitted; and indeed as to the subject in hand, there is no
   difference.

   The Israelites might have objected and said, "How is it then that false
   gods, whom men have devised for themselves, are worshipped, and are in
   great esteem and highly regarded? How does God suffer and overlook
   this?" The Israelites might have raised an objection of this kind.
   Therefore the Prophet answers them, They shall perish; but it shall be
   at the time of visitation [15] It is an exhortation to patience, that
   the faithful might not despond or be weakened in their hopes, though
   they saw silver gods carried on men's shoulders, though they saw wood
   and stone set on elevated places, and incense burnt to them and
   sacrifices offered to them. Though then they saw idols in such esteem,
   they were not yet to despair or fall away from true religion, for the
   time of visitation was to be looked for, when God would execute his
   judgment on the false gods as well as on their worshippets. We now
   understand why he speaks of visitation. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [14] So, substantially, is the version of the Sept., Vulg., Syr., and
   Arab., -- "ridiculous -- worthy of laughter -- foolish -- ludicrous."
   But the word means no such thing. The verb th means to wander, to err,
   to go astray; in Niphal, to be led astray, to be deceived; and Hiphil,
   to lead astray, to seduce, to deceive; and it is a Hiphil participle in
   Genesis 27:12. It is here a reduplicate noun; and Blayney takes it as
   referring to persons, and not as an abstract noun -- those who greatly
   err; and this is the best view, as the Prophet has been throughout
   describing the idol-makers -- Vanity are they (i.e., the idols,) The
   work of the grossly deluded:
   At the time of their visitation they shall perish; that is, the grossly
   deluded. He had before threatened ruin to idols; but he now threatens
   their makers. -- Ed.

   [15] Scott quotes a sermon of Mede, in which he says, "Ye have heard
   the state of the times, wherein this prophecy is commanded; now let us
   consider the event. We have heard of the admired oracles of the
   Gentiles, of Apollo at Delphos, of Jupiter Ammon in Egypt, etc.; but
   all of them are long since perished. Where is now Bel, the god of
   Babylon, Nisroch, the god of Assyria, Baal and Astaroth, the gods of
   Zidonians, Milcom of the Ammonites, Chemosh of Moab, and Tammuz of the
   Egyptians? Even these also are perished with their names." The partial
   fulfillment of this prophecy is an evidence of its complete
   fulfillment, when "the spirit of evil," as Scott says, "whom all
   idolaters worship, shall be confined to the bottomless pit." -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:16

   16. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all
   things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is
   his name.

   16. Non sicuti illi portio Iacob, quia creator omnium est; et Israel
   virga haereditatis, ejus, Iehova exercituum nomen ejus.


   We have said before, that superstitions cannot be from the heart and
   boldly rejected, except the true God be known; for the heathens, even
   when they disapproved of the opinions of the vulgar, yet reasoned on
   both sides, and knew nothing certain, and had no sure faith. It is,
   therefore, necessary that we should have previously a knowledge of the
   true God. Hence the Prophets, whenever they spoke of idols, spoke also
   of the true God; for it would have been to little purpose to condemn
   these follies, except they represented God in his own real dignity. For
   this reason the Prophet says again, that God, who is the portion of
   Israel, is not like idols.

   He calls God the portion of Israel, that he might preserve the people
   in the pure truth of the law which they had learnt, and with which they
   had been favored; and thus he draws away the attention of the
   Israelites from all the inventions of men or of the heathens. The
   portion then of Israel is not like idols -- how so? For he is the
   former of all things, that is, the creator of heaven and earth. Then he
   says, Israel is the rod of his inheritance [16] Rod may be taken for a
   measuring rod; and I think it ought to be so taken, for he mentions
   inheritance: for he took the comparison from common practice; as men
   are wont to measure fields and possessions by a rod. He therefore says,
   Israel is the rod, that is, the measuring rod of his inheritance He
   concludes by saying, Jehovah of hosts is his name
     __________________________________________________________________

   [16] This clause is left out in the Septuagint, but retained by the
   Vulgate, the Targum, and the Syriac, though "rod' is rendered "tribe"
   in the last; and so it may be rendered, for svt means a tribe as well
   as a rod or scepter: and this meaning is the most suitable. God was the
   portion of Israel, and Israel was the tribe or nation whom God
   inherited or possessed as his inheritance, there being no other nation
   so favored. -- Ed.
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   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast been pleased to shew thyself so
   plainly to us, and as thou art pleased to confirm us in thy truth, -- O
   grant that we may not turn aside either to the right hand or to the
   left, but depend entirely on thy word, and so cleave to thee that no
   errors of the world may draw us aside: may we constantly persevere in
   that faith which we have learnt from thy Law and thy Prophets, and
   especially from thy gospel, where thou hast made thyself more clearly
   known to us, through Christ Jesus, until we shall at length enjoy thy
   full and perfect glory, when we shall be transformed into it in that
   inheritance, which has been purchased for us by the blood of thy
   only-begotten Son. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Second
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:17-18

   17. Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

   17. Collige e terra merces tuas, quae habitas in munitione:

   18. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants
   of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it
   so.

   18. Quia sic dicit Iehova, Ecce ego funda projiciens habitatores terrae
   vice hac, et coarctabo eos (vel, faciam ut obsideant eos) ut inveniant.


   The first verse which we have recited, the Rabbins think, is addressed
   to the Chaldeans, but in my view very incorrectly. Jeremiah had indeed
   said that all the nations who devised gods of stone and of other
   corruptible materials, were very foolish; but we have seen for what
   purpose he said this, even to confirm the Israelites, who were
   captives, and in addition to the disgrace of exile were greatly hated
   by the Chaldeans and the Assyrians; it was, I say, to confirm them,
   lest they should depart from the true worship of God, but constantly
   defend the honor of their God, from whom they expected restoration. It
   is, therefore, absurd for the Rabbins to explain this verse of the
   Chaldeans; for the two verses ought to be connected, gather thy
   merchandise, because thus saith Jehovah It is then strange that these
   interpreters apply the second verse to the Israelites, while they read
   the first by itself, as though they were not connected: yet a reason is
   given why he bids all wages to be gathered.

   But the meaning is simply this, -- that the whole country would be
   exposed to the will of their enemies, that they might plunder it: as
   then devastation was nigh at hand, the Prophet bids those in fortified
   places to gather their wages, or to gather a gathering, (we shall
   hereafter speak of this expression.) Now, we have already stated in
   several places, that the Prophets ironically touched on the torpidity
   of the people; for plain truth would have had no effect, except it was
   urged on them as it were vehemently The Prophet then undertakes the
   character of a man, who brings warlike tidings, as we shall more
   clearly see presently. But in this place, as in some other places, he
   declares that nowhere in Judea would there be safety, except in
   fortresses; which yet would not be able to resist the attacks of
   enemies, as we shall hereafter see.

   As to the words, some give this rendering, "gather thy humiliation," as
   kncano, means to be humble; but they apply the words to Babylon, as
   though the Prophet had said, "Now cease to subdue the remaining
   nations." Thus they take the verb 'sph asaph, in the sense of
   contraction, when some moderation is observed. But I have already said
   that this verse cannot refer to Babylon or to the Chaldeans. As then
   the Prophet addresses the Jews, and speaks of their effects, or of
   their merchandise, or precious things, which were wont to be gathered
   and laid up; as though he had said, "Gather thy gathering;" for the
   word kn cano, means also to collect or to gather: and this is a
   suitable meaning, it being taken afterwards for doing business. But as
   to the subject itself there is no obscurity; for the Prophet shews that
   in a short time the whole of Judea would be laid waste by enemies; and
   as it was to be exposed to plunder, what is usual was to be done, that
   is, to gather whatever was valuable into fortified cities. In short,
   the Prophet here declares that war and ruin would come on the Jews,
   which would extend through the whole land; for by land he means the
   country, as distinguished from fortified towns.

   Then follows the reason, For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will with a
   sling cast out the inhabitants of the land Land here is to be taken in
   another sense, even for the whole country. Wherever then the Jews
   dwelt, the Lord, says the Prophet, will draw them forth, yea, east them
   out as with a sling. We now then see that the vengeance which the Jews
   despised is denounced on them, because they remained securely in their
   own delusions; and what still more provoked God's wrath, they regarded
   all that Jeremiah said of his judgment as a fable. But he compares
   their violent exile to slinging, and represents the Lord as the
   slinger. We know that when a sling is flung and a stone is cast, the
   motion is very violent. Such a casting away is then what God here
   threatens the people with, -- that he would violently throw them here
   and there, like stones when cast by a sling.

   And he says at this term or time, in order that the Jews might know
   that their calamity would be like a sudden storm. For they had often
   been subject to the assaults of enemies; but at one time they had
   delivered themselves, at another the Chaldeans and Assyrians had been
   constrained to turn aside to other quarters; or they had been
   miraculously delivered by God's aid. They hoped that it would be the
   same always; and they thought also that by protracting the war they
   could disappoint their enemies, as they had often done; and further
   still, they expected aid from various quarters. Hence the Prophet says,
   that they would be so taken away, that God would at once cast them all
   out of the land, and east them out as it were in one day: at this time
   they, will I fling out the inhabitants of the land

   Then he says, And I will straiten them. Some render the verb
   transitively, as it is in Hiphil, "I will cause them to be besieged by
   their enemies," and then, "that their enemies may find them." But this
   seems forced. Others more correctly give this explanation of the last
   clause, "that they may find," that is, as true, what had been so often
   foretold them. For, as we have said, the Prophets and their
   threatenings had been despised, as the Jews had hardened themselves in
   their impiety: therefore this interpretation may be allowed. But I
   prefer a more general meaning, -- that they may find, even what they
   had sought; for they had in many and various ways provoked the wrath of
   God: it was therefore right that they should at last find that which
   they had by their perverse doings procured for themselves, according to
   what is said in Isaiah 57:10,

   "They shall find the fruit of their own ways."

   The Jews sought nothing less than the calamity which Jeremiah denounced
   on them: but they had really long sought it; for it was right that they
   should receive the wages due to their wickedness. Then it is, that they
   may find, that is, the reward of their own works. [17] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [17] As to these two verses the early versions all differ from one
   another, as well as from our version and that of Calvin. The Targum
   comes the nighest to our version. I offer the following rendering, --
   17. Gather from the land thy gains, Thou who dwellest in a fortress!
   18. For thus saith Jehovah, -- Behold I will sling out The inhabitants
   of the land at this time, And will fortress them, that they may be
   taken. The first verse is spoken ironically, recommending what they
   were doing. Then the Lord says what he would do: They were gathering
   their goods into fortresses in order to secure them, and the Lord says
   that he would violently fortress (as the word means literally) or drive
   into fortresses all the inhabitants of the land, and would do so, that
   they might be found or taken, that is, captives; there would be no need
   of collecting the people, for they would be driven into fortified
   cities, where the enemies would find them. This seems to be the meaning
   of this verse, which Horsley deemed "very obscure," and elucidated "by
   no expositor." -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:19

   19. Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this
   is a grief, and I must bear it.

   19. Hei mihi super contritione mea; dolore plena est percussio mea: et
   ego dixi, Certe (vel, utique) haec plaga mea, et feram eam.


   The Prophet here no doubt speaks in the name of the whole people; for
   he saw that no one was moved by threatenings, though very grievous and
   severe; and this mode of speaking must be sufficiently known to us, for
   it is commonly used by all the prophets. They first, addressed the
   people; but when they saw that they produced no effect, in order to
   shew their indignation, they speak of themselves as in the presence of
   God: thus they rebuked the hardness and torpidity of men. So now does
   Jeremiah speak, Woe to me for my bruising! He did not grieve on his own
   account; but, as I have said, he represents the grief which the whole
   people ought to have felt, which yet they did not feel at all. As then
   they were so stupid, and proudly derided God and his threatenings, the
   Prophet shews to them, as it were in a mirror, what grievous and bitter
   lamentation awaited them.

   We must then bear in mind that the Prophet speaks not here according to
   the feeling which the people had, for they were so stupified that they
   felt nothing; but that he speaks of what they ought to have felt, as
   though he had said, -- "Were there in them a particle of wisdom, they
   would all most surely bewail their approaching calamity, before God
   begins to make his judgment to fall on their heads; but no one is
   moved: I shall therefore weep alone, but it is on your account." There
   is yet no doubt but he intended to try in every way whether God's
   threatenings would penetrate into their hearts.

   He says that his smiting was full of pain; and then adds, And I said,
   Surely it is my stroke, and I will bear it. As I have already said, he
   does not relate what the Jews said or thought, but what would have been
   the case with them had they the smallest portion of wisdom. Some
   connect this with the following verse, as though the Prophet had said
   that he thought himself able to bear his grief, but was deceived, as he
   was at length constrained to succumb. But this is an incorrect view,
   and the passage runs better otherwise. The Prophet here reminds his own
   people with what feeling they ought to have regarded the fact, that God
   was angry with them; for he no doubt indirectly condemns their
   sottishness, because God's hand was put forth to chastise them, and yet
   they disregarded the hand of him who smote them. He then relates what
   they ought to have thought and felt, when God shewed tokens of his
   wrath, -- that they ought to have acknowledged that it was their own
   stroke, and that it was therefore to be borne: for it is the best
   preparation for repentance when the sinner acknowledges that he is
   justly smitten, and when he willingly receives the yoke. When,
   therefore, any one proceeds thus far, his conversion is half effected.

   The Prophet then teaches us here that the only remedy which remained
   for the Jews was to be fully convinced that they deserved the
   punishment which they endured, and then patiently to submit to God's
   judgment, according to what a dutiful son does who suffers himself to
   be chastised when he offends. The word is used in another sense in
   Psalm 77:10,

   "To die is my lot."

   The Prophet has chly, cheli, here; but there it is chlvty cheluti. That
   passage is indeed variously explained; but it seenis to be an
   expression of despair, when it is said, "To die is my lot;" that is, it
   is all over with me. But the Prophet here shews that it was the
   beginning of repentance, when the Jews confessed that they deserved
   their stroke; for no doubt there is here a comparison made between sin
   and its punishment, as though the Prophet had said, "We have thus
   deserved, and God allots to us the reward due to our sins." It is one
   thing, -- to give glory to God, by confessing that he inflicts due
   punishment; but it is not sufficient unless patience be added, -- I
   will bear it; that is, I will submit to God. For there are many who,
   when convinced of their sins, do yet complain against their judge, and
   also raise a clamor. Hence the Prophet joins together these two things,
   -- the confession of sin and patience; so that they who experience the
   severity of God quietly submit to him as long as He exercises towards
   them the office of a judge. [18] He afterwards adds --
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   [18] Our translation, as to this verse, is nearly the Syriac. The
   Septuagint and Arabic have wandered much from the original; and so have
   the Vulgate and the Targum in some degree. The most literal is the
   version of Calvin. The terms here used, bruising, smiting, are commonly
   employed to designate great trouble and affliction, or distress; and
   this distress he describes in the verse that follows; and in the
   twenty-first verse the cause of it is set forth. And the distress
   corresponds with what he says in the eighteenth verse, where he says
   that the inhabitants would be driven from the land into fortresses, so
   that he would have none to set up his tent. All these verses seem
   connected. The literal rendering of this verse is as follows, -- 19.
   Woe is to me, because of my bruising, (distress;) Grievous is my
   stroke; I have said, -- Surely, this is grief! but I must bear it. Then
   he proceeds to state his distress: he had none even to assist him to
   pitch his tent, the people having all been driven to fortified cities.
   -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:20

   20. My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children
   are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth
   my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

   20. Tabernaculum meum vastatum est (vel, dirutum) et omnes funes mei
   rupti sunt; filii mei egressi sunt a me (particula ny tantundem valet
   ac mmny,) et nulli sunt (hoc est, nulli restant amplius:) nemo qui
   extendat amplius tabernaculum meum, et erigat (vel, disponat) cortinas
   meas.


   This metaphor may have been taken from shepherds, and it seems suitable
   here; yet the prophets often compare the Church to a tent. Though
   indeed it is said elsewhere that the Church is built on the holy
   mountains, (Psalm 87:1) and great firmness is ascribed to it, yet, as
   to its external condition, it may justly be said to be like a tent, for
   there is no fixed residence for God's children on earth, for they are
   often constrained to ehange their place; and hence Paul speaks of the
   faithful as unsettled. (1 Corinthians 4:11.) But as, in the next verse,
   mention is made of shepherds, the Prophet seems here to refer to the
   tents of shepherds. Though indeed he takes hereafter the similitude
   more generally, or in a wider sense, yet there is no reason why he
   should not allude to the shepherds of whom he afterwards speaks, and
   yet retain the metaphor which so often occurs in all the prophets.

   He then says that his tent was pulled down, and that all his cords were
   broken Some take the tent for the city of Jerusalem, but this is a
   strained view, and unsuitable. We have already said that the Prophet
   speaks here in the name of the whole people; and it is the same as
   though he compared the people to a man dwelling with his family in a
   tent. He adds, My children are gone forth from me The people then
   complain that they were deprived of all their children; nor was this
   all, but they were scattered here and there, which was worse than if
   they had been taken away by death. He afterwards says, And there is no
   one to extend my tent, and to set up my curtains Jeremiah shews that
   the people would be so bereaved as to have none to bring them any
   assistance, though in much want of it.

   No one then thought that such a thing would take place, and Jeremiah
   was held in contempt, and some raged against him, and yet He shewed
   what would be. And that what he said might be more forcible, and
   produce a stronger effect, he speaks in their name, like a poet in a
   play, who describes a miser, and mentions things suitable to his
   character, making use of such words and actions, so that he cannot but
   see, as it were in a mirror, his own disposition and conduct. So also
   the Prophet does here; for when He saw that the stupid people could not
   be moved by the simple truth, he told them what they all ought to have
   felt in their liearts, and to have testified by their mouths, -- that
   they were solitary, deserted by all who belonged to them, and that
   there was no one to bring them any help. [19] But he pursues, as we
   have said, the same metaphor. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [19] I should render the verse as follows -- My tent, it is laid waste,
   And all my curtains, they are broken; My sons, they have left me, and
   there are none of them; No one extends any more my tent, and sets up my
   curtains. When the noun precedes its verb in Hebrew, I consider that it
   ought commonly to be rendered as above. "There are none of them," that
   is, with me; not that they "were not," that is, that they were dead. --
   Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:21

   21. For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD:
   therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be
   scattered.

   21. Quia infatuati sunt pastores, et Jehovam non inquisierunt;
   propterea non egerunt prospere (alii, non intellexerunt,) et omnis
   pascua eorum (hoc est, quicquid in pascuis eorum erat) fuit destructum.


   In the first place, he assigns a cause for the dreadful devastation of
   which he had spoken, and that was, because the shepherds were without
   thought and understanding. He still, as we see, goes on with his
   metaphor. Some confine this to the kings of Israel; but I do not agree
   with them: for I include under the name shepherds, the priests and the
   prophets as wen as the king and his counsellors. But Jeremiah did not
   mean to exempt the people from fault, when He, in an especial manner,
   accused the shepherds; but he only mentioned the origin and the primary
   cause of evils, -- that the kings, the prophets, and the priests were
   blind, and thus destroyed the flock of God. We have observed elsewhere
   the same mode of speaking; and yet the prophets did not intend to
   extenuate the vices of the people, nor to absolve the lower orders. But
   as it mostly happens that the lower ranks, and those in humble
   stations, rely much on the chief men who occupy places of authority, it
   was necessary that the prophets should notice this evil: and we also
   know how nmch pride and arrogance there is in kings and priests, and in
   all those who elljoy any honor or dignity; for they think themselves
   exempt from the restraint of laws, and will not be reproved, as though
   they were sacred persons. It was, therefore, for this reason, that the
   Prophet reproved such with so much vehemence and severity. Hence, he
   says, The shepherds are infatuated

   The people, indeed, at that time repudiated the prophets, as the case
   is now under the Papacy. For even when the truth of God is dearly and
   perspicuously set forth, there are many who set up this shield, -- that
   they believe their bishops, prelates, and kings, and others of a
   similar kind. When, therefore, Jeremiah saw that the pure truth of God
   was subverted by vain splendor, he found it necessary to expose the
   disguise, and, so to speak, to pull off the mask. It was, then, for
   this reason, that he said that the shepherds were infatuated. If the
   prophets were under this necessity, what ought to be done by us at this
   day, when we see that all those who unblushingly boast that they are
   the representatives of the Church are sheer impostors, and draw
   miserable souls into destruction? What else, I pray, ought to be done
   by us, but what we learn was done by the prophets? And how foolishly
   and childishly do the Papal bishops prattle, when they would have
   themselves exempted from all reproofs, because power and government is
   in their own hands! For they cannot surely assume to themselves more
   than what belonged formerly to the Levitical priests; for God had
   chosen them, and all the priests under the law might have justly
   boasted that they were appointed by divine authority: yet we see that
   they were reproved, and were said to be infatuated. The Pope and his
   bishops have not been appointed by God, nor have they any evidence of
   their calling. Though, then, they arrogate all things to themselves,
   and seem to do so by divine right, yet they cannot be deemed superior
   to the ancient priests: they must, therefore, become subject to the
   judgment which God denounces here by the mouth of his Prophet.

   He gives a reason why they were infatuated, because they sought not
   Jehovah We hence see, on the other hand, that true wisdom is to seek
   God. When, therefore, there is no care taken to seek God, however acute
   men may be, they must necessarily be altogether infatuated: and it was
   for this reason that Jeremiah called them who had not sought God
   foolish or fatuitous. This passage teaches us, that the only way of
   governing rightly is, when they who rule strive to give glory to God,
   and regard him in all their thoughts and actions: but when they act
   otherwise, they must necessarily play the feel and become infatuated,
   however wise they may appear to be.

   Hence he says, they have not prospered The verb skl, shical, means to
   understand, and also to prosper. I see no reason for rendering it here,
   "they have not understood" or acted wisely; for it seems frigid, nor do
   I see what sense can be elicited. But the Prophet may be considered to
   have justly said, that neither the kings and their counsellors, nor the
   priests and the prophets ruled with any success, because they sought
   not God; and that as they had no care for true religion, they were
   become infatuated. [20] And what follows confirms this view, And all
   that was in their pastures, etc.; for the Prophet seems here to add to
   his general statement a particular thing, and thus to prove that the
   government was unhappily conducted, being under the curse of God,
   because true religion had been neglected. He then adds this special
   thing, -- that the pastures had been deserted, that is, that the flock
   in the pastures had been wholly scattered. It follows --
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   [20] The meaning of the verb skl here is determined by the verb vr at
   the beginning of the verse: it is what is the reverse of that. Now vr
   is a verb derived from the name, which means a beast. To be like the
   beast is to be ignorant, stupid, void of reason and understanding: then
   skl means here to act with knowledge, like one who possesses mind and
   reason. But then the shepherds did not act but like beasts who have no
   understanding. Then the verse may be thus rendered, -- 20. For
   stupidly-ignorant have become the shepherds, And Jehovah they have not
   sought; Therefore wisely have they not acted, And every one from their
   pastures is scattered. The "scattering" was from the land or country to
   the fortified towns, referred to in Jeremiah 10:18. They left the
   country, like sheep quitting their shepherds' pastures, and visited
   towns. Then, in the next verse, the Prophet says, that even the towns
   also would be destroyed. In the first instance God would terrify them,
   and fling them, as it were, from the land, so that they would take
   shelter in fortresses: this would be owing to the foolish conduct or
   their shepherds. They would be driven, then, that their enemies might
   more easily find or take them: and in the following verse he announces
   the approach of their enemies who were coming to lay waste their towns.
   All the versions give the idea of knowledge or wisdom to skl here; but
   the Targum, that of prosperity. To act foolishly is what they all
   render the verb vr -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 10:22

   22. Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out
   of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den
   of dragons.

   22. Vox rumoris, ecce venit, et strepitus (vel, tumultus) magnus
   (commotio, alii vertunt) e terra Aquilonis, ad ponendas urbes Jehudah
   in vastationem, domicilium draconum.


   Jeremiah shews in this verse that prophetic doctrine was useless to an
   obstinate people; for there is a contrast, no doubt, to be understood
   betweenthe voice of God, which had constantly resounded in Judea, and
   the tumultuous clamours of enemies; for the prophets, one after
   another, had reproved the people, but without effect. Now, then, as
   they were deaf to God's voice, the Prophet declares that new teachers
   were now come who would address them in another way, and in an unusual
   manner. The voice then of rumor is heard; "ye would not hear me and
   other servants of God; but a voice of rumor comes from the north: the
   Chaldeans shall be your teachers; I send you to their school, since I
   have spent my labor for many years in vain, as all those have done who
   before me diligently sought to lead you to the right way, whom God
   employed, and who faithfully endeavored to secure your safety; but they
   were no more attended to than I am, and therefore they ceased to teach
   you. I now turn you over to the Chaldeans; they shall teach you." This
   is the simple meaning.

   The voice of rumor, he says, or literally, of hearing, smvh, shimuoe,
   comes; that is, the voice which shall be heard, for they had closed
   their ears to the prophetic warnings; and a great tumult or commotion
   from the land of the north We now then see that the Chaldeans are set
   in opposition to the prophets, who had labored in vain among the Jews;
   as though Jeremiah had said that the Jews would, willing or unwilling,
   be made to attend to this tumultuous noise; and he says that it would
   be for the purpose of turning the cities of Judah to desolation and an
   habitation of dragons [21] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [21] The verse may be thus rendered, -- A sound is heard! -- behold it
   comes, Even a great commotion, from the land of the North, To make the
   cities of Judah a desolation, The habitation of dragons. Blayney is
   right in taking the first words by themselves, but, "Hark, a voice!" is
   not a true version, smvh is here a passive participle. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:23

   23. O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in
   man that walketh to direct his steps.

   23. Novi, Jehova, quod non sit penes hominem via ejus, non sit penes
   virum ambulantem, ut dirigat grassum suum.


   The Jews confine this to Sennacherib, who had, according to his own
   will, at one time resolved to attack the Ammonites, at another the
   Moabites, and to reduce them under his own power; but had been induced
   by a sudden impulse to go to Judea. But this is frivolous. The Prophet,
   I doubt not, referred to the Jews, who had for a long time been
   accustomed to dismiss every fear, as though they were able by their own
   counsels to consult in the best way for the public good: for we know,
   that whenever any danger was apprehended from the Assyrians, they
   usually fled for aid to Egypt or to Chaldea. Thus, then, they provided
   for themselves, so tlmt they thought that they took good care of their
   affairs, while they had recourse to this or that expedient; and then,
   when the prophets denounced on them the vengeance of God, they usually
   regarded only their then present state, as though God could not; in one
   instant vibrate his lightnings from the rising to the setting sun.

   Since then this security produced torpor and obstinacy, the Prophet in
   this passage justly exclaims, I know, Jehovah, that his way is not in
   man's power; nor is it in the power of a person walking to direct his
   steps [22]

   We now perceive what the Prophet had in view; and this is ever to be
   remembered -- that if we desire to read what has been written with
   profit, we must consider the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit, and
   then the purpose for which he has spoken. When we understand these
   things, then it is easy to make the application to other things: but he
   who does not weigh the end in view, ever wanders here and there, and
   though he may say many things, he yet does not reach the chief point.
   [23] But we must observe that the Prophet, as he had done before, spoke
   as though he had God alone as his witness, for he saw that his own
   people were so hardened, that he addressed his words to them in vain:
   he therefore turned to God, which was a proof that he despaired as to
   the disposition of the people, as though he had said, "I shall have
   nothing to do with this perverse people any more; for I have already
   found out by my experience that their perverseness is untameable. I am
   now therefore constrained, O Lord, to address thee as though I were
   alone in the world." This is the reason why he spoke to God himself. We
   shall defer the rest fill to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [22] Literally rendered the verse is as follows: -- I know, Jehovah,
   That not to a mortal is his way;
   Nor is it for man to walk And to stablish his steps. Such substantially
   is the meaning of the Targum, and of all the versions, except the
   Syriac, which Blayney has followed thus: I know Jehovah, that his way
   is not like that of men,
   Nor like a human being doth he proceed and order his going. This
   construction is wholly inadmissible. Had Jehovah been in the objective
   case, it would have 't before it. See 1 Samuel 3:7. Then the rest of
   the verse is a paraphrase and not a version; and such a paraphrase as
   the original will not bear. To "walk" and to "stablish" are in the same
   predicament, both infinitives; and so they are rendered in all the
   versions and the Targum. The design of the passage seems to be more
   correctly intimated by Gataker than by Calvin: -- "Lord, we know well,
   that this army cannot come in but by thy permission; but since thou art
   resolved to chastise us, we beseech thee, in wrath remember mercy." So
   in the next verse the Prophet says, "O Lord, correct me, but with
   judgment." -- Ed.

   [23] Or, as the French version has it, "does not reach the burden and
   knot of the subject."
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we are in like manner at this day so
   torpid, that we are not moved by thy threatenings, nor do the kind and
   friendly warnings, by which thou invitest us to thyself, prevail with
   us, -- O grant that we may at length learn to attend to the truth, in
   whatever form thou settest it before us, and that we may be teachable
   and obedient, when thou only invitest us, and that if we become
   hardened, we may be also touched by thy threatenings, and not tempt thy
   patience, but suffer ourselves to be brought under thy yoke, and so
   submit to thee, that thou mayest through our whole life rule over us,
   and shew to us thy paternal love, so that, after having faithfully
   served thee in this world, we may come at length into that blessed rest
   which is prepared for us in heaven by Christ our Lord. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Third

   We stated yesterday why the Prophet exclaimed, that man's way is not in
   his own power: for as the sentence is brought in abruptly, it is made
   to signify different things. But I have briefly shewed that the Prophet
   condemns the security of his own people, because they thought that they
   were beyond the reach of danger, as they hoped for aid from neighboring
   nations in league with them, or because they supposed that they had
   sufficient help and protection in their own resources. Hence the
   Prophet derides this foolish confidence, and says, that his way is not
   in the power of man, and that it is not in the power of man while
   walking to direct his steps

   It must be farther noticed, that he treats not here of counsels, but
   that though men wisely guided their affairs, the Prophet denies that
   the issue is in their own hands or at their own will: and hence he
   expressly speaks of a man walking He concedes that men walk, but yet he
   intimates that they cannot move a foot, except they receive strength
   from God. We now then perceive what the Prophet had in view.

   We may hence gather a general truth -- that men greatly deceive
   themselves, when they think that fortune or the issue of events is in
   their own hands: for though they may consult most wisely, yet things
   will turn out unsuccessfully, unless God blesses their counsels. And
   this is what we ought carefully to notice, because we see how
   presumptuously men promise themselves this and that; and this
   presumption can hardly be arrested while men arrogate to themselves
   what belongs peculiarly to God alone. There are many warnings given in
   Scripture in order to check this rashness; but almost all proceed in
   their own course, and cannot, be induced to allow themselves to be
   ruled by God. James condemns this madness [24] when he says, that men
   resolve what they would for a long time do: the merchant determines on
   a long voyage, not only for three or four months, but for many years;
   another undertakes war; another ventures to take this or that business
   in hand; in short, there is no end to such instances. The Holy Spirit
   has by this one passage checked the boldness of those who claim for
   themselves more than they ought: but the greater part, as I have
   already said, think that the event is in their own power. On this
   account Solomon says, [25] that man deliberates, but that it is God who
   governs the tongue. He had said in the former clause, that it is man
   who sets in order his ways; but he said this ironically, as it is what
   most believe; fortwhen they undertake anything, they are not so
   solicitous about the event, but they always promise to themselves more
   than what they have a right to do. Men, he says, set in order or
   arrange their ways, but God governs the tongue; that is, they cannot
   speak a word unless the Lord lets loose the bridle of their tongues;
   and yet we know that many things are vainly said by men, for they are
   never accomplished. Since then the voice itself is not in the power of
   man, but depends on the will of God, what ought we to think of the
   issue?

   We now then see the truth which may be learnt from this passage, --
   that men deceive themselves when they dare to undertake this or that
   business, and promise themselves a happy issue. But we must farther
   observe, that not only events are at the disposal of God, but counsels
   also; for God directs the hearts and minds of men as it seemeth him
   good. But all things are not said in every passage. The Prophet does
   not here avowedly speak of what men can do, but grants this to them --
   that they consult, that they decide; yet he teaches us that the
   execution is not in their own power.

   Some foolishly elicit from this passage, that something belongs to man,
   that he possesses some power of free-will. There seems indeed to be
   here something plausible at the first view. Jeremiah says, that his way
   is not in man's power, and that it is not in the power of him who walks
   to direct his steps; he then, it is said, has left something to manm he
   walks; it hence follows that free -- will is not reduced to nothing,
   but that a defect is proved, for man of himself has no sufficient power
   unless he is helped from above. These are only puerile trifles; for, as
   we have said, the Prophet does not shew here what are the powers of
   free-will, and what power man has to deliberate, but he takes this as
   granted; yet the children of this world, though they seem to themselves
   to be very acute in all things, and take their own counsels, and rely
   on their own resources, are yet deceived, because God can in one moment
   dissipate all their hopes, as the events of things are wholly in his
   power. It is therefore by way of concession that he says that man
   walks, according to what Paul says in Romans 9:16, though in that
   passage he ascends higher; yet in saying, that it is not of him who
   wills nor of him who runs, he seems to concede to men the power of
   willing and running. But there is to be understood here a species of
   irony; for we know that men can never be stripped of that vain and
   deceptive conceit which fills them, while they think that they can
   obtain righteousness by their own strength. They dare not, indeed,
   actually to boast that they are the authors of their own salvation, and
   that righteousness is within their own power, but they wish to be
   associates with God. Though they admit him as a partner, they yet wish
   to divide with him. This is the folly which Paul ridicules; and he
   says, that it is not of him who wills, or of him who runs, but of God
   only who shews mercy; that is, that man's salvation is alone from the
   mercy of God, and that it is not from the toil and running of man.

   When the Pelagians sought by this cavil to evade the sentence of Paul,
   "It is not of him who wills and runs," deducing hence, that man has
   some liberty to will and to run, Augustine said wisely, "If it be so,
   then, on the other hand, we may infer, that it is not of God who shews
   mercy, but of him who wills and runs." [26] How so? If men co-operate
   in half with God, and if there is a concurrence of human power with the
   grace and aid of the Holy Spirit, and if this sentence, "It is not of
   him who wills, or of him who runs," is true according to the sense
   given to it, so we may also say, that it is not only of God who shews
   mercy, but also of him who wills and runs. Why? Because the mercy of
   God is not sufficient if it is to be aided by man's power. But this is
   extremely absurd, and there is no one who does not abhor the thought,
   that man's salvation is not from God's mercy, but from their willing
   and running. It then follows, that all human power, and all lab ours,
   are wholly excluded by these words of Paul.

   Now, the Prophet does not speak of eternal salvation, but only of the
   actions of the present life. As then the Israelites thought that they
   had sufficient protection in their own wisdom, in their own power, in
   their own nmnbers, and also in their confederacies with other nations,
   the Prophet says, that they were deceived, for they arrogated to
   themselves the ruling power, which belongs to God alone; for what men
   commonly call fortune is nothing else but God's providence. Since then
   God by his hidden counsel governs the affairs of men, it follows that
   all events, prosperous or adverse, are at his will. Whatever, then, men
   may consult, determine, and attempt, they yet can execute nothing, for
   God gives such an issue as he pleases.

   We now see what the Prophet speaks of, and also see that he touches not
   on the powers of free-will; for he does not refer here to man's will,
   but only shews that after men have arranged their affairs in the best
   manner, all their counsels, strivings, and toils come to nothing, and
   that God disappoints their confidence, because they dare rashly to
   promise to themselves more than what is right. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [24] James 4:13.

   [25] Proverbs 16:1.

   [26] Epist. 107, ad Vitalem.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:24

   24. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest
   thou bring me to nothing.

   24. Castiga me, Jehova, tantummodo in judicio, non in ira tua, ne
   imminuas me.


   The Prophet again indirectly reproves and condemns the stupor of the
   people, because he saw that all his threatenings were despised. They
   had indeed been often punished, and they thought that they had escaped;
   and though an extreme calamity was approaching, they yet supposed that
   God was far from them; and thus they cherished their own delusions.
   Hence the Prophet alone personates the whole people, and undertakes a
   common and public lamentation. Chastise me, Jehovah, he says, but in
   judgment The Prophet doubtless is not here solicitous about his own
   safety only, nor does he plead his own private cause, but he
   supplicates for the whole people.

   But why does he speak of himself alone? Because he personated, as I
   have already said, the whole community, and thus reproved them for
   their insensibility, because they were not more attentive to the
   approaching judgment of God. In short, the Prophet here teaches them
   how they must all have felt, were they not wholly blinded and, as it
   were, given up to a reprobate mind;. and thus he shews, that the only
   thing that remained for them was suppliantly to ask pardon from God,
   and that they were not wholly to refuse all chastisement, but to
   supplicate forgiveness only in part, even that God would not exercise
   such severity as altogether to consume them. In this way he shews how
   atrocious were the sins of the people; for they were not simply and
   unreservedly to ask God to pardon them, but only to moderate his
   vengeance. When any one sins lightly, he may flee to God's mercy, and
   say, "Lord, forgive me!" but they who have accumulated evils on evils,
   and after having been often warned have not repented, as though they
   purposely sought to arm God against themselves and to their own ruin,
   -- can such seek entire exemption from all punishment? This would not
   be meet nor reasonable.

   The Prophet then shews here briefly, that the Jews had so far advanced
   in wickedness that God would not wholly forgive them, and that they
   were not to seek pardon without any chastisement, but only to ask of
   God, as I have said, to moderate his severity. David did the same
   thing, though he pleaded his own cause only, and not that of the
   people. He deprecated God's wrath and indignation; he sought not to be
   so forgiven as to feel no chastisement; but as he dreaded God's wrath
   he wished it to be in a measure averted. And hence, in another place,
   he thanks God that he had been lightly smitten by his hand,

   "Chastising, the Lord has chastised me,
   but doomed me not to death." (Psalm 118:18)

   But this ought to be especially observed as to the words of Jeremiah,
   -- that the people ought not to have asked pardon unless they submitted
   to God's chastisement, for they had most grievously and perversely
   sinned.

   We may hence also gather a general truth: the real character and nature
   of repentance is, to submit to God's judgment and to suffer with a
   resigned mind his chastisement, provided it be paternal. For when God
   deals with us according to strict justice, all hope of salvation is
   extinguished, so that it cannot be that we shall from the heart repent.
   Let us then know that this is necessary in repentance -- that he who
   has offended God should present himself willingly, and of his own
   accord, before his tribunal and bear his chastisement. For they who are
   so delicate and tender, that they cannot endure any of his scourges,
   seem to be still refractory and rebellious. Wherever, then, there is
   the true feeling of penitence, there is this submission connected with
   it, -- that God should chastise him who has offended. But a moderation
   is needed, according to the promise,

   "I will chastise them, but with the hand of man; for my mercy will I
   not take away from them." (2 Samuel 7:14;
   Psalm 89:33, 35)

   This was God's promise to Solomon; but we know that it belongs to all
   the members of Christ. Though then God indiscriminately punishes the
   sins of the whole world, there is yet a great difference between the
   elect and the reprobate, for God grants this privilege to his elect, --
   that he chastises them paternally as his children, while he deals with
   the reprobate as a severe judge, so that all the punishments which they
   endure are fatal, as they cannot see anything but God's wrath in their
   judgments. The elect also have ever a reason for consolation, for they
   know God to be their Father; and though they may at first shun his
   wrath, and being smitten with terror, seek some hiding places, yet
   having afterwards a taste of his kindness and mercy they take courage;
   and thus their punishments, though much more grievous than those
   endured by the reprobate, are yet not fatal to them, for God turns them
   to remedies. We now then see what is the use and benefit of what the
   Prophet teaches, when he says, Chastise me, Jehovah, but only in
   judgment

   Judgment is to be taken here for moderation. The word mspht meshepheth,
   has indeed various meanings: but it is to be regarded here as
   signifying a measured portion; not that God ever exceeds due limits in
   inflicting punishment, but because men faint when he exercises rigor,
   as then there appears to them no hope of pardon. When God therefore
   executes only the office of a Judge, men must necessarily faint
   altogether: so Jeremiah means, that there would be no measured dealing,
   that is, that God's judgment would not be endurable, except he dealt
   mercifully with him. [27] There is also set in opposition to this
   another clause, not in fury, or, not in wrath. Here then the want of
   moderation or excess is not opposed to a measured proportion, but the
   wrath of God. We also know that no passions belong to God; but, when
   God's wrath or rigour appears, men must necessarily not only be
   terrified, but be also reduced to nothing: and yet in many places we
   read that` God is angry with his elect and the whole Church: but, this
   is to be referred to the outward appearance; for it is certain that the
   punishments with which God visits his own children are evidences of his
   paternal love, as in this way he promotes their salvation. Hence the
   Apostle says, that they are bastards whom God does not favor with any
   correction. (Hebrews 12:8.) But yet as to the outward appearance, the
   punishments which God inflicts on his elect differ nothing from those
   by which he manifests his wrath, and which he executes on the
   reprobate. Therefore it is by a sort of impropriety in language that
   punishments are always said to be evidences and signs of God's wrath,
   and that God is said to be angry with his Church. But the Prophet
   speaks here strictly correct when he sets God's wrath in opposition to
   his judgment, that. is, to that moderation which he exercises towards
   his elect, when he withholds his hand, which would otherwise overwhelm
   them in an instant.

   Hence he subjoins, Lest thou shouldest diminish them By diminishing he
   means destruction: as in many other places. It could not be otherwise
   but that God should diminish us, were he only to touch us with the end
   of his finger, as we know how dreadful is his power: nor is there any
   need for him to thunder from heaven, but were he only to shew an angry
   countenance, it would be all over with us. But the Prophet takes
   diminution here for demolition. We hence see that he so subjects
   himself and the whole people to God's chastisement as yet to seek some
   moderation; for otherwise God's rigor would have consumed them all,
   from the least to the greatest, according to what is also said by
   Isaiah,

   "I have tried thee, but not as gold and silver, for thou wouldest have
   been consumed." (Isaiah 48:10)

   God then so deals with miserable sinners, that he regards what they can
   bear, and not what they deserve. This is simply what the Prophet means.
   [28]

   But we may hence learn, that there is no one who can bear the strict
   rigour of God; and that therefore our only asylum is his mercy; not
   that he may pardon us altogether: for it is good for us to be chastised
   by his hand; but that he may chastise us only according to his paternal
   kindness. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [27] The word judgment, though usually given as the version of the
   original word, does not convey its meaning here. Of the twelve senses
   mentioned by Johnson as belonging to the word judgment, not one of them
   is applicable to this place. There is perhaps not a word in any
   language which includes all the ideas conveyed by a word of a similar
   general import in another. The word mspht is rendered in our version,
   "judgment," Exodus 23:6, -- "manner," 1 Samuel 27:11, -- "custom," 1
   Samuel 2:13, -- "ordinance," Isaiah 58:2, -- "due," Deuteronomy 18:3,
   -- "right," Deuteronomy 21:17, -- "measure," Jeremiah 30:11; the last
   is in the sense of moderation; and this is its meaning here; or, it may
   be rendered, "due measure." Chastise me, Jehovah, but yet in
   moderation; Not in thy wrath, lest thou diminish me, or, render me
   small. -- Ed.

   [28] The Septuagint and Arabic render this verse as though spoken by
   the people, "chastise us," etc., and the last clause, "lest thou make
   us few." The Targum has, "chastise them," and, "lest they be
   diminished." These are interpretations and not versions. The Vulgate
   and the Syriac render the Hebrew literally, "chastise me," and the last
   clause, "lest thou reduce me to nothing," or, according to the Syriac,
   "to a small number," which is literally the original; and this verb
   clearly shews that this verse was spoken, as Calvin observes, in the
   name of the people: but diminution, and not destruction, is meant, as
   the verb has never the latter meaning. Hence our version is wrong, and
   also Blayney's, "lest thou crush me to atoms." Diminution, and not
   annihilation, is what the word means; and this diminution was one of
   the judgments that would come upon them in case of disobedience, as
   mentioned by Moses, Leviticus 26:22. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 10:25

   25. Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the
   families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and
   devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

   25. Effunde iram tuam super gentes, quae te non noverunt, et super
   cognationes (vel, familias) quae nomen tuum non invocaverunt; quia
   comederunt Jacob, comederunt inquam ipsum, et consumpserunt eum, et
   tabernacula ejus vastarunt.


   The Prophet confirms his prayer by this reason -- that God had
   sufficient ground for executing his vengeance on the wicked and ungodly
   heathens who were alienated from him; and there is no doubt but that he
   had respect to the promise to which we have referred; for the Prophet
   knew that what had been said once to David was promised to the whole
   Church throughout all ages. Hence He reminds God, as it were, of the
   difference which he had made between domestics and foreigners; as
   though he had said, "O Lord, though it is right and also useful for our
   salvation to be chastised by thy hand, yet thou dost not
   indiscriminately visit with vengeance the sins of men; for thou hast
   promised paternally to chastise thy children: but as to aliens, thou
   art their judge, so that they may be wholly destroyed. Now then, O
   Lord, shew that this has not been said in vain; and as thou hast been
   pleased to adopt us as thy peculiar people, forgive us according to thy
   paternal kindness." Hence we see that the Prophet did not
   inconsiderately pour forth his prayer into the air, but had a regard to
   God's promise, and referred to that difference which God himself was
   pleased to make between his Church and unbelievers.

   He then says, Pour forth thy wrath on the nations who know not thee:
   and he exaggerates what he says by adding, that Jacob had been devoured
   by these heathen nations as by wild beasts; as though he had said, "We
   have indeed sinned, O Lord; but (lost thou shew thyself to be the Judge
   of the world for our destruction, and yet sparest the Egyptians, the
   Assyrians, and the Chaldeans, who have so cruelly distressed us, yea,
   who have not only torn us, but have also wholly devoured us? (For he
   uses the word devour twice; and then he adds, They have consumed him;
   and lastly, His tents have they laid waste ) Since then they have so
   atrociously raged against thy people, are they to go unpunished, when
   thou castest us down, who are thine? Even had we given thee ever so
   great a cause for punishing us, still thine adoption should avail us;
   and thou mightest in the meantime execute thy judgment on the heathen
   nations."

   There is no doubt but that the Prophet, or whoever he was who composed
   the seventy-ninth Psalm, borrowed the words used here, for it is there
   said,

   "Pour forth thy wrath on the nations who know not thee, and on the
   kingdoms which have not called on thy name; for they have consumed
   Jacob and his inheritance." (Psalm 79:6, 7)

   It may be that Jeremiah himself wrote that Psalm, after having been
   driven into Egypt, when that city had been destroyed. It was, however,
   suitable to the time when dreadful scattering had happened; for the
   Psalm seems to have been composed for the benefit of the miserable, and
   as it were of the lost Church. It is yet more probable that it was
   written under the tyranny of Antiochus, or at the time when the cruelty
   of God's enemies raged against his people. However this may be, the
   author of that Psalm wished to repeat what is contained here.

   It may now be asked, Whether it is right to pray for evils on the
   ungodly and wicked, while we are doubtful and uncertain as to their
   final doom. For as God has not made it known how he purposes to deal at
   last with them, the rule of charity ought on the contrary to turn us
   another way, -- that we are to hope for their salvation and to pray God
   to forgive them: but the Prophet; consigns them only to destruction;
   and he speaks not according to his own private feeling, but dictates a
   prayer which all the faithful were to use. To this I answer, -- that we
   are not to denounce a sentence on this or that man individually, and
   that our prejudging would be presumptuous, were we to consign
   individuals to eternal death and to pray for evil on them: but we may
   use this form of prayer generally with regard to the obstinate enemies
   of God, so as still to refer to him the certainty of the issue; and yet
   we are not to mix in one mass all those whom we know to be now ungodly,
   for this, as I have said, would be presumptuous It would then be more
   becoming in us to pray for the good of all and to wish their salvation,
   and, as far as we can, to promote it. Yet when we thus entertain love
   towards every individual, we may still so pray in general, that God
   would lay prostrate, consume, scatter, and reduce to nothing his
   enemies. There is then no doubt but that the Prophet here turns his own
   thoughts to God's judgment, as though He had said, "Lord, it was thy
   work to make a distinction between domestics and aliens; it has pleased
   thee to adopt this people; what now remains, but that thou shouldest
   deal mercifully with them, inasmuch as thou sustainest towards them the
   character of a Father? As to the heathen nations, as they are aliens to
   thee and belong not to thy flock, destruction awaits them; let them
   therefore perish."

   Now the Prophet in thus speaking of heathen nations, does not
   anticipate God's judgment so as to restrain him from doing what he
   pleased: but he only mentions, as I have already said, what he derived
   from God's word, -- that some are elected, and that others are
   reprobates. He infers God's election from his vocation or his covenant;
   and, on the other hand, he regards all those reprobate on whom God has
   not been pleased to bestow the privilege of his paternal favor.

   The question then is now solved: and hence it appears how it is lawful
   for us to pray for the destruction of the reprobate, and of those who
   despise God, -- that our prayers ought not to anticipate God's
   judgment, -- and that we are not to determine as to individuals, but
   only remember this distinction -- that God acts as a Father towards his
   elect, and as a judge towards the reprobate.

   Pour forth then thy wrath: as he had subjected himself and the whole
   people to God's chastisements, so he says, Pour forth thy wrath; that
   is, deal with them with strict justice; but yet moderate thy wrath
   towards us, lest like the deluge it should swallow us up; for the word
   "pour forth" conveys this meaning. By saying, on the nations which know
   not thee, which have not called on thy name, he uses words which ought
   to be carefully noticed; for we are by them taught that the beginning
   of religion is the knowledge of God. He then mentions the fruit or the
   effect, which is invocation or prayer. These two things are connected
   together: but we must bear in mind the order also; for God cannot be
   invoked, except the knowledge of him previously shines on us. Indeed
   all everywhere call on God; even the unbelieving commonly cry on him
   when urged by danger; but they do not rightly address their prayers to
   him, nor offer them as legitimate sacrifices. How so? How can they call
   on him," says Paul, "in whom they have not believed?" Hence it is
   necessary, as I have said, that God himself should shew us the way
   before we can rightly pray: and therefore where there is no knowledge
   of God, there can be no way of praying to him. But when God has once
   given us light, then there is a way of access open to us. Invocation
   then is ever the fruit of faith, as it is an evidence of religion; for
   all who call not on God, and that seriously, prove that they have never
   known anything of religion. If then we desire to pray aright, we must
   first learn what is God's will towards us: we must also know that we
   then only advance as we ought in the attainment of salvation, when we
   flee to God and exercise ourselves in prayer.

   He lastly adds, For they have consumed Jacob, they have consumed him,
   they have consumed him, [29] and his tents have they laid waste. Two
   things are to be observed here: we see how sad and miserable was the
   state of the Church; for he says not that the Israelites had suffered
   many wrongs, or had been treated violently and reproachfully, but that
   they had been devoured by the nations, and he repeats this twice; and
   then he adds, that they had been consumed, and that their tents had
   been laid waste. Since then we see how cruelly afflicted were God's
   children formerly, let us not wonder if the Church at this day be
   exposed to the most grievous calamities, and let us not be frightened
   as though it was something new and unusual; but as the same thing
   happened formerly to our fathers, let us bear such trials with a
   submissive mind. The other thing to be observed is, -- that as the
   Prophet was not here led to pray by the impulse of his flesh, but by
   the guidance of the Spirit, we may hence with certainty conclude, that
   though the enemies of the Church triumph at this day, and think that
   they have everything in their own power, while they cruelly treat the
   innocent, they shall at length be punished; for the Spirit who guided
   the tongue of the Prophet intended this form of prayer to be unto us
   like a promise, so that we may feel assured that the more atrociously
   the ungodly rage against God's children, the heavier punishment is nigh
   them as the wages of their cruelty. They indeed devour, at this day,
   like wild beasts; but God will sooner or later put forth his hand, and
   shew how precious to him is the blood of his people.
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   [29] Blayney for no good reason has omitted the verb "consumed,"
   following the Septuagint and one MS. The Vulgate, the Syriac, and the
   Targum, retain the two verbs. So far is the last verb from being
   without meaning, as this author says, that it has an especial emphasis,
   it being stronger than the preceding verb, -- 24. Pour forth thine
   indignation on the nations, Who know not thee, and on the families, Who
   on thy name have not called; For they have devoured Jacob, Yea, they
   have devoured him and consumed him, And his habitation have they made
   desolate. -- Ed.
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   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that since we are so torpid in our sins, except
   thou rousest us, that we profit not by the severe warnings by which
   thou didst formerly stimulate thine ancient people, and since we have
   also been already warned by many signs of thy wrath to seek repentance
   with increasing assiduity, -- O grant that we may earnestly persevere
   in this course, and so submit to thee, that with patient and calm minds
   we may bear thy corrections: and may we in the meantime be fully
   assured that thou wilt ever be our Father, and never hesitate, even in
   death itself, to flee to thy mercy, until thou pourest forth thy wrath
   on the ungodly and the profane despisers of thy name, and shewest such
   compassion towards us, that we may know that thou hast not in vain
   promised that thy chastisements would ever be kind and paternal, in
   visiting the sins of those who hope in thee, through Christ our Lord.
   -- Amen.
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   Lecture Forty-Fourth

   CHAPTER 11
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   Jeremiah 11:1-5

   1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

   1. Sermo qui directus fuit ad Jeremiah a Jehova, dicendo,

   2. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah,
   and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

   2. Audite verba (sermones) foe-deris hujus, et dicite viro Jehudah
   (viris Jehudah, enallage est numeri) et habitatoribus Jerusalem;

   3. And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be
   the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

   3. Et dices ad cos, Sic dicit Jehova, Deus Israel, Maledictus vir qui
   non audierit verba foederis hujus;

   4. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth
   out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice,
   and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my
   people, and I will be your God:

   4. Quae (vel, quod foedus) mandavi patribus vestris die quo eduxi eos e
   terra Egypti, e fornace ferrea, dicendo, Audite vocem meam, et facite
   ea quae (hoc est, quaecunque) praecipio (relativum sine antecedente;
   seeundum omnia quae praecepi vobis) et eritis mihi in populum, et ego
   ero vobis in Deum; (cohoerent hoecomnia inter se, ideo non disjungo)

   5. That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to
   give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then
   answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

   5. Ut statuam (vel, stabiliam; alii vertunt, suscitem, sed improprie)
   jusjurandum quodjuravipatribus vestris ad dandum illis terrain
   afltuentem lacte et roelie, secundum diem hanc: et respondi et dixi,
   Amen, Jehova.


   Here the Prophet teaches us, that the Jews, though they continued to
   profess God's holy name, were yet wholly perfidious, and had departed
   altogether from the law. The import of this discourse is, that the Jews
   gloried in the name of God, and yet were violaters of his covenant, for
   they had broken their faith pledged to God, and wholly cast aside the
   doctrine of the law. The Jews, no doubt, were often greatly exasperated
   against Jeremiah, as though he was pleading his own cause: it was
   therefore necessary to set before them their departure from the law, so
   that they might feel assured that their contention was not with
   Jeremiah but with Moses, and with God himself, the author of the law.
   They were doubtless exasperated with his doctrine; but Jeremiah could
   not spare them when he saw that they were so perverse.

   We may understand this better by an example: Though the Papists at this
   day openly repudiate everything adduced from the law, and the prophets,
   and the gospel, yet they dissemble on this point, and even affirm that
   they receive whatever proceeds from God. As they then shuffle and do so
   shamelessly, he who seeks to restore the pure worship of God and true
   religion, may deal with them in the same manner. As for instance, when
   any one of God's servants meets the Papists, he may thus address them:
   -- "Let not the dispute be now between us individually, but hear what
   God commanded formerly by Moses, and what he has more fully confirmed
   by his prophets, and at last by his only -- begotten Son and his
   apostles; so that it is not right to do anything any longer against his
   word: now then attend to the law and the prophets."

   We now understand what was God's design in bidding his servant Jeremiah
   to speak these words. For, except we duly consider the unfaithfulness
   of that people, we shall feel surprised that the word covenant is so
   often mentioned, and it will appear unmeaning to us. But the Prophet,
   as I have said, when he saw that the Jews by their cavils made
   evasions, could not deal with them in any other way than by shewing
   that, they had violated God's covenant and had thus become apostates,
   having wholly departed from the law. And he says that this was
   commanded them by God: nor is there doubt but that God not only
   suggested this to his servant, but dictated also to him the way and
   manner of speaking.

   Rightly then does Jeremiah begin by saying, that this word was given to
   him. By using the plural number in the second verse, he no doubt shews
   that he had a few assistants remaining, whom God addressed in
   connection with him, that they might unite together in delivering his
   message. For though there were very few good men, yet Jeremiah was not
   wholly deprived of colleagues, who assented to and confirmed his
   doctrine. Baruch was one of them, and there were a few like him. These,
   then, God addresses in the second verse, when he says, Hear ye the
   words of this coveant, and say ye [30] to the men of Judah and to the
   citizens of Jerusalem Jeremiah indeed knew, and also those who were
   with him, that they brought forward nothing but what was in the law:
   but however conscious they were of their own sincerity, and could
   testify before God and his angels that they drew nothing from puddles
   but from a pure fountain, yet God intended to strengthen them against
   the contumacy of the people; for they had this objection ready at hand,
   "Ye indeed boast that whatever it pleases you to bring forward, is the
   word of God; but this we deny." Since then the prophets had to undergo
   such a contest, it seemed good to God to strengthen their hands, that
   they might first be themselves assured, and then become fit and bold
   witnesses of his truth to others, having good authority, as it was
   derived from the law itself, and not from the devices of men.

   And we see to whom God intended this to be proclaimed, even to the men
   of Judah and to the citizens of Jerusalem The ten tribes, as it has
   elsewhere appeared, were now driven into exile; and here was the
   flower, as it were, of the chosen people; and having survived so many
   calamities, they thought that they had been preserved by Divine power,
   because religion and God's worship prevailed among them. Thus they were
   inebriated with false notions and self -- flatteries. Hence the
   Prophet, and those who were with him, are expressly bidden to declare,
   what we shall hereafter notice, to the citizens of Jerusalem and to the
   inhabitants of the land who remained, and thought that they were the
   chosen of God and would continue safe, even if all others were to
   perish.

   The Prophet afterwards shews more clearly that the command was
   especially given to him, for he uses the singular number, Thou shalt
   say to them Nor is it inconsistent that at first he joined others with
   himself; for God might have united the suffrages of the few who wished
   the restoration of pure religion among the people, while yet Jeremiah,
   who was superior to the rest, sustained the chief part. There is no
   doubt but that others were anxious by their consent to confirm his
   doctrine: but there was no emulation among them; and though he excelled
   them, he yet winingly admitted into a connection with himself all those
   whom he found to be united with him in so good and holy a cause. God
   then, in the last verse, spoke of them in common, for he wished all his
   servants to add their testimony to that of his Prophet; but now he
   addresses the Prophet alone, for his authority was greater.

   It follows, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, cursed the man who
   does not hearken to the words of this covenant As often as the word
   covenant is mentioned, Jeremiah no doubt cuts off every pretext for all
   those evasions to which the Jews, according to what we have said, had
   recourse: for they never winingly allowed that they took away anytiling
   from the law, though they yet despised Jeremiah, who was its true and
   faithful interpreter, who had blended with it nothing of his own, but
   only applied what had been taught by Moses to the condition of the
   people at that time. There is then to be understood an implied contrast
   between the word covenant and the doctrine of Jeremiah; not that there
   was any difference or contrariety, or that Jeremiah had anything apart
   from the law, but that he formed his discourse so as to suit the
   condition of the people. And there is a kind of concession, as though
   he had said, "I do not now demand to be heard by you, but hear only the
   law itself: I have hitherto brought forward nothing but what God has
   commanded; and I have taught nothing at variance with Moses; there has
   been nothing additional in my doctrine: but as I cannot convince you of
   this, I now give over speaking to you; Moses himself speaks, hear him."

   By adding the pronoun demonstrative, "Hear ye the words of this
   covenant," it is the same as though he had openly shewed them as by his
   finger, so that there was no room for any doubt. [31] He then upbraided
   them by pointing out the covenant, as though he had said, "What avails
   you to feign and to pretend that what we say is ambiguous, and to hold
   it as uncertain whether we are or not the servants of God? whether we
   speak by his Spirit? whether he himself has sent us? The thing is
   clear; this is the covenant." We now perceive the force of this
   pronoun.

   But in referring to the curse, his purpose, no doubt, was to bend the
   stubbornness of the people. Had the Jews been teachable and submissive,
   God would have used a milder strain, and allured them by words of
   kindness and love: but as he had to do with perverse minds, he was
   under the necessity of addressing them in this manner, in order to
   strike them with terror, and to render them more attentive, and also to
   make them to hear with more reverence, as they usually treated with
   contempt what he had spoken before. We hence see why he began with
   mentioning a curse. God followed in the law another order; for he first
   introduced the rule of life, and added also promises to render the
   people wining to obey; and then he subjoined the curses. But Jeremiah
   here begins by saying, Cursed are all those who hear not the words of
   this covenant Why was this done? Even because he had already found out
   the hardness and the obstinate wickedness of the people. He then does
   not propound a simple doctrine, but before all things he sets before
   them the curse of God; as though he had said, "It is very strange that
   you have not hitherto been moved, since God's curse has been so often
   denounced on you: as then ye are so stupid, before I begin to speak of
   God's commands, his curse shall be mentioned to awaken your torpidity."

   But we learn from the Prophet's words that he alluded to the form
   prescribed in the law: for after Moses rehearsed all the precepts, he
   added, "Cursed is every one who turns aside to foreign gods;" and he
   commanded the people to respond, Amen; and, "Cursed is every one who
   curses father and mother," and he bade them to respond, Amen; and after
   having narrated all the precepts, he added, "Cursed is every one who
   fulfils not all the words of this law," and the people responded, Amen.
   (Deuteronomy 27:15, 16, 26) The same form does Jeremiah now adopt when
   he says,

   "Declare then to the people, that they are all accursed who obey not my
   precepts;"

   and then the Prophet adds, I answered and said, Amen, O Jehovah But it
   must be observed, that the Prophet here personates as before the whole
   people; as though he had said, "I subscribe to God's judgment, even
   though ye should be all gainsayers, as ye really are. Though then ye
   think that ye can escape from God's hand, as though it were easy to
   elude the curse which is pronounced in his law, yet I subscribe with my
   own name, and answer before God, Amen, O Jehovah

   But we must notice also the other words, Cursed, he says, is every one
   who hears not the words of this covenant To hear, in this place, and in
   many other places, is to be taken for obeying. He then speaks of the
   words or of the covenant itself; for the expression may be taken in
   either sense, as God had made a covenant with the Jews and at the same
   time expressed words. I am inclined to consider the covenant itself as
   intended. God then says that he had made a covenant with them. There is
   yet a fuller explanation, The words which I commanded your fathers, he
   says, in the day when I brought them up from the land of Egypt, God
   shews here by a circumstance as to the time how inexcusable the Jews
   were; for he says that he gave the law to their fathers at the very
   time when they were extricated from death; as they were drawn out of
   the grave, as it were, when God made them a passage through the Red
   Sea. That redemption ought to have made such a deep impression as to
   convince them wholly to devote themselves to God; yea,, the memory of
   such a benefit ought to have been deeply fixed in their hearts.

   We hence see how aggravated here is the sin of ingratitude; for the law
   was given to the Israelites when they had before their eyes the many
   deaths to which they had been exposed, and from which the Lord had
   miraculously delivered them. For the same reason also he mentions their
   miserable state as an iron furnace, according to what we find in the
   third chapter of Exodus and in many other places, he then compares
   their Egyptian bondage to a furnace; for the Jews were then like wood
   and straw in a burning furnace; and he calls the furnace iron, as it
   could melt and reduce to nothing things harder than wood, evcn gold or
   silver or any other metal. In short, the deplorable state of the people
   is here set forth; and the Prophet, by the comparison, magnifies the
   favor shewn to them -- that God, beyond all hope, had delivered them
   from death. Since then the authority of the law was sanctioned by so
   great a benefit, it became evident how much was the impiety of the
   people, and how unbecoming and wicked their ingratitude; for they did
   not winingly suffer God's yoke to be laid on them.

   He says that God commanded these things This expression, as I have
   said, is to be applied to the words of the law, and not to the
   covenant. But the Prophet speaks indiscriminately, now of the covenant,
   then of the things it embraces, that is, of all the precepts it
   includes. In other words, he expresses how inexcusable was the sin of
   the people; for God, in substance, required of them no other thing but
   to hear his voice: and what can be more just than that they who have
   been redeemed should obey the voice of their deliverer? and what could
   have been more detestable and monstrous than for the Israelites to
   refuse what God had a right to demand? We now then perceive the design
   of the Prophet in saying, that God commanded this only to his redeemed
   people, even to hear his voice, and to do what he commanded. [32]

   He further adds a promise, which ought to have softened their stony
   hearts, Ye shall be, he says, to me a people, and I will be to you a
   God God might have positively required of the Jews what is implanted in
   all by nature; for they who have never been taught acknowledge that God
   ought to be worshipped; and the right way of worshipping him is when we
   obey his precepts. God then might have thus commanded them according to
   his supreme aufilority. The commands of kings, as it is said, are
   brief, for they are no soothing expressions, nor do they reason, nor
   employ any persuasive language. How much greater is the authority of
   God, who can intimate by a nod what he pleases and what he demands? But
   as though he descended from his high station, he seeks by promises to
   attach people to himself, so that they may winingly obey him. Thus God
   recommends his law by manifesting his favor, and does not merely assert
   his own authority. Since then God thus kindly addresses his people, and
   promises so great a reward to obedience, how base and abominable is the
   contumacy of men when they repudiate his law. Hence the Prophet shews
   here more clearly why he began by saying, Cursed is every one who obeys
   not, etc.: for kindness had profited nothing; friendly and tender
   words, the paternal invitation of God, produced no effect; as though he
   had said, "God could not, doubtless, have treated you more gently and
   kindly than by reminding you in a paternal manner of your duty, and by
   adding promises sufficient to soften even the hardest hearts; but as
   this has been done without effect, what now remains for God to do but
   to thunder and announce only his curses?"

   We now understand what the Prophet had in view. But it may be here
   objected, -- that all this was useless and without any benefit, for the
   Jews could not have undertaken the yoke of the law, until it was
   inscribed on their hearts. To this I answer, that of this very thing
   they were here at the same time reminded: for though the teaching of
   the letter could do nothing but condemn the people, and hence it is
   said by Paul to be what brings death, (2 Corinthians 3:6) yet the
   faithful knew that the Spirit of regeneration would not be denied them,
   if they sought it of God. Then, in the first place, it was their fault
   that the law was not inscribed on their hearts; and, in the second
   place, a free promise of forgiveness was added; for why were those
   sacrifices and expiations under the law, and so many ceremonies, which
   had respect to their reconciliation to God, but in order that the
   people might feel assured that God would be propitious and appeasable
   to them, though they could not satisfy the law? This teaching then was
   not useless as to the faithful; for God, when he required from the
   Israelites what they ought to have done, was at the time ready to
   inscribe the law on their hearts, and also to forgive their sins. But
   when through obstinate wickedness they rejected the whole law, the
   Prophet justly declares here that the curse of God was on them; because
   they basely rejected God's promises, by which he testified his paternal
   kindness towards them.

   He adds, That I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your
   fathers, to give them a land abounding in milk and honey, according to
   what it is at this day Here he does not refer to the chief part of
   their happiness; but only the land of Canaan is mentioned as the pledge
   or the earnest of God's favor; for his promise had regard to something
   much higher than to the land of Canaan. God had indeed promised this as
   an inheritance to the Israelites: but when he says, that he would be
   their God and they his people, the promise of eternal life and of
   celestial glory is included, according to what is said elsewhere, that
   he is not the God of the dead but of the living. (Matthew 22:31) And we
   must ever bear in mind what is said by the Prophet Habakkuk,

   "Thou art our God, we shall not die." (Habakkuk 1:12)

   God then promised to the Israelites something far greater than the
   possession of the land, when he said, that he would be their God But
   that land was a symbol, an earnest and a pledge of his paternal favor.
   All these things well agree together.

   And to the same purpose is what the Prophet adds, that God had formerly
   sworn to their fathers, that he would give them that land by an
   hereditary right: and this promise had been fulfined to their
   posterity. Were any to lay hold on this only, -- that God's favor was
   seen in the land of Canaan, because they had obtained it through the
   expulsion of the heathens by God's kindness, the view would be frigid,
   and the Prophet would diminish much from that promise which far exceeds
   all that man can conceive. Hence, as I have said, in speaking of the
   land of Canaan, he accommodates himself no doubt to the comprehension
   of a rude and ignorant people, and mentions the earnest and the pledge,
   that they alight see by their eyes, exhibited to them even in this
   world and in this frail life some evidence of that favor, which far
   surpasses all that can be desired in the world.

   Now, when he says, That I may establish [33] the oath which I have
   sworn to your fathers, God doubtless shews that though the Jews should
   obey him, they had not yet deserved by their obedience the inheritance
   promised before they were born. God then here proves that it was
   through his gratuitous kindness that; they became heirs of the land.
   How so? because they were not created when God sware to Abraham that he
   would give that land to him and to his posterity. As then the promise
   had been given long before, it follows that it could not be ascribed to
   the merits of the people, that they had at length in due time obtained
   the land. As to the oath, God by referring to it extols his favor; for
   he not only promised the land for an heritage to the children of
   Abraham, but he also added an oath, that the covenant might appear more
   sure. But the Prophet at the same time intimates, that they, if
   ungrateful to God, might justly be deprived of the promised
   inheritance; as though he had said, "There is no ground for you to
   expostulate with God, as though he defrauded you, were he to cast you
   out of the land; for God himself does not disinherit you, but your own
   wickedness; and ye are now unworthy, for God regards you not as his
   children." While then the Prophet takes away every ground for boasting,
   that the Jews might not think that they possessed the land as a reward
   for their merits, he also reminds them that they might be justly
   deprived of their land, and that on account of their own fault, as they
   rendered not to God the service they owed to him. Hence he says, that I
   might establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers

   A land, he says, flowing with milk and honey: this mode of speaking was
   often adopted by Moses, (Exodus 3:8, Exodus 3:17; Exodus 13:5; Exodus
   33:3; Leviticus 20:24) The land was no doubt from the beginning very
   fertile; but it is probable that it became more fruitful after the
   people entered into it, for it was in a manner renewed; and it was
   God's design to shew in a visible manner how great; Was the efficacy of
   his covenant. It was not then to no purpose that Moses said so often
   that it was a land flowing with milk and honey.

   He afterwards adds, According as it is at this day He produces
   witnesses; as though he had said, "God has dealt faithfully with you,
   for he has performed the faith pledged to your fathers, and has
   fulfined his oath: but now since ye have polluted this land, and the
   memory of God's favor is as it were buried among you, and ye even tread
   under your feet his law -- since then such great impiety averts his
   blessing from you, what remains for him to do, but to drive you away
   into exile?" We hence see that there is here to be understood an
   implied threatening, when he says that God had performed what he had
   promised to the fathers, and promised with this condition -- that they
   were to obey his commands.

   We have already spoken of the Prophet's answer. When he answered, Amen,
   he did not wait for what the people would say; for the greater part no
   doubt made a clamor and sought to make shifts with God. So great was
   their effrontery, that they often rose up insolently against the
   Prophets. Then as he knew that they were so refractory, he subscribed
   to the curse in his own name. It follows --
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   [30] So the Vulgate and the Targum, but the Septuagint, the Syriac, and
   Arabic, have the verb in the singular number, "and thou shalt say." The
   m at the end of the verb may be rendered "them;" so Blayney regards it.
   We may consider the end of this verse and the following as parenthetic;
   otherwise the particle "this" seems singular. It will thus appear to be
   "this covenant which I commanded your fathers." Still the whole passage
   seems not to run well. I am disposed to render hz't, "even these," and
   to put a part in a parenthesis, thus, -- 2. Hear ye the words of the
   covenant, even these, (and thou shalt speak them to every man of Judah
   and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 3. and thou shalt say to them,
   Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,) 4. "Cursed is the man who
   hearkens not to the words of the covenant, even these, which I
   commanded your fathers in the day I brought them up from the land of
   Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, "Hearken to my voice, and do ye
   according to all that I shall command thee; and ye shall be to me a
   people, 5. and I shall be to you a God; that I may confirm the oath
   which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with
   milk and honey, as it is this day." -- And I answered and said, Amen, O
   Jehovah. -- Ed.

   [31] Gataker says, "It is not unlikely that the Prophet held out the
   book or volume of the law, wherein the covenant was engrossed and
   recorded, then in his hand." -- Ed.

   [32] There is no need of any alteration in the text, as proposed by
   some: the literal rendering is, "Hearken to my voice, and do ye
   according to all that I shall command you." The 'tm "ye," after "do,"
   seems to be placed there instead of with "hearken." Some MSS. have
   'vtm, which is evidently wrong. It is only the Targum that countenances
   this reading: all the versions read according to the meaning given
   above. -- Ed.

   [33] "Establish -- steso," is the Septuagint; "awaken -- suscitem," is
   the Vulgate; "perform," is the Syriac; "confirm," is the Targum. "To
   make to stand" is the literal meaning of the verb. Hence the most
   correct word is "confirm." The connection of this verse is not with the
   immediately preceding words, but with "Hearken" and "do," etc., at the
   middle of the former verse. Hearken and do, that I may confirm the
   oath, etc. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:6-8

   6. Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities
   of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of
   this covenant, amid do them.

   6, Ex dixit Jehova ad me, clama (hoc est, clamosa voce promulga) verba
   haec in urbibus Jehudah et in compitis Jerusalem dicendo, Audite verba
   foederis hujus et facite ca.

   7. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers, in the day that I
   brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising
   early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

   7. Quia contestando contestatus sum patribus vestris dic qua feci
   ascendere eos e terra Egypti usque ad diem hanc, mane surgendo et
   contestando et dicendo, Audite vocem meam:

   8. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in
   the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them
   all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they
   did them not.

   8. Et non audierunt et non inclinarunt aurem suam; et ambularunt
   quisque post pravitatem cordis sui mali: et (ideo, copula hic inative
   accipitur) venire feci (hoc est, immisi) super eos omnia verba foederis
   hujus, quod mandavi ut facerent; et non fecerunt.


   Here the Prophet explains more clearly why he had been commanded to
   promulgate the words of the covenant: for the greater part of the
   people were no doubt ready boldly to object and say, "What dost thou
   mean? Are not we the disciples of Moses? Thou, forsooth! thinkest that
   thou hast to do with a barbarous people. Have we not been from our
   childhood taught the law of God? Is it not daily enjoined on us? We are
   sufficiently instructed in this doctrine of which thou pretendest that
   we are ignorant. Be gone hence; and go either to the Chaldeans or to
   the Assyrians or to the Egyptians; for we understand what the law
   teaches."

   There is then no doubt but that Jeremiah had been repulsed by this kind
   of insolence: he therefore shews that he had a just cause to set before
   them the law of God; for so great an oblivion had prevailed, that they
   did not know what God had formerly taught in his law: and besides, they
   and their fathers had been always rebellious, so that they had ever
   need of being taught, according to what is said by Isaiah, that the
   people were to be treated like children and taught, A, A; B, B, and
   that though the same things were repeated, they yet stopped at the
   rudiments and never made any progress. (Isaiah 28:10, 13) As then
   Isaiah reproached the people with tardiness in learning the law, so
   Jeremiah shews now that they were not to think it strange that God
   commanded his law to be proclaimed to them, because it had been
   hitherto despised by them. The rest we shall defer.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased daily to invite
   us to thyself with so ranch benignity and kindness, we may not with
   deaf ears turn aside from the doctrine which is set forth for our
   salvation, but that we may attend to it and persevere also in that
   obedience which thou justly requirest from us, so that we may make
   increasing progress in true religion, and so form the whole course of
   our life according to thy righteous law, that we may fight as good
   soldiers to thee in this world, until we shall at length come to that
   blessed rest, which is prepared for us in heaven, through Christ our
   Lord. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Fifth

   We observed in the last Lecture the complaint which God made against
   his people, -- that, he had tried every means to reconcile them to
   himself, but all in vain. But there is great weight and emphasis in
   these words, -- that by protesting he protested, etc.; as though he
   subjected himself to the judgment of a third party; for we are wont to
   protest against those who do not winingly come before the tribunal of a
   judge. God then takes this figure from the common practice of men, and
   says that he protested, and that not only once, but repeatedly. He
   afterwards adds that he had done this not only in one age, but from the
   time their fathers came forth from bondage to that day. It was then
   extreme perverseness, when God ceased not to call them to himself, and
   yet spoke to the deaf. But what follows is still more emphatical, --
   that he rose early: for to take this transitively as some do, is what I
   do not approve. God then says, that he was so solicitous about their
   welfare, that he rose early to call them. There is no doubt but that
   God applies here to himself what properly belonged to his Prophets, as
   he also concedes to his servants what rightly belongs to him, and what
   cannot be applied to men, except by way of concession.

   But God does here extol the authority of his word, when he says that he
   rose early; and at the same time he amplifies their ingratitude,
   inasmuch as they had despised him, when they saw that he, like the head
   of a family, provided for their welfare. We hence then learn how much
   God values his word; for he testifies that there is no difference
   between him and his servants, whose labors he employs in teaching his
   ChurJeremiah We also hence learn how inexcusable is our wickedness when
   we reject God speaking thus familiarly to us. We now then perceive the
   import of this passage. But it may, in the third place, be observed,
   that God's name is in vain pretended, except when he himself speaks.
   The Papists of this day would have whatever they say, according to
   their own fancies, to be received without any dispute; but God shews in
   this place that he is not offended except when he is himself despised;
   and he at the same time declares that he is so connected with his
   prophets, that they bring nothing of their own, nor anything else
   except what proceeds from him.

   He now adds, that this only he required from his chosen people, to obey
   his voice The justness of this precept shews how base and wicked was
   the impiety of the people; and God also shews that they had not the
   pretext of error or of ignorance; for the only way of evading was to
   pretend that they wished no other thing than to render to God the
   worship due to him; but the rule he had prescribed in his law was such
   as could not be mistaken. It hence follows that they wilfully went
   astray after superstitions, for they were sufficiently taught in the
   law what God approved. This then is the reason why he so often repeats
   that he required nothing from the children of Abraham except to hear
   his voice.

   It afterwards follows, Yet they heard not, and bent not, or inclined
   not their ear Here the Prophet does not accuse a few men of
   perverseness, but says that, from the time they had been redeemed, they
   had been rebellious against God: and he exaggerates their sin by saying
   that they inclined not their ear; for this was no doubt added for the
   sake of emphasis, as though the Prophet had said, -- that it was only
   their own fault that the right way was not quite evident to them, for
   they deigned not to give ear to God. Now, it is a proof of extreme
   contempt, when we not only repudiate what God says to us, and refuse to
   obey his authority and advice, but when we close up every avenue, and,
   as Tar as we can, forbid him to speak to us; this is surely an
   extremity of insolence. It may indeed be, that one will hear another
   speaking, and yet will not do what he says; he still will shew some
   courtesy, lest a complaint of inattention be made; but it is an
   intolerable barbarity when we do not listen to the words of another.
   God here complains that the Israelites had not only been disobedient to
   him, after having been instructed, but that they had been so
   refractory, that they insolently rejected all the words of the
   prophets; which was not only a proof of base impiety, but also of
   barbarous perverseness. We now then understand what the Prophet means.

   He says, that they walked every one in the wickedness of his own evil
   heart [34] As he had before shewn that they had been in due time
   warned, it is clear that they followed not through mistake their
   impious superstitions, but because they rejected the true worship of
   God, and hearkened not to the teaching of the prophets. By saying that
   they walked every one, etc., the Prophet doubtless intended to include
   them all as it were in one bundle; as though he had said, that they had
   not been drawn away by a sudden impulse, as it is often the case when
   an agitation is made by a few, and when the most follow, being driven
   as it were by a storm, and think not what they do; for thus some terror
   often seizes on the minds of the many, so that they go here and there
   without knowing where they are going. But the Prophet here teaches us
   that every one followed his own counsel; as though he had said that the
   worship of God had not been thus rejected by the influence of the
   multitude, but that each one had his own object, and had concocted the
   wickedness and the great sin of rejecting God. There is then more
   meaning and force in this way of speaking, than if he had said that
   they all walked in the wickedness of their own hearts. He further shews
   that they were all, from the least to the greatest, implicated, as they
   say, in the same impiety.

   He afterwards adds, that God had brought upon them the words, that is,
   the threatenings of the covenant By the words of the covenant he means
   not here the doctrine or precepts of the law. He indeed mentioned
   before the words of the covenant for the commands of God; but now, on
   finding that he had to do with refractory men, who were not capable of
   receiving any doctrine, he comes to threatenings. But God prescribes
   first in his law what he wins to be done, and then adds not only kind
   invitations, but also what is alluring, in order to conciliate the
   minds of men: but when there is no attention to obedience, and no care
   for it, he then comes to threatenings. Though the Prophet had omitted
   the promises, he had yet spoken previously of the law itself; but he
   says now that God had executed what he had denounced on them.

   He further says, Which I have commanded to be done; and they did them
   not There seems indeed to be a confusion here; for by the words of this
   covenant, he no doubt means threatenings, as I have stated: then he
   immediately adds, which I have commanded to be done, and they did them
   not But, as I have already reminded you, the Prophet had previously,
   with sufficient clearness, taught them that the rule of a godly and
   holy life was set forth in the law; but he now refers especially to
   threatenings. It is then not strange that he speaks thus indistinctly,
   for the people had in a manner perverted the law. There were indeed in
   the law these two distinct things -- doctrine, or a rule of life; and
   threatenings, which were added as stimulants to rouse the sloth of men,
   or rather to subdue their perverseness. But as the Israelite,and the
   Jews had not attended to the voice of God, the Prophet here blends
   threatenings with precepts. [35]

   We now understand what the Prophet means in this passage, when he says
   that he was sent by God to cry, Hear ye the words of this covenant; for
   they were forgetful of true religion; and such was their oblivion and
   impious' contempt of the whole law, that they had need of being taught
   its first rudiments. This is one thing. He then shews how solicitous
   God had been about their welfare, so that he had not neglected any of
   the duties of the best of fathers, and that yet his labor had been all
   in vain; for they had not only been led away by their own lusts, but
   their inward wickedness had closed their ears, so that they deigned not
   to listen to God's voice; and this had not been in one age only, but
   from the time they came out of Egypt to that day. It hence follows that
   they were justly punished, for God had tried all means before he had
   recourse to severity; but since he had adopted all kinds of ways to
   reform them, and all in vain, the only thing that remained was to
   punish them as men past all remedy. This is the import of the whole. He
   now adds --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [34] On the meaning of these words, see a [2]note in vol. 1.

   [35] There is certainly an incongruity in taking the expression, "the
   words of the covenant," in two different senses. The verse is omitted
   in the Septuagint, but retained in the other versions and the Targum.
   This clause, in the Vulgate and Syriac, is thus given: "I have brought
   on them the words of this covenant." The Targum is, "I have brought
   vengeance on them, because they undertook not the words of this
   covenant." To bring words on one, seems to mean to enforce, to enjoin
   them. I cannot find the phrase anywhere else. Taken in this sense, the
   expressions will be wholly suitable to the rest of the passage, which I
   render thus: 6. Then said Jehovah to me, Proclain these words in the
   cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, -- Hear the
   words of the covenant, Even these, and do them: 7. Verily, testifying I
   testified to your fathers In the day I brought them from the land of
   Egypt; And to this day, early-rising and testifying, Saying, "Hearken
   to my voice:" 8. Yet they hearkened not, nor bent their ear, But
   walked, every one, according to the resolutions Of their own wicked
   heart; Yea, I urged on them all the words of the covenant., Even these,
   which I commanded them to do; But they did them not. To "testify,"
   rather than to "protest,:' is the meaning of the verb, when followed by
   v, as here. To this testifying was added that of urging or pressing on
   them the duty of attending to all the words of the covenant; but all
   was to no purpose. To introduce punishment here comports not with the
   passage. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:9-10

   9. And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of
   Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

   9. Et dixit Jehova ad me, inventa est conspiratio (ad verbum,
   colligatio; nam rsq significat proprie ligare vel connectere, sed
   metaphorica est significatio cum transfertur ad conspirationem) in viro
   (hoc est, in viris) Jehudah et in civibus Jerusalem.

   10. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which
   refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them:
   the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant
   which I made with their fathers.

   10. Reversi sunt ad iniquitates patrum suorum superiorum (qui ante
   fuerunt) qui noluerunt audire verba mea; et ipsi ambularunt post deos
   alienos, ut servirent ipsis; dissoluerunt domus Israel et domus Jehudah
   foedus meum, quod pepigeram cum patribus ipsorum.


   Here the Prophet joins closer battle with the men of his age, and says,
   that they were worse than their fathers; for this is the meaning of the
   word, banding or joining together. For when the Israelites concurred in
   a body in ungodly superstitions, it was more excusable at the
   beginning, for they had not yet struck deep roots in true religion; but
   when God by his prophets had endeavored many times, and in various
   ways, to restore them to the right way, and when his diligence and
   assiduous efforts had proved fruitless, it was an evidence of confirmed
   and hopeless obstinacy. He then says, that this had been discovered;
   for this is what he means by saying, that it had been found out This
   verb is often used in Scripture in another sense, but it means here the
   same, as though he had said, that the conspiracy of the people had been
   discovered or proved, as it is said of thieves when found out, that
   they are caught in the very act. So God says here, that it was no
   matter of dispute whether the people had designedly and from sheer
   wickedness perverted his true and lawful worship; the conspiracy, [36]
   he says, is sufficiently notorious

   We then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be, -- that not a part
   of the people was implicated in impiety, but that all, from the least
   to the greatest, were together defiled, and that this was done, not by
   some foolish impulse of the moment, but designedly, for they banded
   together; and further, that this was sufficiently evident, so that they
   could no longer contend as to the fact, for their wickedness was
   sufficiently manifest.

   And he says between Judah and Israel [37] There is here implied a sharp
   reproof; for we know that these two kingdoms had not only entertained a
   hidden grudge, but fiercely contended with one another, Since then the
   discord had been such between the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah,
   that it was as it were an insane hatred, so that they wished wholly to
   destroy one another, for the Jews sent for the Egyptians when the
   Israelites had called to arms the Syrians and the Assyrians for the
   destruction of Judah. Since then they so inimically treated one another
   for so many ages, what did this now mean? What a monstrous thing it
   was, that they conspired together to subvert the worship of God, to
   overturn everything true in religion, and to set up their own idols! We
   now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet; he intimates, that they
   had in all other things been enemies, and that they only united in this
   one thing, that is, in carrying on war against God, in subverting his
   worship, and rendering void his law. We hence see what the Spirit of
   God had in view in saying, that a conspiracy was found out; which was,
   that the Prophet might not use many words, as though the matter was
   doubtful! God then bids him positively to declare this fact, like at
   scribe who records the sentence of a judge; and thus God shews that he
   dealt with the Jews, as men deal with those who are condemned.

   He also adds, that they had returned, etc. He shews for what purpose
   they had conspired, even to return to the vices of their fathers, who
   had been before them Some render the word "ancestors;" but the meaning
   of the Prophet is not thus sufficiently expressed, for what he means
   is, that the Israelites had been refractory from the very beginning, so
   that God could never subdue their wayward dispositions. It must however
   be observed, that he speaks not of the most ancient, as hrsnym,
   erashnim are the ancient who were before them; [38] but as there had
   been a continued succession or series of impiety, the Prophet calls
   them here, the former fathers, who had first begun to shake off the
   yoke of God even to that day. And he again mentions what we have before
   noticed, that they were unwining to hear Though ignorance does not
   wholly clear or absolve us, it yet extenuates a crime; but God shews
   that the Israelites had been disobedient from the beginning. Though he
   had by Moses sufficiently taught them, we yet find that they often rose
   up against Moses. If we inquire of their origin, it appears to have
   been marked with resolute impiety; they were unwining to obey God.

   He then adds, that they walked after alien gods that they might serve
   them There is ever an implied contrast between God and idols. God had
   given them evidences enough of his power and glory, and we may justly
   say, that he had sufficiently proved himself to he the only true God.
   How then was it that the; Israelites had given the preference to
   fictitious gods? Doubtless no unwining error could have been pretended.
   We hence see that they had rejected the true God and wilfully followed
   their own devices. He then says, that they might serve them But God had
   already bound them to himself, as he had redeemed them; when,
   therefore, they devoted themselves to alien gods, was not their
   ingratitude thus most fully proved?

   He at length subjoins, by way of explanation, Therefore the house of
   Israel and the house of Judah have dissolved my covenant He confirms
   what I have just said, -- that they had not erred because the way was
   unknown, but because they were refractory and untameable in their
   disposition, and would not bear to hear God, thought he kindly shewed
   to them what they were to do. But the word covenant expresses more than
   this, -- that God had not only delivered them his precepts by Moses,
   but had also adopted them as his own people, and at the same time
   pledged his faith to them,

   "I shall be your God, be ye my people," (Jeremiah 11:4)

   Since then God had so kindly allured them to himself, how monstrous was
   their rebellion, When they refused to hear his voice! With reference to
   this the word vryt, berit, is used; for God had not only delivered to
   them a rule of life, but also adopted them as his people, that they
   might be obedient to him.

   By saying that he made a covenant with their fathers, he refers to that
   time when he brought the people out of Egypt, for then was the race of
   Abraham united. They were indeed twelve distinct tribes; but there was
   one head over the people, there was one priesthood, and they formed
   afterwards one kingdom. God then shews, that though the ten tribes made
   for themselves in after time another king, and the tribe of Judah was
   then divided, and there were in this separation some special causes of
   enmity, they yet had always been of the same disposition, and proved
   how like their fathers they were, as though he i had said, "They were
   formerly one people, they are now two, yet they have conspired
   together; their iniquity is the same, in this they are united; and
   there is among them a binding together." It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [36] Rendered "sundesmos, binding together," by the Sept., --
   "conjuratio, confederacy, or conspiracy," by the Vulg. and Arab., --
   "rebellion," by the Syr. and Targ., -- "combination," as given by
   Gataker and Blayney, would express better the meaning of the original
   word. -- Ed

   [37] There is here an oversight. "Israel" is not mentioned here, but
   the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. "Israel" is
   mentioned at the end of the next verse, as having with "Judah" annulled
   the covenant. -- Ed.

   [38] The Sept. have "ton proteron -- who were before:" the Vulg.
   improperly joins it with "iniquities," -- "the former iniquities of the
   fathers;" the Syriac renders it "ancient," and the Targum, "former,"
   both connecting it with "fathers." The word means the "first," rather
   than the "former." If we take it as connected with "fathers," then the
   first fathers with whom the covenant, after they came out of Egypt, was
   made, are meant; but it may be taken as in apposition with "fathers;"
   then the first who refused to hear God, are referred to. Taking this
   view, we may render the verse thus -- 10. They have turned to the
   iniquities of their fathers -- The first who refused to hearken to my
   words; And they have walked after alien gods to serve them: Annulled
   have the house of Israel and the house of Judah My covenant, which I
   made with their fathers. The word for "iniquities" means perversions,
   distortions, the turning of things to purposes not intended. These are
   the kinds of iniquities which are meant. Perverting the truth rather
   than denying or renouncing it, had ever been the sin of the Jews.
   Instead of worshipping God himself, they worshipped him by means of
   idols, and through the mediation of inferior gods. This was the
   perversion. Alien gods were mediators; hence they never renounced God's
   worship. But God deemed this as an annulment of his covenant, by which
   they were required to worship him alone. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:11

   11. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold,I will bring evil upon them,
   which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto
   me, I will not hearken unto them.

   11. Propterea sic dicit Jehova, Ecce ego inducam (inducens, vel,
   induco) super eos malum, a quo non poterunt exire (hoc est, se
   explicare; ad verbum, quod non poterunt exire ab ipso) et clamabunt ad
   me et non audiam eos.


   The Prophet now denounces on them a calamity; for it is probable that
   for many years he had been as their teacher threatening them, but all
   in vain. Hence he now confirms what we have before observed, -- that
   their impious conspiracy was fully known and proved, so flint they were
   not now to be called or drawn before the judge's tribunal, as they had
   so openly procured for themselves their own ruin.

   He then says, that God was, as it were, armed to take vengeance; I will
   bring, he says, upon them an evil from which they shall not be able to
   go away [39] Then he adds, and they shall cry to me, but I will not
   hear them By this latter clause he shews that no hope remained, as they
   could get no pardon from God, for he would no longer be entreated by
   them. The import of the whole is, -- that they were so given up to
   destruction, that it was in vain for them to expect God's mercy. God
   had indeed often promised in his law that he would be reconciled to
   them; but the Prophet says now that every hope was cut off, because
   they had rejected God's covenant. Hence, whatever God had promised
   respecting his kindness and mercy, belonged to them no longer.

   Let us now learn also how to accommodate this doctrine to ourselves.
   And, first, we may remark, that there is a great difference between us,
   who have been plainly, and for a long time, taught what is the true and
   lawful worship of God, and those miserable people who were blind in
   darkness; hence much more atrocious is our sin and worthy of much
   heavier punishment. Then we may also add this, -- that though God may
   for a time bear with us, the whole time of his forbearance will have to
   be accounted for. There is no day in which God does not accuse us; and
   thus he rises early, and thus he shews us what concern he has for our
   salvation; but if we remain asleep in our sloth, a threatening this day
   is suspended over our heads, and especially when we consider that God
   comes nearer, as it were, to us than to his ancient people. And hence
   we may also learn how much less tolerable is our ingratitude. It ought,
   therefore, to be carefully noticed, that God is armed against those
   before whom he has set his word, not only for one day but for many
   years, when he has found that he has labored in vain; and that when he
   is offended with their obstinate wickedness, there is no more any
   remedy.

   But it may be asked here, How is it that God declares here that he
   would not be propitious to the Israelites, though they even cried to
   him, when yet this promise so often occurs,

   "Call on me, and I will hear thee?" (Psalm 50:15)

   Though God does not everywhere use such words, yet in many places he
   makes this promise. But still it may appear inconsistent that he closes
   up the door of mercy against those who flee to his mercy. But in the
   next verse he shews what this cry would be; for had they from the heart
   repented, doubtless his pardon would never have been denied: but we
   shall presently see that these cries would be rambling, vagrant, and
   confused; so that they would not direct their prayers to God, nor
   observe the way which is made known to us all; for they would cry
   Without repentance and faith, according to what follows; for the
   Prophet says --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [39] The literal rendering is as follows: -- 11. Therefore thus saith
   Jehovah, -- Behold, I will cause to come on them an evil, From which
   they shall not be able to go forth: And they shall loudly cry to me,
   But I will not hearken to them. The third line in Welsh is literally
   the Hebrew, -- Yr hwn his gallant vyned allan ohono.
   Which they will not be able to go forth from it. The verb zq is not
   merely to cry, but to cry loudly, or vehemently, or clamorously; the
   effect of great distress impatiently endured.Our version and Blayney
   are wrong in rendering v And thought It is not what may have been, is
   meant, but what would be. It is expressly foretold what they would do;
   and corresponding with this are all the versions and the Targum. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:12

   12. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and
   cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save
   them at all in the time of their trouble.

   12. Et ibunt urbes Jehudah et cives Jerusalem et clamabunt ad deos
   quibus ipsi fecerunt suffitum; et servando non servabunt eos in tempore
   afflictionis.


   The Prophet then shews in these words that they were not touched by a
   true and sincere feeling of repentance who cried thus indiscriminately
   to God and to idols. [40]

   But another question may be here raised, How could they flee to God and
   to foreign gods too? The ready answer is this, that the unbelieving, in
   a turbulent state of mind, turn here and there, so that they lay hold
   of nothing certain, or sure and fixed. This we see in the Papists --
   they cry to God and at the same time to a great number of gods. Let us
   therefore know, that there is in all the unbelieving a spirit, as it
   were, of giddiness, which turns them into different expedients, so that
   now they call on God, then they flee to their idols. Men naturally are
   led to God when any distress holds them bound; hence they call on God:
   but afterwards, being not satisfied with him alone, they betake
   themselves to their own devices, and heap together, as I have said, a
   vast multitude of gods. Since then we see this to be done under the
   Papacy in our day, we need not wonder that it was done formerly, and
   that the Jews were on this account condemned.

   The Prophet now addresses the Jews only; he had before spoken of the
   Israelites, but he now speaks especially to his own people, Go shall
   the cities of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, etc. What shall they
   do? They shall cry to their gods We hence see that their prayers were
   rambling, as though they poured them unto the air: therefore God could
   not have heard them. For whenever God promises to be propitious and
   appeasable he requires faith and repentance: but there was in this
   people an impious wantonness, and no faith, for they were entangled in
   their own superstitions.

   The meaning is, that the Jews, when oppressed by calamities, would make
   their prayers to the true God, but without understanding, without any
   discrimination, but on the contrary, in a confused state of mind: and
   that this would be sufficiently evident, for they would at the same
   time seek the aid of various idols, but that they would gain no help,
   either from God or from their idols; and why? because they would be
   unworthy to be heard by God, as they would not call on him in a right
   spirit, not with faith and repentance; and their idols would not be
   able to bring them any help. It hence follows that they would be
   altogether in a hopeless state.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [40] But the most obvious meaning of the passage is, that the Jews
   would first cry to God, and that being not heard, they would then cry
   to alien gods. Hence our version renders the v at the beginning of this
   verse, "Then," and rightly too: so does the Syriac, though the other
   versions render it "And," as Blayney does: and if so rendered, the
   connection would appear the same, -- And go shall the cities of Judah
   and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, And they shall loudly cry to the
   gods, To whom they burn incense; But saving they will not save them At
   the time of their calamity. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased, in so kind a
   manner, according to thy paternal kindness, to invite us to thyself, we
   may not be refractory, but winingly and quietly submit ourselves to
   thee, and not wait until thou shakest us with terror, and shewest us
   signs of thy wrath; hut may we anticipate thy dreadful judgment, and
   thus always go on, so as to have no other object in view but to glorify
   thy name through the whole course of our life, until we shall at length
   be made partakers of that glory which thine only begotten Son has
   obtained for us. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Sixth
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:13

   13. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah;
   and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up
   altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

   13. Quia pro numero urbium tuaram fuerunt dii tui, Jehudah; et pro
   numero platearum, Jerusalem, posuistis altaria in opprobrium, altaria
   ad offerendum suffitum Baal.


   The Prophet shews here that the dews were not only polluted with one
   kind of superstition, but that they sought for themselves fictitious
   gods from all quarters, so that the land was fined and, as it were,
   deluged with innumerable superstitions. He says, that in proportion to
   the number of cities were the gods in the kingdom of Judah, and that in
   every city, in proportion to the number of streets, altars were built,
   that they might burn incense to Baal

   There seems, however, to be some inconsistency in the words; for if
   they all worshipped Baal, where could be found the multitude of gods
   which the Prophet condemns? It then follows, that there was everywhere
   the same form of superstition, or that they did not in every place burn
   incense to Baal. But from this place and from others we may gather that
   this is a common name; for though all idols had their distinctive
   names, yet this name was applied indiscriminately, and all idols had it
   in common. For what does Baal mean but a patron, or an inferior god,
   who procured the favor of the supreme God? The prophets often use the
   word in the plural number, and call the lesser or inferior gods Baalim,
   who were regarded as mediators or angels; and farther, they often mean
   all kinds of idols by Baal. There is to be understood here a figure, by
   which a part is taken for the whole; for the Prophet intended by the
   word to include all those gods which the Jews had devised for
   themselves, though their names were different.

   But what the Prophet condemned in the people was, as we see, daily
   practiced. For there is no end, when men once depart ever so little
   from the pure worship of the only true God: for when anything is
   blended with it, one error immediately produces another; so various
   errors will cumulate, tin men fall into a labyrinth from which there is
   no exit. This is clearly seen under the Papacy. At first Satan, by
   spurious pretences, led men away from the simple worship of God and his
   pure doctrine; and as there is in all an inbred curiosity, every one
   had a desire to add something of his own. Hence then it happened that
   so great a mass of errors and superstitions has prevailed. It is
   nothing strange, then, that the Prophet condemned the Jews, not only
   for having departed from the true and lawful worship of God, but also
   for having as many idols as cities, and for having so many forms of
   worship as there were streets in their cities. And we hence also learn
   that all the superstitions among the whole people had the same root;
   for though they differed in particulars, they all yet proceeded from
   the same principle; for every one wished to have his own God. It hence
   happened, that every city had its patron, and every family also devised
   a god for itself; for no one was satisfied with the common worship. It
   is then wholly necessary that we should faithfully worship the one true
   God; otherwise the Devil will immediately bring in strange gods and a
   mixed multitude of gods: so that it hence evidently appears, that we
   thus justly suffer for our impious levity in forsaking the fountain of
   living waters.

   He says that altars were built for reproach. [41] This may be referred
   to God, because they offered to God a heinous effrontery in setting up
   their profane altars in opposition to that one true altar which God had
   commanded to be built for him in the temple. But this is a strained
   interpretation. It is more suitable to refer this to the people,
   because they erected altars for themselves to their own shame, as
   though he had said that the Jews were themselves the authors of all
   their evils, so that they ought to consider them as due to their
   impiety, being the punishments inflicted by the Lord. It is the same as
   though he had said, "God will indeed chastise you, as ye are worthy of
   being so treated, but ascribe the whole fault to yourselves; for the
   altars, raised by your own hands, will be to you for reproach and
   shame."

   He at length adds, To offer incense to Baal They sought doubtless the
   favor of the supreme God; but as they devised for themselves patrons,
   as mediators between them and God, according to the Platonic figment,
   which has prevailed in all ages, the Prophet here declares that their
   gods were as many as their cities, and even as many as their streets;
   for God does not admit those sophistical subtleties by which hypocrites
   seek to escape; for whenever his glory is transferred to others, he
   complains that new gods are introduced. [42] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [41] The word is vst. "Bosheth, shame," says Lowth, "was a nickname for
   Baal. (See Hosea 9:10.) So Jerubbaal is called Jerubbosheth in 2 Samuel
   11:21." The word is left out in the Septuagint; the other versions and
   the Targum render it differently; its meaning was evidently not
   understood. It may be rendered here "baseness," or a base thing; the
   last clause is explanatory of this, -- Ye have set up altars for a base
   thing --
   Altars to burn incense to a Baal. By putting the indefinite article we
   avoid the contrariety which Calvin refers to. It is given in the
   singular number in all the versions except the Vulgate, which has
   Baalim. -- Ed.

   [42] The connection of this verse has not been pointed out by Calvin.
   It begins with "For," or because; so that a reason is given for what
   has been said previously, and that is not found in it he immediately
   preceding verse, but at the end of the 11th, "I will not hearken unto
   them;" then what is said here is given as a reason. But if we render ky
   "though," as it is often done, and not "For," the connection is with
   the next preceding verse; their gods would not save them, "though" they
   were as many as their cities, etc. This seems to be the most natural
   connection. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:14

   14. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or
   prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry
   unto me for their trouble.

   14. Et tu ne ores pro populo hoc, et ne tollas pro ipsis clamorem et
   precationem; quia ego non audiens (non audiam) in tempore quo clamabunt
   ad me pro (vel, super) malo suo (super afflictione sua)


   That the Jews might understand that a sore calamity was nigh, and that
   God would not be appeasable, the Prophet himself is forbidden to
   intercede for them. There is no doubt but that even when he reproved
   the people in the severest strain, he made supplications to God for
   them; for he sustained a twofold character: when he went forth as the
   herald of celestial vengeance, he thundered against the ungodly and the
   despisers of God; but at the same time he humbly supplicated pardon in
   behalf of lost and miserable men; for had he not been solicitous for
   the salvation of the people, had he not diligently prayed, it would not
   have been necessary to prohibit him to pray. It hence appears that the
   Prophet was diligent in these two things, that he severely reproved the
   people according to God's command, and that he also was a suppliant in
   seeking God's favor to the unworthy. This is one thing.

   Now then that God prohibits Jeremiah to pray, this was not done for his
   sake only, but he had a regard also to the whole people, that they
   might know that a sentence was pronounced on them, and that there was
   no hope left. We hence see that God positively declares that it was his
   purpose to destroy the people, and that therefore there was no room for
   prayer.

   But it may be asked, Whether the Prophet, by going on in praying,
   offended God? for we shall see that he was still so anxious for the
   welfare of the people that he ceased not to pray: and what is said of
   Jeremiah is true also of all the other prophets; and the faithful have
   ever prayed for pardon, though the state of things had been brought to
   an extremity. But we must observe, that God, when he thus issues a
   simple prohibition, often stimulates the prayers of his people,
   according to what we read of Samuel; for though he knew from God's own
   mouth that Saul was rejected, he yet from love ceased not to seek his
   good and to intercede God for him. (1 Samuel 15:35; 1 Samuel 16:1) But
   the prophets doubtless paid regard to God's counsel in this case: yet
   as God did not speak for the sake of Jeremiah, but of the people, the
   Prophet is not to be charged with rashness or presumption, or foolish
   obstinacy or inconsiderate zeal, for having afterwards prayed; for he
   knew that this was not so much for his sake as on account of the
   people.

   But there is another thing to be observed, -- that Jeremiah was not
   forbidden to pray for the remnant, that is, for the elect, and for the
   seed from which the Church was afterwards to arise; but he was
   forbidden to pray for the whole body of the people: and no doubt he
   felt assured from that time that no remedy could be applied, and that
   the people would be driven into exile. This then is to be understood of
   the whole mass of the people; Jeremiah might still pray for the elect,
   and also for the new Church, that is, for the renewal of the Church: he
   was not indeed to pray that the Lord would not execute the vengeance
   which had been already decreed, for that could not be turned aside by
   any prayers.

   We now then understand the meaning of this passage, -- that Jeremiah
   prayed daily for all men, and also for the renewal of the Church; but
   that he was to look for the calamity of exile as a certain thing, for
   this had been fixed by God.

   As to the words, Raise not for them a cry or a prayer, we have said
   elsewhere that there are two ways of speaking, which though different
   in some respects, are yet the same in meaning -- to raise up and to
   cast a prayer. Hence the saints are said sometimes to cast their
   prayers: "Let my prayer be cast in thy presence."'For no one is rightly
   prepared to call on God, except he is cast down in himself and laid
   prostrate. Hence the prayers of the saints are said to be cast on
   account of their humility; they are also said to be raised up on
   account of the fervor of their zeal, and also on account of their
   confidence. And that he repeats the same thing in different words is
   not without a meaning; for it is the same as though he had.said, "Thou
   wilt do nothing by beseeching, praying, interceding and supplicating."
   God then confirms by these several words that he would not hereafter be
   reconciled to the people.

   It follows, For I will not hear them at the time when they shall cry to
   me There seems not to be a suitable reason given here, for God might
   have conceded to the Prophet what had not been denied to the ungodly
   and the rebellious: but he simply means that he would be a severe Judge
   in executing punishment, so that there would be no room for mercy: I
   will not then hear them; that is, "If even they cry, I will not hear
   them, (it is an argument from the greater to the less) much less then
   will I hear thee for them." But why was not God propitious to his
   servant? To this I answer, that God is more ready to shew mercy when
   any one himself calls on him, than when he is supplicated by others.
   The meaning is, that whether they themselves prayed or employed others
   to pray for them, God would not be reconciled to them.

   What might be objected here has been elsewhere answered; for if they
   had from the heart and sincerely prayed, God would have no doubt heard
   them; for that promise never disappoints any,

   "Nigh is God to all who call upon him;" (Psalm 145:18)

   but it is added, "in truth." As then hypocrites are here spoken of who
   poured forth rambling and false prayers, and blended the worship of the
   true God with that of their own idols, it is no wonder that. God
   rejected their prayers, for our prayers are sanctified by faith and
   repentance. When, therefore, unbelief prevails, and when the heart
   cleaves perversely to wickedness, our prayers are polluted and
   presumptuous; for then the name of God is profaned. It is therefore not
   strange that God rejects those who call on him hypocritically. [43] It
   follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [43] See a [3]note in vol. 1. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:15

   15. What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought
   lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou
   doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

   15. Quid dilecto meo in domo men? dum facit ipsa abominationem cum
   multis; et cato sanctuarii transierunt abs to; quia dum male fecisti,
   tunc gloriaris.


   As the words are concise, this passage is in various ways perverted by
   interpreters: brevity is commonly obscure. But the explanation almost
   universally received is this, -- that the Prophet in this sense, think
   also that the Temple is called his house, on account of his concern for
   religion, for which he was very zealous. As then he had preferred God's
   Temple to all earthly things, they think that he thus spoke, What has
   my beloved to do in mine house? But Jonathan much more correctly
   applies the words to God; and doubtless, whoever wisely considers the
   Prophet's words will wonder that so many learned men have been mistaken
   on a point by no means doubtful. God then, no doubt, speaks here; and
   he calls his people beloved on account of their adoption.

   But the expression is ironical: we cannot think otherwise when we
   consider how great was the impiety of the people, and how unworthy they
   were of such an honor on account of their ingratitude. It is yet not
   strange that they were called beloved, as in other places, for they had
   been chosen by God. They were in a similar way called "upright" in the
   song of Moses; and yet Moses, in that very song, declared how wickedly
   they had departed from their God. (Deuteronomy 32:15) But he called
   them "upright" in reference to God; for though men do not answer to
   their vocation, yet the counsel of God remains firm, and can never be
   changed by the wickedness of men. Though then all had then become
   apostates, yet God did not suffer his covenant to be abolished, Hence
   Paul, in speaking of the Jews, in Romans 11:28, when almost all had
   become the bitterest enemies to the gospel, and had, through their
   unfaithfulness, wholly forfeited their privileges, so as to become
   aliens, yet says that they were beloved on account of their fathers:

   "For you," he says, "they are indeed for a time enemies;"

   which means, that God designed to give their place to the Gentiles, and
   to adopt them; and yet that, on account of his covenant, they remain,
   and will remain beloved, that is, with regard to the first adoption.

   I shall quote no other similar passages, for it is enough to understand
   the real meaning of the term: What then has my beloved to do in my
   house? which means, "Why do the Jews now pretend to come to the Temple
   to sacrifice to me? Why do they profess themselves to be my people?
   What have they to do with my house?" that is, "What have they to do
   with anything like holiness?" Hence he indirectly touches the Jews in
   two ways, -- that they bad precluded themselves from the advantage of
   offering sacrifices in the temple, -- and that it was an increase of
   their crime, that while they were God's friends, that is, when he
   bestowed on them his favor, and embraced them as a father his own
   children, they yet carried on war with him as his avowed enemies,
   according to what is elsewhere said,

   "Ah! I will take vengeance on mine enemies." (Isaiah 1:24)

   We now see that this meaning is the most suitable. God shews that his
   temple was polluted by the Jews, when they thoughtlessly rushed there
   to offer their sacrifices; What have you, he says, to do with my house?
   Nearly the same thing is said in the first chapter of Isaiah; for God
   there contemptuously reproves the Jews because they trod the pavement
   of his temple: "I truly do not owe you anything; ye indeed come to my
   courts, but for what purpose? Ye only wear out the pavement of my
   temple: Stay then at home, and think not that I am bound to you because
   ye come to the temple." So also in this place, What has my beloved to
   do with my house? He concedes to them the title Beloved, as though he
   had said, "Ye are, it is true, beloved, and ye think that God is bound
   to you; for, relying on the covenant which I made with your father
   Abraham, ye always continue to make this boasting -- We are the people
   of God and his heritage; we are a holy nation and a royal priesthood'
   -- Beloved ye are," he says, "but what have you to do with my Temple?"

   Then he adds, For she has done abomination with many The gender is here
   changed, for the relative is feminine: but this mode of speaking is
   everywhere common, as the people are represented to us under the
   character of a woman. Then he in effect says, "Behold the daughter of
   my people hath done abomination with many." The Jews were not to enter
   the Temple except they remained as it were fixed in its pure worship;
   for as it was the only true Temple, and had in it the only true altar,
   so they ought to have worshipped none but the only true God, and also
   to have observed one rule only in worshipping him. But he says here
   that they had done abomination; and thus he charged them with those
   impious devices, those spurious forms of worship which they had
   adopted, and thus departed from what had been prescribed to them; for
   abomination is set here in opposition to the law. He says further, that
   they did this with many. We hence see that the gate of the Temple was
   closed against them, for the Temple could not be separated from the
   law, nor yet from God, to whom it was dedicated The Jews, having
   forsaken the law, and adopted innumerable idols, thrust themselves into
   the Temple; and hence we see the reason why God complains that they
   still came to the Temple: "As then they have done abomination, and done
   it with many, they have no more anything to do with my law." The Temple
   was a visible image of the one true God, and also the holy receptacle
   of his law. They despised the law, and gloried in innumerable gods:
   they sought thus to blend the sanctity of the Temple with a multitude
   of gods, and with their own depravations and devices.

   He says afterwards, that the flesh of the sanctuary had passed away
   from them: The flesh of the sanctuary have passed away Some apply this
   to all the faithful, according to that saying,

   "Silent before God let all flesh be," (Habakkuk 2:20)

   but this is forced, and without meaning. He speaks no doubt of
   sacrifices, and says, that the flesh of the sanctuary, that is,
   sacrifices, had departed from the people. They no doubt still offered
   sacrifices very regularly; but God did not accept their sacrifices,
   because they had corrupted his true worship. This then is the reason
   why he says that the flesh of the sanctuary had departed from the
   people, as in other places he denies that it was offered to him. At the
   same time the Jews wished sacrifices to be regarded as offered to him,
   and doubtless they boldly referred to them in opposition to the
   prophets. But God did not accept them, though they sought thus to
   render him as it were a debtor. "It is not to me," he says, "that ye
   offer your sacrifices, but to idols." So also in this place he says,
   The flesh of the sanctuary is taken away from them; for their
   sacrifices had become polluted. They were then nothing but putrid
   carcases; for victims, ought to have been offered in the Temple; but
   they had polluted the Temple, so that it had become a den of robbers,
   and like a dunghin, in short, a brothel, as Scripture speaks elsewhere.
   There was then now, doubtless, no flesh of the sanctuary; [44] that is,
   no lawful sacrifice, such as God approved.

   Let us then know that hypocrites, as soon as they depart from the true
   worship of God, do nothing that can avail them, though they may busy
   themselves much, and even weary themselves in worshipping God, for all
   that they offer is abominable. If then we desire to render to God such
   services as he will accept and approve, let us regard this truth --
   that obedience is more valued by him than all sacrifices. (1 Samuel
   15:22)

   He adds another complaint, -- that when they did evil, they gloried in
   it. And there is a causal particle introduced, Because, he says, thou
   gloriest when thou hast done evil The Prophet no doubt means, that they
   had by no means a right to contend, because they had not only corrupted
   true religion, but were also proud of their superstitions, and despised
   God, and set up their own devices against his law. But it was an
   intolerable thing for men to attempt to subject God to their own will,
   or rather to their own fancies. Indeed, the faithful do not so purely
   and so perfectly sacrifice to God, but that some vices are mixed with
   their offerings; but God nevertheless receives what they offer, though
   there be some mixture of defilement. How so? Because they acquiesce not
   in their own performances, but, on the contrary, aspire after purity,
   though they do not attain it; but when hypocrites exalt themselves
   against God, and proudly despise his teaching, and prefer their own
   inventions, and dare even to set up these against his authority, it is
   doubtless a diabolical presumption, such as contaminates what would
   otherwise be most holy. [45] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [44] "Holy fleshes," krea hagia, carnes sanctae, is the version of the
   Septuagint and Vulgate, and "holy flesh" is the Syriac; but the Targum
   has "the worship of my sanctuary." Blayney renders it "holy flesh." The
   word qds means holy, or holiness, and mqds is the sanctuary. -- Ed

   [45] This verse has been variously rendered and explained. The versions
   all differ, and the Targum too; and none of them seem to render the
   original correctly. Blayney, following the Septuagint, has introduced
   corrections, but not authorized by any MSS. There is no different
   reading of any consequence. The literal rendering I consider to be as
   follows: -- 15. What, as to my beloved, is in my house her doing? Is
   not her plotting with many? -- Yea, the holy flesh do they take away
   from thee; When thou doest evil against me, then thou exultest. The
   word for "plotting" does not mean "lewdness," or "abomination," as
   rendered by all the versions, but devising, contriving, scheming,
   machinating; the reference is to the scheme of uniting the worship of
   God with the worship of idols. The Targum gives the idea, "they have
   taken counsel to sin greatly." All the versions agree in giving a
   Hiphil meaning to yvrv, cause to pass from -- to remove or take away.
   The "many" who advocated the worship of idols took away the holy flesh
   -- the sacrifices, and took them away from her, "the beloved," as, when
   given to idols, they would be of no benefit. The words, ky rtky, are
   literally, "when thy evil is against me." It is a similar mode of
   expression with qmy, "those who rise up against me," (2 Samuel 22:40.)
   Though it was an evil against God, yet they exulted in what they did.
   -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:16-17

   16. The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly
   fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it,
   and the branches of it are broken.

   16. Olivam viridem, pulchram fructu, forma, vocavit Jehova nomen tuum;
   ad vocem sermonis (alii vertunt, tumultus) magni accendit (accendere
   fecit) super eam, et fracti sunt rami ejus (alii vertunt transitive, et
   fregerunt ramos ejus)

   17. For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil
   against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of
   Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger
   in offering incense unto Baal.

   17. Nam Jehovah (copula enim hic accipitur vice causalis; quia Jehova)
   exercituum, quite plantavit, loquutus est (vel, pronunciavit) super to
   malum propter malitiam domus Israel et domus Jehudah, quam fecerunt
   sibi ad provocandum me, ad faciendum suffitum Baal.


   The Prophet says first that the Jews had indeed been for a time like a
   fruitful and a fair olive; then he adds, that this beauty would not
   prevent God from breaking its branches and entirely eradicating it. He
   afterwards confirms this declaration, and says, For God who had planted
   it, can also root it up whenever it pleases him. This is the import of
   the two verses.

   The Prophet no doubt derides here the vain confidence by which he knew
   the Jews were deceived: for they were so inebriated with their
   privileges that they dared to despise the very giver of them. Hence the
   Prophet thus addressed them, "Do ye think that so many vices will be
   unpunished? Ye omit nothing to kindle God's wrath against you, -- ye
   have polluted his Temple, ye have corrupted the whole of Divine
   worship, ye have despised the law; and can you think that the Lord will
   perpetually spare you?" But when the prophets thus assailed them, they
   had this answer, "What! will God leave his own Temple, concerning which
   he has sworn, This is my rest for ever? Is not this the Holy Land? And
   is not this also his heritage and his rest? And further, are we not his
   flock? Are we not his children? Are we not a holy people?" What then
   the Jews were wont arrogantly to claim, the Prophet concedes to them.
   "So," he says, "ye are a green olive, a fair and tall olive, a fruitful
   olive; all this I grant; but cannot God kindle a fire to burn the
   branches and to reduce to nothing the whole tree?" We now then
   understand the design of the Prophet.

   But the next verse must be joined, For Jehovah of hosts, who hath
   planted thee, etc.; as though he had said, "Your beauty and whatever
   that is valuable in you, is it from you? Surely, all your dignity and
   excellency have proceeded from the gratuitous kindness of God: know ye
   then that nothing comes from you, but from God and from his good
   pleasure. Then Jehovah, who has planted you, can, when he pleases, pull
   up by the roots a tree which he has himself planted."

   He says that it was a green olive, fair in fruit and form How so?
   Because God had favored them with much honor. This similitude is found
   in many other places, but yet it is various as to its meaning. It might
   indeed with regard to God's dealings be applied to the whole people;
   but as hypocrites deserved to be spoiled and stripped of their
   privileges, so that which was offered to all in common, could only be
   really applied to the faithful, according to what David says,

   "I am a fruitful olive in the house of God." (Psalm 52:8)

   He then no doubt separated himself from hypocrites, as though he had
   said, "Even hypocrites seek to have a place in God's Temple, and are as
   it were tall trees, but they are unfruitful: I shall then be a green
   olive in the house of God; but they will wither." But the Prophet, as I
   have said, compares the Jews to a green olive on account of their
   adoption and the free favor shewn to them; for God had raised them unto
   a high state of excellency and honor.

   But after having thus spoken by way of concession, he then adds, At the
   sound of a great tumult, or of a great word, he will kindle his fire
   upon it, and broken shall be its branches Some, as I have said, render
   the last clause, "and they have broken its branches." As to what is
   intended, there is nothing dubious; but if we take the verb in an
   active sense, something must be understood, that is, that enemies, who
   will be like fire, shall break its branches. [46] Then follows what I
   have said to be a confirmation, -- that Jehovah, who had planted it,
   had spoken of or pronounced an evil, or a calamity against it. He thus
   shews that there was no reason for them to trust in their present
   beauty; for they had it not from themselves, but possessed it only at
   the will of another; for God who had planted them, could also destroy
   them. But on this subject more shall be said.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [46] This clause is difficult. The versions give no assistance. The
   word hmvlh, or rather hmlh, is rendered "circumcision" by the
   Septuagint, "speech' by the Vulgate, "decree" by the Syriac, "tumult"
   by our version, and clamor by Blayney. It occurs only in one other
   place, Ezekiel l:24; where it stands in apposition with the "voice of
   the Almighty," which means there, and often elsewhere, "thunder:" and
   its meaning there is evidently the breaking of thunder or the
   thunderclap. It comes from ml, to cut, to break, to shiver. Then the
   noun is literally breaking, or crashing; it is the bursting noise of
   thunder. The other difficulty is lyh, rendered "upon it" in our version
   as well as in the early versions: but "it" is feminine in Hebrew, and
   "of it" after branches is masculine, the same gender with "olive." None
   have accounted for this anomaly. Blayney has indeed made the word a
   participle to agree with fire, -- "a fire mounting upwards;" but this
   can hardly be admitted. I would render the verse thus, -- An olive,
   flourishing, beautiful in fruit, in form, Hath Jehovah called thy name:
   At the sound of a great thunderclap, -- Kindled hath he a fire by it;
   And shivered have been its branches. The verb for "kindled" is in
   Hiphil, and "by it" is the "thunderclap," which is feminine, and "its"
   is the "olive," which is masculine. Houbigant refers this passage to
   thunder. The past tense is used for the future. He compares the nation
   to a flourishing tree, and then he speaks of its destruction by a fire
   kindled by the breaking of a thunder: the fire is the lightning. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast deigned to gather us into thy
   Church, we may never turn aside in the least from the purity of thy
   worship, but always regard what pleases thee, and learn to direct our
   doings and our thoughts in obedience to thy truth, and worship thee so
   purely both in spirit and in external forms, that thy name may be
   glorified by us, and that we may especially retain that purity which
   thou everywhere commendest to us, so that we may be indeed the members
   of thy only begotten Son; and that as he has sanctified himself on our
   account, we may also through his Spirit be made partakers of the same
   sanctification, until he at length will gather us into his celestial
   kingdom, which he has obtained for us by his own blood. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Seventh

   We mentioned yesterday why the Prophet reminded the Jews, that they had
   been planted by God; it was, that they might know that they did not
   stand through their own power, and that they had their roots elsewhere,
   even in the good pleasure of God. The import of the whole is, that
   whenever God pleased they would instantly perish; for they stood not
   through their own power, but only through his favor: and this is what
   he confirms elsewhere, by comparing God to a potter and the people to
   vessels of clay. Similar is the argument which Quintilian quotes from
   the Medea of Ovid, "I was able to save thee, and dost thou ask whether
   I can destroy thee?" As then the Jews, relying on their long
   tranquinity and on their forces, thought themselves beyond the reach of
   danger, the Prophet ridicules this confidence; he shews how vain it
   was, for God had planted them, and so he could easily root them up
   again.

   But this metaphor is very common in Scripture: yet the comparison is
   the more suitable when the Church is said to have been planted by God;
   for as a tree draws juice and strength from a hidden root, so the
   faithful draw their life from the hidden election of God: but this
   refers to the hope of eternal life. The same is meant by Christ in
   Matthew 15:13, when he says,

   "Every planting," that is, every tree, "which my Father hath not
   planted shall be rooted up."

   He then says, that the elect alone are planted by God, for they have
   their roots in the hidden life of God. But this is also extended much
   farther, even to the external state of the Church, according to what is
   said in Psalm 44:2,

   "Thou hast rooted out the nations, and planted our fathers;"

   as we find also in the eightieth Psalm and in other places. As God then
   plants his own elect, so also in gathering an external Church to
   himself, he is said to plant it: but they who are thus planted may be
   again rooted up, as the Prophet here testifies; while secret election
   cannot be changed.

   We must then observe this difference, -- that God's children have their
   roots in his eternal election, respecting which there can be no
   repentance and no change. But the external state of the Church is also
   compared to a planting: yet they who flourish for a time and are full
   of leaves and seem also to produce some fruit, are rooted up by God's
   hand, when they become degenerate. And this mode of speaking is to be
   taken sometimes still more generally, according to what we shall see in
   the next chapter, and also in other parts of Scripture.

   The Prophet says that God had spoken concerning the wickedness of
   Israel This refers to what had been taught: for though the Jews had
   already in part felt the just judgment of God, yet they still continued
   in safety. He then says that ruin was nigh them, for God had announced
   it by his servants. And he adds, that it was on account of the
   wickedness [47] of both kingdoms; and this was said in order to
   dissipate all their complaints; for we know that men are ever ready to
   clamor whenever God chastises them, as though they wished to contend
   with him. But the Prophet shews here, that God would deal thus severely
   with the Jews, because they had never ceased to provoke his wrath by
   their evil deeds. Hence he says, that they had done it for themselves
   Some render the words, "And it shall therefore happen to them." But
   there seems to be much more force in the Prophet's words, when we say,
   that they had done evil for themselves, that is, to their own ruin. He
   adds, To provoke me, that is, their object; is to provoke me. In short,
   God intimates, that he would justly punish the Jews, because they had
   procured evil for themselves; and at the same time he points out the
   fountain of evil, for they had designedly provoked God by offering
   incense to Baal It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [47] It is literally "evil." There is here a striking instance of the
   same word used in two different senses -- the evil of punishment and
   the evil of sin. The verse is thus, -- And Jehovah of hosts, who hath
   planted thee, Hath spoken against thee an evil, For the evil of the
   house of Israel and of the house of Judah . Which they have done for
   themselves, By provoking me in burning incense to Baal. "For the evil,"
   etc., is unintelligibly rendered by Blayney, "In prosecution of the
   evil," etc.; vgll is a preposition, and is so rendered in all the early
   versions and the Targum: it is also so found in many other parts of
   Scripture. "Which they have done? etc., may be rendered, Which they
   have procured for themselves; for the verb sh may sometimes be thus
   rendered. See Genesis 12:5; Genesis 31:1. But "which" refers to the
   first "evil," of which God had spoken, the evil of punishment -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:18

   18. And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then
   thou shewedst me their doings.

   18. Et Jehova ostendit mihi (cognoscere me fecit) et cognovi; tunc
   patefecisti mihi opera (vel, instituta) ipsorum.


   We know that they were all very wicked; and though they were proved
   guilty, yet they were not wining to yield, to acknowledge and confess
   their fault; but they raged against God and rose up against the
   prophets. And as they dared not to vomit forth their blasphemies
   against God, they assailed his servants and wished to appear as though
   their contest was with them. And this is not the vice only of one age,
   but we find that it prevails at this day; for when we boldly reprove
   hidden vices, immediately the profane make a clamor and say, "What!
   these divine; but who has made these things known to them? Have they
   this oracle from heaven?" As though, indeed, neither the word of God
   nor his Spirit can shew their power, except when children become
   judges! But the ungodly rise up against God's servants for this end,
   that they may with impunity do this and that, and everything, except
   what may draw them before an earthly tribunal, and be proved by clear
   and many evidences

   For this reason the Prophet says, that made known, to him had been the
   vices of his own nation; as though he had said, "I see that you will be
   ready to raise an objection, as ye are wont proudly to resist all
   reproofs and threatenings, as though you contended only with men; but I
   testify to you now beforehand, that I bring nothing of my own, nor
   divine of myself what any one of you thinks within: but know ye that
   God, who knoweth the heart, has committed to me my office. He has then
   appointed me to be the herald of his vengeance, he has appointed me as
   a herald to denounce war on you. So I do not come nor act in my own
   name: there is, then, no reason for you to deceive yourselves,
   according to your usual manner, as though I presumptuously reproved
   you, when yet your vices are concealed, it being peculiar to God to
   know what is hid in the hearts of men. The recesses of the heart are
   indeed intricate, and great darkness is within; but God sees more
   dearly than men. Cease then to make this objection which ye are wont to
   raise against me, that I am presumptuous in bringing forth to light
   what lies hid in darkness, for God has appointed me to bring these
   commands to you: as he knows the heart, and as nothing escapes him, and
   as he penetrates into our thoughts and feelings, so he has also
   designed by his word which he has put in my mouth to render public what
   ye think is concealed."

   We now see the design of the Prophet: but some take a different view,
   that God had made known to his servant Jeremiah the impious conspiracy
   of which he afterwards speaks, and thus connect the two verses. But I
   doubt not that the Prophet intended here to shew what and how much
   weight belonged to his doctrine, the credit and authority of which the
   Jews thought of detracting by boastfully alleging that he, a mortal
   man, assumed too much, and announced uncertain divinations. Hence, to
   repel such calum -- nies, he wished to testify that he threatened them
   not inconsiderately, nor spoke what he supposed or conjectured, when he
   exposed their sins, but that he only declared faith. -- fully what had
   been enjoined by God and revealed also by the Holy Spirit. This is what
   is meant. [48] It afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [48] Calvin connects this verse with the foregoing, but most with what
   follows. The first verb in the Septuagint is a prayer, "Lord, make
   known to me, and I shall know." The Syriac and Arabic are the same. The
   Vulgate takes the verb in the second person, "O Lord, thou hast made
   known," etc. Venema seems to agree in part with Calvin; he connects the
   first clause with the foregoing, and the second with the following
   verse; and this appears to be the best construction. Then the v is
   "when," as it may be rendered when followed as here by 'z, "then," --
   When Jehovah made me to know, so that I knew these things; Then thou
   didst shew me their doings. That is, when Jehovah made known to him
   what he had previously related, he then shewed to him also the doings,
   or the purposes, of the men of Anathoth, which he afterwards more
   particularly mentions. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:19

   19. But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter;
   and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us
   destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from
   the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.

   19. Ego autem quasi agnus, bos ductus ad immolandum (ad mactandum) et
   non cognovi quod contra me cogitarent cogitationes (hoc est, inirent
   consilia, nempe) corrumpamus ligno panera ejus (ad verbum est,
   corrumpamus lignum in pane; sed dicemus post de sensu verborum) et
   excidamus eum e terra vivorum, et nomen ejus non memoretur amplius.


   The Prophet adds here, as I think, that he did not retaliate private
   wrongs: for the Jews might, under this pretext, have rejected his
   doctrine, and have said, that he was moved by anger to treat them
   sharply and severely. And doubtless, whosoever allows his own reelings
   to prevail in the least degree, cannot teach in sincerity; for he who
   prepares himself for the prophetic office, ought to put off all the
   affections of the flesh, and to manifest a pure, and, so to speak, a
   limpid zeal, and also a calm mind, so that he may seek nothing, and
   have no object but the glory of God and the salvation of those to whom
   he is sent a teacher. Whosoever then is under the influence of private
   feelings cannot act otherwise than violently, so that he cannot either
   faithfully or profitably discharge the office of a prophet or a
   teacher.

   Hence the Prophet now adds, in the second place, that he did not plead
   his own cause, nor had respect, as they say, to his own person; for he
   knew not what the Jews had devised against him. They who join the two
   verses think that they have some reason for doing so, as they suppose
   that the Prophet now expresses more fully what he had before briefly
   touched upon: but if any maturely considers the whole passage, he will
   easily see that Jeremiah had another object in view, and that was, to
   secure authority to his doctrine. The Jews probably employed two ways
   to discredit the holy Prophet: "O, thou divinest! -- the same thing, as
   we have said, is done now by many." He therefore summons the Jews here
   before God's tribunal, and shews that it was nothing strange, that he
   brought to light what they thought to be hidden, because it had been
   revealed to him by the Spirit of God. Even Christ said the same,

   "The Spirit, when he comes, shall judge the world."
   (John 16:8)

   The Spirit did not appear except in the doctrine of the Apostles; but
   he exercised by the Apostles his own functions. The Apostle also seems
   to have this in view in Hebrews 4:12, when he says, that the word of
   God is like a two -- edged sword, which penetrates into the inmost
   thoughts and hidden feelings, even to the marrow and bones, so as to
   distinguish between thoughts and feelings.

   Then the Prophet, in the first place, shews that it was nothing strange
   that he ascended above all human judgments, for he was endued with the
   authority of the Holy Spirit. And he adds, in the second place, that he
   was not influenced by carnal feelings, but by a pure zeal for God, for
   he knew not their wicked designs; and he says that he was like a lamb
   and an ox, or a calf. There is here no conjunction, and hence some join
   the two words, "And I am like a lamb a year old:" for the Hebrews, they
   say, call a lamb a year old kvs, cabesh, and then a ram; but this is,
   in my view, a forced meaning, and a copulative or a disjunctive may be
   supposed to be understood. I am then as a lamb or as a calf, which is
   led to the slaughter (to be sacrificed or kined) Here the Prophet
   intimates that he was not violent, as angry men are wont to be, who are
   excited either by indignation or great grief. He then testifies that he
   was moved by no such feeling, for he differed nothing from a lamb or a
   calf that is led to the slaughter. [49]

   For the sake of amplifying, he adds, I knew not that they devised
   devices against me, that is, this did not come to my mind. The Prophet,
   indeed, might have suspected or even have known this; but as he
   disregarded himself, and even his own life, he testifies here that he
   had acted with so much simplicity as not to regard what they planned
   and contrived.

   He then adds, Let us spoil wood in his bread They think rightly,
   according to my judgment, who consider that there is here a change of
   case; for it ought rather to be, "Let us spoil with wood his bread:"
   for that exposition is too unmeaning, "Let us spoil or destroy wood,"
   as though they spoke of a thing of no value: for what has this to do
   with the subject? On the contrary, if we retain, as they say, the
   letter, the Prophet might think that wood would be spoiled in bread, as
   it would become rotten: but wood in bread, except by becoming rotten,
   would do no harm. But doubtless the Prophet speaks here metaphorically,
   as David does in Psalm 69:22, when he says,

   "They have put gall in my bread, and vinegar in my drink."

   Jeremiah also, in Lamentations 3:15, complains that his food was
   mingled with poison. Similitudes of this kind often occur; for when the
   very food of man is corrupted, there is no more any support for life.
   The meaning then is, that his enemies had acted cruelly towards the
   Prophet, as they sought in every way to destroy him, even by poison.

   Some take wood for poison, but I know not whether that can be done.
   They indeed imagine that a poisonous wood is what is here meant; but
   this is too refined. I take the meaning to be simply this, as though
   they had said, "Let us spoil with wood his food," that is, "Let us give
   him wood instead of bread; and this, by its hardness, will hurt his
   teeth, ulcerate his throat, and cannot be digested so as to become
   nourishment." To spoil this bread with wood is to cause the wood to
   spoil the food either by its hardness or by its putridity. In this
   sense there is nothing ambiguous.

   The ancients perverted this passage in the most childish manner when
   they applied it to the body of Christ. The Papists too, at this day,
   boast wonderfully of this allegory, though they make the most absurd
   use of it; for they seek to prove by it that bread is converted, or, as
   they say, transubstantiated into the body of Christ; and they quote
   Origen and Irenaeus, and others like them: "Behold, explained is that
   passage of Jeremiah, let us send wood for his bread, (such is the
   meaning of the Vulgate) for the body of Christ has been crucified;" and
   then they add, "For he said, Take and eat, this is my body.'"We see how
   extremely absurd this is; and it must appear ridiculous even to
   children. But so great is the dishonesty and wantonness of the Papists,
   that they cast off all shame, and only boastfully pretend the authority
   of the ancients; and whatever Origen may have foolishly and falsely
   said, they will have it to be regarded as something oracular, provided
   their errors are thereby confirmed. But if we grant that the Prophet
   was a type of Christ, what has this to do with the similitude of his
   body, since he speaks here only of food? It is as though he had said,
   that his aliment was corrupted, as it were, with poison, and that he
   was so cruelly treated by his enemies, that they sought to destroy him
   by the means of his food. [50]

   It then follows, Let us cut him off from the land of the living This
   kind of speaking often occurs: the land or region of the living means
   the state of the present life. He at last adds, That his name may not
   be in remembrance any more In short, the Prophet meant in these words
   to set forth the extreme savageness with which his enemies were
   inflamed; for they were not content with intrigues or with open
   violence, but wished to destroy him by poison, and wholly to obliterate
   his name. it follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [49] All the early versions, and the Targum render 'lvph as a
   participle or an adjective, -- "akakon, innocent," by the Septuagint;
   "mansuetus, meek," by the Vulgate; simple, by the Syriac; and choice or
   chosen by the Targum. The word used as a verb means to teach, to train,
   to guide; and it seems here to be a passive participle, taught,
   trained, and may be rendered here docile, meek or innocent, -- But I --
   as a meek lamb led to be killed was I
   And I knew not, that against me they had devised devices. The
   Septuagint render the last words "they have thought an evil thought,"
   and, "I knew not," is connected with the former line thus, -- But I, as
   an innocent lamb led to be slain, I knew not:
   Against me have they thought an evil thought. But the construction in
   the other versions, and in the Targum, is according to the former
   rendering. -- Ed.

   [50] But the best meaning is that given by the Syriac, and has been
   adopted in our version, and by Gataker, Venema, Henry, Horsley, Scott,
   and Adam Clarke, -- "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;" that is,
   the Prophet and his prophecy. "In this case," says Horsley, "the man is
   the tree; his doctrine the fruit." But there seems to be an allusion in
   the words to "the olive" mentioned in Jeremiah 11:16, which was
   threatened with destruction: and Jeremiah's enemies, adopting his
   simile, by way of irony apply it to himself: "Well, thou comparest us
   to an olive devoted to ruin; we shall now deal with thee accordingly:
   thou art a tree, and we shall cut thee down and destroy thee and all
   the fruit thou bearest." The whole verse I would render as follows, --
   19. And I -- as a meek lamb led to be killed was I And I knew not that
   against me they had devised these devices: -- "Let us destroy the tree
   with its fruit, Yea, let us cut him down from the land of the living;
   And his name, let it be remembered no more." -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 11:20

   20. But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the
   reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee
   have I revealed my cause.

   20. Et, Jehova exercituum, judicans justintam, (ant, judex justitiae)
   scrutans (vel, inquirens) renes et cor, videam ultionem tuam de ipsis;
   quia tibi revelavi causam meam, (litem meam, ad verbum)


   Here the Prophet, after having found that the impiety of the people was
   so great that he was speaking to the deaf, turns his address to God: O
   Jehovah of hosts, he says, who art a great Judge, who searchest the
   reins and the heart, may I see thy vengeance on them The Prophet seems
   here inconsistent with himself;, for he had before declared that he was
   like a lamb or a calf, as though he had offered, as they say, his life
   a wining sacrifice; but here he seems like one made suddenly angry, and
   he prays for God's vengeance. These things appear indeed to be very
   different; for if he had offered himself a victim, why did he not wait
   calmly for the event; why is he inflamed with so much displeasure? why
   does he thus imprecate on them the vengeance of God? But these things
   will well agree together, if we distinguish between private feeling and
   that pure and discreet zeal by which the meekness of truth can never be
   disturbed. For though the Prophet disregarded his own life, and was not
   moved by private wrongs, he was nevertheless not a log of wood; but
   zeal for God did eat up his heart, according to what is said in common
   of all the members of Christ,

   "Zeal for thine house hath eaten me, and the reproaches of those who
   upbraided thee have fallen on me." (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17; Romans 15:3)

   The Prophet then had previously freed himself from all suspicion by
   saying that he was prepared for the slaughter, as though he were a lamb
   or a calf; but he now shews that he was, notwithstanding, not destitute
   of zeal for God. Here then he gives vent to this new fervor when he
   says, "O Jehovah, who searchest the reins and the heart, may I see thy
   vengeance on them."

   The Prophet, no doubt, was free from every carnal feeling, and
   pronounced what we read through the influence of the Spirit. Since then
   the Holy Spirit dictated this prayer to the holy man, he might still
   have offered himself a voluntary sacrifice, while yet he justly
   appealed to God's tribunal to take vengeance on the impiety of a
   reprobate people; for he did not indiscriminately include them all, but
   imprecated God's judgment on the abandoned and irreclaimable.

   It is indeed true, that we may regard the Prophet as predicting what he
   knew would happen to his people: and some give this explanation; they
   consider it as a prediction only and no prayer. But they are terrified
   without reason at the appearance of inconsistency, as they think it
   inconsistent in the Prophet to desire the perdition of his own people:
   for he might have wished it through the influ ence of that zeal, as I
   have said, which the Holy Spirit had kindled in his heart, and
   according to the words which the same Spirit had dictated.

   He calls God the Judge of righteousness; and he so called him, that he
   might wipe away and dissipate the disguises in which the Jews exulted
   when they sought to prove their own cause. By this then he intimates
   that they gained no -- thing by their evasions, for these would vanish
   like smoke when they came before God's tribunal. He, in short, means
   that they could not stand before the judgment of God. He then adds,
   that God searches the reins and the heart He says this, not only that
   he might testify his own integrity, as some suppose, but that he might
   rouse hypocrites. For he intimates that they stood safe before men, as
   they concealed their wickedness, but that when they came before God's
   tribunal another kind of account must then be given; for God would
   prove and try them, as the word vchn, bechen, signifies: he would
   search the ruins and the heart, that is, their most inward feelings;
   For the Scripture means by reins all the hidden feelings or affections.

   He says, For to thee have I made known my judgment The Prophet, no
   doubt, appeals here to God's tribunal, because he saw that he was
   destitute of every patronage -- he saw that all were against him. Few
   pious men indeed were left, as we have elsewhere seen; but the Prophet
   speaks here of the mass of the people. As then there was no one among
   the people who did not then openly oppose God, so that there was no
   defender of equity and justice, he turns to God and says, "I have made
   known my cause to thee;" as though he had said, "O Lord, thou knowest
   what my cause is, and I do not act dissemblingly; for I serve thee
   faithfully and sincerely, as thou knowest. Since it is so, may I see
   thy vengeance on them." [51]

   Now, we are taught in this passage, that even were the whole world
   united to suppress the light of truth, Prophets and teachers ought not
   to despond, nor to rely on the judgment of men, for that is a false and
   deceptive balance; but that they ought to persevere in the discharge of
   their office, and to be satisfied with this alone -- that they render
   their office approved of God, and exercise it as in his presence. We
   may also learn, that the ungodly and hypocrites in vain make shifts and
   evasions, while they try to elude the authority of the Prophets; for
   they will at length be led before God's tribunal. When therefore we
   find teachers rightly and sincerely discharging their office, let us
   know that we cannot possibly escape the judgment of God except we
   submit to their teaching. And Prophets and pastors themselves ought to
   learn from this passage, that though the whole world, as I have already
   said, were opposed to them, they ought not yet to cease from their
   perseverance, nor be changeable, but to consider it enough that God
   approves of their cause. It afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [51] The beginning of the verse is differently rendered: "O Lord," in
   the vocative case, by the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac; "The
   Lord," by the Arabic and Targum. All the versions agree as to the
   imprecation, "May I see -- idoimi -- videam:" but the Targum has, "I
   shall see;" and so it is rendered by Gataker, Venema, Scott, and Adam
   Clarke. The verb is future, but the future in Hebrew has sometimes the
   meaning of the optative or the subjunctive, as well as of the
   imperative. But the future is the most suitable here; for the v before
   "Jehovah" will not allow it to be in the vocative case. The verse then
   would be as follows, -- 20. But Jehovah of hosts, who art a righteous
   judge, The trier of the reins and of the heart, I shall see thy
   vengeance on them; For on thee have I devolved my cause. "Jehovah of
   hosts" is a nominative absolute -- a form of expression very common in
   the Prophets. -- Ed.
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   Jeremiah 11:21-23

   21. Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy
   life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not
   by our hand:

   21. Propterea sic dicit Jehova ad viros Anathoth, qui qumrunt anitaare
   tuam, dieendo, Ne prophetes in horninc Jehow, et non morieris in manu
   nostra, (hoc est, ne moriaris manu nostra)

   22. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them:
   the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters
   shall die by famine:

   22. Propterea sic dicit Jehova exercituum, Ecce ego vlsitans (visitabo)
   super eos; adolescentes eorum monentur gladio, filii eorum et filiae
   eorum morientur fame:

   23. And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon
   the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.

   23. Et residuum non erit ipsis, (hoc est, nihil erit ipsis residuum)
   quia re hire faciam malum super homines Anathoth anno visitationis
   ipsorum (alii vertunt, annum, sod male, meo judicio)


   The Prophet here expressly denounces vengeance on his own people: for
   we have seen at the beginning of this book that he belonged to the town
   of Anathoth. Now it appears from this passage, that the holy man had
   not only to contend with the king and his courtiers, and the priests,
   who were at Jerusalem; but that when he betook himself to a corner to
   live quietly with his own people, he had even there no friend, but that
   all persecuted him as an enemy. We hence see how miserable was the
   condition of the Prophet; for he had no rest, even when he sought
   retirement and fled to his own country. That he was not safe even
   there, is a proof to us how hardly God exercised and tried him for the
   many years in which he performed his prophetic office.

   As the citizens of Anathoth had grievously sinned, so he denounces on
   them an especial calamity. It is indeed certain that the Prophet was
   not kindly received at Jerusalem; nay, he met there, as we shall
   hereafter see, with enemies the most cruel: but when he hoped for some
   rest and relaxation in his own country, he was even there received as
   we find here. This is the reason why God commanded him to threaten the
   citizens of Anathoth with destruction. I cannot finish the whole today.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou remindest us in thy word of our many
   vices and sins, we may learn to direct our eyes and thoughts to thee,
   and never think that we have to do with a mortal being, but that we may
   anticipate thy judgment: and may we learn so to examine all our
   thoughts and try our feelings, that no hypocrisy may deceive us, and
   that we may not sleep in our sins; but that being really and truly
   awakened, we may humble ourselves before thee, and so seek thy pardon,
   that when we he down in true repentance, thou mayest absolve us in thy
   mercy, through the virtue of that sacrifice by which thine only --
   begotten Son has once for all reconciled us to thee. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Eighth

   CHAPTER 12
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:1

   1. Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee; yet let me talk
   with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked
   prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

   1. Justus es, Jehova, si contendam teeurn (st litigem, vel, quando
   litigabo) tamen judicia loquar teeurn (hoe est, disceptabojure teeurn:)
   Quousque via impiorum prosperabitur (re/, feliciter babebit) quieti
   sunt omnes transgredientes transgresstone?


   The minds of the faithful, we know, have often been greatly tried and
   even shaken, on seeing all things happening successfully and
   prosperously to the despisers of God. We find this complaint expressed
   at large in Psalm 73. The Prophet there confesses that he had well --
   nigh fallen, as he had been treading in a slippery place; he saw that
   God favored the wicked; at least, from the appearance of things, he
   could form no other judgment, but that they were loved and cherished by
   God. We know also that the ungodly become thus hardened, according to
   what is related of Dionysius, who said that God favored the
   sacrilegious; for he had sailed in safety after having plundered
   temples, and committed robberies in many places; thus he laughed to
   scorn the forbearance of God. And hence Solomon says, That when all
   things are in a state of confusion in the world, men's minds are led to
   despise God, as they think that all things happen on the earth by
   chance, and that God has no care for mankind. (Ecclesiastes 9) But with
   regard to the faithful, as I have already said, when they see the
   ungodly proceeding in all wickedness and evil deeds with impunity, and
   claiming the world to themselves, while God is, as it were, conniving
   at them, their minds cannot be otherwise than grievously distressed.
   And this is the view which interpreters take of this passage; that is,
   that he was disturbed with the prosperous condition of the wicked, and
   expostulated with God, as Habakkuk seems to have done at the beginning
   of the first chapter; but he appears to me to have something higher in
   view.

   We have said elsewhere, that when the Prophets saw that they spent
   their labor in vain on the deaf and the intractable, they turned their
   addresses to God as in despair. I hence doubt not but that it was a
   sign of indignation when the Prophet addressed God, having as it were
   given up men, inasmuch as he saw that he spoke to the deaf without any
   benefit. Here then he rouses the minds of the people, that they might
   know at length that he could not convince them that they were doomed to
   ruin by God. For when Jeremiah spoke to them, all his threatenlugs were
   scorned and laughed at; hence he now addresses God himself, as though
   he had said, that he would have nothing more to do with them, as he had
   labored wholly in vain. This then seems to have been the object of the
   Prophet.

   But lest the ungodly should have an occasion for calumniating, he
   intended so to regulate his discourse as to give them no ground for
   cavining. Hence he makes this preface, -- that God is, or would be
   just, though he contended with him This order ought to be carefully
   observed; for when we give way in the least to our passions, we are
   immediately carried away, and we cannot restrain ourselves within
   proper limits and continue in a right course. As soon then as those
   thoughts, which may draw us away frc, in the fear of God, and lessen
   the reverence due to him, creep in, we ought to fortify our minds and
   to set up mounds, lest the devil should draw us on farther than we wish
   to go. For instance, when any one in the present day sees things in
   disorder in the world, he begins to reason thus freely with himself,
   "What does this mean? How is it that God suffers licentiousness to
   prevail so long? Why is it thathe thus conceals himself?" As soon then
   as these thoughts creep in, if we possess the true principle of
   religion, we shall try to restrain these wanderings, and to bring
   ourselves to the right way; but this will be no easy matter; for as
   soon as we pass over the boundaries, there is no restraint, no
   limitation. Hence the Prophet wisely begins by saying, Thou art just,
   though I contend with thee It is not only for the sake of others he
   speaks thus, but also to restrain in time his own feelings and not to
   allow himself more than what is right. We must still remember what I
   have said, -- that the Prophet here directs his words to God, in order
   that the Jews might know that they were left as it were without hope,
   and were unworthy that he should spend any more labor on them.

   He says, And yet I will speak judgments with thee; that is, I will
   dispute according to the limits of what is right and just. Some indeed
   take judgments for punishments, as though the Prophet wished the people
   to be punished; but of this I do not approve, for it is a strained
   view. To speak judgments, means nothing else than to discuss a point in
   law, to plead according to law, as it is commonly said. By saying, "I
   will legally contend," he does not throw off the restraint which he has
   before put on himself, but asks it as a matter of indulgence to set
   before God what might seem just and right to all. David, or the Prophet
   who was the author of that psalm which we have already quoted, (Psalm
   73) even when he expressed his own feelings and ingenuously confessed
   his own infirmity, yet made a preface similar to what is found here.
   But he there speaks as it were abruptly, "Yet thou art just;" he uses
   the same word 'k, ak, as Jeremiah does; but here it is put in the last
   clause, and there at the beginning of the sentence, "Yet good is God to
   Israel, even to those who are upright in heart." The Prophet no doubt
   was agitated and distracted in various ways, but he afterwards
   restrained himself. But it was otherwise with Jeremiah; for he does not
   confess here that he was tried, as almost all the faithful are wont to
   be; but as I have already said, he advisedly, and by the guidance of
   the Holy Spirit, addressed his words to God; for he intended to rouse
   the Jews, that they might understand that they were rejected, and
   rejected as unworthy of having their salvation cared for any longer.

   By saying then, Yet will I plead with thee, he doubtless intended to
   touch the Jews to the quick, as they were so extremely stupid.
   "Behold," he says, "I will yet contend with God, whether he will
   forgive you?" We now see the real meaning of the Prophet; for the Jews
   in vain brought forward their own prosperity as a proof that God was
   propitious to them; for this was nothing else than to abuse his
   forbearance. Jeremiah intended in short to shew, that though God might
   pass by them for a time, yet the wicked ought not on this account to
   flatter themselves, for his indulgence is no proof of his love; but, on
   the contrary, as we shall see, a heavier vengeance is accumulated, when
   the ungodly increasingly harden themselves while God is treating them
   with indulgence. This then is the reason why the Prophet says, that he
   would plead with God; he had regard more to men than to God. He yet
   does not set up the judgments of men against the absolute power of God,
   as the sophists under the Papacy do, who ascribe such absolute power to
   God as perverts all judgment and all order; this is nothing less than
   sacrilege.

   Now the Prophet does not call God to an account, as though there was no
   rule by which he regulated his works and governed the world. But by
   judgments he means, as I have said, what God had declared in his law;
   for it is written,

   "Cursed is every one who continueth not," etc.,
   (Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10)

   Now then as the Jews were transgressors of the law, nay, as they ceased
   not to provoke God to wrath by their vices, they ought surely,
   according to the ordinary course of justice, to have been immediately
   destroyed. Hence the Prophet says here, I will plead with thee; that
   is, "Hadst thou dealt with this people as they deserved, they must have
   been often reduced to nothing." At the same time he had no doubt, as we
   have said, respecting the rectitude of the divine judgment; only he had
   regard to those men who flattered themselves, and securely indulged
   themselves in their vices, because God diid not immediately execute
   those punishments with which he threatens the transgressors of his law.
   [52]

   Hence he says, How long shall the way of the wicked prosper? for secure
   are all they who by transgression transgress; that is, who are not only
   tainted with small vices, but who are extremely wicked. They then who
   openly rejected all religion and all care for righteousness, how was it
   that they were secure and that their way prospered? We now then more
   clearly understand what I have stated, -- that the Prophet turned his
   words to God, that he might more effectually rouse the stupid, so that
   they might know that they were in a manner summoned by this
   expostulation before the celestial tribunal. It now follows, --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [52] "Emboldened," says Blayney, "as it should seem, by the success of
   his prayers against the men of Anathoth, the Prophet ventures freely,
   though with professions of confidence in the divine justice, to
   expostulate with God concerning the prosperity of wicked men in
   general, whose punishment he solicits, attesting the mischiefs that
   were continually brought on the land by their unrestrained wickedness."
   I would render the verse thus, -- Righteous art thou, Jehovah; Though I
   should dispute with thee; Yet of judgments will I speak to thee, -- How
   is it.? the way of the wicked, it prospers; Secure are all the
   dissemblers of dissimulation. Perhaps the fourth line might be rendered
   thus, -- Why; the way of the wicked, it prospers. The order of the
   words will not admit it to be rendered otherwise. Blayney renders the
   last line as follows: -- At ease are all they who deal very
   perfidiously. The last words literally are, "all the cloakers of
   cloaking," or, "all the coverers of covering." But according to the
   secondary meaning of the word vgd the phrase would be, "all the
   dissemblers of dissimulation." The version of the Septuagint is, "all
   who prevaricate prevarications." What is meant evidently is, that they
   were hypocrites, and that by hypocrisy they covered their hypocrisy, --
   a true and a striking representation. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:2

   2. Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea,
   they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth,and far from their
   reins.

   2. Plantasti eos, etiam radieem egerunt; prodierunt, etiam fecerunt
   frueturn (produxerunt fructum:) prope es in ore ipsorum, et procul es a
   renibus ipsorum (hoc est, ab intimo affectu, renes enim alibi dixinms
   accipi pro affectibus arcanis)


   When the happiness of the wicked disturbs our minds, two false thoughts
   occur to us, -- either that this world is ruled by chance and not
   governed by God's providence, or that God does not perform the office
   of a good and righteous judge when he suffers light to be so blended
   with darkness. But the Prophet here takes it as granted, that the world
   is governed by God's providence; he therefore does not touch the false
   notion, which yet harasses pious minds, that fortune governs the world.
   Well known are these words, "I am disposed to think that there are no
   gods." [53] It was thought there were no gods who ruled the world,
   because he died who deserved a longer life. And the wisest heathens
   have thus spoken, "I see fortune, which yet no reason governs; I see
   fortune, which prevails more than reason in these matters." [54] But
   the Prophet, who was far removed from these profane notions, held this
   truth, that the world is governed by God; and he now asks, How it was
   that God exercised so long a forbearance? The ungodly, the thoughtless,
   and inconsiderate might have said that this forbearance was far too
   scanty. But the Prophet, as I have said, clearly describes what the
   Jews deserved.

   Then he says, that they had been planted by God; for they could not
   have prospered had not God blessed them. The metaphor of planting, as
   we have before seen, often occurs, but in a different sense. When the
   celestial life is the subject, God is said to have planted his own
   elect, because their salvation is sure. He is said also to have planted
   his people in the land which he had given to them as an heritage. Now,
   when he speaks of the reprobate, the Prophet says that they had been
   planted by God, and for these reasons, because they flourished, because
   they produced leaves, and because they brought forth some fruit. In
   short, as Scripture, for various reasons, compares men to trees, so it
   employs the word planting in a corresponding sense. The Prophet indeed
   says that the ungodly are supported by God, and this is certain; for
   were not God to deal kindly with them for a time, they could not but
   instantly perish. Hence their prosperity is a proof of God's
   indulgence. But the Prophet expresses his wonder at this, not so much
   through his own private feeling, as for the purpose of shewing to the
   Jews that it was a strange thing that they were tolerated so long by
   God, as they had a hundred times deserved to be wholly destroyed.

   Yea, he says, they have taken root By this metaphor he means their
   continued happiness. He says also, that they had advanced aloft; that
   is, were raised high and increased. [55] He then adds, that they had
   brought forth fruit The fruit of which he speaks was nothing else than
   their offspring; as though he had said, that the ungodly were not only
   prosperous to the end of life, but that they also propagated their
   kind, so that they had children surviving them, so that their families
   became celebrated. But the import of the whole is this, -- that God not
   only endured the ungodly for a time, but extended his indulgence to
   many ages, so that their descendants continued in the same wealth,
   dignity, and power, with their dead fathers.

   He afterwards adds, Thou indeed art nigh in their mouth, but thou art
   far from their reins Jeremiah no doubt intended to anticipate them; for
   he knew that the Jews would have objections in readiness, -- "What art
   thou, who summonest us here before God's tribunal, and who pleadest
   with God that he may not too patiently bear with us? Are not we his
   servants? Do we not daily offer sacrifices in the Temple? Are we not
   circumcised? Do we not bear in our bodies the sign of our adoption? Do
   we not possess a kingdom and a priesthood? Now, these are pledges of
   God's paternal love towards us, But thou wouldest have thyself to be
   more just than God himself. Can God deny himself? He has bound his
   faithfulness to us by the sign of circumcision, by the Temple, by the
   kingdom, by the priesthood, and by the sacrifices; and when we do
   anything amiss, then our sins are expiated by sacrifices and washings,
   and other rites."

   As then the Prophet knew that the Jews were wont thus loquaciously and
   perversely to defend their own cause, he says, "O, I see what they will
   say to me, even that which they are wont to say; for the common burden
   of their song is, that they are the children of Abraham, that they
   sacrifice, and have other ways of pacifying God, and then that they
   possess a priesthood and a kingdom. These things," he says, "are well
   known to me: but, O Lord, thou knowest that they are mere words; thou
   knowest that they act fallaciously, and that they do nothing but
   declare what is false when they pretend these vain shifts and evasions;
   for thou knowest the heart, (kardiognostes;) thou therefore
   understandest that there is nothing right or sincere in their mouth;
   for their reins are far from thee, and thou also art far from their
   reins." We hence also perceive with more certainty the truth of what I
   have stated, -- that the Prophet here pleads with God, in order that
   the Jews might know that they could in no way be absolved when they
   came before God's tribunal. It, follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [53] Ovid, Eleg. 8.

   [54] Ovid, Eleg. 8.

   [55] The verb is ylkv rendered "proficiunt -- proceed or advance," by
   the Vulgate and Syriac. The Septuagint must have read yldv, as the
   version is, they have brought forth children, which is wholly
   inconsistent with the simile of a tree. To "advance in growth," as
   Blayney renders it, is what is clearly meant. The Targum is a
   paraphrase, and the simile is wholly left out. To "become rich" is the
   corresponding expression, which gives the meaning. The gm, which occurs
   twice, would be better rendered "yea," as in our version, than "also,"
   as by Blaney, -- Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root;
   They thrive, yea, they have produced fruit: Nigh art thou to their
   mouth, But far from their reins. "They thrive," is literally "they go
   on," that is, after having rooted, or taken root. The "reins" stand for
   the affections -- fear, reverence, love,etc. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:3

   3. But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine
   heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and
   prepare them for the day of slaughter.

   3. Et tu, Jehova, cognoscis me (cognovisti me), videbis me (vides me),
   et probasti cor meum tecum (hoc est, probasti quale sit cor meum apud
   to, vel, coram to:) extrahe eos tanquam oves ad mactationem, et
   praepara eos ad diem occisionis.


   The Prophet is not here solicitous about himself, but, on the contrary,
   undertakes the defense of his own office, as though he had said that,
   he faithfully discharged the office committed to him by God. Though
   then the Jews, and even the citizens of Anathoth, his own people,
   unjustly persecuted him, yet he was not excited by private wrongs; and
   though he disregarded these entirely, he yet could not give up the
   defense of his office. He then does not speak here of his own private
   feelings, but only claims for himself faithfulness and sincerity before
   God in performing his office as a teacher; as though he had said that
   he executed what God had commanded him to do, and that therefore the
   Jews contended not with a mortal being, but with God himself.

   Hence he says, But thou, Jehovah, knowest me and seest me, and triest
   my heart towards thee; that is, thou knowest how sincerely I serve
   thee, and endeavor to fulfin my vocation, and thus to obey thy command.
   He afterwards glories over them as a conqueror, and says, Draw them
   forth as sheep for the day of sacrificing, prepare them for slaughter
   Here no doubt the Prophet intended not only to touch, but sharply to
   wound the Jews, in order that they might know that they had been
   hitherto secure to no purpose, and to their own ruin, because God had
   spared them. They who consider that the Prophet was himself troubled,
   because he saw that God was propitious and kind to the ungodly, think
   that, with reference to himself, he took comfort from this, -- that the
   judgment of God was nigh at hand; but I doubt not but that the Prophet
   had regard to the Jews, as I have already reminded you. When,
   therefore, he saw that they were torpid in their delusions, he intended
   to rouse their sensibilities by saying, "I see how it is, O Lord; thou
   dost indeed concede thyself; but what else is thy purpose but that they
   should be fattened for the day of slaughter?"

   He says, first, Thou wilt draw them out: others read, "Thou wilt lead
   them forth," and quote a passage in Judges 20:32, where ntq nutak, is
   taken in this sense. The word properly means to draw out with force, as
   when a tree is pulled up, or when any one is drawn out against his
   will; and this is the sense most suitable to the present passage. Thou
   wilt then draw them out; that is, thou wilt suddenly draw them out to
   slaughter. He then intimates that there was no reason for the Jews to
   be dormant in their prosperity, for God could in a moment act against
   them; and as the pain of one in labor is sudden, so also, when the
   wicked say, Peace and security, their ruin will come suddenly upon
   them. (1 Thessalonians 5:3) This then is what the Prophet now means:
   but he goes on in his way of teaching; for he does not address men as
   they were all deaf, but speaks to God himself, that his doctrine might
   be more effectual: Thou then wilt draw them out, and do thou prepare
   them; for it is a prayer: do thou then prepare them for the day of
   slaughter [56]

   The last expression ought especially to be noticed. The Prophet indeed
   seems here in an excited feeling to imprecate ruin on the people; but
   there is no doubt but that he was here discharging the duty of his
   office, for he was the herald of God's vengeance. He therefore asks God
   to execute what he had commanded him to denounce on the people. He had
   often promulgated what God had resolved to do to them, but he had moved
   no one: he now then asks God to fulfin what he had foretold the Jews --
   that they should shortly perish, because they refused to repent.

   We may also learn from this passage, -- that when the ungodly
   accumulate wealth, they are in a manner fattened. When oxen plough, and
   sheep are fed that they may bear wool and bring forth young, they are
   not fed that they may grow fat, and a moderate quantity of food will
   suffice them; but when any one intends to prepare sheep or oxen for the
   slaughter, he fattens them. So then the feeding of them is nothing else
   than the fattening of them; and the fattening of them is a preparation
   for their slaughter. I have therefore said that a very useful doctrine
   is included in this form of speaking; for when we see that plenty of
   wealth and power abound with the ungodly and the despisers of God, we
   see that they are in a manner thus fined with good things, that they
   may grow fat: -- it is fattening or cramming. Let us then not bear it
   in that they are thus covered with their own fatness, for they are
   prepared for the day of slaughter. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [56] This verse, according to the tenses of the verbs, is as follows:
   -- But thou, Jehovah, thou hast known me; Thou seest me, and triest my
   heart towards thee: Pull them out as sheep for the sacrifice, And set
   them apart for the day of slaughter. It is evident that "seest," which
   is here in the future tense, is to be taken as expressing a present
   act. It would be so rendered in Welsh, -- Ond ti Jehova, adwaenaist vi;
   Gweli vi, a phrovi, vy nghalon tuag atat. God had known him, he was
   still seeing him, and approved of his heart before him, as the
   Septuagint express the words. To prove here, or to "try," means a trial
   by which a thing is found to be genuine. Blayney gives the meaning by a
   paraphrase, -- Thou canst discern by trial my heart to be with thee. --
   Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:4

   4. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither,
   for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed,
   and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

   4. Quousque lugebit terra.et herba omnis agri arescet prae malitia
   habitantium in ea? defecit bestiae (hoc est, consumptae sunt besiae) et
   avis (hoe est, aves, est enallage numeri tam in verbo quam in nomine;)
   quia dixerunt, Non videbit novissimum nostrum (vel, finem nostrum)


   Jeremiah confirms the former sentence and more strongly reproves the
   Jews, who still continued obstinately to despise what he had said:
   "What do you mean, he says? for God's judgment appears as to brute
   beasts and birds; and what have birds and sheep and oxen deserved? Ye
   know that there is no fault in miserable animals, and yet the curse of
   God is through them set before you; ye see that God is offended with
   brute animals, but the fault is doubtless in you. And will God spare
   you, when he has already begun, and long ago begun to inflict
   punishment on innocent animals? how can he hear with you to the end,
   who are full of so many and the most atrocious sins?" This then is a
   confirmation of his former doctrine.

   And hence we also learn that he did not speak for his own sake, nor
   express his own private feelings, but that he defended the doctrine
   which he had announced, that the Jews might know that God was angry
   with them, and that they were not to expect that he would always
   conceal himself, though he for a time connived at them.

   How long, he says, shall the land mourn? or, How long should the land
   mourn? for thus it ought to be rendered; and should every herb become
   dry? "What!" he says, "is not God's judgment visible in herbs and
   flocks and beasts and birds? Since it is so, and the whole fault is in
   you, shall ye be spared? Will God pour forth his whole wrath on herbs,
   on sheep, and on cattle? and shall you be at the same time exempted
   from his judgment?"

   And more clearly still does he express his meaning, when he says,
   Because they have said, He shall not see our end Here the Prophet
   briefly shews that the wrath of God was seen in herbs as well as in
   brute animals, because he was despised by the people. Since then evil
   proceeded from them, should it not return on their own heads? It could
   not surely be otherwise. But he speaks expressly of the end; for the
   Jews were so stupified by their prosperity, that they thought that God
   was no longer adverse to them: "Ha! what have we to do with God? we are
   already beyond the reach of danger." As then they thus perversely
   rejected God, he upbraids them with the thought, that they were to give
   no account to God. It is not indeed probable that they openly, or with
   a full mouth, as they say, vomited forth such a blasphemy; but we know
   that Scripture often speaks in this manner, "God shall not see;" "God
   will not look on Jacob." Though the ungodly did not speak so
   insolently, yet they no doubt thought thati they could set up many
   hinderances to prevent God's hand from reaching them. Hence Jeremiah,
   according to the usual manner of Scripture, justly lays this to their
   charge, -- that they thought that they were now as it were unknown to
   God and beyond the reach of his care, so that he would not see their
   end; in other words, that they had no concern with God, because they
   were on all sides so well fortified, that the hand of God could not
   reach them. [57]
     __________________________________________________________________

   [57] Both Gataker and Venema regard the meaning of the last clause
   differently. Here ends the expostulation of Jeremiah; and they consider
   that he mentions here what his persecutors said of him, that he would
   not see their end, or their ruin, which he had foretold. Were ky, as in
   the first verse, rendered "though," the connnection would be more
   natural, -- How long shall mourn the land And the grass of every field
   wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it, Swept away has been the
   beast and the bird, Though they have said, "Hewill not see our end."
   The third line connects better with what follows than with what
   precedes it; and it is so rendered in the Syriac. The word for "beast,"
   though in a plural form, is used elsewhere as a singular, Psalm 73:22;
   and so it is here, and so rendered by the Vulgate and the Targum. --
   Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that though the same hardness is inbred in us as
   in thine ancient people, we may not become rooted in it; but do thou
   rouse us by thy Spirit, that we may suffer ourselves to be gently
   governed by thyi word, and be so touched by thy threatenings, that we
   may not defer the time whenever thou an -- nouncest to us thy judgment,
   but strive to be immediately reconciled to thee: and as there is no
   other way of being reconciled except through thine only -- begotten
   Son, may we in true faith embrace the favor which thou offerest to us
   in thy gospel, and also devote ourselves wholly to thee, being truly
   penitent of our sins; and as we ought to make progress to the end of
   life, may we strive more and more to put off all the lusts of our
   flesh, until we shall at length be made partakers of that glory which
   thine only -- begotten Son has prepared for us. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Forty-Ninth
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:5

   5. If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then
   how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace,
   wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the
   swelling of Jordan?

   5. Quia (vel, si) eumpeditibus (significat proprie pedes, sed
   translative significat etiam pedites; si ergo cum peditibus) cucurristi
   et fatigarunt te, quomodo miscebis te equitibus? et in terra pacis tu
   confisus es, quid facies (vel, quomodo facies, vel faceres) in
   altitudine Jordanis?


   Many think that God here checks the boldness of Jeremiah, as though he
   had exceeded the limits of moderation when he contended with God, as we
   have seen, because he patiently endured the reprobate and did not
   immediately punish them. Hence they elicit this meaning from rite
   words, "Thou hast hitherto been contending with mortals, and hast
   confessed that thou didst maintain an unequal contest; dost thou dare
   now to assail me, who am far greater than the whole world? Footmen have
   wearied thee, who walk on earth; but thou engagest now with horsemen,
   that is, with me."

   But I have already shewn that the Prophet did not undertake this cause
   presumptuously, nor was he carried away by blind zeal when he disputed
   with God, but that he thus spoke through a divine fervor: he was indeed
   influenced by God, in order that he might by this mode of speaking more
   fully rouse an obstinate people. There was therefore no need to check
   hint; for his object was no other than to shew by a lively
   representation, that God would be the Judge of the Jews, who had
   despised his teaching and esteemed it as nothing.

   Some think that a comparison is made between the citizens of Anathoth
   and the citizens of Jerusalem: they hence suppose that Jeremiah is
   encouraged, lest he should succumb under the temptations which awaited
   him; as though it was said, "Thy citizens or thy people are like
   footmen; thou seest now how much they have wearied thee, for thou canst
   not bear their insolence: what then will become of thee, when thou
   comest to Jerusalem? for as there is more power there, so there is more
   arrogance; thou wilt have to contend with the king and his court, with
   the priests and with the people, who are blinded by their own splendor:
   horsemen will be there, and thou wilt have all equestrian contest. Thou
   mayest hence see how thou art to prepare thyself; for these things are
   only the beginnings, and yet thou complainest of them."

   But when I maturely weigh all things, I come to another opinion, which
   both Jerome snd Jonathan [58] have suggested, and yet obscurely, and so
   confusedly that the meaning cannot be correctly understood, and
   especially for this reason, because they did not state the exposition
   which we have hitherto given; hence the meaning of what they have said
   does not seem suitable. But the Prophet, I doubt not, here reproves the
   people and condemns their presumption, because they thought themselves
   furnished with so many defences that they despised the judgment of God.
   I regard then this verse as spoken in the person of God, for hitherto
   Jeremiah has been the accuser, and arraigned the whole people as guilty
   before God, and was also the herald of his judgment. Now that what he
   says might have more weight, God himself comes forth and says, Thou
   hast hitherto run with footmen, and thou hast been wearied, how will it
   be when thou comest to an equestrian contest? he intimates by these
   words that a much greater outrage was at hand than what the Jews had
   already experienced. Their country had been oppressed, their city had
   been exposed to extreme peril, there had been as it were a pedestrian
   conflict; but God now intimates that a heavier storm was nigh at hand,
   for horsemen would assail them, because the Chaldeans and the Assyrians
   were to come with much greater violence to lay waste the whole country
   and to destroy the city itself.

   This then is not addressed to the Prophet, but to the people; as though
   it was said, that the Jews had but a slight contest with the Assyrians,
   and yet were conquered and oppressed by many calamities; but that they
   would have now to fight more seriously, as a greater violence was
   impending over them: how then, he says, canst thou contend with
   horsemen? [59]

   He then adds, In the land of peace thou trustest, and how wilt thou do
   in the rising of Jordan? The land of peace is commonly taken for the
   town of Anathoth, where the Prophet ought to have enjoyed a quiet life,
   as he lived there among his relations and friends. The rising of Jordan
   is also taken as signifying violent waves; but this has nothing to do
   with the subject. Were I to approve of this view, I would rather take
   the rising of Jordan as meaning its fountain, for we know that Jordan
   rose from Mount Lebanon, north of Jerusalem: so then would I interpret
   the words, and the explanation would be plausible. But as I feel
   assured that the words are not addressed to the Prophet, but to the
   people, I doubt not but that the land of peace is the land open to
   plunder, that is, not protected. As that is called the land of war,
   which is surrounded by alefences, and fortified by towers, moats, and
   ramparts; so that is called the land of peace, which is not capable of
   repelling enemies. The Prophet derided the Jews, because they swelled
   with so much arrogance, though they possessed no fortresses: "Ye are,"
   he says, "in the land of peace, having no means to carry on war, and
   possessing no forces to resist your enemies: as then ye swell with so
   much pride in your penury and want, what would become of you, were you
   in the rising of Jordan? that is, were your cities on the banks of
   Jordan, where it widely spreads, so as to prevent any access?" Rising
   here means height or largeness: for g'vn gaun, signifies pride, and
   metaphorically it means the highest or chief glory. "What wouldest thou
   do," he says, "in the largeness of Jordan? that is, were that river a
   defense to you against enemies? for there is nothing that can hinder
   your enemies from coming to your gates, from breaking down your walls
   by warlike instruments; and ye glory: how great is your madness, for ye
   do not consider how weak you are?" We hence see that in the whole of
   this verse the foolish boastings of the people are beaten down; for
   they were proud without a cause, as they were destitute of all defences
   and auxiliaries. This then is what I consider to be the real meaning.
   [60] It afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [58] The author of the Targum -- the Chaldee Paraphrase. -- Ed.

   [59] Most commentators agree in the previous exposition, -- that a
   comparison is made between the persecution which Jeremiah experienced
   from his countrymen at Anathoth, and the persecution he was to expect
   at Jerusalem. So thought the Jewish commentators, Grotius, Venema,
   Gataker, Henry, Scott, Adam Clarke, and Blayney. It must however, be
   added, that Jerome and Horsley were of the same opinion with Calvin:
   but the most obvious and natural meaning seems to be the former. The
   rendering of Blayney is as follows, -- If thou hast run with footmen,
   and they have wearied thee,
   Then how wilt thou chafe thyself with horses? More literally, -- If
   with footmen thou hast run, and they have tired thee,
   Then how wilt thou heat thyself with horses? "Horses" may indeed be
   rendered horsemen, as "feet" in the previous line is rendered footmen.
   As to the verb "heat thyself," the versions and the Targum differ, but
   the word in Hebrew is plain enough; it is chrh to heat, to burn, or to
   be warm or hot, in Hithpael. To "contend" has been taken from the
   Vulgate. -- Ed..

   [60] As in the previous clause, so in this, most interpreters are
   opposed to Calvin. The contrast here is between a quiet state and great
   troubles. If Jeremiah complained, when among his connections at
   Anathoth, what could he do when troubles, like the swelling of Jordan,
   overflowed the land? And this view is confirmed by the verse which
   follows, -- Blayney, following the Vulgate, renders the passage thus,
   -- And though in the land of peace thou mayest have confidence,
   Yet how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? But rather as follows,
   -- And in the land of peace thou art secure;
   But how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? That is, "Thou
   complainest though living secure in a land which enjoys peace and is
   not harassed with war: what then wilt thou do when the troubles of war
   shall come over the land like the overflowings of Jordan?" or,
   according to some, "Thou complainest though living in retirement among
   thine own people, where thou didst expect rest and peace, what wilt
   thou do when exposed to the violent persecutions of the great and
   powerful?" the swelling of Jordan being considered a proverbial
   expression, designating great and overwhelming troubles. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:6

   6. For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have
   dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after
   thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

   6. Certe etiam fratres tui et domus patris tui, etiam ipsi perfide
   agunt in te, etiam ipsi clamant post te plena voce (vel, turmatim, 'lm
   enim varie exponitur;) ne confides ipsis, etiam si loquantur ad te (hoc
   est, tecum) bona (id est, amice tecum loquantur.)


   Here God addresses his Prophet, in order to confirm the whole of what
   we have observed. Jeremiah's object was, as we have said, to set forth
   the judgment of God: he therefore undertook the part of art accuser,
   and shewed how intolerable was the impiety of the whole people. He
   afterwards shewed that he was a conqueror in the cause. And now God
   himself speaks: he first indeed reproves the people and condemns their
   insane presumption; and then he addresses the Prophet himself, as
   though he had said, "Thou hast faithfully pleaded my cause, and as
   thine own people are all perfidious, there is no reason for thee to
   doubt but that I will be thy defender."

   The Prophet no doubt was commanded to preach and to write in God's
   name; and yet he had regard to the people, who would have hardened
   themselves against his preaching, had he not more fully set forth the
   dreadful judgment of God. Hence he says, Surely even thy brethren and
   the house of thy father, etc.: it is an amplification, when he says,
   that not only the citizens of Jerusalem and the whole people had
   conspired against the Prophet, but also his own relations and friends;
   Even thy brethren, he says, and the house of thy father, even these,
   etc. We see how emphatically God speaks; and there is an implied
   comparison between the citizens of Anathoth and the rest of the Jews,
   for they dealt not with a brother and one of themselves with any more
   courtesy than those not related to him. He repeats for the third time,
   Even these have cried after thee; that is, "They have so inimically
   persecuted thee, that even when thou hast yielded to their fury they
   were not pacified." For to cry after one is all evidence of settled
   hatred; for when an enemy stands his ground and offers resistance, it
   is no wonder that we assail him; but when he turns his back and allows
   that he is conquered, and declines fighting, it seems that we are
   burning with a furious hatred, when we follow him and draw him to
   figlit against his will, even when he of his own accord avoids a
   contest. It was to set forth this blind fury that God said that they
   cried after Jeremiah. [61]

   He adds the word ml', mela, which some render "with a full voice;"
   others, "in a troop," or, "in a mass." Either sense may be admitted; I
   will not therefore dwell on the point; for it makes but little
   difference whether we say that they followed the Prophet with loud
   clamor, or that they in a troop conspired against him.

   He afterwards subjoins, Even though they speak to thee good things,
   that is, though they pretend to be friends and profess peace, yet trust
   them not God intimates by these words, that though the citizens of
   Anathoth did not openly rage against Jeremiah, they were yet full of
   perfidy: in short, he means that they were either wolves or foxes, for
   they fought against the Prophet, now by fraud, then openly. We hence
   see that God here condemns the people, and shews his approbation of
   what had been previously said by Jeremiah. He afterwards subjoins --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [61] It is necessary to understand 'chry here as meaning "behind," that
   is, "behind his back," as we commonly say; for his friends and
   relations acted perfidiously, they cried against him in his absence,
   while they spoke friendly to himself. The verse is as follows, -- For
   even thy brethren and thy father's house, Even they have dissembled
   with thee; Yea, they have cried behind thee vehemently Believe them not
   when they speak to thee kind things. "Vehemently," or more literally,
   "fully;" ml' is used here adverbially. The versions, except the
   Vulgate, which renders it, "with a full voice," have not given its
   meaning, nor the Targum. The "multitude" of our version is evidently
   wrong, distantly derived from the Septuagint. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:7

   7. I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given
   the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

   7. Reliqui domurn meam, deserui haereditatem meam, posui dilectionem
   (aut, desiderium) animae meae in manum inimicorum ejus.


   He confirms what I have already stated; he testifies that the people
   were either openly furious or acting perfidiously and deceitfully; nor
   has it been the object hitherto merely to say that wrong had been done
   to the Prophet, but regard has been had to what he taught.

   He now adds, Forsaken have I my house and left my heritage God here
   declares that it was all over with the people. They were inebriated
   with vain confidence, relying on the covenant which God had made. with
   their fathers, and thought that God was bound to them. Thus they wished
   to treat God with contempt according to their own humor, and at the
   same time to allow themselves every kind of licentiousness. The Prophet
   makes here many concessions, as though he had said, "Ye are the house
   of God; ye are his heritage, ye are his beloved, ye are his portion and
   his richest portion; but all this will not prevent him to become your
   Judge, and at length to treat you with rigorous justice, and to
   vindicate himself." We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet. But as
   I have before said, the words have more weight having been spoken by
   God, than if Jeremiah himself had said them. God then, as though
   sitting for judgment, declares thus to the Jews, Forsaken have I my
   house The Temple was indeed commended in high terms; but the whole
   country also was on account of the Temple regarded as the habitation of
   God; for Judah was overshadowed by the Temple, and was secure and safe
   under its shadow. This word then is to be extended to the whole land
   and people, when God says, "Forsaken have I nay house;" that is,
   "Though I have hitherto chosen for myself an habitation among the Jews,
   yet I now leave them." He then adds, Left have I my heritage (The verbs
   zv oseb, and nts nuthesh, have nearly the same meaning; the one is to
   forsake, and the other is to leave) This distinction was a great honor
   to the Jews; and hence, how much soever they kindled God's wrath
   against themselves, they yet, thought that they were safe as it were by
   privilege, inasmuch as they were the heritage of God. The Prophet.
   concedes to them this distinction, but shews how vain it was, for God
   had departed from them.

   He then says, Given have I the desire or the love of my soul, [62] etc.
   The word ydydvt, ididut, may be rendered love; but in Latin we may
   render it darling, (delitias:) the darling then of my soul have I put
   in the land of her enemies; for the pronoun is in the feminine gender.
   We hence see what is the subject here; for God intended to deprive the
   Jews of their vain confidence, and thus to humble and subdue them, so
   that they might know that no empty and vain titles would be of any help
   to them. These titles or distinctions he indeed concedes to them, but
   not without some degree of irony; for he at the same time shews that
   all this in which they gloried would avail them nothing when God
   executed on them his vengeance. But further, this passage contains an
   implied reproof to the Jews for their ingratitude, inasmuch as they
   were not retained in their obedience to God by benefits so remarkable;
   for how great was the honor of being called the heritage and the house
   of God, and even the beloved of his soul? They had deserved no such
   honor. As then God had manifested towards them such incomparable love,
   as he had rendered himself more than a father to them, was it not a
   wickedness in every way inexcusable, not to respond to so great a love,
   and that gratuitous, and also to so great a liberality? for what more
   could God have done than to call thenl the darling of his soul?

   We hence see that the sin of the people is greatly amplified by these
   distinctions, on account of which they yet fostered their pride; as
   though he had said, "These words indeed are ready on your tongues, --
   that ye are God's heritage, and sanctuary, and his love; but ye are for
   this very reason the more abominable, because ye respond not to God's
   love and bountiful dealings: He has favored you with incredible love,
   he has raised you to very great honor, and yet ye despise him and
   perversely resist his teaching, nor can ye bear him to govern you." We
   now then see what instruction may be gathered from these words. It
   follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [62] "My beloved soul" is the version of the Septuagint, Vulgate, and
   Arabic, but very improperly; the Syriac is "the beloved of my soul."
   The three first versions betoken an ignorance of the construction of
   the Hebrew language. To express their idea, "beloved" must have
   followed "soul," and not preceded it. Besides, the word for "beloved"
   is in the plural number, but used as delitice in Latin, to express
   great affection; and it ought to be rendered, the very dear, or the
   very beloved, of my soul. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:8

   8. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out
   against me: therefore have I hated it.

   8. Fuit mihi haereditas mea quasi leo in sylva; edidit contra me vocem
   suam; propterea odio ipsam habui.


   God now shews the reason why he resolved to cast away the people; for
   it might appear at the first view very inconsistent, that God's
   covenant, which he had made with Abraham and his seed, should become
   void. Hence he shews here that he was not too rigid in heavily
   punishing the Jews, and that he could not be accused of levity or
   inconstancy in rejecting or repudiating them.

   Mine heritage, he says, has become like a lion in the forest; that is,
   they have not only acted insolently towards me, but they have even
   dared furiously to attack me, like a lion who roars against men in the
   forest. God then here complains of their contempt, and then he declares
   how furious was their impiety: for the Jews, as though seized by the
   rage of a wild beast, dared to make a violent attack on him. And the
   words, as they are connected, render the sin the more atrocious, My
   heritage, he says, has become to me as a lion in the forest: one's
   heritage and patrimony, we know, is his delight; and then, they who
   possess small tenements live much more quietly than those who occupy
   large ones. God now shews that he was in his own heritage as though he
   was in a vast and wild forest, and also, that the fields which ought to
   have been his delight, and also his vineyards and meadows, were become
   places of the greatest horror, as though a lion were roaring and raging
   against unhappy men.

   He says further, that it had sent forth its voice By these words he
   accuses the people of extreme wantonness; and such is to be found in
   the world at this day; for how audaciously do the Papists vomit forth
   their blasphemies against God? The unprincipled and the dregs of
   society hesitate not with a full mouth to be insolent towards God; and
   courtiers also and epicures, and those who admire themselves for their
   splendor and wealth, with what haughtiness do they rise up against;
   him; and how disdainfully do they reject every truth that is set before
   them! We therefore in this miserable age experience the very same thing
   which the Prophet deplores in the men of his own time, -- that they
   raised their voices against God himself.

   He therefore comes to this conclusion, -- that he hated his own
   heritage. "Since then," he says, "the Jews are become to me as lions in
   a forest, since they have rendered themselves a horror instead of a
   delight to me, what am I to do with them? Can I treat them as my
   patrimony and heritage? But they have put me to flight by their
   treachery, yea, by their diabolical fury. It is therefore nothing
   strange that I hate them, though they have been my heritage." Thus the
   Prophet shews, that it availed the Jews nothing that they had been of
   old adopted, since they had repudiated themselves and had become
   alienated from God their Father.

   Let us also hence learn, that whatever honor hypocrites at this day
   possess in the Church, they yet boast in vain; for though they may for
   a time be counted as the heritage of God, they are at the same time
   hated by God, inasmuch as they are within full of wickedness and of
   perverseness towards him; and then, when urged and pressed, they
   hesitate not to vomit forth their insolence. It follows: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:9

   9. Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about
   are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to
   devour.

   9. An avis picta (vel, tineta, aut, colorata) hrereditas mea mihi? an
   avis in circuitu super earn? Venite, colligite vos (alii transitive
   acdipiunt, congregate omnes bestias, sed subaudiendum est, congregate
   vos) omnes bestiae agri (hoc est, onmes bestiae agrestes) venite ad
   devorandum ipsam.


   The beginning of this verse is variously explained, Some think that a
   kind of bird is here meant, which has various colors, one variegated,
   which excites all other birds against itself; but this is without
   meaning. Others are of the opinion, and the greater part too, that
   birds tinged with blood were against his heritage. They hence thus
   explain the words, "Is a bird, tinged," that is; with blood, "my
   heritage," that is, about my heritage; "is there a bird around it? They
   consider both clauses to be of the same meaning; and hence they think
   that the same thing is repeated in different words, that birds were
   flying against the Jews, like those which are drawn by the smell of
   carcases, and which come in great numbers, that each may have a part;
   and then, wild beasts follow them. But I approve of neither of these
   explanations; nor indeed have they even the appearance of being
   correct.

   I therefore think that the people are now compared to foreign birds, as
   they were before to lions; as though he had said, -- "I had chosen this
   people for myself, that they might be my friends, as birds which are
   wont to be gathered into their own cages, as sheep into their own
   folds, and as oxen, and other animals which are tamed, keep within
   their own enclosures. So when I gathered this people, I thought that
   they would be to me like domesticated sheep; but now they are like
   speckled birds; that is, like wild birds, or birds of the wood." For I
   have no doubt but that by a speckled or colored bird is to be
   understood a strange bird, which by its novel appearance excites the
   attention of men. Is then a variegated bird, or a bird of the wood,
   become mine heritage? Questions, we know, were often used by the
   Hebrews; and the Prophet here simply affirms the fact; and as God had
   said before, that his heritage was become like a lion in the forest, so
   he adds now, that his heritage was like a speckled bird. A question has
   much more power and force than a simple declaration; for God assumes
   here the character of one in astonishment, -- "What does this mean,
   that my heritage should become to me like some bird from the wood, or a
   foreign bird?" He then adds, All birds then shall be around and all
   beasts of the field [63]

   We now see how fitly the words of the Prophet run; God had complained
   that his heritage was like a lion in the forest, and also like a wild
   and foreign bird; and now he says, Then all birds wiIl fly to the prey
   and all the beasts of the field; as though he had said, -- "Since they
   have dared to act thus wantonly, and have dared to assail my servants
   like wild beasts, and have also become wild birds which cannot be
   tamed, I will shew what they will gain by their ferocity; for I will
   now send for all the birds of the air, and the wild beasts of the
   wood:, that they may fly together quickly, and that they may come
   together to the prey." That we must thus understand the Prophet's
   meaning, we learn from the very words; for God not only says, "A
   speckled bird has mine heritage become," but he adds, to me, as he had
   before said, that his heritage had become to him as a lion, so he says
   now, Is not mine heritage become to me? etc This pronoun then ought to
   be carefully noticed; for we hence learn, as I have said already, that
   the intractable disposition of the people is here condemned, for they
   could by no means be tamed.

   But the latter clause ought also to be especially observed; for it
   imports as much as though God had said, "As then your wickedness is
   such that ye are to me lions and wild birds, take your course; but I
   will yet check this your barbarous and untameable ferocity; for I have
   under my command all the birds of the air and all the wild beasts of
   the field; let them then come together to this one bird, and to this
   one beast. Ye are but one bird; ye are indeed terrible at the first
   view, for ye are worse than all the hawks; but ye are only one bird,
   and around you shall come all birds, which shall make war on you. Ye
   are as one lion in a forest, or one boar, or one wolf; but all the
   savage beasts of the wood shall come together against you, and shall
   come together to devour you."

   This place deserves special notice; for we hence learn how foolishly
   men deceive themselves when they oppose God and perversely shake off
   his yoke, and suffer not, themselves to be corrected by his word; they
   are lions, they are savage birds; but the Lord can easily destroy them,
   for all birds and all wild beasts are ready to obey him; and hence it
   follows: --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [63] The most literal rendering of the verse is as follows, -- 9. Is
   not my heritage to me a stripped bird of prey? Is there not a bird of
   prey around against it? Come, assemble, every beast of the field;
   Hasten ye to devour. The versions and the Targum all differ, and are
   wholly unsatisfactory. Some, as Venema, agreeably with our version,
   retain not the questionary form in the two first lines, and render them
   thus, -- A stripped bird of prey is my heritage to me; A bird of prey
   is around against it. The meaning is the same; but the h before "bird
   of prey," or rapacious bird, seems to favor the interrogation. The
   tsvv, stripped or speckled, is a participle, and not the name of a
   ravenous bird," as Blayney thinks, is evident from its location, for it
   follows the word yt, a rapacious bird: it would have otherwise preceded
   it. The Vulgate renders it "discolored -- diversely colored," and the
   Syriac is the same. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:10

   10. Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my
   portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate
   wilderness.

   10. Pastores nmlti perdiderunt vitem mean.a, calcarunt (aut, vastarunt,
   utrunque enim significat vssv, sed hic verbum quadratum, perdiderunt
   ergo) portionem mearn, dederunt portionem desiderii mei in desertum
   vastitatis.


   He explains by another comparison what we have just observed; he calls
   those pastors or shepherds whom he had before compared to wild beasts;
   for by saying, "Come ye, all the wild beasts of the wood," he doubtless
   meant the same as those of whom he now speaks; and yet he calls them
   pastors. But he touched the Jews to the quick, for they could not bear
   him to discharge the office of a pastor towards them. God ought to have
   been the pastor of his chosen people; but they were wild beasts.
   "Forsaken them have I," he says, "for they were wholly unworthy. What
   now then? Other pastors shall come, but those of a very different
   character, being fiercer and more cruel than wolves or any savage wild
   beasts." Though then the Prophet blends various comparisons, we yet see
   that he handles the same subject; we also see why he thus changes his
   expressions, for there is a meaning in every word he uses. It is indeed
   certain that those also are called pastors who would come as leaders or
   chiefs from Assyria and Chaldea; but there is no doubt here an implied
   antithesis, such as I have referred to, as though he had said, "I have
   hitherto been a shepherd to you, and was wining to continue to be so
   perpetually; but as ye can no longer bear me, other shepherds shall
   come, who will treat you according to their own will and disposition."
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not only been pleased to offer
   thyself to be our Shepherd, but hast also set over us thine only --
   begotten Son, that he might gather us into his own fold, and as he
   sweetly invites us daily by his voice to continue collected under his
   power and government, -- O grant that we may suffer ourselves to be
   governed by him, and never be like wild and untameable beasts, but so
   obey his voice, that wherever he may call us we may be ready to follow,
   and thus proceed through the whole course of our life, until we shall
   at length reach the goal which is set before us, and be thence led to
   the fruition of that eternal inheritance and glory which thine only --
   begotten Son has obtained for us by his own blood. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fiftieth

   We began yesterday to explain what the Prophet declared that the Jews
   would be laid waste by shepherds; and we said, that there is implied in
   this expression what is ironical; for they caught to have allowed
   themselves to be governed by God, who was wining to discharge towards
   them the office of a shepherd; but as they had refused to receive such
   a favor, they had deserved to be given over by God to the Assyrians and
   Chaldeans, who are also called shepherds. As, however, there is mention
   made of vineyard, the Prophet alludes to the shepherds of sheep or
   cattle: for when any one brings his herd or his flock to a vineyard it
   is no small evil. Hence also this allusion is not unsuitable. However
   this may be, the Prophet intimates, that as they would not bear the
   yoke of God, such shepherds would come as they deserved.

   He again repeats what we have before observed, that this people had not
   only been God's vineyard, krm carem, but also his portion or his
   heritage, and even a portion of desire: for God designed that it.
   should be often testified, that no bounty towards the Jews had been
   omitted by him, in order that their ingratitude might appear less
   excusable. As then God had manifested so much love towards them as to
   call them the desire of his soul and a desirable heritage, what
   wickedness it was not to acknowledge such an incomparable kindness? It
   now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:11

   11. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me;
   the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

   11. Posuit vastitatem, luxit super me (vel, ad me) vastata (vel,
   vastatio, quidam adjective accipiunt, quidam volunt esse nomen
   substantivum, sed proprie smmh secundum grammaticam est vastatio, sed
   appositive loco participii capitur, quemadmodum continuo post
   subjicit,) vastata est omnis terra; quia (vel, tametsi) nemo posuit
   super cor (hoc est, nemo animum adjecit, quemadmodum alibi vidimus.)


   There is a change of number in the verb sm shem; but there is no
   obscurity: for the Prophet means, that the Jews would be exposed to the
   outrage of all, so that every one would plunder and lay waste the land.
   He does not then speak only of all their enemies or of the whole army;
   but he also declares that every one would be their master, so as to
   vex, scatter, devour, and wholly to destroy them at his pleasure: in
   short, he sets forth the atrocity of their punishment, -- that the
   whole land would not only be spoiled by the united army, but also by
   every individual in it. [64]

   He then adds that the land was in mourning before him. The Prophet
   seems to me to touch here the torpor of his own nation, because there
   was no one who had any regard for God; nay, they laughed at the
   judgments which were nigh at hand, and of which he had often spoken.
   Hence God says, that they would at length come to him when calamities
   oppressed them and caused them to mourn. "As then in peaceable times,"
   he says, "they are unwining to come to me, but are so refractory and
   untameable, that I can effect nothing by so many warnings, they shall
   come," he says, "but in another state of mind, even in extreme
   mourning."

   He afterwards adds, No one lays on the heart What this means we have
   elsewhere explained. But the particle ky, ki, which is properly a
   causative, may be here rendered as an adversative. If we take it in its
   first and most proper sense, then a reason is here given why the Jews
   would be brought to a most grievous mourning, even because they had
   despised all the prophets, and wholly disregarded as a fable what they
   had so often heard from God's mouth: and this is the view taken by most
   interpreters. But it may be also taken as an adversative, as in many
   other places, -- "Though no one lays on the heart;" and thus it will be
   a complaint as to their perverse stupor, inasmuch as, when smitten by
   God's hand, they did not perceive that they were punished for their
   sins, not that they were wholly insensible as to their evils. But what
   avails it to cry and to howl, as God's Spirit speaks elsewhere, except,
   the hand of the smiter be perceived? The Jews then ought, had a spark
   of wisdom been in them, to have considered their sins, to have prayed
   for forgiveness, and to have repented, and also to have embraced the
   favor promised to them. But when they perversely added sins to sins,
   God justly expostulated with them, because they did not attend to the
   signs of his wrath, by which they ought not only to have been taught,
   but also subdued. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [64] The Septuagint and Arabic render the verb as passive in the
   singular number, "It has been set a desolation." We may take smh as a
   passive participle, the v being omitted, with h, it, affixed. Then the
   verse would run thus, -- 11. Set it is an utter desolation; It has
   mourned before me (or, to me) being utterly desolate: Desolate has been
   the whole land, Though no man lays it to heart. "Utter desolation" is
   the meaning, for it is a reduplicate noun. Both the Vulgate and the
   Targum connect "being utterly desolate" with the next line, though not
   rightly: but both, as well as the Syriac, render the first verb, as
   though it were smvh "They have set it." Venema and Houbigant render ly,
   in the second line, a preposition, and render the line thus, -- It has
   mourned on account of desolation. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:12

   12. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness:
   for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land
   even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.

   12. Super omnes oras (vel, quomodo alii vertunt, super omnia loca
   excelsa, sphym, uno verbo dicere licebit, prominentias; accipitur etiam
   pro rupibus; sed loquitur de finibus extremis; ergo super fines
   extremos) in desertum venerunt perditores; quid gladius Jehovae voravit
   a fine terrae usque ad finem terrae; non est pax universae carni.


   Jeremiah here proceeds farther -- that no corner of the land would be
   exempt from the attacks of enemies. Desert is not put here for solitude
   not inhabited, but for high places; and as such places fbr the most
   part are fit for pastures, there is no doubt but that he means here
   secluded places. It is, however, sufficient for our present purpose to
   consider, that the desert; here is put in opposition to the level parts
   of the country. When, therefore, the enemies had rambled through the
   plains, the Prophet says, that no recesses, however hidden, would be
   safe; for there also the violence of the enemies would penetrate. And
   this is what he states more clearly at the end of the verse when he
   says that there would be no peace to any flesh: for he intimates, no
   doubt, that all, from the least to the greatest, would be rendered
   miserablei as God's vengeance would reach every one without exception;
   and he says this, because those who sought hiding -- places might have
   hoped to escape, thinking that the enemy would be satisfied with a
   limited victory; but the Prophet declares, that God's wrath would so
   burn as to consume all, and to leave no part of the land without
   involving in ruin the rich and the poor, the country people and the
   citizens.

   After having then threatened the plains, which were more open and
   accessible, he now adds, that neither the mountains nor the hins would
   escape the outrage of their enemies; and at the same time he reminds
   them that God would be the author of all their calamities; for had he
   only spoken of the Chaldeans, the Jews would not have thought that they
   were given up to punishment by God on account of their sins: it would
   have therefore been without any good effect had they thought that they
   had a contest only with the Chaldeans. Hence he calls their attention
   to God's judgment, and shews, that though ambition, avarice, and
   cruelty instigated and influenced their enemies, they were yet
   conducted by a divine power, because the Jews had for a long time
   provoked against themselves the vengeance of God. He, in short,
   intimates that the Chaldeans would fight for God and do his work, as he
   would be the chief commander in the war; and this he intimates lest the
   Jews should think that such great calamities happened to them by
   chance: hence he says, The sword of Jehovah hath devoured, etc. He
   indeed speaks of future things; but he uses the past tense, which is
   commonly done by the prophets. [65] It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [65] The versions and the Targum render the first verb in the past
   tense, but the second, incorrectly, in the future. The verse is as
   follows, -- 12. On all heights in the wilderness have wasters come, For
   the sword has for Jehovah devoured; From one end of the land to the
   other end of the land No peace has been to any flesh. The third line
   reads better with the last. No doubt, the past, as Calvin says, is used
   for the future. The same is the case in the next verse. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:13

   13. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put
   themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of
   your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

   13. Seminarunt triticum et spinas messuerunt; haereditatem adepti sunt
   (vel, fatigati sunt) nec profecerunt; et confusi sunt a proventibus
   vestris, a furore (vel, excandescentia, potius) irae Jehovae.


   Most interpreters understand this of the prophets, that they had been
   disappointed, after having faithfully cultivated the field of God and
   sown good seed, that thorns only had sprung up, and briars only had
   grown: but this is a strained exposition. The Prophet, I doubt not,
   sets forth the curse of God, which the people were soon to experience.
   I indeed readily admit, that when he speaks of sowing and reaping, the
   expression is metaphorical; but I have no doubt but that the Jews are
   said to sow in seeking aids here and there, in strengthening themselves
   by confederacies, and in devising means to repel dangers.

   Hence he says, by way of concession, that they had sown wheat; for they
   had recourse to false counsels: but he speaks according to what they
   themselves thought; for they imagined that they were safe when they
   found that the Egyptians were ready to help them; and when they
   procured assistance from various quarters, they considered that they
   were acting wisely, and. thus they flattered themselves with a
   prosperous issue. The Prophet now laughs to scorn this vain confidence:
   but yet in words he allows that they were going on successfully: as a
   husbandman, while sowing, expects that he will have a good harvest, so
   also the Jews thought that they would have good fruit after having thus
   sown. But the Prophet says that they would be disappointed; for instead
   of wheat briars and thorns would grow, so that the issue would not
   answer their expectations. Thus the words of the Prophet would well
   harmonize: but to explain the passage of the prophets would by no means
   be suitable, as it will hereafter appear more clearly.

   He then says that they had sown wheat (he uses the plural number) and
   reaped thorns He intimates that they hoped for a good harvest, for they
   sowed wheat, as they thought; that is, they wisely, or rather astutely,
   provided for themselves, as they left undone nothing that was necessary
   for their safety; but they reaped, or shall reap thorns; for he speaks
   of what was future. He means that God would frustrate their
   expectation; for their sowing, from which they promised themselves so
   much, would prove fruitless.

   He then adds, that they had obtained an inheritance, or had endured
   grief, but were not enriched Some render the first clause a little more
   harshly, that "they were riJeremiah" But I readily excuse its
   harshness, if it suits the place: then the meaning would be, -- that
   they tormented themselves with continual labors, and thus became rich;
   for we know that they who are extremely anxious about anything wear out
   themselves, and become in a manner their own executioners; and this
   would not be unsuitable to this place. However, a different view may be
   taken, -- that the Prophet uses the expression, that they had obtained
   an heritage, not in its ordinary sense, as signifying, not that God
   gave them the land of Canaan as their hereditary possession, or that
   they had accumulated wealth, but that they had thus increased in their
   own esteem, because they had the Egyptians as their friends, and looked
   for help to the neighboring nations, and because they thought that they
   could by various stratagems prevent the Chaldeans from coming nigh
   them. Their heritage then was, that they were able to collect from
   various quarters such assistance as would render them safe, and repel
   all dangers. God then allows that they had obtained an heritage; but
   what then, he says? All this will not avail them, nor shall they be
   thereby enriched. He, in short, intimates that they would be thus
   deceived by trusting in helps so laboriously and sedulously acquired;
   for the aids in which they proudly trusted would vanish away, as well
   as all their counsels and designs; in a word, the vain attempts by
   which they thought to secure everything for themselves are laughed to
   scorn.

   He adds, for the same purpose, that they were confounded on account of
   their produce They who understand this of the prophets read thus, "they
   were ashamed," that is, "of their own labors;" but this is wholly
   foreign to the subject. He then continues in the same strain, -- that
   the Jews were ashamed when they found the issue contrary to what they
   expected. He mentions "produce:" the noun conms from v' ba, which means
   to come or to enter; it has also other meanings. But the Hebrews call
   it produce, because it comes every year. He says then, that they were
   ashamed of their produce, because they received no fruit such as they
   expected. Thus Jeremiah carries on the same metaphor: they had sown,
   but thorns were found instead of wheat; they also obtained for
   themselves an heritage, or they wearied themselves with labor, but it
   was useless: they further promised to themselves a great and rich
   produce, but it came to nothing. We now then understand the meaning of
   the words.

   But we must at the same time consider what the Prophet had in view.
   Doubtless he intended to shake off from the Jews that arrogance by
   which they blinded themselves, as though he had said, -- "I see that I
   effect but little; for the Egyptians, who are to come to your aid, are
   as yet strong; ye think that they are prepared to oppose the Assyrians
   and Chaldeans, and ye have also other confederacies As then ye are thus
   well fortified, ye consider yourselves to be cut of the reach of
   danger; but the Lord will make you ashamed of this your presumption,
   for all your produce or provision will come to nothing." The produce,
   we know, was the successful issue with which they flattered themselves,
   so that they thought that nothing would do them harm. This then is the
   meaning of the Prophet. [66]

   He adds, Through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah They could not
   have been otherwise awakened, except they were made to think that God
   was angry with them. The Prophet then says, though the whole world
   might laugh him to scorn, that nothing would avail them, inasmuch as
   God fought against them. We must at the same time notice the change of
   person, They have been ashamed of your produce Some have on this
   account applied the verb, vsv, beshu, "they have been ashamed," to the
   prophets; but it is an anomaly often found, and it is in this place
   very emphatical. Had he said, in the third person, "They were ashamed
   of their fruits," it would have been less calculated to rouse their
   minds; but having previously spoken in disdain of the Jews, as he knew
   them to be deaf, he now, as he proceeds, turns his discourse to them,
   and says that they were ashamed; yes, he says, "Ye were ashamed of your
   fruits." It is therefore a kind of modification; but it is only used
   that the Prophet might more sharply touch their feelings; for they had
   need of this kind of speaking, as a plain discourse would have produced
   no effect. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [66] The Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic, render all the verbs
   in the second person plural, and in the present tense, "Ye sow," etc.;
   but the Vulgate and Targum retain the Hebrew third person and the past
   tense, except in the third line, "Ye (not they) are ashamed," etc.,
   which seems to be the correct reading, though not found in any MS., for
   it is what "your fruits," or produce, require. The meaning of being
   "wearied," or sick with labor, is given only by the Syriac to the verb
   nchlv; all the other versions, as well as the Targum, give it the idea
   of "inheriting," or possessing as an heritage. So Blayney renders it,
   "They have possessed," etc. The verse then is as follows, -- 13. They
   have sown wheats, but thorns have they reaped; They have got an
   heritage, but have not succeeded: Yea, ashamed have you been of your
   produce, Through the burnlung of the wrath of Jehovah. A conversive vau
   before "succeeded" is supplied by many MSS., and by the Vulgate and
   Syriac. The way in which Calvin accounts for the change of person in
   the third line is ingenious; but an instance of what he says can hardly
   be found in one and the same clause. All the versions and the Targum
   regard the verb as vtvsv, the tau only being supplied. Venema takes the
   verb to be an imperative in the second person plural, and gives this
   version, -- Therefore be ye ashamed of your fruits, By reason of the
   heat of the wrath of Jehovah. But what the early versions warrant is
   more consistent with the context, and gives a better meaning. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:14

   14. Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch
   the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit;
   Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of
   Judah from among them.

   14. Sic dicit Jehova, Super omnes vicinos meos malos qui tangunt
   haereditatem meam, quam haereditare obtinui, populum meum Israel; ecce
   ego evellam ipsos e terra ipsorum, et demum Jehudah evellam e medio
   ipsorum.


   The Prophet now begins to mitigate what might have beyond measure
   exasperated the minds of the people; and this he did, not so much for
   the sake of the people in general, as for the sake of the elect, a few
   of whom still remained. We have indeed seen that it was all over with
   the body of the people; for it had been said to Jeremiah,

   "Pray not for them, for I will not hear them,"
   (Jeremiah 11:14)

   The Prophet then knew the immutable purpose of God as to the mass of
   the people. Nor did he intend here to soften what might have appeared
   grievous in what he had taught. But as we have said elsewhere, and
   indeed often repeated, the prophets used reproofs only as to the whole
   community, and then spoke as it were apart to the elect; for there ever
   was a remnant among that people, inasmuch as God never suffered his
   covenant to be made void. As then the Church was still existing, the
   Prophet had regard to the hidden seed, and therefore blended
   consolation with those grievous and dreadful predictions which we have
   noticed.

   This is the reason why he now says that God would be the avenger of
   that cruelty which their neighbors had exercised towards the Jews. For
   this temptation might have greatly disturbed the minds of the godly, --
   "What means this, that God rages so violently against us, while he
   spares the heathens? Have the Moabites, or the Ammonites, or the
   Idumeans, deserved nothing? Why then does God bear with them, while he
   deals so severely with us?" The Prophet then meets this objection, and
   says, that punishment was nigh those nations, and such as they
   deserved, and that for the sake of the chosen people. If indeed he had
   only said that the Moabites and the Idumeans, and the rest, would be
   summoned before God's tribunal, that they in their turn might be
   punished, it would have given no relief to the miserable Jews; for it
   would have been a very empty consolation to have only so many
   associates in their misery: but the Prophet also adds, that God would
   be thus propitious to his elect; for it was a sign of his paternal
   favor, when he inflicted punishment on all those neighhors by whom they
   had been so cruelly treated.

   He begins by saying, Thus saith Jehovah; and he says, against all my
   evil neighbors, etc. He speaks here in the person of God, who calls the
   Moabites and the Idumeans, as well as others, his neighbors, because he
   had chosen the land of Canaan as an habitation for himself; for it was,
   as it appears often from the prophets, an evidence above all other
   things of God's favor, that he dwelt among that people. He was not
   indeed confined either to the Temple or to the land of Canaan; but he
   had taken the people under his safeguard and protection, as though he
   had his hands extended for the purpose of defending them all. We now
   see why he calls the nations near to the Jews his evil neighbors: for
   though the Jews deserved extreme evils, yet that promise remained
   valid,

   "He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye." (Zechariah 2:8)

   Then he adds, who touch my heritage Here he speaks not ironically as
   before, but regards simply his own election, as though he had said, --
   "Whatever the Jews may be, I will yet be consistent with myself, and my
   covenant shall not fall to the ground; for my faithfulness shall
   surpass their perfidy." We must yet bear in mind what I have already
   stated, -- that the whole of this is to be confined to the elect, who
   were few in number and were hid like twenty or a hundred grains in a
   large heap of chaff As then the Prophet addresses here especially the
   elect of God, it is no wonder that he calls them God's heritage, not
   for the sake of upbraiding them., as he had done before, but because
   God really loved them and would have them to be saved. There is another
   thing to be noticed, -- that God had in view the Idumeans as well as
   the Ammonites, Sidonians, and Tyrians, who had unjustly oppressed his
   people. The Ammonites and the Moabites were by kindred connected, for
   they both derived their origin from Lot, the nephew of Abraham. As to
   the Idumeans, they were the descendants of Esau, all of the same
   family; and they knew that the Jews had been chosen by God. Hence God
   here shews that he himself was injured, when such wrongs were done to
   his people.

   We hence see why God calls here Israel his heritage; which, he says, by
   heritage I have possessed Here he takes away from the neighboring
   nations every handle for evasion; as though he had said, -- "Though the
   Jews have sinned, yet these are not their judges; nor have they any
   right to punish them for their unfaithfulness: it has been my will to
   choose them for mine heritage." We thus see that these words are
   emphatical, their import being, that God would punish the wrongs done
   to his people, because his own majesty was insulted, inasmuch as no
   regard was shewn to his adoption: nor had the heathells any right to
   inquire whether the Jews were worthy or not; for it had pleased God to
   take them under his protection. [67]

   He then adds, Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and the
   house of Judah will I pluck up from the midst of them He mentions here
   two kinds of plucking up. He says first, that he would by force expel
   the Idumeans and drive them far into exile; for this is the meaning,
   when he says, I will pluck them up, as nts nutash, is to draw out by
   force. The word is often found in the prophets, especially in reference
   to the Church,

   "I have planted and will pluck up," (Jeremiah 45:4:)

   We have also seen the following,

   "I have set thee to plant and to pluck up," (Jeremiah 1:10)

   this was to shew the power of prophetic truth. And he says here, "I
   will pluck up," or eradicate them, as some render it; but as this word
   (eradicabo) is not Latin, let us retain evellam -- I will pluck up;
   only you must understand that what it properly means is, to draw up by
   the roots, and that by force: I will pluck up, he says, the Idumeans,
   the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all other neighboring nations, from
   their land, because they have violated mine heritage, even the people
   chosen by me: therefore they themselves shall be driven into remote
   exile and into captivity, according to what is said elsewhere,

   "Remember the children of Edom, who said in the day of Jerusalem,"
   etc., (Psalm 137:7)

   and we shall hereafter see that this was fulfined; for the Prophet will
   presently speak of all these nations, in order that the Jews might
   perceive that God's judgment would extend to all parts of the earth.
   But here the Prophet briefly threatens these nations with vengeance,
   that he might alleviate the sorrow of the small portion which remained.
   For as we have said, the body of the people was without hope, as God
   had given them up, according to what they deserved, to final
   destruction.

   But as God ever reserved a remnant, the Prophet says in this place, The
   house of Judah will I pluck up from the midst of them: for some had
   fled to the Moabites and to others, and some had indeed been taken
   captives and were held in bondage. The Jews, as we know, had been
   miserably plundered, and some of them had been exposed to sale by these
   nations. Hence God here promises that he would be at length entreated
   by his people, so as to gather the remnant from the Moabites as well as
   from the Idumeans and other heathen nations. This second plucking up is
   therefore to be taken in a good sense; for the Prophet promises
   deliverance here to God's elect: and yet he suitably employs the same
   word, in order to set forth the cruelty of these nations, who would
   have never winingly given them up, had not God by force rescued from
   their tyranny the innocent Israelites -- that is, innocent with regard
   to them. "I will," he says, "draw them out by force;" as though he had
   said, -- "However obstinate may be the cruelty of all these nations, by
   whom my people shall be taken captive, I will yet be stronger than
   they, so that I shall bring forth the captives, though they who
   consider them as perpetual slaves may resist with all their power."

   And this also have we found in our time; for how hard was our bondage
   under the Papacy? and was not also its tyranny almost unconquerable?
   But God put forth his power and drew forth a few from under its cruel
   domination. In the same manner he promised formerly to the remnant of
   his people, that he would be so merciful to them as to rescue them from
   the yoke of tyranny. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [67] No doubt the people of Israel were often called the heritage of
   God; but the word heritage means here evidently the land. The version
   of Calvin cannot be admitted; the verb is in Hiphil and must be
   rendered, "I have caused to inherit;" and so it is rendered in all the
   versions and Targum. The verse runs thus, -- 14. Thus saith Jehovah, --
   As to all my neighbors, Who have done evil, who have touched the
   heritage, Which I have caused my people Israel to inherit, -- Behold, I
   will root them up from their land, And the house of Judah will I root
   up from the midst of them. There is here a promise of two removals, --
   that of heathens from the Iand of Canaan, -- and that of the Jews from
   the land of heathens. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:15

   15. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I
   will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again,
   every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

   15. Et erit postquam extraxero illos, revertar et miserebor ipsorum, et
   redire ipsos faciam (vel, reducam) unumquenque ad haereditem suam, et
   unumquenque ad terram suam.


   God does not only promise mercy here to the Jews, but also to heathen
   nations, of whom he would be the Judge, to punish them for the sake of
   his people. And that this passage is to be extended to aliens is
   evident from the context; for the Prophet immediately adds, "And it
   shall be, that when they shall learn the ways of my people, to swear in
   my name, Live does Jehovah, as they have taught my people to swear by
   Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of my people." We hence see
   that God would not only shew mercy to the remnant of his elect people,
   but also to their enemies.

   If it be objected, -- that thus God's favor, manifested towards the
   children of Abraham, was obscured, the answer is, -- that this availed
   much to confirm the hope of the faithful; for they had not only to look
   for their own salvation, but also for that of their enemies, whom God
   would gather together with them. Thus God rendered double his favor to
   the Israelites. The Prophet also in this place confirms in a striking
   manner the confidence of the faithful; for he says that God would be
   merciful even to their enemies for their sake, as they would be saved
   in common with themselves. We now then understand the object of the
   Prophet, when he declares, that God, after having drawn out the
   Gentiles from their own countries, would again be merciful to them, so
   as to restore every one of them to their own inheritance and to their
   own place.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as at this day such a dreadful scattering
   terrifies us on every side, we may learn to raise up our eyes above the
   world and to hope for that which is now hidden from us, even that in
   executing thy judgments on the Church as well as on aliens, thou wilt
   be so merciful to the whole world, as that we may be gathered into the
   unity of faith: and may we labor to devote ourselves wholly to thy
   service and cultivate brotherly concord among ourselves: until we shall
   at length enjoy that eternal inheritance, which has been obtained for
   us by the blood of thine only -- begotten Son. -- Amen.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-First

   We said in our last Lecture that God here promises pardon and salvation
   to alien nations, provided they repented, and that he did this, that he
   might more fully confirm his promises to his elect people. We indeed
   know that all nations were then excluded from the covenant of God: as,
   then, he would extend his mercy even to them, the Jews might with some
   confidence entertain hope, since they were already as it were near to
   God, he having adopted them as his peculiar people and heritage.

   And this is what may be easily gathered from the context; for God
   declares that he would draw forth his own elect from these nations; and
   then he adds, that he would proceed still further, that he would even
   receive into favor those who had been previously his enemies. Hence he
   says, After 1 shall draw them out, I will return, [68] and shew mercy
   to them. He speaks this of aliens: And I will restore them, he says,
   every one to his heritage and to his own land It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [68] Rather, "I will turn," i.e., from the course he had pursued. This
   is often the meaning of svv. It is rendered here adverbially by Blayney
   and others; though it may at times be so rendered, yet not suitably in
   this place. It means here a change in God's proceedings: he had plucked
   them up; but now he will deal differently with them. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:16

   16. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways
   of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my
   people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my
   people.

   16. Et accidet, Si discendo didicerint vias populi mei ad jurandum per
   nomen meum, vivit Jehova, sicuti docuerunt populum meum jurare (ad
   verbum, ad jurandum) per Baal, tunc aedificabuntur in medio populi mei.


   We see that this refers to the Gentiles, who were previously aliens to
   the grace of God; nay, they entertained the most dire hatred towards
   his chosen people. In short, God declares that he would be merciful and
   propitious to these miserable nations, of whose salvation no hope was
   entertained, for they had been rejected by him, and they had oftell and
   long, and in various ways, provoked his vengeance; and though he speaks
   of neighbors, as we have seen, yet this prediction belongs generally to
   the whole world, and was at length fulfined in the call of the
   Gentiles; for God then gathered a Church indiscriminately both from the
   Jews and the Gentiles.

   But a condition is here laid down -- If the Gentiles, who had hitherto
   opposed the true worship of God, received his law. We indeed know how
   much hated was true religion, especially by the neighboring nations;
   for their hatred was increased, because they saw that their
   superstitions were condenmed by this one people. As then they had been
   greatly incensed against God and the pure doctrine of his law, he now
   requires a change in them; If they will learn, he says, the ways of my
   people By the ways of his people he understands what he had commanded.
   The people of Israel had indeed often departed from true religion; but
   God here refers to himself rather than to their perverse conduct, for
   the law had not been abolished by the wickedness and ingratitude of his
   people. We hence see that, by the ways of his people, we are not to
   understand those glosses which the Jews had devised, but the law
   itself, which God had delivered to them. The authority of men,
   therefore, cannot be hence established, as though they had power to
   frame a religion for themselves; but God means only that by his good
   pleasure alone the Jews had been taught what was right. In short,
   Jeremiah understands the ways of the people passively, not those which
   the people had contrived for themselves, but such as they had received
   from above.

   It is then added, That they may swear in my name The expression is a
   part for the whole, for in it is included the whole worship and service
   of God. Swearing, as we have said elsewhere, is a part of God's worship
   and of true religion, for we profess that we ourselves and our life are
   in God's hand when we swear by his name; and we also refer judgment to
   him, and own that he is really God, inasmuch as he knows our hearts and
   judges of hidden things. All these things are included in swearing. It
   is therefore no wonder that, in this place and in many other places,
   the whole of religion is designated by this expression, according to
   what is said elsewhere,

   "Swear shall they all in my name, Live do I, saith Jehovah; to me shall
   bend every knee, and by me shall every tongue swear."
   (Isaiah 45:23)

   And as by the altar, in another place, is meant the worship of God, so
   here by swearing. The meaning is, -- that if the Gentiles became so
   changed as to submit their neck to the yoke of the law, and allow
   themselves to be ruled by God, they would be made partakers of the
   mercy which the Jews had before enjoyed.

   Then follows the common form of swearing, Live does Jehovah So the
   Scripture speaks everywhere; and by these words men do not merely
   testify that they swear by the life of God, but they also ascribe
   eternity to him, as though it was said, "God alone exists:" for no life
   is anywhere to be found but in God. Men, indeed, and brute animals, and
   even trees, are said to live; but in trees there is only vigor without
   the senses, in brutes the senses without reason and understanding; but
   in men the life is light; yet they live not by or of themselves, but
   they derive life from God, according to what we see on the earth, on
   which light shines; but we know that there is really no light where we
   dwell but what descends and is conveyed to us by the rays of the sun.
   In the same manner it may be said that life dwells in men, being
   conveyed to them by the hidden power of God. Nor do angels, properly
   speaking, live of themselves. We hence see the meaning of the words,
   Live does Jehovah The eternity of God is hereby set forth; he is also
   owned as the Judge of the world; and further, whatever he claims for
   himself, men thus testify that it is justly and by right his due.

   It afterwards follows, As they taught my people to swear by Baal The
   corruptions of heathens had greatly prevailed among the chosen people;
   and the greater part, when they saw that the nations prospered, had
   cast aside every care for true worship and sincere religion. As then
   the Jews had been so much given to the superstitions of the heathens,
   the Prophet says, speaking in God's name, -- "If the Gentiles, who have
   hitherto taught my people to swear by Baal, who have drawn them away to
   their own idolatries and fictitious and false forms of worship, begin
   now to swear by my name, faithfully to worship me alone, they shall be
   built in the midst of my people." The metaphor of building is very
   common; but in this place God intimates no more than that the Gentiles
   would become a part of his flock, when they cast away their
   superstitions, and embraced the pure worship prescribed in the law. Nor
   is this to be applied to any particular place, as some have frigidly
   explained it, but "in the midst of the people," is the same as though
   he had said, -- "I will count those nations my people, as a part of my
   Church," according to what is said in the Psalms, -- that though the
   Tyrians and Sidonians, and Egyptians, and others who had been hostile
   nations, were born here and there, yet they would boast that they were
   all born at Jerusalem when God owned them as members of his own people.
   (Psalm 138:3, 4) [69] It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [69] The verb lmd, to learn, in this verse, has evidently two meanings,
   as "learn" has in old English. In the first instance, -- "If they will
   learn the ways of my people," it means what is commonly understood by
   the term; but, in the second instance, -- "As they have learned my
   people," it signifies to teach Jeremiah Though in English the word is
   not now used in this sense, yet in Welsh the word still continues to
   have this double meaning; and the same word, "dysgu," is used in these
   two clauses, according to what is done in Hebrew. There is here a clear
   instance of v being rendered "then," and it cannot be rendered
   othersise, -- "If learning they will learn, etc., then shall they be
   built up," etc. In the first clause there is also a striking
   correspondence between the Welsh and the 'm, -- "Os gan ddysgu y
   dysgant." -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 12:17

   17. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that
   nation, saith the LORD.

   17. Quod si non audierint, tunc evellam (copula etiam hic accipitur pro
   adverbio temporis) gentem illam, evellendo et perdendo, dicit Jehova.


   As he had shewn that there was a sure hope of salvation to his own
   people, when the Gentiles would embrace his mercy, so he now threatens
   the Gentiles with destruction in case they repented not; for he had
   promised to be merciful to the Gentiles conditionally, and said, -- "If
   they learn the ways of my people, if they submit to my authority:" but
   now he says, if they will not hear, etc We hence see that God here
   threatens extreme vengeance to the Gentiles if they subjected not
   themselves to his yoke, so as to render obedience to him. His object,
   no doubt, was to terrify the Jews as well as the nations; for as the
   Gentiles could not with impunity despise God, though unknown to them,
   how inexcusable would the Jews be, who had from their infancy imbibed
   the true knowledge of the law, if, after the manner of the Gentiles,
   they were perverse and intractable?

   We in short see that God, on one side, sweetly allured the Jews to
   render a wining obedience to his law, and, on the other, he threatened
   them; for as he could by no means bear with the perverseness of the
   Gentiles, much less could the Jews hope to escape punishment. This is
   the import of the passage. Now follows another prophecy --
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   CHAPTER 13
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:1-9

   1. Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put
   it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

   1. Sic dicit Jehova mihi, Vade et compara tibi cingulum lineum, et pone
   illud super renes tuos, et in aquas ne inferas illud.

   2. So I got a girdle, according to the word of the LORD, and put it on
   my loins,

   2. Et comparavi mihi cingulum (paravi, ad verbum) sicuti mandave-rat
   Jehova, et posui (vel, applicavi) illud ad renes meos.

   3. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,

   3. Et factus est sermo Jehovae ad me secundo, dicendo,

   4. Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and
   arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

   4. Tolle cingulum quod comparasti, quod est super renes tuos, et surge,
   proficiscere (vel, surgens proficiscere) ad Euphratem, et absconde
   illic in foramine petrae.

   5. So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

   5. Et profectus sum et abscondi Euphrate, quemadmodum praeceperat
   Jehova mihi.

   6. And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me,
   Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I
   commanded thee to hide there.

   6. Et accidit post finem (a fine ad verbum) dierum multorum, et dixit
   (hoc est, ut diceret) Jehova mihi, Surge et proficiscere ad Euphratem,
   et tolle illinc cingulum, de quo praecepi tibi ut absconderes illic.

   7. Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the
   place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was
   profitable for nothing.

   7. Et profectus sum ad Euphratem, et fodi et sustuli cingulum e loco
   ubi illic absconderam; et ecce corruptum erat cingulum, non proderat ad
   omne (hoc est, ad quicquam)

   8. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

   8. Et factus est sermo Jehovae ad me, dicendo,

   9. Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of
   Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

   9. Sic dicit Jehova, In hune modum corrumpam excellentiam Jehudah et
   excellentiam Jerusalem magnam (vel, altitudinem)


   I have said that there is here a new prophecy; for the Prophet is said
   to buy for himself a girdle or a belt, or, according to some, a truss
   or breeches; and as mention is made of linen, this opinion may be
   probable; but 'zvr, asur, means not only the breeches which they then
   wore, but also a girdle or belt, according to what Isaiah says, when,
   speaking figuratively of Christ's kingdom, that faithfulness would be
   the girdle of his loins. (Isaiah 11:5) It, may here, however, be taken
   for breeches as well as for a girdle. [70]

   As to the matter in hand, it makes no great difference. The Prophet
   then is bidden to buy for himself a linen girdle or a linen breeches,
   and he is also bidden to go to Euphrates, and to hide the girdle in a
   hole. He is again bidden to go the second time to Euphrates, and to
   draw the girdle from the hole, and he found it marred. The application
   follows; for God declares that he would thus deal with the Jews; though
   he had had them as a belt, he would yet cast them away. As he had
   adorned them, so he designed them to be an ornament to him; for the
   glory of God shines forth in his ChurJeremiah The Jews then, as Isaiah
   says, were a crown of glory and a royal diadem in God's hand. (Isaiah
   62:3) Hence he compares them here most fitly to a belt or a girdle.
   Though then their condition was honorable, yet God threatens that he
   would cast them away; so that, being hidden, they might contract
   rottenness in a cavern of the Euphrates, that is, in Assyria and
   Chaldea. This is the meaning of the prophecy.

   But no doubt a vision is here narrated, and not a real transaction, as
   some think, who regard Jeremiah as having gone there; but what can be
   imagined more absurd? He was, we know, continually engaged in his
   office of a teacher among his own people. Had he undertaken so long a
   journey, and that twice, it would have taken him some months. Hence
   contentious must he be, who urges the words of the Prophet, and holds
   that he must have gone to the Euphrates and hidden there his girdle. We
   know that this form of speaking is common and often used by the
   prophets: they narrate visions as facts.

   We must also observe, that God might have spoken plainly and without
   any similitude; but as they were not only ignorant, but also stupid, it
   was found necessary to reprove their torpidity by an external symbol.
   This was the reason why God confirmed the doctrine of his Prophet by an
   external representation. Had God said, "Ye have been to me hitherto as
   a belt, ye were my ornament and my glory, not indeed through your merit
   or worthiness, but because I have united you to myself, that ye might
   be a holy people and a priestly kingdom; but now I am constrained to
   cast you away; and as a person throws from him and casts a girdle into
   some hole, so that after a long time he finds it rotten, so it will be
   with you, after having been hidden a long time beyond Euphrates; ye
   shall there contract rottenness, which will mar you altogether, so that
   your appearance will be very different, when a remnant of you shall
   come from thence:" This indeed might have been sufficient; but in that
   state of security and dullness in which we know the Jews were, such a
   simple statement would not have so effectually penetrated into their
   hearts, as when this symbol was presented to them. The Prophet,
   therefore, says, that he was girded with a belt, that the belt was hid
   in a hole near Euphrates, and that there it became marred; and then he
   adds, so shall it be done to you. This statement, as I have said, more
   sharply touched the Jews, so that they saw that the judgment of God was
   at hand.

   With regard to the similitude of girdle or breeches, we know how
   proudly the Jews gloried in the thought that God was bound to them; and
   he would have really been so, had they been in return faithful to him:
   but as they had become so disobedient and ungrateful, how could God be
   bound to them? He had indeed chosen them to be a people to himself, but
   this condition was added, that they were to be as a chaste wife, as he
   had become, according to what we have seen, a husband to them. But they
   had prostituted themselves and had become shamefully polluted with
   idols. As then they had perfidiously departed from their marriage
   engagement, was not God freed from his obligations? according to what
   is said by Isaiah,

   "There is no need to give you a bill of divorcement, for your mother is
   an adulteress." (Isaiah 1:1)

   The Prophet then, in this place, meant in a few words to shake off from
   the Jews those vain boastings in which they indulged, when they said
   that they were God's people and the holy seed of Abraham. "True," he
   says, "and I will concede more to you, that you were to God even as a
   belt, by which men usually adorn themselves; but God adopted you, that
   you might serve him chastely and faithfully; but now, as ye have made
   void his covenant, he will cast away this belt, which is a disgrace to
   him and not an ornament, and will throw it into a cavern where it will
   rot." Such is the view we are to take of this belt, as we shall
   hereafter see more clearly.

   The Prophet, by saying that he went to the Euphrates, confirms what he
   had narrated: he did not indeed mean that he actually went there, but
   his object was to give the Jews a vivid representation. It is then what
   Rhetorians call a scene presented to the view; though the place is not
   changed, yet the thing is set before the eyes by a lively description.
   [71] Thus the Prophet, as the Jews were deaf, exhibited to their view
   what they would not hear. This is the reason why he says that he went.
   For the same purpose is what follows, that at the end of many days God
   had bidden him to take out the girdle Here also is signified the length
   of the exile. As to the hole in a rock, what is meant is disgrace; for
   without honor and esteem the Jews lived in banishment, in the same
   manner as though they were cast into a cavern. Hence by the hole is
   signified their ignoble and base condition, that they were like persons
   removed from the sight of all men and from the common light of day. By
   the end of many days, is meant, as I have said, the length of their
   exile, for in a short time they would not have become putrified, and
   except indeed this had been distinctly expressed, they would have never
   been convinced of the grievousness of the calamity which was nigh them.
   Hence he says that the days would be many, so that they might contract
   putridity while hidden in the hole.

   As to the application of the Prophecy, the Prophet then distinctly
   describes it; but he sets forth with sufficient clearness the main
   point, when he says, Thus will I mar the stateliness (altitudinem, the
   altitude or height) of Judah and the great stateliness of Jerusalem
   Other interpreters unanimously render the word, pride; but as g'vn
   gaun, may be taken in two senses, it means here, I have no doubt,
   excellency, and this will appear more fully from what follows. [72] The
   word then signifies here that dignity with which God had favored the
   seed of Abraham, when he intended them to be an ornament to himself. So
   it is said in Exodus 15:7,

   "In thy greatness thou wilt destroy the nations."

   And in Isaiah he says,

   "I will make thee the excellency of ages." (Isaiah 60:15)

   There no doubt it is to be taken in a good sense. And these things
   harmonize together, -- that God had prepared the Jews for himself as a
   belt, and then that he cast them from him into a cavern, where they
   would be for a time without any light and without any glory.

   The import of this clause then is, "Though the dignity of Judah and
   Jerusalem has been great, (for the people whom God had adopted were
   renowned according to what is said in Deuteronomy 4) though then the
   stateliness of Judah and Jerusalem has been great, yet I will mar it."
   We see how the Prophet takes from the Jews that false confidence by
   which they deceived themselves. They might indeed have gloried in God,
   had they acted truly and from the heart: but when they arrogated all
   things to themselves, and deprived God of his authority, whose subjects
   they were, how great was their vanity and folly, and how ridiculous
   always to profess his sacred name, and to say, We are God's people? for
   he was no God to them, as they esteemed him as nothing; nay, they
   disdainfully and reproachfully rejected his yoke. We hence see that the
   word g'vn gaun, is to be taken here in a good sense. The Prophet at the
   same time reproachfully taunts them, that they abused the name of God
   and falsely pretended to be his people and heritage. The rest we cannot
   finish; we shall go on with the subject to-morrow.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [70] It is rendered "perizoma -- a girdle," by the Septuagint; --
   "lumbare -- a garment for the loins," by the Vulgate; -- "sudarium -- a
   napkin," by the Syriac; -- "cingulum -- a girdle," by the Targum and
   Arabic. The Hebrew word never means anything but a girdle or belt, as
   the verb signifies to surround, to bind. Calvin makes no remark on the
   command, not to put it in water before he wore it. Various has been the
   explanation. The view the Rabbins give is inconsistent with the
   passage, -- that it was to be left dirty after wearing, that it might
   rot the sooner; for the Prophet is bidden, when commanded to wear it,
   not to wash it. Grotius and others think that he was to wear it as
   made, in its rough state, in order to shew the rude condition of the
   Jews when God adopted them. Venema is of the opinion that in order to
   shew that is was newly made, and had not been worn by another, nor
   polluted. Gataker says that the purpose was to shew that nothing was to
   be done by the Prophet to cause the girdle to rot, as wet might have
   done so, in order to prove that the rottenness proceeded only from the
   Jews themselves. Lowth regards it as intended to teach the Jews their
   corrupt state by nature, so that it was through favor or grace only
   that God adopted them; and he refers to Ezekiel 16:4. The last, which
   is nearly the same with the view of Grotius, seems the most suitable.
   -- Ed.

   [71] Many agree with Calvin that this was a vision and not an actual
   transaction, such as Gataker, Lowth, Blayney, Adara Clarke, &c. Henry
   hesitates, but Scott seems to be strongly in favor of a real
   transaction. Bochart and Venema hold also the latter opinion, only they
   think that phrt here does not mean "Euphrates," but Ephrata, that is,
   Bethlehem, in Judea; but this cannot be maintained. Lowth refers to an
   instance where a vision is related as a fact, without any mention being
   made that it was a vision, that is, Genesis 15:5: God brought Abraham
   forth and shewed to him the stars; and yet it appears from Jeremiah
   13:12 that the sun was not set. Blayney remarks, that "the same
   supposition of a vision must be admitted in other cases, particularly
   Jeremiah 25:15-29." Gataker refers to similar instances in Ezekiel 8:3;
   Ezekiel 11:24. It was most probably a vision; and the Prophet related
   to the people what God had in a supernatural way exhibited to him. --
   Ed.

   [72] It is strangely rendered "reproach -- huzrin," by the Septuagint,
   but "pride" by the Vulgate, -- "the haughty ones," by the Syriac, --
   "insolence" by the Arabic, and "strength" by the Targum. Blayney agrees
   with Calvin and renders it "excellency," and Horsley, "glory." -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as so many of the people who have been
   gathered by thee, that they might be the body of thine only-begotten
   Son, have fallen away, and have by their ingratitude alienated
   themselves from the hope of eternal salvation, -- O grant, that they
   may again at this day be united together, and hold with us the true
   unity of faith, so that with one heart and one mouth we may profess
   thee as our God and Father, and so learn to swear by thy name, that we
   may acknowledge thee as our Judge, and ascribe to thee all power over
   us, until we shall at length enjoy that eternal inheritance, into the
   hope of which thou hast called us and daily invitest; us, through
   Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-Second
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:10

   10. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the
   imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them,
   and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for
   nothing.

   10. Populus hic malus [73] renuentes audire verba mea, ambulantes in
   pravitate cordis sui; et ambulant post deos alienos ut serviant ipsis
   et adorent ipsos; eterunt (collectivum nomen populi est singulare)
   tanquam baltheus hic, quiad nihilum prodest (qui ad quiquam non est
   utilis)


   The Prophet said, according to what we observed yesterday, that the
   people would be like the belt which he had hidden in a hole and found
   putrified: but now the cause is expressed why God had resolved to treat
   them with so much severity. He then says that he would be an avenger,
   because the Jews had refused to obey his voice, and preferred their own
   inventions in walking after the hardness, or the wickedness of their
   own heart We hence see that the cause of this calamity was, that the
   people had rejected the teaching of the prophets. This indeed was far
   more grievous than if they had fallen away through mistake or
   ignorance, as we often see that men go miserably astray when the
   teaching of the truth is taken away. But when God shews the way, and
   prescribes what is right, when by his servants he exhorts his people,
   it is an inexcusable hardness if men repudiate such a kindness. But as
   this subject has been elsewhere largely treated, I shall only touch on
   it now briefly.

   We see then that God threatens his people with extreme calamity,
   because they would not. bear to be taught by his prophets. Then he
   adds, that they had walked after the wickedness of their own heart, and
   had walked after foreign gods He in the first place complains that they
   had been so refractory as to prefer to obey their own impious
   inclinations than to be ruled by good and salutary counsels. But it was
   necessary to specify their crime; for had the Prophet only spoken of
   their hardness, they might have had their objections ready at hand; but
   when he said that they had walked after foreign gods, there was no
   longer any room for evasion. The word to walk has a reference to a way.
   This metaphor has indeed a relation to something else; for men are not
   wont to take a course without going somewhere, we must therefore have
   some end in view when we walk along any way. Now, there is to be
   understood here a contrast, that the people despised the way pointed
   out to them by God, and that they had preferred to follow their own
   errors. God was ready to guide the Jews; by his own law; but they chose
   rather, as I have said, to abandon themselves to their own errors, as
   it were designedly.

   He says, that they had walked after alien gods, that they might serve
   them, and prostrate themselves before them; for such is the meaning of
   the last verb. The Prophet no doubt repeats the same thing, for to
   serve is not only to obey, but also to worship. And hence is refuted
   that folly of the Papists, who imagine that worship (duliam) is not
   inconsistent with true religion; for they say that service (latriam) is
   due only to God, but that worship may be given to angels, to statues,
   or to dead men, as though God, forsooth! in condemning superstitions,
   did not use the word vd obed, to serve. It hence follows that it is
   extremely ridiculous to devise two sorts of worship, one peculiar to
   God, and another common to angels as well as to men and dead idols. We
   now understand the import of this verse: the Prophet draws this
   conclusion, that the Jews would become like a useless or a putrefied
   belt. It afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [73] These words are in the Septuagint and the Vulgate put in
   apposition with the last words of the preceding verse; but in the
   Syriac and Targum they form the nominative case to the verb "shall be,"
   as in our version, near the end of the verse, the v before it being
   omitted; but the simpler mode of construction is to consider the
   substantive verb, is, to be understood in the first clause; then the
   whole verse would run thus, -- This is a wicked people, Who refuse to
   hear my words, Who walk in the resolutions of their own heart, And walk
   after foreign gods, To serve them and to bow down to them; And they
   shall be as this girdle, Which will not be good for anything. On "the
   resolutions," see [4]vol. 1. "For anything," the kl here evidently
   means "anything," as it means in some other places "any," or any one --
   Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:11

   11. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused
   to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of
   Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for
   a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

   11. Quia sicut adhaeret (vel, conjunctus est) baltheus renibus viri,
   sic conjunxeram (vel, conjunxi) mihi totam domuni Israel, et totam
   domum Jehudah, dicit Jehova, ut esset mihi in populum et in nomen et in
   laudem et in decus; et non audierunt.


   He confirms what we noticed yesterday, -- that the Jews entertained a
   foolish confidence, and promised themselves perpetual happiness,
   because God had chosen them as his people. This indeed would have been
   a perpetual glory to them, had they not violated their pledged faith;
   but their defection rendered void God's covenant as far as they were
   concerned: for though God never suffered his faithfulness to fail,
   however false and perfidious they were, yet the adoption from which
   they had departed availed them nothing. But as they thought it an
   unalienable defense, the Prophet again repeats that they had been
   indeed adorned with singular gifts, but that, as they had not remained
   faithful, they would be deprived of them.

   He indeed says, by way of concession, As a belt cleaves to the loins of
   man, so also have I joined to myself the house of Israel; for given to
   them is what they claimed. But at the same time, he reminds them that
   they only swelled with wind; for the less tolerable was their impiety,
   because they were so ungrateful to God. What, indeed, could have been
   more base or less excusable, than when those whom God had favored with
   so much honor rejected his bounty? Jeremiah then concedes to them what
   they proudly boasted of; but he retorts it on their own heads, and
   shews how they deserved a heavier judgment, as they had despised so
   many of God's blessings.

   We said yesterday that. the people is elsewhere compared to a crown and
   a diadem, as though God had declared that nothing was more precious to
   him than the children of Abraham. But the same thing is now expressed
   in other words, -- that he had prepared them for himself as a girdle,
   that they might be his people This was indeed a great dignity; but what
   follows exceeds it, -- that they might be to me a name, that is, that I
   might be celebrated by them; for it was his will to be called the God
   of Israel. What likeness there is between God and men! And yet, as
   though descending from his celestial glory, he united to himself the
   seed of Abraham, that he might also bind them to himself. The election
   of God was therefore like a bond of mutual union, so that he might not
   be separated from his people. Hence he says that they had been thus
   joined to him, that they might be for a name, and also for a praise and
   glory [74] Though these words are nearly of the same meaning, yet no
   doubt they are put together for the sake of amplification. God,
   therefore, intended to exaggerate more fully the sin of the people, by
   saying that he had done so much for them, in order that he might be
   celebrated by them, and that his praise and his glory might dwell among
   them.

   He at last adds, They have not heard Had God only commanded what he
   might have justly required, not to obey his authority would have been
   an inexcusable wickedness in the people; but as he had so freely
   offered himself and all other things to them, what a base and
   detestable ingratitude it was in them to reject blessings so many and
   so valuable? We hence see that the mouths of the Jews are here
   completely closed, so that they could not expostulate with God, and
   complain that he was too rigid, for they had in an extreme degree
   provoked his wrath, having not only rejected his yoke, but also refused
   his offered favors. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [74] "Name" means here renown; "praise," celebrity or commendation; and
   "glory," ornament, decoration, or beauty. The three words are found
   together, though not in exactly the same order, in Deuteronomy 26:19.
   There the order is, praise, name, and honor, which is rendered here
   "glory." See Isaiah 43:21; Isaiah 61:11; Isaiah 63:12. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:12-14

   12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD
   God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall
   say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be
   filled with wine?

   12. Dices etiam illis (hoc est, annuntiabis) hunc sermonem, Sic dicit
   Jehova, Deus Israel, Omnis lagena (alii vertunt, utrem, sed hoc loco
   parum interest, omnis ergo lagena) implebitur vino: et dicent tibi, An
   non sciendo scimus (hoc est, An nesciendo non scimus) quod omnis lagena
   implebitur vino?

   13. Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will
   fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon
   David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the
   inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

   13. Tunc dices illis, Sic dicit Jehova, Ecce ego implens (vel, impleo)
   omnes habitatores terrae hujus, et omnes reges qui sedent pro Davidae
   super solium ejus, et sacerdotes et prophetas, et omnes incolas
   Jerosolymae ebrietate.

   14. And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the
   sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
   mercy, but destroy them.

   14. Et collidam eos (alii vertunt, dispergam; proprie significat
   violenter disjicere; hic apte reddetur collidere; collidam ergo)
   quenque ad fratrem suum et patres et filios simul, dicit Jehova; non
   parcam et non ero propitius, (idem significant, sunt synonyma) et non
   miserabor a perdendo (hoc est, quin perdam) ipsos.


   The Prophet denounces here by another similitude the vengeance of God,
   for he says that all would be filled with drunkenness: but he is bidden
   at first simply to set before them the metaphor, Every bottle, or
   flagon, he says, shall be filled with wine The word rvl, ubel, means a
   bladder; but the word bottle is more suitable here. [75] Bladders were
   wont in those countries to be filled with water and with wine, as the
   custom is still in the east; as we see at this day that oil is put in
   bladders and thus carried, so bladders are commonly used there to carry
   water and wine; but as it is added, I will dash them against one
   another, it is better to use the word bottles, or flagons.

   This general statement might have appeared to be of no weight; for what
   instruction does this contain, "Every bottle shall be filled with
   wine?" It is like what one might say, -- that a tankard is made to
   carry wine, and that bowls are made for drinking: this is well known,
   even to children. And then it might have been said that this was
   unworthy of a prophet. "Eh! what dost thou say? Thou sayest that
   bottles are the receptacles of wine, even as a hat is made to cover the
   head, or clothes to keep off the cold; but thou seemest to mock us with
   childish trifles." We also find that the Prophet's address was thus
   objected to, for they contemptuously and proudly answered, "What! do we
   not know that bottles are prepared for the purpose of preserving wine?
   But what dost thou mean? Thou boastest of the inspiration of the Holy
   Spirit: how strange is this? Thou art, like an angel come down from
   heaven; thou pretendest the name of God, and professest to have the
   authority of a prophet; now, what does this mean, that bottles are
   filled with wine?" But it was God's particular object thus to rouse the
   people, who were asleep in their delusions, and who were also by no
   means attentive to spiritual instruction. It was then his purpose to
   shew, by the most trifling, and as it were by frivolous things, that
   they were not possessed of so much clear-sightedness as to perceive
   even that which was most evident. They indeed, all knew that bottles
   were made for wine; but they did not understand that they were the
   bottles, or were like bottles. We have indeed said that they were
   inflated with so much arrogance that they seemed like hard rocks; and
   hence was their contempt of all threatenings, because they did not
   consider what they were. The Prophet then says that they were like
   bottles; though God had indeed chosen them for an excellent use, yet,
   forgetful of their frailty, they had marred their own excellency, so
   that they were no longer of any use, except that God would inebriate
   them with giddiness and also with calamities.

   We hence see why God had commanded a general truth to be here announced
   which was received with indifference and contempt; it was, that an
   opportunity might be given to the Prophet to touch to the quick those
   stupid men to whom their own state was wholly unknown. It had been said
   that they were like mountains, because they had as their foundation the
   free election of God; but as they had in them no firmness and no
   constancy of faith, but had decayed, their glory had as it were melted
   away; and though they still retained an outward appearance, yet they
   were like brittle vessels; and so their fragility is here better
   expressed by the Prophet than if, in a plain sentence, he had said, "As
   a bottle is filled with wine, so will the Lord fill you with
   drunkenness." Had he thus spoken, there would not have been so much
   force in the prediction; but when they answered with disdain, "This is
   known even to children," they were then told what more sensibly touched
   them, -- that they were like bottles. [76]

   It may now be asked, What was this drunkenness which the Prophet
   announces? It may be understood in two ways, -- either that God would
   give them up to a reprobate mind, -- or that he would make them drunk
   with evils and calamities; for when God deprives men of a right mind,
   it is to prepare them for extreme vengeance. But the Prophet seems to
   have something further in view -- that this people would be given up to
   the most grievous evils, which would wholly fill them with amazement.
   Yet it appears from the context that the former evil is intended here;
   for he says, I will dash them one against another, every one against
   his brother, even the fathers and sons together; and thus they were all
   to be broken as it were in pieces. God then not only points out the
   calamity which was nigh the Jews, but also the manner of it; that is,
   that every one would draw his own brethren to ruin, as though they
   inflicted wounds on one another. But God says first generally, I will
   fill all the inhabitants of the land with drunkenness, and then he
   explains the effect, such as I have stated.

   But he afterwards speaks of the whole people, including the kings,
   priests, and prophets, so that he excepts no order of men, however
   honorable; and this express mention of different orders was altogether
   necessary, for kings thought that they ought not to have been blended
   with the common people. The priests also regarded themselves as sacred,
   and a similar pride possessed the false prophets. But Jeremiah includes
   them all, without exception, in the same bundle, as though he had said,
   -- "The majesty of kings shall not deliver them from God's judgment,
   nor shall the priests be safe on account of their dignity, nor shall it
   avail the false prophets to boast of that noble and illustrious office
   which they discharge." This prediction was no doubt regarded as very
   unjust; for we know with what high commendations God had spoken of the
   kingdom of David. As to the priesthood, we also know that it was a type
   of the priesthood of Christ, and also that the whole tribe of Levi was
   counted sacred to God. It could not therefore be but that Jeremiah must
   have greatly exasperated the minds of all by thus threatening kings as
   well as priests.

   But we hence gather, -- that there is nothing so high and so
   illustrious on earth, which ought not to be made to submit, when the
   power and glory of God, and the authority of celestial truth, are to be
   vindicated. Whatever then is precious and excellent in the world must
   come to nothing, if it derogates even in the least degree from the
   glory of God or from the authority of his truth: and yet kings and
   priests dared to oppose the word of God. No wonder then, that the
   Prophet should thrust them down from their elevations and compare them
   to bottles: he thus treads under foot that frail glory by which they
   sought to obscure God himself. And as the name of David was, as it
   were, sacred among that people, in order to shake off this vain
   confidence, the Prophet says, -- "Though kings sit on the throne of
   David and be his successors and posterity, yet God will not spare
   them." [77] And hence also it appears how foolishly the Papal clergy at
   this day bring forward against us their privileges and their dignity.
   Doubtless, whatever these unprincipled men may claim for themselves,
   they cannot yet make themselves equal to the Levitical priests: and yet
   we see that it availed them nothing, that God had set them apart for
   himself, because they had abused their power. There is, therefore, no
   reason for the Pope and his clergy, the very filth of the world, to be
   at this day so proud. We now perceive the design of the words, when
   mention is made of kings, priests, and prophets.

   It must, however, be observed, that, he does not speak here of faithful
   prophets, but of those who wore the mask, while yet they brought
   nothing but chaff instead of wheat, as we shall hereafter see. He then
   uses the word prophets in an improper sense, for he applies it to false
   teachers, as we do at this day, when we speak of those savages who
   boast that they are bishops and prelates and governors: we indeed
   concede to them these titles, but it does not follow that they justly
   deserve to be counted bishops, though they are so called. In the same
   way then does Jeremiah speak here of those who were called prophets,
   who yet were wholly unworthy of the office.

   He then speaks of the collision to which we have referred, -- I will
   cause them to tear or break one another in pieces. Some render the word
   "scatter;" but scattering does by no means comport with the words,
   every one, against his brother, etc. [78] We hence see that the meaning
   is much more suitable when we render the words, I will dash them, every
   one against his brother, and then, even the fathers and the sons
   together; so that they might tear one another by a mutual conflict. And
   hence, as I have said, Jeremiah not only foretells the destruction of
   the people, but also points out the manner of it; for they would become
   so void of common prudence, that they would willfully destroy one
   another, as though they were given up to mutual slaughter. They
   gloried, we know, in their number, but the Prophet shews that this
   would be no protection to them, but, on the contrary, the cause of
   their ruin; for the Lord would so blind them, that they would fight
   with one another, and thus perish without any foreign enemy.

   He then adds, I will not spare, I will not spare, [79] I will not have
   mercy He repeats three times that he would not be propitious to them.
   It would have been sufficient to declare this once, were they so
   teachable and attentive as really to consider the threatenings
   announced to them; but being so torpid as they were, it was necessary
   to repeat the same thing often; not as though there was anything
   ambiguous or obscure in the message itself, but because hardly any
   vehemence was sufficient to rouse hearts so obstinate. We hence see why
   the Prophet repeated the same thing so often. He, however, does not
   employ words uselessly: whenever God repeats the promises of his favor,
   he does not utter words heedlessly and without reason; but since he
   sees that there is in us so much dulness, that one promise is not
   sufficient, he confirms it by repetitions; so also when he sees that
   men, owing to their stupidity, cannot be moved nor terrified by his
   threatenings, he repeats them, that they may have more weight. He in
   short declares, that it was all over with that people, so that he does
   not now call the wicked and the rebellious to repentance, but speaks to
   them as to men past remedy. This is the meaning.

   And he adds, Until I shall consume them [80] This refers to the whole
   body of the people. God, in the meantime, still preserved, in a
   wonderful manner and by hidden means, a remnant, as it has appeared
   elsewhere: but yet God took that vengeance, which is here denounced on
   the people as a body; for it was as it were a general death, when they
   were all driven into exile and everywhere scattered. Now as the Lord in
   so great a ruin never forgot his covenant, but some seed still remained
   safe and secure; so what is said here, I will not have mercy until I
   shall consume them, is not inconsistent with the promise of mercy
   elsewhere given, when he declares that he is long-suffering and
   plenteous in mercy. (Numbers 14:18; Psalm 103:8) Though God then
   destroyed his people in so dreadful a manner, yet he did not divest
   himself of his own nature, nor cast away his mercy; but he executed his
   judgments on the reprobate in a way so wonderful, that he yet lost
   nothing of his eternal mercy and remained still faithful as to his
   election. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [75] It is not true that the word ever means a bladder, though so
   rendered by the Septuagint and the Targum. The Vulgate has "laguncula
   -- a little flagon," and Syriac "dolium, -- a tub." It means a jug or
   jar. Blayney has "vessel." -- Ed.

   [76] With regard to this comparison, Gataker says, "A type taken from
   what they much loved, liked, and looked after; for they loved and
   looked after the flagons of wine, Hosea 3:1; and those prophets best
   pleased them who prophesied of wine and strong drink, Micah 2:11. God
   therefore sendeth his prophet to them with a prophecy of wine, but of
   other wine than they expected."

   [77] The clause, literally rendered, would convey this meaning, -- And
   the kings who sit for David on his throne. "For David," that is, as his
   representatives. "In David's stead," is the rendering of Gataker and
   Blayney. The word "even" before "the kings" in our version, is
   improper; for what follows is not a specification of what is gone
   before, as "the inhabitants of Jerusalem," at the end of the verse, is
   in contrast with "all the inhabitants of this land," that is, the
   people of the country -- Ed.

   [78] The word seems to mean shattering or breaking in pieces, and in a
   secondary sense, scattering, as the effect. The early versions give the
   latter meaning, scattering, but, as Calvin says, inconsistently with
   the rest of the clause. The Targum gives in effect the first sense, "I
   will cause them to rush, each on his brother." The word "dash" is the
   most suitable, or dash to pieces, -- And I will dash them to pieces,
   each against his brother,
   Both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah. The allusion is
   to the bottles: they would be broken like brittle vessels, when thrown
   one against another. -- Ed.

   [79] The verbs are different, and so Calvin renders them in the text;
   but not here. There is no unanimity in the versions as to these verbs
   and the one which follows. The first means to be tender so as to
   relent; the second, to spare so as not to inflict punishment, to
   connive; and the third, to feel pity or compassion. They may be
   rendered thus, -- I will not relent, nor will I spare;
   Nor will I pity, so as not to destroy them. The two lines announce the
   same thing, only the last is stronger and more specific. Pitying or
   commiserating is stronger than relenting, and not destroying describes
   the act, while sparing is a general term. -- Ed.

   [80] The sentence literally is, "From consuming," or destroying,
   "them." The preposition m, mem, here has the force of a negative. It is
   a sort of an elliptic phrase, which, though understood in the original,
   yet requires a supplement in a translation, -- "I will not pity, so as
   to abstain from consuming them." But a literal rendering in Welsh would
   be understood, -- Ae ni resynav rhag eu difetha. The preposition
   "rhag," which ordinarily means from, signifies here from not, which is
   exactly the Hebrew. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:15-16

   15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.

   15 Audite et auscultate; ne elevemini, quia Jehova loquutus est.

   16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and
   before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look
   for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross
   darkness.

   16. Date Jehovae Deo vestro gloriam priusquam obtenebrescere faciat, et
   priusquam offendant pedes vestri ad montes tenebrarum, speretisque
   lucem, et ponat in umbram mortis et in caliginem.


   The Prophet shews here more fully what we have stated, -- that so
   refractory was the temper of those with whom he had to do, that it was
   necessary to use various means to subdue them. And it was not in vain
   that he added this exhortation, which manifests indignation; nor was it
   without displeasure that he required a hearing, Hear ye, and give ear;
   be not lifted up, for the Lord is he who speaks Then we may hence
   gather, either that Jeremiah was derided, or that his words were
   disregarded by the Jews; for this is intimated by the words, For
   Jehovah has spoken; [81] for were they of themselves persuaded, that he
   announced what God had commanded him, these words would have been used
   to no purpose. But we shall elsewhere see, that he was deemed an
   impostor, and that he was assailed by many reproofs and curses.

   He therefore defends here his calling from their calumnies and
   reproaches, when he says, that God had spoken; for by these words he
   affirms that he brought nothing of his own, but spoke as it were from
   the mouth of God, or, which is the same thing, that he was the
   instrument of the Holy Spirit; and he said this, in order that they
   might know that they in vain contended with him, as the contest was
   between them and God. And on this account he says, Hear ye, and give
   ear; for he saw that they were deaf and torpid, and had need of many
   stimulants. He at the same time points out the cause and the source of
   evil by saying, Be ye not lifted up [82] The cause then of their
   contumacy was pride, for they dared to quarrel with God. So also the
   main principle of obedience is humility, that is, when men acknowledge
   that they are nothing and ascribe to God what is due to him.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [81] This may be rendered more consistently with the context, "For
   Jehovah speaks," or is speaking: for the reference evidently is to what
   was now addressed to them. -- Ed.

   [82] So all the versions and the Targum. Gataker renders it, "Be ye not
   haughty," which is no doubt the meaning. The verb means to be high,
   lofty, or elevated, and so to be elevated as to be haughty, proud. See
   Isaiah 3:16. Men, creatures of the dust, too high and elevated to hear
   what God said to them! This is the case still. What a monstrous thing!
   -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we are by nature frail vessels, and our
   frailty is such that we of ourselves melt away, and when we become
   stronger we cannot stand by our own power, -- O grant, that being
   supported by thy power, we may indeed rejoice in the perpetuity of our
   salvation, not indeed relying on any earthly protection, but because
   thou hast been pleased to choose us as thy people: and may we at the
   same time so pursue the course of our life, that we may not by our
   perfidy exclude thy grace from us, but give place to thee, that we may
   be more and more enriched by those gifts which pertain to the hope of a
   future life, until we shall at length come to that full and perfect
   happiness, in thy celestial kingdom, which is laid up for us by Christ
   our Lord. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-Third
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:16

   16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and
   before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look
   for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross
   darkness.

   16. Date Jehovae Deo vestro gloriam priusquam obtenebrescere faciat, et
   priusquam offendant pedes vestri ad montes tenebrarum, speretisque
   lucem, et ponat in umbram mortis et in caliginem.


   Jeremiah pursues the subject, which we began to explain yesterday, for
   he saw that the Jews were but little moved by what he taught them. He
   bid them. to regard what he said as coming from God, and told them that
   they could by no means succeed by their pride. For the same purpose he
   now adds, Give glory to Jehovah your God To give glory to God is
   elsewhere taken for confessing the truth in his name; for when Joshua
   abjured Achan, he used these words, "Give glory to God, my son;" that
   is, As I have set God before you as a judge, beware lest you should
   think that if you lie you can escape his judgment. (Joshua 7:19) But
   here, to give glory to God, is the same as to ascribe to him what
   properly belongs to him, or to acknowledge his power so as to be
   submissive to his word: for if we deny faith to the prophets; we rob
   God of his glory, as we thus disown his power, and, as far as we can,
   diminish his glory. How indeed can we ascribe glory to God except by
   acknowledging him to be the fountain of all wisdom, justice, and power,
   and especially by trembling at his sacred word? Whosoever then does not
   fear and reverence God, whosoever does not believe his word, he robs
   him of his glory. We hence see that all the unbelieving, though they
   may testify the contrary by their mouths, are yet in reality enemies to
   God's glory and deprive him of it.

   This subject ought to be carefully noticed; for all ought to dread such
   a sacrilege as this, and yet there is no one who takes sufficient heed
   in this respect. We then see what instruction this expression conveys;
   it is as though he had said, that the Jews had hitherto acted
   contemptuously towards God, for they trembled not before him, as they
   had no faith in his word: and that it was now time for him to set God
   before them as their Judge, and also for them to know that they ought
   to have believed whatever God declared to them by his servants.

   He says, Before he introduces darkness Others render it by a single
   word, "Before it grows dark," but as the verb is in Hiphil, it ought to
   be taken in a causative sense. Some consider the word sun to be
   understood, but without reason; for the sun is not said to send
   darkness by its setting. But the Prophet removes all ambiguity by the
   words which immediately follow in the second clause, And turn light to
   the shadow of death, and turn it to thick darkness In these words the
   Prophet no doubt refers to God, so that the word God, used at the
   beginning of the verse, is to be understood here. [83]

   Before God, he then says, sends darkness, and before your feet stumble
   on the mountains of obscurity The word nsph, neshiph, means the evening
   and the twilight; it means also the obscure light before the rising of
   the sun; but it is often taken for the whole night. We can render the
   words, "the mountains of density." But the word, no doubt, means here
   obscurity. Some think that mountains are to be here taken
   metaphorically for Egypt; for the Jews were wont to flee there in their
   troubles. But there are safer recesses on mountains than on the plains;
   yet I know not whether this sense will be very suitable here. On the
   contrary, I prefer to regard the words as preceded by k, caph, a
   particle of likeness, which is often understood, and the meaning would
   be thus suitable, "Before your feet stumble as on obscure mountains:"
   for there is more light on level grounds than on mountains, for
   darkness often fills narrow passes: the sun cannot penetrate there; and
   also the evening does not come on so soon on plains as in the recesses
   of mountains; for the Prophet refers not to the summits but to the
   narrow valleys, which receive not the oblique rays of the sun but for a
   few hours. But what if we give this rendering? "Before your feet
   stumble at the mountains of darkness;" for 'l, al, has the meaning of
   at, [84] as though the Prophet had said, that the darkness would be so
   thick that they could not discern mountains opposite them. As in the
   twilight or in darkness a traveler stumbles at the smallest stones, so
   also, when the darkness is very thick, even mountains are not
   perceived. It thus often happens that a person stumbles at mountains,
   and finds by his feet and his hands a stumblingblock before he
   perceives it by his eyes. As to myself, I wholly think that this is the
   right explanation, Before then your feet stumble at the dark mountains

   He afterwards adds, When ye hope for light, he turns it to the shadow
   of death The word tslmvt, tsalmut, as I have said elsewhere, is thought
   by grammarians to be composed of tsl tsal, "shadow," and of mvt mut,
   which means "death," and they render it "fatal darkness." Then what he
   says is, "Before God turns light to darkness, turns it to thick
   darkness, give to him his glory." And. hence we perceive more clearly
   what I have already referred to, that the verb ychsyk, icheshik, "will
   cause darkness," ought to be applied to God.

   But the sum of the whole is this, that they could anticipate God's
   judgment by admitting him in time as their Judge, and also by receiving
   his word with more reverence than they had previously done. At the same
   time he declares that their hope was vain if they promised themselves
   light. But we must know that light is here to be taken metaphorically,
   as in many other places, and darkness also, its opposite, is to be so
   taken. Darkness means adversities, and light, peace and prosperity. The
   Prophet then says that the Jews deceived themselves, if they thought
   that their happiness would be perpetual, if they despised God and his
   prophets; and why? because it would have been the same as to disarm or
   to deprive him of his power, as though he was not the Judge of the
   world. He in short shews, that there was nigh at hand a most dreadful
   vengeance, except the Jews in time anticipated it and submitted
   themselves to God. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [83] All the versions and the Targum render the first verb
   intransitively, "Before it grows dark:" but Montanus, Pagninus,
   Piscator and Junius and Tremellius, give it a transitive meaning, as
   Calvin does, and no doubt correctly, for it is in Hiphil, "Before he
   causes or brings darkness;" or it may be rendered, "Before he makes it
   dark." Blayney follows the early versions, but Gataker, Lowth, and
   Venema, the latter versions; and the conclusion of the verse confirms,
   as Calvin says, this meaning. -- Ed.

   [84] This is a mistake, the preposition is l which means on, upon, etc.
   Our version of this sentence is in accordance with the early versions:
   it is indeed literally the Septuagint and the Vulgate. Yet it is not
   the original. The verb is in Hithpael, and means to strike or smite
   together, or against one another. The literal rendering is the
   following, -- Before your feet smite one against the other,
   On the mountains of gloominess (i.e. gloomy mountains.) It is true the
   word for "gloominess" means sometimes the twilight; but here it seems
   to signify a state somewhat dark or obscure. To wander and to stumble
   on gloomy mountains betokens the miserable condition of fugitives: and
   this is what is meant here. See Jeremiah 16:16; Ezekiel 7:16. Then what
   follows might be thus rendered, -- When ye shall look anxiously for
   light,
   Then will he make it the shadow of death,
   He will turn it to thick darkness. When two vaus occur in a sentence,
   they may often be rendered when and then. The change proposed as to the
   last verb is not at all necessary. Literally it is, "He will set it (to
   be) for thick darkness." -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:17

   17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for
   your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears,
   because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

   17 Quod si non audieritis hoc, in areanis (hoc est, in secreto) lugebit
   anima mea a facie superbia (hoc est, propter superbiam) et lachrymando
   lachrymabitur, et descendet oculus meus in lachrymas (de hac locutione
   vidimut cap. 9; diffluet ergo oculus meus in lachrymae; ad verbum, et
   descendet oculus meus lachryma) quoniam abductus est (captus est) grex
   Jehovae.


   The Prophet had indirectly threatened them; but yet there was some hope
   of pardon, provided the Jews anticipated God's judgment in time and
   humbled themselves before him. He now declares more clearly that a most
   certain destruction was nigh at hand, If ye will not hear, he says,
   weep will my soul in secret But much weight is in what the Prophet
   intimates, that he would cease to address them, as though he had said,
   "I have not hitherto left off to exhort you, for God has so commanded
   me; but there will be no remedy, if ye as usual harden yourselves
   against what I teach you. There remains then nothing now for me, except
   to hide myself in some secret place and there to mourn; for my
   prophetic office among you is at an end, as ye are unworthy of such a
   favor from God."

   He does not state simply, If ye will not hear, but he adds a pronoun,
   this, If ye will not hear this, or it: for the Jews might have raised
   an objection and said, that they were not disobedient to God, and had
   prophets among them, as it appeared yesterday; for there were those who
   deceived them by their flatteries. The Prophet then does not speak
   indistinctly, for that would have had no effect; but he expressly
   declares that they were to hear what he had said in the last verse:
   "Except then," he says, "ye give glory to God, I will leave you or bid
   you farewell, and will hide myself in some corner, and there bewail
   your miseries." When the Prophet said that nothing remained for him but
   weeping, he intimated that it was all over with them, and that their
   salvation was hopeless. The sum of the whole is, that they were not to
   be always favored with that which they were now despising, that is, to
   be warned by God's servants; for if they continued to despise all the
   prophets, God would withdraw such a favor from them.

   The Prophet at the same time shows with what feelings he exercised his
   prophetic office; for though he knew that he was to perform, the part
   of an herald, and boldly to denounce on the Jews the calamity which we
   have observed; he yet ever felt so much pity in his soul, that he
   bewailed that perverseness which would prove their ruin. The Prophet
   then connected the two feelings together, so that with a bold and
   intrepid spirit he denounced vengeance on the Jews, and at the same
   time he felt commiseration and sympathy.

   He then mentions the cause, For taken captive is the flock of Jehovah
   Jeremiah might have had indeed a regard also for his own blood. When,
   therefore, he saw the nation from which he himself sprung miserably
   perishing, he could not but mourn for their ruin: but he had an
   especial regard to the favor of God, as was the case also with Paul,
   (Romans 9:2, 4, 5) for though he refers to his descent from the
   Israelites, and assigns this as a reason why he wished to be an
   anathema from Christ on their account, there were yet other reasons why
   he spoke highly of them; for he afterwards adds, that the covenant was
   theirs, that they derived their origin from the fathers, that from them
   Christ came according to the flesh, who is God, blessed for ever. Paul
   then so honored and valued the benefits with which the Jews were
   adorned, that he wished as it were to die for their salvation, and even
   wished to be an anathema from Christ. There is not the least doubt but
   Jeremiah for a similar reason adds now, that he would seek retirement
   or some hidden place where he might bewail the destruction of his
   people, for it was the flock of Jehovah [85] We hence see that it was
   God's covenant that made him to shed tears, for he saw that in a manner
   it failed through the fault of the people. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [85] The whole verse may be thus rendered, -- But if ye will not hear,
   weep in secret places Will my soul, on account of your haughtiness;
   Yea, bewailing it will bewail, And pour down will mine eye the tear,
   When taken captive is the flock of Jehovah. The word for "haughtiness,"
   gvh, is rendered "insolence" by the Septuagint and Arabic; "pride" by
   the Vulgate, and "affliction" by the Syriac. The word is commonly
   derived from g'h, to swell, to be high, to be elated. It is found in
   this sense in two other places, Job 33:17, and Daniel 4:37; and in a
   good sense, elevation, in Job 22:29. It seems to be a contraction, in
   full g'vh. See Psalm 36:12; Proverbs 29:23. This being the meaning of
   the word, the view of Calvin cannot be admitted. There is an evident
   reference to what is said in Jeremiah 13:15, "Be ye not lifted up," or,
   "be ye not haughty." The cause of his weeping was their haughtiness in
   not hearing God speaking to them.- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:18

   18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for
   your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

   18 Dic regi et dominae, humiliamini (descendite) sedete (hoc est,
   jacete) quia descendet a capitibus vestris corona decoris vestri (alii
   vertunt, sescendet altitudines vestrae, pro altitudo vestra; et
   appositive legunt quod sequitur, corona decoris vestri)


   The Prophet is here bidden to address his discourse directly to King
   Jehoiakim and his mother; for the term lady is not to be taken for the
   queen, the wife of Jehoiakim, but for his mother, who was then his
   associate in the kingdom, and possessed great authority. [86] And there
   is no doubt but that God thus intended to rouse more fully the
   community in general; that is, by shewing that he would not spare, no,
   not the king nor the queen. But we may hence also learn what has
   already been observed, that the truth announced by the prophets is
   superior to all the greatness of the world. For it was said before to
   Jeremiah, "Reprove mountains and rebuke hills;" [87] and still farther,

   "Behold, I have set thee over kingdoms and nations, to pull down and to
   pluck up," etc., (Jeremiah 1:10)

   This ought to be carefully noticed; for kings and those who are eminent
   in the world, think that they are not only, by a singular privilege,
   exempt from all laws, but also free from every obligation to observe
   modesty and to avoid shame. Hence it is, that they from their elevation
   despise God and his prophets. Here God shews, that he supplied the
   prophets with his word for this end, -- that they might close their
   eyes to all the splendor of the world, and shew no respect of persons,
   but pull down every height, and bring to order everything that is
   elevated in this world. Paul also teaches us, that ministers of the
   gospel are endued with this power;

   "Given to us," he says, "is power against every height that exalteth
   itself against Christ."
   (2 Corinthians 10:5)

   And hence we must observe, that all who are chosen to the office of
   teaching, cannot faithfully discharge their duty except they boldly,
   and with intrepid spirit, dare to reprove both kings and queens; for
   the word of God is not to be restricted to the common people or men in
   humble life, but it subjects to itself all, from the least to the
   greatest. This prophecy was no doubt very bitter to the king as well as
   to the common people; but it behooved Jeremiah to discharge faithfully
   his office; and this was also necessary, for the king Jehoiakim and his
   mother thought that they could not possibly be dethroned.

   He therefore bids them to descend and to lie down; that is, he bids
   them to forget their ancient greatness. He does not simply exhort them
   to repent, but shews, that as they had been so refractory in their
   pride, the punishment of disgrace was nigh at hand, for the Lord would
   with a strong hand lay them prostrate. It is not then an exhortation
   that the Prophet gives; but he only foretells what they little thought
   of, -- that they in vain flattered themselves, for the Lord would in a
   short time expose them to reproach by casting them down.

   And this is evident from what is added, For descend shall the crown of
   your honor; that is, it shall be taken away from your highnesses, or
   from your eminencies, or from your heads; for the word r'sh, rashe,
   means sometimes the head. [88] But some think that it means here
   eminencies, and that "the magnificent crown" is put here in apposition.

   I have omitted, if I mistake not, to notice one thing; that is, the
   pride mentioned by the Prophet; except ye hear, weep will my soul in
   secret on account of pride Interpreters render it "your pride;" that
   is, the pride with which the Jews were filled; but I am inclined to
   take a different view, that the Prophet speaks here of the pride or the
   great power of those enemies whom the Jews then did not in any degree
   fear. "Since then," says the Prophet, "ye are so secure, I will retire
   and weep by myself, and my soul by mourning shall mourn, yea, my eye
   shall flow down with tears, on account of the pride of the enemies, who
   are now so much despised by you;" Let us now proceed --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [86] So Gataker and Lowth; and they refer to 2 Kings 24:12, and to
   Jeremiah 22:26. From this circumstance it is gathered that this
   prophecy was delivered in the short reign of that king, which lasted
   only three months. The word "queen," in our version, is rendered
   "mistress or lady -- domina," by Calvin, but "potentates" by the
   Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic; "governess -- dominatrix," by the
   Vulgate; and "queen" by the Targum. The word means governess; it is
   rendered "mistress" in Genesis 16:4, 8; "lady" in Isaiah 47:5, 7; and
   "queen" in 2 Kings 10:13. -- Ed.

   [87] There is an oversight here; the passage referred to is in Micah
   6:1; nor is it a right view of it. See vol. 3 on the Minor Prophets,
   [5]p. 328. -- Ed.

   [88] All the early versions render the words, "Fallen from your head
   has the crown of your glory." Our version is that of Montanus. If m be
   a formative, then the word, in every instance in which it occurs, means
   bolsters or pillows, things for the head to rest on. The word for head
   has commonly a masculine termination in the plural number; but here it
   is feminine. The most literal rendering is the following: -- For bring
   down from your heads will he the crown of your glory. The latter words
   mean "your glorious crown," the expression being an Hebraism. Our
   common version, as Blayney observes, violates grammar; for the gender
   of the verb yrd, (which, the same author thinks, ought to be yvrd,
   future in Hiphil) is masculine, while the noun made its nominative is
   feminine. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:19

   19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them:
   Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly
   carried away captive.

   19 Urbes Austri clausae sunt, et nemo qui aperiat; traductus est (vel,
   transmigravit) Jehudah totus, translatus est perfecte (perfectione, hoc
   est, in totum abductus est in captivitatem)


   By the cities of the south, almost all understand the cities of the
   tribe of Judah, whose portion was towards the south; and by the cities
   being shut up, they consider that what is meant is, that they would be
   forsaken; for they say, that cities are open when they are frequented.
   But I am con- strained here also to take another view. I take the
   cities of the south to have been those of Egypt; for we know that the
   Jews looked there for a refuge, whenever they were attacked by the
   Assyrians or the Chaldeans. Since then they thought that Egypt would be
   to them a sort of an asylum, the Prophet declares that all these cities
   would be closed against them, and that there would be no one to open
   them; as though he had said, "The Lord will drive you out, and will
   prevent you to take refuge there."

   He would doubtless have spoken more clearly had he meant the cities of
   Judah; and besides, as he was at Jerusalem, this way of speaking must
   have been ambiguous, and even improper; and we shall find him presently
   speaking of the Assyrians as being in the north. He now then warns
   them, that Egypt would be closed against them, though they at the same
   time expected that they would be safe there, and that an easily-borne
   exile was in their power. As then they foolishly trusted that they
   would be received by the Egyptians, the Prophet says, that the gates
   would be closed, and that there would be no one to open them. It then
   follows, carried away wholly has been Judah, carried away completely;
   [89] that is, "Ye shall all be led away into Assyria and Babylon;"
   which is the north country, according to what afterwards follows, --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [89] The ancient versions render these last words of the verse in the
   same way with our version and that of Calvin; but the Hebrew, as
   Blayney remarks, is not rightly rendered, though he unnecessarily makes
   klh a verb, and according to his construction it ought to be klth; and
   he does not satisfactorily account for the last word, slvmym. The
   literal version I regard to be the following: -- The transmigration of
   Judah has been entire, -- The transmigration of retributions. The past
   time, as in the beginning of the verse, is to be used, though it is
   used for the future. The word slvmym, is never found in an adverbial
   sense; and indeed it is found only once elsewhere as here, in the
   plural number, Isaiah 34:8; but thrice in this sense in the singular
   number, Deuteronomy 32:35; Hosea 9:7; Micah 7:3. The Targum favors this
   rendering, as it retains the idea of retribution. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:20

   20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where
   is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

   20 Levate oculos vestros, et aspicite venientesab aquilone: ubigrex qui
   datus fuerat tibi? Oves decoris tui?


   We here see that Egypt and Chaldea are set in opposition, the one to
   the other; as though the Prophet had said, "Whenever anything is said
   to you about the Chaldeans, ye turn your eyes to Egypt, as though that
   would be a quiet residence for you; but God will prevent you from
   having any escape there. Now see, see your enemies who are coming from
   another quarter, even from Chaldea. Lift up then your eyes." As they
   were so very intent on their present ease, he bids them to lift up
   their eyes, that they might see farther than they were wont to do.

   He then says, Where is the flock which had been given to thee? and the
   sheep of thy glory? It is through pity that the Prophet thus speaks;
   for he saw by the Spirit the whole land deserted, and in wonder he
   asks, "What does this mean, that the flock is scattered which had been
   given to thee?" He addresses the people under the character of a woman,
   as he does often in other places. [90] In short, he confirms what he
   had said before, -- that he would go to some secret place, if the
   people were not influenced by his doctrine, and that he would there by
   himself deplore their calamity; but he employs other words, and at the
   same time intimates, that he alone had eyes to see, as others were
   blind, for God had even taken from them understanding and discernment.
   The Prophet then shews here that he saw the dreadful desolation that
   was soon to come; and therefore as one astonished he asks, Where is the
   flock with which God had enriched the land? and further he asks, Where
   are the sheep which possessed a magnificent honor or beauty? It follows
   --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [90] May not the queen regent, or governess, mentioned with the king in
   Jeremiah 13:18, be here meant? Sovereigns are called shepherds, and
   hence "flock" and "sheep" are here mentioned. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:21

   21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught
   them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take
   thee, as a woman in travail?

   21 Quid dices, cum visitaverit super to? Et tu (hoc est, atqui tu)
   docuisti (hoc est, assuefecisti) illos super to duces in caput: annon
   dolores apprehendent to tanquam mulierem parturientem?


   As the Prophet observed that the Jews were in no way moved, he
   addressed them still further, and set before them what seemed then
   incredible, even the calamity, from which they thought they were able
   easily to defend themselves by means of their auxiliaries.

   He then adds, What wilt thou then say? For the false teachers made a
   clamor, and whenever Jeremiah began to speak, they violently assailed
   him, and the common people also wantonly barked at him. As then they
   thus petulantly resisted God and his truths, the Prophet intimates that
   the time would come when they should become mute through shame: What
   wilt thou say then? he says, "Ye are now very talkative, and God cannot
   obtain a hearing from you; but he will check your wantonness, when the
   enemy shall distress you." It is the same as though he had said, "It
   will not be the time then for your loquacity, for the Lord will
   constrain you to be silent."

   Some refer to God what follows, When, he shall visit you; but it ought
   on the contrary to be applied to the Chaldeans; for he immediately
   adds, But thou hast accustomed them, etc. There is indeed a change or
   an anomaly of number, but this is common in the prophets. When he uses
   the singular, the head of the army is referred to, but afterwards the
   whole forces are included. What then wilt thou say, when the enemy
   shall visit thee? He then adds, But then, etc.; that is, "If thou
   seekest to cast blame on others, when the Assyrians and the Chaldeans
   shall overwhelm thee, thou wilt attempt it in vain? for thou hast
   opened a passage for them, and hast accustomed them to be thy leaders
   over thy head." For the Assyrians had a long time before been sent for
   by the Israelites; and the Jews also had formed confederacies with the
   Chaldeans against the Assyrians, before these monarchies were united.
   As then they had called them in as auxiliaries, they had accustomed
   them to rule, and, as it were, had set them over themselves. The case
   was similar to that of the Turks at this day, were they to pass over to
   these parts and exercise their authority; for it might be asked the
   French kings and their counsellors, "Whose fault it is that the Turks
   come to us so easily? It is because ye have prepared for them the way
   by sea, because ye have bribed them, and your ports have been opened to
   them; and yet they have wilfully exercised the greatest cruelty towards
   your subjects. All these things have proceeded from yourselves; ye are
   therefore the authors of all these evils." So also now the Prophet
   upbraids the Jews, because they had accustomed the Chaldeans to be
   their leaders; and as they had set them over their own heads, he says
   to them, that it was no wonder that they were now so troublesome and
   grievous to them. [91]

   He afterwards says, Shall not sorrows lay hold on thee as on a woman in
   travail? By this comparison he intimates, that the Jews gained nothing
   by their vain hopes; for when they should say, peace and security,
   destruction, such as they by no means expected, would suddenly come
   upon them. This similitude we know often occurs, and it is a very apt
   one; for a woman with child may be very cheerful and quietly enjoying
   herself, and yet a sudden pain may seize her. So also it will be with
   the wicked; they cannot now bear to hear anything sad or alarming, and
   they drive from them every fear as far as possible; but the more they
   harden themselves, the heavier is God's vengeance which follows them,
   and which will overtake them suddenly and unexpectedly. As then it was
   incredible to the Jews, that the Chaldeans would soon come to lay waste
   their land, he says to them, "Surely sorrows will take hold on you,
   though you look not for them. Though a woman with child thinks not of
   her coming pain, yet it comes suddenly and cannot be driven away; so
   you will gain nothing by heedlessly promising to yourselves continual
   peace and quietness." I cannot finish what follows today if I go on
   farther; I shall therefore put it off to the next Lecture.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [91] The best rendering of this clause is as follows: -- For thou hast
   taught them to be over the leaders in chief. It is the feminine gender
   that is still used; and the queen or governess may be addressed as the
   representative of the ruling power in the land. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so slothful to hear thee, yea,
   inasmuch as our minds are taken up with so many vanities so that we
   deceive ourselves, -- O grant, that thy Holy Spirit may so illuminate
   us, that we may not despise thy threatenings, but may learn to
   anticipate in time thy judgment, and thus obtain pardon; that being
   mindful of thy mercy, we may pursue the course of our calling, until we
   shall at length be received into that blessed rest, which has been
   obtained for us by thy only-begotten Son. -- Amen.

     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-Fourth
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:22

   22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me?
   For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy
   heels made bare.

   22 Quod si dixeris in corde suc, cur (vel, ut quid) haec mala
   acciderunt mihi (occurrerunt mihi?) in multitudine (hoc est, propter
   multitudinem) iniquitatis tuae discoopertae sunt fimbriae tuae, et
   nudati calces tui (vel, plantae tuae nudatae sunt)


   The Prophet again declares that God's judgment would be just, which he
   had previously foretold; for hypocrites, we know, do not cease to
   quarrel with God, except they are often proved guilty; and it is always
   their object, where they cannot wholly excuse themselves, to extenuate
   in some measure their fault. The Prophet therefore here removes every
   pretense for evasion, and declares that they were wholly worthy of such
   a reward.

   But his manner of speaking ought to be noticed, If thou wilt say in
   thine heart, etc. Hypocrites do not only claim for themselves
   righteousness before the world, but they also deceive themselves, and
   the devil so dementates them with a false persuasion, that they seek to
   be counted just before God. This then is what the Prophet sets forth
   when he says, If thou wilt say in thine heart, Why have these evils
   happened to me? [92] that is, if thou seekest by secret murmuring to
   contend with God, the answer is ready, -- Because of the multitude of
   thine iniquity, discovered are thy skirts, and thy heels are denuded."
   The multitude of iniquity he calls that perverse wickedness which
   prevailed among the Jews; for they had not ceased for a long time to
   provoke the wrath of God. Had they only once sinned, or had been guilty
   of one kind of sin, there would have been some hope of pardon, at least
   God would not have executed a punishment so severe; but as there had
   been an uninterrupted course of sinning, the Prophet shews that it
   would not be right to spare them any longer.

   As to the simile, it is a form of speaking often used by the prophets,
   that is, to denude the soles of the feet, and to discover the skirts.
   We know that; men clothe themselves, not only to preserve them from
   cold. but that they also cover the body for the sake of modesty: there
   is therefore a twofold use of garments, the one occasioned by
   necessity, and the other by decency. As then clothes are partly made
   for this end -- to cover what could not be decently shewn or left bare
   without shame, the prophets use this mode of speaking when they have in
   view to shew that one is exposed to public reproaJeremiah [93] It
   afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [92] The verb is here in the singular, and is followed by a nominative
   in the plural; the very same anomaly exists in Welsh. The line would be
   literally the same in that language, -- Pam y digwyddodd i mi y pethau
   hyn? But if "these things" preceded the verb, it would be in the
   plural. -- Ed.

   [93] The three last lines are as follows: -- For the number of thine
   iniquity Discovered have been thy skirts, Violently stripped off have
   been thy heels. "Skirts" here stand for the parts covered by them, and
   "heels" for the sandals which were worn. Both the Septuagint and the
   Vulgate mention the parts, and not skirts -- "the hinder parts," "the
   uncomely parts," but they retain the word "heels." The metonomy exists,
   no doubt, as to both. The Syriac has "skirts" and "ankles." The Targum
   gives the meaning, "confusion" and "ignominy." The past time is used
   for the future. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:23

   23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then
   may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

   23 An mutabit (sic proprie vertitur) Ethiopa pellem suam, et pardus
   maculas suas (aut, varietates, nam nomen hoc duplicatum deducitur a
   chvr, quod significat congregare, significat etiam livorem, accipitur
   vero hic pro maculis) etiam tu poteris ad benefaciendum, doctus ad
   malum?


   God declares in this verse, that the people were so hardened in their
   wickedness, that there was no hope of their repentance. This is the sum
   of what is said. But it was a very bitter reproof for the Prophet to
   say that his own nation were past hope -- that they had so entirely
   given themselves up to their vices that they were no longer healable.

   But he uses a comparison, -- Can the Ethiopian, [94] he says, change
   his skin? Blackness is inherent in the skin of the Ethiopians, as it is
   well known. Were they then to wash themselves a hundred times daily,
   they could not put off their blackness. The same also must be said of
   leopards or panthers, and we know that these animals are besprinkled
   with spots. Such then is the spotted character of the leopard or
   panther, [95] that whatever might be done to him he would still retain
   his color. We now then see what the Prophet means -- that the Jews were
   so corrupted by long habit that they could not repent, for the devil
   had so enslaved them that they were not in their right mind; they no
   longer had any discernment, and could not discriminate between good and
   evil.

   Learned men in our age do not wisely refer to this passage, when they
   seek to prove that there is no free-will in man; for it is not simply
   the nature of man that is spoken of here, but the habit that is
   contracted by long practice. Aristotle, a strong advocate of free will,
   confesses that it is not in man's power to do right, when he is so
   immersed in his own vices as to have lost a free choice, (7. Lib.
   Ethicon) and this also is what experience proves. We hence see that
   this passage is improperly adduced to prove a sentiment which is yet
   true, and fully confirmed by many passages of Scripture.

   Jeremiah, then, does not here refer to man's nature as he is when he
   comes from the womb; but he condemns the Jews for contracting such a
   habit by long practice. As, then, they had hardened themselves in doing
   evil, he says that they could not repent, that wickedness had become
   inherent, or firmly fixed in their hearts, like the blackness which is
   inherent in the skin of the Ethiopians, or the spots which belong to
   the leopards or panthers.

   We may at the same time gather from this passage a useful doctrine --
   that men become so corrupt, by sinful habits and sinful indulgence,
   that the devil takes away from them every desire and care for acting
   rightly, so that, in a word, they become wholly irreclaimable, as we
   see to be the case with regard to bodily diseases; for a chronic
   disease, in most instances, so corrupts what is sound and healthy in
   the body, that it becomes by degrees incurable. When, therefore, the
   body is thus infected for a long time, there is no hope of a cure Life
   may indeed be prolonged, but not without continual languor. Now, as to
   spiritual diseases it is also true, that when putridity has pervaded
   the inward parts, it is impossible for any one to repent. And yet it
   must be observed, that we do not speak here of the power of God, but
   only shew, that all those who harden themselves in their vices, as far
   as their power is concerned, are incurable, and past all remedy. Yet
   God can deliver, even from the lowest depths, such as have a hundred
   times past all recovery. But here, as I have already said, the Prophet
   does not refer to God's power, but only condemns his own nation, that
   they might not complain that God treated them with too much severity.

   The meaning then is, that they ought not to have thought it strange
   that God left them no hope; for they became past recovery, through
   their own perverseness, as they could not adopt another course of life
   after having so long accustomed themselves to everything that was evil:
   Wilt thou also, he says, be able to do good? that is, wilt thou apply
   thy mind to what is just, who hast been accustomed to evil, or who hast
   hitherto learnt nothing but to do evil? [96] We now perceive the design
   of the Prophet -- that they unreasonably sought pardon of God, who had
   contracted such hardness by a long course of sinning that they were
   become incurable. It afterwards follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [94] The word in Hebrew is "Cushite;" and many learned men contend that
   the "Ethiopian" is not meant, though all the early versions so render
   it except the Syriac, which has "Indian." Blayney agrees with Bochart
   and others in thinking that the Cushites were the inhabitants of
   Arabia, on the borders of the Red Sea, and he refers in proof of this
   to 2 Chronicles 21:16. The skin is not said here to be black, but it
   was no doubt of a particular color, different from that of the Jews. --
   Ed.

   [95] "Panther," pardalis -- pardus, is the rendering of the Septuagint
   and the other versions. The word rendered "spots," found only here, is
   translated "varieties" by the Septuagint and Vulgate, but "spots" by
   the Syriac and Targum. -- Ed.

   [96] Neither this sentence nor the preceding is put interrogatively in
   the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, but in this way, -- "If
   the Ethiopian," etc.; "Even so can ye," etc. The Arabic and the Targum
   have both sentences in an interrogative form, and more consistently
   with the Hebrew. Blayney renders the first part interrogatively, as in
   our version, but not the second, and he gives a meaning to the second
   part which the original will not bear, and which is not countenanced by
   any of the versions. The most literal version is as follows, -- Can the
   Cushite change his skin, Or the panther his spots? -- Also ye, can ye
   do good, Who have learned evil? The future tense in Hebrew ought often
   to be rendered potentially, and sometimes subjunctively. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:24

   24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by
   the wind of the wilderness.

   24 Et dispergam (vel, dissipabo) eos quasi stipulam transeuntem ad
   ventum deserti.


   This is an inference which Jeremiah draws from the last verse. As long
   as there is any hope of repentance, there is also room for mercy; God
   often declares that he is long-suffering. Then the most wicked might
   object and say, that God is too rigid, because he waits not until they
   return to a sound mind. Now the Prophet had said that it was all over
   with the people: here therefore he meets the objection, and shews that
   extreme calamity was justly brought on them by God, because the Jews
   had obstinately hardened themselves in their vices and wickedness.

   After having shewn, therefore, that corruption was inherent in them, as
   blackness in the skin of an Ethiopian, and as spots in panthers, he now
   comes to this conclusion -- I will scatter them as stubble which passes
   away by the wind of the desert This scattering denotes their exile; as
   though he had said, "I will banish them, that they may know that they
   are deprived of the inheritance in which they place their safety and
   their happiness." For the Jews gloried in this only -- that they were
   God's people, because the Temple was built among them, and because they
   dwelt in the land promised to them. They then thought that God was in a
   manner tied to them, while they possessed that inheritance. Hence
   Jeremiah declares, that they would become like stubble carried away by
   the wind.

   He mentions the wind of the desert, that is, the wind of the south,
   which was the most violent in that country. The south wind, as we know,
   was also pestilential; the air also was more disturbed by the south
   wind than by any other, for it raised storms and tempests. Therefore
   the Scripture, in setting forth any turbulent movement, often adopts
   this similitude. Some think that Jeremiah alludes to the Egyptians; but
   I see no reason to seek out any refined explanation, when this mode of
   speaking is commonly adopted. Then by this similitude of south wind God
   intimates the great power of his vengeance; as though he had said,
   "Even if the Jews think that they have a firm standing in the promised
   land, they are wholly deceived, for God will with irresistible force
   expel them." And he compares them to stubble, while yet they boasted
   that they were like trees planted in that land; and we have before seen
   that they had been planted as it were by the hand of God; but they
   wanted the living root of piety, they were therefore to be driven far
   away like stubble. [97]

   Let us then learn from this passage not to abuse the patience of God:
   for though he may suspend for a time the punishment we deserve, yet
   when he sees that we go on in our wickedness, he will come to extreme
   measures, and will deal with us without mercy as those who are past
   remedy. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [97] Our version begins with "therefore," giving this meaning to v,
   vau, but Gataker considers this verse as connected with the 22d, and
   regards the 23d as parenthetic; and then he renders the vau "and." The
   literal rendering of the latter part is, "Passing to the wind of the
   desert," that is, the stubble which is exposed to that violent wind.
   The meaning may be thus given, -- And I will scatter them like the
   stubble That is subject to the wind of the desert. To pass over to a
   thing is to become within its range, or to its possession. The sense
   would be given by the following version, -- That is carried away by the
   wind of the desert. The meaning is not what the Septuagint give,
   "carried by the wind to the desert;" nor what the Vulgate presents,
   "carried by the wind in the desert;" but what is meant is, "the wind of
   the desert," or, as Calvin says, the south wind. When the stubble was
   exposed to that, it is carried away with the greatest violence: such
   would be the scattering of the Jews. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:25

   25. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the
   LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

   25. Haec sors tua, portio mensurarum tuarum a me, dicit Jehova; quia
   oblita es mei, et confisa in mendacio.


   The Prophet no doubt wished to strip the Jews of their vain confidence,
   through which they acted arrogantly and presumptuously towards God,
   while yet they professed his name and claimed his favor. They said that
   they had obtained that land by an hereditary right, because it had been
   promised to their father Abraham. This indeed was true. They also said,
   that the land was God's rest; and they derived this from the prophets.
   They said farther that God was their heritage; and this also was true.
   But since they had wickedly profaned God's name, he takes from them
   these false boastings, and says, This is thy lot But still they said,
   When God divided the nations, his lot fell on Israel, for so says
   Moses. (Deuteronomy 32:8) As then they were wont to say, that God
   afterwards deceived them, the Prophet here on the other hand reminds
   them, that they foolishly confided in that lot, because God had
   rejected them, and did not acknowledge them now as his children, as
   they were become degenerate and perfidious. This, he says, is thy lot
   [98]

   We see that there is to be understood here a contrast: God was the lot
   of the people, and they were also the lot of God, according to the
   passages to which we have referred. They were the heritage of God, and
   they boasted that God was their heritage; the land was a symbol and a
   pledge of this heritage. The Prophet now says: "This lot shall be to
   thee the portion of thy measures from me." He alludes to an ancient
   custom; for they were wont to divide fields and meadows by lines, as
   they afterwards used poles; and we call such measures in the present
   day perches (perticas.)

   We now then understand what the Prophet means; for he intimates that
   the Jews vainly and presumptuously and foolishly boasted, that God was
   their heritage; for he owned them not now as his children: and he also
   declares that another lot was prepared for them, far different from
   that of heritage, -- that God would banish them from the promised land,
   which they had polluted by their vices. Thus we see that we ought not
   presumptuously and falsely to pretend or profess the name of God; for
   though he has been pleased to choose us as his people, it is yet
   required of us to be faithful to him; and if we forsake him, the same
   reward for our impiety will no doubt await us as Jeremiah threatens
   here to his own nation. Let us then so use the favor of God and of
   Christ, and all the blessings which are offered to us by the gospel,
   that we may not have to fear that vengeance which happened to the Jews.

   He adds the reason, Because thou hast forgotten me and trusted in
   falsehood [99] By falsehood the Prophet means not only the
   superstitions in which the Jews involved themselves, but also the false
   counsels which they adopted, when at one time they had recourse to the
   Egyptians, at another to some other ungodly nations, in order to get
   aids in opposition to the will of God. For wherever there was any
   danger, they thought they had a remedy at hand by having the favor and
   help of the Egyptians, or of the Assyrians, or of the Chaldeans. In the
   word falsehood, then, the Prophet includes those perverse designs which
   they formed, when they sought to defend themselves against God, who
   would have protected them by his power, had it not been necessary to
   punish them for their sins. What Jeremiah then condemned in the people
   was, that they placed their trust in falsehood, that is, that they
   souglint here and there vain helps, and at the same time disregarded
   God; nay, they thought themselves safer when God was displeased with
   them: and hence he says, Thou hast forgotten me For the Jews could not
   have sought deliverance from the Egyptians or from other heathen
   nations, or from their idols, without having first rejected God; for if
   this truth had been really fixed in their minds, -- that God cared for
   their safety, they would no doubt have been satisfied with his
   protection. Their ingratitude was therefore very manifest in thus
   adopting vain and impious hopes; for they thus dishonored God, and
   distrusted his power, as though he was not sufficient to preserve them.
   It now follows--
     __________________________________________________________________

   [98] It may be thus rendered, -- This thy lot is the share of thy
   measures From me, saith Jehovah. The "lot" was the scattering
   threatened in the previous verse. "The share of thy measures," is a
   Hebrew idiom for "a measured share," or "a measured portion," as
   rendered by Blayney. Some say that "measures" are mentioned, because
   the length and breadth were included. -- Ed.

   [99] It is better to render 'sr here "because" or for, according to all
   the versions and the Targum, than "who," as by Blayney. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:26

   26. Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame
   may appear.

   26. Et etiam ego nudabo, (vel, discooperiam) fimbrias tuas in faciem
   tuam (super faciem tuam,) et aspicietur ignominia tua (potest etiam in
   proeterito tempore exponi hic versus; sed quoniam vaticinium est, ideo
   non insisto curiose in verbis aut in syllabis, sed sensum duntaxat
   respicio; quamquam non male etiam conveniet, si vertamus in tempore
   proeterito, quasi propheta de re jam facta disserat.)


   He continues the same subject, -- that God did not deal with his people
   with so much severity without the most just cause; for it could not be
   expected that he should treat them with more gentleness, since they
   rejected him and had recourse to vain confidences. I also, he says; for
   the particle gm, gam, denotes something mutual, as though he had said,
   "I also will have my turn; for I have it in my power to avenge myself:
   I will retaliate," he seems to say, "this thine ingratitude; for as
   thou hast despised me, so will I expose thee to reproach and shame."
   For God was shamefully despised by the Jews, when they substituted the
   Egyptians and their idols in his place: they could not have done him
   more dishonor than by transferring his glory to the ungodly and to
   their own figments. We hence see that there is an emphasis in the
   particle also, I will also make bare, or discover, thy skirts on thy
   face; that is, I will cast thy skirts on thy face. [100]

   This mode of speaking often occurs in the Prophets; and as I have
   elsewhere explained, it means the uncovering of the uncomely parts: it
   is as though a vile woman was condemned to bear the disgrace of being
   stripped of her garments and exposed to the public, that all might
   abhor a spectacle so base and disgraceful. God, as we have before seen,
   assumed the character of a husband to his people: as then he had been
   so shamefully despised, he now says, that he had in readiness the
   punishment of casting the skirts of his people over their faces, that
   their reproach or baseness might appear by exposing their uncomely
   parts. It then follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [100] This is no doubt the meaning. See Nahum 3:5. The verb means to
   strip off, so as to make bare. The threatening is, to strip off the
   skirts and throw them over the face; and this is the rendering of the
   Syriac. Probably the most literal rendering would be the following, --
   And I also will strip (or roll) up thy skirts over thy face. The
   versions all differ, but the Septuagint convey this idea. Blayney's
   uncovering "thy skirts before thee," imparts no meaning. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 13:27

   27. I have seen thy adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy
   whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto
   thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

   27. Adulteria tua et hinnitus tuos, cogitationem scortationis tuae
   super montes in agro vidi, abominationes tuas: vae tibi Jerusalem; non
   mundaberis posthac? quousque adhuc?


   Here the Prophet explains at large what I have before stated, -- that
   the people were justly punished by God, though very grievously, because
   they had provoked God, not at one time only, but for a long time, and
   had obstinately persisted in their evil courses. Moreover, as their
   sins were various, the Prophet does not mention them all here; for we
   have seen elsewhere, that they were not only given to superstitions,
   but also to whoredoms, drunkenness, plunders, and outrages; but here he
   only speaks of their superstitions, -- that having rejected God, they
   followed their own idols. For by adulteries he no doubt means
   idolatries; and he does not speak here of whoredom, which yet prevailed
   greatly among the people; but he only condemns them for having fallen
   away into ungodly and false forms of worship. To the same thing must be
   referred what follows, thy neighings; for by this comparison, we know,
   is set forth elsewhere, by way of reproach, that furious ardor with
   which the Jews followed their own inventions. The word indeed sometimes
   means exultation; for the verb tshl, tsel, is to exult; but here, as in
   Jeremiah 5 it signifies neighing.

   He then says, Thy adulteries and thy neighings, etc. Now this is far
   more shameful than if he had said thy lusts, for by this comparison we
   know their crime was enhanced, because they were not merely inflamed by
   a violent natural lust, such as adulterers feel towards strumpets, but
   they were like horses or bulls: Thy adulteries then and thy neighings;
   and he adds, the thought of thy whoredom, etc. The word zmt, zamet, is
   to be taken here for thought, and this is its proper meaning. It is
   indeed taken sometimes in a bad sense; but the Prophet, I have no
   doubt, meant here to wipe off a color with which the Jews painted
   themselves; for they said that they intended to worship God, while they
   accumulated rites which were not. prescribed in the law. The Prophet
   therefore condemns them here as being within full of unchastity, as
   though he had said, "I do not only accuse you of open acts of
   wickedness, but ye burn also within with lust, for impiety has taken
   such hold on all your thoughts, that God has no place at all in you; ye
   are like an unchaste woman, who thinks of nothing but of her filthy
   lovers, and goes after her adulterers: ye are thus wholly given up to
   your whoredoms.

   Some read the words by themselves and put them in the nominative case,
   "Thy adulteries and thy neighings, and the thought of thy whoredom on
   the mountains;" and then they add, "In the field have I seen thine
   abominations." But I prefer to take the whole together, and thus to
   include all as being governed by the verb r'yty, I have seen; "Thy
   adulteries and thy neighings, the thought of thy whoredom on the
   mountains in the field have I seen, even thy abominations." The last
   word is to be taken in apposition with the former words. But the
   Prophet introduces God here as the speaker, that the Jews might not
   seek evasions and excuse themselves. He therefore shews that God, whose
   proper office it is to examine and search the hearts of men, is the fit
   Judge. [101]

   He mentions hills and field. Altars, we know, were then built on hills,
   for they thought that God would be better worshipped in groves; and
   hence there was no place, no wood, and even no tree, but that they
   imagined there was something divine in it. This is the reason why the
   Prophet says, that their abominations were seen by God on the hills as
   well as on the plains. And he adds fields, as though he had said, that
   the hills did not suffice them for their false worship, by which they
   profaned the true worship of God, but that the level fields were filled
   with their abominations.

   We now then perceive the meaning of what is here said, that the Jews in
   vain tried to escape by evasions, since God declares that he had seen
   them; as though he had said, "Cease to produce your excuses, for I will
   allow nothing of what ye may bring forward, as the whole is already
   well known by me." And he declares their doings to be abominations, and
   also adulteries and neighings.

   At length he adds, Woe to thee, Jerusalem! The Prophet here confirms
   what we have before observed, that the Jews had no just ground of
   complaint, for they had provoked God extremely. Hence the particle woe
   intimates that they were now justly given up to destruction. And then
   he says, Will they never repent? But this last part is variously
   explained; and I know not whether it can today be fully expounded. I
   will however briefly glance at the meaning.

   Jerome seems to have read 'chry, achri, "after me," "Wilt thou not then
   return after me?" as though God here intended to exhort the Jews to
   return at length to him, as he was ready to be reconciled to them. But
   as it is simply 'chry, achri, and he may have read without the points,
   I do not wish to depart from what is commonly received. There is
   further a difficulty in the words which follow, for interpreters vary
   as to the import of the words mty d, mati od, "how long yet?" In
   whatever sense we may take the words, they are sufficient to confute
   the opinion of Jerome, which I had forgotten to mention, because the
   malediction in that case would be improper and without meaning, "Woe to
   thee, Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me?" for what can
   this mean? It is therefore necessary so to read as to include all the
   words in the sentence, "Wilt thou not hereafter or at length be made
   clean?" Some, however, read the words affirmatively, "Thou shalt not be
   cleansed hereafter," as though it was said, "Thou shalt not be cleansed
   until I first drive thee into exile." But this meaning is too refined,
   as I think. I therefore take the words in their simple form, Wilt thou
   not at length be made clean? how long yet? as though God again reproved
   the hardness of the people, as indeed he did reprove it. Hence he says,
   "Wilt thou not at length be made clean?" for I take 'chry, achri, as
   meaning "at length." Then follows an amplification, mtyd, mati od, "how
   long yet?" [102] that is, "Wilt thou never make an end? and can I not
   at length obtain this from thee, since I have so often exhorted thee,
   and since thou seest that I make no end of exhorting thee? how long yet
   shall thy obstinacy continue, so that I cannot subdue thee by my
   salutary admonitions?" This is the meaning.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [101] In all the versions, as well as in the Targum, the words in the
   beginning of this verse, as far as "whoredom," are read in apposition
   with "shame" in the preceding verse, and what follows as connected with
   the verb "I have seen," in this manner, -- On hills in the field have I
   seen thy abominations. Another arrangement, suggested by Gataker, is
   more consonant with the Hebrew style, by considering the substantive
   verb to be understood in the first clause, as follows, -- 27. Thy
   adulteries and thy neighings, The scheming of thy fornication,
   Have been on hills in the field; I have seen thine abominations. The
   word zmt, which I render "scheming," is from a verb which means to
   devise, to contrive, to scheme, to plot. It is rendered "wickedness" by
   the Vulgate, "alienation" by the Septuagint, "fornication" by the
   Syriac, and "design" or counsel by the Targum. It never means
   "lewdness." It seems to mean here the contrivances and devices formed
   by those given to fornication. Blayney considers it a verb in the
   second person: he connects the first line with the preceding verse, and
   renders thus what follows, -- Thou hast devised thy whoredom upon the
   hills,
   In the fields I have seen thine abominations. The simplicity of this
   order recommends it, but the former seems preferable. -- Ed.

   [102] The meaning seems to be right, but it is better to construe
   'chry, "after," with these words, -- Woe to thee, Jerusalem! thou wilt
   not be cleansed
   After what time wilt it yet be? Literally it may be rendered, "After
   when yet?" -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   PRAYER

   Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once cleansed us by the blood of
   thine only-begotten Son, to the end that we might worship thee in true
   sincerity of heart, and that we might also strive to regulate our whole
   life according to the rule of righteousness, -- O grant that we, being
   mindful of our vocation, may labor to render ourselves approved by
   thee, so that thy name may through us be glorified, and that casting
   far away from us all pollutions, we may retain the simple worship of
   thee, and preserve ourselves within the limits of thy word, so that we
   may not be led astray after vanities and the sinful superstitions of
   this world, but advance towards the mark which thou hast been pleased
   to set before us, until we shall be at length gathered into that
   celestial kingdom in which we shall enjoy that inheritance which thine
   only-begotten Son has provided for us. -- Amen.
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     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________

   Lecture Fifty-Fifth

   CHAPTER 14
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:1

   1. The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.

   1. Quod fuit verbum Jehovte ad Jeremiam super verbis prohibitionum.


   Though the Prophet does not distinctly express that what had not yet
   happened was divinely revealed to him, yet it may be easily gathered
   that it was a prophecy with reference to what was future. Of this
   sterility nothing is recorded in sacred history: there is, however, no
   doubt but God had in an unusual manner afflicted the Jews, as
   previously in the days of Ahab. As then a drought was near at hand
   which would cause great scarcity, his purpose was to forewarn the Jews
   of it before the time, that they might know that the dryness did not
   happen by chance, but was an evidence of God's vengeance. And we know
   that whenever any adversity happens, the causes of it are sought in the
   world, so that hardly any one regards the hand of him who smites. But
   when there is a year of sterility, we consult astrology, and think that
   it is owing to the influence of the stars: thus God's judgment is
   overlooked. As then men contrive so many expedients by which they throw
   aside the consideration of Divine judgment, it was necessary that the
   Prophet should speak of the sterility mentioned here before it
   happened, and point it out as it were by the finger, though it was yet
   not made manifest.

   He therefore says that the word of God came to him respecting the words
   of restraints [103] Though dvr, deber, signifies a thing or a business
   or concern, yet, what seems here to be intended is the contrast between
   dvr, deber, the word of God, and dvrym deberim, the words of men; for
   he says, l dvry hvtsrvt ol deberi ebetserut, because the Jews, as it is
   usual, would have many words of different kinds among themselves
   respecting the sterility: when anything uncommon or unexpected happens,
   every one has his own opinion. But the Prophet sets up the word of
   Jehovah in opposition to the words of men; as though he had said, "They
   will inquire here and there as to the causes of the scarcity; there
   will yet be but one cause, and that is, God is punishing them for their
   wickedness."

   He calls sterility prohibitions or restraints: for though God could in
   an instant destroy and mar whatever has come to maturity, yet, in order
   to shew that all the elements are ready to obey him, he restrains the
   heavens whenever he pleases; and hence he says,

   "In that day the heavens will hear the earth, and the earth will hear
   the corn, and the corn will hear men." (Hosea 2:21, 22)

   For as this order of things is set before us, it cannot be otherwise
   but that, whenever we are hungry, our eyes turn to the corn and bread;
   but corn does not come except the earth be fruitful; and the earth
   cannot of itself bring forth anything, and except it derives moisture
   and strength from the heavens. So also, on the other hand, he says,

   "I will make for you the heaven brass and the earth iron." [104]
   (Leviticus 26:19)

   We hence see the reason for this word, prohibitions, by which the
   Prophet designates the dryness of the heavens and the sterility of the
   earth; for the earth in a manner opens to us its bowels when it brings
   forth food for our nourishment; and the heavens also pour forth rain,
   by which the earth is irrigated. So also God prohibits or restrains the
   heavens and the earth, and closes up his bounty, so as to prevent it to
   come to us. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [103] The Septuagint express it in one,word, "azrochia -- the want of
   rain;" the Vulgate, by words of dryness, or drought: and the Syriac, by
   "defect of rain." We may take "words" here in the sense of effects; so
   we may render the Hebrew, "concerning the effects of restraints;" and
   the last word is put in the plural number because there was a twofold
   restraint, -- that of the heavens from rain, and that of the earth from
   producing fruit. The "effects" of these restraints are described in the
   following verses. -- Ed

   [104] There is a little inadvertence here: "iron," in this text, is
   applied to heaven, and "brass" to the earth, -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:2-3

   2. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto
   the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

   2. Luxit Jehudab et portae ejus debilitatae sunt, (vel, dissipatae
   sunt;) obtenebrati sunt in terra (refernut quidam ad portas, sed malo
   ad homines referre;) et clamor Jerusalem ascendit.

   3. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they
   came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels
   empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.

   3. Et proceres coturn (hoc est, qui pollent dignitate) miserunt minores
   (hoc est, homines plebeios et mercenarios) ad aquas; venerunt ad
   cisternas, non invenerunt aquas; reversi sunt cum vasis inanibus (vel,
   reversa sunt vasa eorum vacua;) confusi sunt, et erubuerunt, et
   operuerunt caput suum.


   The Prophet intimates in these words, that so great would be the
   scarcity as to appear to be a manifest and remarkable evidence of God's
   vengeance; for when God punishes us in a common way, we for the most
   part refer the event to some fortuitous circumstances, and the devil
   also ever retains our minds in the consideration of secondary causes.
   Hence the Prophet declares here that an event so unusual could not be
   ascribed to natural causes, as that the earth should become so sterile,
   but thai; it was the extraordinary judgment of God. This is the reason
   wily he employs so many figurative expressions. He might indeed have
   said, in one sentence, that there would be in the land a most grievous
   famine; but hardly one in a hundred would have been moved by words so
   simply expressed. Therefore the Prophet, in order to arouse their
   stupor, uses terms the most forcible.

   Hence he says, Mourned has Judah Though he speaks of what was future,
   yet, according to his own usual manner and that of others, he uses the
   past time in order to shew the certainty of what he said. He then
   declares that there would be mourning in Judah. He afterwards says, His
   gates have been weakened, or scattered. In mentioning gates, he takes a
   part for the whole, for he means the cities: but as judgments were wont
   to be administered at the gates, and as men often assembled there, he
   says that the gates would be reduced to solitude, so that hardly any
   one would appear there. He in the third place adds, They have become
   darkened to the ground, or, in plainer words, they became overwhelmed
   with grief; but the proper meaning of the word is to become darkened:
   and he says, to the ground, as though he said that they would be so
   cast down as to he in the dust, and would not dare to raise up their
   heads, nor would be able to do so, being worn down by want and famine.
   We hence see what he means, even this, -- that the scarcity would be so
   great that men would be down on the ground, and in a manner seek
   darkness for themselves, as it is the case with us when we flee as it
   were from the light and he on the ground; for we then shew that we
   cannot enjoy the light, it being disagreeable to us: and hence we see
   more clearly what I have stated, -- that the Prophet uses very strong
   terms to produce an impression on the Jews, that they might know that
   the earth was so sterile, not through any natural or common cause, but
   through the judgment of God. [105]

   He afterwards adds, The cry of Jerusalem has ascended Here he sets
   forth their despair: for in doubtful matters we are wont to deliberate
   and to devise remedies; but when we are destitute of any counsel or
   advice, and when no hope appears, we then break out into crying. We
   hence see that it was an evidence of despair when the cry of Jerusalem
   ascended; for they would not be able to complain and to disburden their
   cares and griefs by pouring them into the bosoms of one another, but
   all of them would cry and howl.

   It is then added, Their chiefs will send the common people to the
   waters The Prophet's object was again to point out something
   extraordinary, -- that the great, possessing authority, would constrain
   and compel the common sort to draw water. They have sent them, he says,
   that is, by authority; they who could command others sent them to the
   waters. [106] They came, he says, to the cisterns By the word gvym
   gabim, he means deep ditches, or pits; but some render them cisterns.
   With regard to the subject in hand, it signifies not; for the Prophet
   no doubt meant that they would come to the deepest wells or pits, as it
   is usually done ia a great drought; for many springs become often dry,
   and pits also, situated in high places; but in valleys some water
   remains, and there it may be had: there are also some wells ever full
   of water, where its abundance never fails. It was therefore the
   Prophet's design to refer to such wells. They came, he says, to the
   wells, where they thought they could find a sufficient supply; but he
   adds, They found no waters; they returned with their empty vessels
   [107]

   We now perceive what I have said, -- that the Prophet here reproves the
   Jews for their stupidity in not understanding that God was angry with
   them when the order of nature, which ought ever to continue the same,
   thus failed. Droughts indeed often happen when there are no waters in
   most places; but when no well supplies any water, when there is not a
   drop of water to be found in the most favorable places, then indeed it
   ought to be concluded that God's curse is on the people, who find
   nothing to drink; for in nothing does God deal more bountifully with
   the world than in the supply of water. We do not speak now of wine; but
   we see fountains everywhere pouring forth waters, and rivers also flow
   through countries: moreover, pits are dug through the labors of men;
   there are also cisterns in which the rain is preserved in places that
   are commonly dry: but when in cisterns no water remains, and when the
   fountains themselves refuse any supply, we may hence surely know that
   it is the special judgment of God; and this is what Jeremiah intended
   here to shew; and therefore he says that they were confounded and
   ashamed, and that they covered their head It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [105] The versions connect the two verbs with gates: and if we take
   "gates" metonymically for those who attended them, the meaning will be
   evident. We may then render the verse thus, -- Mourned hath Judah, And
   her gates, they have languished; Grieved have they for the land; And
   the cry of Jerusalem hath ascended. In the gates was the court of
   justice; there the chief men or governors assembled. The languishing
   belonged, not to the gates, but to those who attended them, and so the
   grief or lamentation. The first meaning of the verb is to be dark, to
   be black, but it is used to signify extreme grief or lamentation. See
   Psalms 35:14; 38:6; Jeremiah 8:21. As light denotes joy, so darkness is
   a symbol of grief or mourning. We use a similar kind of metonymy, when
   we say, "The court is in mourning." The Septuagint render the verse
   thus, -- Mourned hath Judah, And her gates have been emptied, And have
   become dark for the land; And the shout of Jerusalem hath ascended.
   Blayney's version of the third line is as follows, -- They are in deep
   mourning for the land. The Targum paraphrases the verb thus, -- "Their
   faces are covered with blackness." -- Ed.

   [106] The persons here mentioned are called by the Septuagint
   "chieftains -- megistanes," and "young men -- tous neoterous;" by the
   Vulqate, "the elder ones -- majores," and "the younger ones --
   minores;" by the Syriac, "the chiefs," and "the common sort;" and by
   the Targum, "chief men," and "subjects." The first word is well
   expressed in our version, "nobles," -- the illustrious; and the most
   suitable word for the others is "menials;" they were the servants. --
   Ed

   [107] would render the verse thus, -- 3. When their nobles sent their
   menials for water, They came to the reservoirs, they found no water;
   They brought back their vessels empty: They were ashamed and
   confounded, And they covered their heads. The word I render
   "reservoirs" means literally arches or vaults. They were places arched
   over to preserve water. Parkhurst thinks that the reservoirs made by
   King Hezekiah are intended, 2 Chronicles 32:30. That the verb sv has
   the meaning of bringing back is evident from Isaiah 52:8; and this is
   according to the Vulgate and the Septuagint in this place. Gataker and
   Venema think that the shame and confusion refer to the nobles, and not
   to the servants. This verse speaks of Jerusalem, the last mentioned in
   the former verse; and what follows refers to Judea, spoken of in the
   former part according to the usual manner of the prophets. -- Ed
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:4

   4. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the
   plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

   4. Propter terram afflictam (contritam, vel, scissam; cum enim verbum
   hoc proprie significat conterere, non dubito, quin Propheta hic terram
   vel pulverulentam vel concisam signifcat,) quia non fuit pluvia in
   terra, confusi sunt agricolae (vel, pudefacti sunt, repetit illud
   verbum vsv) et cooperuerunt caput suum (etiam eandem dictionem
   repetit.)


   The Prophet had said, that though the whole common people were sent to
   the waters, yet none would be found. He now adds the same firing
   respecting the husbandmen. Ashamed, he says, shall be the husbandmen,
   for the ground shall be turned into dust, and God will pound it small.
   When the heavens supply moisture, the earth retains thus its solid
   character; but in a great heat we see the earth dissolving into dust,
   as though it was pounded in a mortar.

   So he says, On account of the chapt ground, because there is no rain,
   ashamed shall be the husbandmen, and they shall cover their heads; for
   sorrow shall not only seize on them, but also fin them with such shame
   as to make them to shun the light and the sight of men. These things
   were intended for the same purpose, even to make the Jews to know that
   they were not by chance deprived of water, but because God had cursed
   their land, so that it yielded them no water even for the common wants
   of nature. It follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:5-6

   5. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because
   there was no grass.

   5. Quin etiam cerva in agro peperit et deseruit (nempe, foetum suum,)
   quia non fuit herba.

   6. And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the
   wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.

   6. Et onagri steterunt super excelsa (diximus de hoc nomine, super
   labia, vel, eminentias, vel, rupes,) traxerunt (vel, hauserunt) ventum
   sicut serpentes; defecerunt oculi eorum, quia non fuit herba (utitur
   alio nomine, posuerat ds' prius, nunc ponit sv sed eodem sensu.)


   Jeremiah now comes to animals: he said before, that men would be
   visited with thirst, and then that the ground would become dry, so
   theft husbandmen would be ashamed; he now says that the wild asses and
   the hinds would become partakers of this scarcity. The hind, he says,
   has brought forth in the field, which was not usual; but he says that
   such would be the drought, that the hinds would come forth to the
   plains. The hinds, we know, wander in solitary places and there seek
   their food, and do not thus expose themselves; for they have a natural
   timidity, which keeps them from encountering danger. But he says that
   hinds, big with young, shall be constrained by famine to come to the
   fields and bring forth there, and then flee away: and yet they prefer
   their young to their own life. But the Prophet here shews that there
   would be something extraordinary in that vengeance of God, which was
   nigh the Jews, in order that they might know that the heavens and the
   earth and all the elements were armed against them by God, for they had
   so deserved. But he says, Bring forth shall the hind, and then he adds,
   and will forsake its young: but why will it bring forth in the field?
   even because it will not find grass in the mountains, and in the woods,
   and in the usual places.

   The same thing is said of the wild asses, And the wild asses, he says,
   stood on the rocks: and yet this animal, we know, can endure want for a
   long Lime. But the Prophet, as I have said, intended to shew that there
   would be in this scarcity some remarkable evidences of God's vengeance.
   Stood then did the wild asses on the rocks, and thence drew in wind
   like serpents: for great is the heat of serpents; on account of inward
   burning they are constrained to draw in wind to allay the heat within.
   The Prophet says, that wild asses were like serpents, for they were
   burning with long famine, so that they were seeking food in the wind
   itself, or by respiration. He then adds, Failed have their eyes, for
   there was no grass [108]

   We now understand the object of this prediction: It was God's purpose
   not only to foretell the Jews what was soon to be, but also to point
   out, as it were, by the finger, his vengeance, that they might not have
   recourse, as usual, to secondary causes, but that they might know that
   they suffered punishment for their sins; for the scarcity would be so
   extraordinary as far to exceed what was usual. It now follows --
     __________________________________________________________________

   [108] The three foregoing verses I render as follows, -- 4. On account
   of the ground being cracked, As there has been no rain in the land,
   Ashamed were the husbandmen, They covered their heads: 5. When also the
   hind was in the field, It brought forth young, and it was forsaken,
   Because there was no grass: 6. And the wild asses, they stood on the
   cliffs; They drew in the wind like serpents; Fail did their eyes,
   Because there was no herbage -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:7

   7. O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy
   name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against
   thee.

   7. Si iniquitates nostrae testificantur contra nos, Jehova, fac propter
   nomen tuum; quia multiplicatae sunt aversiones nostrae, in te scelerate
   egimus.


   The Prophet, no doubt, intended here to exhort the Jews by his own
   example to seek pardon; nor does he so assume the character of others,
   as though he was free himself from guilt; for he was not more righteous
   than Daniel, who, as we find, testified that he confessed before God,
   not only the sins of the people, but also his own sins. (Daniel 9:4, 5)
   And Jeremiah, though not one of God's despisers, nor of the profane,
   who had provoked God's wrath, was yet one of the people; and here he
   connects himself with them; and he did this in sincerity and not in
   dissimulation. But he might have prayed silently at home; why then did
   he make public his prayer? What was his purpose in consigning it to
   writing? It was that he might rouse the people, as I have already said,
   by his example, so that they might flee as suppliants to God's mercy,
   and seek forgiveness for their sins. This then was the Prophet's
   object. Thus we see that the prophecy concerning the scarcity and the
   famine was announced, that the people might through repentance escape
   the wrath of God; for we know that when God has even taken his sword he
   may possibly be pacified, as he is in his nature merciful: and besides,
   the design of all such predictions is, that men, conscious of their
   sins, may by faith and repentance escape the destruction that awaits
   them. We now then understand the design of the Prophet in this passage.

   He says first, Even though our iniquities testify, etc. The verb nh,
   one, properly means to answer; but it means also to testify, as in this
   place. O Jehovah, [109] he says, there is no reason now to contend with
   thee, or to expostulate, or to ask why thou denlest so severely with
   us; let all such excuses be dismissed, for our sins testify against us;
   that is, "Were there no angels nor men to accuse us, our own conscience
   is sufficient to condemn us." But when do our iniquities testify
   against us? Even when we know that we are exposed to God's judgment and
   are held guilty by him. As to the reprobate, their iniquities cry to
   heaven, as it is said of Sodom. (Genesis 18:20, 21) But the Prophet
   seems here to express something more, -- that the Jews could not make
   evasions, but must confess that they were worthy of death.

   For he says, For thy name's sake deal with us. We see that the Prophet
   first condemns himself and the whole people; as though he had said, "If
   thou, Lord, summonest us to plead our own cause, we can expect nothing
   better than to be condemned by our own mouths, for our iniquities are
   sufficient to condemn us. What then remains for us?" The Prophet takes
   it as granted that there was but one remedy, -- that God would save his
   people for his own name's sake; as though he had said, "In ourselves we
   find nothing but reasons for condemnation; seek then in thyself a
   reason for forgiving us: for as long as thou regardest us, thou must
   necessarily hate us and be thus a rigid Judge; cease then to seek
   anything in us or to call us to an account, but seek from thyself a
   reason for sparing us." He then adds, For multiplied have our
   defections, and against thee have we done wickedly [110] By these words
   the Prophet shews that he did not formally, like hypocrites, confess
   sins, but really acknowledged that the Jews would have been found in
   various ways guilty had God dealt with them according to justice.

   As we now perceive the import of the words, let us learn from this
   passage, that there is no other way of being reconciled to God than by
   having him to be propitious to us for his name's sake. And by this
   truth is refuted everything that has been invented by the Papists, not
   less foolishly than rashly, respecting their own satisfactions. They
   indeed know that they stand in need of God's mercy; for no one is so
   blinded under the Papacy, who does not feel the secret misgivings of
   his own conscience: so the saintlings, who lay claim to angelic
   perfection, are yet self -- convicted, and are by necessity urged to
   seek pardon; but in the mean time they obtrude on God their
   satisfactions and works of supererogation, by which they compensate for
   their sins, and thus deliver themselves from the hand of God. Now this
   is a remarkable passage to confute such a diabolical delirium, for the
   Prophet brings forward the name of God; as though he had said, "This is
   the only way by which we can return to God's favor and obtain
   reconciliation with him, even by having him to deal with us for his
   name's sake, so that he may seek the cause of his mercy in himself, for
   in us he can find none." If Jeremiah said this of himself, and not
   feignedly, what madness is it for us to arrogate so much to ourselves,
   as to bring anything before God by which he may be induced to shew
   mercy? Let us then know that God forgives our sins, not from a regard
   to any compensation, but only on account of a sufficient reason within
   himself, that he may glorify his own name. Now follows a clearer
   explanation and a confirmation of this verse.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [109] All the versions connect "Jehovah" with the next words; and so do
   Veema, Gataker, and Blayney. The particle 'm if, or though, is omitted
   by the Septuagint and the Arabic; but is retained by the Vulgate,
   Syriac, and the Targum. It may be rendered verily, or truly, -- Verily,
   our perversities, they have responded against us. The word vn means
   perverse or headstrong wickedness. There is an allusion in responding
   to a trial. "They have stood against us," is the Septuagint. See Job
   15:6. -- Ed.

   [110] The latter part may be thus rendered, -- Jehovah! deal with us
   for thy name's sake: For many have been our defections,
   Against thee have we sinned. The Syriac renders fitly the first line,
   -- O Lord, spare us on account of thy name. -- Ed.
     __________________________________________________________________

   Jeremiah 14:8-9

   8. O the hope ot: Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why
   shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man
   that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

   8. Spes Israel (vel, expectatio; qvh est expectare,) servator ejus in
   tempore angustiae (vel, tribulationis,) cur eris quasi peregrinus in
   terra? quasi viator divertens ad pernoctandum?

   9. Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot
   save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by
   thy name; leave us not.

   9. Quare eris vir territus? quasi gigas qui non potest servare? atqui
   (copula enim valet hic adversativum) tu in medio nostri Jehova, et
   nomen tuum super nos invocatum est, ne deseras nos.


   I have said that the former verse is confirmed by these words; for
   since the Prophet mentions to God his own name, we must consider the
   cause of the confidence with which he was supported, which was even
   this, -- because God had chosen that people, and promised that they
   should be to him a peculiar people. It is then on the ground of that
   covenant that the Prophet now prays God to glorify his name; such a
   prayer could not have been made for heathen nations. We hence perceive
   how the Prophet dared so to introduce God's name, as to say, Deal with
   us for thy name's sake

   He calls God, in the next place, the hope of Israel; not that the
   Israelites relied on him as they ought to have done, for the ten tribes
   had long before revolted from him, and so great a corruption had also
   prevailed in Judah, that hardly one in a thousand could be deemed
   faithful. Hope then among the people had become extinct; but the
   Prophet here regards the perpetuity of the covenant, as though he had
   said, "Even though we are unworthy to be protected by thee, yet as thou
   hast promised to be always ready to bring us help, thou art our hope.
   In short, the word hope or expectation, is to be referred to God's
   promise, and to the constancy of his faithfulness, and not to the
   faithfulness of men, which did not exist, at least it was very small
   and in very few.

   To the same purpose he adds, His Savior in time of trouble He had in
   view the many proofs by which God had manifested his power in the
   preservation of the faithful. And he expressly mentions trouble or
   distress, as though he had said, that the aid of God had been known by
   evidences sufficiently clear; for had the people never wanted his help,
   his favor would have been less evident; but as they had been often
   reduced to great straits, the bounty and the power of God had become
   more manifest by delivering them from extreme dangers.

   It is then added, Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land? as a
   traveler, who turns aside for a short time in his journey to pass the
   night? Here must be noticed a contrast between a stranger and one that
   is stationary, spoken of afterwards. God would have his name to be
   invoked in Judea; it was therefore necessary that his favor should
   continue there; and hence he called the land his rest, and he had also
   promised by Moses that he would ever be in the m