Lecture One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth

We began yesterday to speak of the presumption, and also of the madness of King Zedekiah in keeping the Prophet in prison, while he was yet besieged by his enemies, as it had been foretold. He saw that Jeremiah had spoken as from the mouth of God, for the accomplishment of the prophecy proved that he had brought forward nothing rashly, but what had been committed to him from above; and yet he did not throw aside his own perverseness. The words themselves shew sufficiently that he was wholly blinded, for he said, Wherefore dost thou prophesy to us, The Chaldeans will come and take this city? It was not indeed the design of this foolish and insane king to close the mouth of the Prophet, and, at the same time, to confess that he had a command from God; but thus it is commonly with the wicked, they assail as it were blindly the servants of God, without any judgment or discrimination. Were any one to ask them, whether they mean openly and professedly to resist God as their judge, they would deny it; but yet they cannot bear to be warned and reproved. Here then, as in a mirror, we see how madly all the wicked resist God, and try as much as they can to extinguish his Spirit. In short, they may, indeed, concede some authority to God, provided they be allowed to live without having anything said against their lusts by his prophets. There is yet no doubt but that the king was especially exasperated by the following words of the Prophet, —