to be preached at Tophet, that their imaginations might be struck with the horrible scene before their eyes. So unwilling was a gracious God to leave any method untried, that might awaken these stupid people. And he still bears with sinners; commands his ministers to urge every topic and argument likely to influence them; and has appointed some sacramental signs, the more deeply to impress their minds. So unwilling is he that any should perish; and so inexcusable will be the guilt of sinners if all has no effect.

2. It becomes the greatest of men to pay a serious regard to all divine messages. The princes, priests, and elders of Judah, (though it appears that they hated and despised Jeremiah) had yet such a sense of decency and regard to the message from God, that they followed him to Tophet. Thus should those who are most respectable for age, wealth, and station, reverence the word of God, and attend upon his institutions. Their own salvation depends upon it; and their example will have great influence upon others. If superiors allow themselves to show any slight to divine ordinances, their inferiors will pay no regard to them and thus the little religion which is left among us, may soon be quite lost.

3. Whatever the counsel and opinion of wicked men may be, God will defeat them, and fulfil his own threatenings to the uttermost. This is frequently repeated; viz. that God will do all that he has declared; and bring about all the evil he has pronounced. His judgments will be found to be as dreadful as his word declares them to be, whether men will believe it or not. They think him to be such an one as themselves: that he forgets what he has threatened, or will not fully execute it. But God is faithful, and cannot deny himself. Let us therefore never harden our hearts; but diligently hear and obey his word: so shall we escape the evil which shall come upon the obstinate, and stand before the Son of man.

CHAP. XX.

In this chapter, Pashur, for smiting Jeremiah, receives a new name, and a fearful doom; Jeremiah complains on account of the difficulties and persecutions he met with in the discharge of his office.

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'NOW

OW Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who [was] also chief governor in the house of the LORD, that is, head of the course of Immer, which was now in waiting, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things; or rather, heard him 2 prophesy these things himself. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that [were] in the high gate of Benjamin, which [was] by the house of the LORD, where he continued all night, publicly exposed to the ridicule of the people, 3 in order to punish and silence him. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy

name Pashur, but Magormissabib, that is, fear round about. 4 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold [it ;] thou thyself shalt be an example of all the dreadful calamities which are coming upon thy friends and country, even such miseries as shall terrify both thee and them and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Baby5 lon, and shall slay many of them with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah, all their magazines and riches, will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and 6 take them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies; to whom thou hast promised peace and deliverance in the Lord's name. The firophet then proceeds to describe the workings of his own mind, which were not very regular.

7

O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived:* thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I was content with my former state, and would gladly have declined the prophetic office; but thy command and inspiration overpowered me: I am in de8 rision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; I spake earnestly, I complained of their violence and spoil, and threatened them with worse things; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily, therefore they insulted me, and derided my 9 message. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But [his word] was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not [stay ;] I had such an impulse on my spirit that I could not rest; it broke out like a fire that was pent up.

10

For I heard the defaming of many, the reproach of many Magormissabibs like Pashur, fear on every side, that is, many persecuting enemies, whose doom shall be like Pashur's. Report, [say they,] and we will report it; set a lie a going, and we will push it forward: All my familiars watched for my halting, [saying,] Peradventure he will be enticed and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him; they represented me as a traitor to my country, and as corrupted by the king of Babylon; they endeavoured to provoke me to say something, for 11 which they might accuse me. Thus was Christ served. But the LORD [is] with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be

He misunderstood the divine promise; be expected he should have no oppression; but God had only promised that his life should be spared. Or it may be rendered, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was allured; and this sense is favoured by the next words.

greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper : [their] everlast12 ing confusion shall never be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the faith and patience of the righteous, by afflictions, [and] seest the reins and the heart, discoverest their conspiracies, while they wear a mask of friendship, let me see thy vengeance on them for unto thee have I opened my cause; I leave it to thee 13 to vindicate me; and in confidence that thou wilt do so, I add, Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evil doers. It would have been happy if the prophet could have maintained this temper ; but human infirmity and corruption prevailed when he added,

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:

:

Cursed [be] the day wherein I was born let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed; let there be no congral15 ulations, as usual. Cursed [be] the man who brought tidings to

my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him 16 very glad, being probably the first born, and a priest. And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not; he did not lighten their misery: and let him hear the cry, the alarm of the enemy, in the morning, and the shout17 ing at noontide; Because he slew me not from the womb, or, because I was not slain; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb [to be] always great [with me.*] 18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame ?

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REFLECTIONS.

OW dreadful is the case of that man who is a terror

on side

could be threatened against Pashur, than to be, not only in distress, but in despair; his spirit in continual alarm and terror; his own imagination always tormenting him; and his inward terror such as he could not conceal, but which appeared in so horrible a light, as even to terrify his friends. This is the case of some sinners now; and those have reason to fear this, who set themselves against the word of God and his faithful ministers; that is, who reproach it, and deride them. If they will not hear the reproofs of God's prophets, they will hear them from their own consciences. Let it be our care to fear God, to reverence his word, and keep his commandments; then God will not be our terror, but our hope and our joy.

2. The case of the prophet was a very pitiable one; and so is the case of those ministers who meet with the like treatment now. What cruel usage did he experience! what wicked, base contrivances were formed to injure his reputation, hinder his usefulness, and destroy his life! and all this because he was faithful, serious, and affectionate in delivering the word of the Lord. Good minis

This language showed very much impatience and ungoverned passion. This was not setting his face like a flint; and no man could be permitted by the Spirit of God to speak such language. It is a maxim of great importance, to distinguish between those things which the prophets delivered in the name of the Lord, and the workings of their own minds; which were sometimes irregular, and no doubt were recorded for our warning.

ters in the present day often meet with ill treatment. If they are faithful reprovers, and deliver their messages in a lively, affection ate manner, careless hearers, and those who hate to be serious, will deride and banter them, and perhaps be glad to raise and spread evil reports of them. This is a strong temptation to them to decline their work and to preach no more; but yet they dare not do it. Let hearers be careful not to bring their ministers unto this difficulty, and lead them into such a temptation; but suffer them, out of regard to God, to themselves, and to their charge, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all plainness and fervency of spirit; and pray that the Lord may be with them to support and encourage them.

3. See how weakly and wickedly even good men will talk, when they suffer their passions to govern them. Who would have thought that Jeremiah should have uttered such words as these? What folly and nonsense was it to curse his birth day! to curse a messenger, for the sake of a kindly intended message! How brutish and barbarous to wish his mother had died in childbed with him! This would not have been recorded by him, had he not sincerely repented of it, and intended it (as the Spirit of God no doubt. did) for our caution. Thus absurdly and wickedly do men of strong passions and hasty spirits talk, when they meet with injuries and affronts. We see in the prophet how much need we all have to keep a constant, resolute guard upon our spirits; especially those whose tempers are naturally hot and hasty. Let us stifle the first risings of passion and resentment; and earnestly implore the divine help, when we are entering into temptation; because for such sinful words and disorderly workings of mind, God will bring us into judgment. Let us take the great prophet for an example, even Jesus Christ; and learn of him, who was meek and lowly in heart ; and we shall find rest to our souls.

CHAP. XXI, XXII. 1-9.

This chapter is transposed, as are many of the following. They relate to events which happened in some former reign ; whereas this relates to the reign of Zedekiah, when Jerusalem was besieged by the Chaldeans, the Egyptians came to help the Jews, the Chaldeans drew off their forces and raised the siege in this interval the chapter before us was written.*

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TH

HE word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, 2 and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, Inquire,

It is an observable circumstance, that in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and in that by the Romans, the besieging armies raised the siege for a while, and thereby gave God's faithful servants an opportunity to go out of it; as the prophet before the first, and Christ before the last, ordered them to do. This gave others an opportunity to come into the city, trusting to its strength; so that more people were destroyed by the famine, the pestilence occasioned by it, and the sword of the emy, than otherwise would have been; thus the prophesies were remarkably accomplished.

3

I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works which he did for our fathers, that he may go up from us.

Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedeki4 ah: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that [are] in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and [against] the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city; your weapons of war, instead of wounding the enemy, shall hurt yourselves, as if a strong wind 5 should blow back your arrows into your faces. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath; it shall 6 plainly appear that I am on your enemies' side. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they, that is, 7 many of them, shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy; Zedekiah's life shall be preserved, but his sons and great officers shall be slain.

And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death, how you may escape with your lives, or otherwise you shall be slain; 9 therefore choose the least of two evils. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a 10 prey; he shall think himself happy if he escapes with his life. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

11 12

And touching the house of the king of Judah, [say,] Hear ye the word of the LORD; O house of David, thus saith the LORD Execute judgment in the morning, referring to their setting early in the morning in their courts, and deliver [him that is] spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench [it,] because of the evil 13 of your doings. Behold, I [am] against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, [and] rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into 14 our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of

The people were proud of their fortifications; part of Jerusalem lay in a valley, but mount Zion, which was their fortress, stood upon a rock; and they coufided in its strengta, as its ancient inhabitants the Jebusites bad done.