he is grieved for the hardness of their hearts, and weeps over their aggravated guilt.

2. He foresaw the calamities that were coming upon them, and desired not the woeful day. Their city and temple should be destroyed, and their whole nation dispersed into all parts of the earth. They had abused their privileges, and now they should be deprived of them: they had gloried in their shame, and should now be ashamed of their glory: they had been slaves to their lusts, and should now be slaves to their enemies. When Jeremiah saw that there was no hope of recovering Israel from their backslidings, nor of averting the threatened captivity, but that they would be cut off by the most awful judg ments, he wished that his head were waters, and his eyes a fountain of tears, that he might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of his people. He had wept much, but wanted to weep more. ful as were those days of evil, they were not such as now awaited this devoted city; for such there never had been, neither should there be again. These the Saviour had in prospect, and his soul is troubled for them. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

But aw

3. Spiritual judgments also awaited them, and this was matter of still greater lamentation. Would they but turn to Him who smote them, and in the time of their affliction seek him early, there would still be something to mitigate the calamity: but no, they would be as much infatuated as they were afflicted. They were given up to blindness of mind, and hardness of heart. They would obstinately persist in rejecting the gospel, and with the most inveterate malice would persecute the preachers of it, till at length they should be destroyed, and that without remedy.

4. The final consequence of all this also affected the compassionate Saviour; namely, their everlasting ruin in the world to come. Paul could not speak

VOL. III.

of some without weeping, when he considered that
their end would be destruction; and this it was that
made the Saviour weep. When he himself was about.
to suffer, he forbid the daughters of Jerusalem to
weep for him, and told them to weep for themselves
and their children, and here he also could weep with
them. The impending ruin of their city and nation,
and above all, the final ruin of so many immortal
souls, touched his tender heart, and caused his tears
to flow. Never did that face appear more beautiful
and lovely than when thus bedewed. It is said that
Xerxes looked upon his vast army and wept, to think
that in less than a hundred years not one of them
would be left alive. The prospect of such mortality
affected him; but it was the state of souls dead in
sin that affected Christ. Yet the time is coming when
he will say to those whom he once wept over, and
say it without any pity in his countenance or com-
passion in his heart, Depart from me, ye workers of
iniquity-Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre-
pared for the devil and his angels !

II. Consider what our Lord said as well as did, when he came near and beheld the city-If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.

If thou, so ancient and populous a city, the city of David, the seat of the temple and worship of God -if thou, even thou, oh Jerusalem, hadst known and considered the things which belong to thy present and everlasting peace-thou wouldst have repented and wept for thyself, and my tears might well have been spared. But now thy destruction is at hand, and these things are hid from thine eyes!Here observe,

1

1. The whole of religion is expressed by knowledge: If thou hadst known. Not however that kind of knowledge which is merely speculative, but such as sanctifies the heart and influences the conduct; that holy wisdom which cometh from above. The beginning of true religion is thus expressed: I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LordGod, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And when the prevalence of true religion is spoken of, it is represented by the general diffusion of this knowledge: All shall know me from the least to the greatest-The earth shall be full of the knowledge of his glory, as the waters cover the sea. Jer. xxiv. 7. 2 Cor. iv. 6. Heb. viii. 11. Isai. xi. 9.

2. That which it chiefly concerns us to know is, the things which belong to our peace. It is the gospel only that proclaims peace to a guilty world, and it is by the knowledge of this that we have peace with God. The sacrifice of Christ laid the foundation for it, and faith in him gives peace to the conscience, He is our peace and being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But this only can be maintained by a holy and heavenly frame of mind: a person may as well expect life without breathing, as peace without piety; peace and purity are inseparable. Wicked men, though they may not feel much uneasiness, yet are strangers to real peace. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. They may be sensible and intelligent in other things, but are wholly unacquainted with the things which belong to their peace; and though they flatter themselves in their own eyes, yet their iniquity shall be found to be hateful.

3. There is a time to which this knowledge is confined, and which is here called this thy day. To shew the uncertainty and shortness of its duration, it is

called a day; and may be meant of the term of life, or the season of opportunity. Such a day the jews enjoyed under the ministry of Christ; and we now enjoy a day of gospel light and liberty, which if it be slighted and abused, God may justly give us up to final impenitence. The Spirit may cease to strive, and Christ to knock; and the awful sentence may be pronounced, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Rev. xxii. 11.

4. When this time is elapsed, our case will be for ever hopeless: Now the things which belong unto thy peace are hid from thine eyes! Now all the preaching and hearing will be of no use: it is no longer an accepted time, or day of salvation. The decree is gone forth, and will certainly be executed. That light which you despised is now withdrawn, and a night of gloomy darkness is spread over you. You would have none of God's counsel, and he will have none of your prayers. Your convictions are gone, to return no more. You slighted the means, and shall no longer enjoy them. This is a dreadful case, whether it take place at death, or before, as it has done in some instances. Because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent. Ezek. xxiv, 13, 14.

IMPROVEMENT.

(1.) Did Christ weep for sinners; and shall they not weep for themselves? Does not God call us to weeping; and does not our case call for it? Let us look to Him whom we have pierced, and mourn. Let us be in the gall of bitterness till the bond of iniquity be broken. Oh that God may take away the heart of stone, and give a heart of flesh!

(2.) Let us beware of rejecting the gospel, and trifling with our privileges, lest we be given up to final impenitence. Insensibility is the forerunner of destruction. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. John xii. 35, 36.

(3.) Let those who are truly acquainted with the things which belong to their peace be thankful, and adore the grace which has made them to differ. Ye were once darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. God is the Lord which hath shewed us light; bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altar. Psal. exviii. 27.

Did Christ o'er sinners weep;
And shall our cheeks be dry?
Let floods of penitential grief
Burst forth from every eye.

The Son of God in tears,
Angels with wonder see!
Be thou astonish'd, oh my soul,
He shed those tears for thee.

He wept that we might weep,
Each sin demands a tear;
In heav'n alone no sin is found,
And there's no weeping there.