The miserable end A. M. cir. 3406. B. C. cir. 598. Ol. cir. XLV. 3. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 19. B. C. cir. 598. Ol. cir. XLV. 3. Tarquinii Prisci, 11 For thus saith the LORD 15 Shalt thou reign, because A. M. cir. 3406. touching "Shallum the son of thou closest thyself in cedar? Josiah king of Judah, which did not thy father eat and drink,, reigned instead of Josiah his fa- and do judgment and justice, and ther, which went forth out of this place; He then "it was well with him? shall not return thither any more: 12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 Wo unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; R. Roman, cir. annum 19. 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.. 17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for w violence, to do it. 18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; 14 That saith, I will build me a wide house They shall not lament for him, saying, ▾ Ab and large chambers, and cutteth him out my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his painted with vermilion. "See 1 Chron. iii. 15, with 2 Kings xxiii. 30.02 Kings xxiii. 34.2 Kings xxiii. 35; ver. 18.- Lev. xix. 13; Deut. xxiv. 14, 15; Mic. ii. 10; Hab. ii. 9; James v. 4. from which it was prophesied he should never return, 2 Kings xxiii. 30-34. He was called Shallum before he ascended the throne, and Jehoahaz afterwards; so his brother Eliakim changed his name to Jehoiakim, and Mattaniah to Zedekiah. Verse 13. Wo unto him that buildeth his house] These evils, charged against Jehoiakim, are nowhere else circumstantially related. We learn from 2 Kings xxiii. 35-37, that he taxed his subjects heavily, to give to Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt: "He exacted the silver and gold of the people of the land, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord." The mode of taxation is here intimated; he took the wages of the hirelings, and caused the people to work without wages in his own buildings, &c. Verse 15. Shalt thou reign, &c.] Dost thou think thou art a great king, because thou dwellest in a splendid palace? Verse 18. They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother!] These words were no doubt the burden of some funeral dirge. Alas! a brother, who was our lord or governor, is gone. Alas, our sister! his QUEEN, who has lost her glory in losing her husband. П hodah is feminine, and must refer to the glory of the queen. The mournings in the east, and lamentations for the dead, are loud, vehement, and distressing. For a child or a parent grief is expressed in a variety of impaspioned sentences, each ending with a burden like that in the text, "Ah my child!" "Ah my mother!" as the prophet in this place: " hoi achi, “Ah my brother!" "I hơi achoth, “Ah sister!" ¡78 1 don, "Ah lord!" "hoi hodah, "Ah the Mr. Ward, in his Manners and Customs of the Hinsss gives two examples of lamentation; one of a for the death of her son, one of a daughter for glory! "When a woman," says he," is overwhelmed with grief for the death of her child, she utters her grief in some such language as the following : Ah, my Hureedas, where is he gone? Ah my child, my child!' My golden image, Hureedas, who has taken ?- Ah my child, my child!' I nourished and reared him, where is he gone?'Ah my child, my child!' Take me with thee.- Ah my child, my child!' He played round me, like a golden top. Ah my child, my child!' Like his face I never saw one.-' Ah my child, my child!' The infant continually cried, Ma, Ma!— Ah my child, my child!' Ah my child, crying, Ma! come into my lap.-' Ah my child, my child" Who shall now drink milk?-Ah my child, my child!' Who shall now stay in my lap ? Ah my child, my child !' Our support is gone! Ah my child, my child!' "The lamentations for a mother are in some such strains as these : Mother! where is she gone?—Ah my mother, my mother!" You are gone, but what have you left for me?' Ah my mother, my mother!' Whom shall I now call mother, mother?- Ah my mother, my mother!' Where shall I find such a mother?— Ah my mother, my mother!” From the above we may conclude that the funeral lamentations, to which the prophet refers, generally The miserable end A. M. cir. 3406. B. C. cir. 598. CHAP. XXII. 19 He shall be buried with Ol. eir. XLV. 3. the burial of an ass, drawn and Tarquinii Prisei, R. Roman., cast forth beyond the gates of eir. annum 19 Jerusalem. of Jeconiah. into A. M. cir. 3406. B. C. cir. 598. Ol. cir. XLV. 3. 25 And I will give thee the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the the LORD. pain as of a woman in travail ! h f 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, were the signet upon my right hand, yet sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling would I pluck thee thence; ended in this way, in each of the verses or interrogatories. There is another intimation of this ancient and universal custom in 1 Kings xiii. 30, where the old prophet, who had deceived the man of God, and who was afterwards slain by a lion, is represented as mourning over him, and saying, hoi achi, "Alas, my brother!" this being the burden of the lamentation which he had used on this occasion. Similar instances may be seen in other places, Jer. xxx. 7; Ezek. vi. 11; Joel i. 15; and particularly Amos v. 16, 17, and Rev. xviii. 10-19. Verse 19. With the burial of an ass] Cast out, and left unburied, or buried without any funeral solemnities, and without such lamentations as the above. any more in Judah.. i2 Kings xxiv. 15; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10. Heb. lift up their mind; chap. xliv. 14. - Psa. xxxi. 12; chap. xlviii. 38; Hos. viii. 8.- Deut. xxxii. 1; Isa. i. 2; xxxiv. 1; Mic. i. 2.- - See 1 Chron. iii. 16, 17; Matt. i. 12. Chap. xxxvi. 30. Verse 22. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors] A blast from God's mouth shall carry off thy kings, princes, prophets, and priests. Verse 23. How gracious shalt thou be] A strong irony. Called Jeconiah, proSee on ver. 10. Verse 24. Though Coniah] bably on ascending the throne. The signet upon my right hand] The most precious seal, ring, or armlet. Though dearer to me than the most splendid gem to its possessor. Verse 26. I will cast thee out, and thy mother] See all this fulfilled, 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 13. All were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into captivity together. Verse 28. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol?] These are probably the exclamations of the against their king and their country. Verse 20. Go up to Lebanon] Probably Anti-Liba-people, when they heard those solemn denunciations nus, which, together with Bashan and Abarim, which we here translate passages, were on the way by which the captives should be led out of their own country. Verse 21. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity] In all states and circumstances I warned thee by my prophets; and thou wilt only be ashamed of thy conduct when thou shalt be stripped of all thy excellencies, and reduced to poverty and disgrace, ver. 22. Verse 29. O earth] These are the words of the prophet in reply: O land! unhappy land! desolated land! Hear the judgment of the Lord! Verse 30. Write ye this man childless] Though he had seven sons, 1 Chron. iii. 17, yet, having no successor, he is to be entered on the genealogical tables as one without children, for none of his posterity ever sat on the throne of David. 313. God's judgments against JEREMIAH. CHAPTER XXIII. wicked pastors. Sequel of the discourse which commenced in the preceding chapter. The prophet denounces vengeance against the pastors of Israel who have scattered and destroyed the flock of the Lord, 1, 2. He concludes with gracious promises of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, and of better times under the Messiah, when the converts to Christianity, who are the true Israel of God, shadowed forth by the old dispensation, shall be delivered, by the glorious light of the Gospel, from worse than Chaldean bondage, from the capti vity of sin and death. But this prophecy will not have its fullest accomplishment till that period arrives which is fixed in the Divine counsel for the restoration of Israel and Judah from their various dispersions, of which their deliverance from the Chaldean domination was a type; when Jesus the Christ, the righteous Branch, the Root and Offspring of David, and the only legitimate Heir to the throne, shall take unto himself his great power, and reign gloriously over the whole house of Jacob, 3-8, At the ninth verse a new discourse commences. Jeremiah expresses his horror at the great wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, and declares that the Divine vengeance is hanging over them. He exhorts the people not to listen to their false promises, 9-22; and predicts the utter ruin that shall fall upon all pretenders to inspiration, 23-32, as well as upon all scoffers at true prophecy, 33-40. A. M. cir. 3406. Ol. cir. XLV. 3.1 R. Roman., WO be unto the pastors that them, and will bring them again destroy and scatter the to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. sheep of my pasture! saith the cir. annum 19. LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD... 3 And. I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven a Chap. x. 21; xxii. 22; Ezek. xxxiv. 2.Chap. xxxii. 37; Ezek. xxxiv. 13, &c. xxxiv. 23, &c. b Exod. xxxii. 34. d Chap. iii. 15; Ezek. NOTES ON CHAP. XXIII. Verse 1. Wo be unto the pastors] There shall a curse fall on the kings, princes, priests, and prophets; who, by their vicious conduct and example, have brought desolation upon the people. Verse 2. Ye have scattered my flock] The bad government both in Church and State was a principal cause of the people's profligacy. Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous Branch] As there has been no age, from the Babylonish captivity to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, in which such a state of prosperity existed, and no king or governor who could answer at all to the character here given, the passage has been understood to refer to our blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, who was a branch out of the stem of Jesse; a righteous king; by the power of his Spirit and influence of his religion reigning, prospering, and executing judgment and justice in the earth. Verse 6. In his days Judah shall be saved] The real Jew is not one who has his circumcision in the flesh, but in the spirit. The real Israel are true believers in Christ Jesus; and the genuine Jerusalem is the Church of the first-born, and made free, with all her children, from the bondage of sin, Satan, death, and hell. All these exist only in the days of the Messiah. All that went before were the types or significators of these glorious Gospel excellencies. d 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. e 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and e Isa. iv. 2; xi. 1; xl. 10, 11; chap. xxxiii. 14, 15, 16; Dan. ix. 24; Zech. iii. 8; vi. 12; John 1. 45. Psa. lxxii. 2; Isa. xxxii. 1,18; ix. 7.- Deut. xxxiii. 28; Zech. xiv. 11. And this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.] I shall give the Hebrew text of this important passage: n upy MITT INN 10 vezeh shemo asher yikreo Yehovah tsidkenu, which the Septuagint translate as follows, Kai Touro тo ovoμα avsou ó xaλɛósı avtov Kupros, Iwoedex, "And this is his name which the Lord shall call him, Josedek." Dahler translates the text thus: Et voici le nom dont on l'appellera : Dr. Blayney seems to follow the Septuagint; he translates thus, " And this is the name by which Jehovah shall call him, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." In my old MS. Bible, the first English translation ever made, it is thus:-And this is the name that thei schul clepen him: oure rigtwise Lord, Coverdale's, the first complete English translation of the Scriptures ever printed, (1535,) has given it thus:And this is the name that they shall call him: eben the Lorde oure rightuous Maker. Matthews (1549) and Becke (1549) follow Coverdale literally; but our present translation of the clause is borrowed from Cardmarden, (Rouen, 1566,) “Even the Lord our righteousness." The crimes which cause B. C. eir. 598. CHAP. XXIII. A. M. cir. 3406. Israel shall dwell safely and Ol eir. XLV.3. this is his name whereby he Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman.. shall be called, * THE LORD cir. annum 19. OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, m and from all countries whither I have driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. Dr. Blayney thus accounts for his translation:"Literally, according to the Hebrew idiom,- And this is his name by which Jehovah shall call, Our Righteousness; a phrase exactly the same as, And Jehovah shall call him so;' which implies that God would make him such as he called him, that is, our Righteousness, or the author and means of our salvation and acceptance. So that by the same metonymy Christ is said to have been made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,' 1 Cor. i. 30. "I doubt not that some persons will be offended with me for depriving them, by this translation, of a favourite argument for proving the Divinity of our Saviour from the Old Testament. But I cannot help it; I have done it with no ill design, but purely because I think, and am morally sure, that the text, as it stands, will not properly admit of any other construction. The Septuagint have so translated before me, in an age when there could not possibly be any bias or prejudice either for or against the fore-mentioned doctrine, a doctrine which draws its decisive proofs from the New Testament only." Dahler paraphrases,- "This Prince shall be surnamed by his people, The Lord, the author of our happiness.' The people shall feel themselves happy under him; and shall express their gratitude to him." I am satisfied that both the translation from Cardmarden downwards, and the meaning put on these words, are incorrect. I prefer the translation of Blayney to all others; and that it speaks any thing about the imputed righteousness of Christ, cannot possibly be proved by any man who understands the original text. As to those who put the sense of their creed upon the words, they must be content to stand out of the list of Hebrew critics. I believe Jesus to be Je the land to mourn A. M. cir. 3399. B. C. cir. 605. OI. XLIII. 4. Tarquinii Prisci R. Roman., cir. annum 12. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for P because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. t 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, "in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. W C Chap. vii. 30; xi. 15; N Psa. xxxv. 6; Prov. iv. -x Or, an absurd thing. Isa. ix. 16. Or, fil Chap. vi. 13; viii. 10; Zeph. iii. 4. xxxii. 34; Ezek. viii. 11 ; xxiii. 39.19; chap. xiii. 16.- Chap. xi. 23.y Heb. unsavoury.Chap. ii. 8.thiness. C Chap. xxix. 23. hovah; but I doubt much whether this text calls him so. No doctrine so vitally important should be rested on an interpretation so dubious and unsupported by the text. That all our righteousness, holiness, and goodness, as well as the whole of our salvation, come by HIM, from HIM, and through HIM, is fully evident from the Scriptures; but this is not one of the passages that' support this most important truth. See on chap. xxxiii. Verse 7. The Lord liveth which brought up] See on chap. xvi. 14, 15. Verse 9. Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets] The first word of this clause is D'h lannebim, which we incorporate with the whole clause, and translate, "Because of the prophets." But as a new prophecy begins here, it is evident that the word is the title to this prophecy; and is thus distinguished both by Blayney and Dahler, CONCERNING THE PROPHETS. This discourse was delivered probably in the reign of Jehoiakim. All my bones shake] He was terrified even by his own message, and shocked at the profanity of the false prophets. Verse 10. The land is full of adulterers] Of idolaters. Of persons who break their faith to ME, as an impure wife does to her husband. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up] He speaks here, most probably, in reference to dearth. Profane oaths, false swearing, evil courses, violence. &c., had provoked God to send this among other judgments; see ver. 19. Verse 11. In my house] They had even introduced idolatry into the Temple of God! Verse 13. I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria] This was not to be wondered at, for their religion was a system of corruption. Verse 14. I have seen also in the prophets of Jeru Judgments upon B. C. cir. 605. OL XLIII. 4. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman, eir annum 12. e JEREMIAH. A. Meir. 8399. adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evil doers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, k Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. m 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: d Ver. 26. - Ezek. xiii. 23. Deut. xxxii. 32; Isa. i. 9, 10. Chap. viii. 14: ix. 15.- Or, hypocrisy. Chap. xiv. 14; ver. 21. Chap. vi. 14; viii. 11; Ezek. xiii. 10; Zech. Or, stubbornness; chap. xiii. 10.- Mic. iii. 11. x. 2. salem] That is, the prophets of Jerusalem, while professing a pure faith, have followed the ways, and become as corrupt as the prophets of Samaria. They are all of them unto me as Sodom] Incorrigible, brutish sinners, who will as surely be destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah were. the false prophets. W 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell ■ Job xv. 8; 1 Cor. ii. 16. Or, secret.—P Chap. xxv. 32; xxx. 23.-9 Chap. xxx. 24. Gen. xlix. 1. Chap. xiv. 14; xxvii. 15; xxix. 9.Ver. 18.—" Jer. xxv. 5.- Psa. cxxxix. 7, &c.; Amos ix. 2, 3.—w 1 Kings viii. 27; Psa. cxxxix. 7. to be revelations from God. The churches which have legal emoluments are ever in danger of being overrun and ruined by worldly and self-interested priests. Verse 23. Am I a God at hand,—and not a God afar off?] You act as if you thought I could not see you! Am I not omnipresent? Do not I fill the heavens Verse 16. Hearken not unto the words of the pro-and the earth? ver. 24. phets] That is, of those who promise you safety, without requiring you to forsake your sins and turn unto the Lord; see ver. 17. Verse 18. Who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord] Who of them has ever received a word of prophooy from me? My word is not in them. \orse 19. Behold, a whirlwind] The simoom: the hot pestilential wind blowing from the south, frequently mentioned or referred to in the sacred writings; see You 10. I Viso 90. In the latter days ye shall consider it] give you warning: and this punishment which I now the ton shall surely take place; a short time will deo it ye shall not escape. X VA. I have not sent these prophets, yet they Not to save souls, but to profit themselves. | ké spoken to them, yet they prophesied.], Ex aver received the word at my mouth; yet they wyn, deng their own deceits, and pretending them Verse 27. By their dreams] Dreams were anciently reputed as a species of inspiration; see Num. xii. 6; 1 Sam. xxviii. 6; Joel iii. 1; Dan. vii. 1. In the Book of Genesis we find many examples; and although many mistook the workings of their own vain imaginations in sleep for revelations from God, yet he has often revealed himself in this way: but such dreams were easily distinguished from the others. They were always such as had no connexion with the gratification of the flesh; they were such as contained warnings against sin, and excitements to holiness; they were always consecutive-well connected, with a proper beginning and ending; such as possessed the intellect more than the imagination. Of such dreams the Lord says, (ver. 28:) The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream-permit him to show what he has thus received from the Lord; but let him tell it as a dream, and speak my word faithfully, lest he may have been deceived, |