God's expostulation with the Jews: CHRIST CHAPTER III CHRIST Their vain confidence rejected. Before of pits; through a land of drought, and of the shadow { is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, Before dir. 623 of death, through a land that no man" passed through, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, cir. 629. and where no man dwelt? 27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; h Ex. 92, 3 but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, Judg. 10, and save us. m chap. 9, 12 - 7 And I brought you into a " plentiful country, to n Deut. 8, 7. eat the fruit thereof, and the goodness thereof: but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. o Psal. 78, p Mal. 2, 7. k g Isai. 40, 13. 20. 8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and 28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made 3, 13. they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors thee?let them arise, if they can save thee in the Isaiah 45, q Mat. 15,9 also transgressed against me, and the prophets proph-time of thy trouble: for according to the number m chap. 11 Rom. 2 esied by Baal, and walked after things that do not?" of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah profit. 20. s Hab. 2, 8. t Isa. 1, 10. a Gen 10, 4. 9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead. 10 For pass over the "isles of Chittim, and see 1 Gen. 25, and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing: 13. X 11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are Ps. 115, 4. yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. a Rom. 1, 12 Beastonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be b Deut. 4. horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water: e John 4, 11 42 Pet. 2, 17. d 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? Ps. 100, therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. Hos. 8, 14. x ch. 7, 3. 48. 34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the y Ezek. 15 souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by z Ezek. 7, secret search, but upon all these. 23. 20. b Prov. 28, 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely a Ezek. 17, his anger shall turn from me: behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. 13. 36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change e Hosea 5, thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of "Egypt, as 13. & 12, 1 thou wast ashamed of Assyria. c e c d 2 Kings 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands upon thy head: for the LORD hath rejected 17,8. thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them. 2. 28, CHAPTER III. 20. 1 God's great mercy in Judah's vile whoredom....12 The prom- a Deat. 24, ises of the gospel to the penitent. 4. 17. 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and Hosea 5, 5. thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know, therefore,HEY say, If a man "put away his wife, and she 5 Lev. 12, and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou go from him, and become another man's, shall c ch. 2, 20 hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear he return unto her again? shall not that land be si, 3. is not in thee, saith the Lord GoD of hosts. greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot d Zech. 1 with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though thou wash thee with "nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. 23 How canst thou say, I am not pclluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley, z ch. 3,2 know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; JEREMIAH. 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah "feared not, but went and played the harlot also. X 9 And it came to pass, through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. 11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified † herself more than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. e b C 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou 12.59, hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and Hosea 14,2 hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every 24. & 23,5,6. green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. e Ezck. 16, 19. f 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; flose 2 for I am married unto you and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: g Rom. H, 6. h Eph. 4, 11. ¡ 23. 15 And I will give you 'pastors according to my Acts 20, heart, which shall 'feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in 'those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The "ark of the Covenant of the LORD; neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. n 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the a Rev. 213. throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be Isai. 60, 3. gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the pchap. 31, P imagination of their evil heart. 33. 11. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take 22. away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah i Deut. 10, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come Rom. 2, 29 forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, Zeph. 2, because of the evil of your doings. 5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, 'Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, Gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and "the m2 Kings destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone Tim. 4, forth from his place to make thy land desolate and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant. 23. 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and 。 Lam. 1,1 howl; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, i 9 Hosea 1, 9 with the house of Israel, and they shall come to-Ye shall have peace: whereas the sword reacheth gether out of the land of the north to the land that }unto the soul. I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, 'My father; and shalt not turn away from me. * Heb. 3,10. Zeph. 1, t 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had "no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the y birds of the heavens were fled. a 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at Nah. 1,5. the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. ch. 50, 10, 11. Ezek. 11, 13. Hab. 3, 2. b Hos. 1,3. e ch. 15, 16. 9, 20. 2 Kings Rev. 17, 4 Lam. 1,2. ch. 22, 20. d 29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the CHRIST Judgments on the Jews. 6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay Before them, and a wolf of "the evenings shall spoil them, cir. 612 a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because s their transgressions are many, and their backslidings n Hos. 13 are increased. m Zeph. 3, 7. 7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no Gal 4, 8. gods: when I had P fed them to the full, they then p Deut. 32, committed adultery, and assembled themselves by Hosea 4,7. troops in the harlots' houses. r 8 They were as fed horses in the morning: 15. q Num. 25, 1. r Ezek. 2, s ch. 13, 2 10 Go ye up upon her "walls, and destroy; but u Ps. 127, 2. make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's. X z Num. 10, 9. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the y Isa. 24,10 LORD. 15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O e Deut. 98, thick-house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an 'ancient nation, a nation whose language thou (Deut 10, knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy 'lovers will despise thec, they will seek thy life. g Isa. 13, 8. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion, Lam. 1; that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Wo is me now! for my soul is wearied be12 Chr. 36, cause of murderers. 17 And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy & Lev. 26, bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: Deut. 28,51. they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. 18 Nevertheless, in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. & 19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things h ch. 13,22 unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye 16217. have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your not yours. i Dent. 26, RUN ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusa-land; so shall ye serve 'strangers in a land that is 17.10 lem, and see now, and know, and seek in the Mic. 7, 1,2. broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there 20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish b Gen. 18, be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the it in Judah, saying, truth; and I will pardon it. Lam 5, 8. d ch. 7, 9. 3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? 22 m Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not 25, 20 e 2 Chr. 16, thou hast 'stricken them, but they have not grieved; tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand Rom. 11, 8. Psal. 51, 6. thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to for the "bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, m Rev. 15, receive correction: they have made their faces har-that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof Amos 4, 6, der than a "rock; they have refused to return. toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though Job 26, 4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they they roar, yet can they not pass over it? are foolish: for they know not the 'way of the LORD, 23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebell- och. 14.22 h Zech. 7, nor the judgment of their God. ious heart; they are revolted and gone. 25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, eir. 612. and your sins have withholden good things from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men they lay wait as he that setteth snares: they set a 1 Hosea 5,1. trap, they catch men. * Isa. 59, 1, 2. u Rev. 18,2. x Micah 6, 10. y Deut. 32, t u 27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter Before of my people "slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. u ch. 4,4. ych. 3, & & 8, 12. Kom. 1, 32. Phil. 3, 19. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed Ezek. 13, 4. abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, xch. 4, 4. neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall 2 Pet. 2, 19. among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. 28 They are waxen fat, they shine; yea, they, 16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, "overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good 11 Cor. 5, the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they pros- way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your 1 Thess. 5, per; and the right of the needy do they not judge. souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Heark- Luke 19,19 LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a na-en to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We b ch. 23, 14. tion as this? I will not hearken. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely dch. 4, 6. and delicate woman. 21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, and the 2 Thess. fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 12 Chr. 36, 17 m Josh. 8, 23 They shall lay hold on bow and " spear; they are "cruel, and have no mercy: their voice roareth 18. like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array n Lam. 5, as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail. 25 P Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every 7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she side. k Ezek. 24,5. Casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. 11. o ch. 50, 4. p ch. 8, 14. q Zech. 12, 26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee 10. mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamenta- r Isa. 33, 1 tion: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. & Hab. 2, 1. 27 I have setthee for a tower and a fortress among t Pr. 27, 23. my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. u Hosea 10, 28 They are all "grievous revolters, walking with 15. slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all x ch. 18, 18, a y Isa. 1, 21. 2 2 Cor. 2, 29 The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain for the i wicked are not plucked away. a Isa. 49, 4. b Ezek. 24, 30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because 12, 13. the LORD hath rejected them. c Ps. 15, 4. 9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thy hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.corrupters. 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their " ear is uncircumcised, Col. 3, 12, and they cannot hearken: behold,the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; Is p ch. 20, 9. am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife Ezek. 9,6. shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. 12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of verse 4. the LORD. the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these 13 For from the least of them even unto the great-gates to worship the LORD: CHAPTER VII. 1 Jeremiah is sent to call for true repentance....8 God rejecteth their vain confidence. HE word that came to Jeremiah from the cir. 600. a ch. 1, 2, 3 b ch. 26, 2. C 1. 56,11. est of them, every one is given to covetousness; 3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of IsLuke 20, 47. and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one rael, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will © ch. 18, 11 dealeth falsely. 2 Pet. 2,2 c cause you to dwell in this place. 11. 11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. 12 But go ye now unto my place, which was in r Deut. 12, Shiloh, where I set tay name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because ye have done all these works, 1 Sam. 4, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, " rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, 2 Chr. 56, but ye answered not; Josh. 18, 1. - 10. 15. 14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercesbh. 15, 1. sion to me: for I will not hear thee. e ch. 44, 19. 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem ? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the † queen of heaven, and to out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may workman provoke me to anger. 1 Heb. Molecheth frame or, d pour Before CHRIST Idolatry threatened. 25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent cir. 60 unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early, and sending them : o 2 Chr. S6, 15. 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined Hose 6, 5. their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. p Ex. 52, 9 Nel. 9, 17, 29 r 〃 ch. 9, 3. Ezek. 2, 5, 28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut s ch. 6, 8 off from their mouth. t Ps. 11, 2. 29 Cut off thy hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it ch. 9,2,3. away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for u Job 1, 16. the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 31 And they have built the high places of To{phet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which 23, 10. I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. a Is. 30, 33. 32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the ch. 32, 35. LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor, The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place. 1 The calamity of the Jews....4 Their impenitency upbraided. AT that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring a Kings out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhab19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD:itants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of d Ps. 16, 4 their own faces?. ship. 2 Kings 23, 13, 2 And they shall spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be b2 Rings gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth." 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of 3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by b Hos. 2, 13. Israel; Put your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifi-all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, ces, and eat flesh. which remain in all the places whither I have driven 22 For Ispake not unto your fathers, nor com-them, saith the LORD of hosts. PL 50, 5. manded them in the day that I brought them out of Rosen, & the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices: 61 hearkened and heard, but they spake not g Ps. 12, 2 aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. b Job 39 21 |