Jeremiah 16

THE word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,

Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons nor daughters in this place It is uncertain whether what we have in this Chapter, be a new Revelation or a continuance of his former Prophesie. God commandeth the Prophet in it under certain Types, to foretel their utter ruine and destruction. First he commandeth him to marry no wife, nor have sons or daughters. He expoundeth this command. ver. 3, 4..

For thus says the LORD concerning the sons, and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land.

They shall die of grievous deaths, they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth God in these verses opens the reason why he would not have the Prophet marry nor multiply Relations. In evil and calamitous times those who multiply Relations do but multiply sorrows and afflictions to themselves; the Apostle in evil times tells the Corinthians that married persons should have trouble in the flesh, 1 Cor. 7.28. and Christ pronounceth a wo to those that should be with Child, and to those that gave suck at the time when Hierusalem should be besieged, God tells the Prophet, he was resolved that the people of this land, both young and old should die miserable deaths, and die so fast that there should be none to bury them. They should die by the Sword, and the Famin, and be devoured by the fowls and the beasts, and therefore it was better for him to abide free from Relations, for whose Miseries he would be as much concerned as for his own affliction..

For thus says the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning There is so great a difference in the Translation of this word, that Amos 6.7. the very same word signifieth a banquet, and is so translated, yet is there no contradiction, for banquets are now, (and probably anciently were) in the Houses of mourning, as well as in the houses of those that rejoiced. It appeareth plainly by the words that follow, that the Apostle was here forbidden to go to funeral Feasts, or to lament and bemoan any., neither go to lament, nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, even loving kindness and mercies For (says God) I have, that is, I will take away peace from this people. Possibly the meaning of God might be this, do not go to comfort such as mourn for any Relations dead, (for their feastings upon those occasions were upon a consolatory account; thence ver. 7. you read of a cup of consolation;) for says God, they have no need of it, those that die are most happy, for I will take away the peace of this people, and deprive them of all my Mercy, and Loving kindness which I have hitherto showed them..

Both the great and the small, shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them There shall so many of all rankes and sizes die in this land, that men shall have no time to bury them, or there shall not be enough left living to bury the dead, nor shall men, for their own miseries have leisure to lament for the miseries of other men., nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them Cutting themselves in their flesh, and cutting off their hair were Pagan Customs, which God forbad his own people, but yet it should seem they practised these barbarous Customs, but says God, I will put an end to that practice, men shall die so fast and in such multitudes, as they shall have no leisure to cut themselves for such as are dead, they shall not have such solemn mournings as they have had..

Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead If we allow our Translation here of the word with the word supplied themselves, it will be hard to give a tolerable sense of these words, for then tearing is the same with the cutting themselves mentioned in the former verse, which though it might be as a passionate expression of the persons sorrow that did it, yet how it should comfort the friends of the deceased, will be very hard to conceive. But the Truth is, the word has but two significations, and we have here given it what does worst sute this Text. It signifies to Divide, and to Tear or Rend. Both in Kal the first conjugation, and in Pi l the third conjugation it is used to signifie dividing; in the former, Isa. 8.7. where we interpret it deal; to deal, that is, divide thy bread to the hungry; which is the only text (excepting this) where it is used in this conjugation. In the other conjugation it is so used in many texts, Lev. 11.4, 5, &c. Deut. 14.7. so certainly it ought to have been translated here, Neither shall men deal out bread for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead, and seemeth to hint to us a custom in use amongst them, when they had any friend, that had lost his or her Relations to send them some meat or victuals (for amongst the Hebrews all things that they a e were called Bread) and then to go and dine or sup with them, to have opportunity to speak comfortably to them. This doubtless is the sense of the words, and so it is plain enough and this is confirmed by the next phrase., neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother Neither shall men drink the cup of consolation for their father, &c. as in such cases they were wont to have something to eat, so they were also wont to send Bottles of Wine, or other chearing Liquor to drink, that they might forget their sorrows, this is called, The cup of consolation, from the end for which the sending, and drinking of it was intended. God tells them that the time should come that so many should die, and so fast, and the rest should be so much upon the brink of the Grave, that they should have no leisure for, or heart to these Ceremonies..

Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink God did not only forbid his Prophet, to go into houses of mourning, to eat and to drink according to their Custom, to comfort those who had lost their friends, but he forbad him also to go into houses, where they were wont to eat, and to drink upon a more chearful account..

For thus faith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride And he declares that he laid this injunction upon him as a Type that his countrymen by such his forbearance, might understand, that God in his Providence was about to put an end to all their Civil mirth in their days..

¶ And it shall come to pass when thou shalt show this people all these words Or all these things, when thou shalt be observed by this people to refuse Marriage, and to go to the houses of Mourners, according to the Custom, to eat, or to drink with mourners, to make them to forget their sorrows, or to go into the house of feasting for jollity and mirth, and they shall ask the reason of thy singularity in this behaviour, and thou shalt give them the reason of it, according as I have instructed thee, and they, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God shall pretend to be at a loss, to know the reason why God is so severe against them, for what sin or iniquity it is, thinking perhaps that Manasses or Iehojachim's commanding them to worship Idols would excuse them, and only leave their Superiours guilty, for otherwise, while there was such plain Idolatry amongst them, they could not be ingorant of cause sufficient that God had, considering the multiplied threats in the Law.?

Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers The Idolatrous Kings of Iudah that were before Manasses his time, since whose time there were hardly forty years yet elapsed., have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.

And ye Ye in latter ages, in the time of Manasses, have done worse than your Fathers did, and now in the time of Iehoiakim, you run on much in the same course of Idolatry and superstition, which in this is worse in you, because for thirty years together you had the better Example of good Iosiah the father of your present King, together with what his Authority could do to reduce you, he has not been gone now above five years, and you are returned to your old Vomit, and are all of you serving me according to your own fancies, so stubborn are you, and resolved against obedience to me. have done worse than your fathers (for behold ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they might not hearken unto me.)

Therefore will I cast you out of this land, into a land that ye know not, neither ye, nor your fathers You would not hearken to me to obey my voice in that good land, which I gave you and which you have known, and inherited now many years, therefore I will throw you out into a land which you know not, and which your fathers knew not., and there ye shall serve other Gods day and night, where I will show you no favour q. You would not serve me in this land, but chose to serve other gods in my Land, you shall serve other gods in a strange land; you shall there have no such opportunities as you have here at Hierusalem, to worship me the true God according to the prescription and direction of my Word, ye shall there have no Gods else but idols to worship, and what is now matter of choice to you, shall then be forced upon you, the Governours of those countries into which you shall be carried shall force you to fall down, and to worship their Idols, which was verified afterward by Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 3. &c.

¶ Therefore It were better translated Notwithstanding, for that is manifestly the sense. God sweetneth the dreadful threatnings preceding, with a comfortable promise of their Restauration. behold the days come, says the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

But the LORD liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them Which he says should be so grateful a Mercy to them, that either in regard of the newness of this deliverance, or in regard of the great Misery they should be induring the Captivity of Babylon, when they should be delivered from it they should not so much remember their deliverance from the house of Bondage in Egypt, and magnifie God for that Salvation, as this new deliverance of them out of this Captivity.: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers For he would certainly bring them again into the land of Canaan, a land which he had given unto their Fathers..

¶ Behold I will send for many fishers, says the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks Though some Interpreters make these words a promise either of Gods restauration of this people, and making use of Cyrus who as a Fisherman or Huntsman, by his Proclamation fetched the Iewes out of all parts of his dominions, to return to Hierusalem: Or of the Calling of Gods Elect by the Apostles, who were Gods Fishermen, and went up and down preaching the Gospel in all places: yet the next verse rather guideth us to interpret it as a threatning, and by these Fishermen and Huntsmen, to understand all those Enemies whom God made use of to destroy these Iews, hunting them out of all holes and covers wheresoever they should fly, and take Sanctuary..

For mine eyes are upon all their wayes: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes God is of purer eyes than that he can behold iniquity in any so as to approve it, and therefore though he be long patient, yet he will at last punish evil-doers, for his Eyes behold them, their sins are open in his sight, and he particularly observeth mens actions, that he may render unto every one according to his works..

And first I will recompense their iniquity, and their sin double Before I will restore them and return in my wonted favour to them, I will punish them for their wayes which I have seen, which are wayes of iniquity, and will plentifully punish them (for so double here signifies, not the double of what their sins deserve).: because they have defiled my land Because by their Idolatry, blood and cruelty and other sins they have defiled the land which I own, and which I have given them., they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things And have filled that Country which I have chosen for, and named my inheritance, with their abominable things, that is practices, or unclean beasts offered to their Idols in Sacrifices, or innocent persons slain by them..

O LORD, my strength and my fortress, and my Refuge in the day of affliction, The Prophet hearing Gods resolution before he showed this people any mercy to be avenged on them for their sins, leaves off speaking to him upon that argument, but applieth himself to God for mercy for himself, and to confirm his Faith in him, gives him names suted to his hopes in him, and which might declare his Faith in him for the obtaining favour from him in an evil day. the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies and vanity, and things wherein there is no profit And comforteth himself with the thoughts of those good days that were coming, when not only the Iews should be again restored to their Country, but the Gentiles also from all parts of the world (whom also many of the Iews should accompany) should apply themselves to God, confessing that both they and their fathers, in their worshipping dumb Idols, had but inherited lies and Vanity, and things that were unprofitable..

Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no Gods It is doubtful whether these be to be understood as the words of God, showing the unreasonableness of the Sin of Idolatry, or as others who make them the continued speech of the Gentiles who after their Conversion, should see the unreasonableness of worshipping the works of their own hands. Whoso owneth a God, owneth an nfinite being, a first Cause and mover, and Creator of all things. Now can any be so sottishly stupid as to think that a finite being, should give a being to an Infinite Being; that he who is a Creature, should make his Creator, that he should be a Cause to the first Cause? (things which are all contradictions to the common sense of men.) A man is no God himself, how can he communicate a Divine nature which himself has not to another??

Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand, and my might Because all the goodness and mercy that I have showed them, will not learn them to know me, my power and might, I will once for all make them to understand it, by the dreadful strokes of my Vengeance., and they shall know that my name is the LORD They shall know, that my name is Iehovah. That I am not such a one as their Idols, but one who have my being from my self, and give life and being to all other things, and have all might, and power in my hand, and can do whatsoever I please; and one that will make good whatsoever I have spoken whether in a way of promise or threatning..