must not with Nathan say tu es homo, thou art the man, to any delinquent in any of these kinds.

This then is the remedy, we may go to God himselfe, and chide with him for it, without any feare of fcandalum magnatum, and in holy indignation and zeal of Gods glory, laying afide our own corrupt paffions, we may call him to account for fhewing us and making us to fee fuch things.

And I do not doubt but we shall have as good fucceffe as this Prophet had, as the next section of this chapter doth de

clare.

Verf. 5. Be bold yee among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvellonfly: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe thongh it be told you.

6. For lo I raise up the Chaldeans that bitter and bafty Nation, whichshall march through the bredth of the land to poffeffe the dwelling places that are not theirs.

i

7. They are terrible and dreadful, their judgement and: their dignity fhall proceed of themselves.

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8. Their borfes alfo are swifter then the Leopards, and more. fierce then the evening Wolves: and their horfemen shall: Spread themselves, and their horsemen fhall come from farre, they fball fly as the Eagle that hasteth to eat.

9. They shall come all for violence, their faces fhall fup up as the Eaft-wind, and they gather the captivity as the fant 10. And they shall fcoffe at the Kings, and the Princes shall be acorne unto them: they shall deride every strong hold, for they shall heap dust and take it.

11. Then shall his mind change, and he shall paffe over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his God.

TH

Hefe words are the second section of this chapter, and do contain Gods own answer to the former complaint of the Prophet, wherein God declareth how he will be avenged on his own People, for the oppreffion and violence which they have used, for the corruption in manners, in religion, and in the adminiftration of Iuftice.

Let

Let us begin at the words, and fearch the will of God revealed Verfe 5.

therein.

Beholdye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelloufly]

Here is God himselfe fpeaking to his finful people the Iews, and awaking them to behold the anger to come.

Here is firft the roaring of the Lion, as in Amos. The Lord Cap. 1. 2. Will roare from Sion, and utter his voice from Jerufalem.

This is the thunder: the thunderbolt doth after follow.

1. He biddeth them behold, that is,to take this threatning of Gods judgement, and to spread it before their eyes, and to perufe the fad contents thereof..

2. Behold yee among the heathen] He turneth their eyes to: the heathen, whom God will now make their fharp ichoolmafters to inftruct them; for fecing they will learn nothing by the ministry of his Prophets, whom he hath fent to them to chide them, and guide them; and seeing they are not moved with the lamentable complaints of their brethren, groaning under their oppreffions, and grievances, and injuftice: now he biddeth them to look among the heathen, as to the quarter from whence the following tempeft is like to arife: for by them God intendeth to punish the lews

3. He addeth Regards for beholding without regarding; and taking the matter into due and ferious confideration is but ga zing..

As the Apostle prefseth an exhortation. Confider what I fay. God had fent his Prophets to instruct them and they heard them, but regarded them not. Now he will not be fo neglected..

4. He addeth, and wonder marvelously, attonitiefte & obftupefcite. Here he prepareth their expectation for fome extraordi nary judgement; this is that which the Apostle doth call Terror domini, and ira ventura, the terrour of the Lord, and the wrath>

to come..

5. He addech in general terms the matter of their feare and confternation. For,

1. There is a work to be done.

2.God himself profeffeth to be the worker.

3. The time is at hand;in your days..

Verf. 6.

Verf. 7.

4. The wonder is, that though God himself foretell them thereof, Non credetis, you will not beleeve.

The work to be done is. verf.6.

God threatneth to raise up the Chaldeans against the Jews; he calleth them a bitter and an haftie nation;those Chal go all the land over,and drive out or deftroy the Jews, and take poffeffion of their land.

Chaldea lay from Jerusalem North;it was a mighty Kingdom; and the cheif City thereof was Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar was Kingthereof;they are to be firred up by God himsel,fwho,as you heard out of Obadiah, doth use to punish one Nation by another, and fometimes his Church by the Heathen.

I

He gave Ifrael the promised land upon condition of their obedience to his Law; and now finding them rebellious, he giveth away their land to the heathen, and as before he drove out the pofterity of Canaan to plant Ifrael there, now he will remove them, and give their land to the Chaldeans.

God is very terrible in his threatnings; for a great part of the Chapter is spent as you fee in defcription of that Nation of the Chaldeans, to fill them full of horrour.

1. For the people of that land, he calleth them Bitter and hafty.

Bitter in the execution of that wrath whereof God had made them his Ministers, and hafty in the speed thereof; for the wicked are limited, and if God stayed them not, they would soon fwallow up the Church of God; but when God enlargeth them and suffereth them for the fins of the Church to break in upon them, they will come in like a flood that overfloweth and breakketh the banks, and cover all with inundation.

2. They are described to be terrible, and dreadfull, and therein he declareth that he will put the Jews out of heart, that they fhall have no courage to refift this invafion; for God will fmite them with fear of the adverfarie power, which fear in them shall open the enemie an eafy way to victory.

3. He proveth this; for he faith, Their judgment and their dignity fhall come of themselves.

His meaning is,that God will not reftrain them, but give the

Jews

Jews into their hands and leave the Chaldeans to be both judges and executioners in their own caufe, and to follow the leading of their own will: no Law of God fhall awe them, no law of nature, or nations fhall limit them, their own will shall carry them to give judgment upon the Jews, and to get them dignity and honour over them.

The reason why God will put them into fo mercileffe hands, is given by the Prophet Jeremy. :

For the Jews have faid to feremy: As for the word that thou hast Spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee; Jer.44.16. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth.

For this wilfull ftubbornneffe God doth now purpose to put them into the power of fuch as (hall be as wilfull as they, whose judgment by which they fhall judge the Jews, and whofe dignity by which they shall exalt themselves,fhall follow their own will. He proceedeth to fhew what preparation they have for war, and therein first of their horles, in which kind of ftrength fome put their craft as, David faith,

Some put their truft in chariots, and fome in horfes. Thele horfes of the Chaldeans he doth make terrible,in 2.things. 1. They are fwifter then the Leopards; he compareth them not with theRoebuck and the Hind fo much mentioned in Scripture for speed, nor with the Hare whofe fpeed is to fave themfelves, but with the Leopards perfecuting with fwiftneffe the beafts on which they prey as he addech,

2.They are feircer then the evening wolves;thofe wolves whose hunger not only leadeth them out to feek prey, but fuch is their cruelty that they will deftroy whole flocks if they can.

The Chaldeans did breed hortes for the warre, whose speed and feircenefle is fuch, tat as feremy faith, defcribing the turning of men to their own ill wayes, it was like as an horfe rusheth into the battaile."

Yet this were no great terrour, but that it followeth, their riders shall be Juch as shall put them to it.

-951. They fhall fpread themfeives for they were to paffe throughout the breadth of the countrey; that there will be no efcaping then by resistance,

2

I

2. They

Verf. 17.

Verf. 8.

2. They shall come from farre, to set up the army, they shall be terrible in their number.

fo that

3. they fhall fly as the Eagle that hafteth to eat; no man shall efcape them by flight, all thall be a prey.

Verf. 9. fhall have of the Jews.

He proceedeth to defcribe the elie victory that the Chaldeans

Verf. 10.

They shall come all for violence. Tota gens ad rapinam veniet: not ad pugnam, but ad prædam; The whole Nations fhall come to fpoile, not to fight, but to prey.

Their faces fhall fupup the Eaft-wind, the Eaft-wind it leemeth was the most unwholefome breath of heaven upon that land, within short time withered and destroyed the fruits of the earth, and the hopes of the Spring: The Lord faith, that the faces of the Chaldeans, the very fight of them fhall bee as banefull, and as unrefiftible as the Eaft wind.

They shall gather the Captivity as the (and: 1. They fhall gather together the people of that land to carry them away into captivity, with no more pain then one would take up his veffel ful of fand out of the heap, or they fhall carry multitudes of the Jews into captivity without number as the fand, y

They shall fcoffe at the Kings, and the Princes shall be afcorne unto them:

Either he meaneth that he shall make nothing of the power of any Kings, either in the land against which he cometh, or a mongst their confederates; but fhall laugh them to icorne that come to help the Jews, as his vaffals.

Or he shall eafily fubdue them, and lead them in triumph whe therfoever he goeth, and proudly infult over them

C

Some extend it fo farre as that the Chaldean conqueror fhall make Kings his jesters, and parafices, and make himself fport with them.

And whereas the ftrong holds and caftles are wont to be a terrour to the invador, the Chaldeans shall deride every strong. hold.

For they shall heap duft and take it: i.e.They (hal raife up of the earth near unto their firong holds, fuch fortifications as shall defend them, and offend the enemy, the very earth of the Jews. fhall they use against the Jews to overcome them.

Then