second and third time to repentance which mercy as we see he daily exerciseth in the Churches This is the cause then why the Prophet repeats the same words againe Returne now againe O ye disobedient children He said before Vers 12. Thou disobedient Israel returne Now heere he adds For I haue been a husband vnto you Some thinke the word Baal which is heere vsed signifies to be sent but this signification in this place cannot agree therefore where others translate I haue had domination and lordship ouer you it agrees better but this lordship must not be vnderstood generally For after the Latines this domination is referred to the husband who is the wiues head Neither is it to bee doubted but God still continues his former speech See vers 1. and persists in the same similitude of marriage often mentioned before For he accused the Israelites of adulteries in regard they had forsaken him which is the cause he now adds And yet I am your husband He said before that if any man had put away his wife and that shee should marry another the first would neuer after be reconciled to her but contrariwise I willingly forgiue all your disloyalty and whoredomes onely hereafter carry your selues chastly towards me and you shall finde that I also will keepe my faith with you In like manner he saith heere I am your husband See vers 8. that is to say Albeit I haue put you away For hee told them before that hee gaue them a bill of diuorce that is he had as it were by a publike and autenticke instrument testified that he had cast them off and that he neuer meant afterwards to be ioyned vnto them againe in any couenant for their exile was a kind of diuorce Now he saith I am your husband for howsoeuer you haue by the breach of your faith much offended me yet doe I still continue my first plea I am your husband We now vnderstand the Prophets drift and meaning otherwise the Israelites might haue bin so forestalled with dispaire that they would vtterly haue distasted this fauourable accesse whereunto the Prophet calles and exhorts them To the end that slauish feare then should not hinder their returne God heere tels them hee will be their husband neither will he forget that first couenant and coniunction which in former time hee vouchsafed to make with them Thus you see the summe of his speech I haue once loued you with an husband-like affection true it is The summe you haue estranged your selues from me yet returne now againe vnto me for I am ready to pardon you and I will receiue you againe saith he as if you had alwayes kept your faith and loyalty with me But after he adds one out of a City two out of a family This place is well worthy our obseruation for God therin sheweth that they must not tarry one for another moreouer though all the body of the people generally should rot in the filthinesse of their sinnes God hath mercy in store if onely one will accept thereof yet if there were but one that would returne vnto him he would alwayes be ready to entertaine that one into his fauour Now this poynt was of exceeding great vse For Gods couenant was made to the whole seed of Abraham in generall and therefore they might thinke with themselues that this couenant was vtterly abolished vnlesse the whole people of God were againe gathered together Neither had God indeed chosen to himselfe out of this race one or two no not an hundred nor a thousand for hee had chosen the whole of-spring of Abraham Now because this promise was common to them all generally without any exception euery one might thus conceit in himselfe But what haue I to doe with God further than as in respect that I am descended of the race of Abraham It is not I alone then for we are all of vs the children of Abraham And yet I see scarce one that returnes to God it is of necessity then that I must likewise perish with the rest of the people Lest such a cogitation as this then should haue any way hindred or kept backe the godly therefore hee saith I will take one out of a City and two out of a family that is to say albeit there comes to me but one onely out of a City yet that one shall find the gate open if only two out of a Tribe repaire vnto me I will also entertaine them likewise Now we vnderstand the Prophets meaning I grant the expositors vnderstand these words one of a City as if God would not refuse to pardon three or foure although all the multitude besides perished But they touch not the maine matter which was chiefly intended to wit that God restraines his speech to two or three because as hath been said they might bee in perplexitie when they should thinke with themselues that all generally were chosen to bee a people consecrated vnto God Vse The fruite and benefit of which doctrine appertaines also euen to vs at this day For we see many which are so foolish to exclude themselues from all hope of saluation or at least lay such stumbling blockes in their owne way that they dare not come neere in regard one so gazeth vpon another that the multitude stumbles euery one in particular How comes it to passe that there are so many in the papacie who with a setled obstinacy resist God Is it not because they thinke to escape among the multitude Yea euen amongst our selues we see how one hinders another Therefore it behooues vs alwayes to remember this doctrine namely when God stretcheth forth his armes it is not onely to receiue the whole multitude together if with one consent they yeeld vnto him but as well to gather if it bee but two or three that shall come to him out of a City or out of the whole people He adds And I will bring you to Sion This hath been once spoken of before thus God would giue them to vnderstand that their exile should last but for a while and that the Israelites should once againe recouer their inheritance if he may perceiue in them a true and sound conuersion Vers 15. And I will giue you pastors according to mine owne heart and they shall feed you with knowledge and * or wisedome vnderstanding that is with knowledge and wisedome GOd here promiseth he will in such wise prouide for the good and welfare of the people after their returne out of their banishment that they shall not thenceforth bee in danger to fall into the like ruine For the cause why God executed this vengeance is to be obserued Isa 5.13 which also is specified by Isaiah in chap. 5. The reason saith hee why my people are led captiue is onely for want of knowledge Therefore hell hath enlarged her soule or throat He saith then that the reason why the people perished was because knowledge perished and that their
redemption vpon such gracelesse ones who thus abused their liberty For they tooke occasion hereby to ouerflow in all lasciuiousnesse But if any had rather follow the other reading I will not gainsay him and then the sense will be It is long agoe since I disburthened thee of thy yoke and brake thy bands but thou hast said that is thou didst promise me for he speaks of this people as of a woman which is the cause that it is put heere in the feminine gender as also in regard that God held the place of an husband towards his people therefore he no sooeer accuseth them of disloyalty but he by and by speakes vnto them as an husband doth to a shamelesse woman who hath giuen ouer her selfe to the committing of adultery Thou therefore hast said vnto me that is to say thou didst promise me that thou wouldest not passe that is that thou wouldest assuredly keepe thy selfe chast and loyall to me alone And thus in stead of the particle ki which among the Hebrewes is a note of rendring the cause we may put in the place of it an aduersatiue to wit Notwithstanding it being so taken in other places of the Scriptures But or Notwithstanding then thou hast runne vpon euery high mountaine c. as harlots are wont to doe in seeking their maintenance But as I haue said I rather thinke that God complaines heere of his people in that by the fauour hee shewed them touching their deliuerance and freeing them from the yoke they thereby tooke occasion to giue ouer themselues to all dissolute behauiour For thus the text runnes very well and all the parts and members thereof concur very fitly one with another Whereas the Lord puts them in mind of breaking their bands and bursting their yoke some referre this onely to the first redemption But I mislike not of their opinion who thinke the Prophet speakes of many deliuerances For we know the Israelites were not for once onely deliuered out of the land of Egypt but that God euer anon stretched forth his hand assoone as they were afflicted and oppressed He had long since then taken the peoples yoke from of their neckes but it was at sundry times as we may perceiue by the history of the Iudges See Nehem. 9.28 Seeing the peoples liberty then proceeded meerly from Gods free bounty who had for the sames sake redeemed them ought they not to haue yeelded themselues obedient to their Redeemer For the people were therefore set at liberty The end why God redeemes vs. that they should wholly dedicate themselues to his seruice Thus then God heere accuseth the ingratitude of this people because they imagined hee thus deliuered them Doct. that they might afterwards resemble wild beasts as wee shall see hereafter That wee may the better vnderstand the Prophets meaning then we must haue an eye to that which Saint Paul saith in Rom. 6. namely that whilest we serue sinne wee are freed from Gods righteousnesse for then we runne after our lusts and haue no bridle left to keepe vs in But after God hath once set vs free from this wofull seruitude vnder sinne then wee begin to be seruants vnto him and his righteousnesse And thus being freed and deliuered from sinne wee become seruants of righteousnesse this is the end of our redemption But many abuse this grace of God taking occasion thereby to breake foorth into all intemperancy Vse behauing themselues so inordinatly as if there were no law nor rule to keepe them within the bounds of holinesse and honesty This is the cause then why God complaines of the Israelites But thou saidst I will not serue for it is too grosse an ingratitude yea it is too much that thou hast done already to dreame that I haue not redeemed thee as also not to vnderstand that my meaning in vsing thee with such respect was to teach thee that thou wert wholly mine For he that is redeemed by another is no more his owne 1. Cor. 6.19.20 What Condition redemption containes in it God had redeemed this people and therefore the redemption contained in it an obligation binding the people ouer to yeeld voluntary obedience vnto God and to be gouerned by him Thou hast said then I will not serue Thus God complaines that he hath ill imployed the benefits and graces which hee bestowed vpon the people in regard they abused the liberty hee gaue them to all excesse of riot And the reason which followes manifests it yet better For thou runnest as an harlot saith hee vpon euery high mountaine and vnder euery greene tree For we know that the Israelites no sooner reuolted from Gods true worship but they chose them places here and there as if the tops of the mountaines and shadowie places vnder greene trees had had more holines in thē than any other And euen thus it fares with the Papists at this day for their deuotion that is to say that diuellish fury which transports them from place to place is the very same Oh say they such a place is holier and better than that So did the Israelites for they thought themselues nearer heauen when they were mounted aloft vpon the tops of the hils likewise they thought they they had more familiar accesse to God when they were below vnder the thicke shade And we see also how euery profane man almost is bewitched after the same manner For when they are on the mountaines they thinke that makes them nearer to God they also imagine that some diuinity is secretly included as well by the riuers sides as vnder greene trees For as much then as this superstition had long continued among the Israelites God heere thus reprocheth them for their running and wandring to and fro But the similitude which hee vseth must be obserued For he compares them to harlots who hauing cast off all shamefastnesse trudge hither and thither not onely to satisfie their base and filthy lusts but also their insatiable couetousnesse whlch sets them so on gog He saith then Thou rannest about vpon euery mountaine and vnder euery leaued tree like an harlot or harlot that thou art as if hee should say See the reward thou gauest me for my mercy in redeeming thee thou thinkest thou hast obtained leaue now to ouerflow now in all impiety Thinke well then what hath occasioned thee thus to prostitute thy selfe to all villany and wickednesse It followes Vers 21. And I planted thee as a vine of choyce noble or exquisite for so much the Hebrew word signifies wholly of faithfull plants or approoued seed and how art thou then turned vnto me into the plants of a strange or wild vine GOd here cōfirmes that he said in the former sentēce for there he condemned the Israelites because they ranne riot after their superstitions notwithstanding God had redeemed them to another end namely that they should suffer themselues to be gouerned by his hand I saith he then haue planted thee a choyce vine that is to
notwithstanding they were Israels confederates should become their enemies yea that they were their enemies already By the top or crowne some vnderstand the Princes and heads of Israel but we may expound it according to our vsuall manner of speaking They shall breake or they shall rub or chafe thine head and this sense in my iudgement sutes best Now the reason followes why this came to passe Hath not this been done vnto thee saith he Others translate Hast not thou done this in the second person Howsoeuer the sense is all one And yet it seemes the opinion of others is better Hath not this been done vnto thee because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God In a word Ieremiah shewes that the falling away of the people was the cause of all their chastisements As if hee should haue said Such broth as you haue made euen such sup you off and know that thou canst not any way charge the Lord as being blame-worthy for he is ready to performe that which he hath promised did not thine owne impiety hinder him Neither hath God indeed chosen thee in vaine neither hath hee without cause preferred thee before all other nations onely thou hast reiected and put backe his benefits and liberality from thee Thus then thy condition had neuer been as now it is if thy selfe hadst not procured these euils to thy selfe And how is that Because saith he thou hast forsaken thy God And hee doth againe aggrauate the fault in saying In the time when hee led thee by the way To leade by the way is as much as to gouerne rightly and happily Thus the Prophet shewes that their disloyalty and backsliding was vtterly inexcusable in that they had reiected the worship and seruice of God for then things went prosperously forwards Had they been pressed with many tentations they might thus haue made their excuse wee thought our expectations should haue failed vs whilest we waited for deliuerance from the true God Why so Because hee with-held the signes of his presence from vs therefore necessity constrained vs at the least that which we haue done inconsiderately ought to be pardoned For what could we thinke else but that God had forsaken vs This obiection our Prophet heere preuents as in the fifth verse of this chapter What iniquity haue your fathers found in me And in another place O my people what haue I done vnto thee testifie against me Mich. 6.3 For God in that place is ready to iustifie his cause and to cleere himselfe of whatsoeuer accusations the people could charge him with So heere I haue lead thee by the way that is to say thou wert in good case being vnder my leading and gouernment and yet could neither my goodnesse nor louing kindnesse keepe thee in awe though I dealt graciously with thee no though thou knewest thou couldest no way better thine estate then to be vnder my custody yet thou louedst rather to follow after idols What excuse therefore hast thou now or what shew of excuse canst thou alleage for thy selfe We see then how the fault of the people is so much the more aggrauated because they then forsooke their God when they were no way forced thereunto by any tentation but being growne meerly disloyall they voluntarily gaue themselues to the seruice of idols Now this is confirmed in the verse following Vers 18. And what hast thou now to doe in the way of Egypt to drinke the water of Nilus or what makest thou in the way of Ashur to drinke the water of the riuer THe Prophet as I touched before confirmes that which I haue said namely that the people could not chalenge the Lord as being the author of their euils seeing the whole cause thereof rested in themselues And yet the fault is redoubled in regard they sought here and there after such remedies which profited them nothing at all by meanes whereof also they alwayes heaped new iudgements vpon their owne heads For we must vnderstand that their onely remedy in afflictions was to seeke reconciliation with God Simile For example if a sicke man knowes whence the cause of his sicknesse comes and afterward in stead of seeking fit remedies he betakes himselfe to some medecine which shall doe him no good but will rather be a meanes to encrease the malady will wee not iudge such an one worthy to perish seeing hee wittingly willingly reiected those remedies which would haue done him good to runne after vaine and deceiueable medecines thinking to find comfort by them This is the very thing which Ieremiah heere reprooues in the Israelites If thou carefully enquirest saith he whence so many afflictions proceed thou shalt find me guiltlesse and thine owne iniquities to bee the cause But what is now to bee done what course art thou now to take euen this bethinke thy selfe well how thou maist bee reconciled with me and how thou maist obtaine pardon endeauour to bee reuenged on thy selfe for thy wickednesse Thus shall thy plagues be soone remoued and by experience thou shalt find me the best physicion God the best physicion if thou thus addresse thy selfe vnto me But what doost thou now Thou trottest vp and downe hunting after vaine and deceiueable comforts Now thou fleest to Egypt and by and by to Assyria but by none of these meanes canst thou procure vnto thy selfe any benefit Now wee haue the Prophets meaning for hauing conuinced the Iewes of their impiety and hauing so caused them to vnderstand that they could neither ascribe the euils which they endured to God nor to Fortune no nor yet to any other causes he now shewes that the onely remedy and the best way to attain saluation is to returne into fauour with God But to runne hither and thither now into Egypt now into Assyria they therein discouered an euident signe of desperate folly Now this reprehension depends vpon the holy history For this people had one while the Assyrians their enemies an other while the Egyptians in regard there still happened great mutations and changes and God also laid diuers troubles and afflictions vpon them the better to awaken them out of their drowsinesse and security Sometimes he hissed for the Egyptians as wee shall see afterwards then hee caused his trumpet to sound into Assyria and all to certifie the Israelites that no peace was euer to be looked for till they quietly submitted themselues vnder Gods gouernment And yet the people reiecting this counsell were so blinded that when the Assyrians assailed them then they fled to Egypt that is to say they sought for succour of the Egyptians and made a league with them But if any change happened then they sought and desired to bee confederates with the Assyrians yea and often to purchase their friendship at a very deare rate This is that frensie then wherewith the Prophet heere taxeth them when he saith What hast thou to doe in the way of Egypt that is to say I pray thee what good gettest thou by it what
Prophet heere shewes the reason why he speakes so bitterly to them Because a man indeed would haue thought this an excessiue manner of speech to compare this people vnto a common strumpet who fiskes abroad into euery corner But this reason stood in stead of a thousand to take from them all shifts and euasions namely that it was to no purpose for them to rest vpon such broken reeds and deceiueable leaning stockes Why so Because they were accursed of God For had hee permitted them freely to haue vsed them then had they not been so sharply reprooued But seeing God had forbidden them to goe downe into Egypt this in the first place was an abominable confidence secondly it was a meanes to make them altogether carelesse of Gods assistance and as you would say to reiect all his promises For in as much as their affections were fast glued to the Egyptians they also imagined that in them their safety was secure By meanes whereof it came to passe that their prayers were not onely few and faint but they scarcely so much as vsed any at all Thus we see how the Prophet passeth not his bounds heere in this his vehement reprehension vttered against the Iewes in setting shame and ignominie before their eyes namely because they gaue that glory to the Egyptians which appertained vnto God making their account as if they had been the authors of their safety and thereby also they buried in obliuion yea contemned all the promises of God and vtterly neglected inuocation vpon his name The Lord then saith he abhors thy confidences In the next place he saith Neither shalt thou prosper thereby No good can come of that action that God approoues not This must bee diligently obserued namely that when we take ought in hand which God approoues not that no good can come vnto vs thereby Why so Because he will frustrate all our hopes Let vs know then that the Prophet sets a punishment before all vnbeleeuers who not contenting themselues with Gods protection wander in their vaine and idle confidences and had rather enioy the fauour and good liking of men than the fauour and loue of God Now it followes THE THIRD CHAPTER Vers 1. * or put the case And saying If a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and become another mans shall hee returne againe vnto her shall not this land heereby be polluted And thou thou hast played the harlot with many louers notwithstanding returne vnto me saith Iehouah MAny thinke this verse depends vpon the former so as they reade it ioyntly together God hath reiected thy crooked confidences See chap. 2.37 And saying c. But as I thinke this agrees not because Ieremiah heere begins a new speech namely God endeauours to reconcile this people euen as if a husband should desire to receiue an adulterous wife into his fauour againe meaning wholly to passe by her former faults and hereafter to esteeme of her as a chast and loyall wife Thus you see this verse cannot agree with that reproach which we saw before but the Hebrew word which is put heere in the beginning of this verse as I thinke signifies that which we haue in our vsuall speech as you would say or rather put the case For the Prophet brings not in God speaking heere but hee comes in with a common sentence and therefore he saith Put the case that a man put away his wife and she become another mans shall she returne againe to the first No for this is not the custome I therefore will shew my selfe more fauourable than any man whatsoeuer for I will be most ready to take thee againe prouided thou promise me for the time to come to carry thy selfe as an honest woman ought to doe to wit loyally towards me in renouncing all thy former loose and lewd behauiour You see there is no great difficulty in that which the Prophet meant to say nor in the summe of his speech For God here shewes that his wrath shall be appeased towards the Iewes if so be they proceed not on still in their vngodlinesse obstinately and rebelliously And the better to expresse this his clemency he vseth a similitude which ought aduisedly to be noted Before he said that hee held the place of an husband and that this people was vnto him in his account as a wife chap. 2.2 In the next place he bewailes their grieuous ingratitude and disloyalty in that they had thus forsaken him telling them it was all one as if a wife forsaking her husband should prostitute her selfe to all commers Heere he adds Behold if an husband put away his wife and she marry with another he would neuer entertaine such a wife againe into his fauour for hee was forbidden so to doe by the Law But see how ready I am notwithstanding to take thee againe albeit the diuorce came not as in respect of my fault For it was the custome of the husbands then to put away their wiues when there appeared in them any cause of dislike It is not a simple comparison as many thinke neither doe I know whether all follow this opinion for the expositors doe not so much as touch this exposition because God doth not simply heere compare himselfe with an husband that hath put away his wife for her lewdnesse but as I haue said there are two distinct members in regard the Iewes were wont to cashere their wiues for very light causes yea for such as were of no moment at all Now God speakes thus in Isaiah Isa 50.1 Shew me your bill of diuorce as if he should say I haue not put away your mother For at that time when any purposed to put away his wife he was liable by the law to the note of some ficklenesse For what I pray you was that bill of diuorcement but a testimony of the wiues chastity otherwise if the woman had been taken in adultery the husband needed not to send her away for shee was to suffer death Thus then adulterous women vsed not to be diuorced Leuit. 20.10 Deut. 22.21 Deut. 24.1 But if a mans wife had liued honestly with her husband and yet notwithstanding he meant to put her away hee was bound by the law to giue her a bill of diuorce on this manner I put away this woman not for breaking or violating the marriage band but because her personage or qualities are not to my liking Thus the husbands were obliged to incurre some note of inconstancy and therefore it is that the Lord saith in Isaiah Shew me the bill of your mothers diuorce as if he should say it is shee her selfe that hath cast me off it is she who by her whoredomes hath broken the sacred bond of marriage it is not I then that am the cause of this alienation God meant not heere then to signifie that he diuorced the people for that was a thing worthy of blame and therefore could not agree with Gods nature but as
them ouer as gracelesse and desperate people This is it which I conceiue touching the true and naturall meaning of this place And to the same purpose he also adds thou saith he wast able that is thou ceasedst not to adde sinne to sinne but gauest thy selfe ouer to the committing of iniquity Now it followes Vers 6. And the Lord said to me in the dayes of King Iosias what hath this lewd or disdainfull Israel done others translate This rebell shee is gone vpon euery high mountaine and vnder euery greene tree and there hath she played the harlot 7 And after she had done all these things I said Returne vnto me Others translate in the third person Shee will returne and she returned not as her rebellious sister Iudah saw 8 And I saw that for all this for all these occasions or causes to wit that rebellious Israel had played the harlot I forsooke her I put her away and gaue her the bill of ber diuorce and yet her disloyall sister Iudah feared not but shee went also and played the harlot HEre the Prophet begins a new speech for he recites that which God had giuen him in charge and withall notes the time to wit whilest Iosias raigned Now it is well knowne that in his dayes the land was purged from all sorts of superstitions For this good King endeauored to restore Gods pure worship and to abolish all the filthy corruptions wherewith the Temple and religion it selfe had been wholly infected and defiled He therefore manfully imployed himselfe in this businesse neither is it to be doubted but as touching the outward face of things religion and piety then seemed to flourish yet shall we see how in the greater part of the people hypocrisie and counterfait holinesse beare a great sway which often falls out when the heads and gouernours of countreys desire to maintaine the purity of Gods worship and to purge out the corruptions that haue crept in For ye shall euer see some which carry a faire shew for a time and yet in the meane while will not sticke to continue still in their obstinacy against God This was then the state of the Commons Which we are diligently to obserue because it might be thought that Ieremiah carried himselfe somewhat too harshly towards his nation for reformation was in euery mans mouth as the greater part of those at this day who at the beginning of reformation made goodly shewes of their readinesse to embrace the doctrine of the Gospell and yet after they had renounced all popish superstitions now willingly content themselues with a slight reformation wherein they glory But in the meane while they shift off Christs yoke and cannot endure to be subiect to the discipline of the Church In a word they could wish that all order and policy were ouerthrowne And yet for all this as oft as they are taxed for their sinnes they are ready to couer themselues with this faire pretext of reformation And doubtlesse Ieremiah had euen such in his time to deale withall This is the cause why he expreslly notes that he had this commission in the dayes of Iosias to wit euen then whilest the King bent himselfe to set vp Gods worship in the purity of it and whilest none durst contradict it for during this time wee may perceiue that God was called vpon with one consent without any outward superstitions But what is the summe of this message or ambassage Hast thou not seene saith he what this disdainfull Israel hath done God heere compares the ten Tribes with the kingdome of Iudah to which as we know was added halfe the Tribe of Beniamin hee compares Israel then with Iudah and saith Seest thou not what this rebellious Israel hath done Now he brings in the kingdome of Israel and Iudah vnder the person of a wife For as we haue seene heretofore God takes vnto himselfe the person of an husband in respect of the people Chap. 3.1 Thus then hee saith he hath had two wiues to wit Israel and Iudah I grant God had married to himselfe in one marriage the whole seed of Abraham But Ieremiah speakes heere by way of granting them so much For albeit the Israelites had reuolted from God yet had he not vtterly reiected them so the couenant held as yet in part In this sense hee acknowledgeth as well Israel as Iudah for his wiues Hee saith then Hast thou not seene what this disdainfull Israel hath done This word To disdaine or turne away is diuersly taken by the expositors but it may properly bee translated lewd or loose Desbauchée See saith hee how shee is gone vpon euery high mountaine and vnder euery greene tree c. The summe of Gods complaint heere is That the ten tribes haue falsified the faith of this holy marriage Why so Because they bowed before idols and that vpon euery high mountaine and vnder euery greene tree For as we haue said it was their custome to chuse out those places as if there had been some holinesse vpon the tops of the mountaines or vnder the shadow of the greene trees He therewithall adds Notwithstanding I said Vers 7. Gods meaning in these words is that he tarried long in suspending his iudgement before he chastised the people of Israel Heere therefore wee see the praise of his patience not onely in not proceeding in his wrath against the Israelites but also in that he forbare them and for a long time held his peace to see if they would come to amendment I said then after thou hadst committed all these things returne to me If wee reade this place in the third person the sense will be this I alwayes hoped well of their amendment and that they would at length returne againe into the right way albeit they had fallen so grosly yea notwithstanding they had so wickedly reiected me in reuolting from me and in forsaking their faith and and all piety But I rather encline to the contrary opinion namely that God heere shewes how his purpose was to recall and bring backe the ten Tribes by his seruants the Prophets notwithstanding they prouoked him to wrath and iealousie Thus then God meant heere to shew how the Israelites were bent to obstinacy and rebellion for he did but loose his labour though hee tooke such paines by all good meanes to bring them home to himselfe I take this word said then for the Prophets doctrine as if he should say Although the Israelites were plunged as it were ouer head and eares in their impieties yet left I no meanes vnattempted for all that to see if I could cause them to returne vnto me In a word he shewes how he resembled not those husbands which could neuer be brought in any sort to be reconciled with their wiues after they haue been prouoked to ielousie by the disgraces and wicked outrages which haue been offered them God hereby shewes then that albeit the Israelites had forsaken him yet he sent them his Prophets yea and
saith hee vpon the earth and behold I perceiued nothing but an horrible wracke and confusion that is there was no forme nor distinction that might giue the beholders any contentment because the Iewes had ouerturned the creation of the world as it were by their sinnes I also beheld the heauens and there appeared no light in them for the Iewes by their sinnes deserued to be depriued of that blessing which he hath put in the Sunne and in the Moone For what a singular fauour of God is it that he hath ordained so noble and excellent creatures to doe vs seruice In a word the Prophet meant to say that there appeared signes of Gods wrath both in the heauens and in the earth thereby to terrifie the world as if hee meant to make hauoke of all This manner of speech is also vsuall in the rest of the Prophets but especially in Ioel 2.2 where there is a notable place to this purpose And albeit they are hyperbolicall speeches yet doe they not exceed measure if we consider well what a dulnesse and slothfulnesse there is in mans nature For vnlesse God arme the heauens and earth against vs vnlesse he manifest by some euident signes that he is about to withdraw all his fauors from vs what doe we else but scorne all his threatnings as we said erewhile Vers 24. From the heauens Ieremiah descends to the mountaines and saith they trembled and that all the hils mooued or were shaken Others translate destroyed but I see no reason of it For doubtlesse the Prophet confirmes the same thing still by new phrases of speech Now as he testified that the mountaines trembled so he also adds that the hils shooke Yea and the proper signification of the verbe requires that we so translate it Now the reason why he mentions the mountaines and hils is plaine and euident for in these places there is a greater stability perceiued than in the plaines in regard the mountaine for the most part are replenished with quarries and are founded vpon rockes So as though all the world should faile and tumble on heapes yet it seemes the mountaines are so well founded that there is no appearance at all of any motion And yet the Prophet saith that euen these trembled and the little mountaines shooke Vers 25. In the third vision he speakes of a solitarinesse for hee saith he saw no man and all the birds of the heauens were flowen away The worlds chiefe ornament We know the first and chiefest ornament of this world consists in men and other liuing creatures For to what end should the earth haue such fruitfulnesse bestowed vpon it as to bring foorth such diuersity and such a quantity of good things but in regard of the vse of man and beast Although then that trees herbs and an infinite variety of fruites doe giue a wonderfull ornament and beauty to the earth yet doth her chiefest beauty consist in being replenished with men and beasts Vnder this word birds the Prophet also includes all the rest of the earthly creatures by the figure Synecdoche vnder it comprehending one kind for the whole He saith then that the earth was emptied of her inhabitants The fourth vision containes yet another thing namely Vers 26. that the fruitfull regions were conuerted into deserts albeit I thinke hee speakes properly heere of Carmel For wee know that this quarter of the holy land was thus called in regard of its fertility I grant that Carmel of it selfe signifies any fruitfull or fat soyle but as I haue said this region was so called because it abounded with all sorts of fruits For there were goodly pastures the fields there also yeelded great encrease so as this quarter was euery way replenished with all beauties aboue any of the rest You see the reason now why I willingly vnderstand this place of Carmel it selfe yea and I haue good warrant for it also for in the next words it followes that all the Cities were destroyed it is more likely then that this should be spoken of Carmel in particular then generally of all the regions and fruitfull places For mine owne part I thinke the Prophet speakes of Carmel yet so as he therin alludes to the signification of the word Carmel In this verse also there is a Synecdoch a part taken for the whole as if he should say Carmel which excelled in all fruitfulnesse and abundance yet became like a wast wildernesse When Isaiah speakes of the restauration of the Church he saith The desert shall be as Carmel as if he should say Isa 32.15 Gods blessings shall be so generally and plentifully powred out vpon the whole world that the deserts shall bee no lesse fruitfull than Carmel it selfe or the regions which for their fatnesse of soyle excelled all others But Ieremiah speaking heere of the curse saith that Carmel shall be as a wildernesse and that all the Cities shall be laid wast Why so Because of the face of the Lord and because of the kindling of his ire Others translate his furie which manner of speech hath his waight also For we said erewhile that if God thunder not as you would say to strike a terrour into mens hearts they are all senselesse neither feele they his iudgements so as all the threatnings in the world will profit them nothing at all This is the cause why the Scripture so often speakes of the fury or fiercenesse of Gods wrath or of the kindling of his ire One of these might haue sufficed Why then puts he both to wit the inflaming of his wrath Euen because as I haue said our obstinacy and hard-heartednesse may be wonne and broken as with the great blowes of an hammer otherwise God could not bow our hearts to his feare This repetition then ought to serue as a meanes to correct that rebellion which is in all of vs naturally Not as if God were subiect to disordered passions as wee know well enough but in regard we cannot otherwise perceiue how fearfull his vengeance is this is the cause why it behooueth him necessarily to present himselfe before our eyes as one angry and inflamed with wrath and indignation for which cause also we see that eternall death is represented out vnto vs vnder the metaphor of fier The summe of all As touching the summe and substance of this text no doubt but the Iewes at this time enioyed abundance of all sorts of good things and were now plunged in their delights In a word they enioyed but what they would and yet the Prophet aduertiseth them he saw that a farre off which these poore pur-blind Iewes could not see namely that Gods wrath approched that it was ready to seaze vpon them to consume them and all their riches and abundance which caused them as it were to burst with pride and to bring vpon them an vtter vastation so as from aboue and from beneath there should no more bee perceiued any appearance of beauty but all deformity
And hee repeates that which hee said when hee saith they refused to returne For hee signifies that they sinned not now through errour or ignorance neither were they gone astray through weaknesse but that voluntarily and of set purpose they cast off all care of their saluation and witttngly had forsaken the Lord so as they would suffer neither his word nor workes to take any place in them The Prayer Almighty God and heauenly Father for as much as Satan ceaseth not so to allure vs to himselfe by his enticements that wee become like those that are senselesse of thy iudgements grant vs the grace good Lord that thy word may shine into our minds and hearts that wee sleepe not in darknesse and therewithall so awaken vs by thy holy spirit that we may attentiuely hearken to all the aduertisements of thy holy Prophets by which thou callest vs into the right way that so wee perish not and grant that without ceasing wee may exercise our selues the whole course of our liues in the meditation of repentance that wee may alwayes be displeased in our selues for our sinnes that wee bee still iudging of our selues that thy wrath may bee turned away from vs till at the length being come to the end of our warfare which we are to wage continually against our sinnes wee may attaine that blessed rest which is prepared for vs in the heauens through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE NINTEENTH LECTVRE WHICH IS THE SECOND VPON THE fifth Chapter Vers 4. And I said certainly others translate peraduenture they are those of the poorer sort they haue done foolishly because they know not the way of the Lord the iudgment of their God 5 I will goe to the great ones and speake to them for they know the way of the Lord the iudgement of their God but these also haue broken the yoke and burst the bands WHereas some thinke the Prophet heere excuseth his nation and as much as in him is lessens their fault they are grosly deceiued For doubtlesse by this comparison he makes it yet more euidently appeare that things at that time were growne desperate The summe is this Corruptions raigned then not onely amongst the common people but euen among the great ones also so as from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot nothing was sound amongst them as they say There is a sentence somewhat like to this in Isaiah although in other words Chap. 28.7.8 For hauing there first inueyed against the whole nation in generall he taxeth the gouernours also You saith he are no lesse drunke than the common people I grant he affirmes it is through wine and strong drinke but the meaning is that they were all become like drunkards in regard they were past shame whilest without any modesty at all they gaue ouer themselues to the committing of all villanies and abominations Ieremiah hath the same drift heere when he saith I thought surely they are of the poorer sort and those of small reckoning that haue thus sinned but I found euen the Gouernours also guilty as well as they He might in a word haue said Not onely those of the common and baser condition are corrupt but the chiefe also and those that should haue giuen good example to the rest But this comparison hath farre greater waight when he saith It may be those that haue thus failed are some of the poore ones who are ignorant of the Law of God And what maruell But out of doubt we shall find greater integrity in the Gouernours When the Prophet speakes thus then hee brings the readers to the view of the present fact as it were and shewes that they were none of the rascality that had sinned but they were the Priests the Prophets and those of the chiefest ranke The Prophets meaning is plaine enough I said saith hee not that hee thought thus for he saw all things were out of square and that there was no more good to be hoped for of the Gouernours than of the gouerned The Prophet knew all this full well but as I said before he meant to shew as in a liuely image how miserable the condition of the whole nation was He saith certainly the word heere vsed in the Hebrew serues either for an affirmation or for a particle aduersatiue Although as wee saw in the third verse Some take it in this place for peraduenture It is put heere by way of yeelding so much Put the case saith he that they are those of the baser and beggerlier sort that haue sinned thus I wonder not that they haue carried themselues thus foolishly for they haue not knowne the way of the Lord nor the iudgement of their God The Law indeed was manifested to all indifferently so as the common sort were without excuse but this sicknesse hath raigned almost in all ages that few haue been attentiue to the law for who is it that doth not willingly reiect this yoke Now those of the meaner sort thinke to be somewhat excused because they want leisure to study neither are they borne to any great matters The Prophet then frames his stile according to the manner of men and yet he lessens not the fault if any would haue pretended ignorance As Oh sir I was neuer at the schooles For as we haue said God published his Law for the good of the whole nation in generall By the way of the Lord and by the iudgement of God the Prophet signifies one and the same thing It is a repetition then a thing very vsuall with the Hebrewes For when God prescribes vs the rule of a good life it is as much as if he shewed vs the way For our life resembles a race now God would not haue vs to runne at randome but sets vs vp a certaine marke He also leades vs by a certaine way because it is the office of the Law to call vs from wandring astray The office of the Law and to leade vs to the marke that is set before vs. For this cause the Law is called the way of the Lord but iudgement as we heard yesterday signifies vprightnesse or a rule He puts the way of the Lord in the first place and the iudgement of God in the second And thus he shewes Such as liue vnder good teaching cannot pretend ignorance he they neuer so meane or simple that such as esteeme themselues poore idiots that know nothing are yet without excuse For God meant no lesse to teach them the right way than the most learned in the world Now he adds in vers 5. I will goe to the great ones By the great hee vnderstands as well the Priests and Prophets as the Kings councell yea the King himselfe I will goe then to the great ones and speake to them which is as much as if he had said I know I shall but loose my labour which way soeuer I goe for they are all not onely deafe if I direct my speech to the poore commons but euen
* A consultation or talking communicatio For God meant after a sort that his aduerse party against whom hee pleads should be iudge of the cause yet as of a matter already out of question Now this is a signe that one is very confident of his cause and therefore when the Rhetoritians meane to shew that the cause is cleere and manifest which they propound they consult with their aduerse party thus What Doe I not propound the matter plainly vnto thee as it is Canst thou any way gainsay it Put the case thou mightest haue liberty and power to bee iudge thy selfe would not reason it selfe constraine thee to speake after this manner Euen thus God also shewes that he is forced as it were of necessity to punish and chastise the Iewes thus rigorously testifying that he can doe no lesse See to this purpose vers 9. If I saith he bee the Iudge of all the world shall those that prouoke me thus to my face goe vnpunished should I not expose my glory to open contempt should I not also dispoyle my selfe of my power I should cease to be that I am and should in a manner renounce my selfe if I should not punish so desperate and rebellious a people Now wee haue the Prophets meaning Others supply a letter heere and take one for another and thus they translate Not vpon this But nothing constraining vs to change ought and that many also subscribe to this exposition I had rather follow that which is most receiued The Word which the Prophet vseth in the Hebrew signifies where but oftentimes it is taken for how For it must not bee vnderstood heere as hauing respect to a place but to the matter How then saith he should I pardon thee for this Wee see how God consults with his aduerse party making themselues as it were the iudges As if he should say Answere mee say that I should giue you authority and leaue to name and appoynt the chastisement which you haue deserued can I who am the Iudge of the world pardon so hatefull impieties For thy children haue forsaken me this is the first sinne Now when God complaines he was forsaken his meaning is that the people had wittingly and willingly reiected the yoke for the like could not haue been affirmed of the profane nations I grant if we haue respect to the beginning soone after the creation all may bee condemned of forsaking of God and of reuolting from him in regard he manifested himselfe to Adam and to the sonnes of Noah and when they fell afterwards into superstitions they were therein guilty of Apostasie But the reuolt of the Iewes was much more later and therefore lesse tolerable and especially seeing they gloried much of the title of Gods people what pretext or colour of ignorance could they alleage We see now then what the Prophet meanes when hee saith God was forsaken of this people Then he adds and haue sworne by that which is not God See vers 2. Vnder one part he notes that Gods seruice was peruerted and corrupted in regard an oth as wee said yesterday is a part or one kind of Gods seruice For as oft as we sweare by the name of God we thereby make protestation of our subiection vnder his authority and that wee cannot escape vnpunished if we lie Secondly wee attribute vnto him this honour that he is true Thirdly we thereby also professe that nothing is done without his priuity but that all things are manifest before him When hee saith heere then that the Israelites sware by that which was not God he meanes they spoyled God of his right No doubt but they were culpable of other sinnes but as wee haue said vnder one kind the Prophet comprehends all those superstitions which at that time had full swinge amongst the people It is as much then as if he had said they worshipped idols and the gods which their owne hands had forged He adds a circumstance which aggrauates their crime Now I haue filled them saith he to the full and they haue committed adultery There is a certaine kind of correspondency in the Prophets words which hath great grace but we cannot expresse it well in our language Hee said before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sabeu that is to say they sware now he saith Sebea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I haue filled them There is no difference betweene the words God filled this people to the ful and they sweare one poynt onely excepted for if you place the pricke on the left hand it signifies to fill if on the right it signifies to sweare therefore the Prophet saith they sware notwithstanding they were filled And heere God notes out the detestable ingratitude of the Iewes in that being repleat with the abundance of all good things euen till their skins cracked as it were yet they acknowledged not him who was so liberall and louing a father vnto them I haue filled them saith he and they haue committed adultery Now this place shewes that such are least worthy to obtaine pardon as sinne with an high hand after God hath drawne them to himselfe by his fatherly goodnesse and clemency When men then play the wild colts after this manner despiting God whilest he so graciously forbeares them no doubt but such treasure vp wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 as Saint Paul saith in the second to the Romans and therefore wee ought to take diligent heed when God dandles vs in his lap as you would say that we flatter not our selues nor suffer our prosperous estate to pricke vs forward to such intemperancy A profitable lesson as to cast the doores off the hookes as they say But when God vouchsafes so graciously to allure and draw vs to him let vs learne willingly to subiect our selues vnto him and whilest he shewes himselfe so amiable let vs learn to carry our selues amiably towards him He saith they committed adultery This may bee taken metaphorically but because in the next verse he inueyes vehemently against loosenesse and adulteries we may expound this according to the letter as they say And yet I thinke it to be a similitude when he saith they committed whoredome in regard there was no spirituall chastity in them howsoeuer the Lord for his part laboured to keepe them within compasse He saith and in the house of the harlot they assembled This may be taken as if the Iewes were tearmed the harlots house as if he should say The whole City of Ierusalem and the land of Iudeah is no better than a stewes Others notwithstanding expound it that they assembled as into the harlots house and thus he should allude to their Temple Now it is a signe of impudencie when many adulterers and whormasters assemble together in an house For you shal haue many that are ashamed to haue their whoredomes knowne they are carefull therefore to couer their villanies as much as they can But when they flocke in by heaps
according as the toy takes them in the head and their strength being well spent yet cease they not still to hold on their course for they take their lust for a law Now we haue the Prophets meaning He saith Who can stay her As if he should say the people cannot be restrained nor brought back to any meane Why so because all their senses are fore-stalled with this fury or rage rather It followes No man will wearie himselfe shee will at the last be found in her moneth All the expositors agree in this that her moneth is heere taken for the time in which shee is ready to foale as if he should say After the wild Asses be once big and that their foaling time approacheth then are they constrained to be quiet by reason of their heauie burthen and then it is no masterie to take them because they want that agility of body which they had at the first for they carry their young ones in their belly And thus the Prophet shewes how the people resembles wild Asses in regard no instruction whatsoeuer could either keepe them in or moderate their intemperancie onely the time of their bringing forth must be obserued Application of this similitude to the Iewes Two parts of this verse Now we are to see how this similitude is to be applied to this people This verse containes two parts the first whereof as I haue said shewes that the people could not possibly be bowed by any wholsome admonitions neither would they obey good counsell but were transported with inraged lust as with the wind of occasion or as with the wind which is first met withall Now there being such an obstinacy in them God heere threatens the hypocrites to come in such a time wherein they shall be tame enough and that he will still these their violent courses How The time of trauell will approach that is to say when at the length you shall haue conceiued many iniquities the burthen thereof will stop you Now he signifies the time of his iudgement as if he should say You must not be handled like men that are in their wits or of sound iudgement for you are wild beasts that cannot be tamed What remaines then Euen as the wild Asse is burthened with the waight which she beares in her belly when the time of her foaling comes so in the end saith he will I cause you to feele the waight of your iniquities which will prooue too heauie for you to beare and indeed will ouerwhelme you And yet if so be your obstinacy be such that it can no way be reclaimed my hand notwithstandihg shall bee sufficient to curbe you For seeing you will not bow nor submit your selues to my doctrine I will crush you to pieces Now then we haue the scope of this similitude as also how it ought to be applied to this people and lastly what profit we may make of it that liue in these times We will reserue the rest for to morrow The Prayer Almighty God seeing it hath pleased thee to deliuer vs from vnder the tyranny and power of Satan to subiect vs vnder thy yoke gouerne vs also we pray thee by the spirit of teachablenesse obedience and meeknesse so as wee may willingly submit our selues all our liues long vnto thee and that from vs thou maist reape that fruit which wee haue receiued from thee by our redemption and in such wise may renounce our sinnes that notwithstanding the same wee may wholly apply our minds to serue and please thee as seruants of righteousnesse till at the length hauing finished the good fight of faith wee may bee gathered into that happy rest which is purchased for vs by the blood of thy only Sonne Amen THE EIGHTH LECTVRE WHICH IS THE FOVRTH VPON THE second Chapter Vers 25. Keepe thy foot from being vnshod that is put not off thy shooes and thy throat from thirst but thou saidst desperately no I haue loued strangers and them will I follow THis sentence of the Prophet is so concise and short that the breuity of it at the first blush makes it seeme difficult but obserue in a word that hee meant to say it was impossible in any sort to correct this wild people albeit God vsed all the meanes hee could by his seruants the Prophets to appease such a furious rage wherewith they were carried away after their superstitions and idols God therefore in this first member shewes what course he tooke with them for all the exhortations and sermons of the Prophets tended to no other end but to keepe the people quiet vnder Gods gracious protection But he vseth other termes Keepe backe thy foot saith he from being vnshod and thy throat from thirst For as soone as they perceiued any danger towards they ranne now into Egypt then into Assyria as wee haue seene before See Vers 18. God heere complaines of this folly in that they obeyed not the counsell he gaue them which was for their benefit and saluation For if God had commanded them to haue fled towards the East or West their replies would haue been ready The way is too long and tedious for vs but God onely willed them to keepe them quiet and still at home what a fury was it then in them not to wait patiently for his succour but to vexe themselues and that for nothing Isaiah saith in a manner as much but not in the very same words For hee expostulates the matter with them Isa 30.5.7 that they refused no trauell albeit they might haue been sustained by Gods immediate hand without fetching such vagaries We now haue the Prophets meaning For in the first place he shewes that the people were timely admonished but they were so farre fore-stalled with their peruerse counsels that they would giue the Prophets no audience This therefore was a vile ingratitude in that they would not stay at home quietly but rather chose to take any paines whatsoeuer though it were vtterly fruitlesse This is your rest saith Isa 30.15 but you would not Who desires not peace and to be at rest All men will confesse it is one of the greatest benefits that can naturally be wished or desired and yet the Prophet heere affirmes the people esteemed it not It must needs thereupon follow then that they were become vtterly senselesse in neglecting that which euery man naturally desires which also is ingrauen as it were in euery mans breast But the Prophet not onely thus teacheth the people but hee after a sort puts them also in mind of that which was spoken before by Isaiah Micah and the rest of the Prophets For God had often exhorted them to be still and therfore the Prophet now enueyes against their ingratitude in that they suffered themselues to be so transported and carried away by their vnruly passions which was the cause they reiected so singular a fauour and benefit as God then offered them Let vs obserue then that the Prophet repeats that which the other
Prophets had taught before Keep backe thy foot saith he from being vnshod that is put not off thy shooes Others translate from nakednesse because in long iourneys they wore out their shooes But for mine owne part I rather thinke it ought to be referred to their ordinary custome because they were wont to walke bare-foot Keepe thy foot then from being vnshod and thy throat from thirst we all know that drought is a thing which molests men much Thus then the Prophet heere corrects the peoples folly for suffering themselues to be so violently ouercarried with their wicked lusts that they procured thirst to themselues by their long iourneys In regard then that God required nothing of them but to spare their paines their fault is redoubled in that they refused to follow such wholesome counsell and aduice For as I said before if God had required ought of them that might hardly haue beene performed they might haue had some shew of excuse but seeing hee demanded nothing of them but to rest patiently and meekly in tranquility at home they were able to say nothing for themselues and therefore he saith thou saidst desperately no. Here the Prophet shewes how the people on the contrary were rebellious and headstrong in that they proudly scorned such sweet and amiable admonitions In the first place they say there is no hope the verbe in Hebrew signifies to be desperate and thereupon they say It is a thing desperate vnlesse any had rather translate It is a wearisome thing which sense agrees not ill as if they should say I am but too much vexed in vaine so as my wearinesse aduertiseth me to sit still No. The Prophet speakes concisely the better to expresse the stubborne behauiour of this people in saying the thing is desperate it is all one as if they had cast all admonitions and exhortations farre away from them he afterwards adds he will doe nothing There is no verbe in the Hebrew but this cutted manner of speech hath more efficacy in it as I haue said and doth more fully set forth the peoples pride and rebellion Isaiah on the contrary complaines of them in chap. 57.10 for not saying It is done there is no more hope and thus it seemes that Isaiah and Ieremiah should contradict one another for Ieremiah heere reprooues the people for saying there is no hope Obiect and Isaiab because they said it not Answ But the Iewes in answering here thus cuttedly The thing is desperate meant to say the Prophets doe but loose their labour in regard they purposed to prosecute that which they had taken in hand to the vttermost These words therefore How Ieremiah and Jsaiah may be reconciled touching their diuers manner of speaking the thing is desperate shewes what a desperate rebellion there was in the people for they giue vs to vnderstand that they could neuer be reclaimed and therfore plainly and without many circumlocutions auouch The thing is desperate But Isaiah reprooues the people because they said not There is no hope that is in regard that by long experience their folly was not conuinced For hauing often trotted downe into Egypt and then into Assyria God gaue them to vnderstand by their owne experience how vnaduised they were They might well haue concluded then by the things they had seene that God disappointed them of their hope to bring them to a change of their purposes Isaiah therefore rightly saith that the Iewes were growne too sottish because they neuer ceased to follow their blind obstinacy and yet perceiued not that God as you would say had set barres and obstacles in their way thereby causing them to change their course to recoyle backe and to forsake those vaine hopes wherwith they had been seduced Now wee see then what a good agreement there is betweene these two Prophets albeit their manners of speaking bee diuers Ieremiah brings in the Iewes heere speaking thus cuttedly to set forth their obstinacy There is no hope that is to say O ye Prophets ye cease not still to dull our eares with your admonitions but it is to no purpose for wee are resolued what to doe neither can any euer bee able to reclaime vs. Isaiah he accuseth the peoples madnesse in that albeit they had oft been deceiued both by the Assyrians and Egyptians yet they knew not that such experiences were to bring them home into the right way and that they were too headstrong in following their wicked enterprises As touching this place which now we handle we see what the Prophet meant to say to wit that God louing and graciously exhorted the Iewes with quiet mindes to rest themselues content with his succour and yet they were not onely stubbornly rebellious but with haughty and proud spirits reiected this fauour which God vouchsafed to tender vnto them Now it followes For I haue loued strangers and them will I follow He amplifies the peoples fault in regard they were giuen to follow strange gods Hee also still continues on the same similitude which we mentioned before For as God on his part had taken this people into his safeguard so were they also bound in such sort vnto him that it was now become an holy and sacred band and vnion betweene God and them euen like to that wherewith the wife is bound to her husband by the band of marriage Ieremiah then in this place prosecutes this similitude and saith the Church was become like a shamelesse and wicked strumpet in regard shee would not vouchsafe to giue eare to her husbands admonitions albeit hee endeauoured thereby to seeke reconciliation with her But if a wife should deale thus with her husband in reiecting his counsell being ready to returne into fauour with her and to passe by all her former offences were she not become vtterly desperate Thus the Prophet then shewes how this people were growne to such a wofull and incurable impiety that they stopped their eares whilest God so graciously and gently called them to repentance and withall hauing browes of brasse proudly vaunted that as they had loued idols so them would they follow albeit therein they reiected the onely true God It followes Vers 26. As the thiefe is ashamed when he is found so is the house of Ifrael made ashamed their Kings their Princes their Priests and their Prophets OThers translate it in the future tence so shall they bee confounded and their opinion is that the Prophet heere mentions the punishment which was now at hand to be inflicted vpon the people But I rather expound the words simply as they sound namely their impiety is now become so odious that there needs not much rhetorick to discipher it out because it was already growne so palpable that a man might feele it as it were with his finger See chap. 5.26 The Prophet then compares the Iewes to theeues which are taken with the manner as if he should say the hypocrites that are mingled amongst this people gaine little by their cauils and euasions