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I.

be blown, and they fhall come which were ready to perish in the land of Affyria, and the outcafts in the land of Egypt, and fhall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerufalem; referring to Cyrus's proclamation for liberty; or the general alarm and fummons to the congregations of Ifrael, who were gathered together by trumpets, and has a reference to their converfion in the latter day.

WE

REFLECTION S.

E have reafon to rejoice in God's care of the church, amidst all its dangers and diftreffes. It is valuable in itself, and dear to him. Many attempts have been made to hurt and destroy his vineyard, or to prevent its fruitfulness; but he guards it with a watchful eye, and waters it by his ordinances, his word, and fpirit, without which it would wither. If its enemies combine against it, he has a great and strong fword with which to punish them. We should therefore triumph in the fecurity of the church, and encourage ourselves in the Lord its God, when it seems to be in the greatest danger; and earneftly pray, that that part of the vineyard with which we are connected may be daily kept and watered by him.

2. We see what encouragement there is for finners to return to God. They are enemies to him, and he is angry with them: but peace may be made; and it is of the utmost importance that it be made in time. It becomes them to humble themselves before God, that the ftroke of his mighty hand may be averted, and his ftrength employed for their defence and happiness. Fury is not in him, or who could stand? He is willing to be reconciled; fo that if finners continue enemies to him, it is their own fault, and he will deftroy them as eafily and entirely as fire does briers and thorns. Agree then with thine adverfary quickly, and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto thee.

3. We are again taught the nature and defign of affliction. The end of God in his corrections is to take away fin, to lead men to put away their iniquities with fhame and deteftation, and never return to them any more. Then our afflictions do us good when they purge away our in

quity and therefore when we are afflicted we should fearch and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. To good men God moderates afflictions, prunes them in measure and mercy, and tempers the fury of the ftorm. Afflictions are quite different in their effects upon good and bad men; they are not smitten alike, tho' it may feem fo to us. God's intentions to his children are friendly; all fhall iffue well, and work together for their good.

4. How vain are all thofe hopes of finners which are only grounded on the mercy of God and his being their creator. It is very common for men to express a hope of being faved because God is their creator, and because he it merciful; while they go on in their trespasses, and are deftitute of repentance and faith. But if that mercy be not earnestly fought, and thofe fins put away which difqualify them from being the objects of it, they will not find it: and tho' God formed them, yet as they do not answer the end for which they were made, but daily affront their Maker, he will show them no favour. Let us then not deceive ourselves, but labour to be wife, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and be stedfaft and immoveable in our obedience to it.

CHAP. XXVIII.

The prophecies in this and the following chapters, to the thirtieth, relate principally to the invasion of Judea by Sennacherib; but are not arranged in the order they were delivered.

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W Ephraim, whofe glorious beauty [is] a fading

OE to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of

flower, which [are] on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! that is, woe to the proud kingdom of the ten tribes, among whom drunkenness much prevailed; Samaria, fo beautifully fituated on a hill, with a fine vale below it, fhall be destroyed by the Affyrians. 2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and ftrong one, [which] as a tempeft of hail [and] a destroying storm, as a food of mighty waters overflowing, fhall caft down

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to the earth with the hand; as eafily as an earthen vessel 3 is dafbed to the ground. The crown of pride, the drun4 kards of Ephraim, fhall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty, which [is] on the head of the fat valley, fhall be a fading flower, [and] as the hafty fruit before the fummer; it shall be as easily and quickly destroyed as early fruit; or it may be rendered, the glorious beauty on their head, that is, the garland, Shall be a fading flower, and the fat valley fhall be as hafty fruit, that is foon ripe and foon destroyed: which [when] he that looketh upon it feeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. 5 In that day fhall the LORD of hofts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the refidue of his people, Judah fhall enjoy his favour and protection, 6 And for a fpirit, of judgment to him that fitteth in judgment, and for ftrength to them that turn the battle to the gate; Hezekiah and his counsellors fhall be wife, fhall repel the invaders, and carry the war into the country of

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their enemies.

But they also have erred through wine, and through ftrong drink are out of the way; Judah alfo is guilty of this deteftable crime of drunkennefs; the priest and the prophet have erred through ftrong drink, they are fwallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through ftrong drink; they err in vifion, they ftumble [in] 8 judgment; they neither teach nor judge aright. For all tables are full of vomit [and] filthiness, [fo that there 9 is] no place [clean.] Whom fhall he, that is, any man, teach knowledge? and whom fhall he make to underftand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breaft; notwithstanding their advantages they are but like children learning their first rudi10 ments. For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; the fame things must be often inculcated upon them, in the plainest manner, and yet all in 11 vain: For with ftammering lips and another tongue

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X

will he fpeak to this people; he will fend foreign enemies 12 among them, whofe language they fhall not understand. To whom

The apoftle applies this to the abufe of the gift of tongues, which

made that a curfe which was intended for a blessing.

whom he faid, This [is] the reft [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to reft; and this [is] the refreshing; tho' he had told them their duty often and plainly, had given them great encouragement, and had promised them rest ana 13 refreshment, yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and fnared, and taken; rẻjetting God's word and defpifing his methods of inftruction, 14 will be the caufe of their calamity. Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye fcornful men, that rule this people which [is] in Jerufalem; ye chief magistrates, that 15 Scorn my threatenings. Becaufe ye have faid, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; we have taken as effectual methods to fecure ourselves from danger, as if we had done fo; when the overflowing fcourge fhall pass through, it fhall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falfehood, that is, idols and foreign alliances, have we hid ourselves.

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Therefore thus faith the Lord GOD, I will direct you to a furer refuge, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a ftone, a tried ftone, a precious corner [ftone,] a fure foundation: he that believeth fhall not make hafte; fball not hurry to and fro, shall not be confounded.

Judgment alfo will I lay to the line, and righteoufness to the plummet; that is, I will deal with you in strict justice; an allufion to builders: and the hail fhall fweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters fhall overflow the hiding place; my judgments fhall be like a storm of hail, 18 or a flood that carries all before it. And your covenant with death fhall be difannulled, and your agreement with hell fhall not ftand; when the overflowing fcourge fhall pass through, then ye fhall be trodden down by 19 it; it fhall fuddenly overwhelm you like an inundation. From the time that it goeth forth it fhall take you: for morning by morning fhall it pafs over, by day and by night. and it fhall be a vexation only [to] understand the report; when you think you have put it by, it shall turn again with greater fury: even the report of its coming upon others

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Shall vex you, and occafion painful fears. Some render it, nothing but vexation will make you understand inftruction. 20 For the bed is fhorter than that [a man] can stretch himself [on it:] and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself [in it.] A proverbial expression, as if he had faid, All your ftratagems and confederacies shall 21 fail. For the LORD fhall rife up as [in] mount Perazim, where David flew the Philistines, he shall be wroth as [in] the valley of Gibeon, where Joshua deftroyed the Canaanites, that he may do his work, his ftrange work; and bring to pass his act, his ftrange act; when God's profeffing people are hypocrites, he will treat them as he used to do their enemies; though this is ftrange work, difagreeable to him, and fuch as his people hath not been used to feel, yet 22 it is necessary. Now therefore be ye not mockers, left your bands be made ftrong; left you be brought under a foreign yoke: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hofts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth, or the whole land, that is, against the two remaining tribes, as well as the ten which I have prophefied against before. The prophet then concludes with a beautiful parable; which is defigned to fhow, that as the husbandman has times and methods for ploughing and manuring the ground, fowing and threshing the grain, and the like, fo God has feafons of mercy and judgment, and takes different measures for amendment or destruction.

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Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear 24 my fpeech. Doth the ploughman plough all day, or every day, to fow? doth he every day open and break the 25 clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and caft in the principal wheat and the pointed barley, or, the wheat in the principal place, and barley in the appointed place, and the rye in their place? 26 For his God doth inftruct him to difcretion, [and] 27 doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing inftrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod; different kinds of threshing inftruments are used, according to the kind and

Strength

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