20 voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my foul. Remember that I ftood before thee to fpeak good for them, [and] to turn away thy wrath from them tho' I denounced it; fince they are incorrigible, I will not any more intercede.-The three last verfes are the prophet's prediction concerning his enemies, rather than his im21 precation. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the fword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put to death; [let] their young men [be] flain by the fword 22 in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houfes, when thou shalt bring a troop fuddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid fnares for my Yet, LORD, thou knoweft all their counfel against me to flay [me:] forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their fin from thy fight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal [thus] with them in the time of thine anger; they shall not efcape the punishment due to their fins.

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REFLECTION S.

ET us reverence the abfolute power and fovereignty of God. We meet with frequent comparifons in fcripture relating to this, which are very beautiful and ftriking. The potter can mould the clay into what form he pleases: fo has God abfolute power over his creatures. Our times, and the events of our lives, are in his hand. In his hand are the fates of nations: and therefore we must not difpute his will; but be content with the ftations and circumstances in which he places us.

2. Tho' God be abfolutely powerful, yet he is unchangeably juft. His fovereignty is not that arbitrary thing which many people have fuppofed. God does not fay, Because I have your fates in my hand, therefore I will break or raise you, according to my will, without any other regard: but, if a nation repent, and become obe dient, I will fave them out of the deepest distress: if they

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go on in fin, I will deftroy them when they think themfelves most fecure. The diftinction is very plain, and very important. God diftributes his favours as he pleases, for he is a debtor to no man. But he never punishes by prerogative; or where there is not guilt to deserve it; and in the final diftribution of rewards and punishments, he will render to every man according to his works.

3. Let us lament the prodigious ftupidity and obftinacy of finners. No wonder that God calls the conduct of Ifrael a horrible thing. They would not give heed to any of Jeremiah's words; but, right or wrong, were determined to act contrary to them. They would not fo much as promise to reform; but would follow their own lufts and devices and they encouraged one another to do fo. This is the cafe of many under a christian name; and rather than part with their fins, they will fmite, with their tongue at least, the prophets who reprove them. But God will bring upon them the judgments they defpife, and overwhelm them with everlasting destruction.

4. It will be a great fatisfaction to us, when cenfured and reproached, to be confcious that we have not deserved it: but that, on the contrary, we have wifhed well and erl deavoured to do kindness to those who have cenfured us. This is an amiable part of Jeremiah's character, v. 20, and fhows, that his imprecations did not proceed from a malicious, revengeful fpirit, but were prophetic denunciations. Thus let us bless them that curfe us, and pray for thofe that defpitefully use us; rendering bleffing for curfing. This will be our rejoicing in the day of evil. Be not overcome of evil, but avercome evil with good.

CHA P. XIX.

By the fignificant type of breaking the potter's veffel, Jeremiah is directed to predict the deftruction of Judah and Jerufalem. The prophets frequently taught by fymbolic actions, as well as by words.

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HUS faith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, or veel, and [take] of the antients of the people, and of the antients of the priests; that is, the elders of the people, fome of the great council, 2 and the heads of the courses of the priests; And go forth unto the valley of the fon of Hinnom, which [is] by the entry of the eaft gate, and proclaim there the 3 words that I fhall tell thee, And fay, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerufalem, that is, the princes of the blood, and chief magiftrates; Thus faith the LORD of hosts, the God of Ifrael; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whofoever heareth, his ears fhall tingle; So dreadful will it be that it shall astonish and terrify every one. 4 Because they have forfaken me, and have eftranged this place, this holy city, the place of my refidence, and have burned incenfe in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; have improved upon their fathers' idolatry, and the wickedness of former kings, and facrificed their children 5 to Molech, or the fun; They have built alfo the high places of Baal, another name for the fun, to burn their fons with fire [for] burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor fpake [it,] neither came [it] into my mind, but which I expressly forbade, Deut. xii. 31. 6 Therefore, behold, the days come, faith the LORD, that this place fhall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the fon of Hinnom, but The valley of 7 flaughter. And I will make void the counfel of Judah and Jerufalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the fword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcafes will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beafts of the earth; they shall be defeated and deftroyed, and fee the vanity of thofe contrivances by which 8 they thought to escape my judgments. And I will make this city defolate, and an hiffing; every one that paffeth thereby fhall be aftonished and hifs becaufe of all 9 the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the

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flesh of their fons and the flesh of their daughters, and they fhall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the fiege and straitnefs, wherewith their enemies, and they Io that seek their lives, fhall ftraiten them. Then fhalt thou break the bottle, or vessel, in the fight of the men I that go with thee, And fhalt fay unto them, Thus faith the LORD of hofts; Even fo will I break this people and this city, as [one] breaketh a potter's veffel, that cannot be made whole again: and they fhall bury [them] in Tophet, till [there be] no place to bury. 12 Thus will I do unto this place, faith the LORD, and to

the inhabitants thereof, and [even] make this city as 13 Tophet, a place of flaughter and burials: And the houses of Jerufalem, and the houfes of the kings of Judah, fhall be defiled, by reason of the dead bodies there unburied, as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whofe roofs they have burned incenfe unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink 14 offerings unto other gods. Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had fent him to prophefy, and he ftood in the court of the LORD's houfe; and faid to all the people, to fome of the priests that would not go with him, or could not leave the temple, and to the people, probably at the hour of facrifice, when many were 15 affembled, Thus faith the LORD of hosts, the God of Ifrael; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns, the other cities of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

Probably fome had made a jeft of the representation in the former chapter, faying, We have been made and hardened long ago, and fhall not be eafily broken. But the prophet was now to break the veffel in their fight, to reprefent their utter deftruction.

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Jofiah had defiled this place, by burning dead men's bones there: the filth of the city alfo was carried into it, and a fire kept burning to confume it. Such was the ftate of Tophet when this meffage was delivered. What a dreadful reprefentation of Jerufalem and the other cities which fhould be made like it! Hence it came to be used as an emblem of hell.

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REFLECTION S.

OW kind is God to take fo many methods to prevent the ruin of finners. Judgments were to be plainly threatened by Jeremiah, and the causes of them specified. This fermon was to be preached at Tophet, that their imaginations might be struck with the horrible scene before their eyes. So unwilling was a gracious God to leave any method untried, that might awaken these stupid people. And he still bears with finners; commands his minifters to urge every topic and argument likely to influence them; and has appointed fome facramental figns, the more deeply to imprefs their minds. So unwilling is he that any fhould perish; and fo inexcufable will be the guilt of finners if all has no effect.

2. It becomes the greatest of men to pay a ferious regard to all divine meffages. The princes, priefts, and elders of Judah, (tho' it appears that they hated and despised Jeremiah) had yet such a sense of decency and regard to the meffage from God, that they followed him to Tophet. Thus fhould those who are most refpectable for age, wealth, and station, reverence the word of God, and attend upon his inftitutions. Their own falvation depends upon it; and their example will have great influence upon others. If fuperiors allow themselves to fhow any flight to divine ordinances, their inferiors will pay no regard to them: and thus the little religion which is left among us, may foon be quite loft.

3. Whatever the counsel and opinion of wicked men may be, God will defeat them, and fulfil his own threatenings to the uttermoft. This is frequently repeated; viz. that God will do all that he has declared; and bring about all the evil he has pronounced. His judgments will be found to be as dreadful as his word declares them to be, whether men will believe it or not. They think him to be fuch an one as themselves: that he forgets what he has threatened, or will not fully execute it. But God is faithful, and cannot deny himself. Let us therefore never harden our hearts; but diligently hear and obey his word: fo shall

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