I. REFLECTIONS. WE muft acknowledge that it is just in God to take away those privileges which men abuse. Ifrael had many glorious advantages above other nations, but they grew carelefs, difobedient, and prefumptuous; therefore God was righteous in taking them away. He deftroyed the tabernacle, which they had neglected; made the ways of Zion mourn, which they had forfaken, he caused the folemn feasts and sabbaths to ceafe, which they had deferted and profaned; he took away the prophets, whom they had ill treated, and the law, which they had forgotten. Let us take warning by this; for if we do not value and improve our chriftian privileges, God will take them away. Let us remember, whence we have fallen, and repent, left he come quickly and take his candlestick from us. 2. In God's dealings with his church, it is good to take notice of the accomplishment of his word. This Ifrael is often reminded of, that the Lord hath done what he hath proposed and devised, and fulfilled the word which he commanded in the days of old. There is a conftant agreement between the declarations of God's word, and the events of his providence; and the more carefully we compare them together, the greater reason we fhall fee to acknowledge that his judgments are right, and to be afraid of his juft indignation. 3. The want of faithfulness and plainness in christian minifters, is one fource of national calamities. It is their duty to discover to men their iniquities, and to fhow them their fins, in order to prevent their everlasting banishment from God and happiness. If they flatter them, and addrefs them as if all was well, when they know, or have reason to believe, that they are yet in their fins, they are falfe prophets, are acceffary to the ruin of fouls, and endanger their own falvation. We fhould therefore allow them to deal plainly with us, because they are thereby confulting our happiness, as well as difcharging their own duty. 4. Prayer ought to be our bufinefs, and will be our best relief in time of trouble. An inftructive view is here given us of the nature of prayer, and that fervency in it which we ought to manifeft, v. 19. It is crying to the Lord, lifting up the hands toward him, with earneftness and importunity, pouring out the heart like water; fo free and full and particular fhould our fupplications be. Is any man afficted, let him thus pray; ftir up himself to take hold on God; and he will in the best time and way deliver him out of all his diftreffes. CHA P. III. The prophet in this chapter encourages the people to refignation, and to trust in the divine mercy; he vindicates the goodness of God in all his difpenfations, and the unreasonableness of murmuring under them; he recommends felf-examination and repentance; and then, from their experience of former deliverances, encourages them to look to God for the pardon of their fins, and retribution to their enemies. The chapter is poetical, like the former; but as may be feen by the length of the verfes, is of different measure: it contains twenty two periods, according to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet; and each period contains three verses, which have all the fame initial letter. man [AM] the man [that] hath feen affliction by the rod of his wrath; reprefenting the cafe of his country as 2 his own. He hath led me, and brought [me into] 3 darkness, but not [into] light. Surely againft me is he turned, he who was formerly kind to me; he turneth 4 his hand [against me] all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5 He hath builded against me, and compaffed [me] with 6 gall and travel. He hath fet me in dark places, as 7 [they that be] dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out; there is no poffibility of my escape: he hath made my chain heavy; I am like a malefactor 8 ftrongly fettered. Alfo when I cry and fhout, he fhut9 teth out my prayer. He hath inclofed my ways with hewn ftone, he hath made my paths crooked; I try every way and place to get out of my trouble, but cannot. 10 He [was] unto me [as] a bear lying in wait, [and as] 11 a lion in fecret places. He hath turned afide my ways, cut off my retreat, and turned full upon me, and pulled me 12 in pieces: he hath made me defolate. He hath bent 13 his bow, and fet me as mark for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins; he hath given me mortal and incurable wounds. 14 I was a derifion to all my people; or, the people of my 15 enemies; [and] their fong all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with 16 wormwood. He hath alfo broken my teeth with gravel ftones, he hath covered me with afhes; or, deceived me 17 with ashes, giving me afbes instead of bread. And thou hast removed my foul far off from peace: I forgat profperity, 18 and defpaired of its return. And I faid, My ftrength and 19 my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering mine affliction and my mifery, the wormwood and the 20 gall. My foul hath [them] still in remembrance, and is humbled in me; I have ftill new occafions to recollett 21 them. This I recall to my mind, that is, this which follows; I have yet ftores of comfort, therefore have I hope, 22 [It is of] the LORD's mercies that we are not con23 fumed, because his compaffions fail not. [They are] 24 new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness. The LORD [is] my portion, faith my foul; therefore will 25 I hope in him. The LORD [is] good unto them that 26 wait for him, to the foul [that] feeketh him. [It is] good that [a man] fhould both hope and quietly wait 27 for the falvation of the LORD. [It is] good for a 28 man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He fitteth alone and keepeth filence, because he hath borne [it] upon him; when it is laid upon him he is difpofed to 29 ferious reflection and confideration. He putteth his mouth in the duft; if fo be there may be hope of regaining the 30 divine favour. He giveth [his] cheek to him that fmiteth him; he fubmits to injuries from men: he is 31 filled full with reproach. For the LORD will not caft 32 off for ever: But though he caufe grief, yet will he have compaffion according to the multitude of his mercies; mercies; he will plead the cause of his people, and bring 33 them out of captivity. For he doth not afflict willingly 34 nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prifoners of the earth, by violence or fraud, 35 To turn afide the right of a man before the face of 36 the most High, without any regard to him, To fubvert a man in his caufe, the LORD approveth not; but is difpleafed with these things, and will punish them; as if he had faid, Tho' God gave the Ifraelites into the hands of their enemies, yet he disapproved of their inhuman and cruel conduct, and will reckon with them for it. 37 Who [is] he [that] faith, and it cometh to pass, 38 [when] the LORD commandeth [it] not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? or, doth not evil and good come from him? that is, 39 however they may boast, he overrules their defigns. Where fore doth a living man complain, a man for the punish40 ment of his fins? Let us fearch and try our ways, and 41 turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with 42 [our] hands unto God in the heavens. We have tranf greffed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned; haft 43 not removed thy judgments from us. Thou haft covered thy face with anger, and perfecuted us: thou haft flain, 44 thou haft not pitied. Thou haft covered thyself with a cloud, that [our] prayer should not pafs through. 45 Thou haft made us [as] the off-scouring and refuse in 46 the midst of the people. All our enemies have opened 47 their mouths against us. Fear and a fnare is come 48 upon us, defolation and deftruction. Mine eye run neth down with rivers of water for the deftruction of 49 the daughter of my people. Mine eye trickleth down. 50 and ceaseth not, without any intermiffion, Till the 51 LORD look down, and behold from heaven. Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city; or, because of the defolation of the city and country, and the calamities which I fee in the towns and cities about 52 Jerufalem. Mine enemies chafed me fore, like a bird,, 53 without caufe. They have cut off my life in the dun geon, and caft a stone upon me; this was applicable to Jeremiah literally, and, figuratively, to others; all are defcribed 54 defcribed as one perfon in deep diftrefs. Waters flowed 55 over mine head; [then] I faid, I am cut off. I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my 57 breathing, at my cry. Thou dreweft near in the day. [that] I called upon thee: thou faidit, Fear not. 58 O LORD, thou haft pleaded the caufes of my foul; 59 thou haft redeemed my life. O LORD, thou haft seen 60 my wrong; judge thou my caufe. Thou haft feen all their vengeance [and] all their imaginations against me. 6 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, [and] all 62 their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rofe up against me, and their device against me all the 63 day. Behold their fitting down, and their rifing up; 64 I [am] their mufick. Render unto them, or, thou wilt render unto them a recompenfe, O LORD, according to 65 the work of their hands against us. Give them forrow of heart, thy curfe unto them; or, the curfes threatened 66 against the enemies of thy people. Perfecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD, where thou ruleft fupreme, and from whence they can go no where, but thou canst reach them. TH REFLECTION. HE practical reflections that may be drawn from this chapter are too many to be diftinctly specified. The most important of them have been illuftrated and recommended at large. It is fufficient now to obferve, that it is particularly fuited to the cafe of those who are in affliction. It directs them to observe the hand of God in it; not to be furprized if their afflictions be long and heavy, and if God feems to shut out their prayer. It is our duty in fuch cafes to humble ourselves before him, and to acknowledge that it is of his mercies that we are not confumed. It is unreasonable to complain of the punishment of our fins; and our duty to fearch and try ourfelves; to repent, and return to God; and continue in prayer, tho' we are not immediately answered. We are to hope and wait for his falvation; and in the mean time to obferve the mercies that are |