This would lead them to repentance and amendment of life; and by acting as reasonable creatures, they would foon become religious ones; but while they are giddy, thoughtlefs, and inconfiderate, there is no hope of them.

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3. We fee in the forty feventh chapter how foon God can humble and mortify the mot delicate. What a melancholy change was it to the tender and delicate Babylonians, when led captive, and treated as flaves, with all the horrors of poverty and difgrace! how mortifying to thofe who had lived in eafe and pleafure! May we be taught by it to guard against exceffive tenderness and delicacy, as not knowing to what afflictions and hardships we may be appointed; which will be peculiarly heavy if we have unreasonably indulged the flesh.

4. The almighty power of God makes him a moft formidable enemy. Thofe are awful words in v. 3. I will not meet thee as a man, from whom thou mighteft flee, whose power thou mightest refift, or evade his justice, or move his compaffion to fpare thee. See what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. While the wicked tremble to meet him as their judge, let his people rejoice in him as their redeemer, whofe perfections are all engaged for their happiness.

5. See how foon God can strip men of all their comforts, and learn not to be proud of them. So he did by Babylon. He can uncover their locks, ftrip perfons of their jewels and ornaments; of the wealth in which they truft, and in confequence of which they think they fhall fee no forrow. He can bereave them of their children, and bring upon them family diftreffes in their perfection. He can deprive them of the knowledge which they are proud of, and in which they boaft. Let us lay this to heart; remember the uncertainty of all earthly poffeffions, and never be proud of them or fix our affections too ftrongly upon them. Let us employ our wealth and abilities for God; confider our comforts as his gifts, that we may adore and glorify the Giver. Let us never addict ourselves to pleafure, nor dwell carelessly, left God take away our comforts; and for all thefe things bring us into judgment.

X 3

CHAP.

CHAP. XLVIII.

God having by the prophet reproved and threatened the Chaldeans in the former chapters, here proceeds to show his people their

I

fins.

H

་

EAR ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Ifrael, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or, that flow from the fountain of Judah, his pofterity, which fwear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Ifrael, [but] 2 not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themfelves, of the holy city, and ftay themselves upon the God of Ifrael; rely on their external privileges, but are not fincere in their profeffion; the LORD of hosts [is] his 3 name. I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I fhowed them; I did [them] fuddenly, and they came to pafs; I foretold future events, and brought them to pass 4 unexpectedly, or at the precife time. Because I knew that thou [art] obftinate, and thy neck [is] an iron finew, which will not bend, and thy brow brafs, which will not 5 blufb; therefore, to leave thee without excufe, I have even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I fhowed [it] thee: left thou shouldft fay, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them. Thou haft heard, fee all this; and will not ye declare [it?] ye have heard my predictions, and feen their accomplishment, and will ye not openly acknowledge this? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didft not know them; particularly your deliverance by 7 Cyrus. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardeft them not; left thou shouldft fay, Behold, I knew them; I have given you new prophecies concerning your captivity and deliverance, left you should fay, My own fagacity discovered 8 thefe events. Yea, thou heardeft not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from thattime [that] thine ear was not opened; or rather, nor was thine ear opened of old; that is, thou

6

waft

waft not taught these things formerly: for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and waft called a tranfgreffor from the womb; or that, apoftate, was thy name from thy birth; thou waft early given to idolatry, 9 and haft retained an affection to it ever fince. For my name's fake will I defer, or fupprefs, mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not 10 off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with filver; but thou art not as filver, there is yet too much drofs left; I have chofen thee in the furnace of affliction; by 11 afflictions I have made thee more fit for my choice. For mine own fake, [even] for mine own fake, will I do [it;] left the gods of the heathens fhould be thought more wife and powerful than I: for how fhould [my name] be polluted, or blafphemed? and I will not give my glory

12

unto another.

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Ifrael, my called; I 13 [am] he; I [am] the first, I alfo [am] the last. Minehand alfo hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens : [when] I call unto them, they ftand up together; they are ready, like fervants, to execute my orders, therefore I can deliver thee. 14 All ye Ifraelites affemble yourselves, and hear; which among them, which of their gods or oracles, hath declared thefe [things?] the LORD hath loved him, hath chofen Cyrus and fitted him for the work: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans his army, and God's hand with it, fhall deftroy them. 15 I, [even] I, have fpoken; yea, I have called him: I

;

have brought him, and he fhall make his way prof16 perous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in fecret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I; or, before the time that this was, I am the eternal God, and fee every thing before me in its fucceffion and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, 17 hath sent me his prophet, to foretell these things. Thus faith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Ifrael; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit by thy afflictions, which leadeth thee by the way

X 4
LoWTH.

[that]

[that] thou fhouldft go; that is, leadeth thee out of thy 18 troubles. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousnefs as the waves of the fea; thou shouldst not have gone into captivity, but a fucceffion of blefings fhould have flowed upon thee one after another; thy peace and profperity fhould have been uninterrupted and abundant: 19 Thy feed alfo had been as the fand, and the offspring. of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; numerous as the fands, or like the fishes of the fea; his name fhould not have been cut off nor deftroyed from before me; whereas now they fhall be greatly diminished by their calamities, and few of them shall return from Babylon.

20

Yet, notwithstanding this, Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, not with filence and amazement, but with a voice of finging declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; fay ye, The LORD 21 hath redeemed his fervant Jacob. And they thirsteḍ not [when] he led them through the deferts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out; he will fupply them in their return, as he did their fathers in their 22 journey thro' the wilderness. [There is] no peace, faith the LORD unto the wicked; tho' the wicked Share in the bleffings of their deliverance, and return with them, yet they fhall have no lafting peace; they will still have reason to lock upon God as their enemy, amidst all their profperity.

1.

WE

REFLECTION S.

E are here taught the vanity and infufficiency of external privileges, without real piety. The jews boafted of their name, their relation to God and Abraham, and the holy city, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. Thus many among us think it fufficient to falvation that they are called chriftians, enjoy many privileges above others, belong to the church, and enjoy gofpel ordinances; yea, they mention the name of God and Christ, and boaft in them, without truth and righteoufnefs. But this is grofs hypocrify, a high affront to God, and taking

his name in vain; for no religion is of any avail that is not founded on fincerity.

2. We fee the nature and advantage of afflictions. They are defigned to prove and refine the fufferers, to reform them from their vices, to purify their hearts, and increase their graces. Afflictions are fometimes the means of beginning, and often of carrying on, a good work in the foul; and it fhould be the defire of those who are afflicted, to get good thereby; and in order to that they should earnestly pray that God would teach them to profit by his chaftifements; for he intends them for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.

3. We fee the advantage of hearkening to God's commands; that is, of being attentive to them, ftudying the nature and extent of them, and fincerely obeying them: this is the way to enjoy uninterrupted tranquillity and happinefs. God is defirous we fhould do this; O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! v. 18. a high expreffion of his kindness to his creatures, and his willingness to fave finners. All that the Lord our God fays to us, therefore, let us hear, and be obedient.

4. Whatever peace and profperity any church or nation enjoys, there is no peace to the wicked; they can never be in a ftate of peace and favour with God, nor can they have any folid, lafting peace of confcience, or well grounded hope of everlasting peace. They can take no reasonable encouragement from God's promifes to his people, however confidently they may rely upon them. Tho' they are joined to God's people in appearance, and in external communion, yet they have no title to their special privileges. But let the wicked for fake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and turn to the Lord; then peace, and all good, will

come unto them.

CHAP. XLIX.

The beginning of this chapter principally relates to Christ and the covenant of redemption, and the deliverance he should work out for the church, as illuftrated by the deliverance of the jews.

1 LISTEN,