Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:1

O Israel] Put here for Judah. Vers. 3. as 2 Chron. 12. 1. 15. 17. & 21. 2, 4. & 29. 21, 24.

return unto me] Or, wilt, I say, return unto me. sincerely, Joe 2:12. not in hypocrisie, Chap. 3. 10. with thy whole heart, Chap. 24. 7. Psalms 119:10. 2 Kings 23:25. not by halves, Hosea 7:14; Hosea 7:16.

if thou wilt put away thine abominations] Thine idols: which my soul abhorreth, Deuteronomy 27:15. Ezekiel 11:18. & 20. 7, 8.

then shalt thou not remove] Or, and wilt not wander. Or, then do not wander. Either, then shalt thou not go out of thy land into captivitie, 2 Kings 21:18. Lamentations 1:8. Or, if thou do not wander after thine idols, Chap. 2. 25. & 14. 10. but keep close to me the true God and thy Lord, Deut. 4. 3, 4. & 30. 20.

Jeremiah 4:2

And thou shalt swear] Or, And wilt swear. as being a continuation of the condition.

The LORD liveth] By the Lord, Deuteronomy 10:20. Psal. 65. 16 and not by idols, Chap. 5. 7. & 12. 16. Joshua 23:7.

in truth, in judgement, and in righteousnesse] Truly, considerately, and justly: swearing nothing, but what is true; to do nothing but what is just; duly considering what ye swear; and making good what you have sworn: Exodus 20:7. Leviticus 19:12. Psalms 15:4. Isaiah 48:1. Chap. 5. 2. Matthew 5:33.

and the nations shall blesse themselves in him, &c.] Or, then. Heb. and. as Genesis 28:21-22. Chap. 1. 4. When thou shalt thus demean thy self; then shall other nations, moved by thine example, worship God with thee, Psal. 47. 8, 9. and glory in him, as thou now doest, Psalms 44:8. & Psalms 106:47. Chap. 9. 24. 1 Corinthians 1:31. 2 Corinthians 10:17.

Jeremiah 4:3

Break up your fallow-ground, and sow not among thorns] Pluck up your impious and wicked affections and lusts out of your hearts, Hosea 10:12. that the seed of Gods word and grace may be sown and thrive in them, Matth. 13. 7, 22. Luk. 8. 14, 15. James 1:21.

Jeremiah 4:4

Circumcise your selves to the LORD] Heb. be circumcised. Genesis 34:24. Circumcise not your flesh alone, but your hearts also, Deuteronomy 10:16. & Deuteronomy 30:6. Chap. 9. 26. Romans 2:29. Col. 2. 11.

lest my fury come forth like fire, &c.] Chap. 21. 12. Zephaniah 2:2.

because of the evill, &c.] Or, for the evill of your doings.

Jeremiah 4:5

Declare ye in Judah, &c.] He forewarneth them of the great danger, that will shortly ensue by the Chaldeans, unlesse they repent and return unto God. Vers. 1.

Blow ye the trumpet in the land] To give warning of the enemies approach, Ezekiel 33:2-3. and to call men to arm and assemble against them, 2 Samuel 20:1-2. 1 Corinthians 14:8.

cry, gather together] Or, call a fall assembly, Chap. 12. 6. Heb. fill. Chap. 51. 11.

Assemble your selves] Chap. 8. 14.

let us go into the defenced cities] For shelter and succour against the invading enemie, Judges 9:31. Chap. 36. 6. Matthew 24:16. Heb. cities of defence. Chap. 34. 7.

Jeremiah 4:6

Set up the standard] Chap. 50. 2. & 51. 12.

towards Zion] Jerusalem; their chief citie of strength: as Zion the strongest place in it, 2 Samuel 5:6-7. So Chap. 50. 5.

retire] Or, strengthen. Proverbs 21:29. Or, get away. Chap. 6. 1.

stay not] Heb. stand not. Deuteronomy 5:31. Chap. 51. 50. Hasten each one to flie, for the saving of himself from the danger approaching, Luke 17:31.

I will bring evill from the north] From Chaldea, Chap. 1. 14, 15. & 6. 22.

a great destruction] Heb. breaking. Vers. 20. Chap. 6. 1.

Jeremiah 4:7

The lion] Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, 2 Kings 24:1. so tearmed, for his force and fiercenesse, Pro. 30. 30, 31. Chap. 2. 15. & 5. 6. Ezekiel 19:2. Daniel 7:4. 2 Tim. 4. 17.

is come up from his thicket] From Babylon his strongest hold, and chief place of residence, Daniel 4:30. See Chap. 25. 38.

the destroyer of the Gentiles] By whom God hath destroyed many nations already, 2 Kings 24:7. Chap. 50. 23. & 51. 20. and will destroy thee, Chap. 23. 7.

is on his way] For Jerusalem, Ezekiel 21:21-22.

and thy cities shall be laid wast, without an inhabitant] Or, that thy cities may be laid wast, or, be overgrown with grasse, (Isaiah 37:26.) because no man dwelleth in thee. Chap. 2. 15. & 9. 11.

Jeremiah 4:8

gird you with sackcloth] Isaiah 22:12. Chap. 6. 26. Heb. with sacks. Chap. 49. 3.

the fierce anger of the LORD] Heb. heat, or, fervor of the nose. Isaiah 13:13. Vers. 26.

is not turned back from us] Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 9:17.

Jeremiah 4:9

the heart of the princes: and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder] The false prophets, that prophecied nothing but peace, Chap. 6. 14. & 8. 11. Kings, princes, and prophets shall be all out of heart, and at their wits end, Chap. 39. 4.

Jeremiah 4:10

thou hast greatly deceived this people] Heb. deceiving deceived them. Not that God indeed deceived them, but that he should so have done, had that been true, which those false prophets fathered on him: promising unto the people, as from him, peace: unto whose delusions God justly left them; because they loved not, nor listed, to listen to his truth, 1 King. 22, 23. Isaiah 63:17. Ezekiel 14:9. 2 Thess. 2. 11, 12. Or the words may be read by way of interrogation, Hast thou indeed deceived this people? Can it be, thou shouldest promise peace to them, and hold them in an expectation of it, as those their prophets in thy name do, when thou intendest nothing lesse? implying it to be a thing impossible, that God should so do, Numbers 23:19. Titus 1:2.

the sword reacheth unto the soul] Striketh to the heart, vers. 18. woundeth deadly; unto the taking away of life. Soul, for life. Vers. 30. 1 Samuel 26:24. Matthew 16:25-26. Luke 14:26.

Jeremiah 4:11

A dry wind] Such as the North-wind usually is, Job 37:22. Proverbs 25:23. meaning the Chaldeans; who from the North, Chap. 1. 14, 15. Vers. 6. should break in upon them; like a whirl-wind in the plain, where there is no shelter or resistance, that sweepeth all away before it, Isaiah 21:1. & Isaiah 27:8.

of the high places in the wildernesse] Or, such as bloweth upon the high places in the plain. Chap. 9. 10. & 13. 24. though alluding withall, it may well be, to those plains or wasts, by which the Chaldeans were to march in their expedition against Judah. Vers. 12.

not to fanne, nor to cleanse] Not to sever the chaff from the grain, and carrie the one away, leaving the other, but to disperse and scatter all together, Chap. 15. 7. and 18. 17. and 51. 1. Ezekiel 5:2. & Ezekiel 21:3.

Jeremiah 4:12

a full wind from those places] Or, a fuller winde then those. as Vers. 15. Chap. 49. 19.

will I give sentence against them] Heb. utter judgements. Chap. 1. 16. and 39. 5.

Jeremiah 4:13

he shall come up] Nebuchadnezzar: whose coming in fierce and furious manner is here described. Vers. 12. See the like, Isaiah 21:1.

as clouds] As clouds, driven with the wind for swiftnesse. Isaiah 19:1. Or, with forces, as thick as clouds, for multitude, Isaiah 60:8.

his chariots shall be as a whirlwind] Isaiah 66:15.

swifter] Heb. lighter. Isaiah 19:1. Vers. 24.

then eagles] Chap. 48. 40. Lamentations 4:19. Daniel 7:4.

wo unto us, &c.] The peoples voyce in their distresse. Or the Prophets, before-hand bewailing it. See the like Lamentations 5:16.

Jeremiah 4:14

wash thine heart from wickednesse] Take the right and surest course for thine own safetie, by sincere repentance and serious reformation; as well of heart, as of life. Isaiah 1:16. Chap. 13. 27. James 4:8.

how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee] Heb. thoughts of vanitie, or, iniquitie. Proverbs 6:18. Isaiah 59:7. Expecting, and relying on succours and helps, that cannot save thee, Chap. 2. 5.

Jeremiah 4:15

voyce] Or, rumour. Isaiah 13:4.

from Dan] Or, greater then that of Dan.

affliction from mount Ephraim] Or, iniquitie (Vers. 14.) greater then that of mount Ephraim. as Vers. 12. Lamentations 4:6.

For a voyce declareth from Dan, &c.] A report of the Chaldeans coming; brought to Jerusalem from Dan, the utmost coast of Israel toward Babylon; and from mount Ephraim, that lay between Dan and Jerusalem, Chap. 8. 16. Or, the notorious fame of Judahs sinne, proclaimeth her iniquitie to be greater then the sinne of Israel committed at Dan and Bethel in the confines of mount Ephraim, 1 Kings 12:29. Chap. 3. 11.

Jeremiah 4:16

Make ye mention to the nations] Summon the Chaldeans, and such other people as joyn with them, 2 Kings 24:3. to come together against Jerusalem. Or, give advertisement to this people, the Jews, of the coming of such against them. Vers. 5.

watchers] Besiegers; that watch to keep from escape, Isaiah 1:8.

from a farre countrey] From Babylon, Isaiah 39:3.

give out their voyce] Chap. 2. 15. & 12. 8.

Jeremiah 4:17

As keepers of a field] Such as watch fruit, and keep it so straitly, that they suffer none to go in or out of the places, where it is: Or, that watch wild beasts, or deer, enclosed in a wood, that they may not make escape: intimating a very strait siege, 2 Kings 25:4. Chap. 5. 6.

Jeremiah 4:18

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things] Psalms 107:17. Isaiah 50:1. Chap. 2. 17. 19.

this is thy wickednesse, because it is bitter] Or, thy wickednesse hath caused that it is bitter.

because it reacheth unto thine heart] Or, that it reacheth. as Genesis 22:17. this being the effect and fruit of their sinnes. Vers. 10.

Jeremiah 4:19

My bowels] I am in pain, as a woman in travel, Isaiah 26:17. The disposition of true prophets, being deeply affected with the calamities of Gods people, which they are compelled to denounce, Isaiah 25:5. & Isaiah 16:11. & Isaiah 22:4. Chap. 9. 1. 10.

my bowels] This repetition argueth a great vehemencie of passion and affection: as 2 Samuel 18:33. 2 Kings 4:19. & 2 Kings 13:14.

I am pained as my very heart] Heb. the walls of my heart. to think what will become of the walls of my citie, Chap. 5. 10. I am. 2. 8, 18.

my heart maketh a noise in me] Isaiah 16:11.

the sound of the trumpet, &c.] Chap. 20. 16. & 49. 2.

Jeremiah 4:20

Destruction upon destruction] Deuteronomy 32:23. Psalms 42:7. Ezekiel 7:26. Heb. Breach upon breach. Vers. 6.

suddenly are my tents spoiled] Their cities are overthrown, as suddenly and easily as a shepherds, or other sorie tent, Isaiah 38:12. Lamentations 2:6. Or, their habitations; simply: as Isaiah 54:2. Chap. 10. 20. Alluding to the manner of their habitation in times past, Hebrews 13:9. Or to the overthrow of a camp, Judges 7:13-14. Chap. 6. 3.

my curtains] Whereof the tents consist, Son 1:5. Isaiah 54:2. Chap. 10. 20. & 49. 29.

Jeremiah 4:21

How long shall I see the standard, &c.] Either their own, set up, for their forces to repair to; Vers. 6. or the enemies, approaching with his forces against them, Isaiah 31:9. Of the trumpet, see the like, Vers. 5. 19.

Jeremiah 4:22

my people is foolish] Isa. 44. 18, 19. Chap. 10. 8, 10.

they have not known me] Or, know me not. Chap. 9. 3.

have none understanding] Isaiah 27:11.

wise to doe evill] All their wisdome and policie tendeth to their own ruine; to carry them from God, and to drive him from them, Romans 8:6-7. Or, they are cunning to plot and practise evil, Luke 16:8. See Chap. 9. 3. and the contrarie required, 1 Corinthians 14:20.

Jeremiah 4:23

I beheld the earth] In a vision. Chap. 1. 11. Dan. 7. 2, 6.

it was without form and void, &c.] The whole face both of heaven and earth seemed to be changed: as if all were reduced to its originall chaos, Genesis 1:2. A description of utter desolation, and extreame distresse, Isaiah 8:22. & Isaiah 13:10. 13. & 24. 23. Ezekiel 32:7. Joel 2. 10. & 3. 15.

Jeremiah 4:24

I beheld the mountains] the mountains of Judah, Chap. 3. 23. & 9. 10.

they trembled] As if the very senslesse creatures were more sensible of Gods wrath then his people, Psalms 18:7. Isaiah 5:25. Habakkuk 3:10.

the hills moved lightly] Or, swiftly. Isaiah 5:26. Vers. 13.

Jeremiah 4:25

all the birds of the heavens were fled] Chap. 9. 10. Zeph. 1. 3.

Jeremiah 4:26

the fruitfull place, &c.] Isaiah 33:9. Heb. Carmel. Isaiah 29:17.

by his fierce anger] Heb. heat or, fervor. as Vers. 8.

Jeremiah 4:27

yet will I not make a fall end] Chap. 5. 18. & 30. 11. But reserve a residue for my self, Isaiah 1. 9. & 24. 13. Chap. 3. 14.

Jeremiah 4:28

the heavens above be black] Wear blacks, as mourner do, Isaiah 30:28. Psalms 38:6. & Psalms 42:9. Chap. 8. 21. & 14. 2. See Vers. 23.

will not repent] Chap. 15. 6. Zechariah 8:14.

Jeremiah 4:29

bowmen] Heb. those that throw, or, shoot out, arrowes with the bow. Psalms 78:9.

they shall go into thickets] Or, up to the thick clouds, Job 20:6. Isaiah 44:22. Get them into the thickets, there to hide themselves, Genesis 3:8. 2 Chronicles 33:11. Or, up to the highest hills that are; such as seem to reach the clouds; or, as if they would climbe up to the clouds, Chap. 49.16. Amos 9:2-3.

every city shall be forsaken] Or, the whole citie. as before.

not a man dwell therein] Vers. 25.

Jeremiah 4:30

when thou art spoiled] Or, thou that art to be spoiled, (as Chap. 30. 24. & 50. 6.) (Jerusalem, or Zion. Vers. 11.) what doest thou, that thou cloathest, &c. to what end doest thou all this

Though thou clothest thy self with crimson, &c.] All thine whorish designs and paintings, tricks of allurement and arts of enticement, will stand thee in no stead, will not serve to save thy life, 2 King. 9. 20, 33. Revelation 14:4. 16.

rentest thy face] Or, cheeks. Heb. eyes.

in vain shalt thou make thy self fair] Or, doest thou, &c.

thy lovers will despise thee] Those, whom thou formerly reliedst upon, and were in league and amitie with thee; Chap. 22. 20. will then leave thee, and joyn with the enemie against thee, Lamentations 1:2. See 2 Kings 24:3. Chap. 27. 3.

they will seek thy life] Heb. soul. Vers. 10. Chap. 11. 21. and 19. 7.

Jeremiah 4:31

a voyce as of a woman in travail] Isaiah 13:8. & Isaiah 21:3. Chap. 6. 24. & 30. 6. & 49. 22. 24.

the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child] Who are wont to have hardest labour, and least patience to endure it.

that bewaileth her self] Or, fetcheth deep sighs.

spreadeth her hands] Wringeth her hands for grief. Or, stretcheth them out for relief. Lamentations 1:17.

because of murderers] Mine enemies that murder without mercie, 2 Chronicles 36:17.