Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Jeremiah · Chapter 29
CHAP. XXIX.
Ver. 1. NOw theſe are the words of the Letter] Heb. of the book. It is taken for any manner of writing, whether longer, as a book; or ſhorter, as a letter, an Epiſtle, cujus ornamentum eſt ornamentis carere, ſaith Politian: the two chief commendations whereof, ſay others, are ſhortneſſe, and plainneſſe: Here we have both, and ſhould therefore highly prize it: not as Apocryphal Baruch's letter: but as parcel of holy Writ, worthy of all acceptation.
Which were carried away captive] And longed for deliverance: but are adviſed to have patience, and not to antedate the promiſes, which, in their due time ſhould be accompliſhed. As till then obediendum eſt etiam dyſcolis; obedience muſt be yielded to the Babylonians (now their Maſters) and not only to the good and gentle, but alſo to the froward: For this is thank-worthy, &c. 1 Pet. 2.18.
Ver. 2. After that Jeconiah the King, and the Queen and the Eunuches] Anguſta & Eunuchi. Theſe Eunuches were Chamberlains to Queens; but not alwaies ſo bold with them as Stephen the Perſian preſumed to be with the Queen-mother of the Emperour Juſtinian the ſecond,Func. quam flagellis ſicuti ſervam caſtigavit. See chap. 24.1.
Ver. 3. By the hand of Elaſah the ſon of Shaphan, &c.] Zedekiak having heard by Hananiah the Prophet, that within two full years Jeconiah and the captives ſhould come back to Jeruſalem; and knowing that if that ſhould be ſo, he muſt give place, and part with his royal dignity: ſendeth an Embaſſage to Nebuchadnezzar to ſhew his obſequiouſneſſe;Calvin. and is content that his meſſengers ſhould carry Jeremiah's letters (of whom haply he had a better conceit after the death of Hananiah) to thoſe of the captivity, to perſwade them to live quietly in Babylon, and not yet to think of returning to his diſturbance.
Ver. 4. Thus ſaith the Lord of hoſts] It was God then that dictated this letter to the Prophet: neither is it of private, that is, of humane interpretation, but the holy man wrot it, as he was moved thereunto by the Holy Ghoſt, 2 Pet. 1.20.21.
Ver. 5. Build ye houſes and dwel in them] Mitigate the extremity of your captivity (which is likely to be long) by all honeſt means. Levius fit patientiâ Quicquid corrigere eſt nefas. Patience, as a paring-knile, cutteth the croſſe leſſe and leſſe, till it comes to nothing. It teacheth a man, in caſe he cannot bring his eſtate to his mind, to bring his mind to his eſtate, and that's as well: but Impotienes quiſque his affligitur. The bullock under the yoke gets nothing by wriggling, but galling.
Ver. 6. Take ye wives and beget ſons] Firſt get ye houſes and gardens, and then take wives. So in the laſt Commandement, houſe, is ſet before wife: and nature teacheth the birds to build their neſts, before they come together for copulation.
Ver. 7. And ſeek the peace of the City] Do not tumultuate or ſeek to break priſon; as thoſe ſeedſmen of ſedition your falſe Prophets would perſwade you: but frame to a peaceable and patient behaviour. In returning and reſt ſhall ye be ſaved, in quietneſſe and in confidence ſhall be your ſtrength, Iſa. 30.15.
And pray unto God for it] ſc. That in it you may lead a peaceable and quiet life in all godlineſſe and honeſty, 1 Tim. 2.2. Chriſtians ſhould improve their writing-moneths upon the King of Saints, to pray for Kings and all that are in authority, though to them they had been Tyrants: ſith it ſeemeth good to God that they ſhould live under them. The Dutch have a Proverb,
Arbor honoretur, cujus nos umbra tuetur.
Ver. 8. Let not your Prophets and your diviners] Your deceivers indeed, which were alſo in Babylon as well as at Jeruſalem: for all places are full of them, and ſo is hell too. But beware of theſe dogs, beware of evil workers, Philip. 3.2. three of them, the moſt active, no doubt, are here noted and noticed, ver. 21.23. with a charge in this text, Ne committitote ut decipiant vos, See that they deceive you not. The body ſhould be kept, ſay Phyſicians, in habitu athletico, in a vigorous and healthy temper, able to oppoſe infections. Think the ſame of the ſoul.
Neither harken to your dreams] Yours, becauſe you itch after them, liſten to them, pray dearly for them.
Ver. 9. For they prophecy falſely] As chap. 27.15. & 28.15.
Ver. 10. For thus ſaith the Lord] Or, But thus hath the Lord ſaid, whatever theſe Impoſtors ſay to the contrary. Set truth againſt falſhood, and it will ſilence it: like as if a lampe be hanged over a ditch where Frogs are croaking, they are forthwith huſht and made quiet.
Ver. 11. For I know the thoughts that I think] Gods thoughts run upon his children (the children of affliction eſpecially) as a fathers do upon his dear children: Omnis in Aſcanio, &c.
To give you an expected end] Heb. an end and expectation, i. e. An end of evils paſt, and expectation of better for the future.
Ver. 12. Then ſhall ye call upon me,] With mind and mouth, with ſpirit and ſpeech, as Daniel did, chap. 9.3. and as but few others did, during the captivity, as is confeſſed, Dan. 9.13.
And go and pray unto me] Go into your Cloſets or other Oratories, where you ſhall pour out your hearts unto me.
And I will harken unto you] Which ſhall be a ſurer ſeal of my love, then your return from Babylon.
Ver. 13. When ye ſhall ſearch for me with all your heart] Not with a piece of your heart only as do partialiſts and double-minded men, qui in parabola ovis capras quaerunt. Sleidan.Johannes Gropperus of Colen refuſed a Cardinalſhip but forſooke the Goſpel. So did not Luther, who when he was offered to be Cardinal if he would be quiet, replied No, not if I might be Pope.
Ver. 14. And I will be found of you] The beſt foreign. See Pſal. 32.6. Iſa. 55.6. & 65.1.
And I will gather you] As my ſcattered Jewels: See chap. 13.7. & 24.6.
Ver. 15. Becauſe ye have ſaid] From the heires of the Promiſes, he turneth his ſpeech to others qui praeſumendo ſperant, & ſperando pereunt.
Ver. 16. Know that thus ſaith the Lord] Or, therefore thus ſaith the Lord: whatever ye ſay, or your counterfeit Prophets ſay to the contrary.
Ver. 17. Behold I will ſend upon them] Chap. 24.10. & 27.8.
And will make them like vile figs] See chap. 24.8.
Ver. 18. And will deliver them to be removed] See chap. 15.4. & 24.9.
Ver. 19. Becauſe they have not harkened.] See chap. 7.23, 26. & 11.7, 8. & 13.11. & 17.23. & 25.4.
Ver. 20. Hear ye therefore] Or, Hear ye alſo: ye who have loſt the fruit of your afflictions: and are little the better for your being ſo long in the iron furnace.
Ver. 21. Thus ſaith the Lord—of Ahab the ſon of Koliah] Theſe two (though not the two Elders that aſſaulted Suſanna, as ſome have fabled) are ſingled out, as Arch-impoſtors and filthy adulterers, to be exemplarily puniſhed: to whom alſo is added Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ver. 24.
And he ſhall ſl…y them before your eyes] Vide autem juſtam poenam martyrum diaboli, ſaith Oecolampadius, See here the juſt puniſhment of the devils Martyrs: this evil couple had prophecyed, belike, the deſtruction of Babylon, bade the Jews put themſelves in a poſture to return home, promiſed to conduct them to Jeruſalem, played many leud prankes beſides: and were therefore worth…ly put to a cruel death by Nebuchadnezzar, in the preſence of their friends and followers.
Ver. 22. And of them ſhall be taken up a curſe] They had bleſſed themſelves, though the Lord abhorred them: and ſought to ſet up themſelves in the hearts of the people, being Gloriae animalia, popularis aurae viliſſima mancipia, (as Hierom ſaith of Crates the Philoſopher) they ſhall therefore leave their names for a curſe, as Iſa. 65.15.
Whom the King of Babylon roſted in the fire] Burnt them with a ſoft ſlow fire, as the Papiſts did John Hus, Biſhop Ridley, and many other innocent Martyrs; but ſhould do rather thoſe filthy Gergeſites, their Monkes and Friers of whom it went for a proverb in Germany, as Luther witneſſet…h, Whoſoever ſeeth any one of them, ſeeth the ſeven deadly ſins.
Ver. 23. Becauſe they have committed adultery with their neighbours wives] As did Elies ſons,Scultet-Annal. 1 Sam. 2. thoſe falſe Prophets alſo at Jeruſalem, chap. 23.14. Hetſer the great Anabaptiſt in Germany (who yet dyed penitently) and as do ſtill the Imailers, Turk. hiſt. 477.an order of religious men among the Turkes (who call them the religious brothers of love) and the Bramines (ſucceſſours to the Brachmanni) among the Indians, who are extremely impure and libidinous; claiming the firſt nights lodging of every bride,Heyl. Coſmog. &c. having nothing of a man but the voyce and ſhape: and yet theſe are their Prieſts.
Even I know and am a witneſſe, ſaith the Lord] Let them carry their villany never ſo cleanly and cloſely with their Si non caſte, ſaltem caute; yet I know all; am now an eye-witneſſe, and will be one day a ſwift witneſſe againſt them. Ʋtinam animadverterent haec Principes, & ille qui non in ſede Petri ſed in proſtibulo Priapi Lampſaeceni ſedens fornicationes tegit, ſancta conjugiae vetat, mera ſomnia vendit, & Dei oculos claudit, ſaith one.
Ver. 24. Thus ſhalt thou alſo ſpeak to Chemajah the Nehelamite] Or Dreamer; dream-wright, Enthuſiaſt: ſuch as were the Meſſalanian heretikes of old, and ſome of the ſame ſtamp, loaves of the ſame leven, now-adayes.
Ver. 25. Becauſe thou haſt ſent letters in thy name] Such as Sadoletus a Popiſh Biſhop ſent to Geneva in Calvins abſence, to bring them back again to the obedience of the See of Rome; and as we have many from the Romiſh factors ſent hither to the ſeducing of not a few: a ſubtle and ſhrew'd way of deceiving the ſimple.
Act. & Mon.And to Z…phaniah] The ſecond under the High-Prieſt Seraiah, and ſucceſſour likely to that Paſhur, chap. 20. who was depoſed for ſome miſdemeanour, like as Dr. Weſton was here in Queen Maries dayes put by all his Church-dignities, for being taken in bed with an harlot. Of this Zepha…iah, ſee 2 Kings 25.18. his office was to judge of prophecies, and to puniſh ſuch as he found to be falſe Prophets.
And to all the Prieſts] Who were too too forward of themſelves to bandy againſt Gods true Prophets, chap. 26.8. and did as little need by letter to be excited thereunto,Clarkes Martyr l. 136. as Biſhop Bonner did to be ſtirred up to perſecute Proteſtants: and yet to him were letters ſent from King Philip and Queen Mary, complaining that heretikes were not ſo reformed as they ſhould be, and exhorting him to more diligence, &c.
Ver. 26. The Lord hath made thee Prieſt inſtead of Jehoiada the Prieſt] That heroical Reformer in the dayes of Joaſh, 2 King. 11. Therefore as he did by Mattan the Baalite, ſo do thou by Jeremiah the Anathothite. But neither was Zephaniah Jehoiada, nor Jeremiah Mattan. Shemaiah himſelf was more like a Baalite, and better deſerved that puniſhment, which ſhortly after alſo befell him, as was foretold, ver. 32. A hot-ſpirited man he was, and a boutefeau: being therefore the more dangerous. He alſo ſeemed to himſelf to be ſo much the more holy, by how much the Prophet whom he ſet againſt, was more famous for his holineſſe.
For every one that is mad] Maniacus, arreptitius, fanaticus: ſo Gods zealous ſervants have alwayes been eſteemed by the mad world, ever beſides it ſelf in point of ſalvation. See 2 King. 9.11. Act. 26.24. Jer. 43.2.
That thou ſhouldeſt put him in priſon] As chap. 20.2.
Ver. 27. Now therefore why hast thou not reproved] Or reſtrained Jeremiah? Alaſſe, what had the righteous Prophet done? he taxed their ſin, he foretold their captivity: he deſerved it not, he inflicted it not: yet he muſt ſmart, and they are guilty: Zephaniah alſo is here blamed for his lenity, as bloody Bonner once was by the reſt of the Popiſh Biſhops, who made him their ſlaughter-ſlave.
Ver. 28. For therefore he ſent to us in Babylon] And is this all the thank he hath for his friendly counſel? haec eſt merces mundi.
Ver. 29. And Zephaniah the Priest read this letter] For ill-will likely, and with exprobration: Ʋbi inſignis elucet Dei tutela, ſaith an Interpreter, where we may ſee a ſweet providence of God, in preſerving his Prophet from the rage and violence of the people ſo incenſed.
Ver. 30. Then came the Word of the Lord] Or, Therefore came, &c. In the five former verſes, we had narrationem cauſae, Shemajah's crime: In theſe three laſt we have dictionem ſententiae, Shemajah's doome.
Ver. 31. Send to all them of the captivity] Send the ſecond time; let not ſo good a cauſe be deſer…ed: Vinc…s aliquando pertinax bonitas, Truth will take place at length.
Becauſe Shemajah hath propheſied unto you] He hath rewarded evil thereby to himſelf, and to his ſeed after him; his poſterity ſhall rue for it, ſaith Jeremy, who was irrefracti plane animi orator, a man of an invincible courage, and might better have been called Doctor reſolutus, then was afterwards Bacon the Carmelite.
Ver. 32. Behold I will puniſh Shemajah—and his ſeed] As being part of his goods, and walking likely in his evil wayes.
He ſhall not have a man to dwell among his people] Viz. At the return from Babylon: but both he and his ſhall periſh in this baniſhment; which he propheſied ſhould be ſhortly at an end, but ſhall prove it otherwiſe. See the like, Amos 7.17.
Neither ſhall he ſee the good] He nor any of his. See the like threatned to that unbeleeving Prince, 2 King. 7.2.
Becauſe he hath taught rebellion againſt the Lord] So chap. 28.16. See chap. 23.27. Mat. 5.19. To be tuba rebellionis, is no ſmall fault. Luther was ſo ſecundum dici, ſed non ſecundum eſſe: ſo may the beſt be: but let not the ſins of Teachers be teachers of ſins, &c.