Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Jeremiah · Chapter 36
CHAP. XXXVI.
Ver. 1. ANd it came to paſſe in the fourth year] This whole Chapter is hiſtorical and narrative, as alſo are ſome others beſides this. Hiſtorias lege, ne fias historia.
O…im liber erat inſtar mappae Geographicae.Ver. 2. Take thee a role of a book] i. e. A volume, as Iſa. 8.1. See the Note there.
And write therein] Jeremy had a command to write: ſo have not our empty Scripturients; whoſe rapes on the innocency of paper (as one phraſeth it) make the Preſſe almoſt execrable.Pineda. Iſta prurientis calami ſcabies potius eſt, quam ſcriptio.
All the words that I have ſpoken unto thee] The ſum and ſubſtance of all thy Sermons for theſe three and twenty years paſt: See chap. 1.2. and 25.3.
Ver. 3. It may be that the houſe of Judah will hear, &c.] See here the utility of the holy Scriptures: and the excellent uſe that may be made of reading them. A man may be thereby doubtleſſe converted, where preaching is wanting; as divers were in Queen Maries dayes,Fox Martyrol. when the Word of God was precious: as Auſtin was by reading, Rom. 13. Fulgentius by the Prophet Jonah: Franciſcus Junius by Joh. 1. &c. The Eunuch, Act. 8. and thoſe noble Bereans, Act. 17.11. were notably prepared for converſion, by this ordinance.
That I may forgive their iniquity and their ſin] i. e. Their ſins of all ſorts; giving them a free and full diſcharge.
Baruch Iſle notarius & diaconus Jeremiae, ſim…que Propheta fuit. Oecol.Ver. 4. Then Jeremiah called Baruch — and Baruch wrote from the mouth] — Dictantis ab ore pependit. Jeremy, it ſeemeth, had either not written his prophecies, or not ſo legibly, or in looſe papers only: now he hath them fair written out into a book; making the ſame uſe of Baruch as afterward Paul did of Tertius, Rom. 16.22. who himſelf wrote no very good hand, as ſome have gathered from, Gal. 6.11. See my Notes there.
Ver. 5. I am ſhut up] Or I am detained, or reſtrained; haply by ſome legal pollution that he had contracted, as by touching a dead carcaſſe, &c. or by ſome bodily infirmity, or by the lying in wait of his enemyes, or by the Spirit of God, as Act. 16 6, 7. for a puniſhment to the Jews by the Prophets abſence and ſilence; and for the ſafety of his ſervant in thoſe perilous times.
Ver. 6. Therefore go thou and read in the roll] A Miniſter, when he cannot himſelf officiate, muſt provide another in his room.
Which thou haſt written from my mouth] And which the holy Ghoſt hath put into my mouth, both matter and words.
Ʋpon the faſting-day] A very fit time for the reading of the Scriptures: that the people then convened might hear and fear, and ſupplicate, and convert, and God might heal them. The Faſt here mentioned was not the ordinary yearly faſt called the day of Expiation or Atonement: but another that was conceptivum & liberum, kept on ſome ſpecial occaſion for the averting of Gods judgement: ſuch as was that at Nineveh There was afterwards indeed a yearly Faſt kept in November, to bewaile this wicked practiſe of King Jehoiakim in cutting and caſting into the fire this bleſſed-book.Genebrard ex Menologio Hebraeor.
Ver. 7. It may be they will preſent their ſupplication] Heb. Their ſupplication will fall before the Lord. Faſting of it ſelf is but a bodily exerciſe, and profiteth little. If the ſoul be not afflicted, rebel-fleſh tamed, prayers edged, and reformation effected, men faſt to no purpoſe, Iſa. 58.3, 5. Zach. 5.5, 7.
Ver. 8. And Baruch the ſon of Neri…h did according, &c.] Nihil de ſua ſaliva admiſcens. He faithfully performed the Prophet Jeremyes commands; not ſtanding to caſt perils, being thereunto heartened and hardened by Jeremy, chap. 45.
Ver. 9. They proclaimed a faſt] Haply for fear of the Chaldaeans, who having lately beaten Pharaoh-Necho, was like enough to invade Judea: or elſe, becauſe of that great dearth, chap. 14 1, 2, 12 See on ver. 6.
Ver. 10. Then Baruch read in the book] He read with a courage; verbis non ſolum diſertis ſed & exertis, out of a chamber-window, that the people under him might the better hear.
In the chamber of Gemariah] Who himſelf, it ſeemeth, was not preſent, but his ſon Micajah was; and carried his father and the reſt of the Princes the news, ver. 12.
Ver. 11. When Micajah the ſon of Gemariah had heard] With what affection he heard the book read by Baruch, is uncertain. We have many Herodian hearers before us eftſoones; ſuch I mean, as have an Herods heart toward the Preacher; and little do we know who they are that ſit before us: thoſe precious balmes we bring break their heads with a witneſſe, and make the blood run about their eares.
Ver. 12. Then he went down into the Kings houſe] For there was his Father, and the reſt of the Princes, ſuam aulam vel gulam conſectantes, following their court-delights: whileſt the people were now humbling themſelves before the Lord, and trembling at his Word. Great men, are many of them, of that Earle of Westmerlands mind, who profanely ſaid, I need not pray to God, as having tenants enow to pray for me.
Ver. 13. Then Micajah declared unto them] See ver. 11.
Ver. 14. Therefore all the Princes ſent Jehudi] Apparitorem Regis, ut ex ſequentibus conſtat. Jun.
Ver. 15. And they ſaid, Sit down now] This was ſome curteſie,Reverenter ſedere ſuſſerunt. Oecol. Alter alterum intuentes vel alloquentes. Piſcat. and token of good reſpect to Baruch. Theſe Princes were not all out ſo bad as their King.
Ver. 16. They were afraid both one and other] Expaveſcunt & ſeſe mutuo respiciunt, they were afraid and looked one upon another, being much diſtracted at this new and unexpected occurrence; neither wiſt they at firſt what to do, being affected after a ſort, and ſmitten with the weightineſſe of the buſineſſe.
We will ſurely tell the King] They durſt do no otherwiſe: for if theſe things ſhould have come to the Kings ear, and they not firſt tell him, they might come into the danger of his diſpleaſure.
Ver. 17. Tell us, how didſt thou write all theſe words at his mouth] Praepoſterum movent interrogationem, they put an odd queſtion, ſaith one,Hos fere ſimili reſponſo eludere videtur ſanctus Dei homo. Zeg. when they ſhould rather have bethought themſelves of breaking off their ſins by Repentance. God loves Curriſts and not Quaeriſts, ſaith Luther.
Ver. 18. And Baruch anſwered them] Anſwerably to the queſtion they asked him, ver. 17. Dignum patellâ operculum.
And I wrote them with inke in the book] The uſe then of writing with pen and ink, is ancient among the Hebrews.
Ver. 19 Go hide thee, thou and Jeremy] This was well, but not all. They draw not Baruch before the King to anſwer what he had done: but why do they not take him to the King with his roll, and plead both for it, and him too? had they been true Patriots and hearty friends to the truth, they would have done ſo. But they knew that this wicked King could not endure the Prophets, chap. 26.21. and 36.26. and one of their company had been the Kings agent in bringing Ʋriah the Prophet out of Egypt, to be butchered by him, chap. 26.22.
Ver. 20. And they went in to the King] God by his providence ſo diſpoſed it, that both King and Princes, whether they would or not, ſhould hear their doom: and as for ſome of the Princes, they ſeem to have ſome good affections wrought in them: but too weak to work unto true repentance to ſalvation.
Ver. 21. So the King ſent Jehudi] See on ver. 14.
Ver. 22. Now the King ſat in the winter-houſe] There ſat he (in that his ſtately and ſumptuous Pallace built by iniquity. chap. 22.) curant cuticulam ad focum, keeping himſelf warm in his winter chamber, and careleſſe of calling upon God; whiles the people, cold and empty, were faſting and praying in the Temple, and hearing the Word read by Baruch.
In the ninth monethmonth] ſc. Of the ſacred year: which monethmonth was part of our November, and part of December, a cold ſeaſon: but that thing of nought his body which he now made ſo much of, was ſhortly after to be caſt out unburied, in the day to the heat, and in the night to the froſt, ver. 30.
Quintillan.Ver. 23. When Jehudi had read three or four leaves] Veſpaſian is ſaid to have been patientiſſimus veri, very patient of truth: ſo was good Joſiah, whoſe heart melted at the hearing of the Law, 2 Chron. 34.27. but ſo was not this degenerate ſon of his, Jeboiakim: but more like Tiberius that Tiger, who tore with his teeth all that diſpleaſed him;Lib. 3. hiſt. or like Vitellius the Tyrant, of whom Tacitus ſaith, Ita formatae principis aures, ut aspera quae utilia: nec quidquam niſi jucundum & non laeſurum actiperet: that his cares were of that temper, that he could hear no counſel, though never ſo profitable, unleſs it were pleaſant, and did ſuit with his humours.
He cut it with the penknife] Why? what could he diſlike in that precious piece? Of Petronius his Satyricon one ſaid well, Tolle obſcaena & tollis omnia: Of Jeremies prophecies I may ſafely ſay, Tolle ſancta, & tollis omnia. But this brutiſh Prince could not away with downright-truth, &c.
Oecolamp.And caſt it into the fire] O stultitiam! quid innocentes chartae commeruerant? O madneſſe! what evil had thoſe innocent papers deſerved, that they muſt dye this double death as it were? Thoſe Magical books at Epheſus were worthily burnt, Act. 19. Aretines love-books are ſo laſcivious, that they deſerve to be burned, ſaith Boiſſard, Boiſ. biblioth.together with their Authour. Many ſeditious Pamphlets are now committed to Vulcan to be corrected, and more ſhould be. But O ſancta Apocalypſis, (as that Martyr once ſaid when he took up the book of the Revelation caſt into the ſame fire with himſelf) So, O holy Jeremy, what haſt thou ſaid, or written, to be thus flaſht and then caſt into the fire? Jehoiakim is the firſt we read of, that ever offered to burn the Bible. Antiochus indeed did the like afterwards, and Diocleſian the Tyrant, and now the Pope. But though there were not a Bible left upon earth, yet for ever O Lord, thy Word is ſtabliſhed in heaven, ſaith David, Pſal. 119 89.
Ʋntill all the roll was conſumed] So far was he from repenting of that his wickedneſſe, that he fed his eyes with ſuch a ſad ſpectacle, and was ready to ſay as Solon did, when he burnt the Uſurers bonds in Athens, that he never ſaw a fairer or clearer fire burn in all his life.
Ver. 24. Yet they were not afraid] Ne paulum quidem perculſi ſunt. The King and his ſervants thoſe Court-paraſites, were not ſtirred at all at ſuch a Bible-bone-fire: but jeared when they ſhould have feared, &c.
Nor rent their garments] Such was their ſtupor ſeu non-curantia, their ſecurity and inſenſibleneſs of that high offence, for which their poſterity keep a yearly faſt: See on ver. 6. Rending of garments in token of grief was in uſe alſo among the Heathens. Homer ſaith Priamus rent his clothes when he heard of the death of his ſon Hector. The like hath Virgil of his Aeneas;
Tam pater Aeneas humeris abſcindere veſtem
Auxilioque vocate deos.—
Suetonius ſaith the like of Jalius Caeſar, &c.Pro concione fidem militum flens & veſte à pectore diciſsâ imploravit. Suet. c. 55.
Ver. 25. Nevertheleſſe Elnathan] Who had before been active for the King in apprehending and ſlaughtering the Prophet Ʋriah, chap. 26.22. but now haply touched with ſome rremorſe for having any hand in ſo bloody an act.
Had made interceſſion to the King] Verum frigide admodum, but very coldly: and ſuch cold friends the truth hath ſtill not a few, at Kings Courts eſpecially.
Ver. 26. But the King commanded Jerameel the ſon of Hammelech] Or the Kings ſon, whom he might employ againſt theſe two ſervants of God: as once the King of France ſent his ſon and heir with an Army againſt the Waldenſes. It is not for nothing therefore that the curſe is denounced againſt Jehojakim and his poſterity, ver. 30, 31.
But the Lord hid them] i. e. He provided for them a hiding place in ſome good mans houſe; and there ſafe guarded them from theſe blood-hounds who hunted after their precious lives. There in no fence but flight, nor counſel but concealement, to ſecure an innocent ſubject againſt an enraged Soveraign.
Ver. 27. Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah] Jehojakim took an ill courſe to free himſelf forom trouble (as he counted it) by burning the Roll: for Gods Word cannot be burnt, no more then it can be bound, 2 Tim. 2.9 And ſhall they thus eſcape by iniquity? No verily: for it followeth (and it is not more votum then vaticinium, a wiſh then a Prophecy) In thine anger caſt down the people, O God, Pſal. 56.7.
Ver. 28. Take thee again another roll] Revertere, accipe. Gods Miniſters muſt be ſtedfaſt and unweariable, alwaies abounding in the work of the Lord, foraſmuch as they know that their labour is not in vain in the Lord, 1 Cor. 15. ult.
And write in it all the former words] If all the Tyrants on earth ſhould fight againſt the very paper of the Scriptures, ſtriving to aboliſh it, yet they could not poſſibly do it. There will be Bibles, when they ſhall be laid low enough in the ſlimy valley, where are many already like them, and more ſhall come alter them, Job 21.31, 32.
Ver. 29. And thou ſhalt ſay to Jehoiakim] i. e. Add this doleful doom of his to the new written roule, and direct it to Jehojakim. Some think the Prophet told him theſe things to his face, like as Eliah preſented himſelf to Ahab whom before he had fled from, and dealt freely with him: but that is not ſo likely.
Ver. 30. He ſhall have none to ſit upon the throne of David] i. e. None to make any reckoning of: for his ſon Jecon…ah raigned but three moneths and ten dayes. And Zedekiah is not looked upon as his lawful ſucceſſour, becauſe he was his Uncle, and ſet up likely by Nebuchadnezzar for a reproach to Jehojakim and Jeconiah: Of Jehojakim it may be ſaid, as was afterwards of Ethelred King of England: Ejus vitae curſus ſaevus in principio, miſer in medio, turpis in exitu aſſeritur. Malms. lib. 2. cap. 10.and in as great ſpite as once Attilus King of Sueſia made a dog King of the Danes (in revenge of a great many injuries received by them) appointing Councellours to do all things under his title.
And his dead body ſhall be caſt out in the day to the heat] This was that infamous burial of an aſſe wherewith he had formerly been threatened, chap. 22.19. His father Joſiah was one of thoſe few that lived and dyed with glory: but he did nothing leſſe.
Ver. 31. And I will puniſh him and his ſeed] See on ver. 26. The like is threatened to Zedekiah, chap. 21.7. who was therefore the worſe, becauſe he ſhould hove been warned by his brothers miſeries.
And I will bring upon them] See chap. 35.17. Malis horrendis adobruentur omnes.
Ver. 32. Then took Jeremiah] Who is therefore famous for his obedience: which is then only right, when it is prompt and preſent, ready and ſpeedy without delayes and conſults, as here.
And there were added beſides unto them many like words] So little is gotten by relucting againſt the Word of God, and perſecuting his meſſengers. What do wicked men hereby but intangle themſelves more and more, as one that goeth amongſt b…yars? (Did not my Word take hold of your fathers? Zach. 1.6. See the Note there.) what do they elſe,O…preſſus Chriſti Spiritus robuſtior in ſe coactus exilit. Oecol. but as ſhe in the hiſtory, who m…ſt…king her looking-glaſſe, for ſhewing her truly the wrinckles in her old withered face, brake it in diſpleaſure: and then ſhe had for one glaſſe many; every piece thereof preſenting to her the decay of her beauty, which ſhe was ſo loth to take notice of: The beſt way is to paſſe into the likeneſſe of the heavenly pattern: See Mic. 2.7. with the Notes there.