rd

Jeremiah 10

2 The conſtellacions of the ſtarres are not to be feared. 5 The weaknes of idoles. 16 of the power of God. 21 Their paſtours are become brute beaſts.
1.HEare ye the worde of the Lord that he ſpeaketh vnto you, ô houſe of Iſraél.
2.Thus ſaith the Lord, Learne not the way of the heathen, and be not afraide for the ſignes of heauen, thogh the heathen be afraide of ſuche.
3.For the cuſtomes of the people are vaine: for one cutteth a tre out of the foreſt (which is the worke of the hãds of the carpenter) with the axe,
4.And another decketh it with ſiluer, and with golde: they faſten it with nailes, and hammers, that it fall not.
5.The idoles ſtand vp as the palme tre, but ſpeake not: they are borne becauſe they cã not go: feare them not, for they can not do euil, nether can they do good.
6.There is none like vnto thee, ô Lord: thou art great, and thy Name is great in power.
7.Who wolde not feare thee, ô King of nations? for to thee apperteineth the dominion: for amõg all the wiſe men of the Gẽtiles, and in all their kingdomes there is none like thee.
8.But altogether thei dote, and are fooliſh: for the ſtocke is a doctrine of vanitie.
9.Siluer plates are broght from Tarſhiſh, and golde from Vpház, for the worke of the workeman, and the hands of the founder: the blewe ſilke, and the purple is their clothing: all theſe things are made by cunning men.
10.But the Lord is the God of trueth: he is the liuing God, and an euerlaſting King: at his angre the earth ſhal tremble, & the nations can not abide his wrath.
11.(Thus ſhal you ſay vnto them, The gods that haue not made the heauens and the earth, ſhal periſh from the earth, and from vnder theſe heauens)
12.He hathe made the earth by his power, and eſtabliſhed the worlde by his wiſdome, and hathe ſtretched out the heauen by his diſcretion.
13.He giueth by his voyce the multitude of waters in the heauen, and he cauſeth the cloudes to aſcend from the ends of the earth: he turneth lightnings to raine, and bringeth forthe the winde out of his treaſures.
14.Euerie man is a beaſt by his owne knowledge: euerie foũder is cõfounded by the grauen image: for his melting is but falſehoode, and there is no breth therein.
15.They are vanitie, & ye worke of errours: in the time of their viſitation they ſhal periſh.
16.The portion of Iaakób is not like thẽ: for he is the maker of all things, & Iſraél is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hoſtes is his Name.
17.Gather vp thy wares out of the lãd, ô thou that dwelleſt in the ſtrong place.
18.For thus ſaith the Lord, Beholde, at this time I wil throwe as with a ſling the inhabitans of the land, and wil trouble them, and they ſhal finde it ſo.
19.Wo is me for my deſtruction, & my grieuous plague: but I thoght, Yet it is my ſorowe, and I wil beare it.
20.My tabernacle is deſtroyed, and all my coards are broken: my children are gone from me, & are not: there is none to ſpread out my tent any more, and to ſet vp my courtaines.
21.For the paſtors are become beaſtes, and haue not ſoght ye Lord: therefore haue they none vnderſtanding: and all the flockes of their paſtures are ſcatered.
22.Beholde, the noiſe of the brute is come, and a great commotion out of the North countrey to make the cities of Iudáh deſolate, and a denne of dragons.
23.O Lord, I knowe, that the way of man is not in him ſelf, nether is it in man to walke and to direct his ſteps.
24.O Lord, correct me, but with iudgement, not in thine angre, leſt thou bring me to nothing.
25.Powre out thy wrath vpon the heathen, that knowe thee not, & vpon the families that call not on thy Name: for they haue eaten vp Iaakób & deuoured him & conſumed him, and haue made his habitacion deſolate.

Notes

2:a.
God forbiddeth his people to giue credit or feare the conſtellacions & coniunctiõs of ſtarres, and planets, which haue no power of thẽ ſelues, but are gouerned by him, & their ſecret motions & influences are not knowẽ to mã, and therefore there can be no certaine iudgemẽt thereof, Deut. 18,9.
3:b.
Meaning not onely in the obſeruation of the ſtarres, but their laws and ceremonies whereby they confirme their idolatrie, which is forbidden, Deu. 12,30.
4:c.
The Prophetes vſe thus plainely & ſimply to ſet forthe the vile abſurditie of the idolaters, that men might learne to be aſhamed of yt, whereunto their corrupt nature is moſte ſubiect, read Iſa 44,12.
6:d.
He teacheth ye people to lift vp their eyes to God, who hathe all power, and therefore ought onely to be feared: and herein he ſheweth them not onely the euil that they ought to eſchew but the good, which they ought to follow Reuel. 15.4.
8:e.
Becauſe the people thoght that to haue images was a meane to ſerue God and to bring them to ye knowledge of him, he ſheweth that nothing more diſpleaſeth God, nor bringeth man into greater errors & ignorãce of God: & therefore he calleth them the doctrine of vanitie, ye worke of errors, ver.15, & Habak. 2,18. calleth them ye teachers of lies: contrarie to that wicked opinion, yt thei are the bokes of the laye people.
9:f.
Where as they founde ye beſt golde: ſhewing, yt thei thoght nothĩg to deare for their idoles: ſome read Ophir, as 1. Kin. 9,28.
11:g.
This declareth that all, yt hathe bene in this Chapter ſpoken of idoles, was to arme the Iewes whẽ they ſhulde be in Caldea among ye idolaters, and now wt one ſẽtence he inſtructeth thẽ how to protect their owne religion againſt ye idolaters, & how to anſwer thẽ to their ſhame which ſhulde exhorte thẽ to idolatrie, and therefore he writeth this ſentence in the Caldeans tongue for a memorial, where as all the reſt of his writing is Ebrewe.
14:h.
The more that man thinketh to do anie thing wel by his owne wiſdome, and not as God inſtructeth him, the more doeth he proue him ſelf to be a vile beaſt.
16:i.
By theſe wordes, Portion and rod, he ſignifieth their inheritance: meaning, that God ſhulde be all ſufficient for them, and that their felicitie conſiſted in him alone, & therefore thei ought to renonce all other helpes, & ſuccours as of idoles, &c. Deut. 32,9. pſal. 16,5.
17:k.
The Prophet willeth the Iewes to prepare thẽ ſelues to this captiuitie, ſhewing that it was now at hand, that they ſhulde fele the things, whereof he had tolde thẽ.
19:l.
It is my iuſte plague & therefore I wil take it paciently: whereby he teacheth the people how to behaue thẽ ſelues toward God.
20:m.
He ſheweth how Ieruſalém ſhal lament.
21:n.
The gouernours and miniſters.
22:o.
Read Chap. 4. 15.
23:p.
He ſpeaketh this, becauſe ÿ Nebuchadnezzár purpoſed to haue made warre againſt ÿ Moabites and Ammonites, but hearing of Zedekiáhs rebellió, he turned his power to go againſt Ieruſalém, Ezech. 21, 21. therefore ÿ Prophet ſaith, ÿ this was the Lords direction.
24:q.
Conſidering that God had reueiled vnto him the certẽntie of their captiuitie, Chap 7, 16. he onely prayeth, that he wolde puniſh them with mercie, which Iſaiáh calleth, in meaſure, Chap. 27, 8. meaſuring his roddes by their infirmitie, 1. Cor. 10, 13. for here by iudgement is ment not onely the puniſhment, but alſo the merciful moderacion of the ſame, as Chap 30.11. [r] For aſmuch as God can not onely be knowen and glorified by his mercie, that he vſeth toward his Church, but alſo by his iuſtice in puniſhing his enemies, he praieth ÿ his glorie may fully appeare bothe in the one and the other, Pſal. 79, 6.
25:*.
Pſal. 79. 6.