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30 and wrong thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof; all thy dearest property and goods 31 shall be taken away by violence. Thine ox [shall be] slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof thine ass [shall be] violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep [shall be] given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue [them.] 32 Thy sons and thy daughters [shall be] given unto another people, shall be carried captive and sold for slaves; and thine eyes shall look, and fail [with longing] for them all the day long, there shall be no hope of seeing them again, no friend, no ally, to interpose, and [there shall be] no might in thine hand 33 to rescue them, nor money to ransom them. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed 34 alway:* So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see; many accordingly destroyed them 35 selves through anguish and despair. The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head, so that thou shalt not be able to resist, because of thy own 26 sickness and weakness. The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone, either by persuasion or 37 force. And thou shalt become an astonishment, thy calamities shall be so great, that thy very enemies shall be astonished at them; a proverb and a byword among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee; thy miseries shall be used proverbially to express great calamities; and they shall sport themselves in thy miseries, saying, These are the people of the Lord, &c.t 88 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt 39 gather [but] little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress [them,] but shalt neither drink [of] the wine, nor gather [the grapes ;] for the worms 40 shall eat them. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint [thyself] with the oil; for thine olive shall cast [his fruit,] shall be blasted in the very 41 blossom. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt 42 not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. All thy 48 trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. The

This was the case in the Assyrian and Babylonish captivity; and it was so remarkhale as not to be accounted for, without the immediate hand of God to fulfil these awful threatenings.

This was fulfilled in their captivity; but more especially since their dispersion by the Romans; they are a common proverb through the earth, You use me like a Jew: you would not have done so to a Jew, that is, to one of the worst of men.

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ched get up above thee very

low; those who for very

ve and insult thee. He shall lend to him he shall be the

Thus the promise of God, to their foes, is quite reversed, and ean, and contemptible. [ee] eas bacore of Hade

REFLECTION.Kor

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stant dependence we have upon God, and we should be to secure his friendship. our and blessing in every circumstance of most minute and inconsiderable. We depend rain and sunshine, for food, protection, health, and every other mercy. He can easily take ff we displease him, and bring upon us the curses tened. He can disappoint us in our most agreeable nd send us unutterable anguish of body and mind. All sare in his good treasure, and all curses at his command. be solicitous, therefore, to acquaint ourselves with God; hold on his strength, and seek pardon and peace through the of the everlasting covenant, that so he may be our friend. blessing and the curse are set before us. Let us then serve and keep his commandments, and we shall inherit the Messing promised in his word to those who, by a patient conance in well doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality.

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CHAP. XXVIII. 45, to the end. ant

The blessing and curses continued.

45

This part of them refers to the dispersion and destruction of the Jews by the Romans, and is as remarkable a prediction, and was as signally accomplished, as any in the Old Testament.

OREOVER, all these curses shall come upon, thee,

and overtake thee, till

destroyed; one punishment shall follow another, till you are brought to ruin, and are more miserable than any other nation; and the reason is, because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God to keep his commandments and his 46 statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever; the curse shall remain fixed upon thee, and all shall take notice 47 of it, as an extraordinary mark of God's displeasure. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with

48 gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things:] Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all [things] and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee; because ye served not God in the way he required, ye shall serve your enemies, lose your liberty, sink into dreadful slavery, and be under a hard 49 yoke, from which ye shall not be able to free yourselves. The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle flieth; a nation whose 50 tongue thou shalt not understand;* A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young; a stern, bold, hardhearted people, inflexibly pursuing their own designs; which was the exact character of the old Romans: and though in other wars the conquerors usually pitied the old and the young, yet in the war 51 with the Jews they spared no one. And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which [also] shall not leave thee [either] corn, wine, or oil, [or] the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee; the country shall be destroyed by their 52 vast armies. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. The Jews fled to their fenced cities, where provisions were laid up, but the walls of most of them, even of Jerusalem 53 itself, were broken down. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee; 54 this was actually the case when besieged by the Romans: [So that] the man [that is] tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which 55 he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat; he shall grudge every morsel that he sees his nearest relations eat: shall be ready to snatch it from them; yea, even to eat and devour them; and not allow them to feed upon his own children, which he is forced to eat; because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy 56 gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would

Some of the Jewish doctors say, this is a prophecy of their destruction by the Romans; and indeed rothing is here mentioned but what was literally applicable to that dreadful event. The soldiers in Titus' army were from France, Spain, Britain, and the ends of the earth; the eagle was their standard, and their language was unknown to the Jews, which was not entirely the case with the Chald:e language.

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stranger that [is] within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low; those who for 44 merly served thee, shall now get above and insult thee. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Thus the promise of God, to exalt his people and confound their foes, is quite reversed, and Israel should become poor, mean, and contemptible.

S

REFLECTION.

EE what a constant dependence we have upon God, and how solicitous we should be to secure his friendship. We need his favour and blessing in every circumstance of life, even the most minute and inconsiderable. We depend upon him for rain and sunshine, for food, protection, health, and children, and every other mercy. He can easily take them away if we displease him, and bring upon us the curses here threatened. He can disappoint us in our most agreeable hopes, and send us unutterable anguish of body and mind. All blessings are in his good treasure, and all curses at his command. May we be solicitous, therefore, to acquaint ourselves with God; to lay hold on his strength, and seek pardon and peace through the blood of the everlasting covenant, that so he may be our friend. The blessing and the curse are set before us. Let us then serve God, and keep his commandments, and we shall inherit the blessing promised in his word to those who, by a patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality.

CHAP. XXVIII. 45, to the end. >.

The blessing and curses continued. This part of them refers to the dispersion and destruction of the Jews by the Romans, and is as remarkable a prediction, and was as signally accomplished, as any in the Old Testament.

45

OREOVER, all these curses shall come upon, thee,

and overtake thee, thou

destroyed; one fiunishment shall follow another, till you are brought to ruin, and are more miserable than any other nation; and the reason is, because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God to keep his commandments and his 46 statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever; the curse shall remain fixed upon thee, and all shall take notice 47 of it, as an extraordinary mark of God's displeasure. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with

48 gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things :] Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all [things] and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee; because ye served not God in the way he required, ye shall serve your enemies, lose your liberty, sink into dreadful slavery, and be under a hard 49 yoke, from which ye shall not be able to free yourselves. The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle flieth; a nation whose 50 tongue thou shalt not understand;* A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young; a stern, bold, hardhearted people, inflexibly pursuing their own designs; which was the exact character of the old Romans: and though in other wars the conquerors usually pitied the old and the young, yet in the war 51 with the Jews they spared no one. And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which [also] shall not leave thee [either] corn, wine, or oil, [or] the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee; the country shall be destroyed by their 52 vast armies. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. The Jews fled to their fenced cities, where provisions were laid up, but the walls of most of them, even of Jerusalem 53 itself, were broken down. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee; 54 this was actually the case when besieged by the Romans: [So that] the man [that is] tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which 55 he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat; he shall grudge every morsel that he sees his nearest relations eat: shall be ready to snatch it from them ; yea, even to eat and devour them; and not allow them to feed upon his own children, which he is forced to eat; because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy 56 gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would

Some of the Jewish doctors say, this is a prophecy of their destruction by the Romans; and indeed rothing is here mentioned but what was literally applicable to that dreadful event. The soldiers in Titus' army were from France, Spain, Britain, and the ends of the earth; the eagle was their standard, and their language was unknown to the Jews, which was not entirely the case with the Chald:e language.

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