righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf: and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

But we are all very abominably sinful before thee, and our very best services and obediences are full of odious and shameful corruptions; and, therefore, under this displeasure of thine, we cannot but fall away, as a dry leaf from the tree; and the just punishment of our iniquities, like a wind, hath blown us away and dispersed us.

LXV. 1. I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

Whatsoever become of you, my late people of the Jews, my covenant shall be made good with another nation, whom ye think not of: behold, the Gentiles shall come in your room; 1 am sought of them, which were before utter aliens from me and my Church; and I am accordingly found of them, which heretofore sought me not: I called a people unto my Covenant of Grace, which had before no relation unto me, either of name or interest. LXV. 2. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

I have made continual and important means to these rebellious Jews; who yet will not be reclaimed, but walk on, lewdly and stubbornly, in their own vain and sinful lusts;

LXV. 3.-that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

-That sacrificeth in those groves which they have in their private orchards, and upon their own-erected altars, according to their vain and superstitious fancies, contrary to the charge of God, who hath confined their services and oblations to his altar at Jerusalem;

LXV. 4. Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things in their vessels;

Which, in devilish fashion, gave themselves to the practice of necromancy, consulting with evil spirits under the form of the dead, and making no difference of those meats which the law hath made abominably unclean;

LXV. 5. Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that

burneth all the day.

Which, in the pride and scorn of their heart, are ready to say to the holy prophets of God, admonishing them of their sins, Tush, I regard thee not; keep thy counsel to thyself: I am holier than thou. These are tedious and noisome to me; and their proud hypocrisy is such, as shall provoke my perpetual indignation, to burn them up like an unquenchable fire continually.

LXV. 8. Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

Thus saith the Lord, As a man, that intends to cut down or root up a sour ill-fruited vine, and, finding one branch of it yielding a kindly and pleasing grape, forbears to destroy it; so will I do with my people: though, in a generality, they deserve an utter extirpation; yet, for the sake of some of them, whom I have found careful and conscionable, I have resolved not to destroy them all.

LXV. 9. An inheritor of my mountains.

A people, that shall inherit and possess that my mountainous country of Judea.

LXV. 10. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

And there shall be a frequent rehabitation of the whole land of Israel and Judah: the late desolate pastures of Sharon, and the fruitful valley of Achor, shall be again put to use, and serve for the feeding and grazing of your flocks and herds.

LXV. 11. But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering, unto that number.

But ye are they, that forsake the Lord; that do wilfully neglect my chosen mountain of Zion, and my holy temple there; that offer sacrifice to a base rabble of counterfeit gods, and furnish drink offerings to all the innumerable hosts of heaven.

LXV. 12. Therefore will I number you to the sword, &c.
Therefore will I design you to destruction, &c.

LXV. 13. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed.

Ye have made a fashionable profession of service to me, but there hath been no truth therein; and ye shall speed accordingly for, behold, those, that are indeed my true and faithful servants, shall eat, and drink, and rejoice, and enjoy the good things of the land; when ye, hypocrites, shall be held short of all these comforts, and shall be punished with shame and want. So verse 14.

LXV. 15. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.

And that name, whereof ye now vainly boast, shall no more be disgraced by you; but, contrarily, instead thereof, your name and memory shall be execrable to all my chosen; so as, when they would curse another, they shall say, So may God curse thee as he did the Jews: for the Lord God shall destroy thee, and

call his servants, out of other nations, and by other names; even by the glorious names of Christians.

LXV. 16. That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

And, all the earth over, men shall give themselves to the holy and conscionable worship of God: whether they pray, or whether they swear, or whatsoever act of religion they do, it shall be directed to the only true God; for God hath determined to put a final end to the calamities of his Church, and not to see their grievous distresses any longer.

LXV. 17. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Behold, I will renew all things by the power and government of my Son Christ: the whole world shall be then cast in a new mould; the former condition, which served only for a shadow of the future, shall then vanish, and be no more of use or remembrance.

LXV. 18. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Be ye glad and rejoice for ever, O ye faithful souls, which shall receive the benefit of this happy renovation; for, I will give fulness of joy unto my Church, and will make my people eternally blessed.

LXV. 20. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the children shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner of an hundred years old shall be accursed.

There shall be a perfect age and stature in Christ; no deficiency, either in a nonage or a decrepid estate, but all shall attain to their due growth: the child shall not die till he be a hundred years old, and shall reach to a happy maturity; and those, that are old, shall enjoy a strong and vigorous age: thus spiritually blessed shall they be that are in Christ; but those, who are out of him, are no less miserable: for the sinner, though he enjoy a long life here on earth, yet is and shall be accursed; the length of his days shall add to the extremity of his torment.

LXV. 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, &c. See Chapter xi. 6.

LXVI. 1. Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Why do ye, vain Jews, think to merit me; and boast yourselves of a temple built to me? as if that were a sufficient cover for all your hypocrisy and misbehaviour: no; ye know well

enough I have no need of a house of your making; I have another manner of house of my own, even the heaven of heavens is the roof of it, and the earth is the floor of it; in that I can and do gloriously dwell, without any material fabric of yours.

LXVI. 2. But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

My love and respect is to that man, that is of a true, broken, penitent, faithful heart: he is a fit temple for me to dwell in. LXVI. 3. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; &c.

Without this, all your legal compliments of ceremonies are not only vain, but odious: he, that killeth an ox, in a formal sacrifice to me, is as pleasing, as if he had murdered a man ; &c.

LXVI. 4. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them.

I will make choice of their own delusions, wherewith to punish them they thought to deceive me with their hypocritical devotions, and I will make their very hypocrisy their confusion; and will bring upon them those judgments, which they most of all

feared.

LXVI. 5. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

Those false brethren of yours, that hated you for your piety and goodness, were ready to say, We are more careful to glorify God than yourselves; or, Let God glorify himself by his judgments where they are deserved: but, they shall once find it otherwise with them; for God shall appear to your joy, and their confusion.

LXVI. 6. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD, that rendereth recompence to his enemies.

Behold, their judgment is not afar off: hearken! methinks I do already hear a voice of noise and tumult from the city of Jerusalem, and from the temple, which shall be wasted; even a fearful voice of that just God, which rendereth vengeance to his

enemies.

LXVI. 7. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

My Church under the Gospel shall be exceedingly fruitful : she shall bear children unto her God, with great ease and speed; yea, she shall bear a generous and manly issue, before she finds the throes of her travail. So verse 8.

LXVI. 9. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: &c.

What marvel can there be of this easy and speedy multiplication of the Church, when as the Lord himself hath undertaken the work? Is there any thing impossible or difficult to the Almighty? Finite powers may fail; but shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord? &c.

LXVI. 12. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

Behold, I will give a happy and glorious condition to my Church her peace and prosperity shall overflow her, like a full river; and the glory and excellency of the Gentiles shall come gushing in upon her, like a strong torrent: then shall ye sons of the Church your Mother, suck the breasts of her happy nourishment; and she, like an indulgent mother, shall bear you close to her in her arms, and shall dandle you on her knees, and testify her dear love and care of your tendance and education.

LXVI. 14. And your bones shall flourish like an herb. Ye, which lay like dry bones scattered upon the earth, shall then live again and flourish, as an herb of the field.

LXVI. 15. For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, &c.

For, behold, the Lord will come in a furious and terrible manner, to take vengeance on his enemies; so as his adversaries shall be confounded with the horror thereof, &c.

LXVI. 17. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.

They, that give themselves to their idolatries in their private groves within their orchards, with all fond ceremonies of superstition, making choice of some one tree above the rest, more peculiarly consecrated to their false god; and do wilfully transgress the law of God, in eating those things which are forbidden, as abominably unclean; they shall be consumed together, both the superstitious and the profane, saith the Lord.

LXVI. 18. It shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see my glory.

The time shall come, when, out of all nations and tongues, I will gather me out a holy Church to myself; and they shall be partakers of that grace, which hath hitherto been appropriated to the Jews; and, as my truly adopted children, shall inherit my glory.

LXVI. 19. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory: and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

And, amidst the common judgment, I will set a mark upon them, whom I will have reserved; and those, that do escape of them, I will send as my messengers to the nations round about, to convert them unto me: I will send them, both by sea and