Notes from Ezekiel 3

In this chapter we have the further preparation of the prophet for the work to which God called him.

I. His eating the roll that was presented to him in the close of the foregoing chapter (v. 1-3).
II. Further instructions and encouragements given him to the same purport with those in the foregoing chapter (v. 4-11).
III. The mighty impulse he was under, with which he was carried to those that were to be his hearers (v. 12-15).
IV. A further explication of his office and business as a prophet, under the similitude of a watchman (v. 16-21).
V. The restraining and restoring of the prophet's liberty of speech, as God pleased (v. 22-27).

Notes from Ezekiel 2

What our Lord Jesus said to St. Paul (Acts 26:16) may fitly be applied to the prophet Ezekiel, to whom the same Jesus is here speaking, "Rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister.' We have here Ezekiel's ordination to his office, which the vision was designed to fit him for, not to entertain his curiosity with uncommon speculations, but to put him into business. Now here,

I. He is commissioned to go as a prophet to the house of Israel, now captives in Babylon, and to deliver God's messages to them from time to time (v. 1-5).
II. He is cautioned not to be afraid of them (v. 6).
III. He is instructed what to say to them, and has words put into his mouth, signified by the vision of a roll, which he was ordered to eat (v. 7-10), and which, in the next chapter, we find he did eat.

Notes from Ezekiel 1

In this chapter we have,

I. The common circumstances of the prophecy now to be delivered, the time when it was delivered (v. 1), the place where (v. 2), and the person by whom (v. 3).
II. The uncommon introduction to it by a vision of the glory of God,
1. In his attendance and retinue in the upper world, where his throne is surrounded with angels, here called "living creatures,' (v. 4-14).
2. In his providences concerning the lower world, represented by the wheels and their motions (v. 15-25).
3. In the face of Jesus Christ sitting upon the throne (v. 26-28).
And the more we are acquainted, and the more intimately we converse, with the glory of God in these three branches of it, the more commanding influence will divine revelation have upon us and the more ready shall we be to submit to it, which is the thing aimed at in prefacing the prophecies of this book with these visions. When such a God of glory speaks, it concerns us to hear with attention and reverence; it is at our peril if we do not.

Notes from Lamentations 5

This chapter, though it has the same number of verses with the 1st, 2nd, and 4th, is not alphabetical, as they were, but the scope of it is the same with that of all the foregoing elegies. We have in it,

I. A representation of the present calamitous state of God's people in their captivity (v. 1-16).
II. A protestation of their concern for God's sanctuary, as that which lay nearer their heart than any secular interest of their own (v. 17, 18).
III. A humble supplication to God and expostulation with him, for the returns of mercy (v. 19-22); for those that lament and do not pray sin in their lamentations.
Some ancient versions call this chapter, "The Prayer of Jeremiah.'

Notes from Lamentations 4

This chapter is another single alphabet of Lamentations for the destruction of Jerusalem, like those in the first two chapters.

I. The prophet here laments the injuries and indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown (v. 1, 2).
II. He laments the direful effects of the famine to which they were reduced by the siege (v. 3-10).
III. He laments the taking and sacking of Jerusalem and its amazing desolations (v. 11, 12).
IV. He acknowledges that the sins of their leaders were the cause of all these calamities (v. 13-16).
V. He gives up all as doomed to utter ruin, for their enemies were every way too hard for them (v. 17-20).
VI. He foretels the destruction of the Edomites who triumphed in Jerusalem's fall (v. 21).
VII. He foretels the return of the captivity of Zion at last (v. 22).

Notes from Lamentations 3

The scope of this chapter is the same with that of the two foregoing chapters, but the composition is somewhat different; that was in long verse, this is in short, another kind of metre; that was in single alphabets, this is in a treble one. Here is,

I. A sad complaint of God's displeasure and the fruits of it (v. 1-20).
II. Words of comfort to God's people when they are in trouble and distress (v. 21-36).
III. Duty prescribed in this afflicted state (v. 37-41).
IV. The complaint renewed (v. 42-54).
V. Encouragement taken to hope in God, and continue waiting for his salvation, with an appeal to his justice against the persecutors of the church (v. 55-66).
Some make all this to be spoken by the prophet himself when he was imprisoned and persecuted; but it seems rather to be spoken in the person of the church now in captivity and in a manner desolate, and in the desolations of which the prophet did in a particular manner interest himself. But the complaints here are somewhat more general than those in the foregoing chapter, being accommodated to the case as well of particular persons as of the public, and intended for the use of the closet rather than of the solemn assembly. Some think Jeremiah makes these complaints, not only as an intercessor for Israel, but as a type of Christ, who was thought by some to be Jeremiah the weeping prophet, because he was much in tears (Mt. 16:14) and to him many of the passages here may be applied

Notes from Lam 2

The second alphabetical elegy is set to the same mournful tune with the former, and the substance of it is much the same; it begins with Ecah, as that did, "How sad is our case! Alas for us!'

I. Here is the anger of Zion's God taken notice of as the cause of her calamities (v. 1-9).
II. Here is the sorrow of Zion's children taken notice of as the effect of her calamities (v. 10-19).
III. The complaint is made to God, and the matter referred to his compassionate consideration (v. 20-22).
The hand that wounded must make whole.

Notes from Lam 1

We have here the first alphabet of this lamentation, twenty-two stanzas, in which the miseries of Jerusalem are bitterly bewailed and her present deplorable condition is aggravated by comparing it with her former prosperous state; all along, sin is acknowledged and complained of as the procuring cause of all these miseries; and God is appealed to for justice against their enemies and applied to for compassion towards them. The chapter is all of a piece, and the several remonstrances are interwoven; but here is,

I. A complaint made to God of their calamities, and his compassionate consideration desired (v. 1-11).
II. The same complaint made to their friends, and their compassionate consideration desired (v. 12-17).
III. An appeal to God and his righteousness concerning it (v. 18-22), in which he is justified in their affliction and is humbly solicited to justify himself in their deliverance.

Notes from Jeremiah 52

History is the best expositor of prophecy; and therefore, for the better understanding of the prophecies of this book which relate to the destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah, we are here furnished with an account of that sad event. It is much he same with the history we had 2 Ki. 24 and 25, and many of the particulars we had before in that book, but the matter is here repeated and put together, to give light to the book of the Lamentations, which follows next, and to serve as a key to it. That article in the close concerning the advancement of Jehoiachin in his captivity, which happened after Jeremiah's time, gives colour to the conjecture of those who suppose that this chapter was not written by Jeremiah himself, but by some man divinely inspired among those in captivity, for a constant memorandum to those who in Babylon preferred Jerusalem above their chief joy. In this chapter we have,

I. The bad reign of Zedekiah, very bad in regard both of sin and of punishment (v. 1-3).
II. The besieging and taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans (v. 4-7).
III. The severe usage which Zedekiah and the princes met with (v. 8-11).
IV. The destruction of the temple and the city (v. 12-14).
V. The captivity of the people (v. 15, 16) and the numbers of those that were carried away into captivity (v. 28-30).
VI. The carrying off of the plunder of the temple (v. 17-23).
VII. The slaughter of the priests, and some other great men, in cold blood (v. 24-27).
VIII. The better days which king Jehoiachin lived to see in the latter end of his time, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar (v. 31-34).

Notes from Jeremiah 50

In this chapter, and that which follows, we have the judgment of Babylon, which is put last of Jeremiah's prophecies against the Gentiles because it was last accomplished; and when the cup of God's fury went round (25:17) the king of Sheshach, Babylon, drank last. Babylon was employed as the rod in God's hand for the chastising of all the other nations, and now at length that rod shall be thrown into the fire. The destruction of Babylon by Cyrus was foretold, long before it came to its height, by Isaiah, and now again, when it has come to its height, by Jeremiah; for, though at this time he saw that kingdom flourishing "like a green bay-tree,' yet at the same time he foresaw it withered and cut down. And as Isaiah's prophecies of the destruction of Babylon and the deliverance of Israel out of it seem designed to typify the evangelical triumphs of all believers over the powers of darkness, and the great salvation wrought out by our Lord Jesus Christ, so Jeremiah's prophecies of the same events seem designed to point at the apocalyptic triumphs of the gospel church in the latter days over the New-Testament Babylon, many passages in the Revelation being borrowed hence. The kingdom of Babylon being much larger and stronger than any of the kingdoms here prophesied against, its fall was the more considerable in itself; and, it having been more oppressive to the people of God than any of the other, the prophet is very copious upon this subject, for the comfort of the captives; and what was foretold in general often before (25:12 and 27:7) is here more particularly described, and with a great deal of prophetic heat as well as light. The terrible judgments God had in store for Babylon, and the glorious blessings he had in store for his people that were captives there, are intermixed and counterchanged in the prophecy of this chapter; for Babylon was destroyed to make way for the turning again of the captivity of God's people. Here is,

I. The ruin of Babylon (v. 1-3, 9-16, 21-32, and 35-46).
II. The redemption of God's people (v. 4-8, 17-20, and 33, 34).
And these being set the one against the other, it is easy to say which one would choose to take one's lot with, the persecuting Babylonians, who, though now in pomp, are reserved for so great a ruin, or the persecuted Israelites, who, though now in thraldom, are reserved for so great a glory.

Notes from Jeremiah 49

The cup of trembling still goes round, and the nations must all drink of it, according to the instructions given to Jeremiah, ch. 25:15. This chapter puts it into the hands,

I. Of the Ammonites (v. 1-6).
II. Of the Edomites (v. 7-22).
III. Of the Syrians (v. 23-27).
IV. Of the Kedarenes, and the kingdoms of Hazor (v. 28-33).
V. Of the Elamites (v. 34-39).
When Israel was scarcely saved where shall all these appear?

Notes from Jeremiah 48

Moab is next set to the bar before Jeremiah the prophet, whom God has constituted judge over nations and kingdoms, from his mouth to receive its doom. Isaiah's predictions concerning Moab had had their accomplishment (we had the predictions Isa. 15 and 16 and the like Amos 2:1), and they were fulfilled when the Assyrians, under Salmanassar, invaded and distressed Moab. But this is a prophecy of the desolations of Moab by the Chaldeans, which were accomplished under Nebuzaradan, about five years after he had destroyed Jerusalem. Here is,

I. The destruction foretold, that it should be great and general, should extend itself to all parts of the country (v. 1-6, 8, and again v. 21-25, 34), that spoilers should come upon them and force some to flee (v. 9), should carry many into captivity (v. 12, 46), that the enemy should come shortly (v. 16), come swiftly and surprise them (v. 40, 41), that he should make thorough work (v. 10) and lay the country quite waste, though it was very strong (v. 14, 15), that there should be no escaping (v. 42, 45), that this should force them to quit their idols (v. 13, 35) and put an end to all their joy (v. 33, 34), that their neighbours shall lament them (v. 17-19) and the prophet himself does (v. 31, 36, etc.).
II. The causes of this destruction assigned; it was sin that brought this ruin upon them, their pride, and security, and carnal confidence (v. 7, 11, 14, 29), and their contempt of and enmity to God and his people (v. 26, 27, 30).
III. A promise of the restoration of Moab (v. 48).

Notes from Jeremiah 47

This chapter reads the Philistines their doom, as the former read the Egyptians theirs and by the same hand, that of Nebuchadnezzar. It is short, but terrible; and Tyre and Zidon, though they lay at some distance from them, come in sharers with them in the destruction here threatened.

I. It is foretold that the forces of the northern crowns should come upon them, to their great terror (v. 1-5).
II. That the war should continue long, and their endeavours to put an end to it should be in vain (v. 6-7).

Notes from Jeremiah 46

How judgment began at the house of God we have found in the foregoing prophecy and history; but now we shall find that it did not end there. In this and the following chapters we have predictions of the desolations of the neighbouring nations, and those brought upon them too mostly by the king of Babylon, till at length Babylon itself comes to be reckoned with. The prophecy against Egypt is here put first and takes up this whole chapter, in which we have,

I. A prophecy of the defeat of Pharaoh-necho's army by the Chaldean forces at Carchemish, which was accomplished soon after, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (v. 1-12)
II. A prophecy of the descent which Nebuchadnezzar should make upon the land of Egypt, and his success in it, which was accomplished some years after the destruction of Jerusalem (v. 13-26).
III. A word of comfort to the Israel of God in the midst of those calamities (v. 27, 28).