The
sermon which we have in this and the following chapter is of a very
different complexion from all those before. The prophet does indeed, by
direction from God, change his voice. Most of what he had said hitherto was
by way of reproof and threatening; but these two chapters are wholly taken
up with precious promises of a return out of captivity, and that typical of
the glorious things reserved for the church in the days of the Messiah. The
prophet is told not only to preach this, but to write it, because it is
intended for the comfort of the generation to come, ver. 1-3. It is here
promised, I. That they should hereafter have a joyful restoration. 1. Though
they were now in a great deal of pain and terror, ver. 4-7. 2. Though their
oppressors were very strong, ver. 8-10. 3. Though a full end was made of
other nations, and they were not restored, ver. 11. 4. Though all means of
their deliverance seemed to fail and be cut off, ver. 12-14. 5. Though God
himself had sent them into captivity, and justly, for their sins, ver. 15,
16. 6. Though all about them looked upon their case as desperate, ver. 17.
II. That after their joyful restoration they should have a happy settlement,
that their city should be rebuilt (ver. 18), their numbers increased (ver.
19, 20), their government established (ver. 21), God's covenant with them
renewed (ver. 22), and their enemies destroyed and cut off, ver. 23, 24.
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Promises
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B.
C. 594.
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1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD,
saying, 2 Thus speaketh the LORD
God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee
in a book. 3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith
the LORD:
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers,
and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words that
the LORD
spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith
the LORD;
We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6
Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I
see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all
faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is
great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's
trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to
pass in that day, saith the LORD
of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will
burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
9 But they shall serve the LORD
their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Here, I. Jeremiah is directed to write what God had spoken to him,
which perhaps refers to all the foregoing prophecies. He must write them and
publish them, in hopes that those who had not profited by what he said upon
once hearing it might take more notice of it when in reading it they had
leisure for a more considerate review. Or, rather, it refers to the promises
of their enlargement, which had been often mixed with his other discourses.
He must collect them and put them together, and God will now add unto them
many like words. He must write them for the generations to come, who should
see them accomplished, and thereby have their faith in the prophecy
confirmed. He must write them not in a letter, as that in the chapter
before to the captives, but in a book, to be carefully preserved in
the archives, or among the public rolls or registers of the state. Daniel
understood by these books when the captivity was about coming to an end,
Dan. ix. 2. He must write them in a book, not in loose papers: "For
the days come, and are yet at a great distance, when I will bring
again the captivity of Israel and Judah, great numbers of the ten
tribes, with those of the two," v. 3. And this prophecy must be
written, that it may be read then also, that so it may appear how exactly
the accomplishment answers the prediction, which is one end of the writing
of prophecies. It is intimated that they shall be beloved for their
fathers' sake (Rom. xi. 28); for therefore God will bring them
again to Canaan, because it was the land that he gave to their fathers,
which therefore they shall possess.
II. He is directed what to write. The very words are such as the Holy Ghost
teaches, v. 4. These are the words which God ordered to be written;
and those promises which are written by his order are as truly his word as
the ten commandments which were written with his finger. 1. He must write a
description of the fright and consternation which the people were now in,
and were likely to be still in upon every attack that the Chaldeans made
upon them, which will much magnify both the wonder and the welcomeness of
their deliverance (v. 5): We have heard a voice of trembling--the
shrieks of terror echoing to the alarms of danger. The false prophets told
them that they should have peace, but there is fear and not peace,
so the margin reads it. No marvel that when without are fightings within
are fears. The men, even the men of war, shall be quite overwhelmed with
the calamities of their nation, shall sink under them, and yield to them,
and shall look like women in labour, whose pains come upon them in
great extremity and they know that they cannot escape them, v. 6. You
never heard of a man travailing with child, and yet here you find not here
and there a timorous man, but every man with his hands on his loins,
in the utmost anguish and agony, as women in travail, when they see
their cities burnt and their countries laid waste. But this pain is compared
to that of a woman in travail, not to that of a death-bed, because it shall
end in joy at last, and the pain, like that of a travailing woman, shall be
forgotten. All faces shall be turned into paleness. The word
signifies not only such paleness as arises from a sudden fright, but that
which is the effect of a bad habit of body, the jaundice, or the green
sickness. The prophet laments the calamity upon the foresight of it (v.
7): Alas! for that day is great, a day of judgment, which is called
the great day, the great and terrible day of the Lord (Joel
ii. 31, Jude 6), great, so that there has been none like it. The last
destruction of Jerusalem is thus spoken of by our Saviour as unparalleled,
Matt. xxiv. 21. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, a sad time,
when God's professing people shall be in distress above other people. The
whole time of the captivity was a time of Jacob's trouble; and such times
ought to be greatly lamented by all that are concerned for the welfare of
Jacob and the honour of the God of Jacob. 2. He must write the assurances
which God had given that a happy end should at length be put to these
calamities. (1.) Jacob's troubles shall cease: He shall be saved out of
them. Though the afflictions of the church may last long, they shall not
last always. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and shall be wrought for
his church. (2.) Jacob's troublers shall be disabled from doing him any
further mischief, and shall be reckoned with for the mischief they have done
him, v. 8. The Lord of hosts, who has all power in his hand,
undertakes to do it: "I will break his yoke from off thy neck,
which has long lain so heavy, and has so sorely galled thee. I will burst
thy bonds and restore thee to liberty and ease, and thou shalt no more
be at the beck and command of strangers, shalt no more serve them, nor shall
they any more serve themselves of thee; they shall no more enrich
themselves either by thy possessions or by thy labours." And, (3.) That
which crowns and completes the mercy is that they shall be restored to the
free exercise of their religion again, v. 9. They shall be delivered
from serving their enemies, not that they may live at large and do what they
please, but that they may serve the Lord their God and David their king,
that they may come again into order, under the established government both
in church and state. Therefore they were brought into trouble and
made to serve their enemies because they had not served the Lord
their God as they ought to have done, with joyfulness and gladness of
heart, Deut. xxviii. 47. But, when the time shall come that they should
be saved out of their trouble, God will prepare and qualify them for
it by giving them a heart to serve him, and will make it doubly
comfortable by giving them opportunity to serve him. Therefore we are
delivered out of the hands of our enemies, that we may serve God,
Luke i. 74, 75. And then deliverances out of temporal calamities are
mercies indeed to us when by them we find ourselves engaged to and enlarged
in the service of God. They shall serve their own God, and neither be
inclined, as they had been of old in the day of their apostasy, nor
compelled, as they had been of late in the day of their captivity, to serve
other gods. They shall serve David their king, such governors as God
should from time to time set over them, of the line of David (as Zerubbabel),
or at least sitting on the thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house
of David, as Nehemiah. But certainly this has a further meaning. The
Chaldee paraphrase reads it, They shall obey (or hearken to) the
Messiah (or Christ), the Son of David, their king. To him
the Jewish interpreters apply it. That dispensation which commenced at their
return out of captivity brought them to the Messiah. He is called David
their King because he was the Son of David (Matt. xxii. 42) and
he answered to the name, Matt. xx. 31, 32. David was an illustrious type of
him both in his humiliation and in his exaltation. The covenant of royalty
made with David had principal reference to him, and in him the promises of
that covenant had their full accomplishment. God gave him the throne of
his father David; he raised him up unto them, set him upon the holy
hill of Zion. God is often in the New Testament said to have raised
up Jesus, raised him up as a King, Acts iii. 26; xiii. 23, 33. Observe,
[1.] Those that serve the Lord as their God must also serve David their
King, must give up themselves to Jesus Christ, to be ruled by him. For
all men must honour the Son as they honour the Father, and come into
the service and worship of God by him as Mediator. [2.] Those that are
delivered out of spiritual bondage must make it appear that they are so by
giving up themselves to the service of Christ. Those to whom he gives rest
must take his yoke upon them.
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Promises
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10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant
Jacob, saith the LORD;
neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy
seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be
in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11
For I am with thee, saith the LORD,
to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have
scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct
thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
12 For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is
incurable, and thy wound is grievous. 13 There
is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no
healing medicines. 14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they
seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the
chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because
thy sins were increased. 15 Why criest thou for thine
affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine
iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things
unto thee. 16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be
devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into
captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon
thee will I give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health unto
thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD;
because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion,
whom no man seeketh after.
In these verses, as in those foregoing, the deplorable case of the Jews in
captivity is set forth, but many precious promises are given them that in
due time they should be relieved and a glorious salvation wrought for them.
I. God himself appeared against them: he scattered them (v.
11); he did all these things unto them, v. 15. All their
calamities came from his hands; whoever were the instruments, he was the
principal agent. And this made their case very sad that God, even their own
God, spoke concerning them, to pull down and to destroy. Now, 1. This was
intended by him as a fatherly chastisement, and no other (v. 11):
"I will correct thee in measure, or according to judgment,
with discretion, no more than thou deservest, nay, no more than thou canst
well bear." What God does against his people is in a way of correction,
and that correction is always moderated and always proceeds from love:
"I will not leave thee altogether unpunished, as thou art ready
to think I should, because of thy relation to me." Note, A profession
of religion, though ever so plausible, will be far from securing to us
impunity in sin. God is no respecter of persons, but will show his hatred of
sin wherever he finds it, and that he hates it most in those that are
nearest to him. God here corrects his people for the multitude of their
iniquity, and because their sins were increased, v. 14,
15. Are our sorrows multiplied at any time and do they increase? We must
acknowledge that it is because our sins have been multiplied and they have
increased. Iniquities grow in us, and therefore troubles grow upon us. But,
2. What God intended as a fatherly chastisement they and others interpreted
as an act of hostility; they looked upon him as having wounded them with
the wound of an enemy and with the chastisement of a cruel one (v.
14), as if he had designed their ruin, and neither mitigated the correction
nor had any mercy in reserve for them. It did indeed seem as if God had
dealt thus severely with them, as if he had turned to be their enemy and had
fought against them, Isa. lxiii. 10. Job complains that God had become cruel
to him and multiplied his wounds. When troubles are great and long we
have need carefully to watch over our own hearts, that we entertain not such
hard thoughts as these of God and his providence. His are the chastisements
of a merciful one, not of a cruel one, whatever they may appear.
II. Their friends forsook them, and were shy of them. None of those who had
courted them in their prosperity would take notice of them now in their
distress, v. 13. It is commonly thus when families go to decay; those
hang off from them that had been their hangers-on. In two cases we are glad
of the assistance of our friends and need their service:-- 1. If we be
impeached, accused, or reproached, we expect that our friends should appear
in vindication of us, should speak a good word for us when we cannot put on
a face to speak for ourselves; but here there is none to plead thy cause,
none to stand up in thy defence, none to intercede for thee with thy
oppressors; therefore God will plead their cause, for he might well
wonder there was none to uphold a people that had been so much the
favourites of Heaven, Isa. lxiii. 5. 2. If we be sick, or sore, or wounded,
we expect our friends should attend us, advise us, sympathize with us, and,
if occasion be, lend a hand for the applying of healing medicines; but here
there is none to do that, none to bind up thy wounds, and by counsels and
comforts to make proper applications to thy case; nay (v. 14), All
thy lovers have forgotten thee; out of sight out of mind; instead of
seeking thee, they forsake thee. Such as this has often been the case of
religion and serious godliness in the world; those that from their
education, profession, and hopeful beginnings, one might have expected to be
its friends and lovers, its patrons and protectors, desert it, forget it,
and have nothing to say in its defence, nor will do any thing towards the
healing of its wounds. Observe, Thy lovers have forgotten thee, for I
have wounded thee. When God is against a people who will be for them?
Who can be for them so as to do them any kindness? See Job xxx. 11. Now,
upon this account, their case seemed desperate and past relief (v.
12): Thy bruise is incurable, thy wound grievous, and (v. 15) thy
sorrow is incurable. The condition of the Jews in captivity was such as
no human power could redress the grievances of; there they were like a
valley full of dead and dry bones, which nothing less than
Omnipotence can put life into. Who could imagine that a people so
diminished, so impoverished, should ever be restored to their own land and
re-established there? So many were the aggravations of their calamity that
their sorrow would not admit of any alleviation, but they seemed to be
hardened in it, and their souls refused to be comforted, till divine
consolations proved strong ones, too strong to be borne down even by the
floods of grief that overwhelmed them. Thy sorrow is incurable because
thy sins, instead of being repented of and forsaken, were increased.
Note, Incurable griefs are owing to incurable lusts. Now in this deplorable
condition they are looked upon with disdain (v. 17): They called
thee an outcast, abandoned by all, abandoned to ruin; they said, This
is Zion, whom no man seeks after. When they looked on the place where
the city and temple had been built they called that an outcast; now all was
in ruins, there was no resort to it, no residence in it, none asked the way
to Zion, as formerly; no man seeks after it. When they looked on the
people that formerly dwelt in Zion, but were now in captivity (and we read
of Zion dwelling with the daughter of Babylon, Zech. ii. 7), they
called them outcasts; these are those who belong to Zion, and are wont to
talk much of it and weep at the remembrance of it, but no man seeks after
them, or enquires concerning them. Note, It is often the lot of Zion to be
deserted and despised by those about her.
III. For all this God will work deliverance and salvation for them in due
time. Though no other hand, nay, because no other hand, can cure
their wound, his will, and shall. 1. Though he seemed to stand at a distance
from them, yet he assures them of his presence with them, his powerful and
gracious presence: I will save thee, v. 10. I am with thee,
to save thee, v. 11. When they are in their troubles he is with
them, to save them from sinking under them; when the time has come for their
deliverance he is with them, to be ready upon the first opportunity, to save
them out of their trouble. 2. Though they were at a distance, remote from
their own land, afar off in the land of their captivity, yet
there shall salvation find them out, thence shall it fetch them, them and
their seed, for they also shall be known among the Gentiles, and
distinguished from them, that they may return, v. 10. 3.
Though they were now full of fears, and continually alarmed, yet the time
shall come when they shall be in rest and quiet, safe and easy, and
none shall make them afraid, v. 10. 4. Though the nations into
which they were dispersed should be brought to ruin, yet they should be
preserved from that ruin (v. 11): Though I make a full end of the
nations whither I have scattered thee, and there might be danger of thy
being lost among them, yet I will not make a full end of thee. It was
promised that in the peace of these nations they should have peace (ch.
xxix. 7), and yet in the destruction of these nations they should escape
destruction. God's church may sometimes be brought very low, but he will
not make a full end of it, ch. v. 10, 18. 5. Though God correct
them, and justly, for their sins, their manifold transgressions and mighty
sins, yet he will return in mercy to them, and even their sin shall not
prevent their deliverance when God's time shall come. 6. Though their
adversaries were mighty, God will bring them down, and break their power (v.
16): All that devour thee shall be devoured, and thus Zion's cause
will be pleaded and will be made to appear to all the world a righteous
cause. Thus Zion's deliverance will be brought about by the destruction of
her oppressors; and thus her enemies will be recompensed for all the injury
they have done her; for there is a God that judges in the earth, a
God to whom vengeance belongs. "They shall every one of them,
without exception, go into captivity, and the day will come when those
that now spoil thee shall be a spoil." Those that lead
into captivity shall go into captivity, Rev. xiii. 10. This might serve
to oblige the present conquerors to use their captives well, because the
wheel would turn round, and the day would come when they also should be
captives, and let them do now as they would then be done by. 7. Though the
wound seem incurable, God will make a cure of it (v. 17): I will
restore health unto thee. Be the disease ever so dangerous, the patient
is safe if God undertakes the cure.
IV. Upon the whole matter, they are cautioned against inordinate fear and
grief, for in these precious promises there is enough to silence both. 1.
They must not tremble as those that have no hope in the apprehension of
future further trouble that might threaten them (v. 10): Fear thou
not, O my servant Jacob! neither be dismayed. Note, Those that are God's
servants must not give way to disquieting fears, whatever difficulties and
dangers may be before them. 2. They must not sorrow as those that have no
hope for the troubles which at present they lie under, v. 15. "Why
criest thou for thy affliction? It is true thy carnal confidences fail
thee, creatures are physicians of no value, but I will heal thy wound,
and therefore, Why criest thou? Why dost thou fret and complain thus?
It is for thy sin (v. 14, 15), and therefore, instead of
repining, thou shouldest be repenting. Wherefore should a man complain
for the punishment of his sins? The issue will be good at last, and
therefore rejoice in hope."
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18 Thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on
his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and
the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. 19 And out of
them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I
will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and
they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be as
aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will
punish all that oppress them. 21 And their nobles shall be of
themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I
will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is
this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.
22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23 Behold,
the whirlwind of the LORD
goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon
the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD
shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed
the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
We have here further intimations of the favour God had in reserve for them
after the days of their calamity were over. It is promised,
I. That the city and temple should be rebuilt, v. 18. Jacob's
tents, and his dwelling places, felt the effects of the
captivity, for they lay in ruins when the inhabitants were carried away
captives; but, when they have returned, the habitations shall be repaired,
and raised up out of their ruins, and therein God will have mercy upon
their dwelling places, that had been monuments of his justice. Then the
city of Jerusalem shall be built upon her own heap, her own hill,
though now it be no better than a ruinous heap. The situation was
unexceptionable, and therefore it shall be rebuilt upon the same spot of
ground. He that can make of a city a heap (Isa. xxv. 2) can when he
pleases make of a heap a city again. The palace (the temple,
God's palace) shall remain after the manner thereof; it shall be
built after the old model; and the service of God shall be constantly kept
up there and attended as formerly.
II. That the sacred feasts should again be solemnized (v. 19): Out
of the city, and the temple, and all the dwelling-places of Jacob, shall
proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those that make merry. They shall
go with expressions of joy to the temple service, and with the like shall
return from it. Observe, The voice of thanksgiving is the same with the
voice of those that make merry; for whatever is the matter of our joy
should be the matter of our praise. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
What makes us cheerful should make us thankful. Serve the Lord with
gladness.
III. That the people should be multiplied, and increased, and made
considerable: They shall not be few, they shall not be small, but
shall become numerous and illustrious, and make a figure among the nations;
for I will multiply them and I will glorify them. It is for
the honour of the church to have many added to it that shall be saved. This
would make them be of some weight among their neighbours. Let a people be
ever so much diminished and despised, God can multiply and glorify them.
They shall be restored to their former honour: Their children shall be as
aforetime, playing in the streets (Zech. viii. 5); they shall inherit
their parents' estates and honours as formerly; and their congregation
shall, both in civil and sacred things, be established before me.
There shall be a constant succession of faithful magistrates in the
congregation of the elders, to establish that, and of faithful worshippers
in the congregation of the saints. As one generation passes away another
shall be raised up, and so the congregation shall be established before
God.
IV. That they shall be blessed with a good government (v. 21): Their
nobles and judges shall be of themselves, of their own nation,
and they shall no longer be ruled by strangers and enemies; their
governor shall proceed from the midst of them, shall be one that has
been a sharer with them in the afflictions of their captive state; and this
has reference to Christ our governor, David our King (v. 9);
he is of ourselves, in all things made like unto his brethren. And I will
cause him to draw near; this may be understood either, 1. Of the people,
Jacob and Israel: "I will cause them to draw near to me
in the temple service, as formerly, to come in to covenant with me, as my
people (v. 22), to approach to me in communion; for who
hath engaged his heart, made a covenant with it, and brought it into
bonds, to approach unto me?" How few are there that do so! None
can do it but by the special grace of God causing them to draw near.
Note, Whenever we approach to God in any holy ordinance we must engage our
hearts to do it; the heart must be prepared for the duty, employed in it,
and kept closely to it. The heart is the main thing that God looks at and
requires; but it is deceitful, and will start aside of a great deal of care
and pains be not taken to engage it, to bind this sacrifice with cords.
Or, 2. It may be understood of the governor; for it is a single person that
is spoken of: Their governor shall be duly called to his office,
shall draw near to God to consult him upon all occasions. God will
cause him to approach to him, for, otherwise, who would engage to take
care of so weak a people, and let this ruin come under their hand? But when
God has work to do, though attended with many discouragements, he will raise
up instruments to do it. But it looks further, to Christ, to him as
Mediator. Note, (1.) The proper work and office of Christ, as Mediator, is to
draw near and approach unto God, not for himself only, but for us, and
in our name and stead, as the high priest of our profession. The priests are
said to draw nigh to God, Lev. x. 3; xxi. 17. Moses drew near, Exod.
xx. 21. (2.) God the Father did cause Jesus Christ thus to draw
near and approach to him as Mediator. He commanded and appointed him to
do it; he sanctified and sealed him, anointed him for this purpose, accepted
him, and declared himself well pleased in him. (3.) Jesus Christ, being
caused by the Father to approach unto him as Mediator, did engage his
heart to do it, that is, he bound and obliged himself to it, undertook
for his heart (so some read it), for his soul, that, in the fullness of
time, it should be made an offering for sin. His own voluntary
undertaking, in compliance with his Father's will and in compassion to
fallen man, engaged him, and then his own honour kept him to it. It also
intimates that he was hearty and resolute, free and cheerful, in it, and
made nothing of the difficulties that lay in his way, Isa. lxiii. 3-5. (4.)
Jesus Christ was, in all this, truly wonderful. We may well ask, with
admiration, Who is this that thus engages his heart to such an
undertaking?
V. That they shall be taken again into covenant with God, according to the
covenant made with their fathers (v. 22): You shall be my people;
and it is God's good work in us that makes us to him a people, a people
for his name, Acts xv. 14. I will be your God. It is his
good-will to us that is the summary of that part of the covenant.
VI. That their enemies shall be reckoned with and brought down (v.
20): I will punish all those that oppress them, so that it
shall appear to all a dangerous thing to touch God's anointed, Ps. cv.
15. The last two verses come under this head: The whirlwind of the Lord
shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. These two verses we
had before (ch. xxiii. 19, 20); there they were a denunciation
of God's wrath against the wicked hypocrites in Israel; here against
the wicked oppressors of Israel. The expressions, exactly agreeing, speak
the same with that (Isa. li. 22, 23), I will take the cup of trembling
out of thy hand and put it into the hand of those that afflict thee. The
wrath of God against the wicked is here represented to be. 1. Very terrible,
like a whirlwind, surprising and irresistible. 2. Very grievous. It shall
fall with pain upon their heads; they shall be as much hurt as
frightened. 3. It shall pursue them. Whirlwinds are usually short, but this
shall be a continuing whirlwind. 4. It shall accomplish that for
which it is sent: The anger of the Lord shall not return till he have
done it. The purposes of his wrath, as well as the purposes of his love,
will all be fulfilled; he will perform the intents of his heart. 5.
Those that will not lay this to heart now will then be unable to put off the
thoughts of it: In the latter days you shall consider it, when it
will be too late to prevent it.
