neither fhall ye have famine; but I will give you affured peace in this place: but, fays God, by fword and famine fball thofe prophets be confumed. Jeremiah affures them of a feventy years captivity; Hananiah, after fome of them went forth, promifes their fafe return within two years: and thefe prophets led the people to truft in a lie; and by fuch falfe prophets they were encouraged to endure the terrible fiege, and to defend themselves to the laft extremity: and though they had feen the threatened destruction of Hananiah, yet they went on; and all this time they fought againtt God himself, till by fword, famine, and peftilence, they and their falfe prophets all perished together.

Those who at firft obeyed the voice of the Lord, and fell away to the Chaldeans, and were gone to Babylon, met with the promifed bleffing of God's being with them there; and found that Ezekiel was raised up of God to teach and inftruct them in Babylon: yet the devil had not done with them, for he raised up fome of his own tools to withftand that prophet, and these had feduced not a few. For thus faith the Lord of hosts, the God of Ifrael, Let not your prophets and your diviners that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither bearken to your dreams which ye caufe to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name; I have not fent them, faith the Lord. For thus faith the Lord, That efter feventy years be accomplished in Babylon, I will vifit you, and perform my good word towards you, in caufing vcu to return to this

place.

place. For my thoughts toward you are thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then fhall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will bearken unto you. Because ye have faid, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon. Jer. xxix.

8-11.

The work of these wicked men in Babylon was, to blame those who had fell away to the Chaldeans, and who had fubmitted themfelves to the yoke of this captivity; and they likewife wrote into Jewry, to encourage them who maintained the fiege in Jerufalem; to whom God by his prophet replies, Know that thus faith the Lord of the king that fitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwell in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; thus faith the Lord of hofts, Behold, I will fend upon them the fword, the famine, and the peftilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are fo evil. And I will perfecute them with the fword, and with famine, and with peftilence, and will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curfe, and an aftonishment, and an hiffing, and a reproach among all the nations whither I have driven them: because they have not hearkened to my words, faith the Lord, which I fent unto them by my fervants the prophets. Jer. xxix. 16-19.

Of these desperate rebellious wretches there were three raised up by the devil in Babylon, who appeared at the head of all the rest, namely, Shemaiah, Zedekiah,

C

- Zedekiah, and Ahab. The firft of thefe writes a letter to all that dwelt in Jerufalem, and to the priest, against Jeremiah the prophet, in the following manner: To Zephaniah the fon of Maafeiab the priest, and to all the priests, faying, The Lord hath made thee prieft in the ftead of febciada the priest, that ye fhould be officers in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldeft put him in prijon, and in the flocks: now therefore, why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? for therefore be fent unto us in Babylon, faying, This captivity is long, build ye boufes and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them, &c. &c. Jer. xxix.

To these three men God orders his prophet to fend the following meffage: Therefore, thus faith the Lord, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nebelamite and his feed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall be behold the good that I will do for my people, faith the Lord, because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord. And to the other two falle prophets God fent the following awful fentence: Thus faith the Lord of bofts, the God of Ifrael, of Abab the fon of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maafaiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name, behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall flay them before your eyes. And of them shall be taken up a curfe by all the captivity of Judah, which are in Babylon, faying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom

the

the king of Babylon roafted in the fire; because they have committed villainy in Ifrael, and have committed adultery with their neighbours wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded, even I know and am witness, faith the Lord. Jer. xxix. 21— 23. These were false prophets among God's own profeffing people, whofe whole work was to destroy the unwary, feduce the weak, and encourage rebellion against the Lord.

And now, if we look into the heathen nations, which God had ordered to fubmit to the yoke of the king of Babylon, upon these conditions, that those who obeyed his voice fhould enjoy their lands, and those who did not fhould be purfued by the fword, famine, and peftilence, till they were confumed by his hand and among them we fhall find another fort of rabble raised up by the devil to feek their ruin. Hence the caution that God fends them, to guard them against their hour of temptation: Therefore bearken not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your forcerers, which speak unto you, faying, Ye shallnot ferve the king of Babylon; for they prophefy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and ye fhould perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ferve him, thofe will I let remain ftill in their own land, faith the Lord, and they shall till it, and dwell therein. Jer. xxvii. 9-11. And now we will come nigher home.

The feriptures threaten us with a time of trouble as well as they; and this trying time is not only foretold, but it is felt at this prefent hour by many: And at that time fhall Michael fland up, the great prince which ftandeth for the children of thy people, and there fhall be a time of trouble, fuch as never was fince there was a nation even to that fame time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that fhall be found written in the book. Dan, xii. 1. Take notice here of the ftrangeness of this time of trouble-it is fuch as never was fince there hath been a nation upon the earth: nor will all the annals of time furnish us with an account of such a time as the present time. But in this time of troublethe Prince of Peace fhall ftand up-and fhall appear in the behalf of his people, who is their mediator and deliverer, and he will display his power in behalf of his own elect. Thy people shall be delilivered-Daniel's people are the people of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, as it follows, they fhall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book; that is, every one whofe name is found written in the book of life.

Again. This time of trouble is alluded to in the Revelation by John; Because thou haft kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the bour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Rev. iii. 10.-Daniel time of trouble is here called an hour of temptation; and as the elect are to be delivered by Mi

chael,