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his people, and of the remarkable proofs he was to give on the occafion above mentioned, of his power and prefence manifefted for the protection of Mount Zion, and the hill thereof, whereon stood the palace and the city of David, with the magnificent temple dedicated to the worship of the living God. It likewife places, in a ftriking point of view, the fruitless attempts of the most formidable enemies of Jerufalem, whilft the Almighty continued to extend to that city his guardian care and defence. It teaches with what fovereign contempt the Most High over all the earth, treats the hoftile exertions of those who are inimical to the facred interefts of his church, and the perfect fafety which they fhall enjoy whom he compaffeth with favour as with a fhield.-How impregnable the defence which God forms around them that hope in his mercy! They that truft in the Lord fhall be as Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerufalem, fo the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth even for ever. The gracious protection afforded by the Lord to his ancient church, represented by the hills that encompaffed the holy city, and rendered it invincible, whilft the inhabitants repofed their confidence in the divine omnipotence, prefigured the ftill greater felicity of those under the New Teftament, whofe refuge and fortrefs is Jehovah. Such may adopt the triumphant language of the royal poet, The Lord liveth, and bleffed be my rock, and let the God of my falvation be exalted *.'

5 As birds flying, fo will the LORD of hofts defend Jerufalem: defending also he will deliver it, and paffing over, he will preferve it.

The fubject now before us is illuftrated in this verfe by another pleating fimilitude, which marks

Pfal. xviii. 46.

with peculiar beauty and energy, the tender affection and conftant folicitude, which God, in whom compaffions flow, never fails to discover for the fafety of his children, especially when they are in danger. There are two ways by which the feathered tribes fhow affection for their young ones, and their anxiety for defending them from injury. Some, alarmed at the approach of any creature, by whom they fufpect their brood may be hurt, fly hither and thither with great velocity through a certain space around their nefts, gaping, crying, and fluttering with their wings. Others, when terrified that their young ones are in danger, fly inftantly to their protection, ftretch forth their wings for their defence, whilft they appear determined that they will rather indanger their own life, than permit their helpless charge to be hurt. To birds of this laft defcription, I fuppofe that our Prophet chiefly refers, though he might also have refpect to thofe firft mentioned. The agreeable protection which Almighty God vouchfafes to convey to his beloved people, is frequently described in fcripture, in allufion to this well known emblem. Shew me thy marvellous loving 'kindness,' (faid the royal poet) hide me under 'the fhadow of thy wings *. And again, Because thou Lord haft been my help, in the fhadow of thy wings will I rejoice t. By this familiar image, Jefus Chrift illuftrates his compaffion toward Jerufalem, How often would I have gathered thy chil⚫dren together as a hen gathereth her chickens un'der her wings .' In these moving words, the gracious Redeemer expreffes his divine benevolence and tender pity toward the ungrateful, obftinate inhabitants of that highly favoured city, and reminds them that with paternal fondnefs, he would readily have admitted them to share in his kind protection. The prediction before us then imports, that as the parent bird on the approach of danger, takes her young ones under her wings to fhield them from whatever

*Pfal. xvii. 8. + Pfa'. lxiii. 7.

Matt. xxiii. 37.

might hurt or annoy them, fo the Lord of hofts would guard his peculiar people from the hoftile attempts of their powerful enemies.-The fubject is farther explained in the next words.

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Defending alfo he will deliver it, &c. Such is the extensive unremitting care which Jehovah exercises over the objects of his love, that in the most perilous fituation, they enjoy defirable safety. The Lord is their rock, their fortrefs, and their deliverer; they dwell in the fecret place of the Moft High, and abide under the fhadow of the Almighty-Alfo be will deliver them. No weapon formed against them could profper; for God himself was to fave them from the intended deftruction; fo that according to the prophecy of Obadiah, Upon Mount Zion, there fhall be deliverance.'-Paffing over he will preferve it. There feems here to be an obvious allufion to the memorable event that happened at the time wherein God brought forth the children of Ifrael out of the land of Egypt. The angel of the Lord went forth, and in one night flew all the first born in that kingdom, whilft he paffed over all the firit born of the Ifraelites, whofe door pofts were fprinkled with the blood of the paschal lamb. In like manner, the angel fent to flay the Affyrian army, which laid fiege to Jerufalem, was to pass over the inhabitants of that city, who were to be preferved alive, whilft by the terrible vengeance of heaven, their enemies were to be totally routed. I forbear at present to say any thing of the hiftory which relates the exact accomplishment of what is here foretold, to which I have already had frequent occafion to refer.-Who is a God like unto thee, who pardoneth iniquity, who paffeth by the tranfgreffion of the remnant of thy heritage, he retain. eth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. How aftonishing the interpofitions of divine Providence for the preservation of the church, which indeed refembles the bush burning and not confumed. The gracious affurances which God hath

given to his fervants, of his watchful care, and the wonderful deliverances he hath wrought for them, ought to excite us to exalt his name, to celebrate his praises, and to place unfufpecting confidence in his mercy, power, and faithfulness. How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God, therefore we put our truft under the fhadow of thy wings.

6 Turn ye unto him from whom the chil dren of Ifrael have deeply revolted,

A fuitable exhortation to a moft important duty, which may also be confidered as a prophetic declaration of what was to happen at the period to which Ifaiah looked forward, is fubjoined to the reviving predictions delivered in the preceding verfes. When God is about to work fome great deliverance for his people, he prepares them thankfully to receive the mercy he intends to bestow, and then feafonably confers it upon them. This remark is exemplified in the paffage of fcripture now before us. Having foretold the preservation of the inhabitants of Jeru falem amidst imminent dangers, that they might give this diftinguishing favour a proper reception, our Prophet calls upon his countrymen to turn to him from whom they had revolted. He clearly fets before them their duty, and urges the practice of it by a very forcible motive.-The prophet Jeremiah, in the name of the Lord, brought this heavy charge against the children of Ifrael, and the children of Judah, They have turned to me the back, and not

the face, though I taught them rifing up early and 'teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to re'ceive inftruction* By forfaking the fountain of living water, and having recourfe to broken cifterns, they manifefted the moft criminal contempt of the all-fufficient God. I do not affirm that they were always confcious of acting under the influence of this odious difpofition, or that they were fenfible of that

* Chap. xxxii. 33

that averfion from God, which they difcovered by their conduct. I mean to fay, that they were gone aftray from God, every one to his own way. By acting in this manner, they preferred temptations to tranfgreffion to the promises of God, the enjoyment of the creature to the favour of the Creator, indulgence in fin, to the practice of commanded duty. They flighted the divine perfections of Jehovah, they forfeited the protection of his providence, they neglected the duties of his worship, they violated his fupreme authority, and fet at nought the riches of his goodness. Thus eftranged from God, were the pofterity of Jacob, when, lo, the voice of mercy is heard.

Turn ye, &c. The expreffion is metaphorical, borrowed from the relative fituation of objects, after their pofition is reverfed. It plainly imports, that their internal difpofitions, and their external deportment, with respect to God and the objects with which they were connected, ought to have been totally altered, fo as to form a contraft to their former condition. They were required to affume a new temper, pofture, and afpect, quite different from those wherein they indulged in times paft, after they had revolted from the Moft High. Their minds, formerly occupied with vain, foolish, fceptical thoughts, were to be employed in contemplating with admiration and pleasure, the attributes, the providence, the word, and falvation of Jehovah. Their hearts, which had gone after idols and earthly objects, were to relinquith criminal attachment to thefe lying vanities, that they might be confecrated entirely to God, who vouchafed to demand them for himfelf. The homage which they had given to dead idols, the work of mens hands, was to be tranfferred from them, and appropriated to the only living and true God, who hath done whatfoever he pleafed in heaven and earth. From being obdurate, perverfe, and difobedient, they were to become tender, flexible, and fubmiflive to God; inclined to that

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