The Lamentations of the Grief of all Griefs, their God had forfaken them; for when they stretched forth their Hands there were none to comfort them, ver. 16, 17. Q. What may this ferve for? A. To admonish all Cities of the World, be they never fo famous, never fo rich, never fo mighty, to beware how they provoke God's Wrath against them, thro' their intolerable Impiety. Q. What were their intolerable Sins? A. Their defpifing the Counfel of the Prophets; their revolting from the Truth to embrace Falfhood and Vanity; and their abufing the Long-fuffering of the Lord. Q. Did the Lord forwarn them of this Defolation? ; EREMIAH. 195 A. Yes, many hundred Years before it came, even from the Time of Mofes, and fo from Age to Age, until the very Hour of thefrCaptivity; as appears, Deut. xxviii. 64, 65, 66. Q. In this Extremity what Refuge doth the Prophet Shew them? A. The holy Mount of the God of Mercy. Q. How muft they reach unto that Mount? A. With the Arms of Repentance and Patience: With Repentance, in confeffing their Sins, and being forry for the fame; and with Patience in humbly attending the Hour of their Deli The Stile of thefe Lamentations of Jeremiah is lively, tender, pathetick, and affecting and it was the particular Talent of this Prophet to write melancholy and moving Things well: fo as there never was a Subject more worthy of Tears, nothing was ever written with more tender and affecting Sentiments, than that which he'compofed upon the Deftruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; it being a Custom with the Hebrews to make mournful Elegies, or Songs, upon the Death of great Men, or upon any Occafion of publick Miferies and Calamities; as appears in the 2 Chron. XXXV. 25. Those compofed by David upon the Death of Abfolom and Jonathan are ftill extant with us, though many are loft. And it feems by this Prophet, that the Jews hired Women on purpose to weep on mournful Occafions; for, fays he, Chap, ix. 17. Call for the mourning Women, &c. The four firft Chapters of the Lamentations are composed in acroftick Yerfe, and in the Abecedary Method; i. e. every Verfe, or Couplet, beginning with one of the Lettters of the Hebrew Alphabet, ranged in alphabetical Order. The first and fecond Chapters contain 22 Verfes, according to an equal Number of Letters in the Alphabet. The third Chapter has three Verfes together, which begin with the fame Letter, and includes in all 66 Verfes. The fourth is like the two firft; but the fifth is not acroftick; and as in the fecond, third and fourth Chapters, the Letter Pe is before Ajin; whereas in the first, and all the acroftick and abecedary Pfalms, Ajin A. No; like an holy and vir- please the Lord to fhorten their tuous Paftor, he joined by fervent Days of Wretchedness, Chap. v. Prayer with them, that it would Ajin goes before Pe; and the Reafon not being decided, for Novelty's Sake, I have here given the whole Alphabet in Verse. Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Wau, Zaj-in, Heth, Teth, Yj-od, Caph, The Book of the Prophet EZEKIEL. CHA P. I. to X. Q. WHere was Ezekiel called to prophesy? A. God called him in Chaldea, at the Time when Jehoiakim, King of Judah, his Mother, and many others, lived in Captivity under Nebuchadnezar,ch. i.ii. iii. Q. To what End? A. To affure them, tho' they had yielded themfelves Prifoners to the King of Babylon, and had lived in Servitude to him five Years, yet the Lord would remember his Promife, and bring them home again. Q. Did they distrust him? .mur. " Q. Is it not faid, Chap ii. 2. The Lord infpired Ezekiel to Speak unto them for their Comfort? A. Yes; fuch was God's great Mercy, and their Weaknefs of Faith. Q. Did not Ezekiel prophesy before? akim did voluntarily fubmit to the King of Babel; and therefore, to excufe the Prophet, God gives him a new kind of Prophecy. After what fort? A. A Hand appears and delivers him a Book. Q. What was written in the Book? A. Woe and Lamentation, chap. ii, 10. Q. What was he bid to do with the Book ? A. Eat it, i. e. imprint the Words thereof in his Heart, chap. iii. 1. Q. Are none fit to be God's Meffengers but fuch as receive his Word into their Hearts? A. No, and meditate thereon; which is called an Eating. Q. How was the Taste of it in Ezekiel's Mouth? A. As fweet as Honey, ver. 3. Q. Did the People regard his Meffage? A. Asthey do now-a-daysGod's Preachers, very flightly. A. Yes: And by the Counfel of him and Feremiah, Jeboi-Q Was he difcomforted thereby? A. No; and gave him a Fore-head as hard as Adamant, to out-face their Rebellion, ver. 9. A. No; God embolden'd him, A. As fure as I live, faith the Lord, I will bring you from the People, and will gather you out of the Countries wherein you are fcattered, with a mighty Hand, and with an out-ftretched Arm, and in my Wrath poured out, chap. xx. 33, 34. Q. What if he had been difcouraged, and given way to their Sin? A. Then the People dying in their Sins, their Blood fhould have been required at his Hands, ver 18. Q. Who may take heed by this Leffon? A. All idle and illiterate Minifters. Q. But he teaching them, and they not repenting, how then? A. Their Blood thall be upon their own Heads, ver. 18, 19. Q. How did Ezekiel prophesy the Destruction of Jerufalem? 4. By the Parable of his Hair, the one Part whereof they should burn, the other cut with a Sword, and fcatter the third in the Wind, ebap. v. 2. Q. What did this fignify? A.That one Part of the People fhould die thro' Famine, the fecond be flain, the third led into Captivity, ver. 12. All this is Threatening, how doth be comfort them? A. By fhewing that a Remnant fhould be faved, and they fhould be difpleafed at their Sins, and find Mercy, chap. vi. 8. Q. How did God deliver that Remnant in time of Vengeance? A. By fetting a Mark upon them, whereby they are known, as he doth upon all his Elect, CHA P. X. to XX. Q. After Jehoiakim and the reft were led intoCaptivity, thofe that remained ftillin Judea how did they live?" A. Like Murderers and Idolaters, chap. xi. 6. Q. Who mifled them? A. Jazaniah the Son of Zur, and Pelatiah the Son of Benajan. Q. What did they boast of? A That God had utterly forfaken thofe that were in Captivity, and given the Land unto them in Poffeffion, ver. 15. Q. How was that Reproach Punished? A. Pelatiah, one of their chief Princes, was ftruck with fudden Death, ver. 13. QWhat may we learn by that Example? A. That it is dangerous to mifjudge of God's fecret Judgments. Q. What doth Ezekiel Say against falfe Prophets? 4. That they fhould be confumed in the Midft of their Vanities, chap. xiii. 14. Q. How did the falfe Prophets feduce the People? A. By fewing Pillows under their Elbows, covering their chap. What are the Prophet's Heads with Vails, and dawbing Words of their Deliverance? their Buildings with untemper'd Q. What is the Meaning of learned Idolatry, ch. xvi. 37, 39. that? A. They flattered them with Security, and blinded their Eyes with falfe Delufions, ver. 18. Q. Why doth God fend falfe Prophets and unlearned Preachers among ft bis People? 4. For their Ingratitude, because they do not hearken unto the true Prophets and Preachers when they have them; a Fault much to be feared in England at this Time. Q. What becomes of the People that bearken unto thefe lying Prophets? A. They fhall be cut off with the Prophets; the Punishment of that thall be as the Punishment of him that feeketh unto him, chap. xiv. 10. Q. In the Time of God's Wrath may the Wicked prefume of Safety for being in Company with the Godly? A. No: For if, faith the Lord of Judah, I fend my Sword through this Land, and fay unto it, Deftroy both Man and Beast init; though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the Midft of it, they fhould deliver neither Son nor Daughter, but their own Souls, by their Righteoufnefs, v. 17. 18. Q. How deth God oftentimes punish us for Sin? A. Even by the fame Means by which we made ourselves to fin; as Violence with Violence, Luft with Luft; and as he did with the Ifraelites, when he caufed the Egyptians, Affyrians, and Chal deans, to punifh them for Idolatry, amongst whom they had Q. Will God punish one for the Sin of another? A. No; every Soul that finneth fhall fuffer: The Son fhall not bear the Iniquity of the Father; neither fhall the Father bear the Iniquity of the Son: But the Righteoufnefs of the Righteous fhall be upon him; and the Wickedness of the Wicked fhall be upon himself, chap. xviii. 20. Q. How is it faid then, that God will punish the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children, to the third and fourth Genera tion? A. That is meant, if the Children continue in the Sins of their Fathers, or in fome temporal Pu nifhment, fuch as are Loffes of Goods, which their Fathers got by unlawful Means. Q. What are unfruitful Chriftians like to? A. To Vine-branches, which, having loft their Fruit, are utterly unfit for any thing but the Fire. Q. How doth God find Men before he chufes them? A. In their corrupt Nature, like a wretched Infant, polluted in their Blood, unable to help themselves. Q. What doth God do to them to make them live? A. He whofe Word is his Deed faith to them, in their wretched Eftate, Live, ch. 16. 6. Q. If the righteous Man become wicked, what is his Reward? A. Condemnation. Q. If the Wicked forfake his Wick Wickedness, and live uprightly, what is his Reward? A. Forgiveness, ch. 18. 26, 27. C H A P. XXI. to XXXVII. Q. What Sin, befides Idolatry, haften'd the Destruction of Jerufalem ? A. Murdering the Prophets, oppreffing the Strangers, neglect ing the Fatherlefs and Widow, prophaning the Sabbath, fowing Diffention, of committing Inceft, taking of Bribes, Ufury, and Extortion, ch. xxii. 7, ---- 12. Q. Do all thefe Sins live at this Day? A. Yes, in as rank a Manner as they did then. Q. What is then to be feared? A. Left we fhould be punifhed as they were. Q. You Spake before of the Parable of the Hair, whereby Ezekiel bewed the Manner of Jerufalem's Overthrow, Shew me by how many Figures and Parables he taught? A. By fifteen, whereof one being paft before, there remains fourteen unfpoken of. Q. Rebearfe them in order. Which is the first? A. The Parable of fix Men, Q. What is the Second? • White, that took burning Coals Q. What is the third? A. The Parable of Ezekiel's carrying forth of his Stuff out of the City by Night, chap. xi. Q. What doth that fignify? A. That even fo the Ifraclites fhould be led with their Burdens into Captivity. Q. What is the fourth? A. Of eating Bread with Trembling, and drinking Water with Blood, chap. xii. Q. What is fignified by that? A. The Torments of Mind, and Afflictions of Body that fhould accompany the Ifraelites. Q. What is the fifth? A. Setting up a Wall, and daubing it with untemper'd Mortar, chap. xii. Q. What doth that fignify? A. The falfe Doctrine of the Prophets, when one told a Lie, another would maintain it. Q: What is the fixth? A. The Parable of the Vine without Fruit, chap. xv. Q. What doth that fignify? A. That if Jerufalem, which was the Congregation that God had taught, did not bring forth the Fruit of good Living, according to his Doctrine, like the barren Vine, it fhould be thrown into the Fire. Q. What is the Seventh? and |