ened in his going forth. As light is a symbol of wifdom, joy, and comfort, so darkness, when opposed to it, fignifies perplexity, mifery, and forrow. The darkness here afcribed to the fun, may denote the infufficiency of the fupreme power in Babylon for the exercife of government, and his inability to convey the advantages which he formerly imparted to thofe who were under his influence. And the moon shall not cause her light to fhine. The agreeable and useful direction afforded by the seasonable exercise of subordinate authority, was to be with-held from those by whom it was enjoyed. The bright fplendor of the fun, the fainter light of the moon, and even the glimmering light of the stars, were to be extinguished in the Babylonish hemifphere. By these various images, in which the beautiful order of nature appears inverted, our prophet figuratively defcribes the great public calamities wherewith Babylon was to be vifited. Deprived of her former privileges and profperity, by which she became confpicuous among the nations, fhe was to fink into obfcurity, meannels, and mifery, and become as contemptible as ever fhe had been admired.The flourishing and profperous condition of states and cities is altogether uncertain. By their fins they often provoke God, as did the men of Babylon, to fend upon them defolating judgments, which terminate in their deftruction, or at least, in many refpects, reverfe their former circumstances. Firmly convinced that fin is the reproach and the ruin of a people, let us beware of incurring the divine displeasure, and expofing ourselves to the righteous vengeance of heaven.

11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I wilk cause the arrogancy of the proud to ceafe, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Thefe

These words farther defcribe the great effects which were to be produced in the day of the Lord, and explain the figurative language which our prophet had ufed in delineating this fubject. The world, which God declares that he would punish, must be underftood in a limited fenfe, as in many other prophecies, to fignify the large portion of the inhabited earth which was fubject to the Babylonian empire, whose territories were very extenfive. In the fame manner, the Roman empire is called the whole world in the New Teftament*. The wicked, who are here intended, are the fame with the finners threatened with deftruction in the ninth verfe. The most atrocious wickedness, of almoft every fort, abounded among the men of Babylon, who indulged themselves in perpetrating the moft enormous crimes, as we learn from many paffages of the prophetic writings. Like other great cities, who enjoy opulence and profperity, they were remarkable for pride, luxury, and wantonnefs. Hence these words of the prophet Jeremiah,

Be

hold, I am against thee, O moft proud! faith the Lord God of hofts: for thy day is come, the time that I will vifit theet.' Cruelty and oppreffion in treating the people of God, when reduced to their fubjection, was another evil that prevailed among them; and therefore the prophet, juft mentioned, thus exclaimed, when speaking of their deftruction: How is the hammer of the whole earth cut afunder and broken!' In idolatry and superstition they exceeded most other nations; and therefore the fame. infpired writer calls their country, a land of graven

images, where they were mad upon their idols .' To this lift of crimes may be added, unbounded ambition and avarice, grofs profanity with respect to the worship and fanctuary of the true God, and the most infulting blafphemy as to his power and providence. These were fome of the evils and iniquities for which

• Luke ii. 1. + Jer. 1. 31.

Jer. 1. 23. Il Jer. 1. 38.

God

God threatened to punish the people of Babylon: these were the fources of their calamities, on account of which the wrath of God was revealed from heaven against them.

And I will caufe the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. God is the declared enemy of the proud and arrogant, but the friend of the humble, the modeft, and felf-denied. He refifteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble. He beholdeth mifchief, fpite, and arrogancy, to requite them with his hand, and to check their progrefs, by the interpofition of his providence. Arrogancy and haughtinefs are difcovered, by a proud difdain of those who occupy the lower ftations in fociety, and enjoy few external advantages. They are frequently the fource of contentions, emulations, and ftrifes, among those who are in fimilar circumftances. They excite malevolence, difcontent, and envy, toward thofe who ought to be acknowleged our fuperiors, and impatience of admonition and reproof. This arrogancy of the proud, God declares that he would make to ceafe; this haughtiness of thofe who made themselves to appear terrible to others, he would lay low, by the awful judgments which were to be executed upon Babylon.Though wicked men may be little fenfible that they are the authors of their own ruin, yet nothing is more certain than that they contribute, not only meritoriously, but likewife inftrumentally, to their own deftruction. Their profperity is not a steady progreffive light, like that of the fun; but uncertain and perifhing, like that of a candle, which, by burning, confumeth itself. To reprefs that pride and arrogance, to which we are all too prone, let us remember, that we have nothing but what we have received; and that the Lord of hofts hath purposed to stain the pride of all human glory.

VOL II.

D

. 12 I will

12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

What is here faid plainly intimates, that the flaughter fhould be very great that was to be made among the people of Babylon, at the remarkable period to which this prediction referred.--By the awful judgments above mentioned, fuch vast numbers were to be flain, that few men were left remaining. Such was the favage cruelty of the Medes and Perfians, employed in this bufinefs, that they would not be induced to fpare the Babylonians by the promise of gold, even a confiderable quantity of the beft fort. So great was the flaughter in the day of the Lord, that very few people fhould be left alive: a man would be as fcarce, and difficult to be found, as a golden wedge of Ophir. To this place failed the fleet of Solomon and Hiram, from whence they imported large quantities of the best gold. I ftay not to inquire, whether this celebrated port, from which was brought abundance of the finest gold in ancient times, was an African ifland, or Peru in America? It is fufficient for our purpose at prefent to know, that there was in that country plenty of the most excellent gold, from whence it was brought in bars or wedges, of confiderable weight and value. Such however was the unrelenting fury of the enemies of Babylon, and their contempt of this precious metal, that they would not spare a man's life for a wedge of the beft gold, which was eafier to be got, and in greater numbers, than men, at the time this prediction was fulfilled. This circumftance gives a moft affecting view of the very fmall number of people which were to remain at Babylon.

13 Therefore I will thake the heavens, and the earth fhall remove out of her place in the wrath

wrath of the LORD of hofts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

In this and the following verfes, the subject of which our prophet treated, is illuftrated and amplified. The words now to be confidered expressly foretel, that the whole great empire of Babylon, at the time referred to, fhould be fhaken to its very foundations, and entirely overthrown. They ftrongly intimate, in very emphatical language, that it fhould receive a violent concuffion, by the ftorm of divine wrath that was to fall upon its metropolis:-that their gods, their kings, princes, and nobles, who are fignified by the heavens, were to be shaken;-and that the nations,fubject to their government, who are intended by the earth, fhould fuffer a very great change, equivalent to their being removed out of their place. Kingdoms and empires were to be overthrown, and buried in ruins.In the wrath of the Lord of hofts, and in the day of his fierce anger. The wrath and hot difpleasure of the Almighty, were the powerful caufes whereby these aftonishing effects were to be produced. Like a mighty tempeft, they were to spread univerfal defolation where-ever they came. Such is the irrefiftible power of God's anger, and the righteous judgments which he executes, that the greatest empires cannot withstand them. In the land of Egypt were ftrong cities, great rivers, and vaft multitudes of inhabitants: but, through the fierce anger of the Lord, her cities were deftroyed, her rivers were dried up, and her people were cut off. The kingdom of Ifrael and Judah, which fubfisted, through various fortunes, about five hundred years, from the days of Saul to the time of Zedekiah, was abolished in the wrath of the Lord. The Babylonian empire was laid wafte by the fame wrath, and fierce anger of Jehovah.