e craved of
them, as well of their ignorance and misknowledge of God's will, as for
the neglecting of their office! But now, to return to the words of the
prophet. In the person of the whole people he complains unto God, that the
Babylonians (whom he calls, "other lords besides God," both because of
their ignorance of God, and by reason of their cruelty and inhumanity,)
had long ruled over them in great rigour, without pity or compassion upon
the ancient men, and famous matrons: for they, being mortal enemies to the
people of God, sought by all means to aggravate their yoke, yea, utterly
to exterminate the memory of them, and of their religion, from the face of
the earth.

After the first part of this dolorous complaint, the prophet declares the
protestation of the people, saying, "Nevertheless in thee shall we
remember thy name," (others read it, But we will remember thee only, and
thy name;) but in the Hebrew there is no conjunction copulative in that
sentence. The mind of the prophet is plain, namely, that notwithstanding
the long sustained affliction, the people of God declined not to a false
and vain religion, but remembered God, who sometime appeared to them in
his merciful presence; which although they saw not then, yet they would
still remember his name--that is, they would call to mind the doctrine and
promise, which formerly they heard, although in their prosperity they did
not sufficiently glorify God, who so mercifully ruled in the midst of
them. The temptation, no doubt, of the Israelites was great in those days;
they were carried captives from the land of Canaan, which was to them the
gage and pledge of God's favour towards them: for it was the inheritance
that God promised to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. The league and
covenant of God's protection appeared to have been broken--they lamentably
complain that they saw not their accustomed signs of God's merciful
presence. The true prophets were few, and the abominations used in Babylon
were exceedingly many: and so it might have appeared to them, that in vain
it was that they were called the posterity of Abraham, or that ever they
had received the law, or form of right religion from God. That we may the
better feel it in ourselves, the temptation, I say, was even such, as if
God should utterly destroy all order and policy that this day is within
his church--that the true preaching of the word should be suppressed--the
right use of sacraments abolished--