The Prophet (Jer. 5.4, 5.) finding some very incorrigible and hardened in sinful courses, concluded them mean persons, and in the lowest form of the people. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the ⟨p. 64⟩Lord, nor the Judgement of their God. To be poor and foolish is very common; these are poor and foolish (saith the Prophet) but surely I shall find the Great ones better accommodated with wisdom; and thereupon he resolved, I will get me to the great men, and will speak unto them, for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgement of their God; That is, these great men have had great means of knowledge, and we have reason to suppose them as great in knowledge, as they are in place or power. But did the great men answer his expectation? did he find that in them, which he sought and looked for? nothing less: The great men proved more foolish, or less in true knowledge then the poor, as it followeth, But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds; As if he had said, I thought these great men had been wise, but I see they are very fools. What can be a greater argument of folly, then to break those yokes and bonds, which the wisdom of God hath put upon us? 'Tis both our wisdom and our freedom to be bound by the most wise and holy will of God; and hence the Prophet accounts this one as strong as a thousand arguments, to prove that the Great men among the Jews were not wise, because they were not only unwilling to be bound to the obedience of the will of God, but wilfully burst those bonds. When Jesus Christ came into the world, the great ones, the Rabbis had the least true wisdom, they would not believe on him, nor receive him; yea some boasted of this their unbelief as an argument of their wisdom (John 7.48, 49.) Have any of the Rulers, or of the Pharisees believed on him? No; they were too wise to believe; Faith in Christ was left to the fools, and counted folly by those wise men; But this people (say they, meaning the common sort or ignorant vulgar) who knoweth not the Law are cursed. And they thought them accursed because they believed in and received Jesus Christ, the chiefest blessing. Great men are not always wise in civill things, very rarely in spiritual things; They have not always the wisdom of a man, they seldom have the wisdom of a real Christian.
The Prophet (Jer. 5.4, 5.) finding some very incorrigible and hardned in sinfull courses, concluded them meane persons, and in the lowest forme of the people. Therefore I said, Surely these are poore, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the ⟨p. 64⟩Lord, nor the Judgement of their God. To be poore and foolish is very common; these are poore and foolish (saith the Prophet) but surely I shall finde the Great ones better accommodated with wisdome; and thereupon he resolved, I will get me to the great men, and will speak unto them, for they have knowne the way of the Lord, and the judgement of their God; That is, these great men have had great meanes of knowledge, and we have reason to suppose them as great in knowledge, as they are in place or power. But did the great men answer his expectation? did he find that in them, which he sought and looked for? nothing lesse: The great men proved more foolish, or lesse in true knowledge then the poore, as it followeth, But these have altogether broken the yoake and burst the bonds; As if he had said, I thought these great men had been wise, but I see they are very fooles. What can be a greater argument of folly, then to breake those yoakes and bonds, which the wisdome of God hath put upon us? 'Tis both our wisdome and our freedome to be bound by the most wise and holy will of God; and hence the Prophet accounts this one as strong as a thousand arguments, to prove that the Great men among the Jewes were not wise, because they were not only unwilling to be bound to the obedience of the will of God, but wilfully burst those bonds. When Jesus Christ came into the world, the great ones, the Rabbies had the least true wisdome, they would not believe on him, nor receive him; yea some boasted of this their unbeliefe as an argument of their wisdome (John 7.48, 49.) Have any of the Rulers, or of the Pharisees believed on him? No; they were too wise to believe; Faith in Christ was left to the fooles, and counted folly by those wise men; But this people (say they, meaning the common sort or ignorant vulgar) who knoweth not the Law are cursed. And they thought them accursed because they believed in and received Jesus Christ, the chiefest blessing. Great men are not alwayes wise in civill things, very rarely in spirituall things; They have not alwayes the wisdome of a man, they seldome have the wisdom of a reall Christian.
