An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters…

Broken in judgment] That is,¹ Not in Gods judgment upon them, but in the judgment of their own cause, they were crushed in their estates, liberties and laws, and that not only by their own Magistrates and Governors, but also by the Assyrian; by their own Magistrates they were broken and oppressed, good men were discountenanced, just causes betrayed, the whole Court was corrupted, and the Laws of the Land which should have held up the bounds, were broken; they were so broken as a thing which is broken, but not quite spoiled with the fall, some shreds of it may be made use of; so the generality of them were so broken that there was little right ⟨p. 464⟩to be had for any wrong that was done; and as they were thus oppressed in the Prophet Hosea his time, so also in the Prophet Amos his time,² who prophesied at the same time that our Prophet did, Amos 2.7. They p•nt after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor: What's that? Thus, they did not only seek to bring poor men under them, but even utterly to destroy them, they sought to ruin them, and that by perverting of judgment. So in Amos, 5.11. their oppression grew to such a height that they took the poor's wheat from them, that if the poor had but gleaned a little wheat in the fields, as they brought it home they robbed them of it, or if they carried it to the mill they took it from them; this was the oppression which was at this time among the ten Tribes, from their own Governors. But they were also oppressed by the Assyrian, they calumniated and reproached them, saying, Where is now your God, in whom you so much trusted? Thus much for the opening those words.

Broken in judgment] That is,¹ Not in Gods judgment upon them, but in the judgment of their own cause, they were crushed in their estates, liberties and laws, and that not only by their own Magistrates and Governors, but also by the Assyrian; by their own Magistrates they were broken and oppressed, good men were discountenanced, just causes betraied, the whole Court was corrupted, and the Laws of the Land which should have held up the bounds, were broken; they were so broken as a thing which is broken, but not quite spoiled with the fall, some shreds of it may be made use of; so the generality of them were so broken that there was little right