obedience of faith were fcreened from this fword: By fire and by fword did the Lord plead with all flefb, and the flain of the Lord was many. But those who received the truth, and trusted in the Lord, escaped both the curfe of the law and the sword of justice, which always go together: My word fhall be bathed in heaven, and shall come down upon Idumea, the people of my curfe, to judgment; nor shall fuch be cut afunder, nor have their portion with hypocrites and with unbelievers. In fhort, they escaped being slain by the fword of the Spirit; they escaped the sword of justice alfo, and the fword of war; their fouls were to live, and their life was given to them for a prey wherever they came. Which leads me,

2dly, To confider their watchword, Go away. This captivity had been foretold by many eminent prophets, even by Mofes : And the Lord fhall fcatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of it; and there thou shalt ferve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and ftone. And among these nations fhalt thou find no eafe, neither shall the fole of thy foot bave reft: but the Lord fhall give thee there a trembling beart, and failing of eyes, and forrow of mind. Deut. xxviii. 64, 65. To, this Daniel alludes in his fupplications. The royal pfalmift predicts this long captivity By the rivers of Babylon, there we fat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We banged our harps upon the willows in the midft thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of

us

us a jong; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, faying, Sing us one of the fongs of Zion. How fhall we fing the Lord's fong in a strange land? Pfal. cxxxvii. But the prophet Ifaiah is more full than any upon this head; he not only foretells it, but their reftoration from it, and names the king who should proclaim their enlargement, and who shall build both their city and their temple. Thefe prophecies confirmed thofe in their faith who had obeyed the voice of the Lord by Jeremiah; and, they being inftructed by the prophet in the mind and will of the Lord, and being in this fecret, he gives them the watchword, before the city was taken, Go away, ftand not ftill.

Moreover he had informed thofe obedient ones that God had hid his face from this city, and that the temple was to be burnt with fire; and that, if they would feek and find the presence of God, they should find him in the place of their captivity. Therefore he fays, Thus faith the Lord God, Although I bave caft them far off among the heathen, and although I have fcattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little fanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Ezek. xi. 16. Those therefore that would find God, and all those who pined after the fanctuary fervice, were to find his prefence, and himself a fanctuary, in thefe countries, and nowhere else. Hence the watchword, Go away, ftand not ftill.

Moreover, all their gain in godliness was to be

found

found there-I will fend them into captivity for their good; mine eyes fhall be upon them for good, and they fhall live, and return again, and I will give them peace and an expected end. Therefore go away, ftand not ftill. Befides, there was no fafety but under the yoke of the king of Babylon; he that fubmits to his yoke, and ferves the king of Babylon, shall have his life for a prey. Hence the warning, Go away, ftand not ftill. But again, the king of Babylon was God's fervant, and to ferve him was ferving God; and, as the rich and wicked oppreffors among the Jews kept their brethren in bondage, into bondage they should go, and be made to know what the yoke of fervitude was, who were fo fond of yoking others; but thofe that obeyed the voice of the Lord were to fare much

Verily it shall be well with

better. The Lord faid, thy remnant; verily I will caufe the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affiction. Jer. xv. II. Therefore if you will be obedient to the Lord of hofts, and believe his word; if you will have your life for a prey, and live by faith; if you will follow the Lord, who is gone from hence to Babylon; if you will efcape the impending judgment and inevitable deftruction; if you will feek the promifed good treatment, and have the eyes and heart of God upon you for good; if you would enjoy peace, and arrive at the promised and expected end-Go away, ftand not ftill.

Again,

Again, God will fend no more prophets to Jerufalem in your abfence, he will raise you up prophets in Babylon; Ezekiel is already there to meet you in the person of God, to welcome yoy at your coming, and to be over you in the Lord, and to encourage all them that have obeyed the voice of the Lord by me; and will predict, even there, the fame destruction to them who defend the city against the Chaldeans that I do; you will there fee that we fpeak the fame things, and tread in the fame steps-therefore go away, ftand not ftill. I now come to the enforcement of the exhortation,

Stand not fill. It will not do to confult carnal reafon-she will plead the fafety of thofe who abide in the city and in the temple; but trust ye not in lying words, faying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. Jer. vii. 4. For God will be a little fanctuary to you in the countries where you shall come-therefore ftand not ftill. Confult not with flesh and blood. Nature will argue about the length of the way, the cruelty of the heathen, their abominable idolatry, the strangeness of their cuftoms, their unknown dialect, and the unlawfulness of offering facrifices to God in a strange land-but the decree of heaven, the predictions of ancient prophets, and the word from God, is, that this land fhall lie defolate feventy years-therefore ftand not ftill.

Standing ftill to confider occafions halting, and unbelief will work in thofe that halt, and the falfe prophets

prophets will gain an afcendancy over you, and the majority that are led by them will have a fad influence and bad effect upon your minds, to the endangering of both foul and body-therefore ftand not fill, left by fuch confultations you stop, yea, turn back, and perish in the public calamity-remember Lot's wife, who was ordered not to look back, nor tarry in all the plain-therefore stand not fill. I have no call to tell you where to go, you know that already, it is to Babylon; there go, there is your fafety and your protection; and remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerufalem come into your mind.

Remember the Lord afar off, &c. To encourage you to this you have feveral ancient prophecies, as well as the orders of God by me. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your fan&tuaries unto defolation, and I will not fell the favour of your fweet odours. And I will bring the land into defolation; and your enemies which dwell therein shall be aftonished at it. And I will fcatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a fword after you; and your land fall be defolate, and your cities waste. Then fhall the land enjoy her fabbaths, as long as it. lieth defolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land reft, and enjoy her fabbaths. And upon them that are left alive of you, I will fend a faintnefs into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the found of a shaken leaf fhall chase them ; and they fhall flee, as fleeing from the fword; and