Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v10

76 Chap. 34, An Expo4tion upon' the Book of J © B. Verf.3o. put in the margin) He was made to come down from hit Princely throne; either of there wayes Both God (who is the King of kings, and Lord of lords) when he pleafeth, put a lop to, or check the progrefsof falle hearted Princes,that haveeither got their power by flatteries and pretenfions to that good which they intended not, or whoexercife their power fo. That the hypocrite reigne not, Left thepeople be enfnared. The root of the word here rendred to enfnare, fgnifieth the fpreading of aNet, or the Pettingof a Grin, filch as Fowlers and Hunters makeufe of,to take Beafls or Birds with ; and thusGod himfelf fpake concerning his dealing withBabylon, (ter. So.24.) Ihave larda fnarefor thee, and thouart alto taken, O Babylon, and thawwaft not aware; litteral Babylon was a fnare to the people of God of old, and fo is myfticai Babylonat this day. Thegreat Hypocrite,or Snare fetter,reigns in or over Babylon; therefore faith God, thou who halt fet fnares for my people, fhall be enfnared, thou (halt be taken unawares, I have fat a fnare to catch and hold thee fall. When Elihu faith, left thepeople be enfnared, it feerns to intimate, that God will prevent the enfnaring of a people by the hypocrite ; He Ihall not reigne, left thepeople be enfnared, or left they fhould come into fnaresf There is another reading,which gives the reafon from the fnares which the people havealready been entangled with, becaufe of the fnare, or becaufe the people have been enfnared, (thereforefaith the Lord) let not the hypocrite reigne ; thus God revengeth the peoples wrong, anddoth juftice upon thofe that had let fnares for them. So much for the general fence of thefe words, and the openingof them. There is a fecond reading of the whole verle, which carryeth the fence fomwhat another way, and yet may be of ufe, and yeild us fome profitable confiderations , but I (hall not meddle with that, till I have profecuted thofe obfervations which arife clearly from our own reading. The words in general hold forth the heart of God towards falle hearted men, he cannot abide them, nor will he fuffer them long to abide, efpeciallynot to abide inpower and greatneífe ; That thehypocrite reiguenot, left the people be enfnared. Hence

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