5. And the people shall be oppressed one of another,

And each will act proudly towards his neighbour;
The youth towards the aged,

And the base towards the honourable.
6. Then shall one take hold of his brother,

of the house of his father, by the garment:

“ Come, be thou ruler over us,

And let this ruin bè under thy hand :" 7. And he shall declare in that day, saying,

“I cannot be a healer;

And in my house is neither bread nor clothes,
Appoint me not a ruler of the people.”

For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah hath fallen; 8. Because their tongues and their deeds were against Jehovah,

Provoking the eyes of his glory. 9. The boldness of their countenance testifieth against them,

They publish their sin as Sodom, they hide it not.
Alas! for their souls,

For they award to themselves evil. 10. “Cry up the righteous,' for it shall be" well with him,"

“For the fruit of their doings shall they eat." 11. “ Alas! for the wicked" - evil - shall it be to him,"

“ For the reward of his hands shall be paid him."

least, all legal government at an Bishop Stock. The whole passage end, and all ranks of society con seems to point out these notorious founded together. I question whe and shamelessly wicked men, as ther history can show the fulfil the strenuous preachers of the docment of this in the decline of the trine of the merit of works, and as Jewish state, either at the eve of the denouncers to others of the puthe Babylonian or of the Roman nishment of sin. But as God sees, captivity.

" he that judgeth another judgeth !" Cry up the righteous." So himself."

12. My people! children have been their oppressors!

And women have ruled over them!
My people! thy leaders have made thee to err,

And the track of thy paths have they destroyed.' 13. Jehovah hath arisen to contend,

He hath stood up to judge his people.
Jehovah will enter into judgment,
With the elders of his people, and with their princes;
For it is you that have consumed my vineyard,

The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15. What mean ye,

that

ye
crush

my people,
And grind the faces of the poor??

16. The Lord Jehovah Sabaoth hath spoken,

Even Jehovah hath said ;
Because the daughters of Zion were become proud,
And walked with outstretched neck, and wanton eyes;
Mincing their steps as they went,

And tinkling with the ornaments of their feet. 17. Therefore hath Jehovah dishonoured the head of the daugh

ters of Zion,
Ay, Jehovah hath stripped them bare.
In that day will the Lord take away these ornaments,
The feet rings, and the wreaths, and the crescents ;
The drops, and the bracelets, and the spangles,
The sprigs, and the chains, and the zones;

' I cannot read here any thing and corrupt governors of the less than a censure upon the mis church. government of the flock of Christ, ? The oppression of the poor and on the abuse of the institu and defenceless by the rich and tions of the Christian church, powerful, in the visible church, is especially in the appointment of evidently the complaint here made false and insufficient teachers, by by the righteous Judge, who ariseth the great patrons of superstition, to judge his people.

And the caskets of perfume, and the amulets; 21. The rings, and the jewels for the face :

The cloaks, and the mufflers ;
The shawls, and the scarfs ;
The sashes, and the fine tunics,

The turbans, and the long veils:'
24. And instead of perfume, shall there be dust;

And instead of the girded garment, rags :
And instead of the curious head-dress, baldness;
And instead of a zone, a girdle of sackcloth;

And sun-burnt skin, instead of beauty. 25. Thy friends shall fall by the sword,

And thy might in battle: 26. Her gates shall lament and mourn,

And she shall sit desolate on the ground.
1. And seven women shall take hold of one man,"

In that day, saying;
We will eat our own bread,
And will wear our own garments;
Only let us be called by thy name,
To take away our reproach. ?

" This display of female finery, and luxurious dress, among the prosperous oppressorsof the church, is very remarkable; and the sad reverse that follows, in the day of their calamity, is 'most strikingly described. No doubt, in every revolution which greatly affected the higher orders of society, this pro

phecy would be seen to have its fulfilment; but, as we shall learn hereafter, there is “ a 'time of trouble” yet to come upon the nations,“ such as was not since there was a nation upon the earth.”

A prophetic picture of the great decay of the male population by destructive wars.

* Chap. iv..

In whatever parts of the professing church these dreadful scenes are to be disclosed, it evidently appears to be at the eve of Messiah's appearance; for now our subject bursts upon us with great splendour :

2. In that day,

Shall there be a shoot of Jehovah,
Beauteous and glorious;
Even a sucker from the earth,
Elevated and spreading its boughs,

For the escaped of Israel :
3. And there shall be that which remaineth in Zion,

And that which is left in Jerusalem;
Holy shall it be called,

Every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem : 4. When Jehovah hath washed away

This filth of the daughter of Zion;
And when this blood of Jerusalem
Shall be removed from the midst of her,
By the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

That this branch, or rather shoot of Jehovah, means the Messiah, has been generally allowed. He was “a sucker from the earth,” indeed, at his first advent; but the metaphor of the spreading tree, under which Israel takes shelter, relates, I conceive, to the second advent. This glorious event takes not place, we remark, till the guilt of some particular blood is removed from Jerusalem. This is, doubtless, the blood of their crucified Messiah, which the inhabitants of Jerusalem imprecated upon themselves and their children. * When this blood is purged away,

Compare Psalm li.

by the spirit of judgment, and of burning — when all their national sufferings shall be ended, especially those most calamitous ones of the last days; then, it should seem, Jerusalem or Zion will be in some wonderful manner the chosen spot for the visible display of the Divine Majesty:

5. And Jehovah shall create over all the station of Mount Zion,

And over the places of her solemn assemblies,
A cloud by day, and a smoke,
And the brightness of a blazing fire by night.

Surely over all shall be the glory.'
6. A protection and a cover shall there be,

For a shade in the day from the heat;
And for a refuge, and for a shelter,
From the storm, and from the rain.

These lines clearly allude to “ the pillar of fire that gave light” to the camp of Israel in the desert “ by night," and to “ the pillar of cloud, in which the Lord went before them by day.” Such a visible token of the Divine Presence, the prophecy seems to say, shall, at the time predicted, become stationary over the holy mountain of Zion. The effect will be, to dispel the darkness of night from that sacred spot; and to cause, that neither the burning heat of the sun, nor inconvenience from the conflicting elements, should any more be felt by its happy inhabitants. Compare Psalm Ixviii. 15, 16, 17.

· The Shekinab. Compare Deut. xxxiii. 2, &c.