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Geneva Bible Notes (1560): Jeremiah 10

2 ! The constellacions of the starres are not to be feared.

2 a God forbiddeth his people to giue creditor feare the constellations & coniunctions of starres, and planets, which haue no power of them selues, but are gouerned by him, & their secret motions & influences are not known to man, and therefore there can be no certaine judgement thereof, {Deut. 18, 9}.

3 b Meaning not onely in the obseruation of the starres, but their laws and ceremonies whereby they confirme their idolatrie, which is forbidden, {Deut. 12, 30}.

4 c The Prophetes vse thus plainely & simply to set forthe the vile absurditie of the idolaters, that men might learne to be ashamed of that, whereunto their corrupt nature is moste subject, read {Isa. 44, 12}.

5 ! The weaknes of idoles, & of the power of God.

6 d He teacheth the people to lift vp their eyes to God, who hathe all power, and therefore oght onely to be feared: and herein he sheweth them not onely the euil that they oght to eschew but the good which they oght to follow {Reuel. 15, 4}.

8 e Because the people thoght that to haue images was a meane to serue God and to bring them to the knowledge of him, he sheweth that nothing more displeaseth God, nor bringeth man into greater errors & ignorance of God; & therefore he calleth them the doctrine of vanitie, the worke of errors, {ver. 15}, & {Habak. 2, 18} calleth them the teachers of lies: contrarie to that wicked opinion, that they are the bokes of the laye people.

9 f Where as they founde the best golde: shewing that thei thoght nothing to deare for their idoles: some read Ophir, as {1 Kin. 9, 28}

11 g This declareth that all, that hathe bene in this Chapter spoken of idoles, was to arme the Jewes when they shulde be in Caldea among the idolaters and now with one sentence he instructeth them bothe how to protect their owne religion against the idolaters, & how to answer them to their shame which shulde exhorte them to idolatrie, and therefore he writeth this sentence in the Caldeans tongue for a memorial,where is all the rest ofhis writing is Ebrewe.

14 h The more that man thinketh to do anie thing wel by his owne wisdome, and as God instructeth him, the more doeth he proue him self to be a vile, beast.

16 i By these wordes, Portion and rod, he signifieth their inheritance: meaning, that God shulde be all sufficient for them, and that their felicitie consisted in him alone, & therefore thei oght to renounce all other helpes, & succours as of idoles, & {Deut. 32, 9. Psal. 16, 5}

23 p He speaketh this, because that Nebuchadnezzar purposed to haue made warre against the Moabites and Ammonites, but hearing of Zedechiahs rebellion, he turned his power to go against Jerusalem, {Ezek, 21, 21} therefore the Prophet saith, that this was the Lords direction.

24 q Considering that God had reueiled vnto him the certitude of their captiuitie, {Chap. 7, 16}, he onely prayeth, that he wolde punish them with mercie, which Isaiah calleth, in measure, {Chap. 27, 8} measuring his roddes by their infirmitie, {1 Cor 10, 13} for here by judgement is ment not onely the punishment, but also the merciful moderacion of the same, as {Chap. 30, 11}.

25 r For asmuche as God can not onely be knowne and glorified by his merice, that he vseth toward his Church, but also by his justice in punishing his enemies, he praieth that his glorie may fully appeare bothe in the one and the other, {Psal. 79, 6}.