O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee
It is essential to him, it is his nature, and appears in all his
works; he is perfectly pure, holy, and righteous; he is just, and
without iniquity; and there is no unrighteousness in him, nor any
to be charged upon him, on account of anything done by him:
punitive justice belongs to him; nor is he to be complained of
because of his judgments, which are righteous altogether; nor had
the prophet, or any of his countrymen, just reason to complain of
the evils brought on them; the desolations of their land, city,
and temple, and their captivity in a strange land; by all which
no injustice was done, nor could they charge the Lord with any:
and with him also is righteousness wrought out by his Son, to
justify sinners that believe in him; he has accepted of it, and
imputes it without works. But unto us confusion of face, as
at this day;
both on account of their sins, which stared them in the face,
loaded their consciences with guilt, and filled them with shame;
and on account of their punishment, the miserable condition in
which their country was and they themselves were at that day;
which declared to all the world what sinners they had been, and
what sins they had committed, which had brought this ruin upon
them, and them into such sad circumstances: to the men of
Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
or, "man of Judah" {f}; to every man of the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin; who once dwelt in that land flowing with milk and
honey, and now in a strange land for their sins; and to every
inhabitant of that renowned city of jerusalem, the metropolis of
the nation, the seat, of the kings of Judah; yea, the city of the
great King, where the temple stood, and divine worship was
performed, but now lay in ruins, through the iniquity of its
inhabitants, and therefore had just reason to be ashamed:
and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are afar off,
through all
the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of the
trespass
that they have trespassed against thee;
shame and confusion of face also belonged to the ten tribes of
Israel; to such of them as were mixed with the Jews in Babylon,
or were in those parts of Assyria that lay nearest to it; and to
those that were at a greater distance, in Media, Iberia, Colchis,
and other places; yea, in all kingdoms and countries where they
were dispersed for their trespass against the Lord; particularly
in worshipping the calves at Dan and Bethel, and other acts of
idolatry and impiety.