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COMMENTARIES
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
“THE LAMENTATIONS,
VOL, IL.
» THE CALVIN TRANSLATION SOCIETY,
INSTITOTED IN MAY M.DCCCO.XLIIT.
FOR THE PUBLICATION OF TRANSLATIONS OF THE WORKS OF
JOHN CALVIN,
Acting and Editorial Seeretary, Robert Piteairn, F.S.A. Scot,
Calvin Office, 9, Northumberland Street, Edinburgh.
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BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
AND
THE LAMENTATIONS.
BY JOHN CALVIN.
TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN, AND EDITED
BY THE REV. JOHN OWEN,
VICAR OF THRUSSINGTON, LEICESTERSHIRE.
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vox wr AN CALVIN, AND WHOSE JUDGMENT IN ALL THINGS, ONE WIT
Kee ap come NEARER 10.”—Richard Baxter.
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7 "WISE, OF CALVIN’S OPINIONS AS TO GOD'S MIND RESPECTING
“ie : THERE 1S BUT ONE SENTIMENT OF HIS VALUE AS A CRITIC AND
os : : Lewellin, ted fies David’s College, Lampeter.
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“EDINBU ian: PRINTED BY T. CONSTABLE, PRINTER 4
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COMMENTARIES
ON
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH.
Lecture Thirty=Pinth.
CHAPTER X.
1. Hear ye the word which the 1. Audite verbum quod loquitur
Lord speaketh unto you, O house of (sermonem quem profert) Jehova
Israel ; ad vos, domus Israel:
2. Thus saith the Lord, Learn 2. Sic dicit Jehova, Viam gentium
not the way of the heathen, and be ne didiceritis, et a signis ccelorum
not dismayed at the signsof heaven; ne metuatis; quoniam metuunt ab
forthe heathen aredismayedatthem. illis gentes.
JEREMIAH enters here on a new subject. Though he had,
no doubt, taught this truth often, yet I consider it as dis-
tinct from what has gone before; for he begins here a new
attack on those superstitions to which the Jews were then
extremely addicted. He exhorts them first to hear the word
of Jehovah ; for they had so hardened themselves in the
errors which they had derived from the Gentiles, and the
contagion had so prevailed, that they could not be easily
drawn away from them. This, then, is the reason why he
used a sort of preface, and said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah,
which he.speaks to you, O house of Israel."
He then mentions the error in which the Chaldeans and
the Egyptians were involved ; for they were, we know, very
attentive observers of the stars. And this is expressly stated,
‘Here the preceding lecture ends in the original; but in order to keep
the chapters distinct, this section has been transferred to the present lec-
ture. A similar arrangement is adopted as to the last lecture in this
volume.—Ed.
’
6 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XXXIX.
because the Jews despised God’s judgments, and greatly
feared what were foolishly divined. For when any one, by
looking at the stars, threatened them with some calamity,
they were immediately terrified ; but when God denounced
on them, as with the sound of a trumpet, a calamity by his
Prophets, they were not at all moved. But it will be better
to examine the very words of the Prophet, as then we shall
more plainly see the drift of the whole.
Learn not, he says, the way of the nations. The Hebrew
erammarians take by. al, for TN, at." Way, we know, is
everywhere taken for all those customs and habits by which
human life is regulated. He then forbids them to pay atten-
tion to the rules of life observed by the Gentiles. And one
thing he specifies, Be not terrified by celestial signs. He
afterwards shews how vain were the practices of the Gentiles ;
being devoted to idols, they worshipped them in the place
of God, though framed by the skill of man. But there are
other words added, For the heathens are terrified by them.
There is a threefold exposition of this clause. Some take "5,
ki, properly a causative, in the sense of 3, caph, which de-
notes likeness, “as the Gentiles are terrified by them.”
Others regard it as an adversative, “though,” and °3, ki,
has often this meaning. There are also others who give this
explanation, “For it is the case with the Gentiles, that they
are terrified by them ;” as though God had said, that it was
extremely absurd in the Jews to be terrified by celestial signs,
for they ought to have left this folly, or rather madness, to
the Gentiles, as God regarded them as wholly blind. Let us
now come to the subject.
Learn not, he says, the way of the Gentiles. This is a
general precept. The law was to the Jews a rule which was
sure, and prescribed to them the limits of duty ; they ought,
therefore, to have followed what God taught them in his law,
and not to have turned aside either to the right hand or to
1 The Sept. and Vulg. render it “ according”—z«rz—juxta. It is
omitted in the Sur. Blayney renders the line thus :—
“ Unto the way of the heathen conform ye not.”
We may view it as a negative, thus :—
“ No, the way of the heathen learn not.”
But it is most probable a typographical error for NS, as Jeremiah so
writes at least in two other instances, ch, ii. 23, and ch. xii. 16.— Fd.
CHAP. X.1,2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 7
the left, according to what Moses also had said. But as
human minds are always wanton, they were very desirous of
knowing what the Gentiles observed ; but whenever this
wantonness possesses men’s minds, they necessarily blend
darkness with light. It was then, for this reason, that Jere-
miah reminded them, that nothing was to: be learnt from the
Gentiles; as though he had said, “Ye ought to be satisfied
with the simple doctrine of the law ; for unless ye are con-
tent with having God as your teacher, ye will necessarily go
astray: unless, then, ye seek wilfully to err, keep the way
which is pointed out to you in the law, and turn not aside
to the rites and practices of the Gentiles.”
After having given them a general command not to turn
aside from the plain doctrine of the law, he specifies one
thing in particular, Be not terrified by celestial signs, that is,
“Do not suppose that prosperity or adversity depends on the
position or aspect of the stars.” There seems, however, to be
here some inconsistency, for he mentions the stars as signs ;
it hence follows that something is intimated by their posi-
tion ; and Moses also says, that the sun and moon, and all
the stars, (and especially the planets,) would be for signs.
There are, at the same time, in the firmament, twelve signs
by which astrologers especially make their calculations.
Since then God has, from the beginning of the creation, ap-
pointed what they call the fixed stars in the firmament, as
well as the planets, to be for signs, the Prophet seems not to
have done right in forbidding the Jews to fear such signs ; for
these signs in the heavens are not the vain fictions of men,
but what God has created and appointed ; and we have al-
ready stated that the stars are not called signs through the
foolish conceit of men, but this character was given them by
God himself when they were first created ; and if the stars
presage to us either prosperity or adversity, it follows that
they ought to be dreaded by us.
But the Prophet here does not use the word signs in its
proper meaning; for he refers not to its true origin, but
accommodates himself to the notions which then prevailed ;'
1 Blayney gives a similar explanation—* The sun, moon, and stars are
said indeed to have been created and set in the firmament for ¢ signs.’ Gen.
8 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XXXIX.
and we must bear in mind what I have already said, that
the Egyptians and Chaldeans were much given to that astro-
logy, which is called at this day judiciary. The word itself
may be allowed ; but it has been long ago profaned by wicked
and unprincipled men, whose object has been to make gain
by mere falsehoods. There is no doubt but that the Egyptians
and the Chaldeans were true astrologers, and understood the
art, which in itself is praiseworthy ; for to observe the stars,
what else is it, but to contemplate that wonderful workman-
ship, in which the power, as well as the wisdom and good-
ness of God, shines forth? And, indeed, astrology may
justly be called the alphabet of theology ; for no one can
with a right mind come to the contemplation of the celestial
framework, without being enraptured with admiration at the
display of God’s wisdom, as well as of his power and good-
ness. JI have no doubt, then, but that the Chaldeans and the
Egyptians had learned that art, which in itself is not only to
be approved, but is also most useful, and contains not only
the most delightful speculations, but ought also to contribute
much towards exciting in the hearts of men a high reverence
for God. Hence Moses was instructed from his childhood in
that art, and also Daniel among the Chaldeans. (Acts vii.
22; Dan.i.17,20.) Moses learned astrology as understood by
the Egyptians, and Daniel as known by the Chaldeans; but
the art among them was at that time much adulterated ; for
they had mingled, as I have already said, foolish divinations
with the true and genuine science.
As then the Prophet’s meaning seems evident, the truth
remains fixed, that the sun, and moon, and other planets,
and the fixed stars in the firmament, are for signs. But we
must notice also here the purpose for which God intended
the sun and moon to be signs. His purpose was, that the
lunar course should complete one month, and that the solar
course should complete one year. And then the twelve
signs were designed to answer another purpose: for when
i. 14. But hereby is meant, that they should serve as natural marks,
serving to distinguish, by their periodical revolutions and appearances, the
various times and seasons; which, however, is a very different use from
that of prognosticating future events, or causing any alteration in the
fortunes of men.”—Ed.
—
CHAP. x. 1, 2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 9
the sun is in Cancer it has not the same power and influence
as when it is in Virgo; and it differs as to the other signs.
In short, as to the order of nature, the stars, the planets, as
well as the fixed stars, are to us for signs. We number the
years by the solar course, and the months by the lunar ;
and then the sun, with respect to the twelve signs, intro-
duces the spring, then the summer, then the autumn, and
lastly the winter. There are other purposes; bat we in-
clude in one sentence whatever can be said of the celestial
signs, when we say, that they have a reference to the order
of nature. Whosoever, then, seeks to make more of these
signs, confounds the order established by God, as the Chal-
deans formerly did, and also the Egyptians, when they
sought to ascend higher than reason warranted: they tried
to conjecture by the position of the stars what would be the
fates of all nations; and then they dared to come down to
the cases of individuals. Hence arose the casters of nativi-
ties. Then they first began more anxiously to philosophize,
that the sun, when in a certain sign, portends the death of
an only son, and happy events to another. But these are
things, as we have said, which are beyond the usual order
of nature. That there is to be, for instance, summef and
winter, this is natural and common; but that there is to be
war between one nation and another, this is not by the usual
order of things, nor takes place according to what nature ap-
points, but through the ambition and avarice of men. The
hidden providence of God, indeed, rules; but wespeak of causes,
which ought to be understood by us, and which can be com-
prehended by us, for they are within the reach of our under-
standing. It must at the same time be observed, that the
course of the stars is in itself of no moment; for we see
that God varies the seasons: there is not the same state of
weather; we have no winters and no summers exactly alike ;
there is no year which is not dissimilar to the former; and
the third which follows, differs from the second.
We hence, then, learn that God has so formed and ordered
the sun, and the moon, and all the stars, that he himself
still governs and changes the seasons as it pleases him. In
this way we account for sterilities, and pestilences, and other
10 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XXXIX.
things of this kind. When the air seems temperate, pesti-
lence prevails, the year is less fruitful, and men are famished,
and no cause appears. Then this diversity in nature itself
shews that God has not resigned his power to the stars, but
that he so works by them, that he still holds the reins
of government, and that he, according to his own will,
rules the world in a way different from what even the
acutest can divine by the stars. Yet this is no reason why
we should deny to them the office which I have mentioned.
But they who exceed the limits fixed by God, and seek to
form conjectures respecting war in this country and peace
in that country—they who thus seck to learn from the stars
what is beyond the order of nature, blend heaven and earth
together. The Prophet, no doubt, intended to condemn
this madness when he forbade the Jews to attend to the
celestial signs so as to dread them.
But the reason also must be noticed, why the Prophet so
severely condemned that fear which prevailed among the
Gentiles: it was for this, because when the opinion pre-
vailed that all events depended on the stars, the fear of God
was removed, and nothing was ascribed to his judgments,
faith was extinguished, and prayer to God, and all the or-
dinances of religion, were reduced to nothing. For all the
astrologers, who falsely assume so honourable a name, yea
those unprincipled men, who add to their impostures the
name of judiciary astrology, hold and maintain, that a judg-
ment respecting man’s life ought to be formed by the horo-
scope, as though the fortune of every one depended on the
stars. When, therefore, any one is born at a certain hour,
this or that condition, according to them, awaits him. Thus
they imagine that there is a fate, or some necessity, which
holds a man bound to the influence of the sun, moon, and
stars: for he was born when the sun was in the tail of that
sign or in the head of another; his birth portends such and
such fortune; he will live but a short time, or he will live
long. Thus they judge. And they go still farther, and pro-
nounce on every occurrence, “ Such will be the issue of this
expedition ; this during the year will be unhappily under-
taken, but that will succeed.” Afterwards, when nativity
Sr. eee
CHAP. xX. 1, 2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ll
is not taken into an account, they subject the whole human
race to the uncontrollable influence of the stars: ‘“‘ See, if
you undertake this business on such a day, you will succeed ;
but if you begin before mid-day, the issue will be unsuccess-
ful.” Thus they divine concerning the whole life of man
with regard to each of his actions: but God never intended
the stars to be signs for such purposes.
Now, as I have said, it hence follows that God does not
rule, and that thus faith is extinguished, and all the exer-
cises of religion are reduced to nothing. For whosoever is
persuaded that he is bound by necessity, because the horo-
- scope is of such a character, he must necessarily die at such
an hour, and necessarily die of a certain kind of death,—will
any one who has this conviction call on God? will he com-
mend his life to his keeping? And then, when any adver-
sity happens, who will bear it as a punishment for his
sins? Will he acknowledge that he is called to judgment
by God? And if he should prosper, will he be led to sing
praises to God ?
We hence see that this divination extinguishes all reli-
gion; for there will be no faith, there-will be no recogni-
tion of punishment, no acknowledgment of God’s blessings,
and no concern for sin, whenever this diabolical error pos-
sesses our minds,—that we are subject to the stars, that
such and such is our nativity, and that the stars portend
some kind of death every day and every moment. This,
then, is what is especially intended by the Prophet in for-
bidding the Jews to be terrified by the celestial signs; for
the Chaldeans, no doubt, prophesied that they should have a
“new empire; and thus they frightened the miserable Jews:
“ Tt is all over with us, for the astrologers among the Chal-
deans have so spoken; and on the other hand the Egyptians
see also that this has been foreshewn by the position of the
stars.” Thus it happened that the Jews became, as it were,
wholly lifeless. Nor did they remember what God had so
often, and for so many years, threatened by his Prophets to
do, in case they continued to provoke his wrath. Of God’s
judgment they made no account; and yet the persuasion,
that the Chaldeans announced a judgment by the stars, and
12 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. XXXIX,
that there would be some convulsion, filled them with terror
and amazement. Hence the Prophet, in order to lead them
‘to repentance, as well as to faith, which are the two essen-
tials of religion, and include in them the perfection of true
wisdom, speaks thus to them in effect, “ Fear not the stars,
but fear God.” For there is implied a contrast between
God and the stars; as though he had said, “ When any ad-
versity happens to you, know that you are chastised by
God’s hand, who is a just avenger of sins.” This was to
teach them repentance; it was to shew them that they
justly suffered, because they had been perverse in their
wickedness. Then follows the other fact, that though the
stars threatened calamity and destruction, they were to flee
to God’s mercy and never doubt of their safety, provided he
was propitious to them. We now then understand the Pro-
phet’s object in telling them not to fear the stars.
More things might be said, but I study brevity as far as
I can; and I trust that I have briefly included what is suffi-
cient for the understanding of this passage. There are
many, I know, at this day foolishly curious, and hence
wish some account to be made of judiciary astrology ; and
this delirium has taken possession of some pious men and
really learned: but we see what God here declares by his
servant. And I wonder that some are thus credulous as
to the stars, who yet speak with extreme subtlety on free-
will. They would have the events of things fortuitous, they
would have it that men act freely in both ways, and they
hate and abhor fate; and yet they confine God as it were
in a prison, and would have the stars to rule. This is tome
a prodigy, not a sign. But all these things I leave. Let the
plain doctrine of the Prophet be deemed sufficient by_ us;
when he says, that we are not to be terrified by signs, for it
belongs to the Gentiles to be thus terrified ; for I am dis-
posed to take this meaning,—that the Prophet says that
this was a kind of blindness which belonged to them:
“ Leave,” he says, “this folly to the Gentiles ; it is no won-
der that they labour under so many errors and delusions, for
celestial truth has never shone upon them; but it becomes
you to fear God and to rely on his mercy.” It follows—
——- ro.
CHAP. xX, 3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 13
3. For the customs of the peo- 3. Quoniam statuta populorum va-
ple are vain: for one cutteth a nitas est: nam lignum a sylva scindit,
tree out of the forest (the work opus manuum artificis dolabra (vel, in
of the hands of the workman) with securi; nam ponitur 3, que est nota
the axe. instrumenti apud Hebreos.)
The Prophet seems to break off his subject, and even to
reason inconclusively ; for he had said in the last verse,
“ Learn not the rites of the Gentiles, and fear not the celes-
tial signs ;” and he now adds, Because the rites of the Gen-
tiles are vanity; for wood they cut down from the forest.
He seems then, as though forgetting himself, to have passed -
off to idols. But we must observe, that the Jews were influ-
enced by that ancient opinion, that the Chaldeans and the
Egyptians were alone wise, and that they had acquired a
fame of this kind among all nations. We find also that hea-
then writers, when speaking of the origin of the sciences,
trace them up to the Chaldeans and the Egyptians ; for with
them, it is said, have originated astrology and all the liberal
sciences. The Jews then, no doubt, allowed so much autho-
rity to the Chaldeans and the Egyptians, that their minds,
being possessed by that prejudice, could discern nothing
aright. The Prophet then shakes off from them this stupidity,
and shews how foolish they were, who yet would have them-
selves to be alone deemed wise, and regarded others, com-
pared with themselves, as barbarous and ignorant. We now
then see why the Prophet connects idolatry with that false
and spurious astrology which he had mentioned.
He says, Laws: the word, nipn, chekut, means strictly,
statutes. The word, pM, chek, signifies to decree, or to
write ; and hence decrees are called MYM, chekut. The
word Law is general; and one of those which are special
and often occurs in Scripture, is the statute. Some render
it“ Edict ;’ and the verb means to publish by edict. But
this word is often applied to ceremonies and rites. He then
says, that the rites of the nations were vanity.
He then proves this, Because they cut for themselves trees
from the forest ; and after having polished them by art, they
think them to be gods.. How detestable was this madness,
to think that a tree, cut from the forest, was a god, as soon
as it assumed a certain form or shape! As then a madness,
14 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, XXXIX.
so great and so monstrous, prevailed among the Chaldeans
and the Egyptians, what right knowledge or judgment could
have been in them? The Jews then were very foolish in
thinking that they were very clear-sighted. “They are,”
he says, ‘“‘ brute animals ; for it is wholly contrary to reason
to suppose that a god can be made from a dead piece of
wood. When, therefore, the Chaldeans and the Egyptians
amaze and astonish you through the influence of a false
opinion, derived from nothing, that they are alone wise, do
ye not see that ye are doubly and trebly mad? for where is
their wisdom, when they thus make gods from trunks of
trees ?”
We now then perceive the design of the Prophet : but as
these circumstances have not been considered by interpre-
ters, they have only elicited a frigid doctrine and gathered
sume general thoughts. But when any one rightly and
carefully examines the design of the Prophet, he will find
how important is what he teaches; and no one can other-
wise rightly understand what Jeremiah means.
A tree then does one cut, &c.: he uses the singular num-
ber. He then adds, the work of the hands of the artificer
by the aw. He shews that nature itself is changed through
1 This is not correct, the verb is plural, and there is no different read-
ing. The Vulgate has led Calvin and our translators astray here. The
other versions never changed the form of the sentence. e verse may
be thus rendered,—
3. Verily, the customs of the nations are very vanity ;
For a tree from the forest they cut down,—
The work of the hands of the worker with the ax!
Then verbs in the plural number follow in the next verse,—
4. With silver and with gold they beautify,
With nails and with hammers they fasten them,
So that none may move them.
The verb for “ move” is in Hiphil; it means in Kal to totter,—* that
none may cause them to totter.”
But the Septuagint have rendered the verb “cut down” as a passive
participle, N03, transposing the); and Venema takes this as the proper
reading,—* For a tree from the forest is cut down.” But this does not
run well with the following verse. The nations or heathens, is the nomi-
native to all the verbs.
Venema renders the last line of the fourth verse,—
That nothing may make them to reel.
He considers that 8? means often “ nothing ;” but it means also some-
times “none,” or no one.—EFd, ;
CHAP. x. 4, 5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 15
the false imagination of men ; for as soon as it takes a new
form, it seems to be no longer a tree. The tree, while it
grows, when it produces fruit, is not worshipped as God ; but
when it is cut down, the dead and dry trunk is substituted
in the place of God: for what reason? even because the ax
has been applied. Some render it “hatchet,” hache, ou
dolotre, which is the same ; for there is no ambiguity in the
meaning: they cut down trees from the forests; and then
after the tree was formed by the ax and worked by the
hands of the artificer, what follows was done to it—
4. They deck it with silver
and with gold; they fasten it
with nails and with hammers,
that it move not.
5. They are upright as the
palm-tree, but speak not : they
must needs be borne, because
they cannot go. Be not afraid
of them; for they cannot do
evil, neither also is 7## in them
to do good.
4, Argento et auro pulchrificant (hoc est,
exornant) illud; elavis et malleis fortifi-
cant (hoe est, bene defigunt;) et non mo-
vebitur (hoc est, ut non moveatur.)
5. Sicuti palma equalis (hoe est, stat
effigies illa zequalis tanquam palma, id est,
assurgit in rectitudinem ;) et non loquun-
tur; et tollendo tolluntur, quia non am-
bulabunt (hoc est, non possunt ambulare:)
ne timeatis ab illis; quia non malé faci-
unt, atque etiam bené facere non penes
1psos.
He goes on with the same subject, and borrows his words
from the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah ; for the passage is
wholly similar. Jeremiah, being later, was induced to take
the words from his predecessor, that his own nation might
be more impressed, on finding that the same thing was said
by two Prophets, and that thus they had two witnesses.
He then says that these wise men, who filled the Jews
with wonder and astonishment, adorned their images, or
statues, with silver and gold, and afterward fixed them with
nails and with hammers, that they might not move. Some
refer the last word to the metal, “ that the pieces might not
come off,” as the verb sometimes means to depart. But the
simpler meaning is, that the statues were fixed by nails and
hammers, that they might not be moved. Then the Prophet
adds by way of concession, They are indeed erect as the palm-
trees ; and thus there appears in them something remark-
able: but they speak not ; and then, being raised they are
raised, that is, they cannot move themselves ; for they can-
not walk. Then he says, Be not afraid of them ; for they
do no evil, nor is it in their power to do good.
16 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIATL LECT, XXXIX.
We now see what the Prophet meant to teach us,—that
the wisdom of the Chaldeans, and also of the Egyptians, was
celebrated throughout the world, and also so blinded the
Jews, or so enraptured them, that they thought that nothing
proceeded from them but what deserved to be known and
esteemed. In order therefore to remove and demolish this
false notion, he shews that they were beyond measure fool-
ish ; for what could have been more sottish than to think
that the nature of a tree is changed as soon as it receives a
new form? How? By the hand of the artificer. Can it
be in the power of man to make a god at his will? This is
a folly which heathen authors have derided. Horace has
this sentence :—
“ When the workman was uncertain whether to make a bench or Priapus,
He chose rather to make a god.”!
That poet, as he dared not generally to condemn the mad-
ness which then prevailed, indirectly shewed how shameful
it was to make a log of wood a god, because the workman
had given it a form. The very richest worshipped a wooden
god, while he despised the artificer! He who would not
have condescended to give the workman a cup of water, yet
prostrated himself before the god which the workman had
made! This then is what our Prophet now says, “ Behold,
with silver and gold do they adorn trunks of trees; they in-
deed stood up, for they are erect statues ;’ and he compares
them to palm-trees, because they stood high: and he says,
“but they speak not; they are raised up, for they have no
life ; hence fear them not:” and then he adds, “ They can-
not do evil, and it is not in their power to do good.”
The Prophet seems to speak improperly when he says
that they were not gods, because they could do no evil;
for it is wholly contrary to the nature of the only true God
to do evil: but the Prophet, according to what is common,
uses the word for the infliction of punishment. God, then,
is said to do evil, not because he does harm to any one—not
because he does wrong to any mortals, but because he chas-
tises them for their sins. And it is a way of speaking de-
‘ « Cum faber incertus seamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse Deum.”—Hor. Lib. i. Sat. 8.
CHAP. x. 6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 17
rived from the common judgment of man, for we call those
things evils which are afflictions to us; for famine, diseases,
poverty, cold, heat, disgrace, and things of this kind, are
ealled afflictions or adversities. Now, the Prophet says,
that the idols of the Gentiles, or their fictitious gods, do no
evil, that is, they have no power to inflict punishment on
men. And this is taken from Isaiah. God uses there a
twofold argument, while claiming divinity to himself alone:
he says, “I alone am he who foresees and predicts future
things ;’ and hence I am God alone; and then he says, “ I
alone am he who do good and evil;”’ hence I alone am God.
Csaiah xly. 22; xlviii. 3,5.) He says, that he doeth evil,
because he is the Judge of the world. We hence see that
this expression is not to be taken in a bad sense, but, as I
have said, it is to be taken in a sense used by men; for we
consider and call those punishments, with which God visits
us, evils. It follows—
6. Forasmuch as there is 6. A non! (vel, ab eo quod non, hoe
none like unto thee, O Lord; est, ab ultimis temporibus non) sicut tu
_ thou art great, and thy name Jehova reperietur; magnus tu, et mag-
is great in might. num nomen tuum in fortitudine.
As the truth respecting the gods of the heathens, that
they are mere figments, would be useless and of no moment,
were not the knowledge of the true God added, the Prophet
now introduces God himself. And there is another reason ;
for no one could know that these wooden and stony gods
are of no account, were not the truth respecting the true
God to shine forth. Whosoever does not understand that
there is a God, and does not know who or what he is, can
never be really influenced by this truth, that the gods of
the heathens are demons, and that all their superstitions
are sacrilegious.
We now then perceive why the Prophet turns to the true
God: it was, that the brightness of God’s glory might dis-
sipate the darkness in which the Gentiles were involved,
1 The word is, }81: the here is not a preposition, but a formative,
and the word means none. So all the versions and the Zargum render
it. The proper rendering of the verse is—
None is like thee, Jehovah;
Great art thou,
And great is thy name, in strength.—Zd.
VOL. II. B
18 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, XL.
and also, that true religion might really influence the hearts
of men, so that by acknowledging the one true God, to whose
power we ought to submit, they might not only despise and
repudiate all idols, but also hate and abhor them. ‘The rest
to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast made heaven and earth
for our sake, and hast testified by thy servant Moses, that the
sun, as well as the moon, to which foolish heathens ascribe divi-
nity, are to be serviceable to us, and that we are to use them as
though they were our servants,—O grant that we may, by thy
so many blessings, have our minds raised upwards and contem-
plate thy true glory, so that we may faithfully worship thee
only, and surrender ourselves so entirely to thee, that while we
enjoy the benefits derived from all the stars, and also from the
earth, we may know that we are bound to thee by so many
favours, in order that we may be more and more roused to attend
to what is just and right, and thus endeavour to glorify on
earth thy name, that we may at length enjoy that blessed glory
which has been provided for us by Christ our Lord.—Amen.
Recture Forticth.
We began yesterday to explain the sixth verse, in which
Jeremiah says, From no time has there been found any like
the true God, for he is great, and great is his name in power.
This sentence appears, indeed, unmeaning or very common
as to its idea, in negativing the notion that there has been any
in all the ages like to God: but as the world by its figments
has ever obscured the glory of the true God, there is in this
sentence what is of great importance, for it says that God
possesses his own peculiar dignity, and shines far above all
fictitious deities. The same view is to be taken of the second
clause, Thou art great. Who will not concede greatness to
God? yet he is deprived of it by most; for when any one
devises for himself a god, he robs the true God of his own
greatness, and makes him as it were one like many other
gods. If we bear in mind how men depreciate God’s glory,
it is easy for us to see, that he is not uselessly called here
CHAP. X. 7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 19
great, as he is in many other places. But I only touch here
on these things briefly, as I have elsewhere discussed them
more at large.
He says that God’s name is great in power ; for idols had
a celebrated name among all nations, but had no power.
Though many things have been related of their idols by the
Grecians and Italians, as well as by the Orientals, yet it is
certain that no proof has been given to shew that they wor-
shipped true gods. Hence the Prophet declares here that
greatness belongs to God alone, as his power has been made
known, and has fully manifested his own peculiar glory. It
now follows—
7. Who would not fear thee, O 7. Quis non timebit te rex gen-
King of nations? for to thee doth it tium? quia tibi convenit; nam
appertain: forasmuch as among all inter omnes sapientes gentium et
the wise men of the nations, and in in omnibus regnis eorum, 4 nullo
all their kingdoms, there is none like tempore similis tibi, (vel, sicut tu,
unto thee. ad verbum.)
The Prophet exclaims, Who will not fear thee ? This ques-
tion is very emphatical, as though he indignantly rebuked
the stupidity of all those who acknowledged not the only
true God, as if he had said, “ Whence is it that thou art
not feared throughout the whole world? Surely were there a
spark of right knowledge in men, they would acknowledge
thee as the only true God, and having found this truth,
would submit to thy power. When, therefore, men invent
for themselves various gods, and when every one is led here
and there without any judgment, it is a monstrous thing ;
for when the subject is pressed on the attention of the
rudest, they confess that there is some supreme deity, and
are at length constrained to allow that there is but one true
God; whence then is it that there is such a multitude and
variety of gods in the world? How is it that they who hold
this principle—that God ought to be worshipped—fall away,
and adopt many gods, and never can determine who the
true God is, or how he is to be worshipped?’ We now un-
derstand the object of the Prophet in exclaiming, as through
astonishment, Who will not fear thee, the King of nations ?
We know that the true God was then despised by the
heathens; and we also know that his law was regarded with
20 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XL.
contempt, and even as an abomination: What then does this
question mean ? even what I have already stated: The Pro-
phet indignantly says, that it was a monstrous thing, border-
ing on madness, that men paid no regard to the only true
God, but went astray after their own foolish devices. And
he calls him the King of the nations, not that the nations
submitted to his authority, but because he manifested evi-
dences of his power everywhere, which might have induced »
the rudest to shew him reverence, were they not extremely
stupid. We then see that this is not said to the honour of
the nations, but on the contrary, that their ingratitude might
be exposed to shame in not honouring God, who manifested
his power among them.
Then follows what confirms this: For to thee it belongs ;
for among all the wise of the nations, and in all their king-
doms, from no time has there been one like to thee. He says
that it belongs to God, that is, that all the world should fear
him. Some render MMN', tate, as a noun, and take it as
signifying “honour ;” and others render it “government,”
or authority ; but this cannot be received. He then says, it
belongs to God. What? Some say, “glory or dominion be-
longs to thee.” But it must be referred to the beginning of
the verse: there is here a figure called Zeugma, and the
meaning is, God deserves this, that is, to be feared by all.
He then speaks of fear, and says that it belongs to God.
What is meant is, that the glory of God shines so much as
to be sufficient to arrest and engage all the thoughts of men,
and that they are therefore extremely stupid when they pass
by and forsake him, and turn to their own devices, and in-
vent gods according to their own fancies.’
? This verse is omitted in the Septuagint. The sentence, “ To thee it
belongs,” is in the Vulgate and Syriac, “ Thine is the honour ;” and in
the Targum and Arabic, “ Thine is the kingdom.” Blayney gives this
version, —
« When he shall approach unto thee.” :
But this has hardly a meaning here, and far less has the rendering of
Horsley,—
* Surely unto thee shall be the coming ;”
i.e., * The general coming, the universal resort.” The bishop saw predic-
tions everywhere. The explanation of Calvin is the most satisfactory.
The act mentioned in the preceding clause, “ fear,” is to be understvod as
the nominative case.— Ed.
CHAP. X. 7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 2]
The Prophet then confirms what we have already said—
that all men who worship not nor fear the only true God are
detestable beings, because so much of his glory shines forth,
that renders all bound to acknowledge him. It then follows,
that those who are carried away into various superstitions
are to the last degree stupid and brutish; for God renders
his glory conspicuous everywhere, so that it ought to engage
and occupy the thoughts of all men; and it would do so
were they not led away by their own vanity.
We hence also learn that the pretext of ignorance made by
unbelievers is wholly vain. There are those who on the first
view seem to be excusable for their error, as they have not
been taught, and never understood who the true God is; but
yet there is in them the blame of neglect as well as of wick-
edness, for they wilfully neglect and despise the only true
God. As then the unbelieving take delight in their errors,
they are to be held guilty. And this is what the Prophet
means by saying that God was worthy of glory—the glory of
being feared by all; and this he more fully confirms when
he says, “ Among all the wise, and in all kingdoms,” that is,
among all the princes who seemed to excel in wisdom in
governing the world, “no other God could be found through-
out all the ages,”
He repeats again the word }‘N/, main, of which we spoke
yesterday.’ It is the same as though the Prophet had said,
“Let all the wise men and philosophers come forth, let
all those counsellors who assume great wisdom appear, and
let them adduce whatever they can allege ; doubtless God
will ever defend his own glory against all their frivolous
arguments, so that they must depart confounded ; nor shall
they be able, however willing they may be, to bring any
solid objection against him.” By these words, then, the
Prophet intimates that it is vain to boast of philosophic
reasons, and that the counsels of princes, who esteem them-
selves very acute in civil affairs, will be adduced in vain ;
for all will be covered with shame, and be constrained to be
silent, when God makes known his glory, Indeed the glory
1 All the versions and the Targum, as in the former instance, do not
regard the !) as a preposition, but render the word by “none,” or no
one.—Ed.
/
22 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LEOT, XL,
of God appears everywhere so conspicuously, that the rudest
ought to perceive it, that the wise, who fly above the heavens
as philosophers, who search all the secrets of nature, do not
understand what is, as they say, abroad in the open air; for
God manifests himself to the simple, and even to children,
We now perceive the design of the Prophet, when he says,
From no times has been found any like to God, not only
among the vulgar or common men, but among the wise, and
princes, and kings’ counsellors. He afterwards adds—
8. But they are altogether brutish § 8. Et in uno stulti sunt et fa-
and foolish; the stock is a doctrine tui sunt; eruditio vanitatum lig-
of vanities. num est.
The Prophet shews here, in one sentence, that the wisest
in the whole world could be proved guilty of the greatest
madness, or of a twofold folly, because they willingly wor-
shipped the trunks of trees, and they worshipped stones ;
for under one kind he includes the other. There is no one,
he says, however intelligent, who does not approve of the
superstitions of the people, who does not bend the knee be-
fore a wood ora stone. There have been, indeed, a few in the
world who ridiculed such sottishness, but no one dared openly
to condemn it, and no one introduced anything better. And
even the Platonics hold that the Greeks had not without
reason invented gods like men; and they say that there was
not so much judgment among the barbarians as to form such
ideas of the gods as were suitable to their nature. However
this may have been, it is evident that the grossest supersti-
tions of the nations were ever approved by all their wise
men.
- The Prophet then shews that there was no need of a long
discussion to discover the vanity of the wise ; In one, in one
thing, he says ; and there is emphasis in this word, when
he says, In one thing they are foolish and fatuitous ; for
there is to be understood a contrast, as though he had said,
“JT will not here join together many heads of accusation
against them to expose their folly, one thing is sufficient ;
this one sentence is enough to condemn them,—that wood
is the teaching of vanities.”' We have stated what the Pro-
+ The word NONI is rendered by the Versions and the Targum, alike,
ke ical Ree lll li
CHAP. x. 8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. IS
phet means,—even that all the wise, who together with the
vulgar worshipped gods made of wood and stone, were very
foolish: but we must notice the import of the expression,
The teaching of vanities is the wood. It is, as we have said,
an instance of a part being put for the whole; for under
“wood” Jeremiah includes statues of stone, and others
made of different materials ; as though he had said, “ Every
form or effigy, representing a god, is the teaching of vant-
ties.” He takes this as granted ; and yet there had been, as
we have lately stated, a great and fierce contention among
the wise men on this subject ; but the Prophet deigned not
to contend or seriously to dispute with them, for the thing
itself was sufficiently evident, that is, that nothing can be
more absurd than to worship the trunk of a tree or a stone.
Now we may from this passage draw a general truth,—
that when men seek to represent God under any visible form,
they give way to the delusions and impostures of Satan.
Well known is that sentence of Gregory to Serenus, the
Bishop of Marseilles, when that good man cast down the
images which he saw led to ungodly worship, and purged the
churches of Marseilles from such pollutions : Gregory, though
@ pious man, yet wrote very foolishly—that Serenus acted
rightly and wisely in forbidding images to be worshipped,
but that he yet acted inconsiderately by emptying the
churches of them ; for “ they are,’ he said, “the books of
the simple :” this is the conclusion of his epistle. And it is
ever in the mouth of Papists—that images are the books of
equally or together. Literally, “in one,” that is, altogether. Calvin
rather refines here. The verse may be thus rendered,—
But they are together brutish and stupid ;
The teaching of vanities, the wood is.
Literally, “the wood it,” but as Gataker says, the pronoun is often used
in Hebrew for the substantive verb. The phrase is elliptical, no unusual
thing in Hebrew. It may be thus, rendering in full,—
The teaching of vanities, is the teaching of the wood, or respecting the
wood.
What they taught respecting the wooden idols was “ vanities,” that is,
very or extremely vain; for so the plural often means. The version of
Blayney, after Castellio, and approved by Horsley, is the following,—
‘ “The very wood itself being a rebuker of vanities.”
But it is a sentiment not suitable to this place. The most strict meaning
of D119 ey restraint, and not rebuke ; it often means teaching or instruc-
tion.— Ed,
24 CUMMENTARIES ON JERKEMIATI. LECT. XL.
the simple. At the same time I would they retained this
truth avowed by Gregory,—that they ought not to be wor-
shipped. They worship and adore them, as it is well known,
in the place of God. But as I have already said, that an-
swer of Gregory was puerile and foolish: for we hear what
the Prophet says,—that in wood and stone and in every
outward representation there is vanity, as Habakkuk also in
the second chapter, where he speaks of idols, calls an idol
the teacher of vanity. Every statue, every image, by which
foolish men seek to represent God, is a teacher of falsehood.
So our Prophet says,—that the teaching of vanities is found
in all statues, because God is thus misrepresented ; for what
can be in a wood or stone that is like the infinite power of
God, or his incomprehensible essence and majesty? Men,
therefore, offer a serious affront to God when they thus de-
form him, as Paul also in Rom. i. 25, says,—that the truth
was thus changed into falsehood, that is, when he is sup-
posed to have anything like to what external and dead
figures have ; as the same Paul further reasons in Acts xvii.
29, when he says, Do ye think that God is like to wood or
stone, to silver or gold? And his argument was at that
time suitable ; for he had to do with heathens: he did not
refer to the law, though he might have quoted a passage in
Deuteronomy, where God reminded the people that he so
appeared to them that they saw no similitude; and he
might have referred to the testimonies of Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and of the other Prophets ; but as he addressed heathens,
even the Athenians, he says, “ One of your poets has said,
that we are the offspring of God :” if we are then, he says,
the offspring of God, do ye not draw God down from his
celestial throne, when ye seek to delineate him according to
your fancies, and suppose that he lies hid in wood or stone, in
silver and gold? For some life appears at least in men, they
are endued with mind and intelligence, and so far they bear
some likeness to God: but a dead wood and stone, which
are void of sense,—gold also and silver, which are metals
without reason, which have no life,—what affinity, he says,
can these have to God? This subject might be more copi-
ously handled; but I merely explain what the Prophet
?.
CHAP. x. 9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 25
means, and also shew the import of his doctrine, and how it
may be applied for general instruction. It now follows—
9. Silver spread into 9. Argentum percussum (vel, diductum, hoc
platesis brought from Tar- est, malleo sic contusum, ut redactum sit in
shish,and goldfrom Uphaz, laminas; hocenim significat verbum YP per-
the work of the workman, cutere, et ita contundere, ut res diducatur vel
and of the hands of the protrahatur: argentum ergo laminatum, ut
founder: blue and purple ita loquar, vel, malleo contusum) é Tharsis
is their clothing; they are affertur, et aurum ex Ophas, opus artificis et
all the work of cunning manus conflatoris; hyacinthus et purpura,
men. vestes eorum ; opus sapientum omnes !
The Prophet, anticipating what might be said, refers to
the splendour and pomp of idols, and declares that all was .
frivolous and extremely puerile. Whence was it that the
world shewed so much honour to idols, except that their
pomp dazzled the eyes of men? The devil has also by this
artifice ever deluded the unbelieving; for he has exhibited
in idols something that involved men’s minds in darkness.
The Prophet then assails these foolish imaginations, and
says, Silver is brought from Tharsis, that is, from Cilicia ;
for so the Scripture designates that transmarine country,
which lies opposed to Judea ; and we know that Cilicia was
over against Judea; for the Mediterranean Sea intervenes
between Syria and Cilicia ; and the sea of Tharsis is what
they call that part which extended towards Cilicia and Asia
Minor. The Prophet then says that it was brought from a
far country. Well, he says, the fact is so; and then it is
added that gold was brought from Uphaz. Some have ex-
plained this last word wrongly, by saying that it means pure
or fine gold ; but it appears from this place and many others,
that it is the name of a country, that is, Persia, or one not
far from Persia: it was at least a country eastward of Judea.
He then says, gold is brought from Uphaz ; and he men-
tions the workmanship, the work of the artificer ; that is, it
is not silver and gold in its rude state; but they are so ele-
gantly wrought, that they readily attract the eyes of men.
Then he adds the hands (he speaks in the plural number) of
the melter ; that is, the silver and gold were melted and were
made to assume a certain form ; and then art was employed,
which gave an increased polish to these forms which came
out of the furnace. He afterwards says, The hyacinth and
26 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XL.
purple are their vestments ; that is, it is not enough to have
the precious metal, and that cast into an elegant and loyely
form, but it must be clothed in purple and hyacinth. He
says in the last place, that the work was that of the wise ;
that is, skilful men were chosen, who could in the most per-
fect manner give expression to every lineament ; in short,
nothing was left undone.’
But the Prophet, though he concedes generally to the un-
believing that they added whatever could add beauty to
their idols, yet declares that they were mere trumperies:
they are puppets, he says; for man, who is a mortal, cannot
make a god: and then, what can art and the toil and labour
of man do in this respect? can he change the nature of
things ? can he make a god from wood and stone? and when
a vestment covers the idol of gold or of silver, can it raise
it above the heavens, that it may attain a new divinity ? We
hence see that the Prophet mentions all that was done, that
he might taunt the heathens and ridicule their fatuitous
trifles ; for in their idols there was nothing real, nothing
that could be depended upon. He then subjoins—
10. But the Lordisthe true 10 Atqui Iehova Deus veritas (qui ver-
God, he is the living God, and tunt, Deus veritatis, non observant syntax
an everlasting King: at his jn Hebraicam; dixisset enim wmdse min
wrath the earth shall trem- mx; Ichova ergo Deus veritas,) ipse Deus
ble, and the nations shall not vita, et rex seculorum; 4 furore ejus con-
be able to abide his indigna- tremiscet terra, et non sustinebunt gentes
tion. iram ejus.
The Prophet here exults and triumphs in the name of his
God, as though he had overcome and put to flight the erro-
neous notions of the heathens: for he had spoken, as it ap-
1 The verse is literally thus,—
9. Silver extended, from Tarsis it is brought,
And gold from Uphaz,—
The work of the artizan
And of the hands of the founder;
Blue and purple their garments,—
The work of the wise, all of them.
The Septuagint and Arabic have “ Mophaz;” the Vulgate, “ Ophaz ;”
the Syriac and the Targum, “Ophir.” Probably the same is
meant, and that it had two names. “ Blue” is rendered “hyacinth,” vio-
let-colour, by all the versions and the Targum.
“ Uphaz,” according to Bochart, was a country near the Ganges in In-
dia, and the same with Ophir.—£d.
cHapP. x. 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 27
pears, contemptuously of their gross errors, and shewed that
the wise men of the world were extremely sottish, who were
so charmed with wood and stone. He now highly extols the
glory of God, and says, But Jehovah is God ; that is, let the
nations worship their gods, let them recite fables as to their
power, and falsely ascribe to them many miracles; but Je-
hovah, he says, is God. When all things are faithfully ex-
amined, it will appear evident that He is the only true God,
and all the gods of the heathens will of themselves vanish
into nothing. This then is the meaning of the Prophet, as
though he had said, God himself is sufficient to put to flight
all the errors of the heathens, when his majesty appears ; for
so great is its brightness that it will reduce to nothing what-
ever the world admires.
He then adds truth. He sets truth here in opposition to
vanities. He had said that wood was the teaching of vanities ;
he now says, God is eternal truth; that is, he has no need of
adventitious ornaments ; they mask, he says, the idols of
the heathens, they are clothed and adorned ; but these things
have nothing real in them: Jehovah is God the truth; that
is, God borrows nothing from anything else, but is satisfied
with himself, and his power possesses of itself sufficient au-
thority. God then 7s truth, and God, he says, ts life. After
having said that God has real and solid glory in himself, he
adds another proof, taken from what is known to men, even
that God is life ; for though God is in himself incomprehen-
sible, yet he not only sets before our eyes evidences of his
glory, but he also renders himself in a manner the object of
feeling, as Paul says in Acts xiv. 17. What he means is,
that though men were blind, they could yet by feeling find
out God. Though the blind have no sight, yet they can find
their way by feeling ; they go round a hall or a room, and by
feeling find the door; and when they wish to enter into a
room, they find the door by the same means. But there is
no need, says Paul, for us to depart from ourselves ; for who-
soever will examine himself will find God within ; for in him
we live and move and have our being. (Acts xvii. 28.)
Were we then to object and say, that God is incomprehen-
sible, and that we cannot ascend to the height of his glory,
28 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XL.
doubtless there is life in us, and as we have life, we have an
evidence of his divinity ; for who is so devoid of reason as
to say that he lives through himself?» Since then men live
not of themselves, but obtain life as a favour from another,
it follows that God dwells in them.’ ~
Now, then, the Prophet, after having spoken of God’s
essence, descends to what is more evident. And doubtless
it is a real knowledge of God, not when we speculate in the
air as philosophers do, but when we know by experience that
there is one true God—how ? because we exist. We exist not
of ourselves, but in and through another, and that is, through
the one true God. It hence follows that human life is a clear
proof of one supreme God. God then is life and the King of
ages. For as the world has also been made, as years succeed
years, and as there is in this revolution variety and yet such
perfect order, who does not see in all this the glory of God?
Now, then, we also perceive why the Prophet calls God the
King of ages.
He then adds, Through his fury tremble will the earth, and
the nations will not sustain his wrath. As he could not suc-
ceed with the heathens, he warns here the Jews not to pro-
voke the wrath of God, who will be the Judge of the whole
world, and will destroy the unbelievers, however blind in
darkness they may be. He then warns the Jews not to close
their eyes to the glory, which had been more fully open to
them. But the Gentiles might by the works of nature have
known God, and were inexcusable ; yet, the knowledge of
him was made plain to the Jews by the law. For this rea-
1 The verse, literally rendered, is as follows :—
“ But Jehovah, God the truth he,
God the life and King eternal ;
At his wrath tremble will the earth,
And not bear will the nations his indignation.”
It is usual in Hebrew to put nouns for adjectives; divested of this
peculiarity, and the future being taken for the present, the verse would
run thus:
“ But Jehovah, the true God is he,
The living God and King eternal ;
At his wrath tremble does the earth,
And the nations cannot bear bis indignation.”
“The true God,” and “ the living Ged,” is the version of the Vulgate
and of the Targum ; but that of the Syr. and Arab., “ the God of truth,”
and “ the God of the living,” but no doubt incorrect.— Ed.
CHAP. x. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 29
son Jeremiah says, ‘ Even though unbelievers now boldly
despise God, yet when he shall appear as the Judge of the
world, the whole earth must of necessity tremble, and will
not be able to bear his presence, though they now proudly
reproach true religion.”
But it was not without reason that the Prophet took so
much pains on this subject; for the ten tribes had been
driven into exile, and the AsSyrians and Chaldeans triumphed
over God himself, as though he had been overcome, inasmuch
as he did not defend the kingdom of Israel, which was under
his care and protection ; and the miserable Israelites could
not but despond when they found themselves so distressed,
and cruelly treated and oppressed by the most shameless
tyranny ; for what could they have thought, but that they
had not been the objects of God’s care, and that his promises
were vain, or that he possessed no sufficient power to preserve
them? It is, then, for this reason that the Prophet now so
highly extols the power and glory of God, that is, that their
calamities might not deject them and lay prostrate the faith
of those who thought that they were forsaken.
And this will be more evident from the following verse,
where the Prophet uses the Chaldee language; and this is the
only verse in the whole book written in Chaldee ; and the
Chaldee differs much from the Hebrew. We have seen be-
fore that Daniel wrote in Chaldee, when he spoke of things
. pertaining to the Chaldeans ; but when he addressed his own
people and announced prophecies, belonging especially to the
Church of God, he wrote in Hebrew. Hence the book of
Daniel is written in Hebrew, except in those parts which he
wished to be understood by the Chaldeans ; and so does the
Prophet in this place.
11. Thus shall ye say unto 11. Sic (secundum hoc) dicetis illis
them, The gods that have not (inguit) Dii (prorsus diverso modo
made the heavens and the earth, loquitur quam ante, et proximo etiam
even they shall perish from the versu loquitur ; dii ergo) qui celum
earth, and from under these et terram non fecerunt, pereant é terra
heavens. et de sub ceelis istis.
Now, the reason why he bids the Israelites to speak in the
Chaldee language is, because they had been led into exile,
and were mingled with the Assyrians and Chaldeans. He
30 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, XLI.
then required from those despised exiles an open and a bold
confession, as though he had said, “ Even though ye are now
in the most miserable bondage, and though the Chaldeans
disdainfully oppress you, as if ye were slaves, yet proclaim
the glory of God and shrink not from an open confession of
your religion, and say to them, in contempt of all their idols,
perish must your gods from the earth and from under heaven,
for they have not made heaven nor the earth.” We now un-
derstand the meaning of the Prophet. But the rest I shall
defer until to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast exhibited thy glory to
be seen by us, not only in the heavens and the earth, but also in
the law, in the Prophets, and in the Gospel, and hast so plainly
made thyself known to us in thine only-begotten Son, that ignor-
ance can be no excuse,—O grant that we may make progress in
this knowledge by which thou kindly invitest to thyself, and may
so constantly cleave to thee, that none of the errors of the world
may draw us aside; but may we stand firm in thy word, which
cannot deceive us, until we shall at length come to that celestial
blessedness, when we shall enjoy thee face to face in thy glory,
having been made fully conformable to thine image in Christ
Jesus our Lord.—Amen.
Lecture Forty-first.
We began yesterday to explain the declaration of the Pro-
phet, in which he exhorted the Israelites to constancy, though
scattered among the Chaldeans. Their condition was then
miserable, because we know that it was that of bondage, and
conquerors ruled in a very petulant manner, when a people
were subdued by war; but they had been led into exile for
the very purpose of degrading them. The Prophet therefore
animates them here, that they might not be dejected, but
continue in the pure worship of God, and faithfully profess
his name.
What he said to them was, May those gods, who created
not the heaven and the earth, perish from the earth and from
under heaven. He assumed this principle—that no one
cHAP. x. LI. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 3l
ought to be counted God but he who is the creator and
maker of heaven and earth ; and who could say that gods
of wood and stone had created the world? for wood, as well
as stone, is a corruptible material. All the statues, which
were created gods, had received their form and shape from
mortal men. It is hence manifest, that to ascribe divi-
nity to them was not only false, but foolish and monstrous.
This, then, is the reason why he says, “ May the gods who
made not the heaven and earth perish.” The verb is indeed in
the future tense ; but we know that the future is often to be
taken as an optative in Hebrew. If, however, any one pre-
fers to retain this tense, “Perish shall the gods who made
not the heaven and the earth,” I shall not contend with him ;
yet the other view is what I approve, that the Israelites.
were to imprecate destruction on all idols.’
1 Critics have unnecessarily suggested a doubt as to the genuineness of
this verse, written in Chaldee. They have nothing but conjecture, and
even for that conjecture there is no solid reason. It is not omitted in any
MS. but one, nor by any of the early versions, nor by the Targum, though
paraphrased more than what is commonly done. As to the context, it seems
to be wholly necessary: for the meaning of the two following verses cannot
be well understood without it, provided they are rendered correctly. I
shall first give the three verses, and then point out the connection :—
11. Thus shall ye say to them,
«The gods, who have not made the heaven and the earth,
Perish from the earth, even from under heaven, shall they :
12. He who made the earth through his power,
Who has set in order the world by his wisdom,
And through his understanding expanded the heayens,—
13. At his voice when given,
Abundance of waters is in the heavens,
For he brings clouds from the extremity of the earth ;
Lightnings for rain he makes,
! And sends forth the wind from his treasures.”
The Prophet’s object was to shew that the Creator of the world is its
ruler. As false gods did not create the world, they do not rule it. The
name of the true God is not given in these verses, nor are the gods of the
Chaldeans specially named. The gods who were no creators are alone
mentioned, and contrasted with them is he who made all things; and of
him he says, that “at his voice when given,” or literally, “ at the voice of
his giving,” abundance of waters appear, which he brings from the ex-
tremity of the earth. He states things as they appear: clouds arise from
the horizon, said here to be the extremity of the earth. Then he men-
tions the most terrific things in nature, thunders, lightnings, and storms, (for
that is what is meant here by wind,) as being under the entire control of him
who made the heaven and the earth. Thus wesee that when the passage is
rightly understood, the eleventh verse is necessary as a portion of the context.
“He who made,” &c. He is put asa sort of nominative absolute, as
32 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLI.
Now that he uses the Chaldee language, is what deserves,
as we said yesterday, to be observed; they had then to do
with the Chaldeans, who insultingly triumphed over the true
God, thinking that they were his conquerors ; and they
triumphed over him, as though he had been overcome by
their swords. Then the Prophet bids the Israelites, boldly
and courageously, to proclaim the name and the glory of the
true God. Doubtless this could not have been done without
immediate danger of death; but it was their duty, as God’s
true servants, to prefer his glory to their own lives, in op-
posing the fury of the enemies who then ruled over them,
and who had led them to remote countries.
We see how much God makes of the confession of faith ;
and the whole Scripture shews that this sacrifice is especially
approved by him. Hence also it appears how foolishly they
talk who say that they cherish faith secretly in their hearts,
though they may hide from the world their real sentiments.
We see how frigid, nay, how foolish is this excuse, while
they seek, by a perfidious silence, to save their own life and
to remain in peace with the ungodly. They who at this day
live under the Papacy, think that they justly exempt them-
selves by such an excuse as this—that they ought not rashly
to endanger their lives, as facts prove that such is the rage
of the enemies of the gospel, that were any to confess the
truth, they would be immediately led to punishment. But
we may compare the condition of the ancient people with our
own ; certainly ours is better than that of the ten tribes,
who lived in a foreign land and were treated as slaves. As
then the Chaldeans watched them, did they not find the
sword daily and constantly ready to be used against them ?
And yet God bids them to close their eyes to their danger and
faithfully to profess what they believed, yea, to detest the
idols, which was still more displeasing to the Chaldeans ; for
he bids them to say, “The God whom we worship made
himself known to Abraham our father, and we worship him,
because we have found him to be a Redeemer and a con-
stant preserver of our safety :” and this is not the only thing
“ gods” is in the former verse. This kind of phraseology is often to be
met with in Hebrew.—Ed. -
CHAP. X.12,13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 33
that the Prophet bids them to say, but also, “‘ May your gods
perish.” This was certainly enough to kindle rage in the
Chaldeans, even if they had been men of temperate minds ;
but as they were elated with pride on account of their vic-
tory and hated the Jews, such a declaration must have been
intolerable to them. What, then, can the Nicodemites of
this day say, who indulge their own delusions? for they
think it enough if they deny not God in their hearts; and
yet being frightened with danger, they either pretend to
deny him, or openly shew that they consent to errors.
In short, we see that there is no true religion in the
hearts of men, except a confession is made, for there ought
to be a consent between the heart and the tongue. But
some one may object and say, Is it necessary for the faithful
to ery through cross-ways and the streets of the city, “ There
is but one true God?” I answer, that all have not been
chosen to the prophetic office, in order to preach every-
where; but it is commanded to all without exception, to
detest idols, where they see the glory of God reproachfully
traduced by enemies ; for the Prophet meant, that they
were to make this answer to the reproaches of those who
then took the occasion insultingly to rise up agepet the
true God. It now follows :—
12. He hath made the earth by his 12. Faciens terram in virtute
power, he hath established the world sua, disponens orbem in sapientia
by his wisdom, and hath stretched out sua, et insua intelligentia extendit
the heavens by his discretion. ceelos.
13. When he uttereth his voice, 13. Ad vocem dando sonitum
there is a multitude of waters in the aquarum (vel potius copiam aqua-
heavens, and he causeth the vapours rum) in ceelis; et ascendere faciens
to ascend from the ends of the earth; elevationes ab extremitate terre,
he maketh lightnings with rain,,and fulgura ad pluviam creans (faciens,
bringeth forth the wind out of his wut prius,) et educens ventum é
treasures. thesauris suis.
Jeremiah speaks now again in Hebrew, for he on purpose
spoke in Chaldee, to shew that the ungodly were not to be
given way to, if they blasphemed and wantonly derided the
holy name of God. But as it is necessary that the confession
of the mouth should proceed from faith, as fruit from the
root, the Prophet here reminds the Israelites that there is
but one true God ; for, besides him who created the earth,
VOL. IL. 0
34 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XL
set in order the world, and extended the heavens, there is
no other to be found. Since, then, this cannot be said ex-
cept of one, it follows that all the deities which the world
devises for itself, are false and mere inventions of Satan, by
which he deludes mankind. And doubtless no one can
courageously oppose such errors, except he who believes in
the one true God. We know that there were formerly some
among the philosophers who jocularly and facetiously ridi-
culed the delirious notions of the vulgar; but no one in
earnest undertook this cause, nor could they take upon
themselves the defence of God’s glory, for he was unknown
to them. It is therefore necessary, as I have said, that we
should be really and truly grounded in the faith before the
building can be carried on ; for the profession, by which we
ascribe glory to God, is, as it were, the superstructure, but
faith, concealed within the heart, is the foundation.
We now then understand the Prophet’s design in saying,
that there is but one, who made the earth. He speaks in-
deed concisely ; but what he says has more force, when he
does not mention God’s name, but sets before us his power,
as though he had said, “ There is one, there is one, who has
created the earth ; there is one, who has set in order the
world and extended the heavens; as these things cannot be
ascribed to many, it follows that men are very absurd in
imagining that there are various gods.”
He says that God created the earth by his power. He
alludes to the solid state of the earth. The philosophers
indeed hold that the earth stands naturally in the middle of
creation, as it is the heaviest element ; and the reason they
give that the earth is suspended in aiid is, because the
centre of the world attracts what is most heavy ; and these
things indeed they wisely discuss. Yet we must go further:
for the centre of the earth is not the main part of creation ;
it hence follows that the earth has been suspended. in the
air, because it has so pleased God. When, therefore, the
Prophet commends God’s power in fixing the earth, he refers
to its firm state.
He then adds, There is one who hath by his wisdom set the
world in order. He does not indeed say that he is one, but
—_- =e eer mre
— oo lv
*
CHAP. X.12,13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 35
this is what is implied. Though the term ban, tabel, is
taken for the earth, it has yet a wider meaning. - The-Pro-
phet, I have no doubt, includes in it at least the sea. And
we know that the Spirit has not spoken in the Law and the
Prophets with rigorous exactness, but in a style suited to
the common capacities of men. He says then that the
world was set in order by God’s wisdom : for it is wonderful
how the waters mingle with the earth, and yet retain their
own habitation, and are restrained from covering the earth:
in the earth also itself there is amazing variety ; we sce in
one part mountains, in another small hills; there are mea-
dows, forests, and fields for corn. Indeed, man’s industry
contributes to this variety ; but we see how God hath fitted
the earth for different purposes. Here then shines forth the
wonderful wisdom of God. When again he speaks of the
heavens, he says, that they have been expanded by God’s
knowledge. He indeed employs various expressions, but he
means the same thing,—that God’s singular wisdom may be
seen in the earth and in the heavens.
Some connect the following verse and explain the verb
1103, nuthe, ditferently,—that God extends the heavens when
he covers them with clouds; for the verb AN, tatu, which
means the same thing, follows: but the infinite mood is often
to be taken for the preterite. As then this is a strained
explanation, and too far-fetched, I reject it. The Prophet,
no doubt, speaks of the original formation of the heavens:
- for when God covers the heavens with clouds, their true form
does not appear ; besides, the meaning of the verb is per-
verted, when taken to express the obscuring of the heavens
by clouds. They who will impartially examine the passage,
will be ready to admit, that the Prophet speaks of the ex-
panding of the heavens. So the Scripture everywhere sets
forth God’s wisdom as displayed by this wonderful workman-
ship; and the heaven is said to have been expanded over
the earth, so that it covers it around. (Psalm-civ. 6.) _
Now, though Jeremiah mentions only the word “ heavens,”
yet he includes the wonders which appear in them, such as
that the sun performs its daily course—that it changes its
track daily—that the planets have two motions—that they
36 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLI.
appear in different parts—and that the sun seems now to
ascend and then to descend. In short, Jeremiah here extols
all the secrets of astrology, when he says, that the heavens
have been expanded by God, and expanded with singular
and incomparable wisdom. Though, then, he only briefly
touches on this wonderful workmanship of God, yet he would
have us carefully to dwell on it in our meditations; for all
errors and all fancies will soon vanish, when we duly con-
sider the power and wisdom of God, as manifested in the
creation of the heavens and of the earth, and in the order
observable in the world.
The Prophet then descends to the other works of God, to
those which are changeable, for there is in nature a perpe-
tual constancy as to the heavens and the earth ; and there
are many things subject to changes ; as when God darkens
the air, when he raises winds, when he pours down rain.
These things happen not according to the settled order of
the world of which he had spoken. We see then that the
Prophet has hitherto referred to the fixed and regular go-
vernment of the world, to what had been done at the crea-
tion. But now, as I have said, he sets before us things of
another kind,—that God gives or sends forth, by his voice,
abundance of waters from the heavens. Some render }VOn,
emun, ‘sound ;” but it is, on the contrary, to be taken for
“multitude,” or abundance. Moreover, he takes “ yoice”
for thunder: for though it often rains without thunder, yet
when God thunders from heaven, there is a sudden change,
which not only disturbs the air, but also fills us with dread.
As then in this sudden and unexpected change the power
of God more strikingly appears, the Prophet says, At his
voice he gives abundance of waters.
He then says, he makes elevations to ascend ; for we see
that vapours arise from the earth and ascend upwards.
Philosophers shew how this happens: but yet the power of
God cannot be excluded, when we say that anything is done
according to nature. For we hence more clearly see what
the Prophet means, that is, that God has so set in order the
world, that when he causes vapours to ascend, he shews that
he rules in the heavens and on the earth. And he adds,
. CEO Ee aS a SS
CHAP. X. 12,13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 37
Jrom the extremity of the earth: for we see that vapours
rise at a distance and immediately spread over our heads.
Is not this wonderful? And were we not accustomed to
such a thing, it could not but fill us with admiration. The
Prophet then rouses men here from their torpor, that they
may learn to consider what is presented to their view. He
goes on and says, creating or making lightnings for the rain,
or with the rain: for b, lamed, is taken by some, as though
he had said, that lightnings are mingled with rain: and
doubtless we see that these things, fire and rain, are contrary
to one another; yet fire generates water, and it dwells also
in the midst of a mass of waters: it rains, and yet the air
is at the same time kindled with lightnings. Since then
God thus mingles contrary things, and makes fire the origin
and the cause of rain, is it not so wonderful that it is sufii-
cient to move the very stones? How great then must be the
stupidity of men, when they attend not to so conspicuous a
work of God, in which they may see the glory of his wisdom
as well as of his power !
He then says, that God brings forth the wind from his
treasures. He calls hidden places the treasures of God ; for
whence the winds except from the caverns of the earth?
Since, then, the earth, where it is hollow, generates winds,
rightly does the Prophet say, that they were the hidden
treasures of God. The philosophers also find out the cause
why the winds arise from the earth ; for the sun attracts
vapours and exhalations ; from vapours are formed clouds,
shows, and rains, according to the fixed order of the middle
region of the air. From the exhalations also are formed the
thunders, lightnings, the comets also, and the winds ; for the
exhalations differ from the vapours only in their lightness
and rarity, the vapours being thicker and heavier. Then
from vapour arises rain; but the exhalation is lighter, and
not so thick ; hence the exhalations generate thunders as
well as winds, according to the heat they contain. How,
then, is it that the same exhalation now breaks forth into
wind, then into lightnings? It is according to the measure
of its heat ; when it is dense it rises into the air; but the
winds vanish and thus disturb the lower part of the world.
38 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLI.
These are the things said by philosophers; but the chief
thing in philosophy is to have regard to God, who brings the
winds out of his treasures, for he keeps them hidden. We
wonder that the wind rises suddenly when it is quite calm ;
who ought not to acknowledge that winds are formed, and
are sent here and there at God’s pleasure? And hence in
Psalm civ. 4, they are called the swift messengers of God,
“who makes spirits his messengers.” It follows :—
14, Every man is brutish in his 14. Stultus est omnis homo a
knowledge ; every founder is con-
founded by the graven image :
for his molten image is false-
hood, and there is no breath in
them.
scientia (vertunt alii, preescientia ;
sed perperam, meo judicio,) pude-
factus est omnis conflator 4 seulptili;
quia mendacium conflatile, et non
est spiritus in illis.
Some too refinedly explain the beginning of this verse—
that their own subtlety or wisdom, which they arrogate, in-
fatuates men, according to what Paul says, that men become
vain in their minds, when they form an idea of God accord-
ing to their own imagination. (Rom.i. 21.) But the Pro-
phet speaks more plainly, for he says, that all artificers were
foolish. The word knowledge is not to be taken here for
knowledge of truth, but for the knowledge of artificers, whe-
ther carpenters or blacksmiths, or those who either melted or
graved or formed gods of wood, stone, and silver, as we may ~
learn from the second clause of the verse. There is no diffi-
culty as to what is meant, if we duly consider the words of
the Prophet ; he expresses the same thing in two ways ;
foolish, he says, are all our artificers ; then he specifies one
sort, every founder or melter, &. We hence see that the
Prophet does not use the word knowledge according to its
strict meaning, but extends it to skill in workmanship.’
‘The first clause of this verse is rendered by the Sept. and Vulg.,
“ Foolish has become every man by knowledge ;” by the Syr., “ Foolish
have all men become without knowledge ;” the Arab. and the Targ. con-
vey the same idea with the last. Gataker takes this view and gives this
version, “ Every man is become brutish for want of knowledge.” But as
the framers of idols were called, in ver. 9, “ wise” or cunning men, it is
more probable that their boasted knowledge is what is meant here. The
verse may be thus rendered—
14. Brutish has every man become by his knowledge ;
Disgracefully has every founder done as to the graven image,
For deception ts his cunning ;
And no spirit is in them.
*
To render the different parts of this verse correspondent, it is necessary —
CHAP. xX, 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 39
But when he says that the artizans were foolish, he con-
nects with them, no doubt, all the worshippers of false gods ;
but he reprobates their knowledge, who applied whatever
skill and knowledge they had to so vain a purpose. Behold,
he says, the worker in gold, and every other artificer, think
that they are very ingenious when they elegantly form an
idol ; they spend all their wits on so vain a thing; what is
this but folly? But they think that they make a god by
their own hands; yet they cannot change the nature of gold
and silver. It is the form only that they add ; but this form
contains no life. Hence he subjoins, There is no spirit in
them. He had said before, that they who formed the graven
image would be ashamed, or convicted of folly ; for he had
called them foolish and brutish. Now, %WY2, bor, in Hiphil,
means to be foolish ; but the noun means a brute animal.
Hence he reproachfully compares these illustrious artizans,
who gained repute by the elegant forms they gave to their
gods, to asses, and oxen, and other brute animals. Some
render “JD3, nusak, “covering ;” but it signifies, I doubt not,
a molten image ; for he repeats what he had said, that the
founders would be ashamed of the graven image. In short,
he says, that the molten image was falsehood, for there was in
them no spirit. He changes the number, but the meaning
is evident.
We have seen before that idols were said to be the teach-
ing of vanities ; for they were extremely deceived, and be-
came wholly foolish, who ascribed the glory of God to wood
and stone. The heathens might say, that they had never
thought such a thing ; but facts proved that they were liars
and made only vain pretences ; for why did they place con-
fidence in their idols ?—why did they bow down before them ?
to take Y°3195 as a Hiphil. The connection is between the first and last
line, and between the two middle lines. Every man, both the carver and
the founder, or melter, were brutish, in employing their knowledge and
skill in making idols or images, because there was, after all their toil, no
spirit, no life in them. Then the founder acted shamefully in taking the
carved thing or image, to cover it with gold or silver, because what he
melted was a mere deception.
This verse is no prediction, but a representation of the extreme folly
= stupidity of idol-makers. This is confirmed by the following verse.—
Ed.
40 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLI.
—why did they address to them prayers and supplications ?
They then believed that God was present in the visible form.
Now the Prophet says, that this was the teaching of vanities ;
because they who made a figure or image of God thought
that he was like to gold and silver, and that he had some
affinity to dead elements, destitute of reason and understand-
ing. For the same purpose he now adds, that the molten
image is falsehood ; why ? because the truth of God is turned
into falsehood, as Paul says, (Rom. i. 25.)
It is, therefore, a monstrous absurdity when men imagine
that wood or stone is an image of God ; for there is no simi-
larity, nor can such a thing enter into man’s mind without a
grievous and an atrocious indignity being offered to God.
The reason also is to be noticed, For there is no spirit in
them. God, so to speak, is the life of all things living ; now,
to call a dead thing an image of God, a thing in which there
is no mind nor life, is it not to turn light into darkness?
This reason, then, ought to be remembered by us; and it is
a sufficient refutation of all such errors, when the Prophet
says, that there is no spirit in idols, that is, in wood, stone,
gold, and silver, and that they are therefore a lie; for God
will not have himself to be compared to dead things, without
mind and life. He then adds—
15. They are vanity, and the work 15. Vanitas sunt, opus illusionum
of errors: in the time of their visi- in tempore visitationis ipsorum peri-
tation they shall perish. bunt.
He confirms the same thing. What he called before false-
hood, Wu, shikor, he calls now vanity, bss, ebel. They are
vanity, he says. He had said that they were falsehood, which
means, that men were grossly deceived when they sought the
presence of God in dead things. Now he says, that they
were vanity, and also the work of illusions ; but some render
the last word “ mockeries,” taking it in a passive sense ;
and hence the Chaldee interpreter renders it, “a thing worthy
of ridicule and laughter.’ But I prefer to take it forimposture
1 So, substantially, is the version of the Sept., Vulg., Syr., and Arab.,—
“ ridiculous—worthy of laughter—foolish—ludicrous.” But the word
means no such thing. The verb 7YN means to wander, to err, to go astray ;
in Niphal, to be led astray, to be deceived ; and Hiphil, to lead astray, to
seduce, to deceive ; and it is a Hiphil participle in Gen. xxvii. 12. It is
a a
———s ee
SS es —- sy
CHAP. x. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 41
or deception. Jacob said to his mother, “I shall be found in
the eyes of my father a deceiver ;” but some render the word
there “a mocker.” But Jacob, on the contrary, meant, that
he should be found out as one of no credit, or acting in guile,
as though he had said, “I shall be an impostor, and my
father will find out the fraud.” So also in this place, he
ealls idols the work of deceptions, by which men infatuated
themselves. He does not then teach us here that idols de-
served to be ridiculed, but he refers to the madness of those
who imagined that they were gods, for he had before called
them vanity and falsehood ; and there is no doubt but that
in these various ways he repeats and confirms the same
thing.
He afterwards adds, In the time of their visitation they
shall perish. The pronoun “their” may be applied to idols
or to the Chaldeans : when the time of visitation shall come;
that is, when God shall punish the enemies of his Church,
then their idols shall perish: or, when the time shall come
for God to visit the idols, they shall perish. Either sense
may be admitted ; and indeed as to the subject in hand,
there is no difference.
The Israelites might have objected and said, ‘“ How is it
then that false gods, whom men have devised for themselves,
are worshipped, and are in great esteem and highly regard-
ed? How does God suffer and overlook this?” The Israel-
ites might have raised an objection of this kind. Therefore
the Prophet answers them, They shall perish ; but it shall
be at the time of visitation." It is an exhortation to
here a reduplicate noun ; and Blayney takes it as referring to persons, and
not as an abstract noun—those who greatly err; and this is the best view,
as the Prophet has been throughout describing the idol-makers—
Vanity are they (i.e., the idols,)
The work of the grossly deluded :
At the time of their visitation they shall perish ;
that is, the grossly deluded.
He had before threatened ruin to idols; but he now threatens their
makers.—Ed.
* Scott quotes a sermon of Mede, in which he says, “ Ye have heard the
state of the times, wherein this prophecy is commanded ; now let us con-
sider the event. We have heard of the admired oracles of the Gentiles,
of Apollo at Delphos, of Jupiter Ammon in Egypt, &c. ; but all of them
are long since perished. Where is now Bel, the god of Babylon, Nisroch,
the god of Assyria, Baal and Astaroth, the gods of Zidonians, Mileom of
?
42 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. XLI.
patience, that the faithful might not despond or be weakened
in their hopes, though they saw silver gods carried on men’s
shoulders, though they saw wood and stone set on elevated
places, and incense burnt to them and sacrifices offered to
them. Though then they saw idols in such esteem, they
were not yet to despair or fall away from true religion, for
the time of visitation was to be looked for, when God would
execute his judgment on the false gods as well as on their
worshippers. We now understand why he speaks of visita-
tion. It follows—
16. The Portion of Jacob is not like 16. Non sicuti illi portio Iacob,
them: for he is the former of all things; quia creator omnium est; et Is-
and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: raelvirga hereditatis ejus, lehova
The Lord of hosts is his name. exercituum nomen ejus.
We have said before, that superstitions cannot be from the
heart and boldly rejected, except the true God be known ;
for the heathens, even when they disapproved of the opi-
nions of the vulgar, yet reasoned on both sides, and knew
nothing certain, and had no sure faith. It is, therefore, ne-
cessary that we should have previously a knowledge of the
true God. Hence the Prophets, whenever they spoke of
idols, spoke also of the true God ; for it would have been to
little purpose to condemn these follies, except they repre-
sented God in his own real dignity. For this reason the
Prophet says again, that God, who is the portion of Israel,
is not like idols.
He calls God the portion of Israel, that he might preserve
the people in the pure truth of the law which they had
learnt, and with which they had been favoured ; and thus
he draws away the attention of the Israelites from all the
inventions of men or of the heathens. The portion then of
Israel is not like idols—how so? For he is the former of all
things, that is, the creator of heaven and earth. Then he
says, Israel is the rod of his inheritance.’ Rod may be taken
the Ammonites, Chemosh of Moab, and Tammuz of the Egyptians? Even
these also are perished with their names.” The partial fulfilment of this
prophecy is an evidence of its complete fulfilment, when “the spirit of
evil,” as Scott says, “ whom all idolaters worship, shall be confined to the
bottomless pit.”— Ed.
1 This clause is left out in the Septuagint, but retained by the Vulgate,
the Targum, and the Syriac, though “ rod” is rendered “ tribe” in the
CHAP. x.17,18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 43
for a measuring rod ; and I think it ought to be so taken,
for he mentions inheritance: for he took the comparison
from common practice ; as men are wont to measure fields
and possessions by a rod. He therefore says, Israel is the
rod, that is, the measuring rod of his inheritance. He con-
cludes by saying, Jehovah of hosts is his name.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast been pleased to shew thy-
self so plainly to us, and as thou art pleased to confirm us in thy
truth,—O grant that we may not turn aside either to the right
hand or to the left, but depend entirely on thy word, and so
cleave to thee that no errors of the world may draw us aside:
may we constantly persevere in that faith which we have learnt
from thy Law and thy Prophets, and especially from thy gospel,
wheré thou hast made thyself more clearly known to us, through
Christ Jesus, until we shall at length enjoy thy full and perfect
glory, when we shall be transformed into it in that inheritance,
which has been purchased for us by the blood of thy only-
begotten Son.—Amen.
5 Lecture Forty-Second.
17. Gather up thy wares out of the 17. Collige é terra merces tuas,
land, O inhabitant of the fortress: | que habitas in munitione:
18. For thus saith the Lord, Be- 18. Quia sic dicit Iehova, Ecce ego
hold, I will sling out theinhabitants funda projiciens habitatores terre
of the land at this once, and will dis- vice hae, et coarctabo eos (vel, faciam
tress them, that they may find 7 so. ut obsideant eos) ut inveniant,
Tue first verse which we have recited, the Rabbins think,
is addressed to the Chaldeans, but in my view very incor-
rectly. Jeremiah had indeed said that all the nations who
devised gods of stone and of other corruptible materials,
were very foolish ; but we have seen for what purpose he
said this, even to confirm the Israelites, who were captives,
and in addition to the disgrace of exile were greatly hated
by the Chaldeans and the Assyrians; it was, I say, to con-
firm them, lest they should depart from the true worship of
God, but constantly defend the honour of their God, from
last; and so it may be rendered, for D3 means a tribe as well as a rod
or sceptre: and this meaning is the most suitable. God was the portion
of Israel, and Israel was the tribe or nation whom God inherited or pos-
sessed as his inheritance, there being no other nation so favoured. Ed.
44 , COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. XLII,
whom they expected restoration. It is, therefore, absurd for
the Rabbins to explain this verse of the Chaldeans ; for the
two verses ought to be connected, gather thy merchandise,
because thus saith Jehovah. It is then strange that these
interpreters apply the second verse to the Israelites, while
they read the first by itself, as though they were not con-
nected: yet a reason is given why he bids all wages to be
gathered.
But the meaning is simply this,—that the whole country
would be exposed to the will of their enemies, that they
might plunder it: as then devastation was nigh at hand, the
Prophet bids those in fortified places to gather their wages,
or to gather a gathering, (we shall hereafter speak of this
expression.) . Now, we have already stated in several places,
that the Prophets ironically touched on the torpidity of the
people; for plain truth would have had no effect, except it
was urged on them as it were vehemently The Prophet
then undertakes the character of a man, who brings warlike
tidings, as we shall more clearly see presently. But in this
place, as in some other places, he declares that nowhere in
Judea would there be safety, except in fortresses ; which yet
would not be able to resist the attacks of enemies, as we shall
hereafter see.
As to the words, some give this rendering, “ gather thy
humiliation,” as YJ2, cano, means to be humble; but they
apply the words to Babylon, as though the Prophet had said,
“ Now cease to subdue the remaining nations.” Thus they
take the verb DN, asaph, in the sense of contraction, when
some moderation is observed. But I have already said that
this verse cannot refer to Babylon or to the Chaldeans. As
then the Prophet addresses the Jews, and speaks of their
effects, or of their merchandise, or precious things, which
were wont to be gathered and laid up; as though he had
said, “ Gather thy gathering ;” for the word 35, cano, means
also to collect or to gather: and this is a suitable meaning,
it being taken afterwards for doing business. But as to the
subject itself there is no obscurity ; for the Prophet shews
that in a short time the whole of Judea would be laid waste
by enemies; and as it was to be exposed to plunder, what
CHAP. X.17,18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 45
is usual was to be done, that is, to gather whatever was va-
luable into fortified cities. In short, the Prophet here
declares that war and ruin would come on the Jews, which
would extend through the whole land; for by land he means
the country, as distinguished from fortified towns.
Then follows the reason, For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I
will with a sling cast out the inhabitants of the land. Land
here is to be taken in another sense, even for the whole
country. Wherever then the Jews dwelt, the Lord, says the
Prophet, will draw them forth, yea, cast them out as with a
sling. We now then see that the vengeance which the Jews
despised is denounced on them, because they remained
securely in their own delusions; and what still more pro-
voked God’s wrath, they regarded all that Jeremiah said of
his judgment as a fable. But he compares their violent
exile to slinging, and represents the Lord as the slinger.
We know that when a sling is flung and a stone is cast, the
motion is very violent. Such a casting away is then what
God here threatens the people with,—that he would vio-
lently throw them here and there, like stones when cast
by a sling.
And he says at this term or time, in order that the Jews
might know that their calamity would be like a sudden
storm. For they had often been subject to the assaults of
enemies ; but at one time they had delivered themselves, at
another the Chaldeans and Assyrians had been constrained
to turn aside to other quarters; or they had been miracu-
lously delivered by God’s aid. They hoped that it would be
the same always ; and they thought also that by protracting
the war they could disappoint their enemies, as they had
often done ; and further still, they expected aid from various
quarters. Hence the Prophet says, that they would be so
taken away, that God would at once cast them all out of the
land, and cast them out as it were in one day: at this time
then will I fling out the inhabitants of the land.
Then he says, And I will straiten them. Some render the
verb transitively, as it is in Hiphil, “I will cause them to
be besieged by their enemies,” and then, “that their ene-
mies may find them.” But this seems forced. Others more
46 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEO?, XLII.
correctly give this explanation of the last clause, “that they
may find,” that is, as true, what had been so often foretold
them. For, as we have said, the Prophets and their threat-
enings had been despised, as the Jews had hardened them-
selves in their impiety: therefore this interpretation may be
allowed. -But I prefer a more general meaning,—that they
may find, even what they had sought ; for they had in many
and various ways provoked the wrath of God: it was there-
fore right that they should at last find that which they had
by their perverse doings procured for themselves, according
to what is said in Isaiah lvii. 10, “ They shall find the fruit
of their own ways.” The Jews sought nothing less than the
calamity which Jeremiah denounced on them: but they had
Yeally long sought it; for it was right that they should
receive the wages due to their wickedness. hen it is, that
they may find, that is, the reward of their own works.’ It
follows—
19. Woe is me for my hurt! 19. Hei mihi super contritione mea ;
my wound is grievous: but Isaid, dolore plena est percussio mea: et ego
Truly this is a grief, and I must dixi, Certé (vel, utique) heee plaga mea,
bear it. et feram eam.
The Prophet here no doubt speaks in the name of the
whole people ; for he saw that no one was moved by threat-
enings, though very grievous and severe; and this mode
of speaking must be sufficiently known to us, for it is com-
monly used by all the prophets. They first addressed the
1 As to these two verses the early yersions all differ from one another,
as well as from our version and that of Calvin. The Targum comes the
nighest to our version. I offer the following rendering,—
17. Gather from the land thy gains,
Thou who dwellest in a fortress !
18. For thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold I will sling out
The inhabitants of the land at this time,
And will fortress them, that they may be taken.
The first verse is spoken ironically, recommending what they were do-
ing. Then the Lord says what he would do: They were gathering their
goods into fortresses in order to secure them, and the Lord says that he
would violently fortress (as the word means literally) or drive into for-
tresses all the inhabitants of the land, and would do so, that they might be
found or taken, that is, captives; there would be no need of collecting the
people, for they would be driven into fortified cities, where the enemies
would find them. This seems to be the meaning of this verse, which
Horsley deemed “ very obscure,” and elucidated “ by no expositor.”—Ed.
:
1
eS Te
CHAP. x. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 47
people ; but when they saw that they produced no effect, in
order to shew their indignation, they speak of themselves as
in the presence of God: thus they rebuked the hardness
and torpidity of men. So now does Jeremiah speak, Woe
to me for my bruising! He did not grieve on his own ac-
count ; but, as I have said, he represents the grief which
the whole people ought to have felt, which yet they did not
feel at all. As then they were so stupid, and proudly de-
rided God and his threatenings, the Prophet shews to them,
as it were in a mirror, what grievous and bitter lamentation
awaited them.
We must then bear in mind that the Prophet speaks not
here according to the feeling which the people had, for they
were so stupified that they felt nothing; but that he speaks
of what they ought to have felt, as though he had said,—
“Were there in them a particle of wisdom, they would all
most surely bewail their approaching calamity, before God
begins to make his judgment to fall on their heads; but no
one is moved: I shall therefore weep alone, but it is on
your account.” There is yet no doubt but he intended to
try in every way whether God’s threatenings would pene-
trate into their hearts.
He says that his smiting was full of pain ; and then adds,
And I said, Surely it is my stroke, and I will bear it. As
I have already said, he does not relate what the Jews said
or thought, but what would have been the case with them
had they the smallest portion of wisdom. Some connect
this with the following verse, as though the Prophet had
said that he thought himself able to bear his grief, but was
deceived, as he was at length constrained to succumb. But
‘this is an incorrect view, and the passage runs better other-
wise. The Prophet here reminds his own people with what
feeling they ought to have regarded the fact, that God was
angry with them ; for he no doubt indirectly condemns their
sottishness, because God’s hand was put forth to chastise
-them, and yet they disregarded the hand of him who smote
them. He then relates what they ought to have thought
and felt, when God shewed tokens of his wrath,—that they
ought to have acknowledged that it was their own stroke,
48 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLII.
and that it was therefore to be borne: for it is the best
preparation for repentance when the sinner acknowledges
that he is justly smitten, and when he willingly receives
the yoke. When, therefore, any one proceeds thus far, his
conversion is half effected.
The Prophet then teaches us here that the only remedy
which remained for the Jews was to be fully convinced that
they deserved the punishment which they endured, and then
patiently to submit to God’s judgment, according to what a
dutiful son does who suffers himself to be chastised when he
offends, The word is used in another sense in Psalm lxxyii.
10, “To die is my, lot.” The Prophet has bn, cheli, here;
but there it is ‘mon, cheluti. That passage is,indeed va-
riously explained; but it seems to be an expression of despair,
when it is said, “To die is my lot ;” that is, it is all over
with me. But the Prophet here shews that it was the be-
ginning of repentance, when the Jews confessed that they
deserved their stroke ; for no doubt there is here a com-
parison made between sin and its punishment, as though
the Prophet had said, “ We have thus deserved, and God
allots to us the reward due to our sins.” It is one thing,—
to give glory to God, by confessing that he inflicts due pun-
ishment ; but it is not sufficient unless patience be added,—
I will bear tz ; that is, I will submit to God. For there are
many who, when convinced of their sins, do yet complain
against their judge, and also raise a clamour. Hence the
Prophet joins together these two things,—the confession of
sin and patience ; so that they who experience the severity
of God quietly submit to him as long as he exercises towards
them the office of a judge." He afterwards adds—
1 Our translation, as to this verse, is nearly the Syriac. The Sep-
tuagint and Arabic have wandered much from the original; and so have
the Vulgate and the Targum in some degree. The most literal is the
version of Calvin. The terms here used, bruising, smiting, are commonly
employed to designate great trouble and afiliction, or distress; and this
distress he describes in the verse that follows; and in the twenty-first
verse the cause of it is set forth. And the distress corresponds with what
he says in the eighteenth verse, where he says that the inhabitants would
be driven from the land into fortresses, so that he would have none to set
up his tent. All these verses seem connected. The literal rendering of
this verse is as follows,—
OO ee
een
— ee
CHAP. X. 20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. | 49
20. My tabernacle is spoiled, 20. Tabernaculum meum vastatum
and all my cords are broken: est (vel, dirutum) et omnes funes mei
my children are gone forth of rupti sunt; filii mei egressi sunt 4 me
me, and they are not: there is (particula ‘1 tantundem valet ac 329,)
none to stretch forth my tent et nulli sunt (hoc est, nulli restant am-
any more, and to set up my plius:) nemo qui extendat amplius taber-
curtains, naculum meum, et erigat (vel, disponat)
cortinas meas.
This metaphor may have been taken from shepherds, and
it seems suitable here; yet the prophets often compare the
Church to a tent. Though indeed it is said elsewhere that
the Church is built on the holy mountains, (Psalm Ixxxvii.
1,) and great firmness is ascribed to it, yet, as to its external
condition, it may justly be said to be like a tent, for there
is no fixed residence for God’s children on earth, for they
are often constrained to change their place ; and hence Paul
speaks of the faithful as unsettled. (1 Cor. iv. 11.) But as,
in the next terse, mention is made of shepherds, the Prophet
seems here to refer to the tents of shepherds. Though in-
deed he takes hereafter the similitude more generally, or ina
wider sense, yet there is no reason why he should not allude
to the shepherds of whom he afterwards speaks, and yet re-
tain the metaphor which so often occurs in all the prophets.
He then says that his tent was pulled down, and that
all his cords were broken. Some take the tent for the city
of Jerusalem, but this is a strained view, and unsuitable.
We have already said that the Prophet speaks here in the
name of the whole people; and it is the same as though he
compared the people to a man dwelling with his family in a
tent. He adds, My children are gone forth from me. The
people then complain that they were deprived of all their
children ; nor was this all, but they were scattered here and
there, which was worse than if they had been taken away
by death. He afterwards says, And there is no one to ex-
tend my tent, and to set up my curtains. Jeremiah shews
that the people would be so bereaved as to have none to
bring them any assistance, though in much want of it.
19. Woe is to me, because of my bruising, (distress ;)
Grievous is my stroke; I have said,—
Surely, this is grief! but I must bear it.
Then he proceeds to state his distress: he had none even to assist him to
pitch his tent, the people having all been driven to fortified cities.—Ed. _
VOL, II. D
50 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LEOT. XLII.
No one then thought that such a thing would take place,
and Jeremiah was held in contempt, and some raged against
him, and yet he shewed what would be. And that what he
said might be more forcible, and produce a stronger effect,
he speaks in their name, like a poet in a play, who describes
a miser, and mentions things suitable to his character, mak-
ing use of such words and actions, so that he cannot but see,
as it were in a mirror, his own disposition and conduct. So
also the Prophet does here; for when he saw that the stupid
people could not be moved by’the simple truth, he told them
what they all ought to have felt in their hearts, and to have
testified by their mouths,—that they were solitary, deserted
by all who belonged to them, and that there was no one to
bring them any help.’ But he pursues, as we have said, the
same metaphor. It follows—
21. For the pastors are become 21. Quia infatuafi sunt pastores,
brutish, and have not sought the et Jehovam non inquisierunt; prop-
Lord: therefore they shall not pros- terea non egerunt prospere (alti,
per, and all their flocks shall be non intellexerunt,) et omnis pascua
scattered. eorum (hoc est, quicquid in pascuis
2 eorum erat) fuit destructum,
In the first place, he assigns a cause for the dreadful de-
vastationof which he had spoken, and that was, because the
shepherds were without thought and understanding. He
still, as we see, goes on with his metaphor. Some confine
this to the kings of Israel; but I do not agree with them:
for I include under the name shepherds, the priests and the
prophets as well as the king and his counsellors. But Jere-
miah did not mean to exempt the people from fault, when
he, in an especial manner, accused the shepherds; but he
only mentioned the origin and the primary cause of evils,—
that the kings, the prophets, and the priests were blind,
and thus destroyed the flock of God. We have observed
elsewhere the same mode of speaking ; and yet the prophets
1 J should render the verse as follows—
My tent, it is laid waste,
And all my curtains, they are broken ;
My sons, they have left me, and there are none of them ;
No one extends any more my tent, and sets up my curtains.
When the noun precedes its verb in Hebrew, I consider that it ought com-
monly to be rendered as above. “There are none of them,” that is, with
me; not that they “ were not,” that is, that they were dead.—Ed.
oy,
Ee
i i i i
omap. x. Z1 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 51
did not intend to extenuate the vices of the people, nor to
absolve the lower orders. But as it mostly happens that the
lower ranks, and those in humble stations, rely much on the
chief men who occupy places of authority, it was necessary
that the prophets should notice this evil: and we also know
how much pride and arrogance there is in kings and priests,
and in all those who enjoy any honour or dignity ; for they
think themselves exempt from the restraint of laws, and will
not be reproved, as though they were sacred persons. It was,
therefore, for this reason, that the Prophet reproved such
with so much vehemence and severity. Hence, he says, The
shepherds are infatuated.
The people, indeed, at that time repudiated the prophets,
as the case is now under the Papacy. For even when the
truth of God is clearly and perspicuously set forth, there are
many who set up this shield,—that they believe their bishops,
prelates, and kings, and others of a similar kind. When,
therefore, Jeremiah saw that the pure truth of God was sub-
verted by vain splendour, he found it necessary to expose
the disguise, and, so to speak, to pull off the mask. It was,
then, for this reason, that he said that the shepherds were
infatuated. If the prophets were under this necessity, what
ought to be done by us at this day, when we see that all
those who unblushingly boast that they are the representa-
tives of the Church are sheer impostors, and draw miserable
souls into destruction? What else, I pray, ought to be done
by us, but what we learn was done by the prophets? And
how foolishly and childishly do the Papal bishops prattle,
when they would have themselves exempted from all re-
proofs, because power and government is in their own hands!
For they cannot surely assume to themselves more than
what belonged formerly to the Levitical priests ; for God had
chosen them, and all the priests under the law might have
justly boasted that they were appointed by divine authority:
yet we see that they were reproved, and were said to be in-
fatuated. The Pope and his bishops have not been appointed
by God, nor have they any evidence of their calling. Though,
then, they arrogate all things to themselves, and seem to do
so by divine right, yet they cannot be deemed superior to
52 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ; LEOT. XLII.
the ancient priests: they must, therefore, become subject to
the judgment which God denounces here by the mouth of
his Prophet.
He gives a reason why they were infatuated, because they
sought not Jehovah. We hence see, on the other hand, that
true wisdom is to seek God. When, therefore, there is no
care taken to seek God, however acute men may be, they
must necessarily be altogether infatuated: and it was for
this reason that Jeremiah called them who had not sought
God foolish or fatuitous. This passage teaches us, that the
only way of governing rightly is, when they who rule strive
to give glory to God, and regard him in all their thoughts
and actions: but when they act otherwise, they must ne-
cessarily play the fool and become infatuated, however wise
they may appear to be.
Hence he says, they have not prospered. The verb Sow,
shical, means to understand, and also to prosper. I see no
reason for rendering it here, “ they have not understood” or
acted wisely ; for it seems frigid, nor do I see what sense
can be elicited. But the Prophet may be considered to have
justly said, that neither the kings and their counsellors, nor
the priests and the prophets ruled with any success, because
they sought not God ; and that as they had no care for true
religion, they were become infatuated." And what follows
confirms this view, And all that was in their pastures, &e. ;
* The meaning of the verb Sow here is determined by the verb Ya at
the beginning of the verse: it is what is the reverse of that. Now W2
is a verb derived from the name, which means a beast. ‘To be like the
beast is to be ignorant, stupid, void of reason and understanding: then
3 means here to act with knowledge, like one who possesses mind and
reason. But then the shepherds did not act but like beasts who have no
understanding. Then the verse may be thus rendered,—
20. For stupidly-ignorant have become the shepherds,
And Jehovah they have not sought;
Therefore wisely have they not acted,
And every one from their pastures is scattered.
The * scattering” was from the land or country to the fortified towns, re-
ferred to in verse 18. They left the country, like sheep quiting their
shepherds’ pastures, and visited towns. ‘Then, in the next verse, the Pro-
phet says, that even the towns also would be destroyed. In the first in-
stance God would terrify them, and fling them, as it were, from the land,
so that they would take shelter in fortresses: this would be owing to the
foolish conduct of their shepherds. They would be driven, then, that their
enemies might more easily find or take. them: and in the following yerse
~~“
CHAP. x. 22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 53
for the Prophet seems here to add to his general statement
a particular thing, and thus to prove that the government was
unhappily conducted, being under the curse of God, because
true religion had been neglected. He then adds this special
thing,—that the pastures had been deserted, that is, that the
flock in the pastures had been wholly scattered. It follows—
22. Behold, the noise of the bruit 22. Vox rumoris, ecce venit, et
is come, and a great commotion out strepitus (vel, tumultus) magnus
of the north country, to make the (commotio, aliitertunt) é terra Aqui-
cities of Judah desolate, and aden lonis, ad ponendas urbes Jehudah in
of dragons. vastationem, domicilium draconum.
Jeremiah shews in this verse that prophetic doctrine was
useless to an obstinate people; for there is a contrast, no
doubt, to be understood between the voice of God, which had
constantly resounded in Judea, and the tumultuous clamours
of enemies ; for the prophets, one after another, had reproved
the people, but without effect. Now, then, as they were deaf
to God’s voice, the Prophet declares that new teachers were
now come who would address them in another way, and in
anunusual manner. The voice then of rumour is heard; “ye
would not hear me and otber servants of God; but a voice
of rumour comes from the north: the Chaldeans shall be
your teachers ; I send you to their school, since I have spent
my labour for many years in vain, as all those have done
who before me diligently sought to lead you to the right
way, whom God employed, and who faithfully endeavoured
to secure your safety; but they were no more attended to
than I am, and therefore they ceased to teach you. I now
turn you over to the Chaldeans ; they shall teach you.” This
is the simple meaning.
The voice of rumour, he says, or literally, of hearing,
MYVVIY, shimuoe, comes; that is, the voice which shall be
heard, for they had closed their ears to the prophetic warn-
ings; and a great tumult or commotion from the land of the
north. We now then see that the Chaldeans are set in op-
position to the prophets, who had laboured in vain among
he announces the approach of their enemies who were coming to lay waste
their towns.
All the versions give the idea of knowledge or wisdom to Sow here; but
the Targum, that of prosperity. To act foolishly is what they all render
the verb IY3.— Ed. ;
54 “COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, XLII.
the Jews; as though Jeremiah had said that the Jews would,
willing or unwilling, be made to attend to this tumultuous
noise ; and he says that it would be for the purpose of turn-
ing the cities of Judah to desolation and an habitation of dra-
gons.' It follows—
23. O Lord, I know that the way 23. Novi, Jehova, quod non sit
of man is not in himself: i¢ is not penes hominem via ejus, non sit
in man that walketh to direct his penes virum ambulantem, ut dirigat
steps. grassum suum.
The Jews confine this to Sennacherib, who had, according
to his own will, at one time resolved to attack the Ammon-
ites, at another the Moabites, and to reduce them under
his own power ; but had been induced by a sudden impulse to
go to Judea. But this is frivolous. The Prophet, I doubt
not, referred to the Jews, who had for a long time been accus-
tomed to dismiss every fear, as though they were able by
their own counsels to consult in the best way for the public
good: for we know, that whenever any danger was appre-
hended from the Assyrians, they usually fled for aid to Egypt
or toChaldea. Thus, then, they provided for themselves, so
that they thought that they took good care of their affairs,
while they had recourse to this or that expedient ; and then,
when the prophets denounced on them the vengeance of
God, they usually regarded only their then present state, as
though God could not in one instant vibrate his lightnings
from the rising to the setting sun.
Since then this security produced torpor and obstinacy,
the Prophet in this passage justly exclaims, I know, Jeho-
vah, that his way is not in man’s power ; nor is it in the
power of a person walking to direct his steps.
* The verse may be thus rendered,—
A sound is heard !—behold it comes,
Even a great commotion, from the land of the North,
To make the cities of Judah a desolation,
The habitation of dragons.
Blayney is right in taking the first words by themselves, but, “ Hark, a
voice!” is not a true version. MYO” is here a passive participle.—Ed.
* Literally rendered the verse is as follows :—
I know, Jehovah,
That not to a mortal is his way;
Nor is it for man to walk
And to stablish his steps.
Such substantially is the meaning of the Targum, and of all the versions,
except the Syriac, which Blayney has followed thus:
— OO a
oe
CHAP. x. 23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 55
We now perceive what the Prophet had in view ;- and this
is ever to be remembered—that if we desire to read what
has been written with profit, we must consider the meaning
intended by the Holy Spirit, and then the purpose for which
he has spoken. When we understand these things, then it
is easy to make the application to other things: but he who
does not weigh the end in view, ever wanders here and
there, and though he may say many things, he yet does not
reach the chief point. But we must observe that the Pro-
phet, as he had done before, spoke as though he had God
alone as his witness, for he saw that his own people were so
hardened, that he addressed his words to them in vain: he
therefore turned to God, which was a proof that he despaired
as to the disposition of the people, as though he had said,
“TI shall have nothing to do with this perverse people any
more ; for I have already found out by my experience that
their perverseness is untameable. I am now therefore con-
strained, O Lord, to address thee as though I were alone in
the world.” This is the reason why he spoke to God him-
self. We shall defer the rest till to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are in like manner at this day so
torpid, that we are not moved by thy threatenings, nor do the
kind and friendly warnings, by which thou invitest us to thyself,
prevail with us,—O grant that we may at length learn to at-
tend to the truth, in whatever form thou settest it before us, and
I know Jehovah, that his way is not like that of men, —__
Nor like a human being doth he proceed and order his going.
This construction is wholly inadmissible. Had Jehovah been in the ob-
jective case, it would have NN before it. See 1 Sam. iii.7. Then the
rest of the verse is a paraphrase and nota version; and such a paraphrase
as the original will not bear. To “walk” and to “stablish” are in the
same predicament, both infinitives; and so they are rendered in all the
versions and the Targum. mae
The design of the passage seems to be more correctly intimated by
Gataker than by Calvin :—* Lord, we know well, that this army cannot
come in but by thy permission; but since thou art resolved to chastise us,
__ we beseech thee, in wrath remember mercy.” So in the next verse the
Prophet says, “ O Lord, correct me, but with judgment.”—Ed.
1 Or, as the French version has it, “does not reach the burden and
knot of the subject.” >: :
56 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLIII.
that we may be teachable and obedient, when thou only invitest
us, and that if we become hardened, we may be also touched by
thy threatenings, and not tempt thy patience, but suffer our-
selves to be brought under thy yoke, and so submit to thee, that
thou mayest through our whole life rule over us, and shew to us
thy paternal love, so that, after having faithfully served thee in
this world, we may come at length into that blessed rest which
is prepared for us in heaven by Christ our Lord.—Amen,
Decture Forty-Third.
We stated yesterday why the Prophet exclaimed, that
man’s way is not in his own power: for as the sentence is
brought in abruptly, it is made to signify different things.
But I have briefly shewed that the Prophet condemns the
security of his own people, because they thought that they
were beyond the reach of danger, as they hoped for aid from
neighbouring nations in league with them, or because they
supposed that they had sufficient help and protection in
their own resources. Hence the Prophet derides this fool-
ish confidence, and says, that his way is not in the power of
man, and that zt 7s not in the power of man while walking
to direct his steps.
It must be farther noticed, that he treats not here of
counsels, but that though men wisely guided their affairs,
the Prophet denies that the issue is in their own hands or
at their own will: and hence he expressly speaks of a man
walking. He concedes that men walk, but yet he intimates
that they cannot move a foot, except they receive strength
from God. We now then perccive what the Prophet had
in view.
We may hence gather a general truth—that men greatly
deceive themselves, when they think that fortune or the
issue of events is in their own hands: for though they may
consult most wisely, yet things will turn out unsuccessfully,
unless God blesses their counsels. And this is what we
ought carefully to notice, because we see how presumptu-
ously men promise themselves this and that; and this pre-
sumption can hardly be arrested while men arrogate to
themselves what belongs peculiarly to God alone. There
i le Bo
CHAP. X. 23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 57
are many warnings given in Scripture in order to check
this rashness; but almost all proceed in their own course,
and cannot be induced to allow themselves to be ruled by
God. James condemns this madness’ when he says, that
men resolve what they would for a long time do: the mer-
chant determines on a long voyage, not only for three or four
months, but for many years; another undertakes war; an-
other ventures to take this or that business in hand; in
short, there is no end to such instances. The Holy Spirit
has by this one passage checked the boldness of those who
claim for themselves more than they ought: but the greater
part, as I have already said, think that the event is in their
own power. On this account Solomon says,” that man de-
liberates, but that it is God who governs the tongue. He
had said in the former clause, that it is man who sets in
order his ways; but he said this ironically, as it is what
most believe; for when they undertake anything, they are
not so solicitous about the event, but they always promise
to themselves more than what they have a right to do.
Men, he says, set in order or arrange their ways, but God
governs the tongue ; that is, they cannot speak a word un-
less the Lord lets loose the bridle of their tongues ; and yet
we know that many things are vainly said by men, for they
are never accomplished. Since then the voice itself is not
in the power of man, but depends on the will of God, what
ought we to think of the issue ?
We now then see the truth which may be learnt from this
passage,—that men deceive themselves when they dare to
undertake this or that business, and promise themselves a
happy issue. But we must farther observe, that not only
events are at the disposal of God, but counsels also ; for God
directs the hearts and minds of men as it seemeth him good.
But all things are not said in every passage. The Prophet
does not here avowedly speak of what men can do, but
grants this to them—that they consult, that they decide ;
yet he teaches us that the execution is not. in their own
power.
Some foolishly elicit from this passage, that something
1 James iv. 13. 2 Proverbs xvi. 1.
58 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLIII,
belongs to man, that he possesses some power of free-will.
There seems indeed to be here something plausible at the first
view. Jeremiah says, that his way is not in man’s power,
and that it is not in the power of him who walks to direct
his steps; he then, it is said, has left something to man—
he walks; it hence follows that free-will is not reduced to
nothing, but that a defect is proved, for man of himself has
no sufficient power unless he is helped from above. These
are only puerile trifles; for, as we have said, the Prophet
does not shew here what are the powers of free-will, and
what power man has to deliberate, but he takes this as
granted ; yet the children of this world, though they seem
to themselves to be very acute in all things, and take their
own counsels, and rely on their own resources, are yet de-
ceived, because God can in one moment dissipate all their
hopes, as the events of things are wholly in his power. It
is therefore by way of concession that he says that man
walks, according to what Paul says in Rom. ix. 16, though
in that passage he ascends higher; yet in saying, that it is
not of him who wills nor of him who runs, he seems to con-
cede to men the power of willing and running. But there
is to be understood here a species of irony; for we know
that men can never be stripped of that vain and deceptive
conceit which fills them, while they think that they can ob-
tain righteousness by their own strength. They dare not,
indeed, actually to boast that they are the authors of their
own salvation, and that righteousness is within their own
power, but they wish to be associates with God. Though
they admit him as a partner, they yet wish to divide with
him. This is the folly which Paul ridicules; and he says,
that it is not of him who wills, or of him who runs, but of
God only who shews mercy ; that is, that man’s salvatién
is alone from the mercy of God, and that it is not from the
toil and running of man.
When the Pelagians sought by this cavil to evade the sen-
tence of Paul, “It is not of him who wills and runs,” dedue-
ing hence, that man has some liberty to will and-to run,
_Augustine said wisely, “If it beso, then, on the other hand,
we may infer, that it is not of God who shews merey, but of
CHAP. x. 24. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 59
him who wills and runs.”* How so? If men co-operate in
half with God, and if there is a concurrence of human
power with the grace and aid of the Holy Spirit, and if this
sentence, “It is not of him who wills, or of him who runs,”
is true according to the sense given to it, so we may also
say, that it is not only of God who shews mercy, but also of
him who wills and runs. Why? Because the mercy of God
is not sufficient if it is to be aided by man’s power. But this
is extremely absurd, and there is no one who does not abhor
the thought, that man’s salvation is not from God’s mercy,
but from their willing and running. It then follows, that
all human power, and all labours, are wholly excluded by
these words of Paul.
Now, the Prophet does not speak of eternal salvation, but
only of the actions of the present life. As then the Israel-
ites thought that they had sufficient protection in their own
wisdom, in their own power, in their own numbers, and also
in their confederacies with other nations, the Prophet says,
that they were deceived, for they arrogated to themselves
the ruling power, which belongs to God alone ; for what men
commonly call fortune is nothing else but God’s providence.
Since then God by his hidden counsel governs the affairs of
men, it follows that all events, prosperous or adverse, are at
his will. Whatever, then, men may consult, determine, and
attempt, they yet can execute nothing, for God gives such
an issue as he pleases.
We now sce what the Prophet speaks of, and also see that
he touches not on the powers of free-will; for he does not
refer here to man’s will, but only shews that after men have
arranged their affairs in the best manner, all their counsels,
strivings, and toils come to nothing, and that God disappoints
their confidence, because they dare rashly to promise to
themselves more than what is right. It now follows—
24. O Lord, correct me, but with 24. Castiga me, Jehova, tantum-
judgment ; not in thine anger, lest modo in judicio, non in ira tua, ne
thou bring me to nothing. imminuas me.
The Prophet again indirectly reproves and condemns the
stupor of the people, because he saw that all his threatenings
1 Epist. 107, ad Vitalem.
60 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. XLIII.
were despised. They had indeed been often punished, and
they thought that they had escaped ; and though an extreme
calamity was approaching, they yet supposed that God was
far from them ; and thus they cherished their own delusions.
Hence the Prophet alone personates the whole people, and
undertakes a common and public lamentation. Chastise me,
Jehovah, he says, but in judgment. The Prophet doubtless
is not here solicitous about his own safety only, nor does he
plead his own private cause, but he supplicates for the whole
people.
But why does he speak of himself alone ? Because he per-
sonated, as I have already said, the whole community, and
thus reproved them for their insensibility, because they were
not more attentive to the approaching judgment of God. In
short, the Prophet here teaches them how they must all have
felt, were they not wholly blinded and, as it were, given up
to a reprobate mind ; and thus he shews, that the only thing
that remained for them was suppliantly to ask pardon from
God, and that they were not wholly to refuse all chastisement,
but to supplicate forgiveness only in part, even that God
‘would not exercise such severity as altogether to consume
them. In this way he shews how atrocious were the sins of
the people; for they were not simply and unreservedly to
ask God to pardon them, but only to moderate his vengeance.
When any one sins lightly, he may flee to God’s mercy, and
_ say, “Lord, forgive me!” but they who have accumulated _
evils on evils, and after having been often warned have not
repented, as though they purposely sought to arm God against
themselves and to their own ruin,—can such seek entire ex-
emption from all punishment? This would not be meet nor
reasonable.
The Prophet then shews here briefly, that the Jews had
so far advanced in wickedness that God would not wholly
forgive them, and that they were not to seek pardon without
any chastisement, but only to ask of God, as I have said, to
moderate his severity. David did the same thing, though
he pleaded his own cause only, and not that of the people.
He deprecated God’s wrath and indignation ; he sought not
to be so forgiven as to feel no chastisement ; but as he
Ee a a
Se ee
OHAP. x. 24. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 61
dreaded God’s wrath he wished it to be in a measure averted.
And hence, in another place, he thanks God that he had been
lightly smitten by his hand, “ Chastising, the Lord has
chastised me, but doomed me not to death.” (Ps. exviii. 18.)
But this ought to be especially observed as to the words of
Jeremiah,—that the people ought not to have asked pardon
unless they submitted to God’s chastisement, for they had
most grievously and perversely sinned.
We may hence also gather a general'truth: the real charac-
ter and nature of repentance is, to submit to God’s judgment
and to suffer with a resigned mind his chastisement, provided
it be paternal. For when God deals with us according to
strict justice, all hope of salvation is extinguished, so that
it cannot be that we shall from the heart repent. Let us
then know that this is necessary in repentance—that he who
has offended God should present himself willingly, and of
his own accord, before his tribunal and bear his chastisement:
For they who are so delicate and tender, that they cannot
endure any of his scourges, seem to be still refractory and
rebellious. Wherever, then, there is the true feeling of
penitence, there is this submission connected with it,—that
God should chastise him who has offended. But a modera-
tion is needed, according to the promise, “I will chastise
them, but with the hand of man; for my mercy will I not
take away from them.” (2 Sam. vil. 14; Ps. Ixxxix. 33, 34.)
This was God’s promise to Solomon; but we know that it
belongs to all the members of Christ. Though then God
indiscriminately punishes the sins of the whole world, there
is yet a great difference between the elect and the reprobate,
for God grants this privilege to his elect,—that he chastises
them paternally as his children, while he deals with the re-
probate as a severe judge, so that all the punishments which
they endure are fatal, as they cannot see anything but God’s
wrath in their judgments. The elect also have ever a rea-
son for consolation, for they know God to be their Father ;
and though they may at first shun his wrath, and being
smitten with terror, seek some hiding places, yet having
afterwards a taste of his kindness and mercy they take cour-
age; and thus their punishments, though much more griev-
‘7 oe l= ae
FP a
62 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLIII.
ous than those endured by the reprobate, are yet not fatal
to them, for God turns them to remedies. We now then see
what is the use and benefit of what the Prophet teaches,
when he says, Chastise me, Jehovah, but only in judgment.
Judgment is to be taken here for moderation. The word
DEY, meshepheth, has indeed various meanings: but it is
to be regarded here as signifying a measured portion; not
that God ever exceeds due limits in inflicting punishment,
but because men faint when he exercises rigour, as then
there appears to them no hope of pardon. When God
therefore executes only the office of a Judge, men must
necessarily faint altogether: so Jeremiah means, that there
would be no measured dealing, that is, that God’s judg-
ment would not be endurable, except he dealt mercifully
with him.’ There is also set in opposition to this another
clause, not in fury, or, not in wrath. Here then the want
of moderation or excess is not opposed to a measured pro-
portion, but the wrath of God. We also know that no
passions belong to God; but when God’s wrath or rigour
appears, men must necessarily not only be terrified, but be
also reduced to nothing: and yet in many places we read
that God is angry with his elect and the whole Church;
but this is to be referred to the outward appearance ; for it
is certain that the punishments with which God visits his
own children are evidences of his paternal love, as in this
way he promotes their salvation. Hence the Apostle says,
that they are bastards whom God does not favour with any
correction. (Heb. xii. 8.) But yet as to the outward ap-
The word judgment, though usually given as the version of the ori-
ginal word, does not convey its meaning here. Of the twelve senses
mentioned by Johnson as belonging to the word judgment, not one of them
is applicable to this place. There is perhaps not a word in any language
which includes all the ideas conveyed by a word of a similar general im-
port inanother. The word )5D is rendered in our version, “ judgment,”
Ex. xxiii. 6,—“ manner,” 1 Sam. xxvii. 11,—* custom,” 1 Sam. ii. 13,—
“ ordinance,” Isaiah lviii. 2,—“ due,” Deut. xviii. 3,—* right,” Deut. xxi.
17,—* measure,” Jer. xxx. 11; the last is in the sense of moderation ;
and this is its meaning here; or, it may be rendered, “due measure.”
hastise me, Jehovah, but yet in moderation ;
Not in thy wrath, lest thou diminish me,
or;
render me small.— Fd.
———s se
CHAP. x. 24. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 63
pearance, the punishments which God inflicts on his. elect
differ nothing from those by which he manifests his wrath,
and which he executes on the reprobate. Therefore it is by
a sort of impropriety in language that punishments are al-
ways said to be evidences and signs of God’s wrath, and
that God is said to be angry with his Church. But the
Prophet speaks here strictly correct when he sets God’s
wrath in opposition to his judgment, that is, to that mode-
ration which he exercises towards his elect, when he with-
holds his hand, which would otherwise overwhelm them in
an instant.
Hence he subjoins, Lest thou shouldest diminish them.
By diminishing he means destruction: as in many other
places. It could not be otherwise but that God should
diminish us, were he only to touch us with the end of his
finger, as we know how dreadful is his power: nor is there
any need for him to thunder from heaven, but were he only
to shew an angry countenance, it would be all over with us.
But the Prophet takes diminution here for demolition. We
hence see that he so subjects himself and the whole people
to God’s chastisement as yet to seek some moderation; for
otherwise God’s rigour would have consumed them all, from
the least to the greatest, according to what is also said by
Isaiah, “ I have tried thee, but not as gold and silver, for
thou wouldest have been consumed.” (Isaiah xlviii. 10.)
God then so deals with miserable sinners, that he regards
what they can bear, and not what they deserve. This is
simply what the Prophet means.
* The Septuagint and Arabic render this verse as though spoken by
the people, “ chastise us,” &c., and the last clause, “lest thou make us
few.” e Targum has, “ chastise them,” and, “ lest they be dimin-
ished.” These are interpretations and not versions. The Vulgate and the
Syriae render the Hebrew literally, “chastise me,” and the last clause,
* lest thou reduce me to nothing,” or, according to the Syriac, “ to a small
number,” which is literally the original; and this verb clearly shews that
this verse was spoken, as Calvin observes, in the name of the people: but
diminution, and not destruction, is meant, as the verb has never the latter
meaning. Hence our version is wrong, and also Blayney’s, « lest thou
crush me to atoms.” Diminution, and not annihilation, is what the word
means; and this diminution was one of the judgments that would come
upon them in case of disobedience, as mentioned by Moses, Lev. xxvi. 22.
—Ed.
64 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLII.
But we may hence learn, that there is no one who can
bear the strict rigour of God; and that therefore our only
asylum is his mercy ; not that he may pardon us altogether:
for it is good for us to be chastised by his hand ; but that
he may chastise us only according to his paternal kindness.
It follows— ;
25. Pour out thy fury upon the 25. Effunde iram tuam super
heathen that know thee not, and gentes, quae te non noverunt, et su-
upon the families that call not on per cognationes (vel, familias) quae
thy name: for they have eaten up nomen tuum non invocaverunt; quia
Jacob, and devoured him, and con- comederunt Jacob, comederunt in-
sumed him, and have made his ha- quam ipsum, et consumpserunt eum,
bitation desolate. et tabernacula ejus vastarunt.
The Prophet confirms his prayer by this reason—that
God had sufficient ground for executing his vengeance on
the wicked and ungodly heathens who were alienated from
him ; and there is no doubt but that he had respect to the
promise to which we have referred; for the Prophet knew
that what had been said once to David was promised to the
whole Church throughout all ages. Hence he reminds God,
as it were, of the difference which he had made between do-
mestics and foreigners; as though he had said, “O Lord,
though it is right and also useful for our salvation to be
chastised by thy hand, yet thou dost not indiscriminately
visit with vengeance the sins of men; for thou hast pro-
mised paternally to chastise thy children: but as to aliens,
thou art their judge, so that they may be wholly destroyed.
Now then, O Lord, shew that this has not been said in vain ;
and as thou hast been pleased to adopt us as thy peculiar
people, forgive us according to thy paternal kindness.”
Hence we see that the Prophet did not inconsiderately pour
forth his prayer into the air, but had a regard to God’s pro- _-
mise, and referred to that difference which God himself was
pleased to make between his Church and unbelievers.
He then says, Pour forth thy wrath on the nations who
know not thee: and he exaggerates what he says by adding,
that Jacob had been devoured by these heathen nations as
by wild beasts ; as though he had said, “‘ We have indeed
sinned, O Lord; but dost thou shew thyself to be the Judge
of the world for our destruction, and yet sparest the Egyp-
tians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans, who have so cruelly
SS — << Ce
CHAP. xX. 25. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 65:
distressed us, yea, who have not only torn us, but have
also wholly devoured us? (For he uses the word devour
twice; and then he adds, they have consumed him; and
lastly, His tents have they laid waste.) Since then they
have so atrociously raged against thy people, are they to go
unpunished, when thou castest us down, who are thine?
Even had we given thee ever so great a cause for punishing
us, still thine adoption should avail us; and thou mightest
in the meantime execute thy judgment on the heathen
nations.”
There is no doubt but that the Prophet, or whoever he
was who composed the seventy-ninth Psalm, borrowed the
words used here, for it is there said, “ Pour forth thy
wrath on the nations who know not thee, and on the king-
doms which have not called on thy name; for they have
consumed Jacob and his inheritance.” (Psalm Ixxix. 6, 7.)
It may be that Jeremiah himself wrote that Psalm, after
having been driven into Egypt, when that city had been
destroyed. It was, however, suitable to the time when
dreadful scattering had happened ; for the Psalm seems to
have been composed for the benefit of the miserable, and as
it were of the lost Church. It is yet more probable that it
was written under the tyranny of Antiochus, or at the time
when the cruelty of God’s enemies raged against his people.
However this may be, the author of that Psalm wished to
repeat what is contained here.
It may now be asked, Whether it is right to pray for evils
on the ungodly and wicked, while we are doubtful and un-
certain as to their final doom. For as God has not made it
known how he purposes to deal at last with them, the rule
of charity ought on the contrary to turn us another way,—
that we are to hope for their salvation and to pray God to
forgive them: but the Prophet consigns them only to de-
struction ; and he speaks not according to his own private
feeling, but dictates a prayer which all the faithful were to:
use. To this J answer,—that we are not to denounce a sen-
tence on this or that man individually, and that our. pre-:
judging would be presumptuous, were we to consign indivi-
duals to eternal death and to pray for evil on them: but we
VOL. IT. . E
66 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLITI.
may use this form of prayer generally with regard to the
obstinate enemies of God, so as still to refer to him the eer-
tainty of the issue; and yet we are not to mix in one mass
all those whom we know to be now ungodly, for this, as I
have said, would be presumptuous. It would then be more
becoming in us to pray for the good of all and to wish their
salvation, and, as far as we can, to promote it. Yet when
we thus entertain love towards every individual, we may still
so pray in general, that God would lay prostrate, consume,
scatter, and reduce to nothing his enemies. There is then
no doubt but that the Prophet here turns his own thoughts
to God’s judgment, as though he had said, “ Lord, it was thy
work to make a distinction between domestics and aliens;
it has pleased thee to adopt this people; what now remains,
but that thou shouldest deal mercifully with them, inasmuch
as thou sustainest towards them the character of a Father ?
As to the heathen nations, as they are aliens to thee and
belong not to thy flock, destruction awaits them ; let them
therefore perish.”
Now the Prophet in thus speaking of heathen nations,
does not anticipate God’s judgment so as to restrain him
from doing what he pleased: but he only mentions, as I
have already said, what he derived from God’s word,—that
some are elected, and that others are reprobates. He infers
God’s election from his vocation or his covenant ; and, on
the other hand, he regards all those reprobate on whom God
has not been pleased to bestow the privilege of his paternal
favour.
The question then is now solved: and hence it appears
how it is lawful for us to pray for the destruction of the
reprobate, and of those who despise God,—that our prayers
ought not to anticipate God’s judgment,—and that we are
not to determine as to individuals, but only remember this
distinction—that God acts as a Father towards his elect,
and as a judge towards the reprobate. .
Pour forth then thy wrath: as he had subjected himself
and the whole people to God’s chastisements, so he says,
Pour forth thy wrath ; that is, deal with them with strict
justice ; but yet moderate thy wrath towards us, lest like
— _
CHAP. x. 25. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. - 67
the deluge it should swallow us up; for the word “ pour
forth” conveys this meaning. By saying, on the nations
which know not thee, which have not called on thy name, he
uses words which ought to be carefully noticed ; for we are
by them taught that the beginning of religion is the know-
ledge of God. He then mentions the fruit or the effect,
which is invocation or prayer. These two things are con-
nected together: but we must bear in mind the order also ;
_ for God cannot be invoked, except the knowledge of him
previously shines on us. Indeed all everywhere call on God ;
even the unbelieving commonly cry on him when urged by
danger; but they do not rightly address their prayers to
him, nor offer them as legitimate sacrifices. How so? “ How
ean they call on him,” says Paul, “ in whom they have not
believed?” Hence it is necessary, as I have said, that God
himself should shew us the way before we can rightly pray :
and therefore where there is no knowledge of God, there can
be no way of praying to him. But when God has once given
us light, then there is a way of access open to us. Invoca-
tion then is ever the fruit of faith, as it is an evidence of
religion ; for all who call not on God, and that seriously,
prove that they have never known anything of religion. If
then we desire to pray aright, we must first learn what. is
God’s will towards us: we must also know that we then
only advance as we ought in the attainment of salvation,
when we flee to God and exercise ourselves in prayer.
He lastly adds, For they have consumed Jacob, they have
consumed him, they have consumed him,’ and his tents have
they laid waste. Two things are to be observed here: we see
how sad and miserable was the state of the Church ; for he
says not that the Israelites had suffered many wrongs, or had
* Blayney for no good reason has omitted the verb “ consumed,” follow-
ing the Septuagint and one MS. The Vulgate, the Syriac, and the Tar-
gum, retain the two verbs. So far is the last verb from being without ~
meaning, as this author says, that it has an especial emphasis, it being
stronger than the preceding verb,—
24. Pour forth thine indignation on the nations,
Who know not thee, and on the families,
Who on thy name have not called ;
For they have devoured Jacob,
Yea, they have devoured him and consumed him,
And his habitation have they made desolate.— Fd.
68 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLITI.
been treated violently and reproachfully, but that they had
‘been devowred by the nations, and he repeats this twice ;
and then he adds, that they had been consumed, and that
their tents had been laid waste. Since then we see how
cruelly afflicted were God’s children formerly, let us not
wonder if the Church at this day be exposed to the most
grievous calamities, and let us not be frightened as though
it was something new and unusual; but as the same thing
happened formerly to our fathers, let us bear such trials
with a submissive mind. The other thing to be observed
is,—that as the Prophet was not here led to pray by the
impulse of his flesh, but by the guidance of the Spirit, we
may hence with certainty conclude, that though the enemies
of the Church triumph at this day, and think that they have
everything in their own power, while they cruelly treat the
innocent, they shall at length be punished; for the Spirit
who guided the tongue of the Prophet intended this form
of prayer to be unto us like a promise, so that we may feel
assured that the more atrociously the ungodly rage against
God’s children, the heavier punishment is nigh them as the
wages of their cruelty. They indeed devour, at this day, like
wild beasts ; but God will sooner or later put forth his hand,
and shew how precious to him is the blood of his people.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since we are so torpid in our sins, ex-
cept thou rousest us, that we profit not by the severe warnings
by which thou didst formerly stimulate thine ancient people, and
since we have also been already warned by many signs of thy
wrath to seek repentance with increasing assiduity,—O grant
that we may earnestly persevere in this course, and so submit to
thee, that with patient and calm minds we may bear thy corree-
tions: and may we in the meantime be fully assured that thou
wilt ever be our Father, and never hesitate, even in death itself,
to flee to thy mercy, until thou pourest forth thy wrath on the
ungodly and the profane despisers of thy name, and shewest such
compassion towards us, that we may know that thou hast not in
vain promised that thy chastisements would ever be kind and
paternal, in visiting the sins of those who hope in thee, through
Christ our Lord.—Amen.
CHAP, xr. 1-5.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
69
Lecture Forty=fourth.
CHAPTER XI.
1. The word that came to Jere-
miah from the Lord, saying,
2. Hear ye the words of this co-
venant, and speak unto the men of
Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem ;
3. And say thou unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God of Israel, Cursed
be the man that obeyeth not the
words of this covenant,
4. Which I commanded your
fathers in the day that I brought
them forth out of the land of Egypt,
from the iron furnace, saying, Obey
my voice, and do them, according to
all, which I command you: so shall
aa my people, and I will be your
2
5. That I may perform the oath
which I have sworn unto your fa-
thers, to give them a land flowing
with milk and honey, as i¢ is this
day. Then answered I, and said,
So be it, O Lord.
1. Sermo qui directus fuit ad
Jeremiah 4 Jehova, dicendo,
2. Audite verba (sermones) fce-
deris hujus, et dicite viro Jehudah
(viris Jehudah, enallage est numeri,)
et habitatoribus Jerusalem;
3. Et dices ad eos, Sie dicit Je-
hova, Deus Israel, Maledictus vir qui
non audierit verba feederis hujus;
4. Quee (vel, quod foedus) mandavi
patribus vestris die quo eduxi eos é
terra Egypti, é fornace ferrea, di-
cendo, Audite vocem meam, et facite
ea que (hoc est, quecunque) pre-
cipio (relativwm sine antecedente ;
secundum omnia qu przcepi vobis)
et eritis mihi in populum, et ego ero
vobis in Deum; (coherent heec omnia
inter se, ideo non disjungo ;)
5. Utstatuam (vel, stabiliam; alii
vertunt, suscitem, sed impropric) jus-
jurandum quod juravi patribus vestris
ad dandum illis terram affluentem
lacte et melle, secundum diem hance:
et respondi et dixi, Amen, Jehova.
Here the Prophet teaches us, that the Jews, though they
continued to profess God’s holy name, were yet wholly per-
fidious, and had departed altogether from the law. The im-
port of this discourse is, that the Jews gloried in the name
of God, and yet were violaters of his covenant, for they had
broken their faith pledged to God, and wholly cast aside the
doctrine of the law. The Jews, no doubt, were often greatly
exasperated against Jeremiah, as though he was pleading
his own cause: it was therefore necessary to set before them
their departure from the law, so that they might feel assured
that their contention was not with Jeremiah but with Moses,
and with God himself, the author of the law. They were
doubtless exasperated with his doctrine ; but Jeremiah could
not spare them when he saw that they were so perverse.
We may understand this better by an example: Though
70 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLIV.
the Papists at this day openly repudiate everything adduced
from the law, and the prophets, and the gospel, yet they
dissemble on this point, and even affirm that they receive
whatever proceeds from God. As they then shuffle and do
so shamelessly, he who seeks to restore the pure worship of
God and true religion, may deal with them in the same
manner. As for instance, when any one of God's servants
meets the Papists, he may thus address them :—“ Let not
the dispute be now between us individually, but hear what
God commanded formerly by Moses, and what he has more
fully confirmed by his prophets, and at last by his only-be-
gotten Son and his apostles ; so that it is not right to do any-
thing any longer against his word: now then attend to the
law and the prophets.”
We now understand what was God’s design in bidding his
servant Jeremiah to speak these words. For, except we duly
consider the unfaithfulness of that people, we shall feel sur-
prised that the word covenant is so often mentioned, and it
will appear unmeaning to us. But the Prophet, as I have
said, when he saw that the Jews by their cayils made eva-
sions, could not deal with them in any other way than by
shewing that they had violated God’s covenant and had thus
become apostates, having wholly departed from the law. And
he says that this was commanded them by God: nor is there
doubt but that God not only suggested this to his servant,
but dictated also to him the way and manner of speaking.
Rightly then does Jeremiah begin by saying, that this
word was given to him. By using the plural number in the
second verse, he no doubt shews that he had a few assist-
ants remaining, whom God addressed in connexion with him, .
that they might unite together in delivering his message.
For though there were very few good men, yet Jeremiah was
not wholly deprived of colleagues, who assented to and con-
firmed his doctrine. Baruch was one of them, and there
were a few like him. These, then, God addresses in the
second verse, when he says, Hear ye the words of this cove-
nant, and say ye’ to the men of Judah and to the citizens of
* So the Vulgate and the Targum, but the Septuagint, the Syriac, and
Arabic, have the verb in the singular number, “ and thou shalt say.”
—
CHAP. xI. 1-5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 71
Jerusalem. Jeremiah indeed knew, and also those who were
with him, that they brought forward nothing but what was
in the law: but however conscious they were of their own
sincerity, and could testify before God and his angels that
they drew nothing from puddles but from a pure fountain,
yet God intended to strengthen them against the contumacy
of the people; for they had this objection ready at hand,
“ Ye indeed boast that whatever it pleases you to bring for-
ward, is the word of God; but this we deny.” Since then
the prophets had to undergo such a contest, it seemed good
to God to strengthen their hands, that they might first be
themselves assured, and then become fit and bold witnesses
of his truth to others, having good authority, as it was
derived from the law itself, and not from the devices of
men. -
And we see to whom God intended this to be proclaimed,
even to the men-of Judah and to the citizens of Jerusalem.
The ten tribes, as it has elsewhere appeared, were now driven
into exile ; and here was the flower, as it were, of the chosen
people ; and having survived so many calamities, they thought
that they had been preserved by Divine power, because re-
ligion and God’s worship prevailed among them. Thus they
were inebriated with false notions and self-flatteries. Hence
the Prophet, and those who were with him, are expressly
bidden to declare; what we shall hereafter notice, to the
citizens of Jerusalem and to the inhabitants of the land
The D at the end of the verb may be rendered “ them;” so Blayney re-
gards it. We may consider the end of this verse and the following as
parenthetic; otherwise the particle “this” seems singular. It will thus
appear to be “ this covenant which I commanded your fathers.” Still the
whole passage seems not to run well.. Iam disposed to render MNtH,
“even these,” and to put a part in a parenthesis, thus,—
2. Hear ye the words of the covenant, even these, (and thou shalt speak
them to every man of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
3. and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,)
4. “Cursed is the man who hearkens not to the words of the covenant,
even these, which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought
them up from the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,” saying,
“ Hearken to my voice, and do ye according to all that I shall com-
5. mand thee; and ye shall be to me a people, and I shall be to youa
God; that I may confirm the oath which I have sworn to your
fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is
this day.””—And I answered and said, Amen, O Jehovah.— Ed.
72 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLLY.
who remained, and thought that they were the chosen of
God and would continue safe, even if all others were to
perish.
The Prophet afterwards shews more clearly that the com-
mand was especially given to him, for he uses the singular
number, Thou shalt say to them. Nor is it inconsistent that
at first he joined others with himself; for God might have
united the suffrages of the few who wished the restoration
of pure religion among the people, while yet Jeremiah, who
was superior to the rest, sustained the chief part. There is
no doubt but that others were anxious by their consent to
confirm his doctrine: but there was no emulation among
them; and though he excelled them, he yet willingly ad-
mitted into a connection with himself all those whom he
found to be united with him in so good and holy a cause.
God then, in the last verse, spoke of them in common, for
he wished all his servants to add their testimony to that of
his Prophet; but now he addresses the Prophet alone, for
his authority was greater.
It follows, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, cursed
the man who does not hearken to the words of this covenant..
As often as the word covenant is mentioned, Jeremiah no
doubt cuts off every pretext for all those evasions to which
the Jews, according to what we have said, had recourse: for
they never willingly allowed that they took away anything
from the law, though they yet despised Jeremiah, who was
its true and faithful interpreter, who had blended with it
nothing of his own, but only applied what had been taught
by Moses to the condition of the people at that time. There
is then to be understood an implied contrast between the
word covenant and the doctrine of Jeremiah ; not that there
was any difference or contrariety, or that Jeremiah had any-
thing apart from the law, but that he formed his discourse
so as to suit the condition of the people. And there is a
kind of concession, as though he had said, “ I do not now
demand to be heard by you, but hear only the law itself:
I have hitherto brought forward nothing but what God has
commanded ; and I have taught nothing at variance with
Moses ; there has been nothing additional in my doctrine:
mr
CHAP. XI. 1-5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 73
but as I cannot convince you of this, I now give over speak-
ing to you; Moses himself speaks, hear him.”
By adding the pronoun demonstrative, “ Hear ye the
words of this covenant,” it is the same as though he had
openly shewed them as by his finger, so that there was no
room for any doubt.’ He then upbraided them by pointing
out the covenant, as though he had said, “ What avails you
to feign and to pretend that what we say is ambiguous, and
to hold it as uncertain whether we are or not the servants
of God? whether we speak by his Spirit? whether he him-
self has sent us? The thing is clear; this is the covenant.”
We now perceive the force of this pronoun.
But in referring to the curse, his purpose, no doubt, was to
bend the stubbornness of the people. Had the Jews been
teachable and submissive, God would have used a milder
strain, and allured them by words of kindness and love:
but as he had to do with perverse minds, he was under the
necessity of addressing them in this manner, in order to
strike them with terror, and to render them more attentive,
and also to make them to hear with more reverence, as they
usually treated with contempt what he had spoken before.
We hence see why he began with mentioning a curse.. God
followed in the law another order; for he first introduced
the rule of life, and added also promises to render the people
willing to obey; and then he subjoined the curses. But
Jeremiah here begins by saying, Cursed are all those who
hear not the words of this covenant. Why was this done?
Even because he had already found out the hardness and
the obstinate wickedness of the people. He then does not
propound a simple doctrine, but before all things he sets
before them the curse of God ; as though he had said, “ It
is very strange that you have not hitherto been moved, since
God’s curse has been so often denounced on you: as then
ye are so stupid, before I begin to speak of God’s commands,
his curse shall be mentioned to awaken your torpidity.”
But we learn from the Prophet’s words that he alluded to
1 Gataker says, “ It is not unlikely that the Prophet held out the book
or volume of the law, wherein the covenant was engrossed and recorded,
then in his hand.” — Zd.
74 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. XLIV.
the form prescribed in the law: for after Moses rehearsed
all the precepts, he added, “ Cursed is every one who turns
aside to foreign gods;” and he commanded the people to
respond, Amen; and, “ Cursed is every one who curses
father and mother,’ and he bade them to respond, Amen;
and after having narrated all the precepts, he added, “ Cursed
is every one who fulfils not all the words of this law,” and
the people responded, Amen. (Deut. xxvii. 15, 16, 26.) The
same form does Jeremiah now adopt when he says, “ De-
clare then to the people, that they are all accursed who obey
not my precepts ;” and then the Prophet adds, J answered
and said, Amen, O Jehovah. But it must be observed, that
the Prophet here personates as before the whole people; as
though he had said, “ I subscribe to God’s judgment, even
though ye should be all gainsayers, as ye really are. Though
then ye think that ye can escape from God’s hand, as though
it were easy to elude the curse which is pronounced in his
law, yet I subscribe with my own name, and answer before
God, Amen, O Jehovah.
But we must notice also the other words, Cursed, he says,
is every one who hears not the words of this covenant. To
hear, in this place, and in many other places, is to be taken
for obeying. He then speaks of the words or of the cove-
nant itself; for the expression may be taken in either sense,
as God had made a covenant with the Jews and at the same
time expressed words. I am inclined to consider the cove-
nant itself as intended. God then says that he had made a
covenant with them. There is yet a fuller explanation, The
words which I commanded your fathers, he says, in the day
when I brought them up from the land of Egypt. God shews
here by a circumstance as to the time how inexcusable the
Jews were; for he says that he gave the law to their fathers
at the very time when they were extricated from death ;
as they were drawn out of the grave, as it were, when God
made them a passage through the Red Sea. That redemp-
tion ought to have made such a deep impression as to con-
strain them wholly to devote themselves to God; yea, the
memory of such a benefit ought to have been deeply fixed
in their hearts. ;
Ye —————
———
—"-
CHAP, x1. 1-5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 75
We hence see how aggravated here is the sin of ingrati-
tude ; for the law was given to the Israelites when they had
before their eyes the many deaths to which they had been
exposed, and from which the Lord had miraculously de-
livered them. For the same reason also he mentions their
miserable state as an tron furnace, according to what we
find in the third chapter of Exodus and in many other
places. He then compares their Egyptian bondage to a
furnace ; for the Jews were then like wood and straw in a
burning furnace ; and he calls the furnace iron, as it could
melt and reduce to nothing things harder than wood, even
gold or silver or any other metal. In short, the deplorable
state of the people is here set forth; and the Prophet, by
the comparison, magnifies the favour shewn to them—that
God, beyond all hope, had delivered them from death. Since
then the authority of the law was sanctioned by so great a
benefit, it became evident how much was the impiety of the
people, and how unbecoming and wicked their ingratitude ;
for they did-not willingly suffer God’s yoke to be laid on them:
He says that God commanded these things. This expres-
sion, as I have said, is to be applied to the words of the law,
and not to the covenant. But the Prophet speaks indiscri-
minately, now of the covenant, then of the things it em-
braces, that is, of all the precepts it includes. In other
words, he expresses how inexcusable was the sin of the.
people; for God, in substance, required of them no other
thing but to hear his voice: and what can be more just than
that they who have been redeemed should-obey the voice of
their deliverer? and what could have been more detestable
and monstrous than for the Israelites to refuse what God
had a right to demand? We now then perceive the design
of the Prophet in saying, that God commanded this only to
his redeemed people, even to hear his voice, and to do what
he commanded."
1 There is no need of any alteration in the text, as proposed by some:
the literal rendering is, “ Hearken to my voice, and do ye according to all
that I shall command you.” The ON, “ ye,” after “do,” seems to be
placed there instead of with “ hearken.” Some MSS. have Onis, which
is evidently wrong. It is only the Targum that countenances this read-
ing: all the versions read according to the meaning given above.—Ed.
76 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, XLIV.
He further adds a promise, which ought to have softened
their stony hearts, Ye shall be, he says, to me a people, and
I will be to you a God. God might have positively required
of the Jews what is implanted in all by nature; for they
who have never been taught acknowledge that God ought to
be worshipped; and the right way of worshipping him is
when we obey his precepts. God then might have thus
commanded them according to his supreme authority. The
commands of kings, as it is said, are brief, for they are no
soothing expressions, nor do they reason, nor employ any-
persuasive language. How much greater is the authority of .
God, who can intimate by a nod what he pleases and what
he demands? But as though he descended from his high
station, he seeks by promises to attach people to himself, so
that they may willingly obey him. Thus God recommends
his law by manifesting his favour, and does not merely
assert his own authority. Since then God thus kindly
addresses his people, and promises so great a reward to obe-
dience, how base and abominable is the contumacy of men
when they repudiate his law? Hence the Prophet shews
here more clearly why he began by saying, Cursed is every —
one who obeys not, &e.: for kindness had profited nothing ;
friendly and tender words, the paternal invitation of God,
produced no effect ; as though he had said, “ God could not,
doubtless, have treated you more gently and kindly than by
reminding you in a paternal manner of your duty, and by
adding promises sufficient to soften even the hardest hearts ;
but as this has been done without effect, what now remains
for God to do but to thunder and announce only his curses ?”
We now understand what the Prophet had in view. But
it may be here objected,—that all this was useless and with- »
out any benefit, for the Jews could not have undertaken the
yoke of the law, until it was inscribed on their hearts. To
this I answer, that of this very thing they were here at the
same time reminded: for though the teaching of the letter
could do nothing but condemn the people, and hence it is
said by Paul to be what brings death, (2 Cor. ii. 6,) yet the
faithful knew that the Spirit of regeneration would not be
denied them, if they sought it of God. Then, in the first
i alli
CHAP. xt. 1-5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 77
place, it was their fault that the law was not inscribed on
their hearts; and, in the second place, a free promise of for-
giveness was added ; for why were those sacrifices and ex-
piations under the law, and so many ceremonies, which had
‘respect to their reconciliation to God, but in order that the
people might feel assured that God would be propitious and
appeasable to them, though they could not satisfy the law?
This teaching then was not useless as to the faithful; for
God, when he required from the Israelites what they ought
to have done, was at the time ready to inscribe the law on
their hearts, and also to forgive their sins. But when through
_ obstinate wickedness they rejected the whole law, the Pro-
phet justly declares here that the curse of God was on them ;
because they basely rejected God’s promises, by which he
testified his paternal kindness towards them.
He adds, That 1 may establish the oath which I have sworn
to your fathers, to give them a land abounding in milk and
honey, according to what it is at this day. Here he does not
refer to the chief part of their happiness ; but only the land
of Canaan is mentioned as the pledge or the earnest of God’s
favour ; for his promise had regard to something much higher
than to the land of Canaan. God had indeed promised this
as an inheritance to the Israelites: but when he says, that
he would be their God and they his people, the promise of
eternal life and of celestial glory is included, according to
what is said elsewhere, that he is not the God of the dead
but of the living. (Matt. xxii. 31.) And we must ever bear
in mind what is said by the Prophet Habakkuk, “Thou art
our God, we shall not die.” (Hab. i. 12.) God then pro-
mised to the Israelites something far greater than the pos-
session of the land, when he said, that he would be their God.
But that land was a symbol, an earnest and a pledge of his
paternal favour. All these things well agree together.
And to the same purpose is what the Prophet adds, that
God had formerly sworn to their fathers, that he would give
them that land by an hereditary right: and this promise
had been fulfilled to their posterity. Were any to lay hold
on this only,—that God’s favour was seen in the land of Ca-
naan, because they had obtained it through the expulsion
ie
x |
i
78 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, XLIY.
of the heathens by God’s kindness, the view would be frigid,
and the Prophet would diminish much from that promise
which far exceeds all that man can conceive. Hence, as I
have said, in speaking of the land of Canaan, he accommo-
dates himself no doubt to the comprehension of a rude and
ignorant people, and mentions the earnest and the pledge,
that they might see by their eyes, exhibited to them even in
this world and in this frail life some evidence of that favour,
which far surpasses al] that can be desired in the world.
Now, when he says, That I may establish’ the oath which
I have sworn to your fathers, God doubtless shews that
though the Jews should obey him, they had not yet deserved
by their obedience the inheritance promised before they were
born. God then here proves that it was through his gra-
tuitous kindness that they became heirs of the land. How
so ? because they were not created when God sware to Abra-
ham that he would give that land to him and to his poster-
ity. As then the promise had been given long before, it
follows that it could not be ascribed to the merits of the
people, that they had at length in due time obtained the
land. As to the oath, God by referring to it extols his
favour; for he not only promised the land for an heritage
to the children of Abraham, but he also added an oath, that
the covenant might appear more sure. But the Prophet at
the same time intimates, that they, if ungrateful to God,
might justly be deprived of the promised inheritance ; as
though he had said, “There is no ground for you to expos-
tulate with God, as though he defrauded you, were he to
cast you out of the land; for God himself does not disin-
herit you, but your own wickedness ; and ye are now unwor-
thy, for God regards you not as his children.” While then
the Prophet takes &way every ground for boasting, that the
Jews might not think that they possessed the land as a
1 « Establish—criew,” is the Septuagint; “ awaken—suscitem,” is the
Vulgate ; “perform,” is the Syriac; “confirm,” is the 7 . Be
make to stand” is the literal meaning of the verb. Hence the most cor-
rect word is “confirm.” The connection of this verse is not with the im-
mediately preceding words, but with “ Hearken” and “ do,” &c., at the
gst the former verse. Hearken and do, that I may confirm the oath,
c.—Ed.
——~- -
CHAP. XI. 1-5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 79
reward for their merits, he also reminds them that they
might be justly deprived of their land, and that on account
of their own fault, as they rendered not to God the service
they owed to him. Hence he says, that 1 might establish
the oath which I have sworn to your fathers.
A land, he says, flowing with milk and honey: this mode
of speaking was often adopted by Moses, (Ex. iii. 8, 17;
xii. 5; xxxiii. 3; Lev. xx. 24.) The land was no doubt
from the beginning very fertile; but it is probable that it
became more fruitful after the people entered into it, for it
was in a manner renewed; and it was God’s design to shew
in a visible manner how great was the efficacy of his cove-
nant. It was not then to no purpose that Moses said so
often that it was a land flowing with milk and honey.
He afterwards adds, According as it is at this day. He
produces witnesses ; as though he had said, “ God has dealt
faithfully with you, for he has performed the faith pledged
to your fathers, and has fulfilled his oath: but now since
ye have polluted this land, and the memory of God’s favour
is as it were buried among you, and ye even tread under
your feet his law—since then such great impiety averts his
blessing from you, what remains for him to do, but to drive
you away into exile?” We hence see that there is here to
be understood an implied threatening, when he says that
God had performed what he had promised to the fathers,
and promised with this condition—that they were to obey
his commands.
- We have already spoken of the Prophet’s answer. When
he answered, Amen, he did not wait for what the people
would say ; for the greater part no doubt made a clamour
and sought to make shifts with God. So great was their
effrontery, that they often rose up insolently against the
Prophets. Then as he knew that they were so refractory,
he subscribed to the curse in his own name. It follows—
6. Then the Lord said unto me,
Proclaim all these words in the cities
of Judah, and in the streets of Jeru-
salem, saying, Hear ye the words of
this covenant, and do them.
7. For I earnestly protested unto
your fathers, in the day that I brought
6. Ex dixit Jehova ad me, clama
_ (hoc est, clamosa voce promulga)
verba hee in urbibus Jehudah et in
compitis Jerusalem dicendo, Audite
verba foederis hujus et facite ea.
7. Quia contestando contestatus
sum patribus vestris die qua feci as-
80
them up out of the land of Egypt,
even unto this day, rising early and
protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8. Yet they obeyed not, nor in-
clined their ear, but walked every
one in the imagination of their evil
heart: therefore I will bring upon
them all the words of this covenant,
which I commanded them to do; but
they did them not.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH,
LECT. XLIV.
cendere eos é terra Egypti usque ad
diem hane, mane surgendo et con-
testando et dicendo, Audite vocem
meam :
8. Et non audierunt et non ineli-
narunt aurem suam ; et ambularunt
quisque post pravitatem cordis sui
mali: et (ideo, copula hic illative ac-
cipitur) venire feci (hoc est, immisi)
super eos omnia verba foederis hu-
jus, quod mandavi ut facerent; et
non fecerunt._
Here the Prophet explains more clearly why he had been
commanded to promulgate the words of the covenant: for
the greater part of the people were no doubt ready boldly to
object and say, “ What dost thou mean? Are not we the
disciples of Moses? Thou, forsooth ! thinkest that thou hast
to do with a barbarous people. Have we not been from our
childhood taught the law of God? Is it not daily enjoined
onus? We are sufficiently instructed in this doctrine of
which thou pretendest that we are ignorant. Be gone hence;
and go either to the Chaldeans or to the Assyrians or to
the Egyptians ; for we understand what the law teaches.”
There is then no doubt but that Jeremiah had been re-
pulsed by this kind of insolence : he therefore shews that he
had a just cause to set before them the law of God ; for so
great an oblivion had prevailed, that they did not know
what God had formerly taught in his law: and besides,
they and their fathers had been always rebellious, so that
they had ever need of being taught, according to what is
said by Isaiah, that the people were to be treated like chil-
dren and taught, A, A; B, B, and that though the same
things were repeated, they yet stopped at the rudiments and
never made any progress. (Isaiah xxviii. 10,13.) As then,
Isaiah reproached the people with tardiness in learning the
law, so Jeremiah shews now that they were not to think it
strange that God commanded his law to be proclaimed to
them, because it had been hitherto despised by them. The
rest we shall defer. :
ee
ee Eee
‘yee a
OHAP. XI. 6-8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 81
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased daily to
invite us to thyself with so much benignity and kindness, we may
not with deaf ears turn aside from the doctrine which is set forth
for our salvation, but that we may attend to it and persevere also
in that obedience which thou justly requirest from us, so that we
may make increasing progress in true religion, and so form the
whole course of our life according to thy righteous law, that we
may fight as good soldiers to thee in this world, until we shall at
length come to that blessed rest, which is prepared for us in hea-
ven, through Christ our Lord.— Amen.
Lecture Forty=fifth.
WE observed in the last Lecture the complaint which God
made against his people,—that he had tried every means to
reconcile them to himself, but all in vain. But there is
great weight and emphasis in these words,—that by pro-
testing he protested, &c.; as though he subjected himself to
the judgment of a third party ; for we are wont to protest
against those who do not willingly come before the tribunal
of a judge. God then takes this figure from. tae common
practice of men, and says that he protested, and that not only
once, but repeatedly. He afterwards adds that he had done
this not only in one age, but from the time their fathers
came forth from bondage to that day. It was then extreme
perverseness, when God ceased not to call them to himself,
and yet spoke to the deaf. But what follows is still more
emphatical,—that he rose early : for to take this transitively
as some do, is what I do not approve. God then says, that
he was so solicitous about their welfare, that he rose early
to call them. There is no doubt but that God applies here
to himself what properly belonged to his Prophets, as he
also concedes to his servants what rightly belongs to him, and
what cannot be applied to men, except by way of concession,
But God does here extol the authority of his word, when
he says that he rose early; and at the same time he ampli-
fies their ingratitude, inasmuch as they had despised him,
when they saw that he, like the head of a family, proyided
for their welfare. We hence then learn how much God
VOL. II. F
82 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAN, LECT. XLY.
values his word; for he testifies that there is no difference
between him and his servants, whose labours he employs in
teaching his Church. We also hence learn how inexcusable
is our wickedness when we reject God speaking thus fami-
liarly to us. We now then perceive the import of this pas-
sage. But it may, in the third place, be observed, that
God’s name is in vain pretended, except when he himself
speaks. The Papists of this day would have whatever they
say, according to their own fancies, to be received without
any dispute; but God shews in this place that he is not
offended except when he is himself despised ; and he at the
same time declares that he is so connected with his prophets,
that they bring nothing of their own, nor anything else
except what proceeds from him.
He now adds, that this only he required from his chosen
people, to obey his voice. The justness of this precept shews
how base and wicked was the impiety of the people; and
God also shews that they had not the pretext of error or of
ignorance ; for the only way of evading was to pretend that
they wished no other thing than to render to God the wor-
ship due to him; but the rule he had prescribed in his law
was such as could not be mistaken. It hence follows that
they wilfully went astray after superstitions, for they were
sufficiently taught, in the law what God approved. This
then is the reason why he so often repeats that he required no-
thing from the children of Abraham except to hear his voice.
It afterwards follows, Yet they heard not, and bent not,
or inclined not their ear. Here the Prophet does not accuse
a few men of perverseness, but says that, from the time they
had been redeemed, they had been rebellious against God :
and he exaggerates their sin by saying that they inclined
not their ear; for this was no doubt added for the sake of
emphasis, as though the Prophet had said,—that it was only
their own fault that the right way was not quite evident to
them, for they deigned not to give ear to God. Now, it is
a proof of extreme contempt, when we not only repudiate
what God says to us, and refuse to obey his authority and
advice, but when we close up every avenue, and, as far as
we can, forbid him to speak to us; this is surely an extre-
i
ee 9
—
CHAP. XI. 6-8. | COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 83
mity of insolence. It may indeed be, that one will hear
another speaking, and yet will not do what he says; he still
will shew some courtesy, lest a complaint of inattention be
made; but it is an intolerable barbarity when we do not
listen to the words of another. God here complains that
the Israelites had not only been disobedient to him, after
having been instructed, but that they had been so refractory,
that they insolently rejected all the words of the prophets ;
which was not only a proof of base impiety, but also of
barbarous perverseness. We now then understand what the
Prophet means.
He says, that they walked every one in the wickedness of
his own evil heart. As he had before shewn that they had
been in due time warned, it is clear that they followed not
through mistake their impious superstitions, but because
they rejected the true worship of God, and hearkened not to
the teaching of the prophets. By saying that they walked
every one, &c., the Prophet doubtless intended to include
them all as it were in one bundle; as though he had said,
that they had not been drawn away by a sudden impulse, as
it is often the case when an agitation is made by a few, and
when the most follow, being driven as it were by a storm,
and think not what they do; for thus some terror often
seizes on the minds of the many, so that they go here and
there without knowing where they are going. But the
Prophet here teaches us that every one followed his own
counsel ; as though he had said that the worship of God had
not been thus rejected by the influence of the multitude,
but that each one had his own object, and had concocted the
wickedness and the great sin of rejecting God. There is
then more meaning and force in this way of speaking, than
if he had said that they all walked in the wickedness of
their own hearts. He further shews that they were all, from
the least to the greatest, implicated, as they say, in the
same impiety.
He afterwards adds, that God had brought upon them the
words, that is, the threatenings of the covenant. By the
words of the covenant he means not here the doctrine or
1On the meaning of these words, see a note in vol. i. p. 187.
84 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLV.
precepts of the law. He indeed mentioned before the words
of the covenant for the commands of God ; but now, on find-
ing that he had to do with refractory men, who were not
capable of receiving any doctrine, he comes to threatenings.
But God prescribes first in his law what he wills to be done,
and then adds not only kind invitations, but also what is
alluring, in order to conciliate the minds of men: but when
there is no attention to obedience, and no care for it, he then
comes to threatenings. Though the Prophet had omitted
the promises, he had yet spoken previously of the law itself ;
but he says now that God had executed what he had de-
nounced on them.
He further says, Which I have commanded to be done;
and they did them not. There seems indeed to be a con-
fusion here ; for by the words of this covenant, he no doubt
means threatenings, as I have stated: then he immediately
adds, which I have commanded to be done, and they did
them not. But, as I have already reminded you, the Pro-
phet had previously, with sufficient clearness, taught them
that the rule of a godly and holy life was set forth in the
law ; but he now refers especially to threatenings. It is then
not strange that he speaks thus indistinctly, for the people
had in a manner perverted the law. There were indeed in
the law these two distinct things—doctrine, or a rule of life;
and threatenings, which were added as stimulants to rouse
the sloth of men, or rather to subdue their perverseness.
But as the Israelites and the Jews had not attended to the
voice of God, the Prophet here blends threatenings with
precepts.’ .
1 There is certainly an incongruity in taking the expression, “ the
words of the covenant,” in two different senses. The verse is omitted in
the Septuagint, but retained in the other versions and the Zargum. This
clause, in the Vulgate and Syriac, is thus given: “I have brought on
them the words of this covenant.” The Targum is, “I have brought
vengeance on them, because they undertook not the words of this coye-
nant.” To bring words on one, seems to mean to enforce, to enjom them.
I cannot find the phrase anywhere else. Taken in this sense, expres-
a will be wholly suitable to the rest of the passage, which I render
as :—
6. Then said Jehovah to me, Proclain these words in the cities of
Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying,—
Hear the words of the covenant,
a
CHAP. XI. 9, 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 85
We now understand what the Prophet means in this pas-
sage, when he says that he was sent by God to cry, Hear ye
the words of this covenant ; for they were forgetful of true
religion ; and such was their oblivion and impious contempt
of the whole law, that they had need of being taught its
first rudiments. This is one thing. He then shews how
solicitous God had been about their welfare, so that he had
not neglected any of the duties of the best of fathers, and
that yet his labour had been all in vain; for they had not
only been led away by their own lusts, but their inward
wickedness had closed their ears, so that they deigned not
to listen to God’s voice ; and this had not been in one age
only, but from the time they came out of Egypt to that day.
It hence follows that they were justly punished, for God
had tried all means before he had recourse to severity ; but
since he had adopted all kinds of ways to reform them, and
all in vain, the only thing that remained was to punish them
as men past all remedy. This is the import ofthe whole. He
now adds—
9. And the Lord said unto me, 9. Et dixit Jehova ad me, inventa
A conspiracy is found among the
men of Judah, and among the in-
habitants of Jerusalem.
10. They are turned back to the
iniquities of their forefathers, which
refused to hear my words; and
Even these, and do them:
est conspiratio (ad verbum, colli-
gatio; nam WP significat proprie
ligarevel connectere, sed metaphorica
est significatio cum transfertur ad
conspirationem) in viro (hoc est, in
viris) Jehudah et in civibus Jeru-
salem.
10. Reversi sunt ad iniquitates
patrum suorum superiorum (qui
ante fuerunt,) qui noluerunt audire
7. Verily, testifying I testified to your fathers
In the day I brought them from the land of Egypt ;
And to this day, early-rising and testifying,
Saying, “ Hearken to my voice:”
8. Yet they hearkened not, nor bent their ear,
But w:
ed, every one, according to the resolutions
Of their own wicked heart ;
Yea, I urged on them all the words of the covenant,
Even these, which I commanded them to do;
But they did them not.
To « testify,” rather than to “ protest,” is the meaning of the verb, when
followed by 3, as here.
To this testifying was added that of urging or
pressing on them the duty of attending to all the words of the covenant ;
but all was to no purpose.
with the passage.— Ed.
‘Yo introduce punishment here comports not
i
86 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. XLV.
they went after other gods to serve verba mea; et ipsi ambularunt
them: the house of Israel and the post deos alienos, ut servirent ipsis ;
house of Judah have broken my dissoluerunt domus Israel et domus
covenant, which I made with their Jehudah feedus meum, quod pepi-
fathers. geram cum patribus ipsorum.
Here the Prophet joins closer battle with the men of his
age, and says, that they were worse than their fathers ; for
this is the meaning of the word, banding or joining together.
For when the Israelites concurred in a body in ungodly su-
perstitions, it was more excusable at the beginning, for they
had not yet struck deep roots in true religion ; but when God
by his prophets had endeavoured many times, and in various
ways, to restore them to the right way, and when his dili-
gence and assiduous efforts had proved fruitless, it was an
evidence of confirmed and hopeless obstinacy. He then says,
that this had been discovered ; for this is what he means by
saying, that it had been found out. This verb is often used
in Scripture in another sense, but it means here the same,
as though he had said, that the conspiracy of the people had
been discovered or proved, as itis said of thieves when found
out, that they are caught in the very act. So God says here,
that it was no matter of dispute whether the people had de-
signedly and from sheer wickedness perverted his true and
lawful worship ; the conspiracy,’ he says, is sufficiently no-
torious.
We then understand the meaning of the Prophet to be,—
that not a part of the people was implicated in impiety, but
that all, from the least to the greatest, were together defiled,
and that this was done, not by some foolish impulse of the
moment, but designedly, for they banded together ; and fur-
ther, that this was sufficiently evident, so that they could no
longer contend as to the fact, for their wickedness was suffi-
ciently manifest.
And he says between Judah and Israel There is here
1 Rendered “ cdsdeouos, binding together,” by the Sept.,—« conjuratio, con-
federacy, or conspiracy,” by the Vulg. and Arab.,—“rebellion,” by the
Syr. and Targ.,—* combination,” as given by Gataker and Blayney,
would express better the meaning of the original word.—Zd.
* There is here an oversight. “Israel” is not mentioned here, but the
men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “Israel” is mentioned
at the end of the next verse, as having with “ Judah” annulled the cove-
hant.—Ld.
CHAP. XI.9,10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 87
implied a sharp reproof ; for we know that these two king-
doms had not only entertained a hidden grudge, but fiercely
contended with one another. Since then the discord had
been such between the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah, that
it was as it were an insane hatred, so that they wished wholly
to destroy one another, for the Jews sent for the Egyptians
when the Israelites had called to arms the Syrians and the
Assyrians for the destruction of Judah. Since then they so
inimically treated one another for so many ages, what did
this now mean ? What a monstrous thing it was, that they
conspired together to subvert the worship of God, to over-
turn everything true in religion, and to set up their own
idols! We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet ;
he intimates, that they had in all other things been enemies,
and that they only united in this one thing, that is, in
carrying on war against God, in subverting his worship, and
rendering void his law. We hence see what the Spirit of God
had in view in saying, that a conspiracy was found out ;
which was, that the Prophet might not use many words, as
though the matter was doubtful. God then bids him posi-
tively to declare this fact, like a scribe who records the sen-
tence of a judge ; and thus God shews that he dealt with
the Jews, as men deal with those who are condemned.
He also adds, that they had returned, &. He shews for
what purpose they had conspired, even to return to the vices
of their fathers, who had been before them. Some render the
word “ancestors ;’ but the meaning of the Prophet is not
thus sufficiently expressed, for what he means is, that the
Israelites had been refractory from the very beginning, so
that God could never subdue their wayward dispositions. It
must however be observed, that he speaks not of the most
ancient, as DIWNW, erashnim, are the ancient who were
before them ;’ but as there had been a continued succession
' The Sept. have “ay xgsrsgex—who were before;” the Vulg. impro-
perly joins it with “ iniquities,’—* the former iniquities of the fathers ;”
the Syriac renders it “ancient,” and the Targum, “former,” both connecting
it with “fathers.” The word means the “ first,” rather than the “ former.”
If we take it as connected with “ fathers,” then the first fathers with whom
the covenant, after they came out of Egypt, was made, are meant; but it
may be taken as in apposition with “ fathers ;” then the first who refused
I Sa
"ae, =
88 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, XLY.
or series of impiety, the Prophet calls them here, the former
fathers, who had first begun to shake off the yoke of God
even to that day. And he again mentions what we have
before noticed, that they were unwilling to hear. Though
~ ignorance does not wholly clear or absolve us, it yet exte-
nuates a crime ; but God shews that the Israelites had been
disobedient from the beginning. Though he had by Moses
sufficiently taught them, we yet find that they often rose
up against Moses. If we inquire of their origin, it appears
to have been marked with resolute impiety ; they were un-
willing to obey God.
He then adds, that they walked after alien gods that they
might serve them. There is ever an implied contrast between
God and idols. God had given them evidences enough of
his power and glory, and we may justly say, that he had
sufficiently proved himself to be the only true God. How
then was it that the Israelites had given the preference to
fictitious gods? Doubtless no unwilling error could have
been pretended. We hence see that they had rejected the
true God and wilfully followed their own devices. He then
says, that they might serve them. But God had already
bound them to himself, as he had redeemed them; when,
therefore, they devoted themselves to alien gods, was not
their ingratitude thus most fully proved ?
He at length subjoins, by way of explanation, Therefore
the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dissolved my
covenant. He confirms what I have just said,—that they had
not erred because the way was unknown, but because they
_ hear God, are referred to. Taking this view, we may render the verse
thus—
10. They have turned to the iniquities of their fathers—
The first who refused to hearken to my words;
And they have walked after alien gods to serve them :
Annulled have the house of Israel and the house of Judah
My covenant, which I made with their fathers.
The word for “ iniquities” means perversions, distortions, the turning of
things to purposes not intended. These are the kinds of iniquities which are
meant. Perverting the truth rather than denying or renouncing it, had
ever been the sin of the Jews. Instead of worshipping God himself, they
worshipped him by means of idols, and through the mediation of inferior
gods. This was the perversion. Alien gods were mediators; hence they
never renounced God’s worship. But God deemed this as an annulment
of his covenant, by which they were required to worship him alone.—Ed.
CHAP. XI. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 89
were refractory and untameable in their disposition, and
would not bear to hear God, though he kindly shewed to
them what they were to do. But the word covenant ex-
presses more than this,—that God had not only delivered
them his precepts by Moses, but had also adopted them as
his own people, and at the same time pledged his faith to
them, “‘I shall be your God, be ye my people,” (ver. 4, above.)
Since then God had so kindly allured them to himself, how
monstrous was their rebellion, when they refused to hear his
voice! With reference to this the word Ni", berit, is used ;
for God had not only delivered to them a rule of life, but
also adopted them as his people, that they might be obedient
to him.
By saying that he made a covenant with their fathers, he
refers to. that time when he brought the people out of Egypt,
for then was the race of Abraham united. They were in-
deed twelve distinct tribes; but there was one head over
the people, there was one prissthood, and they formed after-
wards one kingdom. God then shews, that though the ten
tribes made for themselves in after time another king, and
the tribe of Judah was then divided, and there were in this
separation some special causes of enmity, they yet had always
been of the same disposition, and proved how like their
fathers they were, as though he had said, “ They were for-
merly one people, they are now two, yet they have conspired
together ; their iniquity is the same, in this they are united ;
and there is among them a binding together.” It follows—
11. Therefore thus saith the 11. Propterea sic dicit Jehova, Ecce
Lord, Behold, I will bring evil ego inducam (inducens, vel, induco) super
upon them, which they shall not eos malum, a quo non poterunt exire
be able to escape; and though (hoe est, se explicare; ad verbum, quod
they shall ery unto me, I will non poterunt exire ab ipso;) et clama-
not hearken unto them. bunt ad me et non audiam eos.
The Prophet now denounces on them a calamity ; for it is
probable that for many years he had been as their teacher
threatening them, but all in vain. Hence he now confirms
what we have before observed,—that their impious conspi-
racy was fully known and proved, so that they were not now
to be called or drawn before the judge’s tribunal, as they
had so openly procured for themselves their own ruin.
Be ee
90 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, XLV.
He then says, that God was, as it were, armed to take
vengeance ; J will bring, he says, upon them an evil from which
they shall not be able to go away.' Then he adds, and they
shall cry to me, but I will not hear them. By this latter
clause he shews that no hope remained, as they could get no
pardon from God, for he would no longer be entreated by
them. The import of the whole is,—that they were so given
up to destruction, that it was in vain for them to expect
God’s mercy. God had indeed often promised in his law
that he would be reconciled to them ; but the Prophet says
now that every hope was cut off, because they had rejected
God’s covenant. Hence, whatever God had promised re-
specting his kindness and mercy, belonged to them no
longer.
Let us now learn also how to accommodate this doctrine
to ourselves. And, first, we may remark, that there is a
great difference between us, who have been plainly, and for
a long time, taught what is the true and lawful worship of
God, and those miserable people who were blind in darkness ;
hence much more atrocious is our sin and worthy of much
heavier punishment. Then we may also add this,—that though
God may for a time bear with us, the whole time of his for-
bearance will have to be accounted for. There is no day in
which God does not accuse us; and thus he rises early, and
thus he shews us what concern he has for our salvation ; but
if we remain asleep in our sloth, a threatening this day is
suspended over our heads, and especially when we consider
that God comes nearer, as it were, to us than to his ancient
? The literal rendering is as follows :—
11. Therefore thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, I will cause to come on them an evil,
From which they shall not be able to go forth:
And they shall loudly cry to me,
But I will not hearken to them.
The third line in Welsh is literally the Hebrew,—
Yr hwn nis gallant vyned allan ohono.
Which they will not be able to go forth from it.
The verb PY? is not merely to cry, but to cry loudly, or vehemently, or
clamorously ; the effect of great distress impatiently endured. Our ver-
sion and Blayney are wrong in rendering 1 “ And though.” It is not
what may have been, is meant, but what would be. It is expressly fore-
told what they would do; and corresponding with this are all the versions
and the Targum.—Ed.
.
a
CHAP. XI. 12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 91
people. And hence we may also learn how much less toler-
able is our ingratitude. It ought, therefore, to be carefully
noticed, that God is armed against those before whom he
has set his word, not only for one day but for many years,
when he has found that he has laboured in vain; and that
when he is offended with their obstinate wickedness, there
is nO more any remedy.
But it may be asked here, How is it that God declares
here that he would not be propitious to the Israelites, though
they even cried to him, when yet this promise so often oc-
eurs, “ Call on me, and I will hear thee?’ (Psalm 1. 15.)
Though God does not everywhere use such words, yet in
many places he makes this promise. But still it may ap-
pear inconsistent that he closes up the door of mercy against
those who flee to his mercy. But in the next verse he shews
what this cry would be; for had they from the heart re-
pented, doubtless his pardon would never have been denied:
but we shall presently see that these cries would be rambling,
vagrant, and confused ; so that they would not direct their
prayers to God, nor observe the way which is made known
to us all; for they would cry without repentance and faith,
according to what follows ; for the Prophet says—
12. Then shall the cities of Judah, 12. Et ibunt urbes Jehudah et
and inhabitants of Jerusalem, go and cives Jerusalem et clamabunt ad
ery unto the gods unto whom they offer deos quibus ipsi fecerunt suffi-
incense; but they shall not save them tum; et servando non servabunt
at all in the time of their trouble, eos in tempore afilictionis.
The Prophet then shews in these words that they were
not touched by a true and sincere feeling of repentance who
eried thus indiscriminately to God and to idols.’
But another question may be here raised, How could
they flee to God and to foreign gods too? The ready an-
1 But the most obvious meaning of the passage is, that the Jews would
first ery to God, and that being not heard, they would then cry to alien
gods. Hence our version renders the } at the beginning of this verse,
* Then,” and rightly too: so does the Syriac, though the other versions
render it “And,” as Blayney does: and if so rendered, the connection
would appear the same,—
And go shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And they shall loudly cry to the gods,
To whom they burn incense ;
But saving they will not save them
At the time of their calamity.— Ed.
92 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLV.
swer is this, that the unbelieving, in a turbulent state of
mind, turn here and there, so that they lay hold of nothing
certain, or sure and fixed. This we see in the Papists—
they cry to God and at the same time to a great number of
gods. Let us therefore know, that there is in all the un-
believing a spirit, as it were, of giddiness, which turns them
into different expedients, so that now they call on God, then
they flee to their idols. Men naturally are led to God when
any distress holds them bound; hence they call on God:
but afterwards, being not satisfied with him alone, they be-
take themselves to their own devices, and heap together, as
I have said, a vast multitude of gods. Since then we see
this to be done under the Papacy in our day, we need not
wonder that it was done formerly, and that the Jews were on
this account condemned.
The Prophet now addresses the Jews only ; he had before
spoken of the Israelites, but he now speaks especially to his
own people, Go shall the cities of Judah and the citizens of
Jerusalem, &c. What shall they do? They shall cry to their
gods. We hence see that their prayers were rambling, as
though they poured them unto the air: therefore God could
not have heard them. For whenever God promises to be
propitious and appeasable he requires faith and repentance:
but there was in this people an impious wantonness, and no
faith, for they were entangled in their own superstitions.
The meaning is, that the Jews, when oppressed by cala-
mities, would make their prayers to the true God, but with-
out understanding, without any discrimination, but on the
contrary, in a confused state of mind: and that this would
be sufficiently evident, for they would at the same time seek
the aid of various idols, but that they would gain no help,
either from God or from their idols; and why ? because they
would be unworthy to be heard by God, as they would not
call on him in a right spirit, not with faith and repentance ;
and their idols would not be able to bring them any help.
It hence follows that they would be altogether in a hopeless
- state,
CHAP. XI. 13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 93
“PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased, in so kind
a manner, according to thy paternal kindness, to invite us to
thyself, we may not be refractory, but willingly and quietly sub-
mit ourselves to thee, and not wait until thou shakest us with
terror, and shewest us signs of thy wrath; but may we anticipate
thy dreadful judgment, and thus always go on, so as to have no
other object in view but to glorify thy name through the whole
course of our life, until we shall at length be made partakers of
that glory which thine only-begotten Son has obtained for us.—
Amen.
Hecture Jorty=Sixth.
13. For according to the number 13, Quia pro numero urbium
of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; tuarum fuerunt dii tui, Jehudah;
and according to the_number of the et pro numero platearum, Jeru-
streets of Jerusalem have ye set up salem, posuistis altaria in oppro-
altars to that shameful thing, even al- brium, altaria ad offerendum suf-
tars to burn incense unto Baal. fitum Baal.
Tue Prophet shews here that the Jews were not only pol-
luted with one kind of superstition, but that they sought for
themselves fictitious gods from all quarters, so that the land
was filled and, as it were, deluged with innumerable super-
stitions. He says, that in proportion to the number of cities
were the gods in the kingdom of Judah, and that in every
city, in proportion to the number of streets, altars were built,
that they might burn incense to Baal.
There seems, however, to be some inconsistency in the
words ; for if they all worshipped Baal, where could be found
the multitude of gods which the Prophet condemns? It
then follows, that there was everywhere the same form of
superstition, or that they did not in every place burn in-
cense to Baal. But from this place and from others we may
gather that this is a common name; for though all idols had
their distinctive names, yet this name was applied indiseri-
minately, and all idols had it incommon. For what does
Baal mean but a patron, or an inferior god, who procured
the favour of the supreme God? The prophets often use
the word in the plural number, and call the lesser or inferior
gods Baalim, who were regarded as mediators or angels ; and
SS Pe
. i ’ ‘-
ae
.
94 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVI.
farther, they often mean all kinds of idols by Baal. There is
to be understood here a figure, by which a part is taken for
the whole; for the Prophet intended by the word to include
all those gods which the Jews had devised for themselves,
though their names were different.
But what the Prophet condemned in the people was, as
we see, daily practised. For there is no end, when men once
depart ever so little from the pure worship of the only true
God: for when anything is blended with it, one error im-
mediately produces another; so various errors will cumulate,
till men fall into a labyrinth from which there is no exit.
This is clearly seen under the Papacy. At first Satan, by
spurious pretences, led men away from the simple worship
of God and his pure doctrine ; and as there is in all an inbred
curiosity, every one had a desire to add something of his
own. Hence then it happened that so great a mass of errors
and superstitions has prevailed. It is nothing strange, then,
that the Prophet condemned the Jews, not only for having
departed from the true and lawful worship of God, but also
for having as many idols as cities, and for having so many
forms of worship as there were streets in their cities, And
we hence also learn that all the superstitions among the
whole people had the same root; for though they differed in
particulars, they all yet proceeded from the same principle ;
for every one wished to have his own God. It hence hap-
pened, that every city had its patron, and every family also
devised a god for itself; for no one was satisfied with the
common worship. It is then wholly necessary that we
should faithfully worship the one true God; otherwise the
Devil will immediately bring in strange gods and a mixed
multitude of gods: so that it hence evidently appears, that
we thus justly suffer for our impious levity in forsaking
the fountain of living waters. :
He says that altars were built for reproach. This may
1 The word is NW2. “ Bosheth, shame,” says Lowth, “ was a nickname
for Baal. (See Hos. ix. 10.) So Jerubbaal is called Jerubbosheth in
2 Sam. xi. 21.” The word is left out in the Septuagint; the other ver-
sions and the Targum render it differently; its meaning was evidently not
understood. It may be rendered here “ baseness,” or a base thing: the
last clause is explanatory of this,—
CHAP. xt. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 95
be referred to God, because they offered to God a heinous
effrontery in setting up their profane altars in opposition to
that one true altar which God had commanded to be built
for him inthe temple. But this is a strained interpretation.
It is more suitable to refer this to the people, because they
erected altars for themselves to their own shame, as though
he had said that the Jews were themselves the authors of
all their evils, so that they ought to consider them as due to
their impiety, being the punishments inflicted by the Lord.
It is the same as though he had said, “ God will indeed
chastise you, as ye are worthy of being so treated, but
ascribe the whole fault to yourselves; for the altars, raised
by your own hands, will be to you for reproach and shame.”
He at length adds, To offer incense to Baal. They sought
doubtless the favour of the supreme God; but as they de-
vised for themselves patrons, as mediators between them and
God, according to the Platonic figment, which has prevailed
in all ages, the Prophet here declares that their gods were
as many as their cities, and even as many as their streets ; for
God does not admit those sophistical subtleties by which
hypocrites seek to escape; for whenever his glory is trans-
ferred to others, he complains that new gods are introduced."
It follows—
14. Therefore pray not thou 14. Et tu ne ores pro populo hoe, et
for this people, neither lift up a ne tollas pro ipsis clamorem et pre-
ery or prayer for them: forI will cationem; quia ego non audiens (non
not hear them in the time that audiam) in tempore quo clamabunt
they ery unto me for their trou- ad me pro (vel, super) malo suo (super
ble. afflictione sua.)
That the Jews might understand that a sore calamity was
nigh, and that God would not be appeasable, the Prophet
Ye have set up altars for a base thing—
Altars to burn incense to a Baal.
By putting the indefinite article we avoid the contrariety which Calvin
refers to. It is given in the singular number in all the versions except
the Vulgate, which has Baalim.— Ed.
1 The connection of this verse has not been pointed out by Calvin. It
begins with “For,” or because; so that a reason is given for what has been
said previously, and that is not found in the immediately preceding verse,
but at the end of the 11th, “I will not hearken unto them;” then what
is said here is given asareason. But if we render °3 “though,” as it is
often done, and not “ For,” the connection is with the next preceding verse ;
their gods would not save them, “though” they were as many as their
cities, &e. This seems to be the most natural connection.—Ed.
96 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVI
himself is forbidden to intercede for them. There is no
doubt but that even when he reproved the people in the
severest strain, he made supplications to God for them; for
he sustained a twofold character: when he went forth as the
herald of celestial vengeance, he thundered against the un-
godly and the despisers of God; but at the same time he
humbly supplicated pardon in behalf of lost and miserable
men ; for had he not been solicitous for the salvation of the
people, had he not diligently prayed, it would not have been
necessary to prohibit him to pray.. It hence appears that
the Prophet was diligent in these two things, that he severely
reproved the people according to God’s command, and that
he also was a suppliant in seeking God’s favour to the un-
worthy. This is one thing.
Now then that God prohibits Jeremiah to pray, this was
not done for his sake only, but he had a regard also to the
whole people, that they might know that a sentence was
pronounced on them, and that there was no hope left. We
hence see that God positively declares that it was his pur-
pose to destroy the people, and that therefore there was no
room for prayer.
But it may be asked, Whether the Prophet, by going on
in praying, offended God? for we shall see that he was still
so anxious for the welfare of the people that he ceased not
to pray: and what is said of Jeremiah is true also of all the
other prophets; and the faithful have ever prayed for par-
don, though the state of things had been brought to an ex-
tremity. But we must observe, that God, when he thus
issues a simple prohibition, often stimulates the prayers of
his people, according to what we read of Samuel ; for though
he knew from God’s own mouth that Saul was rejected, he
yet from love ceased not to seek his good and to intercede
God for him. (1 Sam. xv. 35; xvi. 1.) But the prophets
doubtless paid regard to God’s counsel in this case: yet as
God did not speak for the sake of Jeremiah, but of the
people, the Prophet is not to be charged with rashness or
presumption, or foolish obstinacy or inconsiderate zeal, for
having afterwards prayed ; for he knew that this was not so
much for his sake as on account of the people.
CHAP, x1. 1 4, COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 97
But there is another thing to be observed,—that Jeremiah
was not forbidden to pray for the remnant, that is, for the
elect, and for the seed from which the Church was afterwards
to arise; but he was forbidden to pray for the whole body
of the people: and no doubt he felt assured from that time
that no remedy could be applied, and that the people would
be driven into exile. This then is to be understood of the
whole mass of the people; Jeremiah might still pray for the
elect, and also for the new Church, that is, for the renewal
of the Church: he was not indeed to pray that the Lord
would.not execute the vengeance which had been already
decreed, for that could not be turned aside by any prayers.
We now then understand the meaning of this passage,—
that Jeremiah prayed daily for all men, and also for the re-
newal of the Church ; but that he was to look for the cala-
mity of exile as a certain thing, for this had been fixed by
God.
As to the words, Raise not for them a cry or a prayer, we
have said elsewhere that there are two ways of speaking,
which though different in some respects, are yet the same in
meaning—to raise up and to cast a prayer. Hence the
saints are said sometimes to cast their prayers: ‘“ Let my
prayer be cast in thy presence.” For no one is rightly pre-
pared to call on God, except he is cast down in himself and
laid prostrate. Hence the prayers of the saints are said to
be cast on account of their humility ; they are also said to
be raised up of account of the fervour of their zeal, and also
on account of their confidence. And that he repeats the
same thing in different words is not without a meaning; for
it is the same as though he had said, “ Thou wilt do nothing
by beseeching, praying, interceding and supplicating.” God
then confirms by these several words that he would not here-
after be reconciled to the people. , .
It follows, For I will not hear them at the time when they
shall cry to me. There seems not to be a suitable reason
given here, for God might have conceded to the Prophet
what had not been denied to the ungodly and the rebellious:
but he simply means that he would be a severe Judge in
executing punishment, so that there would be no room for
VoL. II. G
98 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. XLVI.
merey: I will not then hear them; that is, “ If even they
ery, I will not hear them, (it is an argument from the greater
to the less,) much less then will I hear thee for them.” But
why was not God propitious to his servant? To this I answer,
that God is more ready to shew mercy when any one himself
ealls on him, than when he is supplicated by others. The
meaning is, that whether they themselves prayed or employed
others to pray for them, God would not be reconciled to
them.
What might be objected here has been elsewhere answered ;
for if they had from the heart and sincerely prayed, God
would have no doubt heard them; for that promise never
disappoints any, “ Nigh is God to all who call upon him;”
(Psalm exlv. 18;) but it is added, “in truth.” As then
hypocrites are here spoken of who poured forth rambling
and false prayers, and blended the worship of the true God
with that of their own idols, it is no wonder that God re-
jected their prayers, for our prayers are sanctified by faith
and repentance. When, therefore, unbelief prevails, and
when the heart cleaves perversely to wickedness, our prayers
are polluted and presumptuous; for then the name of God
is profaned. It is therefore not strange that God rejects
those who call on him hypocritically.’’ It follows—
15. What hath my beloved to do 15. Quid dilecto meo in domo
in mine house, seeing she hath mea? dum facit ipsa abominationem
wrought lewdness with many, and the cum multis; et caro sanctuarii tran-
holy fiesh is passed from thee? when sierunt abs te; quia dum malé fe-
thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. . cisti, tunc gloriaris.
As the words are concise, this passage is in various ways
perverted by interpreters: brevity is commonly obscure.
But the explanation almost universally received is this,—
that the Prophet addresses God as his beloved. They who
take the words of the Prophet in this sense, think also that
the Temple is called his house, on account of his concern for
religion, for which he was very zealous. As then he had
preferred God’s Temple to all earthly things, they think that
he thus spoke, What has my beloved to do in mine house ?
But Jonathan much more correctly applies the words to God;
and doubtless, whoever wisely considers the Prophet’s words,
? See a note in vol. i. p. 384.—£d.
—— —,
CHAP. xr. 15. OOMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 99
will wonder that so many learned men have been mistaken
on a point by no means doubtful. God then, no doubt,
speaks here; and he calls his re beloved on account of
their adoption:
But the expression is ironical : we cannot think otherwise
when we consider how great was the impiety of the people,
and how unworthy they were of such an honour on account
of their ingratitude. It is yet not strange that they were
called beloved, as in other places, for they had been chosen
by God. They were in a similar way called “upright” in
the song of Moses; and yet Moses, in that very song, de-
clared how wickedly they had departed from their God.
(Deut. xxxii. 15.) But he called them “upright” in re-
ference to God; for though men do not answer to their
vocation, yet the counsel of God remains firm, and can
never be changed by the wickedness of men. Though then
all had then become apostates, yet God did not suffer. his
covenant to be abolished. Hence Paul, in speaking of the
Jews, in Romans xi. 28, when almost all had become the
bitterest enemies to the gospel, and had, through their un-
faithfulness, wholly forfeited their privileges, so as to become
aliens, yet says that they were beloved on account of their
fathers: “For you,” he says, “they are indeed for a time
enemies ;’ which means, that God designed to give their
place to the Gentiles, and to adopt them ; and yet that, on
account of his covenant, they remain, and will remain be-
loved, that is, with regard to the first adoption.
I shall quote no other similar passages, for it is enough
to understand the real meaning of the term: What then
has my beloved to do in my house? which means, “ Why do
the Jews now pretend to come to the Temple to sacrifice to
me? Why do they profess themselves to be my people ?
What have they to do with my house?” that is, “ What
have they to do with anything like holiness?’ Hence he
indirectly touches the Jews in two ways,—that they had
precluded themselves from the advantage of offering sacri-
fices in the temple,—and that it was an increase of their
crime, that while they were God’s friends, that is, when he |
bestowed on them his favour, and embraced them as a father
100 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVI.
his own children, they yet carried on war with him as his
avowed enemies, according to what is elsewhere said, “ Ah!
I will take vengeance on mine enemies.” (Isaiah i. 24)
We now see that this meaning is the most suitable. God
shews that his temple was polluted by the Jews, when they
thoughtlessly rushed there to offer their sacrifices; What
have you, he says, to do with my house? Nearly the same
thing is said in the first chapter of Isaiah ; for God there
contemptuously reproves the Jews because they trod the
pavement of his temple: “Itruly do not owe you anything ;
ye indeed come to my courts, but for what purpose? Ye
only wear out the pavement of my temple: Stay then at
home, and think not that Iam bound to you because ye
come to the temple.’ So also in this place, What has my
_ beloved to do with my house? He concedes to them the title
Beloved, as though he had said, “ Ye are, it is true, beloved,
and ye think that God is bound to you; for, relying on the
covenant which I made with your father Abraham, ye al-
ways continue to make this boasting—‘ We are the people
of God and his heritage; we are a holy nation and a royal
priesthood’—Beloved ye are,” he says, “but what have you
to do with my Temple?”
Then he adds, For she has done abomination with many.
The gender is here changed, for the relative is feminine:
but this mode of speaking is everywhere common, as the
people are represented to us under the character of a woman.
Then he in effect says, ‘ Behold the daughter of my people
hath done abomination with many.” The Jews were not to
enter the Temple except they remained as it were fixed in
its pure worship; for as it was the only true Temple, and
had in it the only true altar, so they ought to have wor-
shipped none but the only true God, and also to have ob-
served one rule only in worshipping him. But he says here
that they had done abomination ; and thus he charged them
with those impious devices, those spurious forms of worship
which they had adopted, and thus departed from what had
been prescribed to them; for abomination is set here in
opposition to the law. He says further, that they did this
with many. We hence see that the gate of the Temple was
Ny RST ile i i,
Aye ss ~~. 2 4! ?
OHAP. X1.15. © COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 101
closed against them, for the Temple could not be separated
from the law, nor yet from God, to whom it was dedicated.
The Jews, having forsaken the law, and adopted innumerable
idols, thrust themselves into the Temple; and hence we see
the reason why God complains that they still came to the
Temple: “As then they have done abomination, and done
it with many, they have no more anything to do with my
law.” The Temple was a visible image of the one true God,
and also the holy receptacle of his law. They despised the
law, and gloried in innumerable gods: they sought thus to
blend the sanctity of the Temple with a multitude of gods,
and with their own depravations and devices.
He says afterwards, that the flesh of the sanctuary had
passed away from them: The flesh of the sanctuary have
passed away. Some apply this to all the faithful, according
to that saying, ‘Silent before God let all flesh be,” (Hab.
il. 20 ;) but this is forced, and without meaning. He speaks
no doubt of sacrifices, and says, that the flesh of the sanc-
tuary, that is, sacrifices, had departed from the people.
They no doubt still offered sacrifices very regularly ; but
God did not accept their sacrifices, because they had cor-
rupted his true worship. This then is the reason why he
says that the flesh of the sanctuary had departed from the
people, as in other places he denies that it was offered to
him. At the same time the Jews wished sacrifices to be
regarded as offered to him, and doubtless they boldly referred
to them in opposition to the prophets. But God did not
| accept them, though they sought thus to render him as it
| were a debtor. “It is not to me,” he says, “that ye offer
your sacrifices, but to idols.’ So also in this place he says,
The flesh of the sanctuary is taken away from them; for
| their sacrifices had become polluted. They were then no-
thing but putrid carcases ; for victims ought to have been
offered in the Temple ; but they had polluted the Temple, so
that it had become a den of robbers, and like a dunghill, in
short, a brothel, as Scripture speaks elsewhere. There was
then now, doubtless, no flesh of the sanctuary ;' that is, no
lawful sacrifice, such as God approved.
1 « Holy fleshes,” xgéz dy, carnes sancte, is the version of the Septua-
102 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. XLVI.
Let us then know that hypocrites, as soon as they depart
from the true worship of God, do nothing that can ayail
them, though they may busy themselves much, and eyen
weary themselves in worshipping God, for all that they offer
is abominable. If then we desire to render to God such
services as he will accept and approve, let us regard this
truth—that obedience is more valued by him than all saeri-
fices. (1 Samuel xv. 22.)
He adds another complaint,—that when they did evil, they
gloried in it. And there is a causal particle introduced,
Because, he says, thou gloriest when thou hast done evil.
The Prophet no doubt means, that they had by no means a
right to contend, because they had not only corrupted true
religion, but were also proud of their superstitions, and
despised God, and set up their own devices against his law.
But it was an intolerable thing for men to attempt to sub-
ject God to their own will, or rather to their own fancies.
Indeed, the faithful do not so purely and so perfectly sacrifice
to God, but that some vices are mixed with their offerings ;
but God nevertheless receives what they offer, though there
be some mixture of defilement. How so? Because they ac-
quiesce not in their own performances, but, on the contrary,
aspire after purity, though they do not attain it; but when
hypocrites exalt themselves against God, and proudly despise
his teaching, and prefer their own inventions, and dare even
to set up these against his authority, it is doubtless a dia-
bolical presumption, such as contaminates what would other-
wise be most holy.’ It follows—
gint and Vulgate, and « holy fiesh” is the Syriac; but the Targum has
“the worship of my sanctuary.” Blayney renders it “holy flesh.” ‘The
word wp means holy, or holiness, and UTP is the sanctuary.—Ed.
1 This verse has been variously rendered and explained. The versions
all differ, and the Targum too; and none of them seem to render the ori-
ginal correctly. Blayney, following the Septuagint, has introduced cor-
rections, but not authorized by any MSS. There is no different reading
of any consequence. The literal rendering I consider to be as follows :—
15. What, as to my beloved, ts in my house her doing?
‘ Is not her plotting with many ?— :
Yea, the holy flesh do they take away from thee;
When-thou doest evil against me, then thou exultest.
The word for “ plotting” does not mean “ lewdness,” or “abomination,”
as rendered by all the versions, but devising, contriving, scheming, machin-
ating ; the reference is to the scheme of uniting the worship of God with the
- —_— = <
|
OHAP. XI. 16,17.
16. The Lord called thy
name, A green olive-tree, fair,
and of goodly fruit: with the
noise of a great tumult he hath
kindled fire upon it, and the
branches of it are broken.
17. For the Lord of hosts,
that planted thee, hath pro-
nounced evil against thee, for
the evil of the house of Israel,
and of the house of Judah, which
they have done against them-
selves, to provoke me to anger,
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
103
16. Olivam viridem, pulchram fructu,
forma, voeavit Jehova nomen tuum; ad
vocem sermonis (alii vertunt, tumultus)
magni accendit (accendere fecit) super
eam, et fracti sunt rami ejus (alii vertunt
transitive, et fregerunt ramos ejus. )
17. Nam Jehovah (copula enim hie ac-
cipitur vice causalis; quia Jehova) exer-
cituum, qui te plantavit, loquutus est (vel,
pronunciavit) super te malum propter
malitiam domus Israel et domus Jehu-
dah, quam fecerunt sibi ad provocan-
dum me, ad faciendum suffitum Baal.
in offering incense unto Baal.
The Prophet says first that the Jews had indeed been for
a time like a fruitful and a fair olive; then he adds, that this
beauty would not prevent God from breaking its branches
and entirely eradicating it. He afterwards confirms this
declaration, and says, For God who had planted it, can also
root it wp whenever it pleases him. This is the import of
the two verses. .
The Prophet no doubt derides here the vain confidence by
which he knew the Jews were deceived: for they were so
inebriated with their privileges that they dared to despise
the very giver of them. Hence the Prophet thus addressed
them, “Do ye think that so many vices will be unpunished ?
Ye omit nothing to kindle God’s wrath against you,—ye
have polluted his Temple, ye have corrupted the whole of
Divine worship, ye have despised the law; and can you
think that the Lord will perpetually spare you?” But when
the prophets thus assailed them, they had this answer,
“What! will God leave his own Temple, concerning which
he has sworn, This is my rest for ever? Is not this the Holy
Land? And is not this also his heritage and his rest? And
further, are we not his flock 2? Are we not his children? Are
we not a holy people?” What then the Jews were wont ar-
worship of idols. The Zargum gives the idea, “ they have taken counsel
to sin greatly.” All the versions agree in giving a Hiphil meaning to
Ay", cause to pass from—to remove or take away. The “many” who
advocated the worship of idols took away the holy flesh—the sacrifices,
and took them away from her, “the beloved,” as, when given to idols,
they would be of no benefit. ‘The words, ‘3NY7 ‘3, are literally, “ when
thy evil is against me.” It is a similar mode of expression with “Op,
* those who rise up against me,” (2 Samuel xxii. 40.) Though it was an
evil against God. yet they exulted in what they did.—Ed.
104 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVI.
rogantly to claim, the Prophet concedes to them. “So,” he
says, “ ye are a green olive, a fair and tall olive, a fruitful
olive; all this I grant ; but cannot God kindle a fire to burn
the branches and to reduce to nothing the whole tree ?” We
now then understand the design of the Prophet.
But the next verse must be joined, For Jehovah of hosts,
who hath planted thee, &c.; as though he had said, “ Your
beauty and whatever that is valuable in you, is it from you?
Surely, all your dignity and excellency have proceeded from
the gratuitous kindness of God: know ye then that nothing
comes from you, but from God and from his good pleasure.
Then Jehovah, who has planted you, can, when he pleases,
pull up by the roots a tree which he has himself planted.”
He says that it was a green olive, fair-in fruit and form.
How so? Because God had favoured them with much ho-
nour, ‘This similitude is found in many other places, but yet
it is various as to its meaning. It might indeed with regard
to God’s dealings be applied to the whole people; but as
hypocrites deserved to be spoiled and stripped of their pri-
vileges, so that which was offered to all in common, could
only be really applied to the faithful, according to what
David says, “I am a fruitful olive in the house of God.”
(Psalm lii. 8.) He then no doubt separated himself from
hypocrites, as though he had said, “ Even hypocrites seek to
have a place in God’s Temple, and are as it were tall trees,
but they are unfruitful: I shall then be a green olive in the
house of God; but they will wither.” But the Prophet, as
I have said, compares the Jews to a green olive on account of
their adoption and the free favour shewn to them; for God
had raised them unto a high state of excelleney and honour.
But after having thus spoken by way of concession, he
then adds, At the sound of a great tumult, or of a great word,
he will kindle his fire upon it, and broken shali be its branches.
Some, as I have said, render the last clause, “ and they have
broken its branches.” As to what is intended, there is no-
thing dubious ; but if we take the verb in an active sense,
something must be understood, that is, that enemies, who
will be like fire, shall break its branches." Then follows
1 This clause is difficult. The versions give no assistance. The word
-_—_—
CHAP. xt. 16,17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 105
what I have said to be a confirmation,—that Jehovah, who
had planted it, had spoken of or pronounced an evil, or a
calamity against it. He thus shews that there was no reason
for them to trust in their present beauty; for they had it
not from themselves, but possessed it only at the will of
another ; for God who had planted them, could also destroy
them. But on this subject more shall be said.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast deigned to gather us into
thy Church, we may never turn aside in the least from the pu-
rity of thy worship, but always regard what pleases thee, and
learn to direct our doings and our thoughts in obedience to thy
truth, and worship thee so purely both in spirit and in external
forms, that thy name may be glorified by us, and that we may
especially retain that purity which thou everywhere commendest
to us, so that we may be indeed the members of thy only-begot-
ten Son; and that as he has sanctified himself on our account,
we may also through his Spirit be made partakers of the same
sanctification, until he at length will gather us into his celestial
kingdom, which he has obtained for us by his own blood.—
Amen,
ndyon, or rather nbn, is rendered “ circumcision” by the Septuagint,
“ speecli” by the Vulgate, “decree” by the Syriac, “ tumult” by our ver-
sion, and “clamour” by Blayney. It occurs only in one other place, Ezek.
1, 24; where it stands in apposition with the “voice of the Almighty,”
which means there, and often elsewhere, “ thunder :” and its meaning there
is evidently the breaking of thunder or the thunderclap. It comes from
219, to eut, to break, to shiver. Then the noun is literally breaking,
or crashing ; it is the bursting noise of thunder. The other difficulty is
m2Y, rendered “upon it” in our version as well as in the early versions :
but “it” is feminine in Hebrew, and “ of it” after branches is masculine,
the same gender with “olive.” None have accounted for this anomaly.
Blayney has indeed made the word a participle to agree with fire,—* a fire
mounting upwards ;” but this can hardly be admitted. I would render the
verse thus,—
An olive, flourishing, beautiful in fruit, in form,
Hath Jehovah called thy name:
At the sound of a great thunderclap,—
Kindled hath he a fire by it, ~
And shivered have been its branches.
The verb for “kindled” is in Hiphil, and “ by it” is the “ thunderclap,”
which is feminine, and “ its” is the “ olive,” which is maseuline. Houhi-
gant refers this passage to thunder.
The past tense is used for the future. He compares the nation to a
flourishing tree, and then he speaks of its destruction by a fire kindled by
the breaking of a thunder: the fire is the lightning.—d.
106 ° COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVIL
Lecture Forty-Seventh,
WE mentioned yesterday why the Prophet reminded the
Jews, that they had been planted by God ; it was, that they
might know that they did not stand through their own
power, and that they had their roots elsewhere, even in the
good pleasure of God. The import of the whole is, that
whenever God pleased they would instantly perish ; for they
stood not through their own power, but only through his
favour: and this is what he confirms elsewhere, by compar-
ing God to a potter and the people to vessels of clay. Simi-
lar is the argument which Quintilian quotes from the Medea
of Ovid, “I was able to save thee, and dost thou ask whe-
ther I can destroy thee?” As then the Jews, relying on
their long tranquillity and on their forces, thought themselves
beyond the reach of danger, the Prophet ridicules this con-
fidence ; he shews how vain it was, for God had planted
them, and so he could easily root them up again.
But this metaphor is very common in Scripture: yet the
comparison is the more suitable when the Church is said to
have been planted by God ; for as a tree draws juice and
strength from a hidden root, so the faithful draw their life
from the hidden election of God: but this refers to the hope
of eternal life. The same is meant by Christ in Matthew
xv. 13, when he says, “ Every planting,” that is, every tree,
“which my Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.”
He then says, that the elect alone are planted by God, for
they have their roots in the hidden life of God. But this is
also extended much farther, even to the external state of the
Church, according to what is said in Psalm xliv. 2, “ Thou
hast rooted out the nations, and planted our fathers ;” as
we find also in the eightieth Psalm and in other places.
As God then plants his own elect, so also in gathering an
external Church to himself, he is said to plant it: but they
who are thus planted may be again rooted up, as the Pro-
phet here testifies ; while secret election cannot be changed.’
We must then observe this difference,—that God’s children
have their roots in his eternal election, respecting which
3 {Ra Rie
CHAP. XI. 16,17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 107
there can be no repentance and no change. But the exter-
nal state of the Church is also compared to a planting: yet
they who flourish for a time and are full of leaves and seem
also to produce some fruit, are rooted up by God’s hand,
when they become degenerate. And this mode of speaking
is to be taken sometimes still more generally, according to
what we shall see in the next chapter, and also in other
parts of Scripture.
The Prophet says that God had spoken concerning the
wickedness of Israel. This refers to what had been taught :
for though the Jews had already in part felt the just judg-
ment of God, yet they still continued in safety. He then
says that ruin was nigh them, for God had announced it by
his servants. And he adds, that it was on account of the
wickedness’ of both kingdoms; and this was said in order
to dissipate all their complaints ; for we know that men are
ever ready to clamour whenever God chastises them, as
though they wished to contend with him. But the Prophet
shews here, that God would deal thus severely with the Jews,
because they had never ceased to provoke his wrath by their
evil deeds. Hence he says, that they had done tt for them-
selves. Some render the words, “And ft shall therefore
happen to them.” But there seems to be much more force
in the Prophet’s words, when we say, that they had done
evil for themselves, that is, to their own ruin. He adds, To
provoke me, that is, their object is to provoke me. In short,
God intimates, that he would justly punish the Jews, be-
cause they had procured evil for themselves; and at the
- * Tt is literally “evil.” There is here a striking instance of the same
word used in two different senses—the evil of punishment and the evil of
sin. The verse is thus,—
And Jehovah of hosts, who hath planted thee,
Hath spoken against thee an evil,
For the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah :
Which they have done for themselves,
By provoking me in burning incense to Baal.
« For the evil,” &c., is unintelligibly rendered by Blayney, “In prose-
cution of the evil,” &c. ; 223. is a preposition, and is so rendered in all
the early versions and the Targum : it is also so found in many other parts
of Scripture. “ Which they have done,” &c., may be rendered, Which
they have procured for themselves ; for the verb NWY may sometimes be
thus rendered. See Gen. xii.5; xxxi.1. But “ which” refers to the first
* evil,” of which God had spoken, the evil of punishment —£d.
108 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVI.
same time he points out the fountain of evil, for they had
designedly provoked God by offering incense to Baal. It
follows—
18. And the Lord hath given - 18. Et Jehova ostendit mihi (cog-
me knowledge of it, and I know noscere me fecit) et cognovi; tune
it: then thou shewedst me their patefecisti mihi opera (vel, instituta)
doings. ipsorum.
We know that they were all very wicked; and though
they were proved guilty, yet they were not willing to yield,
to acknowledge and confess their fault; but they raged
against God and rose up against the prophets. And as they
dared not to vomit forth their blasphemies against God, they
assailed his servants and wished to appear as though their
contest was with them. And this is not the vice only of one
age, but we find that it prevails at this day; for when we
boldly reprove hidden vices, immediately the profane make
a clamour and say, “ What! these divine; but who has
made these things known to them? Have they this oracle
from heaven?” As though, indeed, neither the word of God
nor his Spirit can shew their power, except when children
become judges! But the ungodly rise up against God’s ser-
vants for this end, that they may with impunity do this and
that, and everything, except what may draw them before
an earthly tribunal, and be proved by clear and many
evidences.
For this reason the Prophet says, that made known to him
had been the vices of his own nation; as though he had
said, “I see that you will be ready to raise an objection, as
ye are wont proudly to resist all reproofs and threatenings,
as though you contended only with men; but I testify to
you now beforehand, that I bring nothing of my own, nor
divine of myself what any one of you thinks within: but
know ye that God, who knoweth the heart, has committed
to me my office. He has then appointed me to be the herald
of his vengeance, he has appointed me as a herald to de-
nounce war on you. SoIdo not come nor act in my own
name: there is, then, no reason for you to deceive yourselves,
according to your usual manner, as though I presump-
tuously reproved you, when yet your vices are concealed, it
being peculiar to God to know what is hid in the hearts of
ot be.
ane
'
4)
CHAP. xi. 18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 109
men. The recesses of the heart are indeed intricate, and
great darkness is within; but God sees more clearly than
men. Cease then to make this objection which ye are wont
to raise against me, that 1 am presumptuous in bringing
forth to light what lies hid in darkness, for God has appointed
me to bring these commands to you: as he knows the heart,
and as nothing escapes him, and as he penetrates into our
thoughts and feelings, so he has also designed by his word
which he has put in my mouth to render public what ye
think is concealed.”
We now see the design of the Prophet: but some take a
different view, that God had made known to his servant
Jeremiah the impious conspiracy of which he afterwards
speaks, and thus connect the two verses. But I doubt not
that the Prophet intended here to shew what and how
much weight belonged to his doctrine, the credit and autho-
rity of which the Jews thought of detracting by boastfully
alleging that he, a mortal man, assumed too much, and an-
nounced uncertain divinations. Hence, to repel such.calum-
nies, he wished to testify that he threatened them not
inconsiderately, nor spoke what he supposed or conjectured,
when he exposed their sins, but that he only declared faith-
fully what had been enjoined by God and revealed also by
the Holy Spirit. This is what is meant.’ It afterwards
follows—
19. But I was like a lamb 19. Ego autem quasi agnus, bos ductus
or an ox that is brought to ad immolandum (ad mactandum,) et non
the slaughter; and I knew cognovi quod contra me cogitarent cogita-
not that they had devised tiones (hoc est, inirent consilia, nempe)
devices against me, saying, corrumpamus ligno panem ejus (ad verbum
Let us destroy the tree with est, corrumpamus lignum m pane; sed
the fruit thereof, and let us dicemus post de sensu verborum,) et excida-
cut him off from the land of mus eum é terra vivorum, et nomen ejus
the living, that his name may non memoretur amplius.
be no more remembered.
1 Calvin connects this verse with the foregoing, but most with what
follows. The first verb in the Septwagint is a prayer, “Lord, make
known to me, and I shall know.” The Syriac and Arabic are the same.
The Vulgate takes the verb in the second person, “O Lord, thou hast
made known,” &c. Venema seems to agree in part with Calvin; he con-
nects the first clause with the foregoing, and the second with the following
verse; and this appears to be the best construction. Then the 1is “ when,”
as it may be rendered when followed as here by t&, “ then,”—
* SST]
ss)
110 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVIL
The Prophet adds here, as I think, that he did not reta-
liate private wrongs: for the Jews might, under this pretext,
have rejected his doctrine, and have said, that he was moved
by anger to treat them sharply and severely. And doubt-
less, whosoever allows his own feelings to prevail in the least
degree, cannot teach in sincerity ; for he who prepares him-
self for the prophetic office, ought to put off all the affections
of the flesh, and to manifest a pure, and, so to speak, a
limpid zeal, and also a calm mind, so that he may seek no-
thing, and have no object but the glory of God and the
salvation of those to whom he is sent a teacher. Whosoever
then is under the influence of private feelings cannot act
otherwise than violently, so that he cannot either faithfully
or profitably discharge the office of a prophet or a teacher.
Hence the Prophet now adds, in the second place, that he
did not plead his own cause, nor had respect, as they say, to
his own person; for he knew not what the Jews had devised
against him. They who join the two verses think that they
have some reason for doing so, as they suppose that the Pro-
phet now expresses more fully what he had before briefly
touched upon: but if any maturely considers the whole
passage, he will easily see that Jeremiah had another object
in view, and that was, to secure authority to his doctrine.
The Jews probably employed two ways to discredit the holy
Prophet: “O, thou divinest !—the same thing, as we have
said, is done now by many.” He therefore summons the
Jews here before God’s tribunal, and shews that it was no-
thing strange, that he brought to light what they thought |
to be hidden, because it had been revealed to him by the.
Spirit of God. Even Christ said the same, “The Spirit,
when he comes, shall judge the world.” (John xvi. 8.) The
Spirit did not appear except in the doctrine of the Apostles ;
but he exercised by the Apostles his own functions. The
Apostle also seems to have this in view in Heb. iv. 12, when
he says, that the word of God is like a two-edged sword,
When Jehovah made me to know, so that I knew these things ;
Then thou didst shew me their doings.
That is, when Jehovah made known to him what he had previously re-
lated, he then shewed to him also the doings, or the purposes, of the men
of Anathoth, which he afterwards more particularly mentions.—Ed,
. See a ee,
OHAP. XI. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 111
which penetrates into the inmost thoughts and hidden fcel-
ings, even to the marrow and bones, so as to distinguish
between thoughts and feelings.
Then the Prophet, in the first place, shews that it was
nothing strange that he ascended above all human judg-
ments, for he was endued with the authority of the Holy
Spirit. And he adds, in the second place, that he was not
influenced by carnal feelings, but by a pure zeal for God,
for he knew not their wicked designs; and he says that he
was like a lamb and an oz, or a calf. . There is here no con-
junction, and hence some join the two words, “ And I am
like a lamb a year old:” for the Hebrews, they say, call a
lamb a year old W325, cabesh, and then a ram; but this is,
_ in my view, a forced meaning, and a copulative or a disjunc-
tive may be supposed to be understood. Jam then as a
lamb or as a calf, which is led to the slaughter (to be sacri-
ficed or killed.) Here the Prophet intimates that he was
not violent, as angry men are wont to be, who are excited
either by indignation or great grief. He then testifies that
he was moved ‘by no such feeling, for he differed nothing
from a lamb or a calf that is led to the slaughter.’
For the sake of amplifying, he adds, I knew not that they
devised devices against me, that is, this did not come to my
mind. The Prophet, indeed, might have suspected or even
have known this; but as he disregarded himself, and even
his own life, he testifies here that he had acted with so
much simplicity as not to regard what they planned and
contrived.
' All the early versions, and the Targum render mids as a participle or
an adjective,—“ ¢xaxov, innocent,” by the Sepiuugint; “ mansuetus, meek,”
Wy the Vulgate; “simple,” by the Syriac; and “choice” or chosen by the
aurgum. ‘The word used as a verb means to teach, to train, to guide;
and it seems here to be a passive participle, taught, trained, and may be
rendered here docile, meek or innocent,—
But I—as a meek lamb led to be killed was J;
And I knew not, that against me they had devised devices.
The Septuagint render the last words, “they have thought an evil thought;”
and, “ I knew not,” is connected with the former line thus,—
But I, as an innocent lamb led to be slain, I knew not: -
Against me have they thought an evil thought.
But the construction in the other versions, and in the Targum, is according
to the former rendering.— Ed.
‘a. es ea
112 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVI.
He then adds, Let us spoil wood in his bread. They think
rightly, according to my judgment, who consider that there
is here'a change of case; for it ought rather to be, “ Let us
spoil with wood his bread:” for that exposition is too un-
meaning, “ Let us spoil or destroy wood,” as though they
spoke of a thing of no value: for what has this to do with
the subject? On the contrary, if we retain, as they say, the
letter, the Prophet might think that wood would be spoiled
in bread, as it would become rotten: but wood in bread,
except by becoming rotten, would do no harm. But doubt-
less the Prophet speaks here metaphorically, as David does
in Psalm lxix. 22, when he says, “They have put gall in
my bread, and vinegar in my drink.” Jeremiah also, in
Lament. iii. 15, complains that his food was mingled with
poison. Similitudes of this kind often occur; for when the
very food of man is corrupted, there is no more any support
for life. The meaning then is, that his enemies had acted
cruelly towards the Prophet, as they sought in every way
to destroy him, even by poison.
Some take wood for poison, but I know not whether that
can be done. They indeed imagine that a poisonous wood
is what is here meant; but this is too refined. I take the
meaning to be simply this, as though they had said, “ Let
us spoil with wood his food,” that is, “ Let us give him wood
instead of bread; and this, by its hardness, will hurt his
teeth, ulcerate his throat, and cannot be digested so as to
become nourishment.” To spoil this bread with wood is to
cause the wood to spoil the food either by its hardness or
by its putridity. In this sense there is nothing ambiguous.
The ancients perverted this passage in the most childish
manner when they applied it to the body of Christ. The
Papists too, at this day, boast wonderfully of this allegory,
though they make the most absurd use of it; for they seek
to prove by it that bread is converted, or, as they say, tran-
substantiated into the body of Christ; and they quote
Origen and Irenzus, and others like them: “ Behold, ex-
plained is that passage of Jeremiah, let us send wood for
his bread, (such is the meaning of the Vulgate.) for the
body of Christ has been crucified ;’ and then they add,
eS eee a
—— S| - CU
cHaAP. x1. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 115
“ For he said, ‘ Take and eat, thisismy body.’” We see how
extremely absurd this is; and it must appear ridiculous even
to children. But so great is the dishonesty and wantonness
of the Papists, that they cast off all shame, and only boast-
fully pretend the authority of the ancients ; and whatever
Origen may have foolishly and falsely said, they will have
it to be regarded as something oracular, provided their
errors are thereby confirmed. But if we grant that the
Prophet was a type of Christ, what has this to do with the
similitude of his body, since he speaks here only of food ?
Jt is as though he had said, that his aliment was corrupted,
as it were, with poison, and that he was so cruelly treated
by his enemies, that they sought to destroy him by the
means of his food."
It then follows, Let us cut him off from the land of the
lwing. This kind of speaking often occurs: the land or
region of the living means the state of the present life. He
at last adds, That his name may not be in remembrance any
more. In short, the Prophet meant in these words to set
forth the extreme savageness with which his enemies were
inflamed ; for they were not content with intrigues or with
open violence, but wished to destroy him by poison, and
wholly to obliterate his name. It follows—
20. But, O Lord of hosts, that 20. Et, Jehovaexercituum, judicans
judgest righteously, that triest justitiam, (aut, judex justitie,) scru-
the reins and the heart, let me tans (vel, inquirens) renes et cor,
see thy vengeance on them; for videam ultionem tuam de ipsis; quia
unto thee have I revealed my tibi revelavi causam meam, (litem
cause, meam, ad verbum.)
1 But the best meaning is that given by the Syriac, and has been
adopted in our version, and by Gataker, Venema, Henry, Horsley, Scott,
and Adam Clarke,—« Let us destroy the tree with its fruit ;” that is, the
Prophet and his prophecy. “In this case,” says Horsley, “ the man is
the tree; his doctrine the fruit.” But there seems to be an allusion in
the words to “the olive” mentioned in verse 16, which was threatened
with destruction: and Jeremiah’s enemies, adopting his simile, by way of
irony apply it to himself: “ Well, thou comparest us to an olive devoted
to ruin; we shall now deal with thee accordingly: thou art a tree, and
we shall cut thee down and destroy thee and all the fruit thou bearest.”
The whole verse I would render as follows,—
19. And I—as a meek lamb led to be killed was I;
And I knew not that against me they had devised these devices :—
“ Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
Yea, let us cut him down from the land of the living;
And his name, let it be remembered no more.” —Ed.
VOL, IT. H
114 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVII.
Here the Prophet, after having found that the impiety of
the people was so great that he was speaking to the deaf, turns
his address to God: O Jehovah of hosts, he says, who art a
great Judge, who searchest the reins and the heart, may I see
thy vengeance on them. The Prophet seems here inconsist-
ent with himself; for he had before declared that he was
like a lamb or a calf, as though he had offered, as they say,
his life a willing sacrifice ; but here he seems like one made
suddenly angry, and he prays for God’s vengeance. These
things appear indeed to be very different; for if he had
offered himself a victim, why did he not wait calmly for the
event ; why is he inflamed with so much displeasure? why
does he thus imprecate on them the vengeance of God?
But these things will well agree together, if we distinguish
between private feeling and that pure and discreet zeal by
which the meekness of truth can never be disturbed. For
though the Prophet disregarded his own life, and was not
moved by private wrongs, he was nevertheless not a log of
wood ; but zeal for God did eat up his heart, according to
what is said in common of all the members of Christ, “* Zeal
for thine house hath eaten me, and the reproaches of those
who upbraided thee have fallen on me.” (Psalm lxix. 9;
John ii. 17; Rom. xv. 3.) The Prophet then had previously
freed himself from all suspicion by saying that he was pre-
pared for the slaughter, as though he were a lamb or a ealf;
but he now shews that he was, notwithstanding, not desti-
tute of zeal for God. Here then he gives vent to this new
fervour when he says, “ O Jehovah, who searchest the reins
and the heart, may I see thy vengeance on them.”
The Prophet, no doubt, was free from every carnal feel-
ing, and pronounced what we read through the influence of
_ the Spirit. Since then the Holy Spirit dictated this prayer
to the holy man, he might still have offered himself a volun-
tary sacrifice, while yet he justly appealed to God’s tribunal
to take vengeance on the impiety of a reprobate people; for
he did not indiscriminately include them all, but imprecated
God’s judgment on the abandoned and irreclaimable.
It is indeed true, that we may regard the Prophet as pre-
dicting what he knew would happen to his people: and
,
= a "ome
CHAP, xI. 20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 115
some give this explanation; they consider it as a predic-
tion only and no prayer. But they are terrified without
reason at the appearance of inconsistency, as they think it
inconsistent in the Prophet to desire the perdition of his
own people: for he might have wished it through the influ-
ence of that zeal, as I have said, which the Holy Spirit had
kindled in his heart, and according to the words which the
same Spirit had dictated.
He calls God the Judge of righteousness ; and he so called
him, that he might wipe away and dissipate the disguises in
which the Jews exulted when they sought to prove their
own cause. By this then he intimates that they gained no-
thing by their evasions, for these would vanish like smoke
when they came before God’s tribunal. He, in short, means
that they could not stand before the judgment of God. He
then adds, that God searches the reins and the heart. He
says this, not only that he might testify his own integrity,
as some suppose, but that he might rouse hypocrites. For
he intimates that they stood safe before men, as they con-
cealed their wickedness, but that when they came before
God’s tribunal another kind of account must then be given;
for God would prove and try them, as the word }{MA, bechen,
signifies: he would search the reins and the heart, that is,
their most inward feelings; for the Scripture means by
reins all the hidden feelings or affections.
He says, For to thee have I made known my judgment.
The Prophet, no doubt, appeals here to God’s tribunal, be-
cause he saw that he was destitute of every patronage—he
saw that all were against him. Few pious men indeed were
left, as we have elsewhere seen; but the Prophet speaks
here of the mass of the people. As then there was no one
among the people who did not then openly oppose God, so
that there was no defender of equity and justice, he turns
to God and says, “ I have made known my cause to thee ;”
as though he had said, “ O Lord, thou knowest what my
cause is, and I do not act dissemblingly; for I serve thee
faithfully and sincerely, as thou knowest. Since it is so,
may I see thy vengeance on them.”?
* The beginning of the verse is differently rendered: “ O Lord,” in the
ee a
. oe =
116 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVII.
Now, we are taught in this passage, that even were the
whole world united to suppress the light of truth, Prophets
and teachers ought not to despond, nor to rely on the judg-
ment of men, for that is a false and deceptive balance; but
that they ought to persevere in the discharge of their office,
and to be satisfied with this alone—that they render their
office approved of God, and exercise it as in his presence.
We may also learn, that the ungodly and hypocrites in yain
make shifts and evasions, while they try to elude the autho-
rity of the Prophets; for they will at length be led before
God’s tribunal. When therefore we find teachers rightly
and sincerely discharging their office, let us know that we
cannot possibly escape the judgment of God except we sub-
mit to their teaching. And Prophets and pastors them-
selves ought to learn from this passage, that though the
whole world, as I have already said, were opposed to them,
they ought not yet to cease from their perseverance, nor be
changeable, but to consider it enough that God approves of
their cause. It afterwards follows—
21. Therefore thus saith the
Lord of the men of Anathoth, that
seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not
in the name of the Lord, that
thou die not by our hand:
22. Therefore thus saith the
Lord of hosts, Behold, I will pun-
ish them; the young men shall die
by the sword ; their sons and their
daughters shall die by famine:
23. And there shall be no
remnant of them: for I will bring
21. Propterea sic dicit Jehova ad
viros Anathoth, qui querunt animam
tuam, dicendo, Ne prophetes in nomine
Jehove, et non morieris in manu nos-
tra, (hoc est, ne moriaris manu nostra.)
22. Propterea sic dicit Jehova exer-
cituum, Ecce ego visitans (visitabo)
super eos; adolescentes eorum mori-
entur gladio, filii eorum et filie eorum
morientur fame:
23. Et residuum non erit ipsis, (hoc
est, nihil erit ipsis residuum ;) quia ve-
vocative case, by the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac; “ The
Lord,” by the Arabic and Targum. All the versions agree as to the
imprecation, “ May I see—io.—videam :” but the Targum has, “TI shall
see;” and so it is rendered by Gataker, Venema, Scott, and Adam Clarke,
The verb is future, but the future in Hebrew has sometimes the mean-
ing of the optative or the subjunctive, as well as of the imperative. But
the future is the most suitable here; for the 1 before “ Jehovah” will not
allow it to be in the vocative case. The verse then would be as follows,—
20. But Jehovah of hosts, who art a righteous judge,
The trier of the reins and of the heart,
I shall see thy vengeance on them ;
For on thee have I devolved my cause. ;
« Jehovah of hosts” is a nominative absolute—a form of expression very
common in the Prophets.— £d.
—_—': -
CHAP. XI. 21-23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 117
evil upon the men of Anathoth, nire faciam malum super homines Ana-
even the year of their visitation. | thoth anno visitationis ipsorum (alii
vertunt, annum, sed male, meo judicio.)
The Prophet here expressly denounces vengeance on his
own people: for we have seen at the beginning of this book
that he belonged to the town of Anathoth. Now it appears
from this passage, that the holy man had not only to con-
tend with the king and his courtiers, and the priests, who
were at Jerusalem; but that when he betook himself to a
corner to live quietly with his own people, he had even
there no friend, but that all persecuted him as an enemy.
We hence see how miserable was the condition of the Pro-
phet ; for he had no rest, even when he sought retirement
and fled to his own country. That he was not safe even
there, is a proof to us how hardly God exercised and tried
him for the many years in which he performed his prophetic
office. |
As the citizens of Anathoth had grievously sinned, so h
denounces on them an especial calamity. It is indeed cer-
tain that the Prophet was not kindly received at Jerusalem ;
nay, he met there, as we shall hereafter see, with enemies
the most cruel: but when he hoped for some rest and re-
laxation in his own country, he was even there received as
we find here. This is the reason why God commanded him
to threaten the citizens of Anathoth with destruction. I
cannot finish the whole to-day.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou remindest us in thy word of our
many vices and sins, we may learn to direct our eyes and thoughts
to thee, and never think that we have to do with a mortal being,
but that we may anticipate thy judgment: and may we learn so
to examine all our thoughts and try our feelings, that no hypocrisy
may deceive us, and that we may not sleep in our sins; but that
being really and truly awakened, we may humble ourselves be-
fore thee, and so seek thy pardon, that when we lie down in true
repentance, thou mayest absolve us in thy mercy, through the
virtue of that sacrifice by which thine only-begotten Son has once
for all reconciled us to thee.— Amen.
118 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVIII.
Lecture Forty-Cighth.
CHAPTER XIL.
1. Righteous art thou, O Lord, 1. Justus es, Jehova, si contendam
when I ‘plead with thee; yet let tecum (si litigem, vel, quando litigabo;)
me talk with thee of thy judg- tamen judicia loquar tecum (hoc est,
ments: Wherefore doth the way disceptabo jure tecum:) Quousque via
of the wicked prosper ? wherefore impiorum prosperabitur (vel, feliciter
are all they happy that deal very habebit ;) quieti sunt omnes transgre-
treacherously ? dientes transgressione ?
Tue minds of the faithful, we know, have often been
greatly tried and even shaken, on seeing all things happening
successfully and prosperously to the despisers of God. We
find this complaint expressed at large in Psalm Ixxiii. The
Prophet there confesses that he had well-nigh fallen, as
he had been treading in a slippery place ; he saw that God
favoured the wicked ; at least, from the appearance of things,
he could form no other judgment, but that they were loved
and cherished by God. We know also that the ungodly
become thus hardened, according to what is related of Diony-
sius, who said that God favoured the sacrilegious ; for he
had sailed in safety after having plundered temples, and
committed robberies in many places ; thus he laughed to
scorn the forbearance of God. And hence Solomon says,
That when all things are in a state of confusion in the world,
men’s minds are led to despise God, as they think that all
things happen on the earth by chance, and that God has no
care for mankind. (Eccl. ix.) But with regard to the faith-
ful, as I have already said, when they see the ungodly pro-
ceeding in all wickedness and evil deeds with impunity, and
claiming the world to themselves, while God is, as it were,
conniving at them, their minds cannot be otherwise than
grievously distressed. And this is the view which interpre-
ters take of this passage; that is, that he was disturbed
with the prosperous condition of the wicked, and expostu-
Jated with God, as Habakkuk seems to have done at the
beginning of the first chapter ; but he appears to me to have
something higher in view.
:
CHAP. XI. |. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 119
We have said elsewhere, that when the Prophets saw that
they spent their labour in vain on the deaf and the intrac-
table, they turned their addresses to God as in despair. I
hence doubt not but that it was a sign of indignation when
the Prophet addressed God, having as it were given up men,
inasmuch as he saw that he spoke to the deaf without any
benefit. Here then he rouses the minds of the people, that
they might know at length that he could not convince them
that they were doomed to ruin by God. For when Jeremiah
spoke to them, all his threatenings were scorned and laughed
at ; hence he now addresses God himself, as though he had
said that he would have nothing more to do with them, as
he had laboured wholly in vain. This then seems to have
been the object of the Prophet.
But lest the ungodly should have an occasion for calum-
niating, he intended so to regulate his discourse as to give
them no ground for cavilling. Hence he makes this preface,
—that God is, or would be just, though he contended with him.
This order ought to be carefully observed ; for when we give
way in the least to our passions, we are immediately carried
away, and we cannot restrain ourselves within proper limits
and continue in a right course. As soon then as those
thoughts, which may draw us away from the fear of God,
and lessen the reverence due to him, creep in, we ought to
fortify our minds and to set up mounds, lest the devil should
draw us on farther than we wish to go. For instance, when
any one in the present day sees things in disorder in the
world, he begins to reason thus freely with himself, “ What
does this mean? How is it that God suffers licentiousness
to prevail so long? Why is it that he thus conceals himself ?”
As soon then as these thoughts creep in, if we possess the
true principle of religion, we shall try to restrain these wan-
derings, and to bring ourselves to the right way ; but this
will be no easy matter; for as soon as we pass over the
boundaries, there is no restraint, no limitation. Hence the
Prophet wisely begins by saying, Thou art just, though I
contend with thee. It is not only for the sake of others
he speaks thus, but also to restrain in time his own feelings
and not to allow himself more than what is right. We must
120 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVITI.
still remember what I have said,—that the Prophet here
directs his words to God, in order that the Jews might know
that they were left as it were without hope, and were un-
worthy that he should spend any more labour on them.
He says, And yet I will speak judgments with thee ; that
is, I will dispute according to the limits of what is right and
just. Some indeed take judgments for punishments, as
though the Prophet wished the people to be punished ; but
of this I do not approve, for it is a strained view. To speak
judgments, means nothing else than to discuss a point in law,
to plead according to law, as it is commonly said. By say-
ing, “I will legally contend,” he does not throw off the re-
straint which he has before put on himself, but asks it as a
matter of indulgence to set before God what might seem just
and right to all. David, or the Prophet who was the author
of that psalm which we have already quoted, (Psalm Ixxiii.,)
even when he expressed his own feelings and ingenuously
confessed his own infirmity, yet made a preface similar to
what is found here, But he there speaks as it were abruptly,
“Yet thou art just;” he uses the same word JN, ak, as Jere-
miah does; but here it is put in the last clause, and there
at the beginning of the sentence, ‘“‘ Yet good is God to Israel,
even to those who are upright in heart.” The Prophet no
doubt was agitated and distracted in various ways, but he
afterwards restrained himself. But it was otherwise with
Jeremiah ; for he does not confess here that he was tried, as
almost all the faithful are wont to be; but as I have al-
ready said, he advisedly, and by the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, addressed his words to God ; for he intended to rouse
the Jews, that they might understand that they were re-
jected, and rejected as unworthy of having their reac:
cared for any longer.
By saying then, Yet will I plead with thee, he doubtless
intended to touch the Jews to the quick, as they were so
extremely stupid. “ Behold,” he says, “I will yet contend
with God, whether he will forgive you?’ We now-see
the real meaning of the Prophet; for the Jews in vain
brought forward their own prosperity as a proof that God
was propitious to them ; for this was nothing else than to
CHAP. x11. 1. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 121
abuse his forbearance. Jeremiah intended in short to shew,
that though God might pass by them for a time, yet the
wicked ought not on this account to flatter themselves, for
_ his indulgence is no proof of his love ; but, on the contrary,
as we shall see, a heavier vengeance is accumulated, when the
ungodly increasingly harden themselves while God is treating
them with indulgence. This then is the reason why the
Prophet says, that he would plead with God ; he had regard
more to men than to God. He yet does not set up the judg-
ments of men against the absolute power of God, as the
sophists under the Papacy do, who ascribe such absolute
power to God as perverts all judgment and all order; this
is nothing less than sacrilege.
Now the Prophet does not call God to an account, as
though there was no rule by which he regulated his works
and governed the world. But by judgments he means, as I
have said, what God had declared in his law ; for it is written,
“ Cursed is every one who continueth not,” &., (Deut. xxvii.
26; Gal. iii. 10.) Now then as the Jews were transgressors
' of the law, nay, as they ceased not to provoke God to wrath
by their vices, they ought surely, according to the ordinary
course of justice, to have been immediately destroyed. Hence
the Prophet says here, J will plead with thee; that is,
“ Hadst thou dealt with this people as they deserved, they
must have been often reduced to nothing.” At the same
time he had no doubt, as we have said, respecting the recti-
tude of the divine judgment ; only he had regard to those men
who flattered themselves, and securely indulged themselves
in their vices, because God did not immediately execute
those punishments with which he threatens the transgressors
of his law.’
1 « Emboldened,” says Blayney, “as it should seem, by the success of
his prayers against the men of Anathoth, the Prophet ventures freely,
though with professions of confidence in the divine justice, to expostulate
with God concerning the prosperity of wicked men in general, whose
punishment he solicits, attesting the mischiefs that were continually brought
on the land by their unrestrained wickedness.”
I would render the verse thus,—
Righteous art thou, Jehovah ;
Though I should dispute with thee ;
Yet of judgments will I speak to thee,—
are
122 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVIII.
Hence he says, How long shall the way of the wicked pros-
per ? for secure are all they who by transgression transgress ;
that is, who are not only tainted with small vices, but who
are extremely wicked. They then who openly rejected all
religion and all care for righteousness, how was it that
they were secure and that their way prospered ? We now then
more clearly understand what I have stated,—that the Pro-
phet turned his words to God, that he might more effectually
rouse the stupid, so that they might know that they were
in a manner summoned by this expostulation before the
celestial tribunal. It now follows,—
2. Thou hast planted them; 2. Plantasti eos, etiam radicem ege-
yea, they have taken root: they runt; prodierunt, etiam fecerunt frue-
grow; yea, they bring forth tum (produxerunt fructum:) propé es
fruit: thou art near in their in ore ipsorum, et procul es 4 renibus
mouth, and far from their ipsorum (hoc est, ab intimo affectu,
reins. renes enim alibi diximus accipi pro
affectibus arcanis.)
When the happiness of the wicked disturbs our minds, two
false thoughts occur to us,—either that this world is ruled by
chance and not governed by God’s providence, or that God
does not perform the office of a good and righteous judge
when he suffers light to be so blended with darkness. But
the Prophet here takes it as granted, that the world is go-
verned by God’s providence ; he therefore does not touch the
false notion, which yet harasses pious minds, that fortune
governs the world. Well known are these words, “I am
disposed to think that there are no gods.”* It was thought
there were no gods who ruled the world, because he died who
deserved a longer life. And the wisest heathens have thus
How is it? the way of the wicked, it prospers; —
Secure are all the dissemblers of dissimulation.
Perhaps the fourth line might. be rendered thus,—
Why; the way of the wicked, it prospers. :
The order of the words will not admit it to be rendered otherwise.
Blayney renders the last line as follows :— r
At ease are all they who deal very perfidiously.
The last words literally are, “all the cloakers of cloaking,” or, “all the
coverers of covering.” But according to the secondary meaning of the word
333, the phrase would be, “all the dissemblers of dissimulation.” The :
version of the Septuagint is, “all who prevaricate prevarications.” What is
meant evidently is, that they were hypocrites, and that by hypocrisy they
covered their hypocrisy,—a true and a striking representation.— Ed. :
1 Ovid, Eleg. 8.
CHAP. XII. 2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 123
spoken, “I see fortune, which yet no reason governs; I see
fortune, which prevails more than reason in these matters.”*
But the Prophet, who was far removed from these profane
notions, held this truth,—that the world is governed by God ;
and he now asks, How it was that God exercised so long a
forbearance? The ungodly, the thoughtless, and inconsiderate
might have said that this forbearance was far too scanty.
But the Prophet, as I have said, clearly describes what the
Jews deserved.
Then he says, that they had been planted by God; for
they could not have prospered had not God blessed them.
The metaphor of planting, as we have before seen, often
occurs, but in a different sense. When the celestial life is
the subject, God is said to have planted his own elect, be-
cause their salvation is sure. He is said also to have planted
his people in the land which he had given to them as an
heritage. Now, when he speaks of thé reprobate, the Pro-
phet says that they had been planted by God, and for these
reasons, because they flourished, because they produced
leaves, and because they brought forth some fruit. In short,
as Scripture, for various reasons, compares men to trees, so
it employs the word planting in a corresponding sense. The
Prophet indeed says that the ungodly are supported by God,
and this is certain; for were not God to deal kindly with
them for a time, they could not but instantly perish. Hence
their prosperity is a proof of God’s indulgence. But the
Prophet expresses his wonder at this, not so much through
his own private feeling, as for the purpose of shewing to
the Jews that it was a strange thing that they were tolerated
so long by God, as they had a hundred times deserved to be
wholly destroyed.
Yea, he says, they have taken root. By this metaphor he
means their continued happiness. He says also, that they
had advanced aloft; that is, were raised high and in-
creased.” He then adds, that they had brought forth fruit.
1 Ovid, Eleg. 8.
2 The verb is 105, rendered “ proficiunt—proceed or advance,” by the
Vulgate and Syriac. The Septuagint must have read 112°, as the version
1s, “ they have brought forth children,” which is wholly inconsistent with
te simile of a tree. To “advance in growth,” as Blayney renders it, is
124 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLVIII.
The fruit of which he speaks was nothing else than their _
offspring ; as though he had said, that the ungodly were not
only prosperous to the end of life, but that they also pro-
pagated their kind, so that they had children surviving them,
so that their families became celebrated. But the import
of the whole is this,—that God not only endured the un-
godly for a time, but extended his indulgence to many ages,
so that their descendants continued in the same wealth,
dignity, and power, with their dead fathers.
He afterwards adds, Thou indeed art nigh in their mouth,
but thou art far from their reins. Jeremiah no doubt in-
tended ‘to anticipate them; for he knew that the Jews
would have objections in readiness,—* What art thou, who
summonest us here before God’s tribunal, and who pleadest
with God that he may not too patiently bear with us?
Are not we his servants? Do we not daily offer sacrifices in
the Temple? Are we not circumcised? Do we not bear in
our bodies the sign of our adoption? Do we not possess a
kingdom and a priesthood? Now, these are pledges of God’s
paternal love towards us. But thou wouldest have thyself to
be more just than God himself. Can God deny himself?
He has bound his faithfulness to us by the sign of cireum-
cision, by the Temple, by the kingdom, by the priesthood,
and by the sacrifices; and when we do anything amiss,
then our sins are expiated by sacrifices and washings, and
_ other rites.”
As then the Prophet knew that the Jews were wont thus
loquaciously and perversely to defend their own cause, he
says, “O, I see what they will say to me, even that which
they are wont to say ; for the common burden of their song
what is clearly meant. The Targum is a paraphrase, and the simile is
wholly left out. To “become rich” is the corresponding expression,
which gives the meaning. The D3, which occurs twice, would be better
rendered “ yea,” as in our version, than “ also,” as by Blayney,—
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root ;
They thrive, yea, they have produced fruit :
Nigh art thou to their mouth,
But far from their reins.
“ They thrive,” is literally “they go on,” that is, after having rooted, or
taken root. The “reins” stand for the affections—fear, reverence, love,
&e.— Ed.
CHAP. xir. 3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 125
is; that they are the children of Abraham, that they sacrifice,
and have other ways of pacifying God, and then that they
possess a priesthood. and a kingdom. These things,” he
says, “are well known to me: but, O Lord, thou knowest
that they are mere words; thou knowest that they act fal-
laciously, and that they do nothing but declare what is false
when they pretend these vain shifts and evasions; for thou
knowest the heart, («apSvoyvworns ;) thou therefore under-
standest that there is nothing right or sincere in their
mouth ; for their reins are far from thee, and thou also art
far from their reins.” We hence also perceive with more
certainty the truth of what I have stated,—that the Prophet
here pleads with God, in order that the Jews might know
that they could in no way be absolved when they came be-
fore God’s tribunal. It follows—
3. But thou, O Lord, know- 3. Et tu, Jehova, cognoscis me (cogno-
est me: thou hast seen me, visti me), videbis me (vides me), et pro-
and tried mine heart to- basti cor meum tecum (hoc est, probasti
ward thee: pull them out quale sit cor meum apud te, vel, coram
like sheep for the slaughter, te:) extrahe eos tanquam oves ad macta.
and prepare them for the tionem, et prepara eos ad diem occisionis.
day of slaughter.
The Prophet is not here solicitous about himself, but, on
the contrary, undertakes the defence of his own office, as
though he had said that he faithfully discharged the office
committed to him by God. Though then the Jews, and
even the citizens of Anathoth, his own people, unjustly per-
secuted him, yet he was not excited by private wrongs; and
though he disregarded these entirely, he yet could not give
up the defence of his office. He then does not speak here
of his own private feelings, but only claims for himself faith-
fulness and sincerity before God in performing his office as
a teacher; as though he had said that he executed what
God had commanded him to do, and that therefore the Jews
contended not with a mortal being, but with God himself.
Hence he says, But thou, Jehovah, knowest me and seest
me, and triest my heart towards thee ; that is, thou knowest
how sincerely I serve thee, and endeavour to fulfil my voca-
tion, and thus to obey thy command. He afterwards glories
over them as a conqueror, and says, Draw them forth as
126 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVIIL
sheep for the day of sacrificing, prepare them for slaughter.
Here no doubt the Prophet intended not only to touch, but
sharply to wound the Jews, in order that they might know
that they had been hitherto secure to no purpose, and to
their own ruin, because God had spared them. They who
consider that the Prophet was himself troubled, because he
saw that God was propitious and kind to the ungodly, think
that, with reference to himself, he took comfort from this,—
that the judgment of God was nigh at hand; but I doubt
not but that the Prophet had regard to the Jews, as I have
already reminded you. When, therefore, he saw that they
were torpid in their delusions, he intended to rouse their
sensibilities by saying, “I see how it is, O Lord; thou dost
indeed conceal thyself; but what else is thy purpose but that
they should be fattened for the day of slaughter?”
He says, first, Thou wilt draw them out: others read,
“Thou wilt lead them forth,” and quote a passage in Judges
xx. 32, where pn, nutak, is taken in this sense. The word
properly means to draw out with force, as when a tree is
pulled up, or when any one is drawn out against his will ;
and this is the sense most suitable to the present passage,
Thou wilt then draw them out; that is, thou wilt suddenly
draw them out to slaughter. He then intimates that there
was no reason for the Jews to be dormant in their prosper-
ity, for God could in a moment act against them; and as
the pain of one in labour is sudden, so also, when the wicked
say, Peace and security, their ruin will come suddenly upon
them. (1 Thess. v. 3.) This then is what the Prophet now
means: but he goes on in his way of teaching; for he does
not address men as they were all deaf, but speaks to God him-
self, that his doctrine might be more effectual: Thow then
wilt draw them out, and do thou prepare them; for it is a
prayer: do thou then prepare them for the day of slaughter."
1 This verse, according to the tenses of the verbs, is as follows :—
But thou, Jehovah, thou hast known me;
Thou seest me, and triest my heart towards thee:
Pull them out as sheep for the sacrifice,
And set them apart for the day of slaughter.
It is evident that “ seest,” which is here in the future tense, is to be taken
as expressing a present act. It would be so rendered in Welsh,—
OHAP. XII. +. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 127
The last expression ought especially to be noticed. The
Prophet indeed seems here in an excited feeling to imprecate
ruin on the people; but there is no doubt but that he was
here discharging the duty of his office, for he was the herald
of God’s vengeance. He therefore asks God to execute what
he had commanded him to denounce on the people. He had
often promulgated what God had resolved to do to them,
but he had moved no one: he now then asks God to fulfil
what he had foretold the Jews—that they should shortly
perish, because they refused to repent.
We may also learn from this passage,—that when the un-
godly accumulate wealth, they are in a manner fattened.
When oxen plough, and sheep are fed that they may bear
wool and bring forth young, they are not fed that they may
grow fat, and a moderate quantity of food will suffice them ;
but when any one intends to prepare sheep or oxen for the
slaughter, he fattens them. So then the feeding of them is
nothing else than the fattening of them ; and the fattening
of them is a preparation for their slaughter. I have there-
fore said that a very useful doctrine is included in this form
of speaking; for when we see that plenty of wealth and
power abound with the ungodly and the despisers of God,
we see that they are in a manner thus filled with good
things, that they may grow fat :—it is fattening or cram-
ming. Let us then not bear it ill that they are thus covered
with their own fatness,-for they are prepared for the day of
slaughter. It follows—
4. How long shall the land —_ 4. Quousque lugebit terra.et herba om-
mourn, and the herbs of every nis agri arescet pre malitia habitantium
field wither, for the wickedness in ea? defecit bestize (hoc est, consumpte
of them that dwell therein? the sunt bestize.) et avis (hoc est, aves, est en-
beasts are consumed, and the allage numeri tam in verbo quam in no-
birds; because they said, He mine;) quia dixerunt, Non videbit novis-
shall not see our last end. simum nostrum (vel, finem nostrun.)
Jeremiah confirms the former sentence and more strongly
Ond ti Jehova, adwaenaist vi;
Gweli vi, a phrovi vy nghalon tuag atat.
God had known him, he was still seeing him, and approved of his heart
before him, as the Septuagint express the words. ‘To prove here, or to
“try,” means a trial by which a thing is found to be genuine. Blayney
gives the meaning by a paraphrase,—
Thou canst discern by trial my heart to be with thee.—Ed.
128 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLVIII.
reproves the Jews, who still continued obstinately to despise
what he had said: “ What do you mean, he says? for God’s
judgment appears as to brute beasts and birds; and what
have birds and sheep and oxen deserved? Ye know that
there is no fault in miserable animals, and yet the curse of
God is through them set before you; ye see that God is
offended with brute animals, but the fault is doubtless in
you. And will God spare you, when he has already begun,
and long ago begun to inflict punishment on innocent ani-
mals? how can he bear with you to the end, who are full of
so many and the most atrocious sins?” This then is a con-
firmation of his former doctrine.
And hence we also learn that he did not speak for his
own sake, nor express his own private feelings, but that he
defended the doctrine which he had announced, that the
Jews might know that God was angry with them, and that
they were not to expect that he would always conceal him-
self, though he for a time connived at them.
How long, he says, shall the land mourn ? or, How long
should the land mourn? for thus it ought to be rendered ;
_ and should every herb become dry? “What!” he sa¥s, “is
not God’s judgment visible in herbs and flocks and beasts
and birds? Since it is so, and the whole fault is in you,
shall ye be spared? Will God pour forth his whole wrath
on herbs, on sheep, and on cattle? and shall you be at the
same time exempted from his judgment ?”
And more clearly still does he express his meaning, when
he says, Because they have said, He shall not see our end.
Here the Prophet briefly shews that the wrath of God was
seen in herbs as well as in brute animals, because he was
despised by the people. Since then evil proceeded from
them, should it not return on their own heads? It could not
surely be otherwise. But he speaks expressly of the end;
for the Jews were so stupified by their prosperity, that they
thought that God was no longer adverse to them: “Ha!
what have we to do with God? we are already beyond the
reach of danger.” As then they thus perversely rejected
God, he upbraids them with the thought, that they were to
give no account to God. It is not indeed probable that they
CHAP. XIt. & COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 129
openly, or with a full mouth, as they say, vomited forth’such
a blasphemy ; but we know that Scripture often speaks in
this manner, “ God shall not see;’ ‘“ God will not look on
Jacob.” "Though the ungodly did not speak so insolently,
yet they no doubt thought that they could set up many hin-
derances to prevent God’s hand from reaching them. Hence
Jeremiah, according to the usual manner of Scripture, justly
lays this to their charge,—that they thought that they were
now as it were unknown to God and beyond the reach of his
care, so that he would not see their end ; in other words, that
they had no concern with God, because they were on all
sides go well fortified, that the hand of God could not reach
them.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that though the same hardness is inbred in
us asin thine ancient people, we may not become rooted in it;
but do thou rouse us by thy Spirit, that we may suffer ourselves
to be gently governed by thy word, and be so touched by thy
threatenings, that we may not defer the time whenever thou an-
nouncest to us thy judgment, but strive to be immediately recon-
ciled to thee: and as there is no other way of being reconciled
except through thine only-begotten Son, may we in true faith
embrace the favour which thou offerest to us in thy gospel, and
also devote ourselves wholly to thee, being truly penitent of our
sins; and as we ought to make progress to the end of life, may
we strive more and more to put off all the lusts of our flesh, until
we shall at length be made partakers of that glory which thine
only-begotten Son has prepared for us.—Amen.
1 Both Gataker and Venema regard the meaning of the last clause dif-
ferently. Here ends the expostulation of Jeremiah; and they consider
that he mentions here what his persecutors said of him, that he would not
see their end, or their ruin, which he had foretold. Were ‘5, as in the
first verse, rendered “though,” the connection would be more natural,—
How long shall mourn the land
And the grass of every field wither ?
For the evil of those who dwell in it,
Swept away has been the beast and the bird,
Though they have said, “ He will not see our end.”
The third line connects better with what follows than with what pre-
cedes it; and it is so rendered in the Syriac. The word for “ beast,”
though in a plural form, is used elsewhere as a singular, Psalm Ixxiii. 22 ;
and so it is here, and so rendered by the Vulgate and the Targum.—Ed.
VOL, I. I
a
130 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, XLIX.
Lecture Jorty-Pinth.
5. If thou hast run with the foot- _5. Quia (vel, si) cum peditibus (sig-
men, and they have wearied thee, nijicat proprié pedes, sed translativé
then how canst thou contend with significat etiam pedites; si ergo cum
horses? and if in the land of peace, peditibus) cucurristi et fatigarunt te,
wherein thou trustedst, they wea- quomodo miscebis te equitibus? et in
ried thee, then how wilt thou do in terra pacis tu confisus es, bes facies
the swelling of Jordan ? (vel, quomodo facies, vel faceres) in
altitndine Jordanis ?
Many think that God here checks the boldness of Jere-
miah, as though he had exceeded the limits of moderation
when he contended with God, as we have seen, because he
patiently endured the reprobate and did not immediately
punish them. Hence they elicit this meaning from the
words, “Thou hast hitherto been contending with mortals,
and hast confessed that thou didst maintain an unequal con-
test ; dost thou dare now to assail me, who am far greater
than the whole world? Footmen have wearied thee, who
walk on earth ; but thou engagest now with horsemen, that
is, with me.”
But I have already shewn that the Prophet did not under-
take this cause presumptuously, nor was he carried away by
blind zeal when he disputed with God, but that he thus
spoke through a divine fervour: he was indeed influenced
by God, in order that he might by this mode of speaking
more fully rouse an obstinate people. There was therefore
no need to check him ; for his object was no other than to
shew by a lively representation, that God would be the Judge
of the Jews, who had despised his teaching and esteemed it
as nothing.
Some think that a comparison is made between the citi-
zens of Anathoth and the citizens of Jerusalem: they hence
suppose that Jeremiah is encouraged, lest he should sueeumb
under the temptations which awaited him ; as though it was
said, “ Thy citizens or thy people are like footmen ; thou
seest now how much they have wearied thee, for thou canst
not bear their insolence: what then will become of thee,
when thou comest to Jerusalem ? for as there is more power
there, so there is more arrogance; thou wilt have to con-
ee
:
4
CHAP. xit. 5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 131
tend with the king and his court, with the priests and with
the people, who are blinded by their own splendour: horse-
men will be there, and thou wilt have an equestrian contest.
Thou mayest hence see how thou art to prepare thyself;
for these things are only the beginnings, and yet thou com-
plainest of them.”
But when I maturely weigh all things, I come to another
opinion, which both Jerome and Jonathan’ have suggested,
and yet obscurely, and so confusedly that the meaning can-
not be correctly understood, and especially for this reason,
because they did not state the exposition which we have
hitherto given ; hence the meaning of what they have said
does not seem suitable. But the Prophet, I doubt not, here
reproves the people and condemns their presumption, be-
cause they thought themselves furnished with so many de-
fences that they despised the judgment of God. I regard
then this verse as spoken in the person of God, for hitherto
Jeremiah has been the accuser, and arraigned the whole
people as guilty before God, and was also the herald of his
judgment. Now that what he says might have more weight,
God himself comes forth and says, Thou hast hitherto run
with footmen, and thou hast been wearied, how will it be
when thou comest to an equestrian contest? He intimates
by these words that a much greater outrage was at hand
than what the Jews had already experienced. Their coun-
try had been oppressed, their city had been exposed to ex-
treme peril, there had been as it were a pedestrian conflict ;
but God now intimates that a heavier storm was nigh at
hand, for horsemen would assail them, because the Chaldeans
and the Assyrians were to come with much greater vio-
lence to lay waste the whole country and to destroy the city
itself.
This then is not addressed to the Prophet, but to the
people ; as though it was said, that the Jews had but a slight
contest with the Assyrians, and yet were conquered and op-
pressed by many calamities; but that they would have
now to fight more seriously, as a greater violence was im-
1 The author of the Targum—the Chaldee Paraphrase.— Ed.
132 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLIX.
pending over them: how then, he says, canst thou contend
with horsemen ?'
He then adds, Jn the land of peace thow trustest, and how
wilt thou do in the rising of Jordan? The land of peace is
commonly taken for the town of Anathoth, where the Pro-
phet ought to have enjoyed a quiet life, as he lived there
among his relations and friends, The rising of Jordan is
also taken as signifying violent waves; but this has nothing
to do with the subject. Were I to approve of this view, I
would rather take the rising of Jordan as meaning its foun-
tain, for we know that Jordan rose from Mount Lebanon,
north of Jerusalem: so then would I interpret the words,
and the explanation would be plausible. But as I feel
assured that the words are not addressed to the Prophet, but
to the people, I doubt not but that the land of peace is the
land open to plunder, that is, not protected. As that is
called the land of war, which is surrounded by defences, and
fortified by towers, moats, and ramparts; so that is called
the land of peace, which is not capable of repelling enemies.
The Prophet derided the Jews, because they swelled with so
much arrogance, though they possessed no fortresses: “ Ye
are,” he says, “in the land of peace, haying no means to
carry on war, and possessing no forces to resist your ene-
mies: as then ye swell with so much pride in your penury
and want, what would become of you, were you in the rising
1 Most commentators agree in the previous exposition,—that a compa-
rison is made between the persecution which Jeremiah experienced from
his countrymen at Anathoth, and the persecution he was to expect at
Jerusalem. So thought the Jewish commentators, Grotius, Venema, Ga-
taker, Henry, Scott, Adam Clarke, and Blayney. It must, however, be
added, that Jerome and Horsley were of the same opinion with Calvin:
but the most obvious and natural meaning seems to be the former.
The rendering of Blayney is as follows,—
If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee,
Then how wilt thou chafe thyself with horses?
More literally,—
If with footmen thou hast run, and they have tired thee,
Then how wilt thou heat thyself with horses ?
« Horses” may indeed be rendered horsemen, as “ feet” in the previous line
is rendered footmen. As to the verb “ heat thyself,” the versions and the
Targum differ, but the word in Hebrew is plain enough; it is 7M, to
heat, to burn, or to be warm or hot, in Hithpael. To “contend” has been
taken from the Vulgate.—d. :
CHAP. XII. 6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 133
of Jordan? that is, were your cities on the banks of Jordan,
where it widely spreads, so as to prevent any access?” Ris-
ing here means height or largeness: for fIN3, gaun, signifies
pride, and metaphorically it means the highest or chief
glory. “ What wouldest thou do,” he says, “in the largeness
of Jordan? that is, were that river a defence to you against
enemies? for there is nothing that can hinder your enemies
from coming to your gates, from breaking down your walls
by warlike instruments ; and ye glory: how great is your
madness, for ye do not consider how weak you are?” We
hence see that in the whole of this verse the foolish boast-
ings of the people are beaten down ; for they were proud
without a cause, as they were destitute of all defences and
auxiliaries. This then is what I consider to be the real
meaning.’ It afterwards follows—
6. For even thy brethren, 6. Certé etiam fratres tui et domus
and the house of thy father, patris tui, etiam ipsi perfidé agunt in te,
even ey have dealt treacher- etiam ipsi clamant post te plena voce (vel,
ously with thee; yea, theyhave t{urmatim, N20 enim varié exponitur ;) ne
called a multitude after thee: confides ipsis, etiam si loquantur ad te
believe them not, though they (joc est, tecum) bona (id est, amicé tecum
speak fair words unto thee. loquantur. )
Here God addresses his Prophet, in order to confirm the
whole of what we have observed. Jeremiah’s object was, as
we have said, to set forth the judgment of God: he there-
fore undertook the part of an accuser, and shewed how in-
1 As in the previous clause, so in this, most interpreters are opposed to
Calvin. ‘The contrast here is between a quiet state and great troubles.
If Jeremiah complained, when among his connections at Anathoth, what
could he do when troubles, like the swelling of Jordan, overflowed the
land? And this view is confirmed by the verse which follows,—
Blayney, following the Vulgate, renders the passage thus,—
And though in the land of peace thou mayest have confidence,
Yet how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan ?
But rather as follows,—
And in the land of peace thou art secure ;
But how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan ?
That is, * Thou complainest though living secure in a land which enjoys
peace and is not harassed with war: what then wilt thou do when the
troubles of war sha!l come over the land like the overflowings of Jordan ?’
or, according to some, “Thou complainest though living in retirement
among thine own people, where thou didst expect rest and peace, what
wilt thou do when exposed to the violent persecutions of the great and
powerful ?” the swelling of Jordan being considered a proverbial expres-
sion, designating great and overwhelming troubles.— Ed.
134 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. XLIX,
tolerable was the impiety of the whole people. He after-
wards shewed that he was a conqueror in the cause. And
now God himself speaks: he first indeed reproves the people
and condemns their insane presumption; and then he ad-
dresses the Prophet himself, as though he had said, “ Thou
hast faithfully pleaded my cause, and as thine own people
are all perfidious, there is no reason for thee to doubt but
that I will be thy defender.”
The Prophet no doubt was commanded to preach and to
write in God’s name; and yet he had regard to the people,
who would have hardened themselves against his preaching,
had he not more fully set forth the dreadful judgment of
God. Hence he says, Surely even thy brethren and the house
of thy father, &c.: it is an amplification, when he says, that
not only the citizens of Jerusalem and the whole people had
conspired against the Prophet, but also his own relations
and friends ; Even thy brethren, he says, and the house of thy
father, even these, &. We see how emphatically God speaks;
and there is an implied comparison between the citizens of
Anathoth and the rest of the Jews, for they dealt not with
a brother and one of themselves with any more courtesy than
those not related to him. He repeats for the third time,
Even these have cried after thee; that is, “ They have so ini-.
mically persecuted thee, that even when thou hast yielded
to their fury they were not pacified.” For to ery after one
is an evidence of settled hatred; for when an enemy stands
his ground and offers resistance, it is no wonder that we
assail him; but when he turns his back and allows that he
is conquered, and declines fighting, it seems that we are
burning with a furious hatred, when we follow him and draw
him to fight against his will, even when he of his own accord
avoids a contest. It was to set forth this blind fury that
God said that they cred after Jeremiah.’
* It is necessary to understand MN here as meaning “ behind,” that
is, “ behind his back,” as we commonly say; for his friends and relations
acted perfidiously, they cried against him in his absence, while they spoke
friendly to himself. ‘The verse is as follows,—
For even thy brethren and thy father’s house,
Even they have dissembled with thee;
Yea, they have cried behind thee vehemently
hte? af.
CHAP. XII. 7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 135
He adds the word xdp, mela, which some render “with
a full voice ;” others, “in a troop,” or, “in a mass.” Either
sense may be admitted; I will not therefore dwell on the
point ; for it makes but little difference whether we say that
they followed the Prophet with loud clamour, or that they
in a troop conspired against him.
He afterwards subjoins, Hven though they speak to thee
good things, that is, though they pretend to be friends and
profess peace, yet trust them not. God intimates by these
words, that though the citizens of Anathoth did not openly
rage against Jeremiah, they were yet full of perfidy: in
short, he means that they were either wolves or foxes, for
they fought against the Prophet, now by fraud, then openly.
We hence see that God here condemns the people, and shews
his approbation of what had been previously said by Jere-
miah. He afterwards subjoins—
7. IL have forsaken mine house, I 7. Reliqui domum meam, deserui
have left mine heritage; Ihave given hereditatem meam, posui dilectio-
the dearly beloved of my soul into nem (aut, desiderium) anime mee
the hand of her enemies. in manum inimicorum ejus.
He confirms what I have already stated; he testifies that
the people were either openly furious or acting perfidiously
and deceitfully ; nor has it been the object hitherto merely
to say that wrong had been done to the Prophet, but regard
has been had to what he taught.
He now adds, Forsaken have I my house and left my heri-
tage. God here declares that it was all over with the people.
They were inebriated with vain confidence, relying on the
covenant which God had made with their fathers, and thought
that God was bound to them. Thus they wished to treat
God with contempt according to their own humour, and at
the same time to allow themselves every kind of licentious-
ness. The Prophet makes here many concessions, as though
he had said, “ Ye are the house of God, ye are his heritage,
ye are his beloved, ye are his portion and his richest portion ;
Believe them not when they speak to thee kind things.
“ Vehemently,” or more literally, “ fully ;” xb is used here adverbially.
The versions, except the Vulgate, which renders it, “ with a full voice.”
have not given its meaning, nor the Targum. ‘The “multitude” of our
version is evidently wrong, distantly derived from the Septuagint.—Ed.
136 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, XLIX.
but all this will not prevent him to become your Judge, and
at length to treat you with rigorous justice, and to vindicate
himself.” We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet.
But as I have before said, the words have more weight hay-
ing been spoken by God, than if Jeremiah himself had said
them. God then, as though sitting for judgment, declares
thus to the Jews, Forsaken have I my house. The Temple
was indeed commended in high terms; but the whole country
also was on account of the Temple regarded as the habita-
tion of God ; for Judah was overshadowed by the Temple, and
was secure and safe under its shadow. This word then is
to be extended to the whole land and people, when God says,
“ Forsaken have I my house;”’ that is, “ Though I have
hitherto chosen for myself an habitation among the Jews,
yet I now leave them.” He then adds, Left have I my heri-
tage. (The verbs AIY, oseb, and WD), nuthesh, have nearly
the same meaning; the one is to forsake, and the other is to
leave.) This distinction was a great honour to the Jews;
and hence, how much soever they kindled God’s wrath against
themselves, they yet thought that they were safe as it were
by privilege, inasmuch as they were the heritage of God.
The Prophet concedes to them this distinction, but shews
how vain it was, for God had departed from them.
He then says, Given have I the desire or the love of my
soul,’ &e. The word M1", ididut, may be rendered love ;
but in Latin we may render it darling, (delitias :) the dar-
ling then of my soul have I put in the hand of her enemies ;
for the pronoun is in the feminine gender. We hence see
what is the subject here; for God intended to deprive the
Jews of their vain confidence, and thus to humble and sub-
due them, so that they might know that no empty and vain
titles would be of any help to them. These titles or dis-
tinctions he indeed concedes to them, but not without some
1 « My beloved soul” is the version of the Septuagint, Vulgate, and
Arabic, but very improperly; the Syriac is “ the beloved of my soul.”
The three first versions betoken an ignorance of the construction of the
Hebrew language. To express their idea, “ beloved” must have followed
“soul,” and not preceded it. Besides, the word for “ beloved” is in the
plural number, but used as delitie in Latin, to express great affection ; and
it ought to be rendered, the very dear, or the very beloved, of my soul.
—Ed.
CHAP. XII. 8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 137
degree of irony ; for he at the same time shews that all this
in which they gloried would avail them nothing when God
executed on them his vengeance. But further, this passage
contains an implied reproof to the Jews for their ingratitude,
inasmuch as they were not retained in their obedience to
God by benefits so remarkable; for how great was the
honour of being called the heritage and the house of God, and
even the beloved of his soul? They had deserved no such
honour. As then God had manifested towards them such
incomparable love, as he had rendered himself more than a
father to them, was it not a wickedness in every way inex-
cusable, not to respond to so great a love, and that gratui-
tous, and also to so great a liberality? for what more could
God have done than to call them the darling of his soul?
We hence see that the sin of the people is greatly ampli-
fied by these distinctions, on account of which they yet
fostered their pride; as though he had said, “ These words
indeed are ready on your tongues,—that ye are God’s heri-
tage, and sanctuary, and his love; but ye are for this very
reason the more abominable, because ye respond not to God’s
love and bountiful dealings: he has favoured you with in-
eredible love, he has raised you to very great honour, and
yet ye despise him and perversely resist his teaching, nor
can ye bear him to govern you.” We now then see what
instruction may be gathered from these words. It follows—
8. Mine heritage is untomeasa _—8. Fuit mihi heereditas mea quasi
lion in the forest; it crieth out leo in sylva; edidit contra me vo-
against me: therefore have I hated cem suam; propterea odio ipsam
it. habui.
God now shews the reason why he resolved to cast away
the people ; for it might appear at the first view very incon-
sistent, that God’s covenant, which he had made with Abra-
ham and his seed, should become void. Hence he shews
here that he was not too rigid in heavily punishing the Jews,
and that he could not be accused of levity or inconstancy in
rejecting or repudiating them.
Mine heritage, he says, has become like a lion in the forest ;
that is, they have not only acted insolently towards me, but
they have even dared furiously to attack me, like a lion who
138 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. XLIX.
roars against men in the forest. God then here complains
of their contempt, and then he declares how furious was
their impiety: for the Jews, as though seized by the rage of
a wild beast, dared to make a violent attack on him. And
the words, as they are connected, render the sin the more
atrocious, My heritage, he says, has become to me as a lion
tn the forest ; one’s heritage and patrimony, we know, is his
delight ; and then, they who possess small tenements live
much more quietly than those who occupy large ones. God
now shews that he was in his own heritage as though he
was in a vast and wild forest, and also, that the fields which
ought to have been his delight, and also his vineyards and
meadows, were become places of the greatest horror, as
though a lion were roaring and raging against unhappy men.
He says further, that it had sent forth its voice. By these
words he accuses the people of extreme wantonness ; and
such is to be found in the world at this day ; for how auda-
ciously do the Papists vomit forth their blasphemies against
God? The unprincipled and the dregs of society hesitate
not with a full mouth to be insolent towards God; and
courtiers also and epicures, and those who admire themselves
for their splendour and wealth, with what haughtiness do
they rise up against him ; and how disdainfully do they re-
ject every truth that is set before them! We therefore in
this miserable age experience the very same thing which the
Prophet deplores in the men of his own time,—that they
raised their voices against God himself.
He therefore comes to this conclusion,—that he hated his
own heritage. ‘Since then,” he says, “the Jews are be-
come to me as lions in a forest, since they have rendered
themselves a horror instead of a delight to me, what am I to
do with them? Can I treat them as my patrimony and heri-
tage? But they have put me to flight by their treachery,
yea, by their diabolical fury. It is therefore nothing strange
that I hate them, though they have been my heritage.”
Thus the Prophet shews, that it availed the Jews nothing
that they had been of old adopted, since they had repu-
diated themselves and had become alienated from God their
Father.
ee
CHAP. X11. 9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 139
Let us also hence learn, that whatever honour hypocrites
at this day possess in the Church, they yet boast in vain ;
for though they may for a time be counted as the heritage
of God, they are at the same time hated by God, inasmuch
as they are within full of wickedness and of perverseness
towards him ; and then, when urged and pressed, they hesi-
tate not to vomit forth their insolence. It follows :—
9. Mine heritage is unto 9. An avis picta (vel, tincta, aut, colorata)
me as a speckled bird; hereditas mea mihi? an avis in circuitu
the birds round about are super eam? Venite, colligite vos (alii tran-
against her: come ye, as- sitive accipiunt, congregate omnes bestias,
semble all the beasts of the sed subaudiendum est, congregate vos) omnes
field, come to devour. bestize agri (hoc est, omnes bestiz agrestes, )
venite ad devorandum ipsam.
The beginning of this verse is variously explained, Some
think that a kind of bird is here meant, which has various
colours, one variegated, which excites all other birds against
itself; but this is without meaning. Others are of the opi-
nion, and the greater part too, that birds tinged with blood
were against his heritage. ‘They hence thus explain the
words, “Is a bird, tinged,” that is, with blood, “ my heritage,”
that is, about my heritage; “is there a bird around it?” They
consider both clauses to be of the same meaning ; and hence
they think that the same thing is repeated in different words,
that birds were flying against the Jews, like those which are
drawn by the smell of carcases, and which come in great
numbers, that each may have a part ; and then, wild beasts
follow them. But I approve of neither of these explana-
tions ; nor indeed have they even the appearance of being
correct.
I therefore think that the people are now compared to
foreign birds, as they were before to lions ; as though he had
said,—“‘ I had chosen this people for myself, that they might
be my friends, as birds which are wont to be gathered into
their own cages, as sheep into their own folds, and as oxen,
and other animals which are tamed, keep within their own
enclosures. So when I gathered this people, I thought that
they would be to me like domesticated sheep ; but now they
are like speckled birds ; that is, like wild birds, or birds of
the wood.” For I have no doubt but that by a speckled or
re JOT” Sn
ee,
- " * -
140 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. XLIX.
coloured bird is to be understood a strange bird, which by
its novel appearance excites the attention of men. Js then
a variegated bird, or a bird of the wood, become mine heri-
tage? Questions, we know, were often used by the Hebrews ;
and the Prophet here simply affirms the fact ; and as God
had said before, that his heritage was become like a lion in
the forest, so he adds now, that his heritage was like a
speckled bird. A question has much more power and force
than a simple declaration ; for God assumes here the cha-
racter of one in astonishment,—“ What does this mean, that
my heritage should become to me like some bird from the
wood, or a foreign bird?” He then adds, All birds then shall
be around and all beasts of the field."
We now sce how fitly the words of the Prophet run ; God
had complained that his heritage was like a lion in the forest,
and also like a wild and foreign bird ; and now he says,
Then all birds will fly to the prey and all the beasts of the
field ; as though he had said,—* Since they have dared to
act thus wantonly, and have dared to assail my servants like
wild beasts, and have also become wild birds which cannot
be tamed, I will shew what they will gain by their ferocity ;
for I will now send for all the birds of the air, and the wild
beasts of the wood, that they may fly together quickly, and
that they may come together to the prey.” That we must
thus understand the Prophet’s meaning, we learn from the
very words ; for God not only says, “A speckled bird has
mine heritage become,” but he adds, to me, as he had before
1 The most literal rendering of the verse is as follows,—
9. Is not my heritage to me a stripped bird of prey?
Is there not a bird of prey around against it ?
Come, assemble, every beast of the field ;
Hasten ye to devour.
The versions and the Targum all differ, and are wholly unsatisfactory.
Some, as Venema, agreeably with our version, retain not the questionary
form in the two first lines, and render them thus,—
A stripped bird of prey is my heritage to me;
A bird of prey is around against it.
The meaning is the same; but the 7 before “ bird of prey,” or rapacious
bird, seems to favour the interrogation. The Y2¥, stripped or speckled,
is a participle, and not the name of “ a ravenous bird,” as Blayney thinks,
is evident from its location, for it follows the word D*Y, a rapacious bird :
it would have otherwise preceded it. The Vulgate renders it, “ diseolor—
diversely coloured,” and the Syriac is the same.—Ed.
™
|
CHAP. X11. 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 141
said, that his heritage had become to him as a lion, so he
says now, Is not mine heritage become to me? &e. This pro-
noun then ought to be carefully noticed ; for we hence learn,
as I have said already, that the intractable disposition of
the people is here condemned, for they could by no means
be tamed.
But the latter clause ought also to be especially observed ;
for it imports as much as though God had said, “ As then
your wickedness is such that ye are to me lions and wild
birds, take your course ; but I will yet check this your bar-
barous and untameable ferocity ; for I have under my com-
mand all the birds of the air and all the wild beasts of the
field ; let them then come together to this one bird, and to
this one beast. Ye are but one bird; ye are indeed terrible
at the first view, for ye are worse than all the hawks; but
ye are only one bird, and around you shall come all birds,
which shall make war on you. Yeare as one lion in a forest,
or one boar, or one wolf; but all the savage beasts of the
wood shall come together against you, and shall come to-
gether to devour you.”
This place deserves special notice ; for we hence learn how
foolishly men deceive themselves when they oppose God and
perversely shake off his yoke, and suffer not themselves to
be corrected by his word ; they are lions, they are savage
birds; but the Lord can easily destroy them, for all birds
and all wild beasts are ready to obey him; and hence it fol-
lows :—
10. Many pastors have de- 10. Pastores multi perdiderunt vitem
stroyed my vineyard, they meam, calcarunt (aut, vastarunt, utrunque
have trodden my portion un- enim significat YODA, sed hic verbum qua-
der foot, they have made my dratwm, perdiderunt ergo) portionem
pleasant portion a desolate meam, dederunt portionem desiderii mei in
wilderness. desertum vastitatis.
He explains by another comparison what we have just
observed ; he calls those pastors or shepherds whom he had
before compared to wild beasts ; for by saying, “ Come ye,
all the wild beasts of the wood,” he doubtless meant the
same as those of whom he now speaks; and yet he calls
them pastors. But he touched the Jews to the quick, for
they could not bear him to discharge the office of a pastor
-
3 ae
‘ore
142 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. L.
towards them. God ought to have been the pastor of his
chosen people ; but they were wild beasts. ‘ Forsaken them
have I,” he says, “for they were wholly unworthy. What
now then? Other pastors shall come, but those of a very
different character, being fiercer and more cruel than wolves
or any savage wild beasts.” Though then the Prophet
blends various comparisons, we yet see that he handles the
same subject ; we also see why he thus changes his expres-
sions, for there is a meaning in every word he uses. It is
indeed certain that those also are called pastors who would
come as leaders or chiefs from Assyria and Chaldea; but
there is no doubt here an implied antithesis, such as I have
referred to, as though he had said, “I have hitherto been a
shepherd to you, and was willing to continue to be so per-
petually ; but as ye can no longer bear me, other shepherds
shall come, who will treat you according to their own will
and disposition.”
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not only been pleased to
offer thyself to be our Shepherd, but hast also set over us thine
only-begotten Son, that he might gather us into his own fold,
and as he sweetly invites us daily by his voice to continue col-
lected under his power and government,—O grant that we may
suffer ourselves to be governed by him, and never be like wild
and untameable beasts, but so obey his voice, that wherever he
may call us we may be ready to follow, and thus proceed through
the whole course of our life, until we shall at length reach the
goal which is set before us, and be thence led to the fruition of
that eternal inheritance and glory which thine only-begotten
Son has obtained for us by his own blood.—Amen.
Lecture Fiftieth.
We began yesterday to explain what the Prophet de-
clared—that the Jews would be laid waste by shepherds ;
and we said, that there is implied in this expression what is
ironical ; for they ought to have allowed themselves to be
governed by God, who was willing to discharge towards
them the office of a shepherd; but as they had refused to
CHAP. XII. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 143
receive such a favour, they had deserved to be given over
by God to the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who are also called
shepherds. As, however, there is mention made of vine-
yard, the Prophet alludes to the shepherds of sheep or cattle:
for when any one brings his herd or his flock to a vineyard
it is no small evil. Hence also this allusion is not unsuit-
able. However this may be, the Prophet intimates, that as
they would not bear the yoke of God, such shepherds would
come as they deserved.
He again repeats what we have before observed, that this
people had not only been God’s vineyard, O53, carem, but
also his portion or his heritage, and even a portion of desire:
for God designed that it should be often testified, that no
bounty towards the Jews had been omitted by him, in order
that their ingratitude might appear less excusable. As
then God had manifested so much love towards them as to
call them the desire of his soul and a desirable heritage,
what wickedness it was not to acknowledge such an incom-
parable kindness? It now follows—
11. They have 11. Posuit vastitatem, luxit super me (vel, ad me)
made it desolate, vastata (vel, vastatio, quidam adjective accipiunt, qui-
and being desolate dam volunt esse nomen substantivwm, sed proprié
it mourneth unto MMW secundum grammaticam est vastatio, sed ap-
me;thewholeland positive loco participii capitur, quemadmodum con-
is made desolate, tinud post subjicit,) vastata est ommis terra; quia
because no man (vel, tametsi) nemo posuit super cor (hoc est, nemo
layeth i¢ to heart. animum adjecit, gquemadmodum alibi vidimus.)
There is a change of number in the verb DY, shem ; but
there is no obscurity: for the Prophet means, that the Jews
would be exposed to the outrage of all, so that every one
would plunder and lay waste the land. He does not then
speak only of all their enemies or of the whole army; but
she also declares that every one would be their master, so as
to vex, scatter, devour, and wholly to destroy them at his
pleasure: in short, he sets forth the atrocity of their pun-
ishment,—that the whole land would not only be spoiled by
the united army, but also by every individual in it.’
1 The Septuagint and Arabic render the verb as passive in the singular
number, “ It has been set a desolation.” We may take MDW as a passive
participle, the 1 being omitted, with 7, it, affixed. Then the verse would
run thus,—
144 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. L.
He then adds that the land was in mourning before him.
The Prophet seems to me to touch here the torpor of his
own nation, because there was no one who had any regard
for God; nay, they laughed at the judgments which were
nigh at hand, and of which he had often spoken. Hence
God says, that they would at length come to him when cala-
mities oppressed them and caused them to mourn. “ As
then in peaceable times,” he says, “ they are unwilling to
come to me, but are so refractory and untameable, that I
can effect nothing by so many warnings, they shall come,”
he says, “ but in another state of mind, even in extreme
mourning.”
He afterwards adds, No one lays on the heart. What this
means we have elsewhere explained. But the particle °5,
ki, which is properly a causative, may be here rendered as
an adversative. If we take it in its first and most proper
sense, then a reason is here given why the Jews would be
brought to a most grievous mourning, even because they
had despised all the prophets, and wholly disregarded as a
fable what they had so often heard from God’s mouth: and
this is the view taken by most interpreters. But it may be
also taken as an adversative, as in many other places,—
“Though no one lays on the heart ;” and thus it will be a
complaint as to their perverse stupor, inasmuch as, when
smitten by God’s hand, they did not perceive that they were
punished for their sins, not that they were wholly insensible
as to their evils. But what avails it to cry and to howl, as
God’s Spirit speaks elsewhere, except the hand of the smiter
be perceived? The Jews then ought, had a spark of wisdom
been in them, to have considered their sins, to have prayed
for forgiveness, and to have repented, and also to have em-
11. Set it 7s an utter desolation ; -
It has mourned before me (or, to me) being utterly desolate:
Desolate has been the whole land,
Though no man lays it to heart. :
“ Utter desolation” is the meaning, for it is a reduplicate noun. Both
the Vulgate and the Targum connect “ being utterly desolate” with the
next line, though not rightly: but both, as well as the Syriac, render the
first verb, as though ,it were M10Y, « They have set it.” Venema and
Houbigant render %?¥, in the second line, a preposition, and render the
line thus,—
It has mourned on account of desolation. —£d.
OMAP. Xrr. 12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 145
braced the favour promised to them. But when they per-
versely added sins to sins, God justly expostulated with
them, because they did not attend to the signs of his wrath,
by which they ought not only to have been taught, but also
subdued. It follows—
12. The spoilers are come 12. Super omnes oras (vel, quomodo alii
upon all high places through vertunt, super omnia loca excelsa, DD,
the wilderness : for thesword wuno verbo dicere licebit, prominentias ; ac-
of the Lord shall devour cipitur etiam pro rupibus; sed loquitur de
from the one end of the inibus extremis; ergo super fines extremos)
land even to the other end in desertum venerunt perditores ; quia gla-
of the land: no flesh shall dius Jehove voravit 4 fine terre usque ad
have peace. finem terre; non est pax universe carni.
Jeremiah here proceeds farther—that no corner of the
land would be exempt from the attacks of enemies. Desert
is not put here for solitude not inhabited, but for high
places ; and as such places for the most part are fit for pas-
tures, there is no doubt but that he means here secluded
places. It is, however, sufficient for our present purpose
to consider, that the desert here is put in opposition to
the level parts of the country. When, therefore, the ene-
mies had rambled through the plains, the Prophet says, that
no recesses, however hidden, would be safe; for there also
the violence of the enemies would penetrate. And this is
what he states more clearly at the end of the verse when he
says that there would be no peace to any flesh: for he in-
timates, no doubt, that all, from the least to the greatest,
would be rendered miserable, as God’s vengeance would
reach every one without exception; and he says this, be-
cause those who sought hiding-places might have hoped to
escape, thinking that the enemy would be satisfied with a
limited victory ; but the Prophet declares, that God’s wrath
would so burn as to consume all, and to leave no part of the
land without involving in ruin the rich and the Foor the
country people and the citizens.
After having then threatened the plains, which were more
open and accessible, he now adds, that neither the moun-
tains nor the hills would escape the outrage of their ene-
mies; and at the same time he reminds them that God
would be the author of all their calamities; for had he only
spoken of the Chaldeans, the Jews would not have thought
VOL. I. K
146 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. L.
that they were given up to punishment by God on account
of their sins: it would have therefore been without any
good effect had they thought that they had a contest only
with the Chaldeans. Hence he calls their attention to God’s
judgment, and shews, that though ambition, avarice, and
cruelty instigated and influenced their enemies, they were
yet conducted by a divine power, because the Jews had for
a long time provoked against themselves the vengeance of
God. He, in short, intimates that the Chaldeans would
fight for God and do his work, as he would be the chief
commander in the war; and this he intimates lest the Jews
should think that such great calamities happened to them
by chance: hence he says, The sword of Jehovah hath de-
voured, &c. He indeed speaks of future things; but he uses
the past tense, which is commonly done by the prophets.’
It now follows—
13. They have sown wheat, but 13. Seminarunt triticum ef spinas
shall reap thorns: they have put messuerunt; heereditatem adepti
themselves to pain, but shall not sunt (vel, fatigati sunt) nee profe-
profit: and they shall be ashamed cerunt; et confusi sunt a proventi- )
of your revenues, because of the bus vestris, a furore (vel, excande-
fierce anger of the Lord. scentia, potius) iree Jehovee.
Most interpreters understand this of the prophets, that
they had been disappointed, after having faithfully culti-
vated the field of God and sown good seed, that thorns only
had sprung up, and briars only had grown: but this isa
strained exposition. The Prophet, I doubt not, sets forth
the curse of God, which the people were soon to experience.
I indeed readily admit, that when he speaks of sowing and
reaping, the expression is metaphorical; but I have no
doubt but that the Jews are said to sow in seeking aids
here and there, in strengthening themselves by confederacies,
and in devising means to repel dangers.
Hence he says, by way of concession, that they had sown
1 The versions and the Targum render the first verb in the past tense,
but the second, incorrectly, i in the future. The verse is as follows,—
ih On all heights in the wilderness have wasters come,
For the sword has for Jehovah devoured;
From one end of the land to the other end of the land
No peace has been to any flesh.
The third line reads better with the “bast. No doubt, the past, as Calvin
says, is used for the future. The same is the case in the next verse.—Ed.
CHAP. xIt. 13. GOMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 147
wheat; for they had recourse to false counsels: but he
speaks according to what they themselves thought ; for they
imagined that they were safe when they found that the
Egyptians were ready to help them; and when they pro-
cured assistance from various quarters, they considered that
they were acting wisely, and thus they flattered themselves
with a prosperous issue. The Prophet now laughs to scorn
this vain confidence: but yet in words he allows that they
were going on successfully: as a husbandman, while sowing,
expects that he will have a good harvest, so also the Jews
thought that they would have good fruit after having thus
sown. But the Prophet says that they would be disap-
pointed ; for instead of wheat briars and thorns would grow,
so that the issue would not answer their expectations. Thus
the words of the Prophet would well harmonize: but to ex-
plain the passage of the prophets would by no means be
suitable, as it will hereafter appear more clearly.
He then says that they had sown wheat (he uses ‘the
plural number) and reaped thorns. He intimates that they
hoped for a good harvest, for they sowed wheat, as they
thought ; that is, they wisely, or rather astutely, provided
for themselves, as they left undone nothing that was neces-
sary for their safety ; but they reaped, or shall reap thorns ;
for he speaks of what was future. He means that God
would frustrate their expectation ; for their sowing, from
which they promised themselves so much, would prove
fruitless.
He then adds, that they had obtained an inheritance, or had
endured grief, but were not enriched. Some render the first
clause a little more harshly, that “they were rich.” But I
readily excuse its harshness, if it suits the place: then the
meaning would be,—that they tormented themselves with
continual labours, and thus became rich; for we know that
they who are extremely anxious about anything wear out
themselves, and become in a manner their own executioners;
and this would not be unsuitable to this place. However,
a different view may be taken,—that the Prophet uses the
expression, that they had obtained an heritage, not in its
ordinary sense, as signifying, not that God gave them the
“ir
‘¥ *
148 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. L,
land of Canaan as their hereditary possession, or that they
had accumulated wealth, but that they had thus increased in
their own esteem, because they had the Egyptians as their
friends, and looked for help to the neighbouring nations,
and because they thought that they could by various stra-
tagems prevent the Chaldeans from coming nigh them,
Their heritage then was, that they were able to collect from
various quarters such assistance as would render them safe,
and repel all dangers. God then allows that they had ob-
tained an heritage; but what then, he says? All this will
not avail them, nor shall they be thereby enriched. He, in
short, intimates that they would be thus deceived by trusting
in helps so laboriously and sedulously acquired; for the
aids in which they proudly trusted would vanish away, as
well as all their counsels and designs; in a word, the vain
attempts by which they thought to secure everything for
themselves are laughed to scorn.
He adds, for the same purpose, that they were confounded
on account of their produce. They who understand this of
the prophets read thus, “they were ashamed,” that is, “of
their own labours ;” but this is wholly foreign to the subject.
He then continues in the same strain,—that the Jews were
ashamed when they found the issue contrary to what they
expected. He mentions “ produce:” the noun comes from
N12, ba, which means to come or to enter; it has also other
meanings. But the Hebrews call it produce, because it
comes every year. He says then, that they were ashamed
of their produce, because they received no fruit such as they
expected. Thus Jeremiah carries on the same metaphor:
they had sown, but thorns were found instead of wheat ;
they also: obtained for themselves an heritage, or they
wearied themselves with labour, but it was useless: they
further promised to themselves a great and rich produce,
but it came to nothing. We now then understand the mean-
ing of the words.
But we must at the same time consider what the Prophet
had in view. Doubtless he intended to shake off from the
Jews that arrogance by which they blinded themselves, as
though he had said,—“TI see that I effect but little; for the
To
CHAP. XII. 13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 149
Egyptians, who are to come to your aid, are as yet strong ; —
ye think that they are prepared to oppose the Assyrians
and Chaldeans, and ye have also ‘other confederacies, As
then ye are thus well fortified, ye consider yourselves to be
out of the reach of danger; but the Lord will make you
ashamed of this your presumption, for all your produce or
provision will come to nothing.” The produce, we know,
was the successful issue with which they flattered them-
selves, so that they thought that nothing would do them
harm, This then is the meaning of the Prophet.’
He adds, Through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah.
They could not have been otherwise awakened, except they
were made to think that God was angry with them. The
Prophet then says, though the whole world might laugh
him to scorn, that nothing would avail them, inasmuch as
God fought against them. We must at the same time notice
the change of person, They have been ashamed of your pro-
duce. Some have on this account applied the verb, 12,
beshu, ‘‘they have been ashamed,” to the prophets; but it
is an anomaly often found, and it is in this place very em-
1 The Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic, render all the verbs
in the second person plural, and in the present tense, “ Ye sow,” &c.;
but the Vulgate and Targum retain the Hebrew third person and the
past tense, except in the third line, “ Ye (not they) are ashamed,” &c.,
which seems to be the correct reading, though not found in any MS., for
it is what “ your fruits,” or produce, require.
The meaning of being ,** wearied,” or sick with labour, is given only by
the Syriae to the verb ion; all the other versions, as well as the Zar-
gum, give it the idea of “ inheriting,” or possessing as an heritage. So
Blayney renders it, “ They have possessed,’ &c. The verse then is as
ollows,— ;
13. They have sown wheats, but thorns have they reaped ;
They have got an heritage, but have not succeeded :
Yea, ashamed have you been of your produce,
Through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah.
A conversive vaw before “ succeeded” is supplied by many MSS., and by
the Vulgate and Syriac. The way in which Calvin accounts for the
change of person in the third line is ingenious; but an instance of what
he says can hardly be found in one and the same clause. All the versions
and the Zargum regard the verb as WAM}, the tau only being supplied.
Venema takes the verb to be an imperative in the second person plural,
and gives this version,—
Therefore be ye ashamed of your fruits,
By reason of the heat of the wrath of Jehovah.
But what the early versions warrant is more consistent with the context,
and gives a better meaning.— fd.
150 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. L.
phatical. Had he said, in the third person, “ They were
ashamed of their fruits,” it would have been less calculated
to rouse their minds; but having previously spoken in dis-
dain of the Jews, as he knew them to be deaf, he now, as
he proceeds, turns his discourse to them, and says that they
were ashamed; yes, he says, “ Ye were ashamed of your
fruits.” It is therefore a kind of modification; but it is
only used that the Prophet might more sharply touch their
feelings ; for they had need of this kind of speaking, as a
plain discourse would have produced no effect. It follows—
14. Thus saith the Lord against
all mine evil neighbours, that touch
the inheritance which I have caused
may pee le Israel to inherit: Behold,
I will pluck them out of their land,
and pluck out the house of Judah
from among them.
14. Sic dicit Jehova, Super omnes
vicinos meos malos qui tangunt
hereditatem meam, quam heereditare
obtinui, populum meum Israel; ecce
ego evellam ipsos é terra ipsorum,
et domum Jehudah evellam é medio
ipsorum.
The Prophet now begins to mitigate what might have
beyond measure exasperated the minds of the people; and
this he did, not so much for the sake of the people in general,
as for the sake of the elect, a few of whom still remained.
We have indeed seen that it was all over with the body of
the people ; for it had been said to Jeremiah, “ Pray not
for them, for I will not hear them,” (chap. xi. 14.) The
Prophet then knew the immutable purpose of God as to the
mass of the people. Nor did he intend here to soften what
might have appeared grievous in what he had taught. But
as we have said elsewhere, and indeed often repeated, the
_ prophets used reproofs only as to the whole community, and
then spoke as it were apart to the elect; for there ever was
a remnant among that people, inasmuch as God never suf-
fered his covenant to be made void. As then the Church
was still existing, the Prophet had regard to the hidden
seed, and therefore blended consolation with those grievous
and dreadful predictions which we have noticed.
This is the reason why he now says that God would be the
avenger of that cruelty which their neighbours had exercised
towards the Jews. For this temptation might have greatly
disturbed the minds of the godly,—“ What means this, that
God rages so violently against us, while he spares the hea-
CHAP. xir. I 4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 151
thens? Have the Moabites, or the Ammonites, or the Idu-
means, deserved nothing? Why then does God bear with
them, while he deals so severely with us?’ The Prophet
then meets this objection, and says, that punishment was
nigh those nations, and such as they deserved, and that for
the sake of the chosen people. If indeed he had only said
that the Moabites and the Idumeans, and the rest, would be
summoned before God’s tribunal, that they in their turn
might be punished, it would have given no relief to the
miserable Jews; for it would have been a very empty con-
solation to have only so many associates in their misery :
but the Prophet also adds, that God would be thus propitious
to his elect ; for it was a sign of his paternal favour, when
he inflicted punishment on all those neighbours by whom
they had been so cruelly treated.
He begins by saying, Thus saith Jehovah ; and he says,
against all my evil neighbours, &. He speaks here in the
person of God, who calls the Moabites and the Idumeans, as
well as others, his neighbours, because he had chosen the
land of Canaan as an habitation for himself; for it was, as
it appears often from the prophets, an evidence above all
other things of God’s favour, that he dwelt among that
people. He was not indeed confined either to the Temple or
to the land of Canaan; but he had taken the people under
his safeguard and protection, as though he had his hands
extended for the purpose of defending them all. We now
see why he calls the nations near to the Jews his evil neigh-
bours : for though the Jews deserved extreme evils, yet that
promise remained valid, ‘“ He who touches you, touches the
apple of my eye.” (Zech. ii. 8.)
Then he adds, who touch my heritage. Here he speaks
not ironically as before, but regards simply his own election,
as though he had said,—“‘ Whatever the Jews may be, I will
yet be consistent with myself, and my covenant shall not
fall to the ground; for my faithfulness shall surpass their
perfidy.” We must yet bear in mind what I have already
stated,—that the whole of this is to be confined to the elect,
who were few in number and were hid like twenty or a
hundred grains in a large heap of chaff. As then the Pro-
152 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH LECT, L.
phet addresses here especially the elect of God, it is no won-
der that he calls them God’s heritage, not for the sake of
upbraiding them, as he had done before, but because God
really loved them and would have them to be saved. There
is another thing to be noticed,—that God had in view the
Idumeans as-well as the Ammonites, Sidonians, and Tyrians,
who had unjustly oppressed his people. The Ammonites
and the Moabites were by kindred connected, for they both
derived their origin from Lot, the nephew of Abraham. As
to the Idumeans, they were the descendants of Esau, all of
the same family; and they knew that the Jews had been
chosen by God. Hence God here shews that he himself was
injured, when such wrongs were done to his people.
We hence see why God calls here Israel his heritage ;
which, he says, by heritage I have possessed. Here he takes
away from the neighbouring nations every handle for eva-
sion ; as though he had said,—“ Though the Jews have
sinned, yet these are not their judges; nor have they any
right to punish them for their unfaithfulness: it has been
my will to choose them for mine heritage.’ We thus see
that these words are emphatical, their import being, that
God would punish the wrongs done to his people, because
his own majesty was insulted, inasmuch as no regard was
shewn to his adoption: nor had the heathens any right to
inquire whether the Jews were worthy or not; for it had
pleased God to take them under his protection.’
He then adds, Behold, I will pluck them up from their
land, and the house of Judah will I pluck up from the midst
' of them. He mentions here two kinds of plucking up. He
says first, that he would by force expel the Idumeans and
1 No doubt the people of Israel were often called the heritage of God;
but the word heritage means here evidently the land. ‘he version of
Calvin cannot be admitted; the verb isin Hiphil and must be rendered,
“ T have caused to inherit :” and so it is rendered in all the versions and
Targum. The verse runs thus,—
14. Thus saith Jehovah.—As to all my neighbours,
Who have done evil, who have touched the heritage,
Which I have caused my people Israel to inherit,—
Behold, I will root them up from their land,
And the house of Judah will I root up from the midst of them,
There is here a promise of two removals,—that of heathens from the
Jand of Canaan,—and that of the Jews from the land of heathens.—Ld.
.
‘
CHAP. XII. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 158
drive them far into exile; for this is the meaning, when he
says, I will pluck them up, as WMI, nutash, is to draw out by
force. The word is often found in the prophets, especially
in reference to the Church, “ I have planted and will pluck
up,” (chap. xlv. 4:) We have also seen the following, “TI
have set thee to plant and to pluck up,” (chap. i. 10 ;) this
was to shew the power of prophetic truth. And he says
here, “I will pluck up,” or eradicate them, as some render
it; but as this word (eradicabo) is not Latin, let us retain
evellam—lI will pluck up; only you must understand that
what it properly means is, to draw up by the roots, and that
by force: J will pluck up, he says, the Idumeans, the Am-
monites, the Moabites, and all other neighbouring nations,
from their land, because they have violated mine heritage,
even the people chosen by me: therefore they themselves shall
be driven into remote exile and into captivity, according to
what is said elsewhere, ‘“ Remember the children of Edom,
who said in the day of Jerusalem,” &c., (Psalm exxxvii. 7 ;)
and we shall hereafter see that this was fulfilled ; for the Pro-
phet will presently speak of all these nations, in order that the
Jews might perceive that God’s judgment would extend to
all parts of the earth. But here the Prophet briefly threatens
these nations with vengeance, that he might alleviate the
sorrow of the small portion which remained. For as we have
said, the body of the people was without hope, as God had
given them up, according to what they deserved, to final
destruction.
But as God ever reserved a remnant, the Prophet says in
this place, The house of Judah will I pluck up from the midst
of them: for some had fied to the Moabites and to others,
and some had indeed been taken captives and were held in
bondage. The Jews, as we know, had been miserably plun-
dered, and some of them had been exposed to sale by these
nations. Hence God here promises that he would be at
length entreated by his people, so as to gather the remnant
from the Moabites as well as from the Idumeans and other
heathen nations. This second plucking up is therefore to
be taken in a good sense ; for the Prophet promises deliver-
ance here to God’s elect ; and yet he suitably employs the
7 ae
154 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, L,
same word, in order to set forth the cruelty of these nations,
who would have never willingly given them up, had not God
by force rescued from their tyranny the innocent Israelites—
that is, innocent with regard to them. “I will,” he says,
“draw them out by force ;” as though he had said,—“ How-
ever obstinate may be the cruelty of all these nations, by
whom my people shall be taken captive, I will yet be stronger
than they, so that I shall bring forth the captives, though
they who consider them as perpetual slaves may resist with
all their power.”
And this also have we found in our time; for how hard
was our bondage under the Papacy? and was not also its
tyranny almost unconquerable? But God put forth his
power and drew forth a few from under its cruel domination.
In the same manner he promised formerly to the remnant
of his people, that he would be so merciful to them as to
rescue them from the yoke of tyranny. It follows—
15. And it shall come to pass, af-
ter that I have plucked them out,
I will return, ad have compassion
on them, and will bring them again,
every man to his heritage, and every
man to his land.
God does not only promise
15. Et erit postquam extraxero
illos, revertur et miserebor i
et redire ipsos faciam (vel, redu-
cam) unumquenque ad _heredita-
tem suam, et unumquenque ad ter-
ram suam,
mercy here to the Jews, but
also to heathen nations, of whom he would be the Judge, to
punish them for the sake of his people. And that this pas-
sage is to be extended to aliens is evident from the context ;
for the Prophet immediately adds, “ And it shall be, that
when they shall learn the ways of my people, to swear in
my name, Live does Jehovah, as they have taught my people
to swear by Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of
my people.” We hence see that God would not only shew
mercy to the remnant of his elect people, but also to their
enemies.
If it be objected,—that thus God’s favour, manifested
towards the children of Abraham, was obscured, the answer
is,—that this availed much to confirm the hope of the faith-
ful ; for they had not only to look for their own salvation,
but also for that of their enemies, whom God would gather
together with them. Thus God rendered double his favour
3
CHAP. XII. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 155
to the Israelites. The Prophet also in this place confirms
in a striking manner the confidence of the faithful; for he
says that God would be merciful even to their enemies for
their sake, as they would be saved in common with them-
selves. We now then understand the object of the Prophet,
when he declares, that God, after having drawn out the
Gentiles from their own countries, would again be merciful
to them, so as to restore every one of them to their own inhe-
ritance and to their own place.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as at this day such a dreadful scatter-
ing terrifies us on every side, we may learn to raise up our eyes
above the world and to hope for that which is now hidden from
us, even that in executing thy judgments on the Church as well
as on aliens, thou wilt be so merciful to the whole world, as that
we may be gathered into the unity of faith: and may we labour
to devote ourselves wholly to thy service and cultivate brotherly
concord among ourselves, until we shall at length enjoy that
eternal inheritance, which has been obtained for us by the blood
of thine only-begotten Son.— Amen.
Lecture Fifty=fFivst.
WE said in our last Lecture that God here promises pardon
and salvation to alien nations, provided they repented, and
that he did this, that he might more fully confirm his pro-
mises to his elect people. We indeed know that all nations
were then excluded from the covenant of God: as, then,
he would extend his mercy even to them, the Jews might
with some confidence entertain hope, since they were already
as it were near to God, he having adopted them as his pecu-
liar people and heritage.
And this is what may be easily gathered from the context ;
for God declares that he would draw forth his own elect
from these nations; and then he adds, that he would pro-
ceed still further, that he would even receive into favour
those who had been previously his enemies. Hence he says,
156 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LI.
After 1 shall draw them out, I will return,’ and shew mercy
to them. He speaks this of aliens: And J will restore them,
he says, every one to his heritage and to his own land. It
now follows—
16. And it shall come to pass, if 16. Et accidet, Si discendo di-
they will diligently learn the ways of dicerint vias populi mei ad juran-
my people, to swear by my name, dum per nomen meum, vivit Je-
The Lord liveth; (as they taught my hova, siciti docuerunt populum
people to swear by Baal;) then shall meum jurare (ad verbum, ad ju-
they be built in the midst of my randum) per Baal, tune edifica-
people. buntur in medio populi mei.
We see that this refers to the Gentiles, who were pre-
viously aliens to the grace of God ; nay, they entertained the
most dire hatred towards his chosen people. In short, God
declares that he would be merciful and propitious to these
miserable nations, of whose salvation no hope was enter-
tained, for they had been rejected by him, and they had
often and long, and in various ways, provoked his vengeance;
and though he speaks of neighbours, as we have seen, yet
this prediction belongs generally to the whole world, and
was at length fulfilled in the call of the Gentiles ; for God
then gathered a Church indiscriminately both from the Jews
and the Gentiles.
But a condition is here laid down—lIf the Gentiles, who
had hitherto opposed the true worship of God, received his
law. We indeed know how much hated was true religion,
especially by the neighbouring nations ; for their hatred was
increased, because they saw that their superstitions were
condemned by this one people. As then they had been
greatly incensed against God and the pure doctrine of his
law, he now requires a change in them; If they will learn,
he says, the ways of my people. By the ways of his people
he understands what he had commanded. The people of
Israel had indeed often departed from true religion; but
God here refers to himself rather than to their perverse con-
duct, for the law had not been abolished by the wickedness
1 Rather, “I will turn,” i.¢., from the course he had pursued. This is
often the meaning of 2. It is rendered here adverbially by Bla
and others; though it may at times be so rendered, yet not suitab ‘he
this place. It means here a change in God’s proceedings: he had plucked
them up; but now he will deal differently with them.—Zd.
te OS Mee
CHAP. XII. 16. | COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 157
and.ingratitude of his people. We hence see that, by the
ways of his people, we are not to understand those glosses
which the Jews had devised, but the law itself, which God
had delivered to them. The authority of men, therefore,
cannot be hence established, as though they had power to
frame a religion for themselves ; but God means only that
by his good pleasure alone the Jews had been taught what
was right. In short, Jeremiah understands the ways of the
people passively, not those which the people had contrived
for themselves, but such as they had received from above.
It is then added, That they may swear in my name. The
expression is a part for the whole, for in it is included the
whole worship and service of God. Swearing, as we have
said elsewhere, is a part of God’s worship and of true re-
ligion, for we profess that we ourselves and our life are in
God’s hand when we swear by his name; and we also refer
judgment to him, and own that he is really God, inasmuch
as he knows our hearts and judges of hidden things. All
these things are included in swearing. It is therefore no
wonder that, in this place and in many other places, the
whole of religion is designated by this expression, according
to what is said elsewhere, “Swear shall they all in my
name, Live do I, saith Jehovah; to me shall bend every
knee, and by me shall every tongue swear.” (Isaiah xlv. 23.)
And as by the altar, in another place, is meant the worship
of God, so here by swearing. The meaning is,—that if the
Gentiles became so changed as to submit their neck to the
yoke of the law, and allow themselves to be ruled by God,
they would be made partakers of the mercy which the Jews
had before enjoyed.
Then follows the common form of swearing, Live does
Jehovah. So the Scripture speaks everywhere ; and by these
words men do not merely testify that they swear by the life
of God, but they also ascribe eternity to him, as though it
was said, “ God alone exists :” for no life is anywhere to be
found but in God. Men, indeed, and brute animals, and
even trees, are said to live ; but in trees there is only vigour
without the senses, in brutes the senses without reason and
understanding; but in men the life is light; yet they live
Sa
158 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LI.
not by or of themselves, but they derive life from God, ac-
cording to what we see on the earth, on which light shines ;
but we know that there is really no light where we dwell but
what descends and is conveyed to us by the rays of the sun.
In the same manner it may be said that life dwells in men,
being conveyed to them by the hidden power of God. Nor do
angels, properly speaking, live of themselves. We hence see
the meaning of the words, Live does Jehovah. The eternity
of God is hereby set forth; he is also owned as the Judge
of the world; and further, whatever he claims for himself,
men thus testify that it is justly and by right his due.
It afterwards follows, As they taught my people to swear
by Baal. The corruptions of heathens had greatly prevailed
among the chosen people; and the greater part, when they
saw that the nations prospered, had cast aside every care for
true worship and sincere religion. As then the Jews had
been so much given to the superstitions of the heathens, the
Prophet says, speaking in God’s name,—“ If the Gentiles,
who have hitherto taught my people to swear by Baal, who
have drawn them away to their own idolatries and fictitious
and false forms of worship, begin now to swear by my name,
faithfully to worship me alone, they shall be built in the
midst of my people.” The metaphor of building is very
common ; but in this place God intimates no more than that
the Gentiles would become a part of his flock, when they
cast away their superstitions, and embraced the pure worship
prescribed in the law. Nor is this to be applied to any par-
ticular place, as some have frigidly explained it, but “in
the midst of the people,” is the same as though he had
said,—“ I will count those nations my people, as a part of
my Church,” according to what is said in the Psalms,—that
though the Tyrians and Sidonians, and Egyptians, and others
who had been hostile nations, were born here and there, yet
they would boast that they were all born at Jerusalem when
God owned them as members of his own people. (Psalm
Iixxxvil. 3, 4.)' It follows—
1 'The verb sn, to learn, in this verse, has evidently two meanings, as
“earn” has in old English. In the first instance,—“ If they will learn
the ways of my people,” it means what is commonly understood by the
OHAP. xit. 17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 159
17. But if they will not 17. Quod si non audierint, tune evel-
obey, I will utterly pluck lam (copula etiam hic accipitur pro ad-
up and destroy that nation, verbio temporis) gentem illam, evellendo et
saith the Lord. f perdendo, dicit Jehova.
As he had shewn that there was a sure hope of salvation
to his own people, when the Gentiles would embrace his
mercy, so he now threatens the Gentiles with destruction
in case they repented not; for he had promised to be mer-
ciful to the Gentiles conditionally, and said,—“ If they learn
the ways of my people, if they submit to my authority :” but
now he says, If they will not hear, &c. We hence see that
God here threatens extreme vengeance to the Gentiles if
they subjected not themselves to his yoke, so as to render
obedience to him. His object, no doubt, was to terrify the
Jews as well as the nations; for as the Gentiles could not
with impunity despise God, though unknown to them, how
inexcusable would the Jews be, who had from their infancy
imbibed the true knowledge of the law, if, after the manner
of the Gentiles, they were perverse and intractable ?
We in short see that God, on one side, sweetly allured the
Jews to render a willing obedience to his law, and, on the
other, he threatened them; for as he could by no means
bear with the perverseness of the Gentiles, much less could
the Jews hope to escape punishment. This is the import of
the passage. Now follows another prophecy—
CHAPTER XIII.
1. Thus saith the Lord unto me, 1. Sie dicit Jehova mihi, Vade et
Go and get thee a linen girdle, and compara tibi cingulum lineum, et
- put it upon thy loins, and put it not pone illud super renes tuos, et in
in water. aquas ne inferas illud.
term; but, in the second instance,—“ As they have learned my people,”
it signifies to teach. Though in English the word is not now used in this
sense, yet in Welsh the word still continues to have this double meaning ;
and the same word, “dysgu,” is used in these two clauses, according to
what is done in Hebrew.
There is here a clear instance of }, following ON, being rendered “ then,”
and it cannot be rendered otherwise,—* If learning they will learn, &c.,
then shall they be built up,” &c. In the first clause there is also a strik-
ing correspondence between the Welsh and the Hebrew,—* Os gan ddysgu
y dysgant.”— Ed.
160
2. So I got a girdle, according to
the word of the Lord, and put it on
my loins.
3. And the word of the Lord
came unto me the second time,
saying,
4. Take the girdle that thou hast
got, which is upon thy loins, and
arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it
there in a hole of the rock.
5. So I went, and hid it by Eu-
phrates, as the Lord commanded
me.
6. And it came to pass after
many days, that the Lord said unto
me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and
take the girdle from thence, which
I commanded thee to hide there.
7. Then I went to Euphrates,
and digged, and took the girdle from
the place where I had hid it; and,
behold, the girdle was marred, it was
profitable for nothing.
8. Then the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying,
9. Thus saith the Lord, After
this manner will I mar the pride of
Judah, and the great pride of Jeru-
salem.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMTAH.
LECT. LI.
2. Et comparavi mihi cingulum
(paravi, ad verbum) sicuti mandaye-
rat Jehova, et posui (vel, applicavi)
illud ad renes meos.
3. Et factus est sermo Jehove ad
me secundo, dicendo,
4. Tolle cingulum quod compa-
rasti, quod est super renes tuos, et
surge, proficiscere (vel, surgens pro-
ficiscere) ad Euphratem, et ab-
sconde illic in foramine petra.
5. Et profectus sum et abscondi
in Euphrate, quemadmodum pre-
ceperat Jehova mihi.
6. Et accidit post finem (a fine
ad verbum) dierum multorum, et
dixit (hoc est, ut diceret) Jehova
mihi, Surge et proficiscere ad Eu-
phratem, et tolle illine cingulum, de
quo preecepi tibi ut absconderes illic.
7. Et profeectus sum ad Euphra-
tem, et fodi et sustuli cingulum é
loco ubi illic absconderam; et ecce
corruptum erat cingulum, non prode-
rat ad omne (hoc est, ad quiequam.)
8. Et factus est sermo Jehove
ad me, dicendo,
9. Sic dicit Jehova, In hune mo-
dum corrumpam excellentiam Je-
hudah et excellentiam Jerusalem
magnam (vel, altitudinem.)
I have said that there is here a new prophecy ; for the
Prophet is said to buy for himself a girdle or a belt, or, ac-
cording to some, a truss or breeches ; and as mention is made
of linen, this opinion may be probable ; but Vi, asur, means
not only the breeches which they then wore, but also a
girdle or belt, according to what Isaiah says, when, speaking
figuratively of Christ’s kingdom, that faithfulness would be
the girdle of his loins. (Isaiah xi. 5.) It may here, how-
ever, be taken for breeches as well as for a girdle.’ As to
lt is rendered “ regiZova—a girdle,” by the Septuagint ;—“ lumbare—
_a garment for the loins,” by the Vulgate ;—* sudarium—a napkin,” by
the Syriac ;—“ cingulum—a girdle,” by the Targum and Arabic. The
Hebrew word never means anything but a girdle or belt, as the verb sig-
nifies to surround, to bind.
Calvin makes no remark on the command, not to put it in water before
he wore it. Various has been the explanation. The view the Rabbins
give is inconsistent with the passage,—that it was to be left dirty after
wearing, that it might rot the sooner; for the Prophet is bidden, when
CHAP. x11I. 1-9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 161
the matter in hand, it makes no great difference. The
Prophet then is bidden to buy for himself a linen girdle or
a linen breeches, and he is also bidden to go to Euphrates,
and to hide the girdle in a hole. He is again bidden to go
the second time to Euphrates, and to draw the girdle from
the hole, and he found it marred. The application follows ;
for God declares that he would thus deal with the Jews;
though he had had them as a belt, he would yet cast them
away. Ashe had adorned them, so he designed them to
be an ornament to him ; for the glory of God shines forth in
his Church. The Jews then, as Isaiah says, were a crown
of glory and a royal diadem in God’s hand. (Isaiah lxii. 3.)
Hence he compares them here most fitly to a belt or a
girdle. Though then their condition was honourable, yet
God threatens that he would cast them away ; so that, being
hidden, they might contract rottenness in a cavern of the
Euphrates, that is, in Assyria and Chaldea. This is the
meaning of the prophecy.
But no doubt a vision is here .narrated, and_not a real
transaction, as some think, who regard Jeremiah as having
gone there ; but what can be imagined more absurd? He
was, we know, continually engaged in his office of a teacher
among his own people. Had he undertaken so long a jour-
ney, and that twice, it would have taken him some months.
Hence contentious must he be, who urges the words of the
Prophet, and holds that he must have gone to the Euphrates
and hidden there his girdle. We know that this form of
speaking is common and often used by the prophets: they
narrate visions as facts.
We must also observe, that God might have spoken plainly.
and without any similitude; but as they were not only ignor-
eommanded to wear it, not to wash it. Grotius and others think that he
was to wear it as made, in its rough state, in order to shew the rude condi-
tion of the Jews when God adopted them. Venema is of the opinion that
it was to shew that it was newly made, and had not been worn by another,
nor polluted. Gataker says that the purpose was to shew that nothing
was to be done by the Prophet to cause the girdle to rot, as wet might
have done so, in order to prove that the rottenness proceeded only from
the Jews themselves. Lowth regards it as intended to teach the Jews
their corrupt state by nature, so that it was through favour or grace onl
that God adopted them; and he refers to Ezekiel xvi. 4. The last, which
is nearly the same with the view of Grotius, seems the most suitable.—Ed.
VOL. II. L
:
162 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. Lf.
ant, but also stupid, it was found necessary to reprove their
torpidity by an external symbol. This was the reason why
God confirmed the doctrine of his Prophet by an external
representation. Had God said, “ Ye have been to me hitherto
as a belt, ye were my ornament and my glory, not indeed
through your merit or worthiness, but because I have united
you to myself, that ye might be a holy people and a priestly
kingdom ; but now I am constrained to cast you away: and
as a person throws from him and casts a girdle into some
hole, so that after a long time he finds it rotten, so it will
be with you, after having been hidden a long time beyond
Euphrates; ye shall there contract rottenness, which will
mar you altogether, so that your appearance will be very
different, when a remnant of you shall come from thence :”
This indeed might have been sufficient ; but in that state of
security and dulness in which we know the Jews were, such
a simple statement would not have so effectually penetrated
into their hearts, as when this symbol was presented to them.
The Prophet, therefore, says, that he was girded with a belt, |
that the belt was hid in a hole near Euphrates, and that
there it became marred; and then he adds, so shall it be
done to you. This statement, as I have said, more sharply
touched the Jews, so that they saw that the judgment of
God was at hand.
With regard to the similitude of girdle or breeches, we know
how proudly the Jews gloried in the thought that God was
bound to them ; and he would have really been so, had they
been in return faithful to him: but as they had become so
disobedient and ungrateful, how could God be bound to
them? He had indeed chosen them to be a people to himself,
but this condition was added, that they were to be as a chaste
wife, as he had become, according to what we have seen, a
husband to them. But they had prostituted themselves and
had become shamefully polluted with idols. As then they
had perfidiously departed from their marriage engagement,
was not God freed from his obligations? according to what
is said by Isaiah, “There is no need to give you a bill of
divorcement, for your mother is an adulteress.” (Isaiah 1. 1.)
The Prophet then, in this place, meant in a few words to shake
CHAP, XIII. 1-9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 163.
off from the Jews those vain boastings in which they in-
dulged, when they said that they were God’s people-and the
holy seed of Abraham. “ True,” he says, “and I will con-
cede more to you, that you were to God even as a belt, by
which men usually adorn themselves ; but God adopted you,
that you might serve him chastely and faithfully ; but now,
as ye have made void his covenant, he will cast away this
belt, which is a disgrace to him and not an ornament, and
will throw it into a cavern where it will rot.” Such is the
view we are to take of this belt, as we shall hereafter see
more clearly.
The Prophet, by saying that he went to the Euphrates,
confirms what he had narrated: he did not indeed mean
that he actually went there, but his object was to give the
Jews a vivid representation. It is then what Rhetorians
eall a scene presented to the view; though the place is not
changed, yet the thing is set before the eyes by a lively de-
scription. Thus the Prophet, as the Jews were deaf, exhi-
bited to their view what they would not hear. This is the
reason why he says that he went. For the same purpose is
what follows, that at the end of many days God had bidden
him to take out the girdle. Here also is signified the length
of the exile. As to the hole in a rock, what is meant is dis-
erace; for without honour and esteem the Jews lived in
banishment, in the same manner as though they were cast
into a cavern. Hence by the hole is signified their ignoble
and base condition, that they were like persons removed
from the sight of all men and from the common light of
* Many agree with Calvin that this was a vision and not an actual
transaction, such as Giataker, Lowth, Blayney, Adam Clarke, &c. Henry
hesitates, but Scott seems to be strongly in favour of a real transaction.
Bochart and Venema hold also the latter opinion, only they think that
15 here does not mean “ Euphrates,” but Ephrata, that is, Bethlehem,
in Judea; but this cannot be maintained. Lowth refers to an instance
where a vision is related as a fact, without any mention being made that
it was a vision, that is, Gen xv. 5: God brought Abraham forth and
shewed to him the stars; and yet it appears from verse 12 that the sun
was not set. Blayney remarks, that “the same supposition of a vision
must be admitted in other cases, particularly chap. xxv. 15-29.” Gataker
refers to similar instances in Ezekiel viii. 3; xi. 24. It was most probably
a vision; and the Prophet related to the people what God had in a super-
natural way exhibited to him.—Zd.
164 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LI.
day. By the end of many days, is meant, as I have said,
the length of their exile, for in a short time they would not
have become putrified, and except indeed this had been dis-
tinctly expressed, they would have never been convinced of
the grievousness of the calamity which was nigh them.
Hence he says that the days would be many, so that they
might contract putridity while hidden in the hole.
As to the application of the Prophecy, the Prophet then
distinctly describes it ; but he sets forth with sufficient clear-
ness the main point, when he says, Thus will I mar the state-
liness (altitudinem, the altitude or height) of Judah and the
great stateliness of Jerusalem. Other interpreters unani-
mously render the word, pride; but as }\N1, gawn, may be
taken in two senses, it means here, I have no doubt, excel-
lency, and this will appear more fully from what follows.’
The word then signifies here that dignity with which God
had favoured the seed of Abraham, when he intended them
to be an ornament to himself. So it is said in Exod. xv. 7,
“In thy greatness thou wilt destroy the nations.” And in
Isaiah he says, “ I will make thee the excellency of ages.”
(Isaiah lx. 15.) There no doubt it is to be taken in a good
sense. And these things harmonize together,—that God
had prepared the Jews for himself as a belt, and then that
he cast them from him into a cavern, where they would be
for a time without any light and without any glory.
The import of this clause then is, “ Though the dignity
of Judah and Jerusalem has been great, (for the people whom
God had adopted were renowned according to what is said
in Deut. iv.,) though then the stateliness of Judah and Jeru-
salem has been great, yet I will mar it.” We see how the
Prophet takes from the Jews that false confidence by which
they deceived themselves. They might indeed have gloried
in God, had they acted truly and from the heart: but when
they arrogated all things to themselves, and deprived God
of his authority, whose subjects they were, how great was
their vanity and folly, and how ridiculous always to profess
? It is strangely rendered “ reproach—iégw,” by the Septuagint, but
“ pride” by the Vulgate,—“ the Neaetia ones,” by the Be inso-
lence” by the Arabic, and “strength” by the Targum. layney agrees
with Calvin and renders it “ excellency,” and Horsley, “ glory.” —Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 165
his sacred name, and to say, We are God’s people? for he
was no God to them, as they esteemed him as nothing ; nay,
they disdainfully and reproachfully rejected his yoke. We
hence see that the word }IN3, gaun, is to be taken here in a
good sense. The Prophet at the same time reproachfully
taunts them, that they abused the name of God and falsely
pretended to be his people and heritage. The rest we can-
not finish ; we shall go on with the subject to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as so many of the people who have been
gathered by thee, that they might be the body of thine only-
begotten Son, have fallen away, and have by their ingratitude
alienated themselves from the hope of eternal salvation,—O
grant, that they may again at this day be united together, and
hold with us the true unity of faith, so that with one heart and
one mouth we may profess thee as our God and Father, and-so
learn to swear by thy name, that we may acknowledge thee as
our Judge, and ascribe to thee all power over us, until we shall
at length enjoy that eternal inheritance, into the hope of which
thou hast called us and daily invitest us, through Christ Jesus
our Lord.—Amen.
Lecture Fifty-Second.
10. This evil people, which 10. Populus hie malus! renuentes au-
refuse to hear my words, which dire verba mea, ambulantes in pravitate
walk in the imagination of their cordis sui; et ambulant post deos alienos
heart, and walk after other gods, utserviant ipsis et adorent ipsos; eterunt
to serve them, and to worship (collectivum nomen populi est singulare)
them, shall even be as this girdle, tanquambaltheus hic, quiad nihilum pro-
which is good for nothing. dest (qui ad quicquam non est utilis.)
Tue Prophet said, according to what we observed yester-
day, that the people would be like the belt which he had
1 These words are in the Septuagint and the Vulgate put in apposition
with the last words of the preceding verse; but in the Syriac and Targum
they form the nominative case to the verb “shall be,” as in our version,
near the end of the verse, the } before it being omitted; but the simpler
mode of construction is to consider the substantive verb, is, to be under-
stood in the first clause; then the whole verse would run thus,—
This is a wicked people,
Who refuse to hear my words,
Who walk in the resolutions of their own heart,
And walk after foreign gods,
i
166 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. Lil,
hidden in a hole and found putrified: but now the cause is
expressed why God had resolved to treat them with so much
severity. He then says that he would be an avenger, be-
cause the Jews had refused to obey his voice, and preferred
their own inventions in walking after the hardness, or the
wickedness of their own heart. We hence see that the cause
of this calamity was, that the people had rejected the teach-
ing of the prophets. This indeed was far more grievous than
if they had fallen away through mistake or ignorance, as we
often see that men go miserably astray when the teaching
of the truth is taken away. But when God shews the way,
and prescribes what is right, when by his servants he ex-
horts his people, it is an inexcusable hardness if men repu-
diate such a kindness. But as this subject has been else-
where largely treated, I shall only touch on it now briefly.
We see then that God threatens his people with extreme
calamity, because they would not bear to be taught by his
prophets. Then he adds, that they had walked after the
wickedness of their own heart, and had walked after foreign
gods. He in the first place complains that they had been
so refractory as to prefer to obey their own impious inclina-
tions than to be ruled by good and salutary counsels. But
it was necessary to specify their crime; for had the Prophet
only spoken of their hardness, they might have had their
objections ready at hand; but when he said that they had
walked after foreign gods, there was no longer any room for
evasion. The word to walk has a reference to a way. This
metaphor has indeed a relation to something else; for men
are not wont to take a course without going somewhere: we
must therefore have some end in view when we walk along
any way. Now, there is to be understood here a contrast,
that the people despised the way pointed out to them by
God, and that they had preferred to follow their own errors.
God was ready to guide the Jews by his own law; but they
To serve them and to bow down to them;
And they shall be as this girdle,
Which will not be good for anything.
On “ the resolutions,” see vol. i. p. 187. “For anything,” the $5 here
evidently means “ anything,” as it means in some other places “ any,” or
any one.—Ed.
CHAP, x11t. 11. 167
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
chose rather, as I have said, to abandon themselves to their
own errors, as it were designedly.
He says, that they had walked after alien gods, that they
might serve them and prostrate themselves before them ; for
such is the meaning of the last verb, The Prophet no doubt
repeats the same thing, for to serve is not only to obey, but
also to worship. And hence is refuted that folly of the
Papists, who imagine that worship (duliam) is not incon-
sistent with true religion ; for they say that service (latriam)
is due only to God, but that worship may be given to angels,
to statues, or to dead men, as though God, forsooth! in con-
demning superstitions, did not use the word AY, obed, to
serve. It hence follows that it is extremely ridiculous to
devise two sorts of worship, one peculiar to God, and another
common to angels as well as to men and dead idols. We
now understand the import of this verse: the Prophet draws
this conclusion, that the Jews would become like a useless
or a putrified belt. It afterwards follows—
11. For as the girdle cleaveth to
the loins of a man, so have I caused
to cleave unto me the whole house
of Israel, and the whole house of
Judah, saith the Lord; that they
might be unto me for a people, and
for a name, and for a praise, and
fora glory: but they would not hear.
11. Quia sicut adhzeret (vel, con-
junctus est) baltheus renibus viri,
sie conjunxeram (vel, conjunxi)
mihi totam domum Israel, et totam
domum Jehudah, dicit Jehova, ut
esset mihi in populum et in nomen
et in laudem et in decus; et non
audierunt.
He confirms what we noticed yesterday,—that the Jews
entertained a foolish confidence, and promised themselves
perpetual happiness, because God had chosen them as his
people. This indeed would have been a perpetual glory to
them, had they not violated their pledged faith; but their
defection rendered void God’s covenant as far as they were
concerned: for though God never suffered his faithfulness
to fail, however false and perfidious they were, yet the adop-
tion from which they had departed availed them nothing.
But as they thought it an unalienable defence, the Prophet
again repeats that they had been indeed adorned with sin-
gular gifts, but that, as they had not remained faithful, they
would be deprived of them.
He indeed says, by way of concession, As a belt cleaves to
the loins of man, so also have I joined to myself the house of
~y (hi a
ee:
168 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LIE.
Israel; for given to them is what they claimed. But at
the same time, he reminds them that they only swelled with
wind ; for the less tolerable was their impiety, because they
were so ungrateful to God. What, indeed, could have been
more base or less excusable, than when those whom God
had favoured with so much honour rejected his bounty ?
Jeremiah then concedes to them what they proudly boasted
of; but he retorts it on their own heads, and shews how |
they deserved a heavier judgment, as they had despised so |
many of God’s blessings.
We said yesterday that the people is elsewhere compared
to a crown and a diadem, as though God had declared that |
nothing was more precious to him than the children of
Abraham. But the same thing is now expressed in other
words,—that he had prepared them for himself as a girdle,
that they might be his people. This was indeed a great dig-
nity ; but what follows exceeds it,—that they might be to
me a name, that is, that I might be celebrated by them ; for
it was his will to be called the God of Israel. What iileonape
there is between God and men! And yet, as though de-
scending from his celestial glory, he united to himself the
seed of Abraham, that he might also bind them to himself.
The election of God was therefore like a bond of mutual
union, so that he might not be separated from his people.
Hence he says that they had been thus joined to him, that
they might be for a name, and also for a praise and glory.’
Though these words are nearly of the same meaning, yet no
doubt they are put together for the sake of amplification.
God, therefore, intended to exaggerate more fully the sin of
the people, by saying that he had done so much for them,
in order that he might be celebrated by them, and that his
praise and his glory might dwell among them.
He at last adds, They have not heard. Had God only com-
manded what he might have justly required, not to obey
his authority would have been an inexcusable wickedness in
3 « Name” means here renown; “ praise,” celebrity or commendation ;
and “ glory,” ornament, decoration, or beauty. The three words are
found together, though not in exactly the same order, i in Deut. xxvi. 19.
There the order is, praise, name, and honour, which is rendered one
“glory.” See Isaiah xliii. 21 ; lxi. 11; Ixiii. 12.—£d.
OHAP. XIII. 12-14, COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 169
the people; but as he had so freely offered himself and all
other things to them, what a base and detestable ingratitude
it was in them to reject blessings so many and so valuable ?
We hence see that the mouths of the Jews are here com-
pletely closed, so that they could not expostulate with God,
and complain that he was too rigid, for they had in an ex-
treme degree provoked his wrath, having not only rejected
his yoke, but also refused his offered favours.
12. Therefore thou shalt speak
unto them this word, Thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, Every bottle
shall be filled with wine; and they
shall say unto thee, Do we not cer-
tainly know that every bottle shall
be filled with wine?
13. Then shalt thou say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I will fill all the inhabitants of this
land, even the kings that sit upon
Davyid’s throne, and the priests, and
the prophets, and all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
14. And I will dash them one
against another, even the fathers and
the sons together, saith the Lord:
I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
mercy, but destroy them.
It follows—
12. Dices etiam illis (hoc est, an-
nuntiabis) hune sermonem, Sic dicit
Jehova, Deus Israel, Omnis lagena
(alii vertwnt, utrem, sed hoe loco
parum interest, omnis ergo lagena)
implebitur vino: et dicent tibi, An
non sciendo scimus (hoc est, An nes-
ciendo non scimus) qudd omnis la-
gena implebitur vino ?
13. Tune dices illis, Sic dicit Je-
hova, Ecce ego implens (vel, impleo)
omnes habitatores terre hujus, et
omnes reges qui sedent pro Davide
super solium ejus, et sacerdotes et
prophetas, et omnes incolas Jeroso-
lyme: ebrietate.
14. Et collidam eos (alii vertunt,
dispergam ; proprié. significat vio-
lenter disjicere; hic apté reddetur
collidere ; collidam ergo) quenque
ad fratrem suum et patres et filios
simul, dicit Jehova; non parcam et
non ero propitius, (idem significant,
sunt synonyma,) et non miserabor a
perdendo (hoc est, quinperdam) ipsos.
The Prophet denounces here by another similitude the
vengeance of God, for he says that all would be filled with
drunkenness : but he is bidden at first simply to set before
them the metaphor, Every bottle,, or flagon, he says, shall
be filled with wine. The word $33, nubel, means a blad-
der; but the word bottle is more suitable here.’ Bladders
were wont in those countries to be filled with water and
with wine, as the custom is still in the east ; as we see at
this day that oil is put in bladders and thus carried, so
1 It is not true that the word ever means a bladder, though so rendered
by the Septuagint and the Targum. The Vulgate has “laguncula—a
little flagon,” and Syriac “dolium,—a tub.” It means a jug or jar.
Blayney has “ vessel.” —Ed.
rae Bes.
« a
H
170 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LIT.
bladders are commonly used there to carry water and wine ;
but as it is added, J will dash them against one another, it
is better to use the word bottles, or flagons.
This general statement might have appeared to be of no
weight; for what instruction does this contain, “Every
bottle shall be filled with wine?’ It is like what one might
say,—that a tankard is made to carry wine, and that bowls
are made for drinking: this is well known, even to children.
And then it might have been said that this was unworthy
of a prophet. “Eh! what dost thou say? Thou sayest that
bottles are the receptacles of wine, even as a hat is made
to cover the head, or clothes to keep off the cold ; but thou
seemest to mock us with childish trifles.” We also find that
the Prophet’s address was thus objected to, for they con-
temptuously and proudly answered, “What! do we not
know that bottles are prepared for the purpose of preserving
wine? But what dost thou mean? Thou boastest of the in-
spiration of the Holy Spirit: how strange is this? Thou art
like an angel come down from heaven ; thou pretendest the
name of God, and professest to have the authority of a pro-
phet ; now, what does this mean, that bottles are filled with
wine?” But it was God’s particular object thus to rouse
the people, who were asleep in their delusions, and who
were also by no means attentive to spiritual instruction. It
was then his purpose to shew, by the most trifling, and as
it were by frivolous things, that they were not possessed of
so much clear-sightedness as to perceive even that which
was most evident. They indeed all knew that bottles were
made for wine; but they did not understand that they were
the bottles, or were like bottles. We have indeed said that
they were inflated with so much arrogance that they seemed
like hard rocks ; and hence was their contempt of all threat-
enings, because they did not consider what they were. The
Prophet then says that they were like bottles; though God
had indeed chosen them for an excellent use, yet, forgetful
of their frailty, they had marred their own excelleney, so
that they were no longer of any use, except that God would
inebriate them with giddiness and also with calamities.
We hence see why God had commanded a general truth
——
CHAP, X11I.12-14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 171
to be here announced which was received with indifference
and contempt ; it was, that an opportunity might be given
to the Prophet to touch to the quick those stupid men to
whom their own state was wholly unknown. It had been
said that they were like mountains, because they had as
their foundation the free election of God ; but as they had
in them no firmness and no constancy of faith, but had de-
cayed, their glory had as it were melted away; and though
they still retained an outward appearance, yet they were
like brittle vessels ; and so their fragility is here better ex-
pressed by the Prophet than if, in a plain sentence, he had
said, “As a bottle is filled with wine, so will the Lord
fill you with drunkenness.” Had he thus spoken, there
would not have been so much force in the prediction ; but
when they answered with disdain, “This is known even to
children,” they were then told what more sensibly touched
them,—that they were like bottles.*
It may now be asked, What was this drunkenness which
the Prophet announces? It may be understood in two
ways,—either that God would give them up to a reprobate
mind,—or that he would make them drunk with evils and
calamities ; for when God deprives men of a right mind, it
is to prepare them for extreme vengeance. But the Prophet
seems to have something further in view,—that this people
would be given up to the most grievous evils, which would -
wholly fill them with amazement. Yet it appears from the
context that the former evil is intended here; for he says,
I will dash them one against another, every one against his
_ brother, even the fathers and sons together ; and thus they
were all to be broken as it were in pieces. God then not
only points out the calamity which was nigh the Jews, but
also the manner of it; that is, that every one would draw
his own brethren to ruin, as though they inflicted wounds
on one another. But God says first generally, J will fill all
1 With regard to this comparison, Gataker says, “ A type taken from
what they much loved, liked, and looked after; for they loved and looked
after the flagons of wine, Hosea iii. 1; and those prophets best pleased
them who prophesied of wine and strong drink, Micah ii. 11. God there-
fore sendeth his prophet to them with a prophecy of wine, but of other
wine than they expected,”
172 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LII.
the inhabitants of the land with drunkenness, and then he
explains the effect such as I have stated.
But he afterwards speaks of the whole people, including
the kings, priests, and prophets, so that he excepts no order
of men, however honourable; and this express mention of
different orders was altogether necessary, for kings thought
that they ought not to have been blended with the common
people. The priests also regarded themselves as sacred,
and a similar pride possessed the false prophets. But
Jeremiah includes them all, without exception, in the same
bundle, as though he had said,—“ The majesty of kings
shall not deliver them from God’s judgment, nor shall the
priests be safe on account of their dignity, nor shall it ayail
the false prophets to boast of that noble and illustrious office
which they discharge.” This prediction was no doubt re-
garded as very unjust; for we know with what high com-
mendations God had spoken of the kingdom of David. As
to the priesthood, we also know that it was a type of the
priesthood of Christ, and also that the whole tribe of. Levi
was counted sacred to God. It could not therefore be but
that Jeremiah must have greatly exasperated the minds of
all by thus threatening kings as well as priests.
But we hence gather,—that there is nothing so high and so
illustrious on earth, which ought not to be made to submit,
- when the power and glory of God, and the authority of celes-
tial truth, are to be vindicated. Whatever then is precious
and excellent in the world must come to nothing, if it dero-
gates even in the least degree from the glory of God or from
the authority of his truth: and yet kings and priests dared
to oppose the word of God. No wonder then, that the Pro- —
phet should thrust them down from their elevations and
compare them to bottles: he thus treads under foot that
frail glory by which they sought to obscure God himself.
And as the name of David was, as it were, sacred among that
people, in order to shake off this vain confidence, the Pro-
phet says,—“ Though kings sit on the throne of David and
be his successors and posterity, yet God will not spare them.”
1 The clause, literally rendered, would convey this meaning,—
And the kings who sit for David on his throne.
CHAP. x1tI. 12-14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 173
And hence also it appears how foolishly the Papal clergy at
this day bring forward against us their privileges and their
dignity. Doubtless, whatever these unprincipled men may
claim for themselves, they cannot yet make themselves equal
to the Levitical priests: and yet we see that it availed them
nothing, that God had set them apart for himself, because
they had abused their power. There is, therefore, no reason
for the Pope and his clergy, the very filth of the world, to
be at this day so proud. We now perceive the design of the
words, when mention is made of kings, priests, and prophets.
It must, however, be observed, that he does not speak
here of faithful prophets, but of those who wore the mask,
while yet they brought nothing but chaff instead of wheat,
as we shall hereafter see. He then uses the word prophets
in an improper sense, for he applies it to false teachers: as
we do at this day, when we speak of those savages who boast
that they are bishops and prelates and governors : we indeed
concede to them these titles, but it does not follow that they
justly deserve to be counted bishops, though they are so
called. In the same way then does Jeremiah speak here of
those who were called prophets, who yet were wholly unwor-
thy of the office.
He then speaks of the collision to which we have referred,
—I will cause them to tear or break one another in pieces.
Some render the word “ scatter ;” but scattering does by no
means comport with the words, every one against his brother,
&e.' We hencesee that the meaning is much more suitable
“For David,” that is, as his representatives. “In David’s stead,” is the
rendering of Gataker and Blayney. The word “even” before “ the kings”
_in our version, is improper; for what follows is not a specification of what
is gone before, as “the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” at the end of the verse,
is in contrast with “all the inhabitants of this land,” that is, the people
of the country.— Ed.
1 The word seems to mean shattering or breaking in pieces, and in a
secondary sense, scattering, as the effect. The early versions give the
latter meaning, scattering, but, as Calvin says, inconsistently with the rest
of the clause. The Targum gives in effect the first sense, “I will cause
them to rush, each on his brother.” The word “dash” is the most suit-
able, or dash to pieces,—
And I will dash them to pieces, each against his brother,
Both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah.
The allusion is to the bottles: they would be broken like brittle vessels, when
thrown one against another.—Ed.
174 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. Lit,
when we render the words, I will dash them, every one
against his brother, and then, even the fathers and the sons
together ; so that they might tear one another by a mutual
conflict. And hence, as I have said, Jeremiah not only fore-
tells the destruction of the people, but also points out the
manner of it; for they would become so void of common
prudence, that they would wilfully destroy one another, as
though they were given up to mutual slaughter. They glo-
ried, we know, in their number, but the Prophet shews that
this would be no protection to them, but, on the contrary,
the cause of their ruin ; for the Lord would so blind them,
that they would fight with one another, and thus perish
without any foreign enemy.
He then adds, J will not spare, I will not spare,’ I will
not have mercy. He repeats three times that he would not
be propitious to them. It would have been sufficient to de-
clare this once, were they so teachable and attentive as
really to consider the threatenings announced to them ; but
being so torpid as they were, it was necessary to repeat the
same thing often ; not as though there was anything ambi-
guous or obscure in the message itself, but because hardly
any vehemence was sufficient to rouse hearts so obstinate.
We hence see why the Prophet repeated the same thing so
often. He, however, does not employ words uselessly:
whenever God repeats the promises of his favour, he does
not utter words heedlessly and without reason ; but since he
sees that there is in us so much dulness, that one promise is
not sufficient, he confirms it by repetitions ; so also when he
sees that men, owing to their stupidity, cannot be moved nor
terrified by his threatenings, he repeats them, that they may
have more weight. He in short declares, that it was all
1 The verbs are different, and so Calvin renders them in the text; but
not here. There is no unanimity in the versions as to these verbs and the
one which follows. The first means to be tender so as to relent; the se-
cond, to spare so as not to inflict punishment, to connive; and the third,
to feel pity or compassion. They may be rendered thus,—
I will not relent, nor will I spare ;
Nor will I pity, so as not to destroy them.
The two lines announce the same thing, only the last is stronger and
more specific. Pitying or commiserating is stronger than relenting, and
not destroying describes the act, while sparing is a general term.—Zd.
OHAP. x1tr. 15,16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 175
over with that people, so that he does not now call the
wicked and the rebellious to repentance, but speaks to them
as to men past remedy. This is the meaning.
And he adds, Until I shall consume them.’ This: refers to
the whole body of the people. God, in the meantime, still
preserved, in a wonderful manner and by hidden means, a
remnant, as it has appeared elsewhere: but yet God took
that vengeance, which is here denounced on the people as
a body; for it was as it were a general death, when they
were all driven into exile and everywhere scattered. Now
as the Lord in so great a ruin never forgot his covenant, but
some seed still remained safe and secure; so what is said
here, I will not have mercy until I shall consume them, is not
inconsistent with the promise of mercy elsewhere given,
when he declares that he is long-suffering and plenteous in
merey. (Num. xiv. 18; Psalm ciii. 8.) Though God then
destroyed his people in so dreadful a manner, yet he did not
divest himself of his own nature, nor cast away his mercy ;
but he executed his judgments on the reprobate in a way so
wonderful, that he yet lost nothing of his eternal mercy
and remained still faithful as to his election. It follows—
15. Hear ye, and give ear; be not
proud : for the Lord hath spoken.
16. Give glory to the Lord your
God, before he cause darkness, and
before your feet stumble upon the
dark mountains, and, while ye look
for light, he turn it into the shadow
of death, and make it gross darkness.
15. Audite et auscultate; ne ele-
vemini, quia Jehova loquutus est.
16. Date Jehove Deo vestro glo-
riam priusquam obtenebrescere fa-
ciat, et priusquam offendant pedes
vestri ad montes tenebrarum, spere-
tisque lucem, et ponat in umbram
mortis et in caliginem.
The Prophet shews here more fully what we have stated,
—that so refractory was the temper of those with whom he
had to do, that it was necessary to use various means to
subdue them. And it was not in vain that he added this
-
* The sentence literally is, « From consuming,” or destroying, “ them.”
The preposition 19, mem, here has the force of a negative. It is a sort of
an elliptic phrase, which, though understood in the original, yet requires
a supplement in a translation,— “I will not pity, so as to abstain from
consuming them.” But a literal rendering in Welsh would be under-
stood,—
Ac ni resynav rhag eu difetha.
The preposition “rhag,” which ordinarily means from, signifies here from
not, which is exactly the Hebrew.—Ed.
4 ae
- . vas
176 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIT.
exhortation, which manifests indignation ; nor was it with-
out displeasure that he required a hearing, Hear ye, and give —
ear ; be not lifted up, for the Lord is he who speaks. Then
we may hence gather, either that Jeremiah was derided, or
that his words were disregarded by the Jews; for this is in-
timated by the words, For Jehovah has spoken ;* for were
they of themselves persuaded, that he announced what God
had commanded him, these words would have been used to
no purpose. But we shall elsewhere see, that he was deemed
an impostor, and that he was assailed by many reproofs and
curses.
He therefore defends here his calling from their calumnies
and reproaches, when he says, that God had spoken ; for by
these words he affirms that he brought nothing of his
own, but spoke as it were from the mouth of God, or,
which is the same thing, that he was the instrument of the
Holy Spirit ; and he said this, in order that they might
know that they in vain contended with him, as the con-
test was between them and God. And on this account
he says, Hear ye, and give ear; for he saw that they were
deaf and torpid, and had need of many stimulants. He at
the same time points out the cause and the source of evil by
saying, Be ye not lifted up.” The cause then of their contu-
macy was pride, for they dared to quarrel with God. So also
the main principle of obedience is humility, that is, when
men acknowledge that they are nothing and ascribe to God
what is due to him.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are by nature frail vessels, and
our frailty is such that we of ourselves melt away, and when we
become stronger we cannot stand by our own power,—O grant,
that being supported by thy power, we may indeed rejoice in the
perpetuity of our salvation, not indeed relying on any earthly
1 This may be rendered more consistently with the context, “ For Jeho-
vah speaks,” or is speaking: for the reference evidently is to what was now
addressed to them.—Ed.
* So all the versions and the Targum. Gataker renders it, “ Be ye not
haughty,” which is no doubt the meaning. The verb means to be high,
lofty, or elevated, and so to be elevated as to be haughty, proud. See Isaiah
iii. 16. Men, creatures of the dust, too high and elevated to hear what
God said to them! This is the case still. What a monstrous thing!—Zd.
CHAP. xi1r. 16.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
177
protection, but because thou hast been pleased to choose us as
thy people: and may we at the same time so pursue the course
of our life, that we may not by our perfidy exclude thy grace
from us, but give place to thee, that we may be more and more
enriched by those gifts which pertain to the hope of a future
life, until we shall at length come to that full and perfect happi-
ness, in thy celestial kingdom, which is laid up for us by Christ
our Lord.—Amen,
Lecture Fifty-ThHhitd.
16. Give glory to the Lord your
God, before he cause darkness, and
before your feet stumble upon the
dark mountains, and, while ye look
for light, he turn it into the shadow
of death, and make it gross dark-
ness.
16. Date Jehove Deo vestro glo-
riam priusquam obtenebrescere fa-
ciat (tenebras imumitiat,) et prius-
quam offendant pedes vestri ad
montes tenebrarum, et speretis lu-
cem, et ponat in umbram mortis,
ponat in caliginem.
JEREMIAH pursues the subject, which we began to explain
yesterday, for he saw that the Jews were but little moved
by what he taught them. He bid them to regard what he
said as coming from God, and told them that they could by
no means succeed by their pride. For the same purpose he
now adds, Give glory to Jehovah your God. To give glory
to God is elsewhere taken for confessing the truth in his
name; for when Joshua abjured Achan, he used these words,
“ Give glory to God, my son ;” that is, As I have set God be-
fore you as a judge, beware lest you should think that if you
lie you can escape his judgment. (Josh. vii. 19.) But here,
to give glory to God, is the same as to ascribe to him what
properly belongs to him, or to acknowledge his power so as
to be submissive to his word: for if we deny faith to the
prophets, we rob God of his glory, as we thus disown his
power, and, as far as we can, diminish his glory. How in-
deed can we ascribe glory to God except by acknowledging
him to be the fountain of all wisdom, justice,,and power,
and especially by tremlL ling at his sacred word? Whosoever
then does not fear and 1everence God, whosoever does not
believe his word, he robs him of his glory. We hence see that
all the unbelieving, though they may testify the contrary
by their mouths, are yet in reality enemies to God’s glory
and deprive him of it.
VOL. II. M
178 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LIIT.
This subject ought to be carefully noticed ; for all ought
to dread such a sacrilege as this, and yet there is no one
who takes sufficient heed in this respect. We then see what
instruction this expression conveys; it is as though he had
said, that the Jews had hitherto acted contemptuously to-
wards God, for they trembled not before him, as they had
no faith in his word: and that it was now time for him to
set God before them as their Judge, and also for them to
know that they ought to have believed whatever God de-
clared to them by his servants.
He says, Before he introduces darkness. Others render it
by a single word, “ Before it grows dark,” but as the verb
is in Hiphil, it ought to be taken in a causative sense. Some
consider the word sun to be understood, but without reason;
for the sun is not said to send darkness by its setting. But
the Prophet removes all ambiguity by the words which imme-
diately follow in the second clause, And turn light to theshadow
of death, and turn it to thick darkness. In these words the
Prophet no doubt refers to God, so that the word God, used
at the beginning of the verse, is to be understood here!
Before God, he then says, sends darkness, and before your
Feet stumble on the mountains of obscurity. The word FW),
neshiph, means the evening and the twilight; it means also
the obscure light before the rising of the sun; but it is often
taken for the whole night. We can render the words, “ the
mountains of density.” But the word, no doubt, means here
obscurity. Some think that mountains are to be here taken
metaphorically for Egypt ; for the Jews were wont to flee
there in their troubles. But there are safer recesses on
mountains than on the plains; yet I know not whether this
sense will be very suitable here. On the contrary, I prefer
to regard the words as preceded by 2, caph, a particle of
likeness, which is often understood, and the meaning would
be thus suitable, “ Before your feet stumble as on obscure
' All the versions and the Zargum render the first verb intransitively,
“ Before it grows dark:” but Montanus, Pagninus, Piscator and Junius
and Tremellius, give it a transitive meaning, as Calvin does, and no doubt
correctly, for it is in Hiphil, “ Before he causes or brings darkness ;* or it
may be rendered, “ Before he makes it dark.” Blayney follows the
early versions, but Gataker, Lowth, and Venema, the latter versions; and
the conclusion of the verse confirms, as Calvin says, this meaning.—Zd.
——
CHAP. X111.16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 179
mountains:” for there is more light on level grounds than
on mountains, for darkness often fills narrow passes: the
sun cannot penetrate there; and also the evening does not
come on so soon on plains as in the recesses of mountains ;
for the Prophet refers not to the summits but to the narrow
valleys, which receive not the oblique rays of the sun but
for a few hours. But what if we give this rendering? “ Be-
fore your feet stumble at the mountains of darkness ;” for
s, al, has the meaning of at,' as though the Prophet had
said, that the darkness would be so thick that they could
not discern mountains opposite them. As in the twilight
or in darkness a traveller stumbles at the smallest stones,
so also, when the darkness is very thick, even mountains are
not perceived. It thus often happens that a person stum-
bles at mountains, and finds by his feet and his hands a
stumblingblock before he perceives it by his eyes. As to
myself, I wholly think that this is the right explanation,
Before then your feet stumble at the dark mountains.
He afterwards adds, When ye hope for light, he turns tt to
the shadow of death. The word maby, tsalmut, as I have
said elsewhere, is thought by grammarians to be composed
of PX, tsal, “shadow,” and of MVD, mut, which means “death;”
and they render it “fatal darkness.” Then what he says
is, “ Before God turns light to darkness, turns it to thick
darkness, give to him his glory.” And hence we perceive
1 This is a mistake, the preposition is by. which means on, wpon, &e.
Our version of this sentence is in accordance with the early versions:
it is indeed literally the Septuagint and the Vulgate. Yet it is not the
original. The verb is in Hithpael, and means to strike or smite together,
or against one another. The literal rendering is the following,—
Before your feet smite one against the other,
On the mountains of gloominess (i.e. gloomy mountains. )
It is true the word for “ gloominess” means sometimes the twilight; but
here it seems to signify a state somewhat dark or obscure. To wander
and to stumble on gloomy mountains betokens the miserable condition of
fugitives: and this is what is meant here. See chap. xvi. 16; Ezekiel
vii. 16. Then what follows might be thus rendered,—
When ye shall look anxiously for light,
Then will he make it the shadow of death,
He will turn it to thick darkness.
When two vaus occur in a sentence, they may often be rendered when and
then. The change proposed as to the last verb is not at all Sppeney:
Literally it is, “ He will set it (to be) for thick darkness.".—Hd. __
a
180 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIIT,
more clearly what I have already referred to, that the verb
“WM, icheshik, “ will cause darkness,” ought to be applied
to God.
But the sum of the whole is this, that they could antici-
pate God’s judgment by admitting him in time as theirJudge,
and also by receiving his word with more reverence than they
had previously done. At the same time he declares that
their hope was vain if they promised themselves light. But
we must know that light is here to be taken metaphorically,
as in many other places, and darkness also, its opposite, is
to be so taken. Darkness means adversities, and light,
peace and prosperity. The Prophet then says that the Jews
deceived themselves, if they thought that their happiness
would be perpetual, if they despised God and his prophets ;
and why? because it would have been the same as to disarm
or to deprive him of his power, as though he was not the
Judge of the world. He in short shews, that there was
nigh at hand a most dreadful vengeance, except the Jews
in time anticipated it and submitted themselves to God. It
now follows—
17. But if ye will not 17. Quod si non audieritis hog, i in areanis
hear it, mysoul shall weep (hoc est, in secreto) lugebit anima mea a facie
in secret places for your superbia (hoc est, propter superbiam,) et lachry-
pride; and mine eye shall mando lachrymabitur, et descendet oculus
weep sore, and run down meus in lachrymas (de hac locutione vidimus
with tears, because the cap.9; diffluet ergo oculus meus in lac
Lord’s flock is carried ad verbum, et descendet oculus meus any
away captive. ae ;) quoniam abductus est (eaptus est) grex
Jehove.
The Prophet had indirectly threatened them; but yet
there was some hope of pardon, provided the Jews antici-
pated God’s judgment in time and humbled themselves be-
fore him. He now declares more clearly that a most certain
destruction was nigh at hand, If ye will not hear, he says,
weep will my soul in secret. But much weight is in what
the Prophet intimates, that he would cease to address
them, as though he had said, “I have not hitherto left off
to exhort you, for God has so commanded me; but there
will be no remedy, if ye as usual harden yourselves against
what I teach you. There remains then nothing now for me,
except to hide myself in some secret place and there to
CHAP, x111.17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. Isl
mourn ; for my prophetic office among you is at an end, as
ye are unworthy of such a favour from God.”
He does not state simply, If ye will not hear, but he adds
a pronoun, this, If ye will not hear this, or it: for the Jews
might have raised an objection and said, that they were not
disobedient to God, and had prophets among them, as it ap-
peared yesterday ; for there were those who deceived them
by their flatteries. The Prophet then does not speak indis-
tinetly, for that would have had no effect ; but he expressly
declares that they were to hear what he had said in the last
verse: “ Except then,” he says, “ye give glory to God, I
will leave you or bid you farewell, and will hide myself in
some corner,.and there bewail your miseries.” When the
Prophet said that nothing remained for him but weeping,
he intimated that it was all over with them, and that their
salvation was hopeless. The sum of the whole is, that they
were not to be always favoured with that which they were
now despising, that is, to be warned by God’s servants; for
if they continued to despise all the prophets, God would with-
draw such a fayour from them.
The Prophet at the same time shews with what feelings
he exercised his prophetic office; for though he knew that
he was to perform the part of an herald, and boldly to de-
nounce on the Jews the calamity which we have observed ;
he yet ever felt so much pity in his soul, that he bewailed
that perverseness which would prove their ruin. The Pro-
phet then connected the two feelings together, so that with
a bold and intrepid spirit he denounced vengeance on the
Jews, and at the same time he felt commiseration and
sympathy.
He then mentions the cause, For taken captive is the flock
of Jehovah. Jeremiah might have had indeed a regard also
for his own blood. When, therefore, he saw the nation from
which he himself sprung miserably perishing, he could not
but mourn for their ruin: but he had an especial regard to
the favour of God, as was the case also with Paul, (Rom. ix.
2, 4, 5,) for though he refers to his descent from the Israel-
ites, and assigns this as a reason why he wished to be an
anathema from Christ on their account, there were yet other
182 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LITT.
reasons why he spoke highly of them; for he afterwards adds,
that the covenant was theirs, that they derived their origin
from the fathers, that from them Christ came according to
the flesh, who is God, blessed for ever. Paul then so honoured
and valued the benefits with which the Jews were adorned,
that he wished as it were to die for their salvation, and even
wished to be an anathema from Christ. There is not the
least doubt but Jeremiah for a similar reason adds now, that
he would seek retirement or some hidden place where he
might bewail the destruction of his people, for it was the
flock of Jehovah.' We hence see that it was God’s covenant
that made him to shed tears, for he saw that in a manner it
failed through the fault of the people. It follows—
18. Say unto the king, 18. Dic regi et dominze, Humiliamini (de-
and to the queen, Humble scendite) sedete (hoc est, jacete;) quia de-
yourselves, sit down: for scendet a capitibus vestris corona decoris
your principalities shallcome yestri (alii vertunt, descendet altitudines
down, even the crown of your vestrae, pro altitudo vestra; e¢ appositive
glory. legunt quod sequitur, corona decoris vestri.) _
The Prophet is here bidden to address his discourse
directly to King Jehoiakim and his mother ; for the term
lady is not to be taken for the queen, the wife of Jehoiakim,
but for his mother, who was then his associate in the king-
dom, and possessed great authority.” And there is no doubt
1 The whole verse may be thus rendered,—
But if ye will not hear, weep in secret places
Will my soul, on account of your haughtiness ;
Yea, bewailing it will bewail,
And pour down will mine eye the tear,
When taken captive is the flock of Jehovah.
The word for “ haughtiness,” 73, is rendered “ insolence” by the Septu-
‘agint and Arabic ; “ pride” by the Vulgate, and “ affliction” by the Syriae.
The word is commonly derived from 7&3, to swell, to be high, to be elated.
It is found in this sense in two other places, Job xxxiii. 17, and Daniel
iv. 37; and in a good sense, elevation, in Job xxii. 29. It seems to be a
contraction, in full 7183. See Psalm xxxvi. 12; Proy. xxix. 23. This
being the meaning of the word, the view of Calvin cannot be admitted.
There is an evident reference to what is said in verse 15, “ Be ye not lifted
up,” or, “be ye not haughty.” The cause of his weeping was their haugh-
tiness in not hearing God speaking to them.— Ed.
* So Gataker and Lowth ; and they refer to 2 Kings xxiv. 12, and to
ch. xxii, 26. From this circumstance it is gathered that this prophecy
was A ee a in the short reign of that king, which lasted only three ©
months.
The word “ queen,” in our version, is rendered “ mistress or lady—do-
Se ee
OHAP. X111. 18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 183
but that God thus intended to rouse more fully the commu-
nity in general; that is, by shewing that he would not
spare, no, not the king nor the queen, But we may hence
also learn what has already been observed, that the truth
announced by the prophets is superior to all the greatness
of the world. For it was said before to Jeremiah, ‘‘ Reprove
mountains and rebuke hills ;”* and still farther, “ Behold, I
have set thee over kingdoms and nations, to pull down and
to pluck up,” &e., (ch. i. 10.) This ought to be carefully
noticed ; for kings and thiose who are eminent in the world,
think that they are not only, by a singular privilege, exempt
from all laws, but also free from every obligation to observe
modesty and to avoid shame. Hence it is, that they from
their elevation despise God and his prophets. Here God
shews, that he supplied the prophets with his word for this
end,—that they might close their eyes to all the splendour
of the world, and shew no respect of persons, but pull down
every height, and bring to order everything that is elevated
in this world. Paul also teaches us, that ministers of the
gospel are endued with this power ; ‘Given to us,” he says,
“is power against every height that exalteth itself against
Christ.” (2 Cor. x. 5.)
And hence we must observe, that all who are chosen to
the office of teaching, cannot faithfully discharge their duty
except they boldly, and with intrepid spirit, dare to reprove
both kings and queens; for the word of God is not to be
restricted to the common people or men in humble life, but
it subjects to itself all, from the least to the greatest. This
prophecy was no doubt very bitter to the king as well as to
the common people ; but it behoved Jeremiah to discharge
faithfully his office ; and this was also necessary, for the king
Jehoiakim and his mother thought that they could not pos-
sibly be dethroned.
He therefore bids them to descend and to lie down ; that
mina,” by Calvin, but “ potentates” by the Septuagint, Syriac, and
Arabic ; “ governess—dominatrix,” by the Vulgate ; ; and * queen” by the
eb The word means governess ; it is rendered “ mistress” in Gen.
xvi. 4,8; “lady” in Is. xlvii. 5,7; and “queen” in 2 Kings x. 13.—Zd.
Phere i is an oversight here ; the passage referred to is in Mic. vi. 1;
ol is it a right view of it. See vol. iii. on the Minor Prophets, p. 328, —
d.
A | ae
ie “a A.
184 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LIIT.
is, he bids them to forget their ancient greatness. He does
not simply exhort them to repent, but shews, that as they
had been so refractory in their pride, the punishment of dis-
grace was nigh at hand, for the Lord would with a strong
hand lay them prostrate. It is not then an exhortation that
the Prophet gives; but he only foretells what they little
thought of,—that they in vain flattered themselves, for the
Lord would in a short time expose them to reproach by east-
ing them down.
And this is evident from what is added, For descend shall
the crown of your honour ; that is, it shall be taken away
from your highnesses, or from your eminencies, or from your
heads; for the word NWN", rashe, means sometimes the
head.’ But some think that it means here eminencies, and
that “the magnificent crown” is put here in apposition.
I have omitted, if I mistake not, to notice one thing; that
is, the pride mentioned by the Prophet; except ye hear,
weep will my soul in secret on account of pride. Interpreters
render it “your pride ;” that is, the pride with which the
Jews were filled ; but I am inclined to take a different view,
that the Prophet speaks here of the pride or the great power
of those enemies whom the Jews then did not in any degree
fear. “Since then,” says the Prophet, “ye are so secure, I
will retire and weep by myself, and my soul by mourning
shall mourn, yea, my eye shall flow down with tears, on ac-
count of the pride of the enemies, who are now so much de-
spised by you.” Let us now proceed—
19. The cities of the south shall 19. Urbes Austri clause sunt, et
be shut up, and none shall open nemo quiaperiat; traductus est (vel,
them: Judah shall be carried away transmigravit) Jehudah totus, trans-
1 All the early versions render the words, “ Fallen from your head has
the erown of your glory.” Our version is that of Montanus. If be a
formative, then the word, in every instance in which it occurs, means bol-
sters or pillows, things for the head to rest on. The word for head has
commonly a masculine termination in the plural number; but here it is
feminine. The most literal rendering is the following :—
For bring down from your heads will he the crown of your glory.
The latter words mean “ your glorious crown,” the expression being an
Hebraism.
Our common version, as Blayney observes, violates grammar; for
the gender of the verb 17° (which, the same author thinks, ought to be
my, future in Hiphil) is masculine, while the noun made its nominative
is feminine.—£d.
CHAP. X1It. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 185
captive all of it, it shall be latus est perfecté (perfectione, hoc est, in
wholly carried away captive. totum abductus est in captivitatem.)
By the cities of the south, almost all understand the cities
of the tribe of Judah, whose portion was towards the south ;
and by the cities being shut up, they consider that what is
meant is, that they would be forsaken ; for they say, that
cities are open when they are frequented. But I am con-
strained here also to take another view. I take the cities of
the south to have been those of Egypt; for we know that the
Jews looked there for a refuge, whenever they were attacked
by the Assyrians or the Chaldeans. Since then they thought
that Egypt would be to them a sort of an asylum, the Pro-
phet declares that all these cities would be closed against
them, and that there would be no one to open them; as
though he had said, “ The Lord will drive you out, and will
prevent you to take refuge there.”
He would doubtless have spoken more clearly had he
meant the cities of Judah ; and besides, as he was at Jeru-
salem, this way of speaking must have been ambiguous, and
even improper ; and we shall find him presently speaking of
the Assyrians as being in the north. He now then warns
them, that Egypt would be closed against them, though they
at the same time expected that they would be safe there, and
that an easily-borne exile was in their power. As then they
foolishly trusted that they would be received by the Egyp-
tians, the Prophet says, that the gates would be closed, and
that there would be no one to open them. It then follows,
carried away wholly has been Judah, carried away com-
pletely ;* that is, “ Ye shall all be led away into Assyria and
1 The ancient versions render these last words of the verse in the same
way with our version and that of Calvin; but the Hebrew, as, Blayney
remarks, is not rightly rendered, though he unnecessarily makes m3 a verb,
and according to his construction it ought to ,be minds; and he does not
satisfactorily account for the last word, omy. The literal version I
regard to be the following :—
The transmigration of Judah has been entire,—
The transmigration of retributions.
The past time, as in the beginning of the verse, is to be used, though
it is used for the future. The word omy, is never found in an adverbial
sense ; and indeed it is found only once elsewhere as here, in the plural
number, Is. xxxiv. 8; but thrice in this sense in the singular number,
Deut. xxxii. 35; Hos. ix. 7; Mic. vii. 3. The Targum favours this
rendering, as it retains the idea of retribution.— Ed.
186 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIL.
Babylon ;” which is the north country, according to what
afterwards follows,—
20. Lift up your eyes, and be- 20. Levate oculos vestros, et as-
hold them that come from the north: picite venientesab aquilone: ubigrex
where is the flock that was given qui datus fuerat tibi? oves decoris
thee, thy beautiful flock ? tui?
We here see that Egypt and Chaldea are set in opposition,
the one to the other; as though the Prophet had said,
* Whenever anything is said to you about the Chaldeans, ye
turn your eyes to Egypt, as though that would be a quiet
residence for you; but God will prevent you from having
any escape there. Now see, see your enemies who are com-
ing from another quarter, even from Chaldea. Lift wp then
your eyes.” As they were so very intent on their present
ease, he bids them to lift up their eyes, that they might see
farther than they were wont to do.
He then says, Where ts the flock which had been given to
thee ? and the sheep of thy glory? It is through pity that
the Prophet thus speaks ; for he saw by the Spirit the whole
land deserted, and in wonder he asks, “‘ What does this mean,
that the flock is scattered which had been given to thee?”
He addresses the people under the character of a woman,
as he does often in other places.’ In short, he confirms what
he had said before,—that he would go to some secret place,
if the people were not influenced by his doctrine, and that
he would there by himself deplore their calamity ; but he
employs other words, and at the same time intimates, that |
he alone had eyes to see, as others were blind, for God had
even taken from them understanding and discernment. The
Prophet then shews here that he saw the dreadful desolation
that was soon to come; and therefore as one astonished he
_asks, Where is the flock with which God had enriched the
land? and further he asks, Where are the sheep which pos-
sessed a magnificent honour or beauty? It follows—
21. What wilt thou say when he 21. Quid dices, cum visitaverit su-
shall punish thee? (for thou hast per te? Et tu (hoc est, atqui tu) do-
taught them to be captains, and cuisti (hoc est, assuefecisti) illos super
1 May not the queen regent, or governess, mentioned with the king in
verse 18, be here meant? Sovereigns are called shepherds, and hence
* flock” and “sheep” are here mentioned.—Zd.
eee
CHAP. X11I1.21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 187
as chief over thee;) shall not sor- te duces in caput: annon dolores
rows take thee, as a woman in tra- apprehendent te tanquam mulierem
vail ? parturientem ?
As the Prophet observed that the Jews were in no way
moved, he addressed them still further, and set before them
what seemed then incredible, even the calamity, from which
they thought they were able easily to defend themselves by
means of their auxiliaries.
He then adds, What wilt thow then say? For the false -
teachers made a clamour, and whenever Jeremiah began to
speak, they violently assailed him, and the common people
also wantonly barked at him. As then they thus petulantly
resisted God and his truths, the Prophet intimates that the
time would come when they should become mute through
shame: What wilt thow say then ? he says, ‘“ Ye are now very
talkative, and God cannot obtain a hearing from you; but
he will check your wantonness, when the enemy shall dis-
tress you.” It is the same as though he had said, “It will
not be the time then for your loquacity, for the Lord will
constrain you to be silent.”
Some refer to God what follows, When he shall visit you ;
but it ought on the contrary to be applied to the Chaldeans ;
for he immediately adds, But thou hast accustomed them, &e.
There is indeed a change or an anomaly of number, but this
is common in the prophets. When he uses the singular, the
head of the army is referred to, but afterwards the whole
forces are included. What then wilt thou say, when the
enemy shall visit thee? He then adds, But then, &e. ; that
is, “If thou seekest to cast blame on others, when the As-
syrians and the Chaldeans shall overwhelm thee, thou wilt
attempt it in vain? for thou hast opened a passage for them,
and hast accustomed them to be thy leaders over thy head.’
For the Assyrians had a long time before been sent for by
the Israelites ; and the Jews also had formed confederacies
with the Chaldeans against the Assyrians, before these mon-
archies were united. As then they had called them in as
auxiliaries, they had accustomed them to rule, and, as it
were, had set them over themselves. The case was similar
to that of the Turks at this day, were they to pass over to
- “
188 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIIT.
these parts and exercise their authority ; for it might be
asked the French kings and their counsellors, “ Whose fault
it is that the Turks come to us so easily? It is because ye
have prepared for them the way by sea, because ye have
bribed them, and your ports have been opened to them ;
and yet they have wilfully exercised the greatest cruelty to-
wards your subjects. All these things have proceeded from
yourselves ; ye are therefore the authors of all these evils.”
So also now the Prophet upbraids the Jews, because they
had accustomed the Chaldeans to be their leaders; and as
they had set them over their own heads, he says to them,
that it was no wonder that they were now so troublesome
and grievous to them."
He afterwards says, Shall not sorrows lay hold on thee as
on a woman in travail? By this comparison he intimates,
that the Jews gained nothing by their vain hopes ; for when
they should say, peace and security, destruction, such as they
by no means expected, would suddenly come upon them.
This similitude we know often occurs, and it is a very apt
one ; for a woman with child may be very cheerful and
quietly enjoying herself, and yet a sudden pain may seize
her. So also it will be with the wicked ; they cannot now
bear to hear anything sad or alarming, and they drive from
them every fear as far as possible ; but the more they harden
themselves, the heavier is God’s vengence which follows them,
and which will overtake them suddenly and unexpectedly.
As then it was incredible to the Jews, that the Chaldeans
would soon come to lay waste their land, he says to them,
“Surely sorrows will take hold on you, though you look not
for them. Though a woman with child thinks not of her
coming pain, yet it comes suddenly and cannot be driven
away ; so you will gain nothing by heedlessly promising to
yourselves continual peace and quietness.” I cannot finish
what follows to-day if I go on farther ; I shall therefore put
it off to the next Lecture.
1 The best rendering of this clause is as follows :—
For thou hast taught them to be over the leaders in chief.
It is the feminine gender that is still used; and the queen or governess
may be addressed as the representative of the ruling power in the land.—
Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 189
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so slothful to hear thee, yea,
inasmuch as our minds are taken up with so many vanities so
that we deceive ourselves,—O grant, that thy Holy Spirit may
so illuminate us, that we may not despise thy threatenings, but
may learn to anticipate in time thy judgment, and thus obtain
pardon; that being mindful of thy mercy, we may pursue the
course of our calling, until we shall at length be received into
that blessed rest, which has been obtained for us by thy only-
begotten Son.—Amen.
Lecture Fifty-Fourth.
22. And if thou say in thine 22. Quod si dixeris in corde suo, cur
heart, Wherefore come these (vel, ut quid) hee mala acciderunt mihi
things upon me? For the great- (occurrerunt mihi?) in multitudine (hoc
ness of thine iniquity are thy est, propter multitudinem) iniquitatis tuse
skirts discovered, and thy heels discoopertz sunt fimbrize tux, et nudati
made bare. calces tui (vel, plante tuse nudate sunt. )
Tue Prophet again declares that God’s judgment would
be just, which he had previously foretold ; for hypocrites, we
know, do not cease to quarrel with God, except they are
often proved guilty ; and it is always their object, where they
cannot wholly excuse themselves, to extenuate in some
measure their fault. The Prophet therefore here removes
every pretence for evasion, and declares that they were wholly
worthy of such a reward.
But his manner of speaking ought to be noticed, If thou
wilt say in thine heart, &c. Hypocrites do not only claim
for themselves righteousness before the world, but they also
deceive themselves, and the devil so dementates them with
a false persuasion, that they seek to be counted just before
God. This then is what the Prophet sets forth when he says,
If thou wilt say in thine heart, Why have these evils happened
to me? that is, if thou seekest by secret murmuring to
contend with God, the answer is ready,— Because of the mul-
titude of thine iniquity, discovered are thy skirts, and thy
1 The verb is here in the singular, and is followed by a nominative in
the plural; the very same anomaly exists in Welsh. The line would be lite-
rally the same in that language,—
Pam y digwyddodd i mi y pethau hyn?
But if “these things” preceded the verb, it would be in the plural.— Ed.
190 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LIV.
heels are denuded.” The multitude of iniquity he calls that
perverse wickedness which prevailed among the Jews; for
they had not ceased for a long time to provoke the wrath of
God. Had they only once sinned, or had been guilty of
one kind of sin, there would have been some hope of pardon,
at least God would not have executed a punishment so severe;
but as there had been an uninterrupted course of sinning, the
Prophet shews that it would not be right to spare them any
longer.
As to the simile, it is a form of speaking often used by the
prophets, that is, to denude the soles of the feet, and to dis-
cover the skirts. We know that men clothe themselves, not
only to preserve them from cold, but that they also cover the
body for the sake of modesty: there is therefore a twofold
use of garments, the one occasioned by necessity, and the
other by decency. As then clothes are partly made for this
end—to cover what could not be decently shewn or left bare
without shame, the prophets use this mode of speaking when
they have in view to shew that one is exposed to publie re-
proach.’ It afterwards foilows—
23. Can the Ethiopian 23. An mutabit (sie proprié vertitur) Aithiops
change his skin, or the pellem suam, et pardus maculas suas (aut, varie-
leopard his spots? then tates, nam nomen hoc duplicatum deducitur a
may ye also do good, 3N, quod significat congregare, significat etiam
that are accustomed to livorem, accipitur vero hic pro maculis;) etiam
do evil. tu poteris ad benefaciendum, doctus ad malum?
God declares in this verse, that the people were so har-
dened in their wickedness, that there was no hope of their
repentance. This is the sum of what is said. But it was a
very bitter reproof for the Prophet to say that his own na-
tion were past hope—that they had so entirely given them-
selves up to their vices that they were no longer healable.
1 The three last lines are as follows :—
For the number of thine iniquity
Discovered have been thy skirts,
Violently stripped off have been thy heels.
“ Skirts ” here stand for the parts covered by them, and “ heels” for the
sandals which were worn. Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate mention
the parts, and not skirts—* the hinder parts,” “the uncomely parts,” but
they retain the word “heels.” The metonomy exists, no doubt, as to both.
The Syriac has “ skirts ” and “ ankles.” The Targum gives the mean-
ing, arpenegsl and “ignominy.” ‘The past time is Snel for the future.
OHAP. XIII.23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 191
But he uses a comparison,—Can the Ethiopian,’ he says,
change his skin? Blackness is inherent in the skin of the
Ethiopians, as it is well known. Were they then to wash
themselves a hundred times daily, they could not put off
their blackness. The same also must be said of leopards or
panthers, and we know that these animals are besprinkled
with spots. Such then is the spotted character of the leopard
or panther,” that whatever might be done to him he would
still retain his colour. We now then see what the Prophet
means—that the Jews were so corrupted by long habit that
they could not repent, for the devil had so enslaved them
that they were not in their right mind; they no longer had —
any discernment, and could not discriminate between good
and evil. x
Learned men in our age do not wisely refer to this passage,
when they seek to prove that there is no free-will in man;
for it is not simply the nature of man that is spoken of here,
but the habit that is contracted by long practice. Aristotle,
a strong advocate of free will, confesses that it is not in
man’s power to do right, when he is so immersed in his own
vices as to have lost a free choice, (7. Lib. Hthicdn,) and this
also is what experience proves. We hence see that this pas-
sage is improperly adduced to prove a sentiment which is
yet true, and fully confirmed by many passages of Scripture.
Jeremiah, then, does not here refer to man’s nature as he
is when he comes from the womb; but he condemns the
Jews for contracting such a habit by long practice. As,
then, they had hardened themselves in doing evil, he says
that they could not repent, that wickedness had become
inherent, or firmly fixed in their hearts, like the blackness
1 The word in Hebrew is “Cushite;” and many learned men contend
that the “ Ethiopian ” is not meant, though all the early versions so render
it except the Syriac, which has “Indian.” Blayney agrees with Bochart
and others in thinking that the Cushites were the inhabitants of Arabia,
on the borders of the Red Sea, and he refers in proof of this to 2 Chron,
xxi. 16. The skin is not said here to be black, but it was no doubt of a
particular colour, different from that of the Jews.—Ed.
* « Panther,” xégdaA:s—pardus, is the rendering of the Septuagint and
the other versions. The word rendered “spots,” found only here, is trans-
lated “ varieties” by the Septuagint and Vulgate, but “spots” by the
Syriac and Targum.— Ed.
192 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIII.
which is inherent in the skin of the Ethiopians, or the spots
which belong to the leopards or panthers.
We may at the same time gather from this passage a use-
ful doctrine—that men become so corrupt, by sinful habits
and sinful indulgence, that the devil takes away from them
every desire and care for acting rightly, so that, in a word,
they become wholly irreclaimable, as we see to be the case
with regard to bodily diseases ; for a chronic disease, in most
instances, so corrupts what is sound and healthy in the body,
that it becomes by degrees incurable. When, therefore, the
body is thus infected for a long time, there is no hope of a
cure. Life may indeed be prolonged, but not without con-
tinual languor. Now, as to spiritual diseases it is also true,
that when putridity has pervaded the inward parts, it is im-
possible for any one to repent. And yet it must be observed,
that we do not speak here of the power of God, but only
shew, that all those who harden themselves in their vices, as
far as their power is concerned, are incurable, and past all
remedy. Yet God can deliver, even from the lowest depths,
such as have a hundred times past all recovery. But here,
as I have already said, the Prophet does not refer to God’s
power, but only condemns his own nation, that they might
not complain that God treated them with too much severity.
The meaning then is, that they ought not to have thought
it strange that God left them no hope; for they became past
recovery, through their own perverseness, as they could not
adopt another course of life after having so long accustomed
themselves to everything that was evil: Wilt thow also, he
says, be able to do good ? that is, wilt thou apply thy mind to
what is just, who hast been accustomed to evil, or who hast
hitherto learnt nothing but to do evil?’ We now perceive
1 Neither this sentence nor the preceding is put interrogatively in the
Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, but in this way,—* If the Ethio-
pian,” &c.; “Even so can ye,” &c. The Arabic and the Targum have
both sentences in an interrogative form, and more consistently with the
Hebrew. Blayney renders the first part interrogatively, as in our version,
but not the second, and he gives a meaning to the second part which the
origina] will not bear, and which is nét countenanced by any of the ver-
sions. The most literal version is as follows,—
Can the Cushite change his skin,
Or the panther his spots ?—
CHAP. XIII.24. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 193
the design of the Prophet—that they unreasonably sought
pardon of God, who had contracted such hardness by a long
course of sinning that they were become incurable. It after-
wards follows—
24. Therefore I will scatter them as 24. Et dispergam (vel, dissipabo)
the stubble that passeth away by the eos quasi stipulam transeuntem ad
wind of the wilderness. ventum deserti.
This is an inference which Jeremiah draws from the last
verse. As long as there is any hope of repentance, there is
also room for mercy; God often declares that he is long-
suffering. Then the most wicked might object and say, that
God is too rigid, because he waits not until they return to a
sound mind. Now the Prophet had said that it was all over
with the people: here therefore he meets the objection, and
shews that extreme calamity was justly brought on them by
God, because the Jews had obstinately hardened thomectres
in their vices and wickedness.
After having shewn, therefore, that corruption was aie
rent in them, as blackness in the skin of an Ethiopian, and
as spots in panthers, he now comes to this conclusion—J
will scatter them as stubble which passes away by the wind of
the desert. This scattering denotes their exile; as though
he had said, “I will banish them, that they may know that
they are deprived of the inheritance in which they place
their safety and their happiness.” For the Jews gloried in
this only—that they were God’s people, because the Temple
was built among them, and because they dwelt in the land
promised to them. They then thought that God was in a
manner tied to them, while they possessed that inheritance.
Hence Jeremiah declares, that they would become like stubble
carried away by the wind.
He mentions the wind of the desert, that is, the wind of
the south, which was the most violent in that country. The
south wind, as we know, was also pestilential; the air also
was more disturbed by the south wind than by any other,
for it raised storms and tempests. Therefore the Scripture,
Also ye, can ye do good,
Who have learned evil ?
The future tense in Hebrew ought often to be rendered potentially, and
sometimes subjunctively.—Ed.
VOL. II. N
ae
_
LP
194 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIV.
in setting forth any turbulent movement, often adopts this
similitude. Some think that Jeremiah alludes to the Egyp-
tians ; but I see no reason to seek out any refined explana-
tion, when this mode of speaking is commonly adopted. Then
by this similitude of south wind God intimates the great
power of his vengeance ; as though he had said, “ Even if the
Jews think that they have a firm standing in the promised
land, they are wholly deceived, for God will with irresistible
force expel them.” And he compares them to stubble, while
yet they boasted that they were like trees planted in that
land ; and we have before seen that they had been planted
as it were by the hand of God; but they wanted the living
root of piety, they were therefore to be driven far away like
stubble."
Let us then learn from this passage not to abuse the
patience of God: for though he may suspend for a time the
punishment we deserve, yet when he sees that we go on in
our wickedness, he will come to extreme measures, and will
deal with us without mercy as those who are past remedy.
It follows—
25. This is thy lot, the portionof 25. Hee sors tua, portio mensura-
thy measures from me, saith the rum tuarum a me, dicit Jehova;
Lord; because thou hast forgotten quia oblita es mei, et confisa in
me, and trusted in falsehood. mendacio,
The Prophet no doubt wished to strip the Jews of their
vain confidence, through which they acted arrogantly and
presumptuously towards God, while yet they professed his
1 Our version begins with “therefore,” giving this meaning to 1, vau, but
Gataker considers this verse as connected with the 22d, and regards the
23d as parenthetic; and then he renders the vaw “ and.” The literal
rendering of the latter part is, “‘ Passing to the wind of the desert,” that
is, the stubble which is exposed to that violent wind. The meaning may
be thus given,—
And I will scatter them like the stubble
That is subject to the wind of the desert.
To pass over to a thing is to become within its range, or to its possession.
The sense would be given by the following version,—
That is carried away by the wind of the desert.
The meaning is not what the Septuagint give, “carried by the wind to the
desert ;” nor what the Vulgate presents, “carried by the wind in the de-
sert ;” but what is meant is, “ the wind of the desert,” or, as Calvin says,
the south wind. When the stubble was exposed to that, it is carried away
sa a0 greatest violence: such would be the scattering of the Jews.
CHAP. XIII. 25. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 195
name and claimed his favour. They said that they had
obtained that land by an hereditary right, because it had
been promised to their father Abraham. This indeed was
true. They also said, that the land was God’s rest; and
they derived this from the prophets. They said farther
that God was their heritage ; and this also was true, But
since they had wickedly profaned God’s name, he takes from
them these false boastings, and says, This is thy lot. But
- still they said, When God divided the nations, his lot fell on
Israel, for so says Moses. (Deut. xxxii. 8.) As then they
were wont to say, that God afterwards deceived them, the
Prophet here on the other hand reminds them, that they
foolishly confided in that lot, because God had rejected them,
and did not acknowledge them now as his children, as they
were become degenerate and perfidious. This, he says, 2s
thy lot.*
We see that there is to be understood here a contrast:
God was the lot of the people, and they were also the lot of
God, according to the passages to which we have referred.
They were the heritage of God, and they boasted that God
was their heritage ; the land was a symbol and a pledge of
this heritage. The Prophet now says, “This lot shall be to
thee the portion of thy measures from me.” He alludes to
an ancient custom ; for they were wont to divide fields and
meadows by lines, as they afterwards used poles; and we
call such measures in the present day perches (perticas.)
We now then understand what the Prophet means; for
he intimates that the Jews vainly and presumptuously and
foolishly boasted, that God was their heritage ; for he owned
them not now as his children: and he also declares that
another lot was prepared for them, far different from that of
heritage,—that God would banish them from the promised
land, which they had polluted by their vices. Thus we see
1 It may be thus rendered,—
This thy lot 7s the share of thy measures
From me, saith Jehovah.
The “lot” was the scattering threatened in the previous verse. “ The
share of thy measures,” is a Hebrew idiom for “a measured share,” or “a
measured portion,” as rendered by Blayney. Some say that “ measures”
are mentioned, because the length and breadth were included.—Ed.
196 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIV.
that we ought not presumptuously and falsely to pretend or
profess the name of God; for though he has been pleased
to choose us as his people, it is yet required of us to be
faithful to him ; and if we forsake him, the same reward for
our impiety will no doubt await us as Jeremiah threatens
here to his own nation. Let us then so use the favour of
God and of Christ, and all the blessings which are offered to
us by the gospel, that we may not have to fear that ven-
geance which happened to the Jews.
He adds the reason, Because thow hast forgotten me and
trusted in falsehood.’ By falsehood the Prophet means not
only the superstitions in which the Jews involved them-
selves, but also the false counsels which they adopted, when
at one time they had recourse to the Egyptians, at another
to some other ungodly nations, in order to get aids in oppo-
sition to the will of God. For wherever there was any dan-
ger, they thought they had a remedy at hand by having the
favour and help of the Egyptians, or of the Assyrians, or of
the Chaldeans. In the word falsehood, then, the Prophet
includes those perverse designs which they formed, when
they sought to defend themselves against God, who would
have protected them by his power, had it not been necessary
to punish them for their sins). What Jeremiah then con-
demned in the people was, that they placed their trust in
falsehood, that is, that they sought here and there vain helps,
and at the same time disregarded God; nay, they thought
themselves safer when God was displeased with them: and
hence he says, Thou hast forgotten me. For the Jews could
not have sought deliverance from the Egyptians or from
other heathen nations, or from their idols, without haying
first rejected God ; for if this truth had been really fixed in
their minds,—that God cared for their safety, they would no
doubt have been satisfied with his protection. Their ingra-
titude was therefore very manifest in thus adopting vain and
impious hopes; for they thus dishonoured God, and dis-
trusted his power, as though he was not sufficient to preserve
them. It now follows—
‘ It is better to render "WN here “because” or for, according to all
the versions and the Targum, than “ who,” as by Blayney.—Ed.
CHAP. XIII.26. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAU. 197
26. Therefore will 26. Et etiam ego nudabo, (vel, discooperiam ) fim-
I discover thy skirts brias tuas in faciem tuam (super faciem tuam,) et
upon thy face, that aspicietur ignominia tua (potest etiam in preeterito
thy shame may ap- tempore exponi hic versus ; sed quoniam vaticinium
pear. est, ideo non insisto cwriose in verbis aut in syllabis,
: sed sensumduntaxat respicio; quamquam non malé
etiam conveniet, si vertamus in tempore preeterito,
quasi propheta de re jam facta disserat.)
He continues the same subject,—that God did not deal
with his people with so much severity without the most just
cause ; for it could not be expected that he should treat them
with more gentleness, since they rejected him and had re-
course to vain confidences. J also, he says; for the particle
Dj, gam, denotes something mutual, as though he had said,
“Talso will have my turn; for I have it in my power to
avenge myself: I will retaliate,’ he seems to say, “this
thine ingratitude; for as thou hast despised me, so will I
expose thee to reproach and shame.” For God was shame-
fully despised by the Jews, when they substituted the Egyp-
tians and their idols in his place: they could not have done
him more dishonour than by transferring his glory to the
ungodly and to their own figments. We hence see that
there is an emphasis in the particle also, I will also make
bare, or discover, thy skirts on thy face; that is, I will cast
thy skirts on thy face.’
This mode of speaking often occurs in the Prophets; and
as I have elsewhere explained, it means the uncovering of
the uncomely parts: it is as though a vile woman was con-
demned to bear the disgrace of being stripped of her gar-
ments and exposed to the public, that all might abhor a
spectacle so base and disgraceful. God, as we have before
seen, assumed the character of a husband to his people: as
then he had been so shamefully despised, he now says, that
he had in readiness the punishment of casting the skirts of
his people over their faces, that their reproach or baseness
* This is no doubt the meaning. See Nah. iii. 5. The verb means to
strip off, so as to make bare. The threatening is, to strip off the skirts
and throw them over the face; and this is the rendering of the Syriac.
Probably the most literal rendering would be the following,—
And I also will strip (or roll) up thy skirts over thy face.
The versions all differ, but the Septuagint convey this idea. Blayney’s
uncovering “ thy skirts before thee,” imparts no meaning.— Ed.
198
might appear by exposing their uncomely parts.
follows—
27. I have seen thy adulteries, and
thy neighings, the lewdness of thy
whoredom, and thine abominations
on the hills in the fields. Woe unto
thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be
made clean ? when shall it once be?
Here the Prophet explains
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
LECT. LIV.
It then
27. Adulteria tua et hinnitus
tuos, cogitationem scortationis tue
super montes in agro vidi, abomi-
nationes tuas: ve tibi Jerusalem ;
non mundaberis posthac ? quousque
adhuc?
at large what I have before
stated,—that the people were justly punished by God, though
very grievously, because they had provoked God, not at one
time only, but for a long time, and had obstinately persisted
in their evil courses. Moreover, as their sins were various,
the Prophet does not mention them all here; for we have
seen elsewhere, that they were not only given to supersti-
tions, but also to whoredoms, drunkenness, plunders, and
outrages; but here he only speaks of their superstitions,—
that having rejected God, they followed their own idols.
For by adulteries he no doubt means idolatries ; and he does
not speak here of whoredom, which yet prevailed greatly
among the people; but he only condemns them for having
fallen away into ungodly and false forms of worship. To
the same thing must be referred what follows, thy neighings ;
for by this comparison, we know, is set forth elsewhere, by
way of reproach, that furious ardour with which the Jews
followed their own inventions. The word indeed sometimes
means exultation ; for the verb bey, tsel, is to exult; but
here, as in chap, v. it signifies neighing.
He then says, Thy adulteries and thy neighings, &e. Now
this is far more shameful than if he had said thy lusts, for
by this comparison we know their crime was enhanced, be-
cause they were not merely inflamed by a violent natural
lust, such as adulterers feel towards strumpets, but they
were like horses or bulls: Thy adulteries then and thy neigh-
ings; and he adds, the thought of thy whoredom, &c. The
word Ft, zamet, is to be taken here for thought, and this
is its proper meaning. It is indeed taken sometimes in a
bad sense ; but the Prophet, I have no doubt, meant here to
wipe off a colour with which the Jews painted themselves ;
for they said that they intended te worship God, while they
CHAP. Xill.27. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 199
accumulated rites which were not prescribed in the law.
The Prophet therefore condemns them here as being within
full of unchastity, as though he had said, “I do not only
accuse you of open acts of wickedness, but ye burn also
within with lust, for impiety has taken such hold on all your
thoughts, that God has no place at all in you; ye are like
an unchaste woman, who thinks of nothing but of her filthy
lovers, and goes after her adulterers: ye are thus wholly
given up to your whoredoms.
Some read the words by themselves and put them in the
nominative case, “Thy adulteries and thy neighings, and
the thought of thy whoredom on the mountains ;” and then
they add, “In the field have I seen thine abominations.”
But I prefer to take the whole together, and thus to include
all as being governed by the verb ‘N°, raitz, I have seen;
“Thy adulteries and thy neighings, the thought of thy
whoredom on the mountains in the field have I seen, even
thy abominations.” The last word is to be taken in appo-
sition with the former words. But the Prophet introduces
God here as the speaker, that the Jews might not seek eva-
sions and excuse themselves. He therefore shews that God,
whose proper office it is to examine and search the hearts
of men, is the fit Judge."
1 Tn all the versions, as well as in the Targum, the words in the begin-
ing of this verse, as far as “ whoredom,” are read in apposition with
“shame” in the preceding verse, and what follows as connected with the
verb “I have seen,” in this manner,—
On hills in the field have I seen thy abominations.
Another arrangement, suggested by Gataker, is more consonant with
the Hebrew style, by considering the substantive verb to be understood
in the first clause, as follows,—
27. Thy adulteries and thy neighings,
The scheming of thy fornication,
Have been on hills in the field ;
I have seen thine abominations.
The word Nt, which I render “scheming,” is from a verb which means
to devise, to contrive, to scheme, to plot. It is rendered “ wickedness” by
the Vulgate, “alienation” by the Septuagint, “fornication” by the Syriac,
and “design” or counsel by the Targum. It never means “ lewdness.”
It seems to mean here the contrivances and devices formed by those given
to fornication. Blayney considers it a verb in the second person: he
connects the first line with the preceding verse, and renders thus what
follows,—
Thou hast devised thy whoredom upon the hills,
200 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIV.
He mentions Azlls and field. Altars, we know, were then
built on hills, for they thought that God would be better
worshipped in groves; and hence there was no place, no
wood, and even no tree, but that they imagined there was
something divine in it. This is the reason why the Prophet
says, that their abominations were seen by God on the hills
as well as on the plains. And he adds fields, as though he
had said, that the hills did not suffice them for their false
worship, by which they profaned the true worship of God,
but that the level fields were filled with their abominations.
We now then perceive the meaning of what is here said,
that the Jews in vain tried to escape by evasions, since God
declares that he had seen them; as though he had said,
“Cease to produce your excuses, for I will allow nothing of
what ye may bring forward, as the whole is already well
known by me.” And he declares their doings to be abomi-
nations, and also adulteries and neighings.
At length he adds, Woe to thee, Jerusalem! The Prophet
here confirms what we have before observed, that the Jews
had no just ground of complaint, for they had provoked God
extremely. Hence the particle woe intimates that they were
now justly given up to destruction. And then he says, Will
they never repent ? But this last part is variously explained;
and I know not whether it can to-day be fully expounded.
I will however briefly glance at the meaning.
Jerome seems to have read “ITN, achri, “after me,”
“Wilt thou not then return after me?” as though God here
intended to exhort the Jews to return at length to him, as
he was ready to be reconciled to them. But as it is simply
“MN, achri, and he may have read without the points, I do
not wish to depart from what is commonly received. There is
further a difficulty in the words which follow, for interpreters
vary as to the import of the words TY ‘M3, mati od, “ how
long yet?’ In whatever sense we may take the words, they
are sufficient to confute the opinion of Jerome, which I had
forgotten to mention, because the malediction in that case
In the fields I have seen thine abominations,
The simplicity of this order recommends it, but the former seems pre-
ferable.—Ed.
OHAP. x1lI.27. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 201
would be improper and without meaning, “Woe to thee,
Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me?” for what
can this mean? It is therefore necessary so to read as to
include all the words in the sentence, “ Wilt thou not here-
after or at length be made clean?” Some, however, read the
words affirmatively, “ Thou shalt not be cleansed hereafter,”
as though it was said, “Thou shalt not be cleansed until I
first drive thee into exile.”’ But this meaning is too refined,
asI think. I therefore take the words in their simple form,
Wilt thou not at length be made clean? how long yet? as
though God again reproved the hardness of the people, as
indeed he did reprove it. Hence he says, “ Wilt thou not
at length be made clean?” for I take “MN, achri, as mean-
ing “at length.” Then follows an amplification, TY ‘Md,
mati od, “how long yet?! that is, “ Wilt thou never make
an end? and can I not at length obtain this from thee, since
I have so often exhorted thee, and since thou seest that I
make no end of exhorting thee? how long yet shall thy ob-
stinacy continue, so that I cannot subdue thee by my salu-
tary admonitions?” This is the meaning.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once cleansed us by the
blood of thine only-begotten Son, to the end that we might
worship thee in true sincerity of heart, and that we might also
strive to regulate our whole life according to the rule of right-
eousness,—-O grant that we, being mindful of our vocation, may
labour to render ourselves approved by thee, so that thy name
may through us be glorified, and that casting far away from us
all pollutions, we may retain the simple worship of thee, and
preserve ourselves within the limits of thy word, so that we may
not be led astray after vanities and the sinful superstitions of this
world, but advance towards the mark which thou hast been
pleased to set before us, until we shall be at length gathered into
that celestial kingdom in which we shall enjoy that inheritance
which thine only-begotten Son has provided for us.—Amen.
1 The meaning seems to be right, but it is better to construe "Nk,
“ after,” with these words,—
Woe to thee, Jerusalem! thou wilt not be cleansed
After what time wilt it yet be? ;
Literally it may be rendered, “ After when yet ?”—Ed. .
ee ge ee en ee
“ ~ ;
o—
"i
<
202 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LY.
Lecture Hifty=HFitth.
CHAPTER XIV.
1. The word of the Lord that 1. Quod fuit verbum Jehove ad
came to Jeremiah concerning the Jeremiam super verbis prohibitio-
dearth. num.
Txoveu the Prophet does not distinctly express that what
had not yet happened was divinely revealed to him, yet it
may be easily gathered that it was a prophecy with refer-
ence to what was future. Of this sterility nothing is recorded
in sacred history: there is, however, no doubt but God had
in an unusual manner afflicted the Jews, as previously in
the days of Ahab. As then a drought was near at hand
which would cause great scarcity, his purpose was to fore-
warn the Jews of it before the time, that they might know
that the dryness did not happen by chance, but was an eyi-
dence of God’s vengeance. And we know that whenever
any adversity happens, the causes of it are sought in the |
world, so that hardly any one regards the hand of him who
smites. But when there is a year of sterility, we consult
astrology, and think that it is owing to the influence of the
stars: thus God’s judgment is overlooked. As then men
contrive so many expedients by which they throw aside the
consideration of Divine judgment, it was necessary that the
Prophet should speak of the sterility mentioned here before
it happened, and point it out as it were by the finger, though
it was yet not made manifest.
He therefore says that the word of God came to him
respecting the words of restraints.. Though 3%, deber,
signifies a thing or a business or concern, yet, what seems
here to be intended is the contrast between 35, deber,
1 The Septuagint express it in one word, “ A gercio the want of rain ;”
wletect Gt tain” We mmy take = words” here in the sipeeaeelanet oe
we may render the Hebrew, “ concerning the effects of restraints ;” and
the last word is put in the plural number because there was a twofold
restraint,—that of the heavens from rain, and that of the earth from
producing fruit. The “effects” of these restraints are described in the
following verses.—£d. -
CHAP. xiv. |. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 203
the word of God, and 0°23, deberim, the words of men;
for he says, MIAN "4 by, ol debert ebetserut, because
the Jews, as it is usual, would have many words of different
kinds among themselves respecting the sterility: when any-
thing uncommon or unexpected happens, every one has his
own opinion. But the Prophet sets up the word of Jehovah
in opposition to the words of men; as though he had said,
“ They will inquire here and there as to the causes of the
searcity ; there will yet be but one cause, and that is, God
is punishing them for their wickedness.”
He calls sterility prohibitions or restraints: for though
God could in an instant destroy and mar whatever has come
to maturity, yet, in order to shew that all the elements are
ready to obey him, he restrains the heavens whenever he
pleases ; and hence he says, “In that day the heavens will
hear the earth, and the earth will hear the corn, and the
corn will hear men.” (Hosea ii. 21, 22.) For as this order of
things is set before us, it cannot be otherwise but that, when-
ever we are hungry, our eyes turn to the corn and bread ;
but corn does not come except the earth be fruitful; and the
earth cannot of itself bring forth anything, and except it de-
rives moisture and strength from the heavens. So also, on
the other hand, he says, “I will make for you the heaven
brass and the earth iron.” (Lev. xxvi. 19.) We hence see
the reason for this word, prohibitions, by which the Prophet
designates the dryness of the heavens and the sterility of
the earth ; for the earth in a manner opens to us its bowels
when it brings forth food for our nourishment ; and the
heavens also pour forth rain, by which the earth is irrigated.
So also God prohibits or restrains the heavens and the earth,
and closes up his bounty, so as to prevent it to come to us.
It now follows—
2. Judah mourneth, and the 2. Luxit Jehudah et porte ejus debili-
gates thereof languish; they tate sunt, (vel, dissipate sunt;) obtene-
are black unto the ground; brati sunt in terra (referunt quidam ad
and the ery of Jerusalem is portas, sed malo ad homines referre ;) et
gone up. clamor Jerusalem ascendit.
3. And their nobles have 3. Et proceres eorum (hoc est, qui
There is a little inadvertence here: “iron,” in this text, is applied io
heaven, and “ brass” to the earth,— Ed.
204 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LY.
sent their little ones to the pollent dignitate) miserunt minores (hoc
waters : they came to the pits, est, homines plebeios et mercenarios) ad
and found no water; they re- aquas; venerunt ad cisternas, non inye-
turned with theirvesselsempty; mnerunt aquas; reversi sunt cum vasis
they were ashamed and con- inanibus (vel, reversa sunt vasa eorum
founded, and covered their vacua;) confusi sunt, et erubuerunt, et
heads. operuerunt caput suum.
The Prophet intimates in these words, that so great would
be the scarcity as to appear to be a manifest and remarkable
evidence of God’s vengeance ; for when God punishes us in
& common way, we for the most part refer the event to some .
fortuitous circumstances, and the devil also ever retains our
minds in the consideration of secondary causes. Hence the
Prophet declares here that an event so unusual could not be
ascribed to natural causes, as that the earth should become
so sterile, but that it was the extraordinary judgment of
God. This is the reason why he employs so many figurative
expressions. He might indeed have said, in one sentence,
that there would be in the land a most grievous famine ; but
hardly one in a hundred would have been moved by words
so simply expressed. Therefore the Prophet, in order to
arouse their stupor, uses terms the most forcible.
Hence he says, Mourned has Judah. Though he speaks
of what was future, yet, according to his own usual manner
and that of others, he uses the past time in order to shew
the certainty of what he said. He then declares that there
would be mourning in Judah. He afterwards says, His gates
have been weakened, or scattered. In mentioning gates, he
takes a part for the whole, for he means the cities: but as
judgments were wont to be administered at the gates, and
as men often assembled there, he says that the gates would
be reduced to solitude, so that hardly any one would appear
there. He in the third place adds, They have become dark-
ened to the ground, or, in plainer words, they became oyer-
whelmed with grief; but the proper meaning of the word
is to become darkened: and he says, to the ground, as though
he said that they would be so cast down as to lie in the dust,
and would not dare to raise up their heads, nor would be
able to do so, being worn down by want and famine. We
hence see what he means, even this,—that the scarcity
would be so great that men would lie down on the ground,
CHAP, XIV.2,3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 205
and in a manner seek darkness for themselves, as it is the
case with us when we flee as it were from the light and lie
on the ground; for we then shew that we cannot enjoy the
light, it being disagreeable to us: and hence we see more
clearly what I have stated,—that the Prophet uses very
strong terms to produce an impression on the Jews, that
they might know that the earth was so sterile, not through
any natural or common cause, but through the judgment of
God."
He afterwards adds, The cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
Here he sets forth their despair: for in doubtful matters
we are wont to deliberate and to devise remedies ; but when
we are destitute of any counsel or advice, and when no hope
appears, we then break out into crying. We hence see that
it was an evidence of despair when the cry of Jerusalem
ascended ; for they would not be able to complain and to
disburden their cares and griefs by pouring them into the
bosoms of one another, but all of them would cry and howl.
It is then added, Their chiefs will send the common people
to the waters. The Prophet’s object was again to point out
something extraordinary,—that the great, possessing author-
ity, would constrain and compel the common sort to draw
1 The versions connect the two verbs with gates: and if we take “ gates”
metonymically for those who attended them, the meaning will be evident.
We may then render the verse thus,—
Mourned hath Judah,
And her gates, they have languished ;
Grieved have they for the land;
And the cry of Jerusalem hath ascended.
In the gates was the court of justice; there. the chief men or governors
assembled. The languishing belonged, not to the gates, but to those who
attended them, and so the grief or lamentation. The first meaning of the
verb is to be dark, to be black, but it is used to signify extreme grief or
lamentation. See Psalms xxxv. 14; xxxviii. 6; Jer. viii. 21. As light
denotes joy, so darkness is a symbol of grief or mourning. We use a
similar kind of metonymy, when we say, “ The court is in mourning.” The
Septuagint render the verse thus,—
Mourned hath Judah,
And her gates have been emptied,
And have become dark for the land;
And the shout of Jerusalem hath ascended.
Blayney’s version of the third line is as follows,—
They are in deep mourning for the land.
The Targum paraphrases the verb thus,—* Their faces are covered with
blackness.” — Ld.
206 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LY. »
water. They have sent them, he says, that is, by authority ;
they who could command others sent them to the waters."
They came, he says, to the cisterns. By the word 0°33,
gabim, he means deep ditches, or pits; but some render
them cisterns. With regard to the subject in hand, it signi-
fies not ; for the Prophet no doubt meant that they would
come to the deepest wells or pits, as it is usually done in a
great drought ; for many springs become often dry, and pits
also, situated in high places; but in valleys some water
remains, and there it may be had: there are also some wells
ever full of water, where its abundance never fails. It was
therefore the Prophet’s design to refer to such wells. They
came, he says, to the wells, where they thought they could
find a sufficient supply ; but he adds, They found no waters ;
they returned with their empty vessels.
We now perceive what I have said,—that the Prophet
here reproves the Jews for their stupidity in not under-
standing that God was angry with them when the order of
nature, which ought ever to continue the same, thus failed.
Droughts indeed often happen when there are no waters in
most places; but when no well supplies any water, when
there is not a drop of water to be found in the most favour-
able places, then indeed it ought to be concluded that God’s
agains somes bo sotiine te cate lp Se ee
“the elder ones—majores,” and “the younger ones—minores;” by the
Syriac, “the chiefs,’ and “the common sort;” and by the Targum,
“chief men,” and “subjects.” The first word is well expressed in our
version, “nobles,’—the illustrious; and the most suitable word for the
others is “ menials;” they were the servants.— Ed,
2 T would render the verse thus,—
3. When their nobles sent their menials for water,
the verb 2 has the meaning of bringing back is evident from Isaiah lii.8 ;
nobles, and not to the servants. This verse speaks of Jerusalem, the last
mentioned in the former verse; and what follows refers to Judea, spoken —
of in the former part according to the usual manner of the prophets.—Zd,
CHAP. XIV.4. | COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 207
curse is on the people, who find nothing to drink; for in
nothing does God deal more bountifully with the world than
in the supply of water. We do not speak now of wine; but
' we see fountains everywhere pouring forth waters, and rivers
also flow through countries: moreover, pits are dug through
the labours of men ; there are also cisterns in which the rain
is preserved in places that are commonly dry: but when in
cisterns no water remains, and when the fountains them-
selves refuse any supply, we may hence surely know that it
is the special judgment of God ; and this is what Jeremiah
intended here to shew; and therefore he says that they
were confounded and ashamed, and that they covered their
head. It now follows—
4. Because the 4. Propter terram affiictam (contritam, vel, scis-
ground is chapt, for sam; cum enim verbum hoc proprie signijficat con-
there was norain in terere, non dubito, quin Propheta hic terram vel pul-
the earth, the plow- verulentam vel concisam significat,) quia non fuit
men were ashamed, pluvia in terra, confusi sunt agricole (vel, pudefacti
they covered their sunt, repetit illud verbum WW2) et cooperuerunt ca-
heads. put suum (etiam eandem dictionem repetit.)
The Prophet had said, that though the whole common
people were sent to the waters, yet none would be found.
He now adds the same thing respecting the husbandmen.
Ashamed, he says, shall be the husbandmen, for the ground
shall be turned into dust, and God will pound it small.
When the heavens supply moisture, the earth retains thus
its solid character; but in a great heat we see the earth
dissolving into dust, as though it was pounded in a mortar.
So he says, On account of the chapt ground, because there
is no rain, ashamed shall be the husbandmen, and they shall
cover their heads ; for sorrow shall not only seize on them,
but also fill them with such shame as to make them to shun
the light and the sight of men. These things were intended
for the same purpose, even to make the Jews to know that
they were not by chance deprived of water, but because God
had cursed their land, so that it yielded them no water even
for the common wants of nature. It follows—
5. Yea, the hind also calved 5. Quin etiam cerva in agro peperit
in the field, and forsook it, be- et deseruit (nempe, foetum suum,) quia
eause there Was no grass. non fuit herba.
208 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LEOT, LV.
6. And the wild asses _— 6. Et onagri steterunt super excelsa (divimus
did stand in the high de hoc nomine, super labia, vel, eminentias, vel,
places, they snuffed up rupes,) traxerunt (vel, hauserunt) ventum
the wind like dragons; sicut serpentes; defecerunt oculi eorum, quia
their eyes did fail, be- non fuit herba (wtitur alio nomine,
cause there was no grass. NW prius, nunc ponit WY, sed eodem sensu.)
Jeremiah now comes to animals: he said before, that men
would be visited with thirst, and then that the ground would
become dry, so that husbandmen would be ashamed; he
now says that the wild asses and the hinds would become
partakers of this scarcity. The hind, he says, has brought
forth in the field, which was not usual; but he says that
such would be the drought, that the hinds would come forth
to the plains. The hinds, we know, wander in solitary
places and there seek their food, and do not thus expose
themselves ; for they have a natural timidity, which keeps
them from encountering danger. But he says that hinds,
big with young, shall be constrained by famine to come to
the fields and bring forth there, and then flee away: and
yet they prefer their young to their own life. But the Pro-
phet here shews that there would be something extraordi-
nary in that vengeance of God, which was nigh the Jews,
in order that they might know that the heavens and the
earth and all the elements were armed against them by
God, for they had so deserved. But he says, Bring forth
shall the hind, and then he adds, and will forsake its young :
but why will it bring forth in the field ? even because it will
not find grass in the mountains, and in the woods, and in
the usual places.
The same thing is said of the wild asses, And the wild
asses, he says, stood on the rocks: and yet this animal, we
know, can endure want for a long time. But the Prophet,
as I have said, intended to shew that there would be in this
scarcity some remarkable evidences of God’s vengeance.
Stood then did the wild asses on the rocks, and thence drew
in wind like serpents : for great is the heat of serpents; on
account of inward burning they are constrained to draw in
wind to allay the heat within. The Prophet says, that wild
asses were like serpents, for they were burning with long
famine, so that they were seeking food in the wind itself, or
gh ee
CHAP. XIV. 7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 209
by respiration. He then adds, Failed have their eyes, for
there was no grass."
We now understand the object of this prediction: It was
God’s purpose not only to foretell the Jews what was soon to
be, but also to point out, as it were, by the finger, his ven-
geance, that they might not have recourse, as usual, to
secondary causes, but that they might know that they suf-
fered punishment for their sins; for the scarcity would be
so extraordinary as far to exceed what was usual. It now
follows—
7. O Lord, though our iniquities 7. Si iniquitates nostre testifi-
testify against us, do thou it for thy cantur contra nos, Jehova, fac prop-
name’s sake: for our backslidings ter nomen tuum; quia multiplicate
are many; we have sinned against sunt aversiones nostre, in te scele-
thee. raté egimus.
The Prophet, no doubt, intended here to exhort the Jews
by his own example to seek pardon ; nor does he so assume
the character of others, as though he was free himself from
guilt; for he was not more righteous than Daniel, who, as
we find, testified that he confessed before God, not only the
sins of the people, but also his own sins. (Dan. ix. 4, 5.) And
Jeremiah, though not one of God’s despisers, nor of the pro-
fane, who had provoked God’s wrath, was yet one of the
people; and here he connects himself with them; and he
did this in sincerity and not in dissimulation. But he
might have prayed silently at home ; why then did he make
public his prayer? What was his purpose in consigning it
to writing? It was that he might rouse the people, as I
have already said, by his example, so that they might flee
as suppliants to God’s mercy, and seek forgiveness for their
sins. This then was the Prophet’s object. Thus we see
* The three foregoing verses I render as follows,—
4. On account of the ground being cracked,
As there has been no rain in the land,
Ashamed were the husbandmen,
They covered their heads :
5. When also the hind was in the field,
It brought forth young, and it was forsaken,
Because there was no grass:
6. And the wild asses, they stood on the cliffs ;
They drew in the wind like serpents ;
Fail did their eyes,
Because there was no herbage.— Ed.
VOL. If. Oo
210 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. LV.
that the prophecy concerning the scarcity and the famine
was announced, that the people might through repentance
escape the wrath of God; for we know that when God has
even taken his sword he may possibly be pacified, as he is in
his nature merciful: and besides, the design of all such predic-
tions is, that men, conscious of their sins, may by faith and
repentance escape the destruction that awaits them. We now
then understand the design of the Prophet in this passage.
He says first, Hven though our iniquities testify, &e. The
verb F13Y, one, properly means to answer; but it means also
to testify, as in this place. O Jehovah,’ he says, there is no
reason now to contend with thee, or to expostulate, or to ask
why thou dealest so severely with us; let all such excuses be
dismissed, for our sins testify against us; that is, “ Were
there no angels nor men to accuse us, our own conscience is
sufficient to condemn us.” But when do our iniquities tes-
tify against us? Even when we know that we are exposed
to God’s judgment and are held guilty by him. As to the
reprobate, their iniquities cry to heaven, as it is said of
Sodom. (Gen. xviii. 20, 21.) But the Prophet seems here
to express something more,—that the Jews could not make
evasions, but must confess that they were worthy of death.
For he says, For thy name’s sake deal with us. We see
that the Prophet first condemns himself and the wholepeople;
as though he had said, “ If thou, Lord, summonest us to
plead our own cause, we can expect nothing better than to
be condemned by our own mouths, for our iniquities are
sufficient to condemn us. What then remains for us?” The
Prophet takes it as granted that there was but one remedy,
—that God would save his people for his own name’s sake ;
as though he had said, “ In ourselves we find nothing but
reasons for condemnation ; seek then in thyself a reason for
forgiving us: for as long as thou regardest us, thou must
1 All the versions connect “ Jehovah” with the next words; and so do
Venema, Gataker, and Blayney. The particle D8, if, or though, is omitted
by the Septuagint and the Arabic ; but is retained by the Vulgate, Syriac,
and the Targum. It may be rendered verily, or truly,—
Verily, our perversities, they have responded against us.
The word fi? means perverse or headstrong wickedness. There is an al-
lusion in responding to a trial. “ They have stood against us,” is the
Septuagint. See Job xv. 6.—Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAILL 211
necessarily hate us and be thus a rigid Judge; cease then
to seek anything in us or to call us to an account, but seek
from thyself a reason for sparing us.” He then adds, For
multiplied have our defections, and against thee have we done
wickedly. By these words the Prophet shews that he did
not formally, like hypocrites, confess sins, but really acknow-
ledged that the Jews would have been found in various ways
guilty had God dealt with them according to justice.
As we now perceive the import of the words, let us learn
from this passage, that there is no other way of being re-
conciled to God than by having him to be propitious to us
for his name’s sake. And by this truth is refuted every-
thing that has been invented by the Papists, not less fool-
ishly than rashly, respecting their own satisfactions. They
indeed know that they stand in need of God’s mercy; for
no one is so blinded under the Papacy, who does not feel
the secret misgivings of his own conscience: so the saint-
lings, who lay claim to angelic perfection, are yet self-con-
victed, and are by necessity urged to seek pardon; but
in the mean time they obtrude on God their satisfactions
and works of supererogation, by which they compensate for
their sins, and thus deliver themselves from the hand of
God. Now this is a remarkable passage to confute such a
diabolical delirium, for the Prophet brings forward the name
of God; as though he had said, “ This is the only way by
which we can return to God’s favour and obtain reconcilia-
tion with him, even by having him to deal with us for his
name's sake, so that he may seek the cause of his mercy in
himself, for in us he can find none.” If Jeremiah said this
of himself, and not feignedly, what madness is it for us to
arrogate so much to ourselves, as to bring anything before
God by which he may be induced to shew mercy? Let us
then know that God forgives our sins, not from a regard to
any compensation, but only on account of a sufficient reason
* The latter part may be thus rendered,—
Jehovah! deal with us for thy name’s sake:
For many have been our defections,
Against thee have we sinned.
The Syriac renders fitly the first line,—
O Lord, spare us on account of thy name.—Ed.
212
within himself, that he may glorify his own name.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
LECT. LY.
Now
follows a clearer explanation and a confirmation of this verse.
8. O the Hope of Israel, the
Saviour thereof in time of trouble,
why shouldest thou be as a stranger
in the land, and as a wayfaring man
that turneth aside to tarry for a
night?
9. Why shouldest thou be as a
man astonied, as a mighty man
that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord,
art in the midst of us, and we
8. Spes Israel (vel, expectatio ;
MP est ewpectare,) servator ejus in
tempore angustiee (vel, i
cur eris quasi peregrinus in terra
ps viator diyertens ad pernoctan-
um?
9. Quare eris vir territus? quasi
gigas qui non potest servare? atqui
(copula enim valet hic adversativum)
tu in medio nostri Jehova, et nomen
are called by thy name; leave us
tuum super nos invocatum est, ne
not.
deseras nos.
I have said that the former verse is confirmed by these
words ; for since the Prophet mentions to God his own name,
we must consider the cause of the confidence with which he
was supported, which was even this,—because God had
chosen that people, and promised that they should be to him
a peculiar people. It is then on the ground of that covenant
that the Prophet now prays God to glorify his name; such
a prayer could not have been made for heathen nations. We
hence perceive how the Prophet dared so to introduce God’s
name, as to say, Deal with us for thy name’s, sake.
He calls God, in the next place, the hope of Israel; not
that the Israelites relied on him as they ought to have done,
for the ten tribes had long before revolted from him, and so
great a corruption had also prevailed in Judah, that hardly
one in a thousand could be deemed faithful. Hope then
among the people had become extinct; but the Prophet
here regards the perpetuity of the covenant, as though he
had said, “ Even though we are unworthy to be protected by
thee, yet as thou hast promised to be always ready to bring
us help, thou art our hope. In short, the word hope or ex-
pectation, is to be referred to God’s promise, and to the con-
‘stancy of his faithfulness, and not to the faithfulness of
men, which did not exist, at least it was very small and in
very few.
To the same purpose he adds, His Saviour in time of
trouble. He had in view the many proofs by which God had
manifested his power in the preservation of the faithful.
CHAP. XIV. 8,9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. . 213
And he expressly mentions trouble or distress, as though he
had said, that the aid of God had been known by evidences
sufficiently clear; for had the people never wanted his
help, his favour would have been less evident; but as they
had been often reduced to great straits, the bounty and the
power of God had become more manifest by delivering them
from extreme dangers.
It is then added, Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the
land ? as a traveller, who turns aside for a short time in his
journey to pass the night? Here must be noticed a contrast
between a stranger and one that is stationary, spoken of after-
wards. God would have his name to be invoked in Judea ; it
was therefore necessary that his favour should continue there ;
and hence he called the land his rest, and he had also pro-
mised by Moses that he would ever be in the midst of his
people. The Prophet no doubt had taken from the law what
he relates here, Thow art in the midst of us, Jehovah, thy
name is called on us. He therefore reasons from what
seemed inconsistent, that he might obtain pardon from God ;
for if he was inexorable, his covenant would have failed and
perished, which would have been unreasonable, and could
not indeed have been possible. Hence he says, “‘ Lord, why
shouldest thou be as a stranger and as a traveller, who seeks
only a lodging for one night, and then goes forward?” God
had promised, as I have already said, that he would rest per-
petually in the land, that he would be a God to the people;
it was not then consistent with the covenant that God
should pass as a stranger through the land. As he had then
formerly defended the Jews, and made them safe and secure
even in the greatest dangers, so the Prophet now says, that
it was right that he should be consistent with himself and
continue ever the same.
As to the words which follow, Why shouldest thou be as a
man astonished or terrified? I take “terrified” for an un-
cultivated person, as we say in our language, homme savage.’
1 The word 03, rendered “astonished,” is only found here; it is
evidently a Niphal participle, and rendered by the Septuagint “sleeping—
é a,”—by the Vulgate, “ wandering—vagus,”— by the Syriac, “ weak—
imbecillis,’—by Montanus and Pagninus, “ astonished.” Parkhurst, after
214 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LY.
It is then added, As a giant who cannot save; that is, a
strong helper, but of no skill, who possesses great strength,
but fails, because he is rendered useless by his own bulk.
And so the Prophet says, that it would be a strange thing,
that God should be as a strong man, anxious to bring help
and yet should do nothing.
After having said these things, he subjoins the contrast
to which I have referred, But thou art in the midst of us,
Jehovah, thy name is called on us, forsake us not. We now
see that the Prophet dismisses all other reasons and betakes
himself to God’s gratuitous covenant only, and recumbs on
his mercy. Thou art, he says, in the midst of us. God had
bound himself by his own compact, for no one else could
have bound him. Then he says, Thy name is called on us.
Could the people boast of anything of their own in being
thus called? By no means; but that they were so called
depended on a gratuitous covenant. As then the Prophet
did cast away every merit in works, and every trust in sa-
tisfactions, there remained nothing for him but the promise
of God, which was itself founded on the free good pleasure
of God. Let us hence learn, whenever we pray to God, not
to bring forward our own satisfactions, which are nothing
but filthy things, abominable to God, but to allege only his
own name and promise, even the covenant, which he has
made with us in his only-begotten Son, and confirmed by his
blood.
Grotius, derives it from an Arabic verb, which means to “ come upon one
unexpectedly,” or to overwhelm, and renders it overwhelmed, astonied. It
may then be rendered, surprised. Grotius says, that it means a precipitant
peapts coming to the aid of one in danger, and not capable of delivering
As in the former instance, “ the sojourner” and “the traveller” are the
same, only what is said of the latter is more specific ; so it seems to be
here: the man, taken by surprise, is only farther described as one who is
not able on that account to save. The two verses may be thus rendered—
8. The hope of Israel! his Saviour in time of distress!
Why art thou like a sojourner in the land ?
Or fike a traveller turning aside to pass the night?
9. Why art thou like one taken by surprise—
Like a man who is not able to save?
Yet thou art in the midst of us, Jehovah ;
And thy name, on us is it called:
Do not forsake us,—E£d.
CHAP. XIV.10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since we are taught by the Teacher
whom thou hast set over us, to seek our daily bread from thee,
we may know that whenever thou chastisest us with scarcity,
we are justly visited by thy hand ; and shouldest thou at any time
deal severely with us, may we never cease to implore thy mercy,
and feel assured that thou wilt ever be merciful and propitious
to us, provided we’ decline not from the way which thou hast
pointed out to us, even that thy Son will reconcile us to thee, and
that his blood is our only satisfaction; and may we not look to
anything else, even in seeking our salvation, but that thy name
may be more and more glorified through Jesus Christ our Lord.—
Amen.
Lecture Fifty-=Sixth.
10. Thus saith the Lord unto
this people, Thus have they loved
to wander, they have not refrained
their feet; therefore the Lord doth
not accept them: he will now re-
member their iniquity, and visit their
sins.
10. Sie dicit Jehovah ,ad populum
hune (vel,de populo hoe; y utrunque
significat,) Sicut dilexerunt ad va
gandum (hoc est, sicut amarunt
vagari,) pedes suos non cohibuerunt,
ideo Jehova non placuit sibi in
illis ; nune recordabitur iniquitatum
eorum, et visitabit peccata Ipsorum.
Tue Prophet goes on with the same subject ; but he re-
proves the Jews more severely and shews what their sins
were. He says then that they were given to inconstancy ;
but by saying, “to wander,” yi. lenuo, which means to
move here and there, he no doubt mentions this inconstancy
as a contrast to that quietness and rest, of which Isaiah
speaks, when he says, “ Behold the Lord hath commanded,
In returning and in confidence shall be your strength, in
quietness and tranquillity. (Isaiah xxx. 15.) He then wished
the Jews to adopt different counsels, and not to run here and
there when any danger was at hand, but to wait until he,
according to his promise, came to their aid. Hence Jere-
miah now accuses them of inconstancy, because they would
not rely on God’s help and remain firm in their purpose, but
run here and there for vain helps ; besides a diabolical frenzy
led them after idols, as Isaiah says in another place, “ Thou
hast wearied thyself in thy ways and without profit,” (Isaiah
xlvii. 13.)
ee
+ aa
= oe
>
216 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. LYI.
This fact is often mentioned by the prophets,—that they
were like roving strumpets who seek paramours everywhere ;
for their confederacies with the Egyptians and the Chaldeans
cost them much, and yet they spared no expenses. They
might have waited quietly for the aid of God, which had
been promised ; but they did not.
We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet when
he says, that they loved to wander,‘ or to move here and there,
and that they restrained not their feet. “At the first view,
indeed, this seems to have been but a small offence; but if
we consider its source, that they distrusted God and his
power, and placed their safety in the Egyptians, or the
Chaldeans, it will appear to have been a shameful and an
intolerable sacrilege. Unbelief, then, is here condemned ;
for the Jews looked around for foreign aids, and made no
account of God.
Now this passage is worthy of being especially noticed, for
unbelief is here painted to the life. It is indeed true that
even the children of God are not so tranquil in their minds
that they never fear, that they are never solicitous or
anxious, that they dread no danger; but yet, though the faith-
ful are disturbed by many inquietudes, cares, anxieties, and
fears, still God ever preserves them; and the firmness of
their faith within continues, though it may happen that they
are apparently not only shaken, but even stagger and fall.
But God gives to the unbelieving their just reward, who
derogate from his power, while they place their safety on
men or on idols, for they never find where they may safely
stand. They therefore weary themselves without any ad-
vantage, On this account he says, Therefore Jehovah will
not be pleased with them, that is, God will not give them
! The }3, so, before “ loved,” is not well accounted for, nor is it given in
any of the versions. The previous complaint was that God was like a
“ traveller” in the land, who made no stay: the answer given is, “so have
ye been; ye have loved to wander here and there.” It is an ironical retort.
The verse may be thus rendered,—
Thus saith Jehovah of this people,—
“ So have they loved to wander,
Their feet have they not restrained,”
And Jehovah has not been pleased with them;
He will now remember their iniquity,
And he will visit their sin.— Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 11,12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIANL. . 217
courage: nay, he says, he will now remember their iniquities
and visit their sins. In short, he teaches us, that so grievous
was the wickedness of that people, that there was no place
for the mercy of God. He afterwards adds—
11. Then said the Lord unto 11. Et dixit mihi Jehovah, Ne ores
me, Pray not for this people for in gratiam populi hujus in bonum, (hoc
their good. est, ut benefaciam, )
12. When they fast, I will not 12. Quum jejuhaverint, ego non ex-
hear their ery; and when they audiam ad clamorem eorum, et quum
offer burnt-offering and an obla- obtulerint sacrificium et oblationem, ego
tion, I will not accept them: but non habebo gratum (idem est verbum,
I will consume them by the in illis non placebit mihi, non placabor,
sword, and by the famine, and non ero propitius;) quoniam in gladio,
by the pestilence. in fame, et peste ego consumam eos.
God first forbids the Prophet to pray for the people, as we
have before seen, (ch. vii. 16; xi. 14.) But we must remem-
ber what I have said before, that this prohibition is to be
understood as to their exile; for as God had already decreed
that the people should be banished from the promised land,
the Prophet was forbidden to pray, inasmuch as that decree
was immutable. It is not, therefore, a general prohibition,
as though the Prophet was not allowed to ask God’s forgive-
ness in behalf of the whole people, or at least in behalf of
the godly who still remained. The Prophet might indeed
pray in a certain way for the whole people, that is, that God,
being satisfied with their temporal punishment, would at
length spare the miserable with regard to eternal life: he
might have also prayed for the remnant; for he knew that
there was some seed remaining, though hidden; nay, he was
himself one of the people, and he not only knew that some
true servants of God were still remaining, but he had also
some friends of his own, whose piety was sufficiently known
to him. God, therefore, did not strictly exclude all his
prayers, but every prayer with regard to the exile which was
soon to be undergone by the people.
Except we bear in mind this circumstance, the prohibition
might seem strange; for we know that it is one of the first
duties of love to be solicitous for one another before God,
and thus to pray for the wellbeing of our brethren. (James
y. 16.) It is not then the purpose of God to deprive the
Prophet of this holy and praiseworthy feeling, which is ne-
218 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVI.
cessarily connected with true religion; but his design was
to shew, that it was now in vain to implore him for the re-
mission of that punishment which had been determined.
We hence see first, that under the name of people every
individual was not included, for some seed remained; and
we farther see that this prohibition extended not to eternal
life, but on the contrary to temporal punishment. And the
demonstrative pronoun this indicates contempt or disdain, as
though he had said, “ What! why shouldest thou pray for a
people wholly unworthy of mercy; let them perish as they
deserve.” So when he says, for good—e5yr9by, lethube, it
ought also to be referred to their exile, by which he inti-
mates, “ Hope not that what has been once fixed by me
respecting this people can be changed by any prayers; they
must therefore suffer the punishment which they have de-
served, for I will banish them from the land.”
He afterwards adds, Even when they fast, I will not hear
their cry, and when they present a sacrifice and an oblation,
I will not be pleased with them. He doubtless touches the
hypocrites, who, though void of all sincerity, yet professed to
be the true worshippers of God, and by sacrifices and fastings
and other external rites wished to prove themselves to be so.
He therefore says that he would not be propitious or appeas-
able, though they fasted, and prayed, and offered all kinds
of sacrifices. The words, as I have said, were especially
addressed to hypocrites; for we know that that declaration
remains unchangeable—that God is nigh to all those who
call on him in sincerity. (Psalm exlv. 18.) Whosoever, then,
calls on God with a true heart, infallibly obtains his favour ;
for in another place it is ascribed to God as a thing neces-
sarily belonging to him, that he hears prayers. Whenever
then God is invoked, he cannot divest himself of what es-
sentially appertains to him—his readiness to hear prayer.
But here he intimates that there was no sincerity in the
people; for even when they fasted and prayed, and offered
sacrifices, they did not truly worship him ; for, as it was said
before, they could no more put off the wickedness which ad-
hered to their marrow than the Ethiopian could change his
skin or the panther his spots, (ch. xiii. 23.) He then shews,
cnAP. XIv. 11,12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 219
in this place, that though they wearied themselves in paci-
fying God by an external profession, they did nothing but
act falsely, and that therefore their efforts would be all in
vain ; for they profaned the name of God when they thus
grossly dissembled with him. This is the meaning.
Fasting is expressly mentioned, and it hence appears, that
when there is nothing wanting as to outward appearance,
God still ever regards faith, as we have seen in the fifth
chapter. Hence God values not what is highly esteemed
by men, and excites their feelings: why? because he re-
gards the faith of the heart, and faith is taken for integrity.
So then God abominates a double and a false heart ; and the
greater the fervour hypocrites display in external rites, the
more they provoke him.
We pray to God daily, it may be said, and yet we do not
fast daily. It is indeed true that prayer is more intent when
we fast; but yet God requires not daily fastings, while he
enjoins prayer both in the morning and in the evening, yea,
he would have us to implore his grace continually. (1 Thes.
v. 17.) But when fasting is joined to prayer, then prayer
becomes more earnest ; as it is usually the case when there is
any danger, or when there appears any evidence of God’s wrath,
or when we labour under any heavy affliction; for we then
not only pray but we also fast that we may be more free and
more at liberty to pray. Besides, fasting is also an evidence
that we are deprecating the wrath of God, while we confess
that we are guilty before him ; and thus also they who pray
stimulate themselves the more to sorrow and to other peni-
tential feelings. It is therefore the same as though he had
said, “ Even if they pray in no common manner and every
day, and add fasting, so that greater fervour may appear in
their prayers and extraordinary attention, yet I will not
hear their cries, even because their heart is false.”
We further gather from this passage that fasting is not
in itself a religious duty or exercise, but that it refers to
another end. Except then they who fast have a regard to
what is thereby intended—that there may be a greater
alacrity in prayer—that it may be an evidence of humility
in confessing their sins—and that they may also strive to
i
P “4 . >
al
220 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAIIL LECT. LYT.
subdue all their lusts—except these things be regarded, fast-
ing becomes a frivolous exercise, nay, a profanation of God’s
worship, it being only superstitious. We hence see that
fastings are not only without benefit except when prayers
are added, and those objects which I have stated are re-
garded, but that they provoke the wrath of God as all super-
stitions do, for his worship is polluted.
But under the Papacy the reason given for fastings is,
that they merit the favour of God. The Papists seek to
pacify him by fasting as by a sort of satisfaction ; they will
have fasting to be a work of merit. I will not now speak
of the numberless trifles which also pollute their fasting ;
but let us suppose that they are not superstitious in their
choice of meats, in their hours, and in other childish follies,
which are mere trumperies, nay, mockeries also to God—let
us suppose them to be free from all these vices, yet the in-
tention, as they call it, is nothing else but a diabolical error,
for they determine that fasting is a work of merit and of
satisfaction, and a kind of expiation. Let us then know,
that though Jeremiah speaks of hypocrites, yet he briefly
points out the design of fasting by mentioning prayer. So
also Christ, when recommending fasting, makes mention of
prayer. (Matt. xvii. 21; Mark ix. 29.) The same is done
by Paul. (1 Cor. vii. 5.) But it ought to be noticed here,
that though hypocrites joined before men prayer with fast-
ing, they were yet rejected, for there was no sincerity in
their hearts, but only an outward profession, a mere disguise.
But God, as we have seen, regards the heart, and sincerity
alone pleases him.
The same thing is said of sacrificing, When they present
sacrifices, or burnt-offerings, and an oblation, AMID, meneche,
that is, the daily offerings, J will not hear them, or, as he
says in the second clause, J will not be pleased with them.
Sacrifices without prayers were no doubt vain and worthless,
for as prayers were not acceptable to God without a sacrifice,
so when sacrifice was without prayers it was only a vain
shew. These two things are then united as by an indis-
soluble knot, to offer sacrifices and to pray. Prayers, as I
have said, cannot be acceptable to God without a sacrifice ;
CHAP. XIV.11,12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 221
for what can proceed from mortal man but what is abomin-
able before God? Our prayers must therefore be sanctified
in order that they please God ; and the only way of sancti-
fication is through the sacrifice of Christ. When they offered
sacrifices under the law they also joined prayers; and by
this ceremony they who made any request professed them-
selves unworthy except a sacrifice was offered. The Prophet
then mentions here what God had commanded under the
law, but he shews that hypocrites separated the principal
thing from the external signs. God indeed neither disre-
gards nor rejects signs, but when what they signify is separ-
ated from them, there is then an intolerable profanation.
Let us then know, that though nothing may be wanting in
the external worship, yet whatever we seek to do is abomin-
able to God except it be accompanied with sincerity of heart.
But I will consume them,’ he says, with the sword, and
with famine, and with pestilence. I render the particle *3,
ki, “but.” He refers here to three modes of destruction,
that the Jews might surely know that they were to perish,
according to what is said elsewhere, “ He who escapes from
the sword shall perish by the famine, and he who survives
the famine shall perish by the pestilence.” God shews, in
short, that he was armed with various kinds of punishment,
so that they who had so provoked him as wholly to lose the
hope of pardon, could by no escapes deliver themselves from
destruction. God might indeed have consumed the Jews
by one punishment, he might have also threatened them in
general terms without specifying anything, but as the unbe-
lieving ever promise themselves some way of escape, so his
purpose was to hold them bound in every way, that they
might know that they were shut up on every side, and that
no way of escape could be found. This is the meaning. It
follows—
13. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! 13. Et dixi, O, ho, Domine Je-
behold, the prophets say unto them, hovah; ecce prophet dicunt illis,
Ye shall not see the sword, neither Non videbitis gladium, et fames
1As it is a participle in Hiphil, preceded by a pronoun, it ought to
be rendered causatively,—
But with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence,
Will I cause them to be consumed.—d.
a
222 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LYI.
shall ye have famine; but I will non erit vobis; quoniam m ve-
give you assured peace in this ritatis (id est, stabilem) dabo vobis
place. in hoc loco.
The Prophet no doubt relates what he had expressed in
prayer to God ; but yet he has a reference to the people.
He then prayed in the manner he now relates ; but he ren-
ders public the prayers he offered by himself and without a
witness, in order that he might restore the Jews from their
impiety. Now Jeremiah’s colloquy with God availed not a
little to touch the Jews; for as though they themselves had
been present, he set before them what he had heard from
God’s mouth. We now then understand why he made known
his secret prayers ; it was not for the sake of boasting, but
for the sake of doing good to the Jews. It was then his
object to consult their benefit, when he declared to them
what he had previously poured forth without any witness
into the bosom of his God.
And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! He uses an expression
of grief, Ah / and thus he shews what concern he felt for his
people, being not less anxious on account of their ruin than
on account of his own. It may yet be an expression of
astonishment, as though the Prophet was filled with surprise,
“ What can this be,O Lord?’ And doubtless an expression
of astonishment is not unsuitable, so that the Jews might
feel horrified together with him, when they saw that they had
been led astray by the false prophecies, by which they had
been deceived. He then says, “ How is this, O Lord? for
the prophets say to them, &c."
Here the word, prophets, is emphatic, as though he had said,
They are not thus mad wilfully in promising to themselves
peace, contrary to thy will, but these prophets who profess
and boast of thy name, these are the authors of this so gross
a security ; for they say, Ye shall not see the sword, famine
shall not happen to you; nay, I will give you, &e. Here
they assume the person of God; for it is not said, “ God
shall give you sure peace,” but “I will give you,” &. We
hence see that the Prophet here expresses his horror, while
‘« Alas!” is commonly the meaning of this exclamation, being an ot
sion of grief rather than of astonishment. “Ah!” is the Vulgate,—* Oh!”
the Septuagint. It is rendered « Alas!” by Blayney.—Ed.
—— a:
CHAP. XIv.13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 223
he compares false prophecies with the oracle which he had
received from the mouth of God. The prophets, he declares,
say, &c. They assumed an honourable title, and one con-
nected with the power and authority of God himself. “ Even
the prophets then, who seem endued with the authority of
heayen, and seem to have been sent by thee, as though they
were angels,—even these promise men peace, not in a com-
mon manner, but in a way the most imposing, as though
they had thine authority, and brought from thy mouth their
fallacies, I will give you.”
We now then understand the design of the Prophet ; for
it was necessary to shake off from the Jews that false confi-
dence, by which the false prophets, who pretended to have
been sent from above, and boasted that they were God’s ser-
vants, the agents of the Holy Spirit, had inebriated them.
As then it was necessary to take away from the Jews this
confidence, the cause of their ruin, because they hardened
themselves in contempt of God, and despised all his threaten-
ings; he therefore says, “What! the false prophets speak
thus, I will give you sure peace’ in this place.”
We hence learn that Jeremiah had almost a continual
contest ; for the fiercest antagonists immediately presented
themselves, whenever he threatened the people either with
exile or with famine, or with any other judgment of God.
“What! be secure, for God has chosen this place where
he is worshipped. It cannot be that he will banish his
Church from its quiet rest. There is no reason then to
fear that he will ever suffer this kingdom to perish or his
Temple to be destroyed.” Hence the complaint of the Pro-
phet, not that he himself was affected by such falsehoods,
but he regarded the good of the people, and sought to re-
cover those who were as yet healable from these deceptions.
Hence it follows—
14. Then the Lord said unto me, 14. Et dixit Jehova mihi, Men-
The prophets prophesy lies in my. dacium prophete prophetant in no-
name: I sent them not,neither have mine meo; non misi eos, et non
1 Or, “ constant peace—pacem firmam.” Itrather means “ true or real
peace,” literally, “the peace of truth.” The version of the Septuagint is
* truth and peace,”—of the Vulgate and Targum, “true peace,” and of
the Syriac, “peace and security.” —Ed:
224 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LVI.
I commanded them, neither spake pencens illis, et non loquutus sum
unto them: they prophesy unto you cum illis: visionem mendaeii (hoc est,
a false vision and divination, and a mendacem) et divinationem et vani->
thing of nought, and the deceit of tatem (vel, rem nihili) et fraudem
their heart. cordis sui ipsi prophetant vobis.
We now see more clearly why the Prophet related his own
complaint, and also his astonishment, of which God alone
had been the witness, and that was, that the people might
be more attentive to his warning. For had he only said,
“The prophets deceive you, and God would have this to be
made known to you,” his address would not have been so
powerful, as when this question precedes, “ Lord God, what
is this? the prophets promise peace to this people, and for-
bid them to fear pestilence and war.” As then the Prophet
had set forth this according to his own view and the common
view of the whole people, the answer, as I have said, becomes
more forcible, and more easily penetrates into the mind.
God then gives this answer, Falsehood do the prophets pro-
phesy in my name.
In my name, is emphatical ; for God reminds us, that we
ought to beware of every appearance of falsehood, that we
ought not easily and rashly, and without discrimination, to
believe all prophecies; for not everything boasted of as
being divine is really so. We then see that this is a remark-
able passage ; for God reminds us, that we ought to exercise
judgment as to prophecies, so that we may not be inconsi-
derately led away by anything brought forward under the
pretext of his name. He would have us therefore wisely to
distinguish between things ; and hence I have said that this
passage deserves to be specially noticed. The Papists at this
day vainly boast of their titles, and say that they are the
real Church, that they are the pastors, and that the Chureh
of God is the pillar of the truth ; and thus they astonish and
confound the simple, so that every discrimination is taken
away, and whatever it pleases them to determine is to be
received as an oracle. But God shews here, by the mouth
of Jeremiah, that we are not rashly to believe every kind of
prophecy. In my name, he says, the prophets prophesy, as
though he had said, “‘ My name is often impiously profaned
by men. As then there are many who pass themselves as
CHAP. XIV. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. (225
my servants and prophets, and who also occupy a place of
dignity and exercise the ordinary office, yea, as there is such
depravity in men, that they are not ashamed to abuse my
name, wisdom and discretion ought to be exercised.” This
is the first thing; for God intimates, that it is not enough
for men to claim the prophetic office, except they also prove
that they are true and faithful prophets.
He afterwards adds, I have not sent them, nor have I com-
manded them, neither have I spoken to them ; a vision of
falsehood, &c. He here takes away authority from the false
prophets ; for he had not sent them, nor commanded them
to speak, nor spoken to them. The latter clause is more
general than the rest: but these three things ought to be
carefully noticed, for they serve to distinguish true from
false prophets. It was then God’s purpose to mention here
certain marks by which the difference between true and false
prophets may be known.
He says first, that they were not sent, for they obtruded
themselves. Hence a call is necessary, for God would not
have disorder and confusion in his Church. It is indeed
true that the call of Jeremiah was extraordinary ; for when
the state of the Church was rightly formed, the chief priest
was the teacher of religion and true doctrine, who was now
the adversary of God’s faithful servant. There were indeed
some, like Amos, who were taken from the common people ;
yet there were none more fit for the prophetic office than the
priests, for they were, as Malachi says, the messengers of the
God of hosts. (Mal. ii. 4, 7.) But when they became degene-
rate, God, in order to reproach them, raised up other prophets
from obscure villages and from the common people. It was
then sometimes an interior call only ; but when the Church
was duly formed, a regular outward call was also necessary.
However this may have been, it is certain that such as were
not called by God, falsely and wickedly pretended to have
his authority, being both without the outward call and
without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is the first
thing.
It then follows, I have not commanded them. Here is the
second mark of distinction ; for God testifies that no credit
VOL. Il. P
226 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LVI.
is due to the prophets, except as far as they faithfully deli-
ver, as it were from hand to hand, what has been committed
tothem. Ifthen a prophet mingles anything of his own,
he is proved to be false and is not worthy of any credit. Let
us hence know, that prophets are not endued with any other
power, but to deliver faithfully what has been committed to
them from above.
But the third mark, which is added, is still more clear:
God says, that he had not spoken to them ; for he thus inti-
mates that no voice but his ought to be heard in the Church.
Why then does he bid honour and reverence to be payed
to his prophets? Even because they bring nothing but
what he has delivered. We hence see how God allows
men no power of their own to rule in his Church ; but he
will have obedience to be rendered to himself, so that their
duty is faithfully to declare what he has committed to them.
Therefore as to the command, it refers to what was particu- ©
lar ; but when he says, I have not spoken to them, what was
general is intended ; it is the same as though he had said,
that it was not lawful nor right for prophets and teachers to
bring forward anything but what they had received from
heaven.
Hence he concludes, that they spoke falsehood and im-
postures, and divination and vanity, and the deceit of their
own heart." We hence see that as soon as men depart even
1 T render the verse as follows.—
14. And Jehovah said to me,—
Falsehood do the prophets prophesy in my name;
I have not sent them, nor given them a command,
Nor have I spoken to them:
A vision of the falsehood and divination,
And vanity and delusion of their own heart,
Do these of themselves prophesy to you.
God had not sent them, the final act; he had given them no command or
commission, the preceding act; he had not spoken to them, the first act.
God first speaks, then gives a commission, and afterwards sends forth his
servants. ‘The vision the false prophets had was that of the falsehood of
their own heart, of the divination, of the vanity, and of the delusion of
their own heart. Such seems to be the meaning given by the Septuagint
and the Vulgate. It was the lying vision of their own heart, it was the
divination or the presage, the vanity, and the delusion of their own heart.
The word for “ prophesy” in the last line is in Hithpael ; and henee “ of
themselves” is added. -
Blayney gives a different view; his version is,—
-_ ye
Mo ei Pi a
omap. xiv. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 227
in the smallest degree from God’s word, they cannot preach
anything but falsehoods, vanities, impostures, errors, and
deceits: and all who thoughtlessly give credit to men, with-
out considering whether they have been sent by God, and
_ faithfully deliver what he has committed to them, wilfully
perish. But on this subject more shall be said.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou dealest so kindly with us as
daily to shew to us our sins and to exhort us to repent, and teach-
est us that thou art ready to give us forgiveness,—O grant, that
we may not be of a refractory mind, nor flee away from thee,
while thou so kindly invitest us to thyself, but learn seasonably
to repent, and be touched with the fear of thy judgment, so that
we may truly and from the heart seek that reconciliation, which
has been procured for us by the blood of thine only-begotten
Son; and as we can bring nothing of our own, may we submis-
sively humble ourselves before thee, and also by faith embrace
the gift of thine only-begotten Son.—Amen.
Lecture Filty-Seventh.
15. Therefore thus saith the Lord
concerning the prophets that pro-
phesy in my name, and I sent them
not, yet they say, Sword and famine
shall not be in this land; By sword
and famine shall those prophets be
consumed.
16. And the people to whom they
prophesy shall be cast out in the
.
15. Propterea sic dicit Jehova
super prophetas, qui prophetant in
nomine meo, et ego non misi €os,
et dicunt, Gladius et fames non
erit in terra hac; in gladio et fame
consumentur prophetee illi :
16. Et populo cui ipsi propheta-
runt (illis, est supervacuwm) erunt
‘
A false vision, and divination, and vanity,
And the guile of their own heart, do these prophesy unto you.
He considers “a false vision” to be an imaginary revelation; “ divina-
tion,” to be something discovered by that art; “vanity,” to be the ora-
cular response of an idol; and “ guile,” to be the fraudulent suggestion of
their own heart.
But the simplest exposition is what I have stated: The vision, being
that of their own heart, was false; it was their own divination or prognos-
tication; it was worthless, vain, and empty; it was the effect of their own
delusion. This was the character of what they prophesied. We may
render the words thus,—
The false vision and the divination
And the vanity and the delusion of their own heart,
Do these of themselves prophesy to you.—d.
228 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LVIT.
streets of Jerusalem, because of the projecti in compitis Jerusalem a facie
famine and the sword; and they shall famis et gladii (hoe est, coram fame
have none to bury them; them, their et gladio vel prelio,) et non erit qui
wives, nor their sons, nor their sepeliat eos, ipsi, uxores eorum, et
daughters: for I will pour their ili eorum, et filie eorum, et effun-
wickedness upon them. dam super eos malum ipsorum.
JEREMIAH, after having declared to the false prophets,
that as they had by their flatteries deceived the people, they
would have to suffer the punishment they had deserved,
turns now his address to the people themselves. God might,
however, have seemed to deal with them rather hardly, that
he inflicted so severe a punishment on men who had been
deceived ; but the answer to this is evident ; for it is cer-
tain that except the world willingly sought falsehoods, the
power of the devil to deceive would not be so great, When
men therefore are led astray by impostures, it happens
through their own fault, inasmuch as they are more ready
to embrace vanity than to submit to God and his word.
And we must remember that saying of Paul, that all the
reprobate are blinded and given up to a reprobate mind, be-
cause they wilfully seek falsehood, and will not obey the
truth. (Rom. i. 28.) And on this account God declares that
he tries the hearts of men, whenever false prophets come
abroad ; for every one who really fears God shall by no
means be led away by the deceits of Satan and of impostors.
Hence, whenever men are too credulous and readily embrace
deceptions, it is certain that their hypocrisy is thus justly
punished by God. And it was well known to the Prophet,
that the Jews ever wished for such prophets as soothed their
ears and promised them an abundant harvest and a fruitful
vintage. (Micah ii. 11.) As then they had itching ears, a
liberty was justly given to Satan to deluge the whole land
with falsehood ; and so indeed it happened. There is then
no wonder that the Lord was so severe in chastising the
people ; for they had not been deceived except through their
own fault. The same thing happens at this day. Though
we are touched with pity when we see the ministers of Satan
prevail in deceiving the common people: yet we must
remember that a reward is rendered by heaven for the im-
piety of men, who either extinguish or smother the light
Oe ee
CHAP. XIV. 15,16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 229
of God as much as they can, and seek to plunge into dark-
ness.
This then was the reason why God so severely visited the
Jews, who had been deceived by false teachers: it was owing
to their previous impiety and ingratitude. And on this
account also he adds at the end of the verse, J will pour
Sorth upon them their wickedness. Some think that the word
MY, roe, may denote punishment as well as wickedness,
as f)Y, own, also is taken for both. But the Prophet seems
to give a reason why God had resolved to execute so dread-
ful a judgment on the Jews; and the reason was, because
they were worthy of such a reward. Iam therefore inclined
to render the word wickedness, as though he had said, “ A
dreadful calamity indeed awaits this people; but that they
may not complain of my severity, they shall receive the
reward of their own wickedness.” However this may be,
the Prophet no doubt wished here to close the mouths of the
Jews, that they might not proceed in their evasions, as
though God treated them with too little kindness. Hence
then it appears, that God does not heedlessly execute his
vengeance on the innocent; but that the teachers and the
whole people, who approved of them, were involved in the
same punishment.
1 These two verses are differently connected by some: the words,
“ these prophets,” at the end of the fifteenth verse, are joined with the
reap people” in the next verse; and this construction is evidently the
t,— ;
15. Therefore, thus saith Jehovah,—
As to the prophets who prophesy in my name,
(Though I have not sent them, yet they say,—
The sword and the famine shall not be in thisland)
BY the sword and by the famine shall they perish:
These prophets, and the people, to whom they prophesy,
Shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem,
On account of the famine and the sword;
And there will be none to bury them—
Neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters;
Thus will I pour upon them their own wickedness.
The preceding connection is favoured by the Septuagint and the Ara-
bic, but the other versions do not join the “prophets” and the “ people”
together. “Their own wickedness” is “ their own evils” in the Sepiua-
gint,—* their own evil” in the Vulgate,—and “ their own wickedness” in
the Syriac. If rendered “ wickedness,” then it is a metonymy for the
fruit or effect of wickedness; if “ evil,” then the meaning is, the evil due
to them.— Ed.
16.
230 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVII.
And he says, They shall be cast out in the streets of Jeru-
salem by the famine and the sword, or on account of the
famine and the sword. They shall then all of them, that
is, their carcases, be cast out; for their carcases are evi-
dently meant, as he immediately adds, and no one shall bury
them; and he mentions their wives and children. And
these had no excuse for themselves, for we have seen in the
seventh chapter that this charge was brought against them,
—that the children gathered wood, that the parents kindled
the fire, and that the women kneaded the dough to make
cakes for their idols. The Prophet then intimates, that no
one would escape, because they were all implicated in the
same wickedness, some more and some less, but so far, how-
ever, that the children were not to go unpunished, because
they followed their fathers, nor the wives, because they fol-
lowed the example of their husbands. It follows—
17. Therefore thou shalt 17. Dices igitur Se: see enim loco illativee
say this word unto them, particule sumitur) ad eos verbum hoe, (hoe
Let mine eyes run down est, annunciabis illis hoe verbum) Deducent
with tears night and day, oculi mei lachrymam (vertunt alii, descend-
and Jet them not cease: ent oculi mei in lachrymam; Hebraicum
for the virgin daughter of momen est singulare) nocte et die, et non
my people is broken with quiescent; quoniam contritione magna con-
a great breach, withavery trita est virgo, filia populi mei, plaga egra
grievous blow. (vel, acerba) valde.
God shews here again how tardy, yea, how stupid the
people were, whom no threatenings could induce to return
to aright mind. When, therefore, they daringly neglected
all threatenings, God bids a sad spectacle to be presented to
them, justly calculated to fill them with fear and shame; he
bids his Prophet to speak thus to them, “ Behold, I shall be
wholly dissolved into tears, and that on your account.”
The Prophet, no doubt, wept sincerely when he saw his own
people wilfully drawing upon themselves the wrath of God
and their final destruction ; nor could he divest himself of
his humane feelings: but he speaks not here only of his
own solicitude, but God himself bids him thus to speak, in
order that the Jews might be ashamed of their carelessness,
as they ridiculed or despised, with dry eyes, the calamity
which was nigh them, and the Prophet alone wept for them.
We have spoken of this in the ninth chapter and in other
«hie is ear SOS ” so ho) il
CHAP. XIV.17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 231
places. There indeed the Prophet wished that his eyes were
fountains of tears; but his object was, no doubt, not only to
. shew his concern for his own nation, but also thus to try
whether they could be turned to repentance, their hardness
being so great: and in this place the same thing is shewn
still more clearly ; for God bids the Prophet to weep, not in
secret, but to declare this to the whole people, Behold, my
eyes come down into tears, and there shall be no rest, no
cessation.
We now perceive the design of the Holy Spirit ; for as
the obstinacy of the people was so great that they shed no
tears, though God often terrified them with the most dread-
ful threatenings, it was necessary that this coming calamity
should be set before their eyes, in the person of Jeremiah,
as in a mirror, in order that they might at length learn to
fear. Whenever such passages occur, let us remember that
at this day also men are equally stupid, so that they ought
not to be less sharply urged, and that God in the gospel
adds vehemence and sharp goads to the truth; for such is
not only the sloth of our hearts, but also their hardness, that
it is necessary to constrain those who will not suffer them-
selves to be drawn and led.
Some render the words, “ Descend shall tears from mine
eyes; but more correct is the other version, “ Mine eyes
shall descend into, tears,’ as 3, beth, is to be prefixed to
MyvOt, damoe, or 6 lamed ; and it is added, night and
day, because the daughter of my people is broken with a great
breach. As yet the Jews were indeed existing as a nation ;
but the Prophet gives here a striking representation, as
though the scene was present, that they might know that a
sudden destruction was at hand, though they as yet trusted
in their own auxiliaries; nor indeed could they have been
led to fear God in any degree until their quietness was
disturbed."
1 More consistent with the character of the Hebrew is to render the
verse thus,—
17. And thou shalt say to them this word,—
Pour down shall my eyes the tear
Night and day, and shall not cease;
For great has been the breach,
232 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ' LECT. LVIL
He calls them the virgin daughter of his people, not for
honour’s sake, but because God had hitherto spared the
Jews. Virgin is sometimes taken in a good sense; for God,
when speaking of the holy marriage, by which he had bound
the Jews to himself, compares his people to.a virgin, But
the daughter of Babylon is also often called a virgin, be-
cause the Chaldeans, through long peace, had accustomed
themselves to delicacies. So also in this place the Prophet,
by way of concession, says that his own nation were soft and
tender, because they had been borne with through the in-
dulgence of God. But as in war virgins are exposed to
violations, and the lust of men rages without shame and be-
yond all limits, so God intended here to set forth the fierce-
ness of his vengeance; as though he had said, “ Now indeed
ye are tender and delicate young women, but in a short
time your condition will be changed ; nor is there any rea-
son why the constant happiness which ye have hitherto en-
joyed should deceive you.”
And for the same purpose he adds, that the smiting would
be very bitter. It was indeed necessary by many words to
exaggerate that vengeance, of which the people made no
account. It now follows—
18. If I go forth into the field, 18. Si exiero in agrum, ecce (copula
then behold the slain with the enim redundat) occisi gladio; et si in-
sword! and if I enter into the gressus fuero in urbem, ecce dolentes
city, then behold them that are fame (alii volunt esse nomen substan-
sick with famine! yea, both the tivwm, dolores famis, vel, egritudines ;)
prophet and the priest go about quia tam propheta quam sacerdos cir-
into a land that they know not. cumeunt ad terram, et nesciunt (alii
vertunt, quam nesciunt. )
He confirms the same thing in other words, not on ac-
Broken has been the virgin of the daughter of my people;
The smiting has been very grievous.
The event, though future, is represented as having past; for he relates a
vision. The “ daughter” is not in apposition but in construction with
“virgin.” Vitringa says, that a state, or a kingdom, is often called a
virgin in the prophets. It is rendered here “ kingdom” by the Targum.
See Is. xxxvii. 22; xlvii. 1; Jer. xxxi. 21; xlvi. 11.
« Those cities,” says Lowth, “are called virgins, which never came into
a conqueror’s hands.” Jerusalem was in this sense a virgin. He says
further, “ The dissolution of the body politic is called a breach, in allusion
to the breaking of the limbs of the human body.” The “ smiting,” or
the stroke, was “ very grievous,” because the body politic, or the state,
was shattered into pieces.” —Ed.
a4
CHAP. XIv.18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 233
count of the obscurity of what he had said, but because he
knew that he was speaking to the deaf, or that such was
- their sloth, that they needed many goads. He says, in
short, that there would be in the city no defence for the
people to shield them from the punishment that was at
hand, and that if they went into the fields the whole land
would be covered with enemies, who would destroy them.
This is the sum of the whole.
But he speaks as though he saw the event with his eyes,
If I go out into the field, he says, their carcases meet me};
for the enemy destroys with his drawn sword all who ven-
ture to go forth. Then he says, If I go into the city, there
famine kills those whom the enemy has not reached.t As
he had said before, “ Behold, all were cast forth in the
streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword.”
But what he had said of the streets of Jerusalem he extends
now to the fields; as though he had said, that there would
be no place of rest to the Jews; for if they attempted to
flee away, they met with the swords of enemies, and if they
sought hiding-places, the famine would meet them, so that
they would perish without being destroyed by any enemy.
The prophet, he says, as well as the priest shall wander,
shall go round to the land and know not. Some explain the
last part of the verse as though the Prophet had said, When
both the prophets and the priests shall be driven into exile, .
after many wanderings, they shall not understand that exile
is a punishment due to their sins. They therefore take the
words, §t)"q° x), vela idou, and they shall not know, in a
general sense, as though the Prophet here condemned that
brutal blindness which possessed the minds of the people,
nay, even of the priests, who did not consider that God pun-
ished them for their sins. Others explain the words more
simply,—that they would go round to the land, that is, that
they would come to Chaldea by various windings and by
* I take the words before “ sword” and “ famine” to be nouns substan-
tive,—“ the piercings of the sword,” and,“ the wastings of the famine,”—
If [ go out to the field,
Then behold the piercings of the sword ;
And if I enter the city,
Then behold the wastings of the famine.— Ed.
ee ee ee er ee ee a a ee ae eae See ee
it se — i A
rr a ees
234 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVII.
long circuits, and would come to a land they knew not, that
is, which was before unknown to them. But I know not
whether this was the meaning of the Prophet. Certainly a
third view seems more suitable to me, though it has none
in its favour, that is, that the priests and prophets would go
round to seek subterfuges, as they would be destitute of all
means of escape, not knowing what to do; and they shall
not know, that is, they shall find that a sound mind is by
God taken from them, because they had demented others.
Hence I doubt not but that the Prophet had especially de-
nounced this punishment on the wicked priests and the false
prophets, because they thought that they would have some
way of escape; but they would be mistaken ; for their own
conceit would at length disappoint them; and when they
thought of this and of that, God would bring to nothing
their crafty ways. And they were worthy of such a pun-
ishment, because they had fascinated the wretched people
with their lies; and we also know that they were proud of
their own crafts and wiles. The Prophet therefore derides
this false confidence and says, They shall go round through
the land and shall not understand, that is, all their coun-
sels and plans shall be without any fruit or benefit, though
they may be long in forming them.’ It follows—
19. Hast thou utterly rejected 19. An abjiciendo abjecisti Jehudah?
Judah? hath thy soul loathed anin Sion (an Sion, 2 redundat) abomi-
Zion? why hast thou smitten us, nata est anima tua? quare percussisti
and there is no healing for us? we nos, et nulla nobis medela? expectando
looked for peace, and there is no pacem (id est, expectavimus pacem) et
good ; and for the time of healing, nihil boni (vel, non bonum,) et tempus
and behold trouble! medele (idem est verbum,) et eece terror.
The Prophet now turns to prayer and to complaints, that
by his example he might at length rouse the people to
lamentation, in order that they might humbly implore God’s
1 Venema agrees with Calvin as to the meaning of the latter part of
the verse: it is indeed the only one that comports with the context; the
other explanations are quite foreign to it. Our version is according to
the Septuagint and Vulgate; but it is no doubt wrong. Blayney, in
some measure, following the Targwm, gives the following version,—
Yet both the prophet and also the priest
Go trafficking about the city and take no knowledge.
Meaning, that they went about with their false predictions, like pedlars,
for gain, and paid no regard to the miseries of the country. This sense
suits the passage, but the other is the most obvious and natural.— Zd.
‘
:
:
-
j
CHAP, xIv. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 235
forgiveness, and sincerely confess their sins and be displeased
with themselves. At the same time he indirectly reproves
that hardness of which we have before spoken. As then he
effected nothing by teaching, he changed his manner of *
speaking, and leaving the people he addressed God, accord-
ing to what we have before noticed.
He then asks, Repudiating hast thou repudiated Judah ?
Has thy soul abominated Sion? Jeremiah seems to reason
here from what is inconsistent, as though he had said, “ Is
it possible that thou hast rejected the tribe of Judah and
Mount Sion?” For God had promised that he should ever
have a lamp at Jerusalem. The ten tribes had already been
overthrown, and their kingdom had not only been distressed,
but wholly demolished: still there remained a seed, because
the tribe of Judah continued, which was as it were the
flower of the whole people ; and from him the salvation of
the world was to proceed. Hence the Prophet does here,
as it were, expostulate with God, as though he had said,
“ Thou hast chosen the tribe of Judah for this end, that it
might be safe perpetually; thou hast also commanded the
Temple to be built on Mount Sion for thy name; thou hast
said that it would be thy rest for ever: hadst thou then by
rejecting rejected the tribe of Judah? does thy soul abomi-
nate Mount Sion ?
There seems, however, to be a kind of irony implied: for —
though Jeremiah prayed sincerely, he yet intended to re-
mind the people how foolishly they promised themselves ~
impunity as to their sins, because God had his habitation in
the Temple, and because Jerusalem was as it were his royal
palace. It is indeed evident that the Prophet recalled to
mind the promises of God; but yet he wished briefly to
shew, that though God should apparently destroy the rem-
nant, and suffer the Temple to be demolished, he would be
still faithful to his promises. In asking therefore these
1 The first verb means to reject with contempt, and the second, to re-
ject with abhorrence,—
Despising, hast thou despised Judah?
Has thy soul abhorred Sion ?
Had he despised Judah as a worthless thing, and had he abhorred Sion as
a filthy thing ?— Ed.
236 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LYII.
questions, as in astonishment, he had partly a regard to God,
and partly also he reminded the people, that though God
delivered the body of the,people to destruction, he would yet
be faithful and constant in what he had. promised.
He then says, Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no
healing? There is no doubt but that the Prophet in this
place also wished to turn God to mercy for this reason, be-
cause he had promised to be merciful to the posterity of
David, though sometimes he punished them for their sins;
for there was this remarkable promise, “ If his children shall
offend and violate my covenant, I will smite them with a
rod and chastise their iniquities; yet my mercy will I not
take from them.” (2 Sam. vii. 14; Psalm Ixxxix. 31-33.)
And to the same purpose is what he said in chap. x. 24,
“Chastise me, O Lord, but in judgment,” that is, moderately,
“Jest thou bring me to nothing.” There the Prophet, as
we have said, reminded Ged of his covenant; and he does
the same here, Why hast thou smitten, so that there is no
healing? For the punishment which God inflicts on his
Church would be, as he declares, a kind of medicine; but
when there is no hope of healing, God seems to render yoid
what he had promised. Hence Jeremiah goes on in drawing
his argument from what is inconsistent, as though he had
said, that it was not possible that God should so severely
smite his people as not to allow a place for forgiveness, but
that he would at length be intreated and heal the wound
inflicted.
We have expected peace, and there is no good; and the
time of healing, and behold trouble, or terror. This latter
part of the verse confirms what I just stated, that the Pro-
phet had partly a reference to God in this mode of prayer,
1 The proper construction of these lines, and of the preceding, is not
commonly given. The “why” before “ smitten” is to be understood
here,—
Why hast thou smitten us, and there is for us no healing?
Why has there been hope for peace, and there is no good?
And for the time of healing, and behold terror?
The word for “hope,” or longing, or looking for, is a participial noun,
but rendered by the versions as though it were a verb in the first person
plural. As “smitten” is in the past tense, so has been is to be understood
before “ hope.” — Ed.
CHAP. xiv.20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 237
and that he partly reproved the Jews, because they thought,
being deceived by false confidence, that they were beyond
the reach of danger, inasmuch as God had consecrated Jeru-
salem, that his name might be there called upon, and that
the Temple might be his perpetual habitation. As then he
saw that his nation were inebriated, as it were, with this
foolish notion, he intended briefly to shew to them that God
would have an unknown way by which he would retain his
faithfulness, and yet punish the ungodly and the transgres-
sors; for by saying, “ We expected peace, and there is no
good,” he certainly does not commend the fidelity of the
people ; for relying on God’s promises, they sought comfort
in evils, and hoped that God would at length be exorable
and propitious. The word expecting is not to be taken in
a good sense; but he on the contrary reproves the Jews, be-
cause they put too much faith in false prophets. We hence
see that he condemns that false expectation by which they
had been deceived. Hence also we learn what has been be-
fore stated, that the Jews foolishly promised to themselves
impunity, because God had chosen his habitation among
them; for he shews that God had not in vain threatened
their ruin by his servants. This then is also the meaning
when he says, We expected the tume of healing, and behold
terror. It now follows—
20. We acknowledge, 20. Cognoscimus, Jehova, scelus nostrum, et
O Lord, our wickedness, iniquitatem patrum nostrorum; quoniam scele-
and the iniquity of our raté egimus in te (NOM, quanquam YW et
fathers; for we havesin- SON idem feré sunt, tamen simpliciter concludit,
ned against thee. quod sceleraté egerint adversus Dewm.)
The Prophet here prescribes no doubt to the Jews the way
of appeasing God. He before uttered a prayer, partly in
order to reprove the people for their wicked obstinacy, and
partly to shew to the godly and the elect that there remained
some hope. But now he uses a simple form of prayer, when
he says, O Lord, we know, &c. Hardly one in a thousand
then did know; but the Prophet does not assume the char- .
acter of the whole people; and why not? He doubtless
knew that the faithful among the people were very few ; but
he dictates for posterity a right form of prayer, so that they
might in exile know that this one thing only remained for
238 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAR. LECT. LVII.
them—to confess their sins, as otherwise they could not ob-
tain pardon.
He therefore says, We know our wickedness and the ini-
quity of our fathers ; for we have done wickedly against thee.
We have already explained the Prophet’s meaning in these
few words,—that when God puts forth his hand against us,
there is no hope of salvation, except we repent. But con-
fession is here put for repentance. Hypocrites are indeed
very free in confessing their sins; but the Prophet speaks
here of real confession ; and by stating a part for the whole,
everything included in repentance, as I have said, is intended.
But the object here is to shew, that they were humbly to seek
forgiveness, which could’ not be done, except they. con-
demned themselves before God,. and thus anticipated his
judgment.
He speaks of the iniquity of the fathers, not that the
faithful seek associates, here and there, for the sake of ex-
tenuating their guilt ; but it was an aggravation of their sins,
when they confessed that they were not only guilty them-
selves before God, but that they had brought from the womb
what was, as it were, hereditary, so that they deserved death
because they were the descendants of ungodly parents.
Whilst hypocrites allege the examples of fathers, they think
themselves thus absolved, or at least not so culpable, because
they had learnt what they practise from their childhood, be-
cause a bad education had led them astray. But the faithful
are of a far different mind; for they confess themselves
worthy of God’s vengeance, though he inquired not into the
wickedness of their fathers ; and they think also that God
acts justly, when he executes vengeance on account of their
fathers’ sins, being thus worthy of a twofold vengeance.
We now then understand what the Prophet means; and
hence we learn how foolishly the Papists set up this shield
against God ; that is, by having the word fathers often on
their lips; for they ought on the contrary to confess the
wickedness and iniquities of their fathers, according to what
_ is more fully enlarged upon in the ninth chapter of Daniel,
where he confesses that he himself and the fathers and kings
had done wickedly. And in these words we may also notice,
CHAP. XIV.20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 239
that it was not some slight fault that Jeremiah refers to when
he said, “ We acknowledge our iniquity and the iniquity of
our fathers ;’ he mentions first the iniquity of the living ;
then the iniquity of their fathers, and adds, in the third
place, “ We have acted wickedly against thee.” We hence
see that he did not formally acknowledge some slight faults,
but he confesses most plainly, that they were all ungodly
and transgressors of God’s law, and were worthy, not merely
of a moderate chastisement, but of dreadful perdition, as
they had thus provoked the wrath of God."
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that though we have been once reconciled
to thee, and reconciliation has been testified to us in thy gospel,
we yet cease not daily to provoke thy wrath,—O grant, that we
may at least groan, and undissemblingly so condemn our vices,
that we may be touched with real and deep sorrow, and thus
learn to flee, not only once in our life, but every moment, to thy
mercy, that thou mayest be reconciled to us, and not deal with us
according to our merits; but since thou hast been once pleased
to embrace us with paternal love, for the sake of thy only-be-
gotten Son, continue this favour to us, until having at length
been cleansed from all filth and pollution, we shall become par-
takers of thy celestial glory, through Christ our Lord.—Amen.
1 There is no and in Hebrew, nor jn the Sepfuagint,nor in the Vulgate,
between “ wickedness” and “iniquity ;” it is found in the Syriac and the
Targum. In case it be excluded, Blayney proposes to render the passage
thus, “ We acknowledge, O Jehovah, that we have wrought wickedly the
iniquity of our fathers ;” that is, as he adds, “ We have practised over again
the same wickedness, of which our fathers set the example.” But a mean-
ing is given to YW, which it never has; nor is this rendering necessary in
order to convey this idea, which is probably what is intended. They con-
fessed their wickedness, which was the iniquity of their fathers; it was the
same: the latter is in apposition with the former,—
We acknowledge, Jehovah, our wickedness,—
The iniquity of our fathers ;
For we have sinned against thee.
Their wickedness, the same with the wickedness or iniquity of the
fathers, was, that they sinned against God.— Ed.
240 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVIIL.
Lecture Hifty-Cighth.
21. Do not abhorus, _,21. Ne rejicias propter nomen tuum, ne rejicias
for thy name’s sake ; do (b23 significat interdum respuere, floceip
not disgrace the throne significat etiam projicere, et eadem est feré signi-
of thy glory: remember, catio alterius verbi /'S), significat enim projicere,
rch not thy covenant et pro nihilo ducere et vilipendere; ne ergo pro-
with us. jicias vel vilipendas) solium glorie tue; recor-
dare, ne irritum facias (alii vertunt, dissolvas)
foedus tuum nobiscum.
JEREMIAH goes on with the same prayer ; and he made it
from love, and also for the purpose of encouraging the faith-
ful, who remained among the people, to seek forgiveness ;
for he undertakes here to represent the true Church, which
was then very small. All indeed boasted that they were the
children of God, and gloried in the covenant made with
Abraham ; but hardly one in a thousand called on God in
truth and from the heart. The Prophet then represented
the common feeling of a very small number; and yet he
proceeded, as I have said, with his prayer.
Hence he says, Reject not, overthrow not, the throne of thy
glory ; or the meaning of the two verbs may be the same,
which seems to me more probable.’ But the Prophet joined
together two verbs, not so much for the sake of ornament as
1 The versions differ as to the two verbs: “ Cease for thy name’s sake,
and destroy not,” &c., is the Septuagint and the Arabic; “ Reproach us
not, &c., nor dishonour,” &c., is the Vulgate; “Be not angry, &c., nor
dishonour,” &c. is the Syriac; “Cast us not away, &c., nor make vile,”
&c.,is the Targum. Neither of these renderings is correct. The two
verbs here used have a similar meaning, though they are different, with
those in the 19th verse; the first signifies the rejection of a thing as worth-
less, and the second as vile, or filthy. They may be thus rendered,—
Scorn not, for thy name’s sake,
Abominate not, the throne of thy glory.
The same form is adopted in what follows; two verbs are used, which
have the same objective case,—
Remember, break not, thy covenant with us.
Which means, Remember thy covenant, and break it not, or annul it not.
Blayney renders the first two lines thus,—
Spurn us not for thy name’s sake.
Dishonour not the throne of thy glory.
But “us” is not in the original, nor do the versions give it, except the
Vulgate; and dishonour has also been borrowed from that version, and is
not ~ meaning of the verb. No doubt the two verbs refer to the throne.
CHAP. XIV. 21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 241
rhetoricians do, as for the purpose of expressing the intense-
ness of his concern and anxiety ; for he saw that the king-
dom of Judah was in extreme danger. He then did not in
an ordinary way try to turn aside God’s vengeance, but he
hastened as one to extinguish a fire; for the obtaining of
pardon was difficult.
He calls Jerusalem the throne of God’s glory, because God
had chosen that city where he was to be worshipped, not
that he was confined to the Temple, but because the memo-
rial of his name was there, according to what had been usually
said, especially by Moses. (Ex. xx. 24.) Nor was thearka
vain symbol of his covenant, for God really dwelt there ; for
the presence of his power and grace was evidenced by the
clearest proofs. But as this mode of speaking is often found
in the Prophets, it was sufficient for Jeremiah briefly to
notice the subject. .God indeed, as it is well known, fills
heaven and earth, but he gives symbols of his presence
wherever he pleases ; and as it was his will to be worshipped
in the Temple, it is called his throne, and it is elsewhere
called his footstool; for the Scripture describes the same
thing in various ways. The Temple is often called the rest
of God, his dwelling, his sanctuary, the place of his habita-
tion ; it is also called his footstool, “ We will worship at his
footstool.” (Psalm cxxxii. 7.) But these various forms are
used for the same purpose, though they are apparently dif-
ferent ; for where the Temple is called the habitation of God,
his palace or his throne, the presence of his power is set
forth, as though God dwelt as a friend among his worship-
pers; but when it is called his footstool, it is for the purpose
of checking a superstition which might have crept in; for
God raises the minds of the godly higher, lest they should
think that his presence is confined to any place.
We then perceive what the Scripture intends and what
it means, whenever it calls Jerusalem or the Temple the
throne or the house of God.
But we must carefully notice what is here mentioned by
the Prophet, For thy name’s sake. We know that whenever
the saints pray to be heard for the sake of God’s name, they
east aside every confidence in their own worthiness and
VOL. II. Q
242 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LVIIL
righteousness. Whosoever then pleads God’s name, in order
to obtain what he asks, renounces all other things, and fully
confesses that he is unworthy to find God propitious to him ;
for this form of speaking necessarily implies a contrast. As
then the Prophet flees to God’s name as his only refuge, there
is included in the words a confession, such as we have before
noticed,—that the Jews, inasmuch as they had acted wick-
edly towards God, were unworthy of any mercy ; nor could
they pacify him by any of their own satisfactions, nor have
anything by which they could obtain his favour. This then
is the meaning; and as this doctrine has been elsewhere
more fully handled, it seems to me sufficient briefly to shew
the design of the Prophet.
He calls it the throne of glory, to intimate that God’s
name would be unknown and unnoticed, or eyen despised
and exposed to reproaches, if he did not spare the people
whom he had chosen. The genitive case is used in Hebrew,
we know, instead of an adjective; and to enlarge on the
subject is useless, as this is one of its primary elements.
The Prophet then in calling the Temple the glorious throne
of God, in which his majesty shone forth, in a manner re-
minds God himself not to expose his name to reproaches ;
for instantly the ungoldly, according to their evil dispositions,
would vomit forth their blasphemies ; and thus God’s name
would be reproached.
He afterwards adds, Remember, make not void, thy covenant
with us. Here also the Prophet strengthens his prayer by
calling to mind the covenant: for it might have been said,
that the Jews had nothing to do with the holy name of God,
with his glory, or with his throne ; and doubtless they were
worthy of being wholly forsaken by God. As then they had
divorced theriselves from God, and were wholly destitute of
all holiness, the Prophet here brings before God his cove-
nant, as though he had said, “I have already prayed thee
to regard thine own glory and to spare thine own throne, as
thou hast favoured the place with so much honour as to
reign among us: now, though our impiety is so great that
thou mayest justly cast us away yet thou didst not make a
covenant with Mount Sion, or with the stones of the Temple,
{
——————
CHAP. Xiv.22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 243
or with material things, but with us; render not void then
this thy covenant.”
We hence see that there is great emphasis in the words
of the Prophet, when he implores God not to make. void,
or not to undo, the covenant, which he had made with the
people. For though God would have continued true and
faithful, had he obliterated the name of the whole people,
yet it was necessary that his goodness should contend with
their wickedness, his fidelity with their perfidiousness, inas-
much as the covenant of God did not depend on the people’s
faithfulness or integrity. _ It was, as it may be said, a mu-
tual stipulation ; for God made a covenant with Abraham
on this condition—that he should walk perfectly with him :
this is indeed true; and the same.stipulation was in force in
the time of the Prophets, Yet at the same time Jeremiah
assumed this principle—that the grace of God. cannot. be
wholly obliterated ; for he had chosen the race. of Abraham,
from whom the Redeemer was at length to be born. ..But
Jeremiah intended to extend God’s grace still farther, accord-
ing to what has been already said, and we shall again presently
see the same thing. However this may be, he had a just
reason for praying, ‘ Undo not thy covenant with us.” But
God had hidden means of accomplishing his purpose ; for he
did, according to the common apprehension of men, abolish
the covenant by which the Jews thought him to be bound
to them; and yet he remained true; for his truth shone
forth at length, from darkness, after the time of exile was
completed. It now follows—
22. Are there any among the va-
nities of the Gentiles that can cause
rain? or can the heavens give show-
ers? Art thou not he, O Lord our
God? therefore we will. wait upon
thee; for thou hast made all these
things.
22. An in idolis (vel, vanitatibus)
gentium, qui, pluere faciat? et.an
ceeli dabunt pluviam (vel,.et an ex
ccelis dabunt pluviam) an non tu ipse
Jehova Deus noster?: et: speravimus
in te (expectavimus ad te:) quo-
niam tu fecisti omnia hee.
In order to conciliate the favour of God, Jeremiah says
here, that with him is the only remedy i in extremities ;
and
it is the same as though by avowing despair he wished to
turn God to mercy ; as if he had said, “What will become
of us, except thou shewest thyself propitious? for if thou
244 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LVIIL.
remainest implacable, the Gentiles have their gods from
whom they seek safety ; but with us it is a fixed principle
to hope for and to seek salvation from thee alone.” Now
this argument must have been of great weight ; not that God
had need of being reminded, but he allows a familiar deal-
ing with himself. For if we wish stoically to dispute, even
our prayers are superfluous ; for why do we pray God to help
us? Does he not himself see what we want? Is he not
ready enough to bring us help? But these are delirious
things, wholly contrary to the true and genuine feeling of
piety. As then we flee to God, whenever necessity urges us,
so also we remind him, like a son who unburdens all his
feelings in the bosom of his father. Thus in prayer the
faithful reason and expostulate with God, and bring forward
all those things by which he may be pacified towards them ;
in short, they deal with him after the manner of men, as
though they would persuade him concerning that which yet
has been decreed before the creation of the world: but as
the eternal counsel of God is hid from us, we ought in this re-
spect to act wisely and according to the measure of our faith.
However this may be, the Prophet, according to the com-
mon practice of the godly, seeks to conciliate the favour of
God by this argument,—that unless God dealt mercifully
with his people and in his paternal kindness forgave them,
it was all over with them, as though he had said, “O Lord,
thou alone art he, from whom we can hope for salvation ; if
now we are repudiated by thee, there remains for us no re-
fuge: wilt thou send thy people to the idols and the inyen-
tions of the heathens? but we have looked for thee alone ;
thou then seest that there remains for us no hope of salya-
tion but from thy mercy.”
But the Prophet here testifies in the name of the faithful,
that when extremities oppress the miserable, they cannot
obtain any help from the idols of the heathens. Can they
give rain, he says? He states here a part for the whole ; for
he means that the idols of the heathens have no power
whatever. Hence to give rain is to be taken for everything
necessary to sustain mankind, either to bring help, or to
supply the necessaries of life, or to bestow abundance of
HAP. XIv.22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 245
blessings. Paul also, in speaking of God’s power, refers to
rain, (Acts xiv. 17 ;) and Isaiah often uses this kind of speak-
ing, (Isaiah vy. 6.)
He then says, Are there any among the vanities of the
heathens? &c. He here condemns and reproaches all super-
stitions ; for he does not call them the gods of the heathens,
though this word is often used by the prophets, but the
vanities of the heathens. Are there any, he says, who can
cause it to rain? and can the heavens give rain? I may
give a more free rendering, “Can they from heaven give
rain?” for it seems not to me so suitable to apply this to
the heavens. If, however, the common rendering is more
approved, let every one have his own judgment; but if the
heavens are spoken of, the argument is from the less to the
greater; “Not even the heavens give rain; how then can
vanities ? how can the devices of men do this, which only
proceed from their foolish brains? Can they give rain?
For doubtless there is some implanted power in the heavens?
but man, were he to devise for himself a thousand gods, can-
not yet form one drop of rain, and cause it to come down
from heaven. Since, then, the heavens do not of themselves
give rain, but at the command of God, how can the idols of
the heathens and their vain inventions send rain for us from
heaven?” The object of the Prophet is now sufficiently evi-
dent, which was to shew, that if God rejected the people,
and resolved to punish their sins with the utmost rigour, and
in an implacable manner, their salvation was hopeless ; for
it was not their purpose to flee to idols.
Art not thou, he says, Jehovah himself, or alone? Art not
thou Jehovah himself, and owr God ?' He first mentions the
? It is better to regard this line as declaring that God is the giver of
rain and showers,—
22. Are there any among the vanities of the nations who bring 2 rain ?
And do the heavens give showers? .
Art thou not he who givest them, Jehovah, our God? *
So we will look to thee,
For thou makest all these.
To introduce the word “can,” borrowed from the Vulgate, into the first
questions, obscures the passage. “ All these” refer, as it appears, to the
rain and showers. The perfect tense in Hebrew often includes the past
and the present, “For thou hast made and makest all these,’ &c. So
Gataker regards the meaning. The Syriac has “ For thou makest,” &e.
246 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LEOT, LYIIT.
name Jehovah, by which is meant the eternal majesty and
power of God; and then he joins another sentence,—that he
was their God, to remind him of his covenant. Then it is
added, We have looked to thee, for thou hast made all these
things. a
Here many, in my judgment, are mistaken, for they apply
“these things” to the heavens and the earth, and to all the
elements, as though the Prophet declared that God was the
creator of the world, and that therefore all things are under
his control. But I have no doubt but that he speaks of those
punishments which God had already inflicted on the people,
and had resolved soon to inflict ; for he does not speak here
of God’s power, which shines forth in the workmanship of
the world ; but he says, “ We have looked to thee, for thou
hast made all these things ;” that is, from thee alone salva-
tion will come to us, for thou who hast inflicted the wound
canst alone heal, according to what is said in another place,
“God kills and brings to life, he leads to the grave and
restores.” (1 Sam. ii 6.) It is then the same as though
the Prophet had said, “We, O Lord, do now flee to thy
mercy, for no one but thou alone can help us, as thou art he
who has punished our sins. Since then thou hast been
our Judge, thou also canst alone deliver us now from our
calamities; and no one can resist thee, since the highest
power is thine alone. Let all the gods of the heathens
unite, yea, all the elements and all creatures, for the purpose
of serving us, yet what will all that they can do avail us?
As then thou hast made all these things, that is, as these
things have not happened to us by chance, but are the effects
of thy just vengeance—as thou hast been judge in inflicting
these punishments, be now our Physician and Father; as thou
hast heavily afflicted us, so now bring comfort and heal those
evils which we justly suffer, and indeed through thy judg-
ment.” We now understand the real meaning of the Prophet.
Calvin, as far as I can find, stands alone in the sense he attaches to these
words. If we take the verb strictly in the past tense, the meaning com-
monly given is, that God made the heavens, rain, and showers, and that,
as he has made them, they are still under his control. But the other
meaning is more suitable to the passage,—that God makes the rain and
the showers.—Ed,
a {+ —
= ,
m
CHAP. Xv.1,2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 247
And hence may be learned a useful doctrine,—that there
is no reason why punishments, which are signs of God’s
wrath, should discourage us so as to prevent us from ven-
turing to seek pardon from him; but, on the contrary, a
form of prayer is here prescribed for us; for if we are con-
vinced that we have been chastised by God’s hand, we are
on this very account encouraged to hope for salvation ; for
it belongs to him who wounds to heal, and to him who kills
to restore to life. Now follows—
CHAPTER XV.
1. Then said the Lord unto me,
Though Moses and Samuel stood
before me, yét my mind could not be
toward this people: cast them out
of my sight, and let them go forth.
2. And it shall come to pass, if
they say unto thee, Whither shall
we go forth? then thou shalt tell
them, Thus saith the Lord, Such as
are for death, to death; and such as
are for the sword, to the sword; and
such as are for the famine, to the
1. Et dixit Jehova ad me, Si ste-
terint Moses et Samuel coram facie
mea, non est anima (id est cor
meum) ad populum hunc; emitte a
facie mea et éxeant.
2. Et erit, si dixerint tibi, Quo
exibimus? (vel, egrediemur) tunc
dices illis, Sic dicit Jehova, Qui ad
mortem, ad mortem, et qui ad gla-
dium, ad gladium, et qui ad famem,
ad famem, et qui ad captivitatem,
ad captivitatem.
famine ; and such as are for the cap-
tivity, to the captivity.
God again repeats what we have before observed,—that
as the impieties and sins of the people had arrived at the
highest pitch, there was no more room for pardon or for
merey: and though God seems to have rejected altogether
the prayer of his servant, we are not yet to think that it was
without any benefit. Jeremiah wished indeed to deliver the
whole people from destruction; but he did not thus pray
inconsiderately and uselessly ; for he distinguished between
the titular church, as they say, and the chosen seed, for he
knew that many were become the degenerated children of
Abraham: nor was he unacquainted with what is said in
the Psalms, “ Who shall dwell in thy tabernacle, and who
shall stand on the mount of thy holiness? He who is inno-
cent as to his hands, and is of a pure heart.” (Psalm xy.
1, 2.) The Prophet there distinctly shews that hypocrites
glory in vain, because they had a free entrance into the
248 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVITI.
Temple, and sacrificed together with the faithful ; for a clean
heart and pure hands are required. Jeremiah no doubt
fully understood this.
Though then he extended his solicitude to the whole
body of the people, he yet knew that there was a chosen
seed. So at this day, when we pray, we ought, according
to the rule of charity, to include all, for we cannot fix on
those whom God has chosen or whom he has rejected; and
thus we ought, as far as we can, to promote the salvation of
all; and yet we know, as a general truth, that many are
reprobate for whom our prayers will avail nothing ; we know
this, and yet we cannot point out any one as by the finger.
So then the prayer of Jeremiah was not useless; but in its
very form, as they say, it was not heard, for he wished the
whole people to be saved; but as God had resolved to de-
stroy the ungodly, such as were beyond the reach of hope
on account of their untamable obstinacy, Jeremiah obtained
only in part what he prayed for,—that God would preserve |
his Church, which then was in a manner hidden. |
But it is now said, If stand before me did Moses and
Samuel,’ my soul would not be towards this people. The
meaning is, that though all intercessors came forth in their
behalf, they could do nothing, for God had rejected them.
Moses and Samuel are here mentioned, but in another place
Job and Daniel are named, and for the same reason. (Ezek.
xiv. 14.) Moses is mentioned here, because we find that he
offered himself, and wished to be, an anathema for his people.
“Blot me out of the book of life, or spare this people.”
(Exod. xxxii. 32.) As then God’s wrath had been so often
pacified by Moses, he is here mentioned; for when it was
all over with the people, he delivered them as it were from
eternal death, and this was well and commonly known to
the Jews. As to Samuel, we know how celebrated he was,
1 Noticed here may be an identity of idiom in Hebrew and Welsh:
The verb “ stand” is in the singular number, though followed by two no-
minative cases. So it is in Welsh: and were the nominative cases before
it, the verb would be in the plural number.
Pe savai Moses a Samuel o’m blaen.
This is the Hebrew, word for word. Both the a gc and the
Vulgate retain the singular number of the verb: but they are not gram-
matically correct.— Ed.
CHAP. Xv.1,2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 249
and that God had been often pacified by him for the pre-
servation of the whole people ; but at length, when he prayed
for Saul, God did indeed restrain his immoderate zeal,
and forbade him to pray any more, (1 Sam. xvi. 1;) and yet
he ceased not to pray. As then there was so great a
fervour in Samuel, that he in a manner struggled with God,
he is here joined with Moses: “Jf, then, stand before me
did these two, my soul, or my heart, would be alienated from
this people, for I shall be no more pacified towards them.”
But he speaks of the perverse multitude, which had so
often wilfully sought their own destruction; for, as it has
appeared elsewhere, the people had never been rejected ; and
yet we must distinguish between the chaff and the wheat.
Judea was, as it were, the threshing-floor of God, on which
there was a great heap of chaff, for the multitude had de-
parted from true religion; and there were a few grains
found hid in the rubbish. Hence the heart of God was not
towards the people, that is, towards the degenerated chil-
dren of Abraham, who were proud only of their name, while
they were covenant-breakers ; for they had long ago for-
saken the true worship of God and all integrity. There-
fore the heart of God was not towards them. At the same
time he preserved, in a wonderful and in a hidden manner,
a remnant.
Now this passage teaches us what James also mentions,
that the prayer of the righteous avails much with God ; and
he brings forward the example of Elijah, who closed heaven
by his prayer, so that it rained not for a long time; and
who afterwards opened heaven by his prayer, so as to obtain
rain from God. (James v. 16-18.) He hence infers that
the prayers of the righteous avail much, not only when they
pray for themselves, but also when they pray for others; for
Elijah had no particular regard for himself, but his object
was to gain relief for the whole people. It is indeed cer-
tain that the intercession of the saints is highly appreciated
by God; and hence it is that we are bidden willingly and
freely to make known to one another our necessities, so that
we may mutually help and pray for one another. But we -
must at the same time observe, that they who think them-
Pend
250 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LVIII.
selves to be commended to God by others in their prayers,
ought not on that account to become more secure ; for it is
certain, that as the prayers of the faithful avail the mem-
bers of Christ, so they do no good to the ungodly and the
hypocrites. Nor does God indeed bid us to acquiesce in the
confidence, that others pray for us, but bids every one to
pray, and also to join their prayers with those of all the
members of the Church. Whosoever then desires to profit
by the prayers of the saints must also pray himself.
It is true, I allow, that the prayers of the saints some-
times benefit even the ungodly and aliens; for it was not in
vain that Christ prayed, “ Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do,” (Luke xxiii. 34;) nor did Stephen
pray in vain when he offered up a similar prayer, (Acts vii.
60 ;) and I am disposed to agree with what Augustine says,
that Paul, among others, was the effect of Stephen's prayer.
(Serm. i. de Sanctis.) But I am speaking now of what we
must do when we find that we are helped by the prayers of
the saints, that is, that we are strenuously to perform our
part, and strive to shew for our brethren the same solicitude
and care as we expect from them. It is then certain he-
yond a doubt, that each is not only heard when he prays for
himself, but that the prayers of the saints avail in behalf of
others.
But extremely ridiculous are the Papists, who apply this
passage to dead saints: Moses and Samuel, they say, were
dead, when God declared what is here said; it is then
true that they prayed. The inference is worthy. of such
teachers, which is as good as the braying of an ass, There
is here a supposition made, as though God did say, “ If
Moses and Samuel were now alive and interceded for them,
I would yet remain implacable.” But Ezekiel mentions
Daniel, who was then living, and he names also Job.
We hence see that he makes no distinction between the
dead and the living. Therefore thé Papists are extremely
foolish and stupid when they thus idly prate that the dead
pray for the living, on the ground of what is here said of
Moses and Samuel. It is not then worth while to refute
this ignorant assertion, as it vanishes almost of itself: a
Wale
CHAP. XV.1,2. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 251
brief warning, lest any one should be deluded by such a
cavil, is sufficient."
He afterwards bids the Prophet to cast away the people ;
cast them away, or banish them, he says, from my presence.
He doubtless speaks here in a strong manner, “ Let them be
gone from me.’ But yet God shews what he had com-
manded his Prophet ; as though he had said, “ Fulfil thou
thine office, remember what burden I have laid on thee.”
Jeremiah had been ordered to denounce exile on the people?
he was the herald of divine vengeance. As then he sus-
tained this office, it was his duty to execute the commis-
sion which God had given him. We now then apprehend
what these words mean, cast them away.”
But we must again notice here what we have before seen,
—that God commends the efficacy of prophetic doctrine, ac-
cording to what has been said, “ I set thee over nations and
kingdoms, to plant and to root up, to build and to destroy,”
(ch. i. 10.) Then God intimates, that so great a power
would be in the mouth of his servant, that though the Jews
1 Venema, referring to this notion of the Papists, says, “ The words
are not that they stood, but that if they stood; he speaks not of them as
dead, but as living, intimating, that if they were alive and ‘interceded for
the people, they would not succeed in delivering them.” We shall add an
observation of Scott,—
* This passage fully proves that departed saints do not intercede for
us; for it evidently implies that Moses and Samuel did not then stand be-
fore the Lord in behalf of Israel or of any in Israel.” —Ed.
* The verb means more properly to send; he was to send them frum
God’s ‘presence by his doctrine, intimating that God disowned and re-
jected them: and they were to go forth or to go out, that is, froni his pre-
sence. The allusion is to the sending away a divorced woman,—
Send them from my presence, and let them go forth:
2. And it shall be, when they say to thee,
«‘ Where shall we go forth?” that thou shalt say to them,—
Thus saith Jehovah,—* Those for death, to death;
And those for the sword, to the sword;
And those for the famine, to the famine;
And those for captivity, to captivity.”
It is observed by Venema and Blayney, that “death” was that by pesti-
lence. See ch. xiv. 12; xviii. 21. Some were destined for death by
pestilence, to this they were to go forth: and so as to the other evils.
- The Rabbins say that there are gradations in the evils mentioned here:
death by pestilence is less grievous than the sword; the sword than the
famine; the famine than captivity ; the last being more grievous than all
the other evils. © See 2 Sam. xxiv. 13,14; Lam. iv. 9; and Lev: xxvi. 39:
The “sword” being the principal weapon, is put here for any violent
death inflicted by enemies. — Ed. :
252 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LVIIT.
mocked at his predictions, as if they were vain threaten-
ings to frighten children, they would yet be like thunder-
bolts; so that Jeremiah would drive away the people, as
though he was furnished with a large army and great forces,
according to what Paul declares,—that he had power given
him to cast down every height that exalted itself against
Christ. (2 Cor. x. 5.) As then God claims so great an
authority for his prophetic doctrine, when threatening the
unbelieving with punishment, let us know that the same
extends to all the promises of salvation. Therefore,
whenever God offers grace to us by the gospel, and testifies
‘ that he will be propitious to us, let us know that heaven is
in a manner open to us; and let us not seek any other
ground of assurance than his own testimony: and why? be-
cause as to the prophets was given the power of binding and
loosing, so now the same power is given to the Church, that
is, to invite all to be saved who are as yet healable, and to
denounce eternal ruin on the reprobate and the obstinate
in their wickedness, according to what is said by Christ,
“‘ Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in hea-
ven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven.” (Matt. xvi. 19; xviii. 18.) For he gave his
Apostles the power not only of binding, but also of loosing.
And Paul, after having spoken in high terms of the former
power, adds, “ When your obedience shall be accomplished,”
(2 Cor. x. 6;) as though he had said, that the gospel was
not preached only for this end, to pronounce death on the
reprobate, but that it was also a pledge of salvation to all
the elect, to them who embraced by true faith the promises
offered to them.
He now confirms the previous sentence, If they shall say,
Whither shall we go forth? then shalt thou say to them, Those
for death, to death ; those for the sword, to the sword ; those
for the famine, to the famine ; those for exile, to ewile; as
though he had said, “ In vain do they complain of their own
miseries.” For God, no doubt, had in view the clamorous
complaints which prevailed everywhere among the people on
account of their very heavy calamities. Thus indeed were
hypocrites wont to do; for whenever God spared them, they
Pom et
ty lo all
CHAP, XV. 3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 253
haughtily insulted the prophets, and boastingly alleged their
subsidies and fortresses ; but when God’s hand pressed hard
on them, they became very eloquent in their complaints:
“ Alas! how far will God go at length? is there to be never
an end? and what does all this mean? why does he so
severely afflict us? and why does he not at least relieve us
in some measure from our miseries?” As then the hypo-
crites were so querulous in their calamities, God anticipates
all these expostulations, and says, “If they say to thee,
‘ Where shall we flee?’ say to them, ‘ Either to death, or to
famine, or to the sword, or to exile ;’ it is all one with God,
and it matters not; for there is no hope of mercy for you
any longer, since God has rejected you: know then that it
is all over with you, for there is no deliverance for you from
God: either the sword, or famine, or some other kind of
death will overtake you ; ye are in every way past hope.”
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou art graciously pleased to ex-
hort us to repent, and withholdest thine hand, yea, and allowest
us the opportunity to repent,—O grant, that we may not obsti-
nately provoke against ourselves thy extreme vengeance, but
render ourselves obedient to thee, so that thou mayest not only
hear others praying for us, but that our own prayers may also ob-
tain pardon from thee, especially through the intercession of Christ,
thine only-begotten Son, who has once for all reconciled thee to
us, and whose perpetual intercession is to continue to reconcile
us to thee, until we shall appear at length before thee with all
our spots and filth wholly washed away, and be made partakers
of that glory which has been obtained for us by Christ our Lord.
—Amen,
Lecture Fifty-Pinth.
3. And I will appoint over them — 3. Et preeficiam super eos quatuor
four kinds, saith the Lord; the sword familias, dicit Jehova, gladium ad
to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the occidendum, et canes ad trahendum,
fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of et avem ccelorum et bestiam terre,
the earth, to devour and destroy. ad comedendum et perdendum.
JEREMIAH proceeds with the same subject. He said yes-
terday that the people were no longer cared for by God, and
254 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIX.
so that nothing remained for them but in various ways to
perish, and that the last punishment would be exile. He
now confirms the same thing, and says, that God would pre-
pare against them ravenous birds as well as wild beasts, the
sword and dogs ;’ as though he had said, that all animals
would be hostile to them, and be the executioners of God’s
vengeance. wines
Some render the verb 12, pekod, to visit, but improperly,
as I think ; for they must give this version, ‘I will visit
four families upon them ;” but there is no sense in this, nor
can any sense be elicited from it. The meaning most suit-
able here is to set, over,” “I will set over them four kinds ;”
which he calls “ four families.’ And there is to be under-
stood here a contrast: as they thought it hard to obey God,
they were now to have over them dogs and wild beasts, and
the birds of the air, and the sword. The meaning is, that
there would be no end to God’s vengeance, and to various
punishments, until the Jews were wholly destroyed. He
further intimates, that he would have in readiness many to
execute his wrath, as he had all creatures under his control.
As then he would employ in his service dogs, and birds, and
animals, as well as men, it behoved the Jews to feel assured
that they in vain had recourse to this or that refuge. We
indeed know that men impiously confine the power of God,
both with regard to their salvation and the punishment of
their sins, for when he passes by any evil they think that
* Our version ascribes tearing to dogs, but the verb means to draw or
drag about, as rendered by Calvin. It is more descriptive of what is done
by dogs, and conveys a more horrid idea, and intended doubtless to terrify
the Jews. Blayney renders it “ to drag about,” and no doubt correctly.
Our version is the Vulgate: the Syriac is to draw or drag about.—Ed.
2 So Gataker, “I will set over them, &c., as in Lev. xxvi. 16; a bor-
rowed speech from officers set over people.” The Syriac expresses the
idea, “1 will punish them with four scourges.” Blayney’s version is —
And I will commission against them four species. -
But the best rendering is that of Calvin, which is also adopted by Venema.
I give the following version—
And I set over them four kinds, saith Jehovah,—
The sword to kill, and dogs to drag about,
And the bird of heaven and the beast of the earth
To devour, and to pull to pieces.
The “devouring” refers to “ the beast of the earth,” and the “ pulling to
pieces” to the bird of heaven, according to the usual style of the Prophets,
the order being reversed.— Ed.
> Se ae Be
CHAP. XV. 4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 255
they have escaped, and promise themselves impunity, as
though God indeed were not able every moment to inflict
many and various scourges. This then is the reason why
the Prophet speaks here of four kinds of judgments. It
follows—
4. And I will cause them tobe 4. Et ponam eos in commotionem
removed into all kingdoms of the omnibus regnis terre propter Manasse,
earth, because of Manasseh the filium Ezechie, regem Jehudah, (vel,
son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for regis Jehudah, parum interest.) prop-
that which he did in Jerusalem. ter ea que fecit in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah speaks now of exile. He had hitherto spoken
of the sword and famine, and mentioned also other punish-
ments, that their carcases would be dragged about by dogs,
and also devoured by wild beasts and ravenous birds; but
he now refers to one kind of punishment only—that God
would drive them into exile. And he seems to have taken
these words from Moses, for so he speaks in Deut. xxviii.
except that }, vau, is placed before Y, ain, in the word
“commotion,” but such a change is common. In other
respects there is a perfect agreement.
I will set them, he says, for a commotion to all the king-
doms of the earth ; that is, I will cause them to wander in
constant fear and trembling. He amplifies the grievousness
of exile by the circumstance that they should have no safe
rest. They who leave their country for exile do at least
find some corner where they take breath ; but God declares
that the Jews would be everywhere unsettled and wanderers,
so that no place would receive them. And hence God’s
vengeance became more fully manifest, for these miserable
men never found an asylum when scattered through various
countries. Though they had habitations in those parts
allotted to them by the king of Babylon, they were yet
everywhere without any rest. It was not therefore in vain
that Moses threatened them with such a punishment, nor
was it to no purpose that Jeremiah repeated what had been
said by Moses.’
1 Blayney rightly observes that the word rendered “to be removed,”
in our version, has no such meaning. The verb means to move, to agitate,
to disquiet, but not to move from one place to another. The noun as
found here is rendered “ vexation” in Isaiah xxviii. 19, and * trouble” in
2 Chron, xxix. 8. The idea of removing is not given in any of the ver-
256 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LIX,
He adds the cause, On account of Manasseh. But Man-
asseh was now dead, why then did God transfer the ven-
geance which he merited to posterity? And this seems
inconsistent with another passage found in Ezekiel, “ The
soul that sinneth it shall die.” (Ezek. xviii. 8.) But doubt-
less God justly punished the wickedness of the people even
after the death of that ungodly king, for they ceased not to
accumulate evils on evils; as however their impiety ap-
peared especially at that time, he particularly noticed it,
that the Jews might understand that they had been long
worthy of destruction, and that punishment was not delayed
except through the great mercy of God, who had not im-
mediately treated them as they deserved. The Prophet
therefore commends the long forbearance of God because
their ruin was suspended until that time. And, on, the
other hand, he shews that they were not so severely treated
but that they were worthy of greater and more atrocious
punishment ; for such had been their obstinacy that they
did all they could to draw upon themselves destruction many
times.
But another question arises: Manasseh pretended repent-
ance, and God seemed to have forgiven him and the whole
people, (2 Kings xxi.; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12,) why does he
now declare that he would take vengeance on sins which
had been already buried? But the answer is evident, for
the Jews from that time had been in no way better. As
sions, nor in the Targum. It is used in two other places by Jeremiah,
chap. xxiv. 9; xxix. 18. In both places “ vexation, trouble, or disquie-
tude,” would be the best rendering. This sentence may be thus trans-
lated—
And I will render them a vexation to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Literally it is, “I will give them for a vexation,” &c. And so they be-
came, they were a trouble and a disquietude wherever they were; and
hence they became, as it is said in chap. xxix. 18, a curse, a hissing,
and a reproach among all nations.
Venema gives this rendering— :
And I will give them for a shaking to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Which he understands to mean, that they would be given to be shaken,
agitated, and disquieted in all the kingdoms of the earth.
Blayney’s version is— ; ’
And I will give them up to vexation in all kingdoms of the earth.
But this is what the original will hardly bear; the preposition before
“kingdoms” is not in, but te.—Ed.
a Se CC
De eg :
4
bd
OHAP. Xv. 4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 257
then they had continued to pursue the same sinful courses
with Manasseh, it was right that they should at length. be
rewarded as they deserved ; for, had they become really
changed, there would have been a change in God’s dealings
with them, but inasmuch as their impiety had ever remained
the same, and as they gave themselves up to the same vices,
a heavier judgment was nigh them, and justly so, because
they had abused God’s forbearance, who had spared the
king as well as themselves on the condition of receiving the
pardon offered to them. But since they had hardened them-
“selves, it was right to take such account of their ingratitude
and perverseness as to treat them with greater severity.
Farther, Manasseh is called the son of Hezekiah, and that
for the purpose of enhancing his crime. For as religion had
been reformed in the time of Hezekiah, and as that pious
king, with great labour and toil, exerted all his powers to
restore the true worship of God, it was the duty of Manas-
seh to follow his example. But he not only built altars to
idols, and polluted the whole land with superstitions, but
also defiled the very Temple of God. It was thus a horrible,
and wholly a diabolical madness in the son, when the right
way of worshipping God had been delivered unto him, to be
of such a reprobate mind as immediately to overthrow what
his father with great labour has so faithfully established.
This then was the reason why Jeremiah mentioned to his
dishonour the name of his father. And hence we learn that
they are worthy of a heavier punishment, who have been
religiously brought up from their childhood, and become
afterwards degenerated, who, having had pious and godly
parents, afterwards abandon themselves to every wicked-
ness. Hence a heavier judgment awaits those who depart
from the examples of godly fathers. And this we gather
from the very words of the Prophet, who here, by way of
reproach, calls Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, which yet
would have been to his honour, had he been like his father
and followed his piety.
And at the same time there is no doubt but that the
Prophet indirectly condemns the whole people ; for we know
how great opposition pious Hezekiah met with, and how he
VOL. II. R
258 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIX,
contended for the faithful worship of God, as though he had
been among the Assyrians or the Egyptians. But the per-
verseness of the people appeared then extreme, when he was
put in jeopardy as to the kingdom, because he endeayoured
to cleanse the land of Judah from its filth and pollutions ;
their impiety and ingratitude then shewed, and openly dis-
covered themselves, Afterwards Manasseh overturned as it
were in an instant the worship of God, and they all, with
great exultation, went immediately after superstition. We
hence see that the mouths of the Jews were thus closed, so that
they could not object and say, that they obeyed the command
of their king ; for they willingly followed wicked superstitions,
They assented to the king of their own accord, while yet
they hardly, and with great unwillingness, were led to obey
when God’s worship was restored in the time of Hezekiah.
‘But Manasseh added cruelties to superstitions; for we
know that he not only covered the streets of the city with
blood, but made it also to flow in streams, as sacred history
relates.. As, then, the Prophets were so cruelly treated in
the time of Manasseh, and as he was not the sole author of
this barbarity, but the true servants of God were persecuted
to death by the consent of the people, it was hence evident
that it was the crime of the whole community. And hence
he mentions Jerusalem, in order that the Jews might know
that the holy city, in which they gloried, had been for a
long time the den of robbers, and that the Temple of God
had been polluted by wicked superstitions, and even: the
whole city by unlawful and barbarous slaughters. It now
follows—
5. For who shall have pity upon
thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall
bemoan thee? or who shall go aside
to ask how thou doest ?
6. Thou hast forsaken me, saith
the Lord, thou art gone backward:
therefore will I stretch out my hand
against thee, and destroy thee; Iam
weary with repenting.
5. Nam quis parcet tibi Jerusalem
(vel, quis miserebitur tui? sed 21M
proprié est ignoscere vel parcere; hic
tamen accipitur pro indulgere vel
misereri: quis ergo miserebitur tui
Jerusalem ?) et quis consolabitur te ?
et quis locum mutabit ad inquiren-
dum de pace tibi? (hoe est, tua:
jungamus et alterum versum )
6. Tu reliquisti me, dicit Jehova ;
retrorsum abiisti; ideo extendam
manum meam super te et perdam
te: fatigatus sum peenitendo.
CHAP. Xv.5,6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ‘259-
The Prophet shews here that the severe punishment of
which he had spoken could not be deemed unjust, according
to what those men thought who were querulous, and ‘ever
expostulated with God, and charged him with too much
rigour. Lest, then, the Jews should complain, the Prophet says
briefly, that all the evils which were nigh at hand were fully
due, and so deserved, that they could find no pity, even
among men. We know that the worst of. men, when the
_ Lord punishes them, have some to condole with them. There
is no one so wicked that relatives do not favour him, and
that some do not console him. But. the Prophet shews that
the Jews were not only inexcusable before God, but that
they were undeserving of any sympathy from men.
He first says, Who will pity.thee?. and then, Who will
condole with thee? The verb \3, nud, means properly to
give comfort by words, as when relatives, and friends, and
neighbours meet together for the purpose of mourning ; they
hear lamentations, and join in them. But he says that no
one would perform this office towards Jerusalem. He adds,
in the third place, And who will turn aside? or, strictly, change
place— Who will change place to enquire? or, as some render
it, to pray. The verb reps, shal, means properly to ask, and
hence sometimes to pray. So, many give this meaning, that
there would be no one to pray for the Jews. But if we con-
sider the construction of the sentence, we shall see that the
Prophet speaks of that duty of kindness which men culti-
vate and observe towards one another, by enquiring of their
welfare,—“ Are all things well with thee ?’ How dost thou
do? Are all things well with thee and thine?” When we
thus enquire of the state of any one we shew some concern
for him, for love is always solicitous for the welfare of others.
The Prophet then says, “ Who will turn aside to thee to
enquire of thy welfare?’ that is, that he may know how thou
art, and what is thy state and condition.
We hence see that the Jews are here divested of every
complaint, for the whole world would acknowledge them to
‘be unworthy of any commiseration. But the Prophet does
not mean that all would act cruelly towards Jerusalem, but
rather shews, that such were their crimes that there was no
260 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIX.
room for courtesy, or for those acts of kindness which men -
of themselves perform towards one another."
Then follows the reason—For thou hast forsaken me, saith
Jehovah. Since, then, God had been rejected by the Jews,
did not such a defection bring its deserved reward, when
they were deprived of every human aid? He afterwards
adds, Backward hast thou gone. He intimates that there was
a continuance in their wicked defection ; for they not only
forgot God for a time, but departed far from him, so as to
become wholly alienated.
It then follows—And I will stretch out, &e.; that is,
“therefore will I stretch out,” &c.; for the copulative is to
be taken here as an illative. This may be viewed as in the
past or the future tense; for God had in a measure already
afflicted the people; but heavier judgments awaited them.
Iam inclined to regard it as a prediction of what was to
come, as it immediately follows, I am weary with repenting, _
that is, “I have so often repented that I cannot possibly be ;
induced now to forgive; for I see that I have been so often
deceived, that I cannot bear to be deceived any longer.”
Some, indeed, give this version,—“I am weary with consoling
myself,” and DMJ, nuchem, means both ; but the other sense
seems to me the most suitable. I doubt not then but that
the Prophet means repentance. We indeed know that God
changes not his purpose; for men repent because their ex-
1 There is a general agreement as to the two first clauses of this verse,
but not as to the last. The Syriac and the Targum give the meaning ad-
vocated by Calvin, with whom Gataker, Grotius, and Blayney agree. But
the Septuagint and the Vulgate seem to take the other view, that to “ pray
for peace” is what is meant; and this has been adopted by Montanus,
Castalio, and Venema. But the former is no doubt substantially the right
view, though the phrase used, “ to salute,” or “ to enquire of one’s welfare,”
or * how thou doest,” is too loose and general, In 1 Sam. xxv. 5 (see also
1 Sam. x. 4) we have the same form of words too loosely rendered, “ greet
him in my name,” in our version. The following verse shews that the
rendering ought to be, “ wish (or bid) him peace in my name.” Literally
it is, “ Ask for him in my name for peace.” So here the literal rendering
is,—
Or, who will turn aside to ask for peace for thee?
or, in our language, “ to bid thee peace.” .
The word “turn aside” seems clearly to favour this meaning. In the
other case its import does not appear. The intimation is, that no one
would deem it worth his while to turn out of his way to express a good
wish in behalf of Jerusalem.—Ed.
7”
x)
CHAP. XV. 5, 6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 261
pectation often disappoints them, when things happen other-
wise than they had thought ; but no such thing can happen
to God ; and he is said to repent according to our apprehen-
sions. God then repents of his severity whenever he miti-
gates it towards his people, whenever he withdraws his hand
from executing his vengeance, whenever he forgives sins.
And this had been often done to the Jews; but they had
made a mock of such mercy, and the oftener God spared
them the more audaciously did they provoke his wrath.
Hence he says, “I am weary with repenting so often ;” that
is, that he had so often spared them and suspended his
judgment.’
-In short, he deprives the Jews of every excuse; and shews
that they acted impiously when they murmured against God,
for they allowed no place to his mercy ; nay, whenever they
found him reconcilable they abused his forbearance with
extreme indignity and perverseness. It follows—
7. And I will fan them with 7. Et ventilabo ventilabro ipsos in
a fan in the gates of the land; omnibus portis terre, (id est, per
I will bereave them of children, omnes portas;) orbavi, perdidi popu-
I will destroy my people, since lum meum; 4 viis suis non recesserunt
they return not from their (vel, non reversi sunt, vel, non sunt
ways. conyersi. )
1 The verse may be thus rendered,—
6. Thou hast broken loose from me, saith Jehovah ;
Backward dost thou walk ;
But I will stretch my hand over thee and destroy thee ;
I have become wearied with repenting.
The verb here used, commonly rendered “ forsake,” means to loose oneself
from restraints: the Jews were bound, as it were, to God by covenant;
they broke loose from this bond, they freed themselves from this tie, and
went back to idolatry. ‘‘ Walk,” though future, is to be taken here as
present. The last line in the Sepiuagint i is as follows,—* I will no longer
release them ;” and in the Syriac, “1 will no longer spare them.” The
verb DN37 seems to have been taken as coming from M3, with an D affixed,
and put here in Hiphil—«1 am wearied with causing ‘them to rest,” or,
“ with forbearing,” as rendered by Blayney. But our version, which is
that of Calvin, seems preferable, and is adopted by Piscator, Grotius, and
Venema. The last indeed proposes the joining of this line with the next
verse, which Blayney has adopted, and in that case he prefers the reading
of the Septuagint and Syriac. Then the passage would be,—
I am wearied with forbearing them,
or, with suffering them to rest;
7. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land.
He truly says that there is a kind of contrast between the suffering of them
to rest quietly, and the fanning of them in the gates of land for the pur-
pose of dispersing them.—E£d.
er . |
262 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIX.
He confirms here the same truth. The verb which I have
rendered in the future may be rendered in the past tense,
but I still think it to be a prediction of what was to come.
But as to what follows, I have bereaved, I have destroyed, it
must, I have no doubt, be referred to time past.
He then says, J will fan or scatter them, for the verb 1,
zare, means to scatter, but as with a fan follows, (the word
is derived from: the same root,) I wish to retain the repeti-
tion. Then it is, I will fan them with a fan through all the
gates of the earth. Many give the meaning, “ through the
cities,” which I do not approve, as it seems a frigid explana-
tion. On the contrary the Prophet means by “the gates of
the earth,” all countries, for the Jews thought that they
should be always safe and quiet in their own cities. By taking
a part for the whole, gates do indeed, as it appears elsewhere,
signify cities ; but as the Jews trusted in their own defences,
and thought that they could never be drawn out from these
quiet nests, the word gates is in a striking manner transfer-
red to signify any kind of exit; J will fan you, says God,
but where? through all gates of the earth, or through all
countries and through all deserts; wherever there is a
region open for you there you must pass through. Ye are
wont to pass in and out through your gates, and ye have
there your quiet homes, but there shall be hereafter to you
other cities, other gates, even all countries and all deserts,
all ways, and, in short, every sort of passage.
Then follows, I have bereaved, I have destroyed my people ;
they have not returned from. their own ways. Here no doubt
he condemns the Jews for their sottishness, because they
had not repented after having been warned by grievous
judgments, which God had executed partly on them and
partly on their brethren. For the kingdom of Israel had
been cut off: when they saw the ten tribes driven into exile
ought they not to have been terrified by such an example?
Hence also’ another Prophet says, “ There is no one who
yet.the most suitable meaning is that presented in our version.
represented as a fanner, standing in “the gates of the land,” that is, in
the gates of the cities of the land, and thence fanning or scattering the
inhabitants to all parts of the world.—£d, -
1 Though Calvin has many on his side in his view as to “ the gates,”
Saal is
ti me
——————— ———————
—————
\
CHAP. xv. 8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 263
mourns for the bruising of Joseph.” (Amos vi. 6.) God had
set before their eyes a sad and dreadful spectacle ; they
ought then to have acknowledged in the destruction of
Israel what they themselves deserved, and to have turned
to God. It is then this extreme hardness that God upbraids
them with, for though he had bereaved his people, the ten
tribes, and destroyed them, and though also the kingdom of
Judah had been in a great measure depressed, yet they re-
turned not from their own ways. It hence appeared more
fully evident that they deserved the severest judgments, as
they were become wholly irreclaimable. He then adds—
8. Their widows are in- _8.- Multiplicate sunt mihi vidue ejus
creased to me above the sand - supra arenam miaris, (pre arena maris :)
of the seas: I have brought immisi illis (venire feci illis) super matrem
upon them, against the juvenis (id est, super turmam, vel, multi-
mother of the young men, a_tudinem juvenum) vastatorem in meridie ;
spoiler at_ poen-doy: I have et. project (cadere feci, ad verbum) super
caused him to fall upon it ipsam repenté tumultum et terrores,
suddenly, and terrors upon (quanguam de his vocibus postea erit ali-
the city. quid dicendwm.)
He says first, Multiplied have been his widows ; because
the men.had been almost all killed, in battle. If the Pro-
phet is the speaker, the particle b li, is redundant, but if
the words be referred to God; we know that the people were
in such a way under the government of God that he calls
the widows his, as he calls the children his who were born
Israelites. But in this there is no great importance, only
that if we consider God to be speaker the sense will be this,
“ Behold, it is by no means unknown to me how numerous
his widows are: as then I am merciful I have not heedlessly
and without reason suffered such slaughters among the peo-
ple.” The Prophet intended to shew that so great was the
obstinacy of the Jews that they struggled against all the
judgments of God; and it is a proof of dreadful impiety
when men rush on heedlessly and pay no attention to any
punishments. And this is what the Prophet means when
he says that the widows were multiplied. And he adds,
More than the sand of the sea. This was surely a strange
thing ; so many slaughters were presented to their view that
their great perverseness might become more evident, and
yet he says that they were not moved.
en
264 ° COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LIX:
What follows must be applied to God, I have made to
come to them, on the troop of youths, a waster... This is an
explanation of the former clause, as though he had said,
“The reason why there are so many widows is, because God
has destroyed all the men.” As the Jews might have as-
cribed this to their enemies, God declares that he was the
author of all the slaughters which they had suffered. He
then shews that these slaughters were not fortuitous as men
suppose who think that fortune prevails mostly in war, for
they do not ascribe so much to the wisdom and valour of
men as to fortune, being ignorant of the Providence of God.
Here then God shews that the whole of the flower of the
people had been indeed cut off by the swords of enemies,
but that the Chaldeans or the Assyrians had not come of
their own accord, or by an impulse of their own, but by a
hidden impulse, and that of God, who had resolved to punish
that irreclaimable people. This then is the reason why God
not only speaks of a waster, but also intimates that the
enemies were impelled by his influence, and carried on the
war as it were under his banner, authority, and guidance.
He says, at mid-day, even when the Jews might have
exercised greater watchfulness. But he shews that he was
against them, for they were not taken by the craft of their
enemies, as had often been the case, nor were they surprised
by secret designs, but their enemies attacked them openly
and boldly, even at the time when many of their cities were
fortified, and the people thought that they had sufficient
defences. As the enemies then dared to assail them in the
middle of the day, (for such is the meaning of the Hebrew
word,) and during the clearest light, it was certainly a fuller
proof of God’s vengeance ; for under such a circumstance
the contrivance and counsel of men were not so evident, but
? This rendering is the Targum; “the mother (and) the youths,” is
the Septuagint ; “the mother of a youth,” the Vulgate; “both mother
and youths,” the Syriac; “the mother and the youths,” the Arabic,
Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, and Gataker take the “ mother” for
the chief city, the metropolis, and consider the “ youth,” or “ the chosen
one,” to be the “ waster,” signifying Nebuchadnezzar,—* And I will
bring to them, against the mother-city, a chosen one, a waster at mid-
day.” So Blayney substantially, only he renders the verb in the past
tense.— Ed,
et i ee
hae
CHAP, XV.8,9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 265
the hand of God, which he stretched forth from heaven as it
were in an open and visible manner.
He afterwards adds, And I have cast, or caused to fall,
upon them suddenly ; some say, the city; others, the enemy ;
and 'Y, oir, means a city, and sometimes an enemy; but
another explanation seems more probable, that God had sent
on them a tumult and terrors, for the word VY, oi7, comes
from the verb VY, owr, which signifies to excite. It may
therefore be taken for tumult, and this sense I prefer, for
they who render the word city, are constrained to adopt a
forced and far-fetched explanation, “To fall have I made
suddenly the city,” that is, cities, “upon them.” There is
first a change of number, and then, to fall have I made
cities, that is, the ruins of cities, upon them, seems an un-
natural phrase ; but the sense would be most suitable were
we to render the word tumult, for what immediately, fol-
lows is, and terrors. Some however render the word MOn3,
belut, adverbially suddenly, and censider that the same thing
is said twice. Hehad said just before, “I have cast upon her
suddenly ;” but now he says, “hastenings.” Such is theversion,
but not suitable, for the two words VY, oir, and N72, belut,
are joined together. I therefore give this simple explanation
—that the Jews were suddenly smitten with despair because
they thought that their enemies were afar off, and that they
had to apprehend no danger. Then it is, suddenly have I
sent upon them a tumult and terrors. He then adds-—
9. She that hath born seven 9. Debilitata est que peperit septem,
languisheth: she hathgivenup et expiravit anima ejus (alii vertunt, af-
the ghost ; her sunis gone down flicta fuit, sed ND) significat suffare ; vi-
while it was yet day; she hath detur autem hic metaphoricé poni pro
been ashamed and confounded: expirare: expiravit ergo anima ejus ;) in-
and the residue of them will I gressus est sol ejus (hoc est, occidit sol) in
deliver to the sword before their adhuc die (id est, cum adhuc esset dies ;)
enemies, saith the Lord. confusa est et erubuit: et reliquias ipso-
rum gladio dabo (ad gladium exponam)
coram inimicis ipsorum, dicit Jehova.
1 «Trembling and haste, (7v0vdn»,)” is the version of the Septuagint ;
“tumult and trembling,” of the Syriac; “terror and trembling,” of the
Arabic; the Vulgate retains only the word “terror.” Various have been
the explanations of the word VY, which Calvin renders “tumult,” con-
sistently with the general tenor of the ancient versions. Gataker renders
it “ watcher ;” Blayney, “ enemy;” and others “ city;” but the most
suitable to the passage is “ tumult,” or commotion.— Ed.
266 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LIX.
He proceeds with his narrative; he says, that fruitful
women had been weakened, not as we see to be often the
ease, for by frequent child-bearing we know the strength of
women is diminished; but here he speaks of the strength
which mothers derive from their children; for a numerous
offspring is the support of mothers. She then who has many
children seems strong, as she is by so many shields defended.
As then mothers were wont to place much dependence on
their offspring, he says that they were weakened as to their
strength when they were bereaved of all their children, as
though they had been barren. :
He afterwards adds, that the soul, the people, had ea-
pired ;-for he speaks not here of women, but of the whole
people. For it afterwards follows, Set hath her sun while it
was yet day ; that is, when ‘prosperity seemed certain, God
suddenly inyolved them in adversity, and as it were sur-
rounded them with darkness, when they thought that pros-
perous fortune was shining on them. He at last says, that
they were confounded and ashamed ; and at the same time —
he declares, that he would give all who remained to the
sword before their.enemies ; as though he had said, “ They
have not yet suffered all the punishment allotted to them,
for they are not subdued, though I have heavily and severely
chastised them; as then they are incurable, the sword shall
destroy the remainder ; for my vengeance shall not cease to
pursue them, until I shall utterly consume them.”!
' The whole passage, including the 7th, 8th and 9th verses, presents
difficulties as to the time intended. The verbs, from the middle of the 7th to
the last clause in verse the 9th, are all in the past tense, and are so given
in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and the Targum; but in the Syriac in the
future tense. “Our version is not uniform. It is better to give the tenses
as they are, for the reference seems to be to God’s past judgments; and
at the end of the 9th verse, God speaks of what he would do,—
7. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land,
I have bereaved, I have destroyed my people;
From their ways have they not turned:
8. Increased to me have their (people) widows
More than the sand of the sea ;
I brought on them, on the mother of the youth,
. A disaster at mid-day ;
I caused to come upon her suddenly
Tumult and terrors:
9. Languish did she who gave birth to seven,
LL = SC rr
CHAP, xv. 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 267
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that we may not by our hardness so provoke
thy judgment against us, as to. constrain thee with an armed
hand to assail us; but may we through a meek and submissive
spirit be so influenced by thy threatenings as to anticipate that
yengeance, by which we see that all the reprobate and the per-
verse have been visited ; and may we so endeavour by true re-
pentance to obtain thy favour, that we may receive thy daily
blessings and benefits, until we shall at length come to the full
and real enjoyment of all those blessings, which have been laid
up for us in thy celestial kingdom, through Christ, our Lord.—
Amen.
Lecture Sixticth.
10. Woe is me, my mother, that thou 10. Hei mihi! mater mea,
hast born me a man of strife anda man quod genueris me virum rixe
of contention to the wholeearth! Ihave et virum litis toti terre: non
neither lent on usury, nor men have lent fceneratus sum et non fcenerati
to me on usury; yet every one of them sunt mecum ; quisque maledicit
doth curse me. — mihi.
Tue Prophet, when he saw that his labour availed nothing,
or was not so fruitful as he wished, no doubt felt somewhat
like a man, and shewed his own weakness. It must however
be observed, that he was so restrained by the secret: power
of the Holy Spirit, that he did not break forth intemperately,
as is the case with many ; but he kept the right end so in
view, that his sorrows had ever a regard to his object, even
to render his labour useful to the people. A clear example
of which is seen in these words.
But he addresses his mother, as though he counted his own
' Pant for breath did her soul,
Set did her sun during the day time,
Ashamed has she been and confounded:
And the remainder of them to the sword will I give,
In the presence of their enemies, saith Jehova.
As he speaks of bereavement, of widows, and of giving birth to seven,
it seems evident, that “the mother of the youth” is a poetical singular,
meaning “ the mothers of youths,” or of young men. Whether mother is
to be taken here metaphorically for Jerusalem, is another question; but
I think otherwise. The loss of mothers. as to their children is what is
spoken of. And from having mentioned the case of mothers in their
bereavement, the Prophet in the next verse refers to his own mother, and
to his own unhappy condition,—-Ed.
a
.
‘
268 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LX.
life a curse ; what does thismean? ‘“ Why,” he says, “ hast
thou begotten me, my mother? Woe to me, that I have been
born a man of strife and of contention!” We learn from these
words, that the Prophet was not so composed and calm in
his mind, but that he felt angry when he saw that he effected
less than he wished ; and yet it is evident from the context,
that all this was expressed for the benefit of the public, even
that the Jews might know, that their hardness of heart in
despising God’s devoted servant, yea, in maliciously oppos-
ing him, would not turn out to their benefit. This is the
purport of the whole. .
He calls himself a man of strife, not only because he was
constrained to contend with the people, for this he had in
common with all prophets. God does not send them to flatter
- or to please the world ; they must therefore contend with the
world, for no one is brought to a right state, so as to under-
take the yoke of God willingly and submissively, until he is
proved guilty. Hence men will never obey God, they will
never submit to his word, until they know that they are in
a manner condemned ; and for this reason have I said, that
this evil is common to all prophets,—that they have to con-
tend with the world. But Jeremiah calls himself a man of
strife and contention, because he was slanderously spoken of
throughout Judea, as one who through his moroseness drove
the whole people to contentions and strifes. This then is to be
referred to the false judgments formed by the people; for there
was hardly any one who did not say that he was a turbulent
man, and that if he was removed, there would haye been
tranquillity in the city and throughout the whole land. The
same objection is at this day made by the enemies of the truth
and godliness ; they say, that we needlessly create disturb-
ances, and that if we were quiet, there would be the most
delightful peace throughout the whole world, and that dissen-
sions and strifes arise only from us, that we are the fans by
which the whole world is kindled into contentions. It was
then for this reason that Jeremiah complained that he was
born a man of strife and contention; not that he was con-
tentious—not that that he gave any occasion to the people
to speak so slanderously of him ; for the subject here is not
CHAP. xv. 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAT. ; 269
respecting the character of the Prophet, as he knew that his
courage was approved by God ; but as he saw that he was
urged and charged with these false accusations, he calls him-
self a man of strife and a man of contention ; the last word
is from }7, den, which means to contend.
But as to the exclamation respecting his mother, I have
already reminded you that it was an evidence of an intem-
perate feeling ; for had he spoken in a composed state of
mind, what had he to do with his mother, so as to make her
an associate in the evil he complains of ? He indeed seems
to ascribe a part of the blame to his mother, because she
had given him birth. Now this appears unreasonable.
But it may at the same time be easily gathered, that the
Prophet was not led away by so great a vehemence, except
for the sake of promoting the public good, and that it was
for this end that he uttered his complaint ; for it was not
his purpose to condemn his mother, though at the first view
it appears so; but though she was innocent, he still shews
that he was unjustly loaded with such calumnies, as that he
was a man of strife and contention ; as though he had said,
“Enquire of my mother, who hath begotten me, whether I
was contentious from the womb? has my mother been the
cause why ye say that I am a turbulent man and the author
of strifes ? Doubtless nothing can be imputed to my mother ;
and I am as innocent as she is.’ We now then see that the
Prophet indirectly condemns the wickedness of the people,
because they calumniated him, as though he moved tumults
and strifes through the whole land ; and this he more fully
confirms by the words which follow :—
I have not given on usury, nor have they borrowed of me
on usury ;' yet every one curses me. He shews here that it
was not for a private reason that he was hated by the whole
people and loaded with calumnies: for whence come hatreds,
and strifes, and complaints, and quarrels, and contentions
1 Not one of the versions, except the Vulgate, mentions “ usury ;” and
Parkhurst says that the verb does not include the idea. Then the ren-
dering ought to be,
I have not lent, nor have they lent to me.
There had been no money transactions between them, Ube are commonly
the causes of disputes and contentions— Ed.
270 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. = ‘LEOT. LX.
among men, except through unfair dealing in their inter-
course with one another? When, therefore, every one is bent
on his own private advantage, he ill bears anything to be
taken from him. It is indeed a rare thing in the world,
that they who carry on business with one another are really
friends, and that they wholly approve.of each other’s con-
duct ; for, as I have already said, covetousness so prevails,
that justice and equity disappear among most men. Hence
the Prophet says, that he had not lent on usury. Under one
kind he includes all transactions of life, as though he had
said, Je nay point trafiqué, I have had no contention about
money affairs, for I have neither lent nor borrowed money,
so that I have had no contention with the people on a pri-
vate concern, nor have they quarrelled with me as though I
had injured them or defrauded them, as though they had
suffered any loss on my account: yet they all curse me.”?
We see that the Prophet here testifies that he had not in-
curred the displeasure of the people through his own fault,
or on account of any private concern, but because he had
faithfully discharged his duty to God and to his Church.
He then brings against the people a most awful accusation,
that they carried on war, not with a mortal man, but rather
with God himself. We now understand what the Prophet
had in view. .
_ But all faithful teachers are here reminded, that if they
perform their office strenuously and wisely, they will surely
be loaded with many calumnies, and be called tumultuous,
or morose, or disturbers of the peace. They ought then to
be fortified against such stumblingblocks, so that they may
persevere in the course of their calling. They ought at the
same time to take heed lest they create enemies through
any private concerns. For when the pastors of the Church
abstain from every public business, yet when they contend, as
1 Literally it is,—
The whole of it (the land) is reviling (or cursing) me.
As there is something anomalous in the form of the participle, Blayney
proposes an emendation, and thinks the right reading to be 13192? 0723,
* All of them curse me.” The versions and the Targwm favour this read-
ing, which is also adopted by the commonly too venturous Howbigant, and
approved by Horsley, one equally venturous and bold. By dropping the
}, as in many copies, the anomaly is removed.—Ed.
~~
4
a
CHAP. xv. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 271
they ought with the world, all immediately cry out that they
are contentious and turbulent ; but if the other be added, if
they quarrel with this or that man about worldly things,
then it cannot be but that the word of God will be evil
spoken of through their fault. Hence great care ought to
be taken that those who sustain the office of public teaching
should not engage in worldly business, and be thus exposed
to the. necessity of contending about worldly things: they
have enough to do, and more than enough, in the warfare
in which the Lord has engaged them.
Now when the Prophet says that they all cursed him, it
was a sad instance of impiety ; for he speaks not of heathens
but of the seed of Abraham. There was no Church then in
the world but at Jerusalem, and yet the Prophet was re-
garded there as contentious and a man of strife. It ought
not then to appear strange to us, that not only professed
enemies of Christ load us with reproaches, but that they
also curse us who deem themselves to be members of the
Chureh. It now follows—
11. The Lord said, Verily it shall 11. Et dixit Jehova, si-non reli-
be well with thy remnant; verily I quiz tue in bonum, si non occurrere
will cause the enemy to entreat thee fecero tibi in tempore mali, et in
well in the time of evil, and in the tempore afflictionis (vel, angustiz )
time of affliction. hostem. .
God at the beginning of this verse no doubt intimates
that he would be propitious to his servant, and grant him
what he asked. We then conclude that the Prophet’s prayer
was heard; and hence also becomes manifest what I have
stated, that the Prophet was not so led away by the force
of grief, but that he chiefly regarded the benefit of the
people. God then was so propitious to his request, that he
said that it would be well with his remnant, that what re-
mained would be blessed. ;
Interpreters differ as to the second clause: some apply
what is said to the people, I will make the enemy to meet
thee in the time of evil, and in the time of trouble: and so
they take this view, that God at the beginning of the verse
answers the Prophet, and intimates that his request was
accepted, so that there would be a better and happier end
than what then appeared ; and they think that God then turns
7 Bie i
os
_~
ae ie
272 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LX.
his discourse to the people, “ With regard to you, I will
make the enemy to meet you in the day of affliction.” But ~~
this explanation seems forced. I prefer to regard the whole
verse as addressed to the Prophet. God promises first that
his remnant would be prosperous ; and by remnant he means
the remaining time or the end of life, as though he had
said, “ I will at length have pity on thee, so that the things
which cause thee the greatest grief shall turn into joy: thine
end then shall be more prosperous than thou thinkest.”
Then the words which follow confirm the previous sentence:
for the Prophet might have objected and said, “ Then either
the people shall be delivered from all trouble, or I shall not
escape a part of the calamity.” To this God replies and
says, “Thou and others must suffer many things, but I will
make the enemy to meet thee, that is, I will make the enemy
to be propitious to thee, and even of his own accord to anti-
cipate thee.
Interpreters differ still farther respecting the verb *MYASN,
epegott ; some regard it in a transitive sense, ‘“ To meet thee
will I make the enemy ;” others render the sentence thus,
“JT will meet the enemy for thee,” or, “I will cause the
enemy to ask for thee.’ The verb, 45, pego, means some-
times to meet, either in a good or bad sense; as when one
goes as an enemy against another, he is said to meet him ;
or, when one offers help and shews kindness to another, he
is said to meet him. But the word has another meaning,
and signifies sometimes to ask, and so some take it here, “I
will cause the enemy to ask for thee.” But this is far-fetch-
ed: God did not send messengers to pacify the Babylonians
towards his servant Jeremiah. I prefer to render the words
thus, “I will meet the enemy for thee,” or, “I will cause
the enemy to meet thee ;” that is, “ I will pacify him by my
secret influence, so that he will of himself spare thee and
treat thee kindly.” And we know that it so happened; for
Jeremiah was loosed from his chains and was allowed his
liberty, so that he was permitted to go wherever he wished.
As then the enemies treated him with so much kindness, it
appears evident that what God had before promised was
fulfilled.
|
7
OHAP. xv. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 273
As to the main thing intended, there is no ambiguity in
the words: God promised that the latter end of Jeremiah
would be happy, and that though he was to suffer somewhat
in the common calamity of the whole people, yet the enemy
would treat him kindly, so that his condition would be better
and more desirable than that of others.’
But why did Jeremiah make this public? why did he give
this description? why did he commit it to writing? even
that the Jews might understand that they who harassed him,
when he had done them no injury, dealt unjustly with him.
They had indeed been excited by him, but it was through
what his office required, for he could not deny obedience to
God. Jeremiah then made public what God only knew be-
fore, that he might produce an impression on them, provided
any hope of repentance yet remained. And for the same
reason also was the promise of God added; for the Jews
ought to have been terrified, when they saw that such an
end was promised by God to the Prophet; for what must
have happened to them, except the curse of God to the utter-
1 This verse, and the three which follow, have caused considerable va-
riety of opinion. Some, like Calvin, Grotius, Henry, and Scott, apply
this to the Prophet and the rest to the people; but others, as Blayney,
consider the whole as addressed to the Prophet, and Venema regards the
whole as addressed to the people. But what appears the most probable
‘is, that the Prophet is addressed, and in the 11th and 12th verses per-
sonally, and then as identified with the people in verses the 13th and 14th.
There is no change of person, and this makes it difficult to regard two
parties as addressed.
This verse, the 11th, is in the past tense and not in the future, and may
be thus rendered,—
Jehovah said,—
Has not thy ministry been for good?
Have I not interposed for thee in the time of evil,
And in the time of distress, with the enemy ?
There are various readings for the word I render “ ministry,” which Park-
hurst thinks comes from MW, to serve. Very few readings favour the
word which means a “remnant,” and of the versions the Vulgate alone.
The reading mostly countenanced (19 MSS.) is 7’NNW, derived from
Mm, to,loose, or to let go, * Have I not happily let thee go?” In this
case a0? must be rendered adverbially, happily, or fully. Blayney’s ver-
sion is,—
Have I not brought thee off advantageously ?
But the most natural meaning is what Parkhurst proposes, which is ap-
proved by Horsley, only he renders the sentence in the present tense, “ Is
not thy ministry for good?” while the only verb in the verse is in the past
tense, and so ought this clause to be.—Ed.
VOL. II. ; s
a ey hn
a” *
; F -
274 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. LX.
most? We hence see, that in the complaint of the Prophet,
aud in the answer given by God, the salvation of the people
was regarded ; for the complaint contains a most severe re-
proof, and the answer of God threatens a most dreadful
judgment to the rebellious people. It follows—
12. Shall iron break the northern 12. An conteret ferrum ferrum ab
iron and the steel ? aquilone et ees (vel, chalybem ?)
This verse also has been taken in different ways by inter-
preters: some take the word iron, when repeated in a dif-
ferent case, “ Will iron break iron?’ but others think the
subject wanting in the clause, and consider people to be un-
derstood, ‘‘ Will the Jews break the iron, even the iron from
the north, and not only the iron but the brass also, or, the
the brass mixed with iron?” There is in reality no differ-
ence, but in words only. If we read, “ Will the iron break
the iron from the north?” the meaning will be, “ Though
there be great hardness in you, can it yet break that which
is in the Assyrians? but ye are not equal to them: make
your strength as great as you please, still the Chaldeans will
be harder to break you; for if ye are iron, they are brass or
steel, and so it will not be possible for you to sustain their
violent attacks.”
As the meaning of the Prophet is sufficiently evident, I
will not insist on words, though the rendering I most approve
is this, “ Will iron break the iron (the repetition is empha-
tical) from the north and the brass ?”
We here also see that the design of the holy man was, to
divest the Jews of that false confidence in which they
boasted : for how was it, that they were so refractory, except
that they did not dread any misfortune? As then they were
secure, predictions had but little weight with them. Hence
the Prophet, in order to beat down this ferocity, says, that
there would be greater hardness in the Chaldeans, for they
would be like iron, yea, and steel also.’ It follows—
' If we consider what is said to the Prophet in chap. i. 18, and in the
twentieth verse of this chapter, we shall see the meaning of this verse:
he was no doubt the iron and the brass: and the opinion of Blayney is
probable, that the “enemy” in the previous verse (which is a poetical
singular for the plural enemies) is the nominative case to the verb “ break.”
= De wartiel
ee ;
RN ee t—“‘i‘i‘
ee oll sl
CHAP. xv. 13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 275
13. Thy substance and 13. Opes tuas et thesauros tuos in direptio-
thy treasures willI giveto nem dabo, non in permutatione (hoc est, absque
the spoil without price, pretio,) et propter omne scelus tuum, et propter
and that for all thy sins, omnem finem tuum (vel, terminum tuum, in
even in all thy bor- omnibus terminis tuis, ad verbum; sicuti
ders. etiam in omnibus sceleribus. )
But, there is a difference among interpreters as to the
word Sy}, gebul. I indeed allow that it means a border:
but Jeremiah, as I think, when he intended to state things
that are different, made use of different forms of speech ; but
as the construction is the same, I see not how the word can
mean the borders of the land. I hence think that it is to be
taken here metaphorically for counsels ; as though he had
said, “ On account of all thy wicked deeds and on account
of all thy ends, that is, of all thy counsels, I will make thy
wealth and thy treasures a plunder.” For true is that say-
ing of the heathen poet,
There is something where thou goest and to which thou levellest thy bow.!
When we undertake any business, we have some end in
view. Then the Prophet calls their adulteries, frauds, ra-
pines, violencies and murders, wicked deeds ; but he calls
their counsels, borders, such counsels as they craftily took,
by which they manifested their depravity and baseness.
Then, in the first place, he declares that God would be a
just avenger against their wicked deeds, and against all the
ends which the Jews had proposed to themselves; and at
the same time he points out and mentions the kind of pun-
ishment they were to have,—that the Lord would give for a
plunder all their wealth and treasures, and that without ex-
changing ; some read, “ without price,” and consider the
meaning to be,—that the Jews would be so worthless, that
no one would buy them: but this is too refined. I doubt
not but that the Prophet intimates, that whatever the Jews
God, having before referred to what he had done for the Prophet, now
says,—
‘ Can he break the iron,
The iron from the north and the brass?
God had made him an “iron pillar, and a wall of brass:” and he asks
now, was it possible for his enemies to destroy him whom God had thus
made. The hardest iron came from the north of Judea. The future tense
is to be read here potentially. —Ed.
' Est aliquid quo tendis et in quod dirigis areum.—Per. Sut. ill. 60.
276 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LX.
possessed would become a prey to their enemies, so that it
would be taken away from them without any price or bar-
tering ; as though he had said, “ Your enemies will freely
plunder all that you have without any permission from you,
_and will regard as their own, even by the right of victory,
whatever ye think you have so laid up as never to be taken
away.’ He afterwards adds—
14.. And I will make thee to pass 14. Et transire faciam ad hostem
with thine enemies into a land in terram quam non cognoscis; quia
which thou knowest not: for a fire ignis ascensus est in ira mea (alié
is kindled in mine anger, which shall vertwnt, in nare; ‘BS § cat.
burn upon you. utrunque) super vos ardebit.
He pursues the same subject. He had said, that they ;
would be exposed as a prey to their enemies, so that all
their wealth would be plundered with impunity: he now
adds, I will deliver you to the enemy, that is, I will give you
into the hands of your enemies, that they may remove you -
elsewhere. He afterwards mentions a circumstance, which
must have rendered exile much worse ; for when any one
changes his place and is not led to a distance, the evil is
more tolerable ; but when any one is carried beyond the sea,
or into distant lands, there is a much greater cause for sor-
row, as there is no hope of return to one’s own country.
1 This verse and the following are said by Horsley to be “ very obscure :”
and there seems to be no way of understanding them, except we
the Prophet as classed with the people ;, and the conclusion of verse four-
teenth favours this idea, “On you, no , it shall burn.” The Prophet
himself did not wholly eseape the evils which came on the people. Then
this verse and the following I would render thus,—
13. Thy wealth and thy treasures for spoil will I give,
Not for a price, but for all thy sins,
Even in all thy borders ;
14. And I will e thine enemies to pass
To a land thou knowest not ;
For a fire has been kindled in my wrath,
On you it shall burn.
The “enemy” before is now “enemies.” The verb “ make to pass,” has
various reaiaiat owing evidently to the similarity of two letters. The
versions, except the Vulgate, have “I will make thee to serve thine ene-
mies ;” but the received text is the most suitable to the passage. Blay-
ney’s rendering is,—
I will cause them to pass with thine enemies—
By “them” he understands “thy wealth and thy treasures;” but this
5 of construction can hardly be admitted ; and it seems incongruous.—
CHAP. xv. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 277
Then despair increases the grief. Add to this, that not to
hear of one’s native land, as though we were in another
world, is also a bitter trial. .
The Prophet then adds, Because fire has been kindled in
my wrath, and against you it shall burn. He means that
God would be implacable until they were consumed ; for his
wrath had been kindled on account of their perverse wick-
edness.
Now all these things were foretold to them, that they
might know that God would execute a just vengeance by
making the Chaldeans their conquerors: for they might
have thought that this happened by chance, according to
what has been said by heathen writers, that the events of
war are uncertain, that Mars is indifferent (Cicero in Epist.)
Thus they ascribe to chance whatever happens through God’s
providence. That the Jews then might know that they were
chastised by God’s hand and by his just vengeance, it was
necessary that this should have been declared to them: and
therefore he speaks now of the Chaldeans and then of God
himself, whose agents the Chaldeans were, for they were
guided by his hand. He said before, “ Will iron break the
iron from the north?’ This we have explained of the Chal-
deans: but now he turns to God himself, the author of the
calamity brought on the Jews: for the Chaldeans could
have done nothing, except through his guidance and
direction.
Hence he says, J will cause them to pass over to the enemy,
even to a land which they know not. And the reason which
follows ought to have availed to check all their complaints.
We indeed know how clamorous the Jews were, for they
often accused God of cruelty, as it appears from many pas-
sages. The Prophet then, in order to restrain them, says,
that the fire of God’s wrath had been kindled, and that it
could not be extinguished, but would burn on them, that is,
would entirely consume them. At the same time he con-
demns their obstinacy, for they allowed no place to God’s
mercy, though often warned. They might indeed have paci-
fied him, had they repented. Hence the Prophet here con-
demns their sottishness ; for they increased their judgment
278 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LX.
by a continued progress in their evil ways. He afterwards
adds—
15. O Lord, thou knowest: 15. Tu nosti, Jehova ; recordare mei,
remember me, and visit me, and et visita me, et ulciscere me a persecu-
revenge me of my persecutors; toribus meis, ne in prorogatione (vel,
take me not away in thy long- protractione) ire tue tollas me; ¢og-
suffering : know that for thy sake nosce sustinuisse me (id est, quod sus-
T have suffered rebuke. tinuerim) propter te opprobrium.
The Prophet again turns to God, to shew that he had to
do with the deaf. This breaking off in the Prophet's dis-
course has much more force than if he had pursued regularly
his subject. Had he spoken calmly and in uniform order to
the people, his address would have been less forcible, than
by speaking to them as it were angrily and by severely re-
proving them, and then immediately by turning from them
and addressing God as though bidding adieu to men. Of
this we have spoken elsewhere, but it is well to remind you
of what we have before noticed. We now perceive the design
of the Prophet, in thus abruptly turning from the people to
God, and then again from God to the people, even because
he indignantly bore the loss of his labour, when the ears
of almost all were closed, and when they had become so
hardened that they had no fear of God, nor any regard
for his teaching. As then the Prophet indignantly bore
so great a wickedness, he could not but speak in a hasty
manner.
According to this strain, he now says, Thou knowest,
Jehovah ; remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of
mine enemies. The Prophet, however, seems here to have
been more angry than he ought to have been, for revenge is
a passion unbecoming the children of God. How was it,
then, that the Prophet was so indignant against the people
that he desired revenge? We have said elsewhere that the
prophets, though freed from every carnal feeling, might yet
have justly prayed for vengeance on the reprobate. We
must’ distinguish between private and public feelings, and
also between the passions of the flesh, which keep within no
limits, and the zeal of the Spirit. It is certain that the
Prophet had no regard to himself when he thus spoke ;
but he dismissed every regard for himself, and had re-
CHAP. xv. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 279
gard only to the cause of God: for inconsiderate zeal often
creeps in, so that we wish all to be condemned of whom we
do not approve; and such was the excessive zeal of the
disciples, when they said, “Lord, bid fire to descend from
heaven to consume them, as was done by Elias.’ (Luke
ix. 54.) But it is necessary not only to be moved by a pious
zeal, but also to be guided by a right judgment: and this
second requisite was possessed by the Prophet; for he did
not let loose the reins to his own zeal, but subjected himself
to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Since, then, these two
things were united,—a right zeal, to the exclusion of any
private feeling,—and the spirit of wisdom and a right judg-
ment, it was lawful to ask for vengeance on the reprobate,
as the Prophet does.
There is further no doubt but that he pitied the people ;
but he was in a manner freed from the influence of human
feelings, and had put off whatever might have disturbed him
and led him away from moderation. Though, then, the Pro-
phet was thus emancipated and freed from every kind of
perturbation, there is yet no doubt but that he prayed for
final judgment on the reprobate ; and yet, if there were any
healable, he doubtless wished them to be saved, and also
prayed anxiously for them.
In short, whenever the prophets were carried away by
such a fervour as this, we must understand that they were
filled by the Spirit of Christ ; and we must know that, when
they were thus filled, their whole zeal was directed against
the reprobate, while they were at the same time endeavour-
ing to gather together all that could be saved: and the same
was the case with David; when he fervently implored de-
struction on his enemies, he no doubt sustained the person
of Christ, as he was filled by his Spirit. (Psalm xxxv. 4-6.)
Hence he turned and levelled all his vehemence against the
reprobate ; but, when there was any hope of salvation, David
also, in the spirit of kindness, prayed for the restoration of
those who seemed to have already perished. Now, then,
when the Prophet says, “ Thou knowest, Jehovah ; remem-
ber me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors,” he
doubtless does not mean all his persecutors, but those who
280. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LX.
had been given up and devoted to destruction, and whom he
himself knew to be reprobates.'
He afterwards shews what he meant by these words—
remember me, and visit me; for he says, Take me not away
by deferring. So they render the passage, “ Whilst thou
bearest with the impiety of this people, and for a time sus-
pendest thy vengeance, let not thy wrath take me away.”
The word TRS, arek, means to defer, to protract, and also
to prolong, to extend, and to continue. Hence this mean-
ing is not unsuitable, “ Take me not away in the protraction
of thy wrath ;” that is, “ By protracting thy wrath, not only
for one day, but for a long time, take me not away, involve
me not in the same destruction with the reprobate.’ David
also prayed for the same thing, “ When thou destroyest the
wicked, involve me not with them.” (Psalm xxvi. 9.) The
sum of the whole is, that the Prophet asks a favour for him-
self, that God would make a difference between him and the
reprobate while he was protracting his wrath ; that is, while
he was not only taking vengeance on the impiety of the
people for a short time, but also while he was adding cala-
mities to calamities, and accumulating evils on evils, and
while thus -his fire burned for a long time, until the whole
land was consumed: and this is the meaning which I prefer,
though all the interpreters agree in another.”
1 There are distinctions here made not allowed by the passage. To
pray for vengeance on enemies was in accordance with the covenant made
with Abraham, “TI will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee,” Gen. xii. 3. See also Gen. xxvii. 29; Numb. xxiv. 9. As
they were the enemies of God’s servant for delivering his word, they were
the enemies of God himself: and they had already been wholly repudiated
by God, and given up to judgment.—Zd.
* The versions favour another view. The Septuagint omit the verb,
and connect “ long-suffering” with the previous lattes, “ Defend me from
my persecutors, not in thy long-suffering ;” that is, without delay, as the
Targum literally expresses it. The Vulgate is, “Do not in thy patience
take me ;” the Syriac, “Do not according to thy long-suffering bring me
out ;” the Arabic, “ Without delay ;” it omits the verb, and connects the
words with the former sentence like the Septuagint. The words may be
thus literally rendered,—
_ Not in (or, according to) thy long-suffering receive me ;
that is, under thy care and protection: he deprecated delay. This is the
purport of all the versions, and also of the Targum.
Venema divides the clause,—
Let there be no lengthening of thy wrath: receive me ;
aa
CHAP. Xv. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 281
It must further be noticed that the Prophet, in this prayer,
did not so much consult his own advantage as the good of
the people,—that they might at length dread the dreadful
judgment which was at hand. We have already stated how
supine a security prevailed throughout Judea ; and they also
hoped, that if any calamity happened it would be for a short
time, so that, having endured it, they might again live in
pleasure and quietness. Hence the Prophet speaks of the
protraction of God’s wrath, in order that they might know,
as I have already said, that the fire which had been kindled
could not be extinguished until they all perished.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we cease not by our sins daily to
provoke thy wrath against us, and are also ungrateful to thee
and disobedient to thy heavenly doctrine,—O grant that we may
at length know what we have hitherto deserved, and become so
displeased with our vices, that being really and from the heart
turned to thee, we may above all things seek to be reconciled to
thee and received into favour, so that thou mayest rule us by
thy Holy Spirit, and confirm us in true obedience and godliness,
until we shall at length enjoy that eternal felicity which has
been prepared for us in heayen by Christ our Lord.—Amen.
Know that for thee I have borne reproach.
_Blayney’s version is hardly intelligible,—
Within the length of thine anger comprehend me not.
The meaning of which he says is, “ Lengthen not thy resentment as to
comprehend me within its limits.”
Probably the rendering of Cocceius is the best,—
Do not through thy long-suffering take me away ;
that is, “ Do not bear long with my persecutors, and thus allow them to
destroy me.”
The verb here used seems simply to take; but it signifies sometimes to
take away, and sometimes to take into favour, to take under protection.
The most intelligible rendering seems to be as follows :—
15. Thou knowest, Jehova;
Remember me, and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors ;
Through thy long-suffering towards them take me not away ;
Know that 1 have for thee borne reproach.
“Take me not away” means “Suffer me not to be taken away.” He
feared for his life if the vengeance he denounced on the people was not
soon executed. See verse 18,—Kd,
282 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXI.
Recture Sixty=first.
16. 'Thy words were found, and 16. Inventi sunt sermones tui, et
I did eat them; and thy word was comedi eos, et fuit sermo tuus mihi in
unto me the joy and rejoicing of gaudium et letitiam cordis mei; quia
mine heart: for I am called by invocatum est nomen tuum super me,
thy name, O Lord God of hosts. | Jehova Deus exercituum.
Tue Prophet had said in the last verse that he was loaded
with reproach on God’s account ; for in his intercourse with
his own people he did not incur their hatred for any private
affair, but for his faithfulness in the discharge of his duty :
hence arose their reproaches and slanders. He now confirms
the same thing in other words, and at the same time explains
what might have appeared obscure on account of the brief
statement which he had made. This verse, then, is explana-
tory; for the Prophet shews what he meant by saying that
he was burdened with reproaches and calumnies on account
of God’s name.
Found, he says, by me have been thy words, and I did eat
them, and they turned to me for joy of heart. Hence then
it was that he was hated by the whole people, because he
laboured to obey from the heart and in sincerity the com-
mand of God, and to perform the office committed to him.
But by saying that words had been found, he refers to his
calling, as though he had said that he had not sought them
as ambitious men are wont to do. We indeed see, with re-
gard to many, that they busy themselves about many things,
while they might be at ease and be troublesome to none;
but a foolish ambition impels them to seek offices for them-
selves, and thus they excite against themselves the hatred
of many. The Prophet therefore testifies here, that he did
not ambitiously seek his office, but that it had been conferred
on him from above. We may also take the word in another
sense—that the Prophet felt assured that God had sent him;
for the word, to find, is often thus taken in Scripture; that
is, when anything is perceived and known it is said to be
found. But the former view is what I approve, for it is more
simple. Then the Prophet says that he was called and
made a Prophet, when he expected no such thing ; for when
OHAP. Xv. 16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 283
he in no way intruded himself, God met him, and in a man-
ner anticipated him: and this we have seen in the first
chapter; for he said, for the sake of excusing himself, “ Ah!
Lord, I cannot speak.” (ch. i. 8.) We hence see that the
Prophet sought to decline the office rather than to desire it
as a vocation of honour. So he now rightly declares that
God’s words had been found by him, that is, that they had
been gratuitously bestowed on him, according to what the
Lord says by Isaiah, “I have been found by them who sought
me not, and I have manifested myself to them who asked
not for me.” (Isaiah lxy. 1; Rom. x. 20.)
This indeed is to be applied to all; but as to the meaning
of the term, to find, we see how suitable it is. The Prophet
then did not hunt for this honour, nor did he desire any such
thing, but the favour of God anticipated him. .
He afterwards adds, I did eat them. He here testifies that
he from the heart, and with a sincere feeling, submitted to
God’s command. We indeed know that many prattle about
heavenly mysteries, and have the words of God on their
tongues ; but the Prophet says that he had eaten the words
of God; that is, that he brought forth nothing from the tip
of his tongue, as the proverb is, but spoke from the bottom
of his heart, while engaged in the work of his calling. Well
known and sufficiently common in Scripture is the metaphor
of eating. When we are said to eat Christ, (Matt. xxvi. 26,)
the reference no doubt is to the union we have with him,
because we are one body and one spirit. So also we are said
to eat the word of God, not when we only taste and imme-
diately spew it out again, as fastidious men do, but when we
receive inwardly and digest what the Lord sets before us.
For celestial truth is compared to food, and we know by the
experience of faith how fit the comparison is. Since then
celestial truth is good to feed spiritually our souls, we are
justly said to eat it when we do not reject it, but greedily re-
ceive it, and so really chew and digest it that it becomes our
nourishment. This then is what is meant by the Prophet ;
for he did not act a fable on the stage when teaching the
people, but performed in real earnest the office committed to
him, not like an actor, as the case is with many who boast
284 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXI.
themselves to be ministers of the word, but he was a faithful
and true minister of God.
He then says, that the word of God had been to him the
joy and gladness of his heart ; that is, that he delighted in
that word, like David, who compares it to honey. (Psalm
xix. 11; cxix. 103.) The same manner of speaking is used
by Ezekiel, ch. ii. 8; and iii. 1-3; for the Prophet is there
bidden to eat the volume presented to him; and then he
says that it was to him like honey in sweetness, for he em-
braced the truth with ardent desire, and made privately
such a proficiency in the school of God, that his labours
became afterwards publicly useful. We hence see how
similar was the case with Jeremiah and Ezekiel; for they
not only recited, as is commonly done by those who seek to
please the ear, what they had been taught, but they became
the disciples of the holy Spirit before they became teachers
to the people.!
It may however be asked, how could the word of God be ©
so sweet and pleasant to the Prophet, when yet it was so
full of bitterness; for we have seen elsewhere that many
tears were shed by the holy man, and he had expressed a
wish that his eyes would flow, as though they were fountains
of water. How then could these things agree—the grief
and sorrow which the holy man felt for God’s judgments, and
the joy and gladness which he now mentions? We have said
elsewhere that these two feelings, though apparently repug-
nant, were connected together in the Prophets ; they as men
deplored and mourned for the ruin of the people, and yet,
through the power of the Spirit, they performed their office,
and approved of the just vengeance of God. Thus then the
‘word of God became joy to the Prophet, not that he was not
1 The received text has “ thy words.” Calvin has followed the Keri and
the ancient versions, as well as our version; but “words ” being mentioned
in the previous line, the same thing being meant, it is more proper to use
* words ” here,—
And thy words were to me for exultation,
And (or, even) for the joy of my heart.
It is no objection that the verb, which precedes in Hebrew the noun
“ words,” is in the singular number; it is the idiom of the language, which
is exactly the same in Welsh “ Exultation” is the visible effect; “the
joy of the heart ” is the inward feeling, the hidden cause. It is common
in Scripture to mention the effect first, and to go back to the cause.—Ed.
/
CHAP. xv. 16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 285
touched by a deep feeling for the destruction of the people,
but that he rose above all human feelings, so as fully to
approve of God’s judgments. Hosea says the same thing
—‘“ Right are the ways of the Lord; the just will walk in
them, but the ungodly will stumble and fall.” (Hosea xiv.
9.) The Prophet indeed speaks thus, not of the word itself,
but of its execution ; but yet the design is the same ; for the
Prophet Hosea checks the wantonness of the people, because
they complained that God was too rigid and severe. Right,
he says, are the ways of the Lord; the just will walk in
them, that is, they will consent to God, and acknowledge
that he acts rightly, even when he punishes for sins ; but the
ungodly will stumble, according to what the Lord says in
another place—‘“‘ Are my ways perverse and not rather
yours?” (Ezek. xviii. 25.) For they said that the Lord’s ways
were crooked, because they, being soft and delicate, could
not endure those severe rebukes, which their own wicked-
ness forced from the holy Prophets. God answers them, and
says, that his ways were not crooked, nor thorny, nor tortu-
ous, but that the fault was in the people themselves.
We now then understand the real meaning of this passage.
The Prophet knew that nothing was better than to receive
whatever proceeded from God ; and he testifies that he found
sweetness in God’s word.
He afterwards adds, Because on me is called thy name, O
Jehovah, God of hosts. This mode of speaking occurs often
in Scripture, but in a different sense. The name of God is
indeed called indiscriminately on all, who are deemed his
people. As it was formerly given to the whole seed of
Abraham, so it is at this day conferred on all who are conse-
crated to his name by holy baptism, and who boast them-
selves to be Christians and the sons of the Church ; and this
belongs even to the Papists. We are called by his name,
because he has favoured us with his peculiar grace, for the
purity of true and lawful worship exists among us; errors
have been removed and his simple truth remains ; yet many
hypocrites are mixed with the elect of God, so that ina true
and well ordered church, the reprobate are called by the name
of God ; but the elect alone are truly called by his name, as
ae
oe
eas
286 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXI.
Paul says, “ Let every one who calls on the name of the
Lord depart from iniquity,” (2 Tim. ii. 19.) There is in this
case a mutual connection ; for to call on the name of the
Lord, and to have his name called on any one, amounts to
the same thing. We hence see that the name of God is only
truly and really called on those, who not only boast that they
are the faithful, but who have been also regenerated by the
Holy Spirit.
But the Prophet here refers to his office when he says, that
the name of God was called on him ; for he had been chosen
to his office of teaching ; he was not only dignified with the
title, but was really approved by God. We now then per-
ceive in what sense he says that God’s name was called on
him, even because God had laid his hand on him and re-
solved to employ him in the work of teaching the people.
But there are many mercenaries in the Church, and though
they do not openly corrupt or adulterate the truth of God,
they yet, as Paul says, preach it for gain, (2 Cor. ii. 17.) It
must be observed, that God’s name was called on Jeremiah,
because he was known to God as being true and faithful ;
and he had not only proved himself to be so to men, but he
had been chosen by God to be his faithful messenger."
There is emphasis in the words, O Jehovah, the God of
hosts ; for the Prophet no doubt refers here to the glory of
God, that he might with an elevated mind look down, as it
were, on so many adversaries, who proudly despised him, as
it was difficult to carry on war with the whole people. This
then was the reason why he spoke of God's glory in terms so
magnificent, by saying, O Jehovah, the God of hosts. It
follows :—
1 The connection of this clause is variously understood. It cannot be
considered as a reason for the previous clause. Gataker, Grotius, and
others render "3, that,—“ that thy name was called upon me,” regarding .
it as the cause of his joy, that he was called God’s prophet. Venema ren- |
ders it when, which seems more suitable. But on viewing the whole pas-
sage, we may justly consider this as a reason for the prayer he offers in
the previous verse, so that the latter part of that and the beginning of
this verse are parenthetic. I would give this version,—
15. Thou knowest, Jehovah;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors ;
marty ty = ba
OHAP. xv. 17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 287
17. Isat not in the assembly of | 17. Non sedi in consilio (vel
the mockers, nor rejoiced ; I sat ccetu) derisorum, neque exultavi;
alone, because of thy hand: for propter manum tuam seorsum sedi;
thou hast filled me with indignation. quia indignatione replevisti me.
Here the Prophet more fully declares, that he was hated
by the whole people because he pleased God. He indeed
inveighs against the impiety of those who then bore rule;
he does not here so much reprove the common people as
the chief men, who exercised authority and administered
justice ; for when he speaks of the assembly of the ungodly,
he no doubt refers to wicked rulers, as the word 1D, sud,
which means a secret, means also a council. And David (or
whosoever was the author of the sixty-ninth Psalm) says, not
that he was a sport to the vulgar, but that he was derided
by those who sat in the gate, (Psalm lxix. 12 ;) which means,
that he was reproachfully treated by wicked judges, who
possessed the chief authority. So also in this place, Jeremiah
says, that he did not sit in the council of mockers. It is not
the same word as in the first Psalm ; and ‘YD, sud, is some-
times taken in a good sense, but here in a bad sense ; for
Jeremiah speaks of the profane despisers of God, who ridi-
culed everything that was announced in the name of God.1
Now it was necessary for the holy man thus to exasperate
these impious men, for they were in favour, credit, and au-
thority with the people ; and we know that they who were
in power do in a manner dazzle the eyes of the vulgar with
Through thy long suffering towards them take me not away ;
(Know that I have for thee borne reproach ;
16. Found have been thy words and I did eat them ;
And thy words were to me for exultation,
Even for the joy of my heart ;)
Because called on me has been thy name,
Jehovah, thow God of hosts.—Ed.
1 Gataker, and after him Blayney, consider the word, rendered “mock-
ers” by Calvin and our version, as meaning “those who make merry ;”
and the word is so rendered in our version in ch. xxx. 19, and xxxi. 4.
The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Targum, favour this rendering ;
the Syriac and the Arabic, have “ mockers.” The sense seems to be,
that he did not associate with cheerful society. Then the next line is,—
Nor did I exult on account of thy hand.
So all the versions connect the words. The “hand” means, as Blayney
says, the impulse of the prophetic spirit. See 1 Kings xviii. 46; Ezek.
i. 3. He did not inconsiderately rejoice on account of his office, because
he was made a prophet.— Ed.
288 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXI.
their splendour. As they then thus deceived the simple, the
Prophet removed the mask, and exclaimed, that he did not
sit in their council nor exulted with them. In denying that
he was connected with them, he intimates what their con-
duct and manners were. He therefore shews, that whatever
their dignity might be, they were still the impious despisers
of God, and were only mockers, The same is the case with
us at this day, we are under the necessity directly to expose
those masked rulers, who are inflated with their own power
and fascinate the people ; for buffoons in tippling-houses and
taverns do not so wantonly mock God as those courtiers, who,
while consulting respecting the state of the whole earth, and
deciding on the affairs of all kingdoms, seem as though they
themselves possessed all the power of God ; and we also know
that they are profane mockers. Hardly any piety or rever-
ence for God is to be found in the courts of princes; nay,
especially at their councils, the devil reigns, as it were, with-
out control. We are therefore constrained often to speak
very strongly against such unprincipled men, who falsely
assume the name of God, and by this pretence deceive the
common people. By this necessity was Jeremiah constrained
to declare, that he had not been in the assembly of such
men.
He then adds, On account of thine hand (from the presence
of thine hand) J sat apart, because with indignation hast
thow filled me. Here Jeremiah confesses that he had de-
parted from the people; but he did so, because he could not
have otherwise obeyed God. Some consider hand to mean
prophecy, and others, a stroke ; and so it is often taken me-
taphorically ; but I am disposed to take it for command,
“On account of thy hand;” that is, because I attended to
what thou hast commanded, nor had I any other object but
to obey thee. Hence, On account of thine hand, because I
regarded thee and wished wholly to submit to thy will, J
sat apart.
This passage is especially deserving of notice ; for the
Prophet was at Jerusalem among the priests, and was one of
them, as we found at the beginning of this book. Though
then he was a priest, he was constrained to separate himself
EE 7
————————
CHAP, xv. 17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 289
and to renounce all connection with his colleagues and bre-
thren. As then this was the case .with.the holy Prophet,
why do the Papists try to frighten us by objecting to us
our separation, as though it were a most heinous crime ?
they call us apostates, because we have departed from their
assemblies ; truly if Jeremiah was an apostate, we need
not be ashamed to follow his example, since he was ap-
proved by God, though he separated from the whole people,
and also from the ungodly priests. Let us at this day openly
and boldly confess that we have separated. There is then a
separation between us, and one indeed irreconcilable; and
accursed were we, if we sought an union with the Papists.
We are therefore constrained plainly and openly to repudiate
them, and to move heaven and earth rather than to agree with
them. We see that there is a rule here prescribed to us: by
the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Jeremiah. To refute
then the calumnies of those who object to us our separation,
this very passage is sufficient.
“I sat apart,” and true it was so; but no one can say
this at this day; for the Lord has gathered to himself many
teachers and many disciples. They then who now profess
the gospel do not sit apart as Jeremiah. But though all
had forsaken him, he yet hesitated not to separate himself
from all. But were it necessary for every one of us to be-
come separated and to live apart, were God to scatter each
of us through all the regions of the world, so that no one
were to strengthen and encourage another, yet we should
still stand firm, under the conviction that we sat apart on
account of God’s hand. Let the Papists then complain as
they please, that we are proud, and that we disturb the
peace of the whole world, provided we have this answer to
give,—That we sit apart on account of God’s hand, because
we seek to obey God and to follow his call: we can there-
fore boldly and safely despise and scorn all the reproaches
with which they falsely load us.
He afterwards adds, Yor thou hast filled me with indigna-
tion. He confirms what he said in the last verse,—that he
1 « Because all the prophecies thou hast given me are minatory.”—
Grotius.
The meaning may be, “ Thou hast filled me with indignant messages,” — Ed,
VOL, II. A
er
> 7 ee
290 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXT.
had eaten the word of God, that he had not been slightly
moved, but had been inflamed with zeal for God: for we
eannot really execute the commission given to us unless we
be filled with indignation, that is, unless zeal for God burns
inwardly, for the prophetic office requires such a fervour.
He then adds—
18. Why ismy pain 18. Ut quid erit dolor meus fortis, (vel, durus,)
perpetual, and my et plaga mea egra (aut, valida, aut, insanabilis,
wound incurable, which doloris plena; dicemus postea de voce,) renuit
refuseth to be healed? curari? (hoc est, non admittit remedium:) eris
wilt thou be altogether mihi sicut mendacium aquarum non fidelium.
unto me asa liar, and (alii vertunt, eris mihi mendax, aque infideles,
as waters that fail ? hoc est, tanquam aque infideles. ) <
Before we proceed, we shall shortly refer to the meaning
of the passage. Jeremiah has before shewn that he pos-
sessed an heroic courage in despising all the splendour of
the world, and in regarding as nothing those proud men
who boasted that they were the rulers of the Church: but
he now confesses his infirmity; and there is no doubt but
that he was often agitated by different thoughts and feel-
ings; and this necessarily happens to us, because the flesh
always fights against the spirit. For though the Prophet
announced nothing human when he declared the truth of
God, yet he was not wholly exempt from sorrow and fear
and other feelings of the flesh. For we must always distin-
guish, when we speak of the prophets and the apostles,
between the truth, which was pure, free from every imper-
fection, and their own persons, as they commonly say, or
themselves. Nor were they so perfectly renewed but that
some remnant of the flesh still continued in them. So then
Jeremiah was in himself disturbed with anxiety and fear,
and affected with weariness, and wished to shake off the
burden which he felt so heavy on his shoulders. He was
then subject to these feelings, that is, as to himself; yet his
doctrine was free from every defect, for the Holy Spirit
guided his mind, his thoughts, and his tongue, so that there
was in it nothing human. The Prophet then has hitherto
testified that he was called from above, and that he had
cordially undertaken the office deputed to him by God, and
had faithfully obeyed him: but now he comes to himself,
CHAP. xv. 18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 291
and confesses that he was agitated by many thoughts, which
betokened the infirmity of the flesh, and were not free from
blame. This then is the meaning.
He says, Why is my grief strong, or hard? He intimates
that his grief could not be eased by any soothing remedy.
He alludes to ulcers, which by their hardness repel all emol-
lients. And for the same purpose he adds, And my wound
weak, as some render it, for it is from WIN, anesh, to be
feeble ; and hence is WIN, anush, which means man; and
it expresses his weakness, as DIN, adam, shews his origin,
and W'S, aish, intimates his strength and courage. Others
render the words, “ and my wound full of pain ;’ and others,
“strong,” as he had before called his grief strong. . He after-
wards thus explains what he meant by the terms he used,
It refuses to be healed. There is no doubt, as I have already
intimated, but that the Prophet here honestly expresses the
perturbations of his own mind, and shews that he in a man-
ner vacillated ; the wickedness of the people was so great,
that he could not so perseveringly execute his office as he
ought to have done.’
He adds, Thou wilt be to me as the deception of inconstant
waters. I wonder why some render the words, “ Thou wilt
be to me deceptive as inconstant waters.” The word may
indeed be an adjective, but it is doubtless to be rendered as a
substantive, “ Thou wilt be to me as the deception,” and
then, “of unfaithful waters,’ that is, of such as flow not
continually: for faithful or constant waters are those which
never fail ; as the Latins call a fountain inexhaustible whose
spring never dries ; so the Hebrews call a fountain faithful
or constant which never fails either in summer or in drought.
On the contrary, they call waters unfaithful which become
dry, as when a well, which has no perennial veins, is made
dry by great heat ; and such also is often the case with large
streams.”
1 It is better to retain throughout the figurative language,—
Why has my sore become perpetual,
And my stroke incurable, refusing to be healed ?
He mentions “ sore” first, the effect ; then the “stroke” which caused it.
He refers doubtless to the state of his mind: therefore “the sore” and
“the stroke” were the sorrow and the grief which he experienced.— Fd.
2 The Septuagint and the Vulgate strangely refer this to the stroke or
ee
292 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXI.
We now see the import of this comparison: but the words
are apparently very singular ; for the Prophet expostulates
with God as though he had been deceived by him, “ Thou
wilt be to me,” he says, “ as a vain hope, and as deceptive
waters, which fail during great heat, when they are mostly
wanted.” If we take the words as they appear to mean,
they seem to border on blasphemy ; for God had not with-
out reason testified before, that he is the Fountain of living
water ; and he had condemned the Jews for having dug for
themselves broken cisterns, and for having forsaken him,
the Fountain of living water. Such, no doubt, had He been
found by all who trusted in him. What then does Jeremiah
mean here by saying, that God was to him as a vain hope,
and as waters which continue not to flow? The Prophet,
no doubt, referred to others rather than to himself; for his
faith had never been shaken nor removed from his heart.
He then knew that he could never be deceived ; for relying
on God’s word he greatly magnified his calling, not only be-
fore the world, but also with regard to himself: and his
glorying, which we have already seen, did not proceed ex-
cept from the inward feeling of his heart. The Prophet
then was ever fully confident, because he relied on God, that
he could not be made ashamed ; but here, as I have said, he
had regard to others. And we have already seen similar
passages, and the like expressions will hereafter follow.
There is no doubt hut that it was often exultingly alleged
that the Prophet was a deceiver: “ Let him go on and set
before us the words of his God; it has already appeared
that his boasting is vain in saying that he has hitherto
spoken as a prophet.” Since then the ungodly thus ha-
rassed the Prophet, he might have justly complained that
the wound in the previous clause, “It has become like the deception of
inconstant water:” but the gender of the infinitive added to the verb will
not admit of this rendering. It is literally as follows,—
Becoming thou hast become like a deceiver,
Like waters which are not constant.
The word 37238 is not a substantive, but an adjective, formed like WON,
violent. The quotation from Chardin, made by Blayney, respecting an
illusion in the deserts of Arabia, occasioned by the sun’s rays on the sand,
by which a vast lake appears, is here out of place, as unfaithful or incon-
stant waters, not unreal, is what is expressed. Calvin’s view is no doubt
correct. —Ed.
‘
CHAP. XV.19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 293
God was not to him like perennial springs, because they all
thought that he was deceived. And we must always bear
in mind what I said yesterday,—that the Prophet does not
speak here for his own sake, but rather that he might re-
prove the impiety of the people. It therefore follows—
19. Therefore thus saith the Lord,
If thou return, then will I bring
thee again, and thou shalt stand
before me; and if thou take forth
the precious from the vile, thou
shalt be as my mouth: Jet them re-
turn unto thee; but return not
thou unto them.
19. Propterea sic dixit Jehova, Si
conversus fueris, ego quoque con-
vertam te; coram facie mea stabis
(hoc est, ut stes coram me;) et si se-
paraveris (eduxeris ad verbum, hoc
est,si discreveris)pretiosum 4 vili,tan-
quam os meum eris: convertantur ipsi
ad te, et tu non convertaris ad eos. -
From this answer of God we may gather more clearly the
design of the Prophet, for his purpose was, in order more
fully to prove the people guilty, to set before their eyes as
it were his own perverseness. Had he spoken only accord-
ing to the heroic elevation of his own mind, so as not to
appear touched by any human feeling, they might have
derided him as hardhearted or a fanatic, for so we find that
the proud of this world speak and think of the faithful ser-
vants of Christ. They call them melancholy, they consider
them as unfeeling, and as they neither dread death, nor are
drawn away by the allurements of this life, they think that
all this proceeds from brutal savageness. Had then the
Prophet only performed the duties of his office, the un-
godly might have derided his insensibility, but he wished to
set forth his own infirmity, his sorrows, his fears, and his
anxieties, that he might thus lead the Jews to view things
aright. This answer of God ought then to be connected
with the complaint of the Prophet, and we may hence learn
the meaning of the whole.
God gives this answer, If thou wilt be turned, I will turn
thee, that thou mayest stand before me. It is the same as
though he had said, that he was reproved by the Lord be-
cause he fluctuated amidst the commotions of the people.
A similar passage is found in the eighth chapter of Isaiah,
The Lord there exhorts his Prophet to separate himself from
the people, and not to connect himself with those who might
have often easily disturbed him, because they continued not
in his word ; then he says, “ Seal my law for my disciples,
294 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXII.
sign the testimony,” (Isaiah viii. 12, 16,) as though he had
said, “ Have now nothing to do with so perverse a people.”
So also now the Lord speaks, If thou wilt be turned, that is,
if thou wilt not be guided by the false judgments of the
people, nor heed what they say of thee, but boldly despise
them and persevere in thy separation from them, J will turn
thee, that is, I will by my spirit so strengthen thee, that
they may perceive at length that thou art my faithful ser-
vant. Then he adds, that thou mayest stand before me. We
hence see more plainly what is the meaning of the word
“turn” in the second clause, even that the Prophet would
render his office approved of God, however clamorous the
Jews might be; though they even rose up tumultuously
against him, yet he says, thou shalt stand before me. There
is implied here a contrast in the word “ stand,” for though
the Prophet should be most violently assailed by the false
words of men, yet God would support and sustain him. The
rest we defer until to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast at this day plainly
made known to us thy will through the gospel of thy Son, so
that we may by an unshaken faith embrace what is therein set
forth to us,—O grant, that we may learn to be satisfied with
thee alone, and to acquiesce in thy truth, and to renounce the
whole world, so that we may never be moved by any threats and
terrors, nor vacillate when the ungodly seem so proudly disposed
to withdraw confidence in thee; but may we render to thee all
due honour, so as not only to obey thee but also to perform the
offices committed to us, and never to hesitate so to provoke the
whole world against us, that howsoever hard our warfare may
be we may firmly persevere in the course of thy holy calling,
and may thus at length enjoy that triumph, which Christ thy
only-begotten Son hath procured for us.—Amen.
Lecture Sixty-Second.
We began yesterday to explain the passage in which God
exhorts the Prophet to be courageous. He indeed uses the
CHAP. xv. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 295
word to “turn,” but it is the same as though he had said,
that it was not wise in him to vacillate, for he ought not to
have turned aside by any means from the performance of
his office, though the Jews obstinately resisted him. The
sum of the whole then is, “ If thou turnest thyself I will
also restore thee, that thou mayest stand before me.”
It then follows, If thow wilt distinguish the precious from
the worthless, thou shalt beas my mouth. God now expresses
what sort of turning he required from his servant, even
freely to condemn what was vicious, and boldly to defend
what was right, though the whole would oppose him. God
then indirectly refers to that fear of Jeremiah by which he
was so shaken that he knew not what todo. Hence God
reproves his Prophet, and shews that he could not otherwise
stand than by distinguishing between the precious and the
worthless. Thus all flattery was to be excluded. God then
forbids his Prophet to deal gently with the people, or to be
influenced by favour so as to spare their vices, and not to
defend what was right with that courage which became him.
In these words is briefly comprehended the duty of a true
Prophet, even to turn his eyes from men, to heed neither
favour nor hatred, but to fix his attention only on the truth,
not only to approve of what is right, but also to defend it at
the peril of his life, and further, not to spare vices, but
freely to reprove them.
What is added, Thou shalt be as my mouth, some interpret
as though it was said, “ Happen to thee shall everything
that I have promised,” or, “ my promise shall not disappoint
thee,” but this seems to be far-fetched. I therefore take
this plain meaning, “I will own thee as a true and faithful
servant, if only thou distinguishest what is just from what
is unjust, if thou continuest to fight for the truth, and freely
reprovest and condemnest vices.” The import of the passage
is, that those only are deemed by God to be the faithful
pastors of the Church, who are not influenced by respect of
persons, who do not turn to this or to that side, but rightly
judge and according to the law of God; for by the law is
the difference to be made between the precious and the
worthless, as we are no fit judges but as far as we agree with
296 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXII.
what God has said. The law then is alone that by which
we can distinguish the precious from the worthless.
They who keep to this rule, do justly condemn some and
approve of others, because they are only God’s heralds, and
bring nothing of their own. It hence follows, on the other
hand, that those are not God’s instruments or ministers, nor
are worthy of any honour, who so pervert vices and virtues
as to say that light is darkness and that darkness is light.
We may, in short, conclude from this passage, that a voca-
tion or a title is not sufficient, except they who are called
faithfully discharge their duty to God. It hence follows,
that all those who either ambitiously seek the fayour of
men, or are indulgent to their vices, and by flatteries nour-
ish their corruptions, are impostors: for how much soever
they may boast that they are God’s servants, yet he himself
declares that they are not to be so accounted.
He then adds, Let them be turned to thee, but be not thow
turned to them, or, thou shalt not be turned to them; but
the verbs, being in the future tense, are to be taken as im-
peratives. He now confirms the previous doctrine,—that he
ought not to be submissive to them or to flatter them, but
to subdue their perverse minds until they received the yoke
of God, The meaning of the words is this,—that the Pro-
phets were sent for this end—not to gratify men, or to
soothe them by obsequiousness, but to continue firm and
constant in executing their office and to turn refractory men
to him, and not to concede anything to them. And doubt-
less, except this course be pursued, the majesty of God must
give place to the humours and fancies of men: for we know
how great is the pride of almost the whole world, and also
their love of pleasure, so that no one can willingly bear to
be reproved. As then the greater part of mankind are so
proud and self-indulgent, were the word of God to bend to
the humour of this or of that man, what would become of it ?
there would certainly remain in celestial truth no dignity
and no majesty.
We now see why this clause was added: for the precious
could not be rightly and justly distinguished from the worth-
less, except the Prophets continued firm in the course of
— eS ll OC
CHAP. xv. 20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 297
their calling, and carried on war with the perverseness of
men. It is therefore necessary that all faithful teachers in
the Church should so conduct themselves, as not to concede
to the vices of men nor to cherish their fancies, but to con-
strain them to undertake the yoke of God. Paul, however,
seems to have followed a different course, for he says to the
Galatians, “ Be yeas Iam, for lamas youare.” (Gal. iv. 12.)
As then he had endeavoured to conform to what they did,
and to bear their infirmities, he exhorts them to do the same
in return. But it is certain that Paul acted not differently
from Jeremiah or other servants of God: and the answer is
evident ; for Paul in the same Epistle testifies, that if he
pleased men, he could not be the servant of Christ, (Gal. i.
10.) He then did not hunt for the favours of men, nor
turned aside in the least from the course of his duty to ren-
der himself obsequious to men ; but he could forgive their
infirmities, or bear them, so that he might thereby turn them
to himself, or rather restore them to the service of God.
For when God thus speaks, Be not thow turned to them, he
means not Jeremiah personally, but refers to his doctrine.
The meaning is, that the truth of God ought not to bend to
the will of men; for God changes not, and so his word ad-
mits of no change. Whatever then men may expect, this
rule must remain fixed and inviolable, that they must sub-
mit to God, and that he must be the sovereign, and reduce
to submission whatever height or excellency or pride there
may be in the world.’ It then follows—
20. And I will make thee unto this 20. Et posui te huic populo in mu-
people a fenced brazen wall; and rum zneum (aris, ad verbwm) muni-
they shall fight against thee, but they tum: ergo pugnabunt contra te, sed
shall not prevail against thee: forI nonprevalebunt tibi; quia tecum ego
am with thee to save thee, and to sum ad servandum te et ad liberan-
deliver thee, saith the Lord. dum te, dicit Jehova.
1 It is extraordinary what shades of difference appear in the expositions
of this verse: but a literal rendering would, I conceive, dissipate them,—
19. Therefore thus said Jehovah,—
If thou returnest and I restore thee,
Before me shalt thou stand ;
And if thou bringest forth the precious from the worthless,
As my mouth shalt thou be;
Return shall they to thee,
But thou wilt not return to them.
The return at the beginning of the verse was from the state of mind in
298 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXIT.
As Jeremiah might have objected and said, that the bur-
den was too heavy for him, if he only attempted to break
down the contumacy of the people, for he was alone, and we
have seen how great was the ferocity and also the cruelty of
his adversaries,—as he might have shunned his commission,
it being too much for his strength, hence God comes to his
aid and bids him to take courage, for he was fortified by a
help from heaven, J have set thee, he says, for a brazen forti-
fied wall to this people. Thesword for “ fortified” is from T¥2,
betsar ; were it IIN3, betsare, derived from WS, tswr, to be-
siege, it would much better suit this place. I know not
whether the passage has been corrupted: however, I will
not depart from the common reading. As then interpreters
agree in this, I will change nothing ; and indeed the differ-
ence is not very material."
We see then what God meant by these words: As the
Prophet was almost alone, and God had bidden him to con-
tend with many and powerful enemies, he promises to stand
on his side; as though he had said,—“ Though thou art
defenceless and unarmed, and they are furnished with wealth
and great power, thou shalt yet be like a well-fortified city ;
thou shalt indeed be impregnable, notwithstanding all their
assaults and whatever they may attempt against thee.”
But God proceeds by degrees ; for he first declares that
which he was, to an entire submission to God. The future is here used
in the sense of the present. The “precious” was the godly, and the
“ worthless” the ungodly. The three last lines are promises, See chap.
xli. 2.
Houbigant’s explanation of the fourth line is too refined, though ap-
proved by Horsley. He considers that there is an allusion to Judges xiv.
14. Jeremiah himself was “ the worthless” or the mean, being so negenied
by the Jews, and “the precious” was the prophetic word. And Horsley
renders the line thus,—
And if thou wilt bring forth the precious from the mean.
He also approves of Blayney’s version of the second line, and considers it
as expressive of a prompt execution of what is commanded,—
If thou wilt turn as I shall turn thee.
But the first verb is in Kal, and the second in Hiphil, and therefore can-
not be rendered the same.— Ed.
1 All the ancient versions are in favour of the common reading, and there
are no MSS. favourable to the proposed emendation. The Septuagint,
the Vulgate, the Syriac, and the Targum, render it “strong;” and the
wee “fortified.” A strong wall of brass,” is the version of Blayney.
—Ed,
CHAP. xv. 20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAN. 259
his Prophet would be like a brazen and a fortified wall, that
is, like an invincible city: for by stating a part for thie
whole, a wall means a city that is impregnable. It then
follows, They indeed will fight against thee. This warning
was very necessary ; for Jeremiah was doubtless willing to
serve God in exercising authority over teachable and humble
men, and in gently inducing them to render obedience to
God; but he is reminded here that he would have many
hard contests with a rebellious people, They will fight, he
says, against thee. We sce how God does not promise ease
to Jeremiah, nor gives him a hope of a better lot in fu-
ture ; but, on the contrary, he exhorts him to fight; and
why? because the people would not bear the yoke of God,
but kindled into rage against him. But another promise
follows, They shall not prevail against thee, or overcome
thee.
It was indeed necessary for Jeremiah of his own self to
disturb the Jews; for nothing would have been more agree-
able to them than his silence; and the object of all their
attempts was to drive him to despair. But it is not without
reason that they are said to fight with him; for it is con-
trary to nature for men to resist God and to set themselves
against him when he invites them to himself; for what can
be more natural than for the whole world to hasten to God ?
It is then something monstrous for men to oppose God, nay,
furiously to rise up against him, when he kindly calls them
to himself. Hence it is that God here makes the Jews the
authors of all this disturbance. For since they loaded the
Prophet with the most wicked calumnies, as we have seen,
and said, that he was a turbulent man and confounded all
things by his morosity, God here shews, on the other hand,
that all the commotions and the fightings ought to be attri-
buted to them, because they ought to have obediently
received the doctrine set before them.
But though this was said only once to Jeremiah, yet the
condition of all God’s servants is here set before us as in a
mirror ; for they cannot perform what God commands them
without having to encounter many and grievous assaults ;
for the world is never so prepared to obey God, but the
300 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXII.
greater part furiously resists, and, as far as it can, stifles the
word of God and checks his ministers.
He states the reason, For J am with thee to save thee and
to deliver thee.’ By these words God exhorts his Prophet to
prayer ; for we know how dangerous is self-security to all
the children of God, and especially to teachers. As then
they have at all times need of God’s aid, they are to be ex-
horted to have recourse to solitude and prayer. ‘This is the
import of the words which God uses, J am with thee; as
though he had said, “ Thou indeed wilt not stand by thyself,
or through thine own painstaking, nor wilt thou be a con-
queror by carrying on war thyself; but thou must learn to
flee to me.” It afterwards follows—
21. And I will deliver thee out of 21. Et liberabo teé manuimpiorum
the hand of the wicked, and I will (sceleratorum,) et eruam te é manu
redeem thee out of the hand of the (est aliud nomen, sed eodem sensu
terrible. capitur) fortium.
This verse contains nothing new, but is a confirmation
of the promise which we have seen. God had promised to
be with the Prophet ; he now shews that there was sufficient
strength in his hand to deliver him. How much soever
then the Jews might oppose him, God declares here that he
alone would be sufficient to break them down. We hence
see that there is more expressed in these words than in
what he had said before, I will be with thee to deliver thee ;
he now shews the act itself as by the finger. J will deliver
thee. He had promised his aid ; he now says, that his aid
would be strong enough to deliver him from the hands of his
enemies,
1 The words here used are remarkably precise and significant. I ren-
der the verse thus,—
20. And I will make thee to this people
A wall of brass, fortified :
And they will fight against thee,
But they shall not prevail over thee ;
For with thee will I be,
To save thee and to rescue thee,
Saith Jehovah.
To “save” was to preserve him from the hands of his enemies; but if he
fell into their hands, he would rescue him. And this latter idea is more
fully expressed in the following verse.—
Yea, I will rescue thee from the hand of the malignant,
And free thee from the grasp of the terrible.— Ed.
=",
CHAP. XVI.1-4. | COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 301.
He says first, from the hand of the wicked, that the Jews
might know that all their disguises would avail them no-
thing, for they were condemned by the mouth of God. In
the second place, he calls them strong, that the Prophet
might not be terrified by their power, as was usually the
case. For it is very difficult for us not to be disturbed, when
we are assailed on every side, and when threats and dangers
are in our way. God then here reminds-Jeremiah in time,
that he would have to fight with the strong and valiant, but
that all their strength in opposing him would be unavailing,
for divine aid would be much stronger. Now follows—
CHAPTER XVI.
1. The word of the Lord came
also unto me, saying,
2. Thou shalt not take thee a
wife, neither shalt thou have sons
or daughters in this place.
3. For thus saith the Lord con-
cerning the sons and concerning the
daughters that are born in this place,
and concerning their mothers that
bare them, and concerning their
fathers that begat them in this land;
4. They shall die of grievous
deaths; they shall not be lamented,
neither shall they be buried; but
they shall be as dung upon the face
of the earth: and they shall be con-
sumed by the sword, and by famine;
and their carcases shall be meat for
the fowls of heaven, and for the
beasts of the earth.
1. Et fuit sermo Jehove ad me,
dicendo,
2. Non accipies tibi uxorem, et
non erunt tibi filii et filiz in hoc
loco;
3. Quia sic dicit Jehova super
filios et super filias, qui nascentur in
loco hoe, et super matres, que pe-
pererint illos, et super patres, qui
genuerint illos in terra hac;
4. Mortibus egritudinum (vel,
agrotationum) morientur, non plan-
gentur, et non sepelientur; in ster-
cus (id est, pro stercore) super faciem
terre erunt, et in gladio et fame
consumentur (id est, per gladium et
famem,) et erit cadaver eorum in
cibum volucri ccelorum et bestie
terre
THIs is a new discourse, which yet is not unlike many
others, except in this particular, that the Prophet was not to
marry a wife nor beget children in the land. But as to the
general subject, he repeats now what he had often said be-
fore and confirmed in many places. But the prohibition to
marry was full of meaning; it was to shew that the people
were wholly given up to destruction. The law of man’s
creation, we know, was this, “ Increase and multiply.” (Gen.
i, 22; viii. 17; ix. 1, 7.) As then mankind are perpetuated
302 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIT.
by marriage, here on the contrary God shews that that land
was unworthy of this common and even general blessing
enjoyed by the whole race of man. It is the same as if he
had said, “ They indeed as yet live, but a quick destruction
awaits them, for I will deprive them of the universal favour
which I have hitherto shewed to all mankind.”
Marriage is the preservation of the human race: Take not
to thee a wife and beget no children. We hence see that in
the person of Jeremiah God intended to shew the Jews that
they deserved to be exterminated from the earth. This is
the import of this prophecy.
It may however be asked, whether the Prophet was un-
married? But this has nothing to do with the subject, for
he received this command in a vision; and though he might
not have been unmarried, he might still have proclaimed
this prophecy, that God had forbidden him to marry and to
beget children. At the same time, I think it were probable
that the Prophet was not married, for as he walked naked,
and as he carried on his neck a yoke, so also his celibacy
might have been intended to be, as it were, a living repre-
sentation, in order to produce an effect on the Jews. But, ~
as I have already said, we need not contend about this mat-
ter. Every one then is at liberty to judge as he pleases,
only I suggest what I deem most probable.
But the reason why God forbad his Prophet to marry, fol-
lows, because they were all consigned to destruction. We
hence learn that celibacy is not here commended, as some
foolish men have imagined from what is here said; but it is
the same as though God had said, “There is no reason for
any one to set his mind on begetting an offspring, or to
think that this would be to his advantage: whosoever is
wise will abstain from marriage, as he has death before his
eyes, and is as it were near to his grave.” The destruction
then of the whole people, and the desolation and solitude of
the whole land, are the things which God in these words
sets forth.
At the same time, they are not threatened with a com-
mon kind of death, for he says that they were to die by the
deaths of sicknesses. He then denounces on them continual
CHAP. xvi. 1-4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 803 ..
languor, which would cause them to pine away with the
greatest pain: sudden death would have been more toler-
able ; and hence David says, while complaining of the pros-
perity of the ungodly, that there “were no bands in their
death.” (Psalm Ixxiii. 4.) And the same thing is found in
the book of Job, that “in a moment of time they descend to
the grave,” that is, that they flourish and prosper during life,
and then die without any pain. (Job xxi. 13.) Hence
Julius Cesar, shortly before he was killed, called this kind
a happy death, (evOavaciar,) for he thought it a happy thing
to expire suddenly. And this is what is implanted in men
by nature. Therefore Jeremiah, in order to amplify God’s
vengeance, says that they would die by the deaths of sick-
nesses ;' that is, that they would be worn out by daily pains,
and pine away until they died.
He adds, They shall not be lamented nor buried. We have
seen elsewhere, and we shali hereafter see, (Jer. xxii,) that
it is a proof of a curse when the dead are not buried, and
when no one laments their death: for it is the common
duty of humanity for relations and friends who survive, to
mourn for the dead and to bury them. But the Prophet
seems to mean also something further. I do not indeed ex-
clude this, that God would deprive them of the honour of
sepulture and of mourning; but he seems also to intimate,
that the destruction of men would be so great that
there would be none to perform these offices of huma-
nity. For we lament the dead when leisure is allowed us;
but when many are slain in war they are not individually
lamented, and then their carcases lie confused, and one grave
is not sufficient for such a number. The Prophet there
means, that so great would be the slaughter in Judea, that
none would be buried, that none would be lamented. The
verb which he uses means properly to lament, which is more
than to weep: and we have said elsewhere, that in those
1 More literally, “ By the deaths of wastings.” The reference is to the
famine and also to the sword. Calvin has followed the Vulgate; “ by a
pestilential death” is the Septuagint; by the death of those who languish
by famine” the Syriac; and “by a dreadful death” the Arabic. The
«mortal diseases” of Blayney is not proper, for they were not “ diseases”
but wastings or devastations by the famine and the sword, as stated after-
wards.— Ed.
304 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXII.
countries there were more ceremonies than with us; for all
the orientals were much given to various gesticulations ; and
hence they were not satisfied with tears, but they added
lamentation, as though they were in despair.
But the Prophet speaks according to the customs of the
age, without approving of this excess of grief. As they were
wont not simply to bewail the dead, but also to shew their
grief by lamentation, he says, “Their offices shall now cease,
for there will not be graves enough for so many thousands:
and then if any one wish to mourn, where would he begin ?”
We also know that men’s hearts become hardened, when
many thus die through pestilence or war. The import of the
whole is, that God’s wrath would not be moderate, for he
would in a manner empty the land by driving them all away,
so that there would be none remaining. God did indeed
preserve the elect, though as it were by a miracle; and he
afterwards preserved them in exile as in a grave, when they
were removed from their own country.
He then adds, That they would be as dung on the face of
the land. He speaks reproachfully of their carcasses, as
though he had said, “They shall be the putridity of the
land.” As then they had by their filth contaminated the
land during life, God declares that after death they would
become fcetid like dung. Hence we learn, as I have before’
said, that it was an evidence of God’s curse, when carcases
were left unburied; for as God has created us in his own
image, so in death he would have some evidence of the dig-
nity and excellency with which he has favoured us beyond
brute animals, still to remain. We however know that tem-
poral punishments happen even to the faithful, but they are
turned to their good, for the Psalmist complains that the
bodies of the godly were cast forth and became food to the
birds of heaven. (Psalm lxxix. 2.) Though this is true, yet
these two things are by no means inconsistent, that it is a
sign of God’s wrath when the dead are not buried, and that
a temporal punishment does no harm to God’s elect ; for all
evils, as it is well known, turn out to them for good.
It is added, By the sword and by famine shall they be con-
sumed ; that is, some shall perish by the sword, and some
CHAP. xvi. 1-4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 305
by famine, according to what we have before seen, “ Those
for the sword, to the sword ; those for the famine, to the
famine.” (ch. xy. 2.) Then he mentions what we have al-
ready referred to, Their carcases shall be for food to the beasts
of the earth and to the birds of heaven.’ He here intimates,
that it would be a manifest sign of his vengeance, when the
Jews pined away in their miseries, when the sword con-
sumed some of them, and famine destroyed others, and not
only so, but when another curse after death followed them,
for the Lord would inflict judgment on their carcases by not
allowing them to be buried. How this is to be understood
I have already stated ; for God’s judgments as to the repro-
bate are evident ; but when the godly and the righteous fall
under similar punishment, God turns to good what seems in
itself to be the sign of a curse. Though famine is a sign
of a curse, and also the sword, yet we know that many of
God’s children perish by famine and by the sword. But in
temporal punishments this modification is ever to be re-
membered,—that God shews himself to be a righteous Judge
as to the ungodly and wicked,—and that while he humbles
his own people, he is not yet angry with them, but consults
their benefit, so that what is in itself adverse to them is
turned to their advantage.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou anticipatest us by thy word,
so that we may not experience thy eternal severity,—O grant,
that we may become teachable, and be so displeased with our
vices, that we may not provoke more and more thy vengeance,
but hasten to seek reconciliation with thee, and that relying on
the Mediator whom thou hast given us, we may flee to thy mercy,
1 T would render the fourth verse thus,—
By deaths of wastings shall they die;
They shall not be lamented, nor buried ;
As dung on the face of the ground shall they be:
Yea, by the sword and by the famine shall they be consumed,
And their carease shall be for meat
To the bird of heaven and to the beast of the earth.
The latter part is a fuller explanation of what was to take place. “As
dung,” so the Syriac; they were scattered like dung. They were to be
cast here and there, to be devoured by rapacious birds and beasts.— Ed.
VOL. II. U
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306 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXITTI.
until having been cleansed from all our filth, we shall at length
be received into thy celestial kingdom, and there appear before
thee in that purity from which we are as yet very distant, and
shall enjoy that glory which thine only-begotten Son has obtained
for us by his own blood.—Amen.
Recture Sixty-Thirvd.
5. For thus saith the Lord, Enter 5. Quia sic dicit Jehova, Ne in-
not into the house of mourning, grediaris domum luctus, et ne eas ad
neither go to lament nor bemoan plangendum, et ne movearis propter
them: for I have taken away my illos; quia abstuli pacem meam 4.
peace from this people, saith the Lord, populo hoe, dicit Jehova, clementiam
even loving-kindness and mercies. et miserationes.
As Jeremiah was forbidden at the beginning of the chapter
to take a wife, for a dreadful devastation of the whole land
was very nigh ; so now God confirms what he had previously
said, that so great would be the slaughter, that none would
be found to perform the common office of lamenting the
dead: at the same time he intimates now something more
grievous,—that they who perished would be unworthy of |
any kind office. As he had said before, “ Their carcases
shall be cast to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of
heaven ;” so now in this place he intimates, that their deaths
would be so ignominious, that they would be deprived. of the
honour of a grave, and would be buried, as it is said in an-
other place, like asses.
But when God forbids his Prophet to mourn, we are not
to understand that he refers to excess of grief, as when God
intends to moderate grief, when he takes away from us our
parents, or our relatives, or our friends ; for the subject here
is not the private feeling of Jeremiah. God only declares
that the land would be so desolate that hardly one would
survive to mourn for the dead.
He says, Enter not into the house of mourning. Some
render "V9, merezach, a funeral feast; and it is probable,
nay, it may be gathered from the context, that such feasts
were made when any one was dead.’ And the same custom
1 The word is of a general import, to ery aloud or to shout, either for
grief or for joy: it is here for grief, and in Amos vi. 7, for joy. The
literal rendering here is, “ Enter not the house of shouting.” ‘The ver-
CHAP. XVI. 5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 307
we see has been observed by other nations, but for a differ-
ent purpose. When the Romans celebrated a funeral feast,
their object was to shake off grief, and in a manner to con-
vert the dead into gods. Hence Cicero condemns Vatinius,
because he came clothed in black to the feast of Q. Arius,
(Orat. pro L. Mur. ;) and elsewhere he says, that Tuberonis
was laughed at and everywhere repulsed, because he covered
the beds with goat’s skins, when Q. Maximus made a feast
at the death of his uncle Africanus. Then these feasts were
among the Romans full of rejoicing; but among the Jews,
as it appears, when they lamented the dead, who were their
relatives, they invited children and widows, in order that
there might be some relief to their sorrow.
However this may be, God intimates by this figurative
language, that the Jews, when they perished in great num-
bers, would be deprived of that common practice, because
they were unworthy of having any survivors to bewail them.
Neither go, he says, to lament, nor be moved on their ac-
count ;' and why? For I have taken away my peace from
this people, that is, all prosperity ; for under the term, peace,
the Jews included whatever was desirable. God then says,
that he had taken away peace from them, and his peace, be-
cause he had pronounced that wicked nation accursed. He
then adds, that he had taken away his kindness and his
mercies.” For the Prophet might have raised an objection
sion of the Septuagint is wide of the mark, “ Enter not into their baccha-
nalian assembly, (¢iaeo.”) The Syriac omits the word, and the Vulgate
and Targum have “ feast.”— Ed.
1 The verb means to move, or to nod, either in contempt or in sym-
pathy. The latter is the meaning here: hence to condole is the sense.
He was not to go for the purpose of lamenting the dead, or of condoling
with the living. To “mourn” is the Septuagint, a word of a similar
meaning with the preceding; more correct is to “console,” as given by
the Vulgate and the Targum.— Ed.
2 These words are omitted by the Septuagint, but given by the other
versions, and are left out in no copies. The “and” before “ kindness”
is found in two MSS., and in the Syriac, but not in the Vulgate: it
seems necessary. The passage I thus render,—
For withdrawn have I my peace
From this people, saith Jehovah,
My mercy also and my compassions.
There is here a reason given for the preceding prohibitions: the Prophet
was to shew no favour, no kindness to the people, and no sympathy with
=o
308 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LX1I.
and said, that this was not consistent with the nature of
God, who testifies that he is ready to shew mercy ; but God
meets this objection and intimates, that there was now no
place for kindness and mercy, for the impiety of the people
had become past all hope.
6. Both the great and
the small shall die in
this land : they shall not
be buried, neither shall
men lament for them,
nor cut themselves, nor
make themselves bald
for them:
7. Neither shall men
tear themselves for them
in mourning, to com-
fort them for the dead;
neither shall men give
them the cup of con-
solation to drink for
It follows—
6. Et morientur magni et parvi in terra hac;
non sepelient eos, et non plangent super eos, et
non incidet se quisquam, et non fiet calvitium
illis ;
7. Et non complodent (vel, extendent) illis
quidam legentes pnd pro DN?, vertunt, non
angent panem; DD significat frangere, et in-
terdum dividere, vel ostendere, vel dispergere:
non dubium est quin Propheta, sicut alio loco
vidimus, intelligat complosionem manwum, vel
contorsionem, ubi in vehementi luctu ita brachia
their father or for their
huc et illue projiciuntur, deinde comploduntur
mother,
manus: hwne gestum hoe quoque loco imit
cum dicit, Et non frangent, vel, non complodent
manus) ad consolandum (hoc est, ad unumquen-
que consolandum) super mortuo, et non propi-
nabunt illis calicem consolationum super patre
suo et super matre sua.
He pursues the same subject: he says that all would die
indiscriminately, the common people as well as the chief
men, that none would be exempt from destruction ; for God
would make a great slaughter, both of the lower orders and
also of the higher, who excelled in wealth, in honour, and
dignity ; Die shall the great and the small. It often hap-
pens in changes that the great are punished ; and sometimes
the case is that the common people perish, while the nobles
are spared: but God declares, that such would be the de-
struction, that their enemies would make no difference be-
tween the common people and the higher ranks, and that if
they escaped the hands of their enemies, the pestilence or
the famine would prove their ruin.
He adds, They shall not bury them, nor beat their breast
for them ; and then, they shall not cut themselves, nor make
them: for God had withdrawn from them his “ peace,” which means here
his favour, and also his mercy or his benignity, as some render the word,
and his compassions.—Zd.
CHAP. XVI. 6,7. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 309
themselves bald for them.’ This is not mentioned by the
Prophet to commend what the people did; nor did he con-
sider that in this respect they observed the command of the
law ; for God had forbidden them to imitate the corrupt
customs of the heathens. (Ley. xxi. 1.) We have already
said, that the orientals were much given to external cere-
monies, so that there was no moderation in their lamenta-
tions: therefore God intended to correct this excess. But
the Prophet here has no respect to the command, that the
Jews were to moderate their grief,—what then? He meant
to shew, as I have already reminded you, that the slaughters
would be so great, that they would cause hardness and in-
sensibility, being so immense as to stun the feelings of men.
When any one dies, friends and neighbours meet, and shew
respect to his memory; but when pestilence prevails, or
when all perish by famine, the greater part become hardened
and unmindful of themselves and others, and the offices of
humanity are no longer observed. God then shews, that
such would be the devastation of the land, that the Jews, as
though callous and ‘hardened, would no longer lament for
one another. In short, he shews, that together with these
dreadful slaughters, such insensibility and hardness would
prevail among the Jews, that no husband would think of
his wife, and no father of his children ; but that all of them
would be so astonied by their own evils as to become like
the wild beasts.
He says further, They shall not cut themselves nor pull off
their hairs, as they had used to do. These things are men-
tioned, as they were commonly done; it cannot be hence
concluded, that they were approved by God ; for God’s de-
1 The first clause of the verse, as well as the last of the preceding, is
omitted in the Septwagint, but retained in the Vulgate, Syriac, and the Tar-
gum. The verbs in the next clause ought to be rendered as transitives,—
They shall not bury them nor lament for them.
Then the two concluding verbs are to be rendered as impersonals,—
And there shall be no cutting nor making bald for them.
The Welsh is a literal version of the Hebrew,—
Ac nid ymdorrir ac nid ymfoelir drostynt.
Nothing can be much more literal. The first verb is in Hithpael, and so
the Welsh is; for like Hebrew it has a reciprocal form for its verbs. The
last verb is also in Welsh in this form; but it needs not be so, for it
might be, ac ni foelir.—Ed.
~ 2 eee
‘ a te i
310 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIIL
sign was not to pronounce a judgment on their lamentation,
on the tearing off of the hair, or on their incisions. It is
indeed certain that these practices proceeded from the im-
petuous feelings of men, and were tokens of impatience ; but
as I have said, God does not speak here of what was lawful,
but of what men were wont to do.
As to that part, where he says, that he had taken away
his kindness and his mercies, he does not mean that he had
changed his nature, but his object was to cut off occasion
from all who might complain ; for men, we know, whenever
God’s hand presses hard on them, to make them to deplore
rightly their miseries, are sufficiently ready to say, that God
visits them with too much severity. He therefore shews
that they were unworthy of kindness and mercies. At the
same time he reminded them that there was no reason for
hypocrites to entertain any hope, because Scripture so often
commends the kindness of God and his mercy ; for since they
accumulated sins on sins, God could not do otherwise than
come to an extremity with them.
With regard to the seventh verse,’ we may learn from it
what I have already referred to,—that the Jews made funeral
feasts, that children and widows might receive some relief to
their sorrow ; for the Prophet calls it the cwp of consolations,
when friends kindly attended ; they had also some ridiculous
gesticulations ; for no doubt laughter was often excited by
mourners among the Jews. But we see that men vied with
1 Calvin, having in his version explained the beginning of thi verse,
passesit by here. His rendering is, “ And they shall not beat their hands
together for them, to console any one for the dead.” He omits one word,
rendered, “in mourning” in our version. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the
Arabic and the Targum give another meaning. They must have read ond,
“ bread,” instead of ond, “for them.” The difference is so small that we
are inclined to think it the true reading, though there be but two MSS. in
its favour. The passage itself seems to require this reading,—the verb
which precedes it, and the correspondence between the former and latter
part of the verse—bread and drink. The verse then would read thus,—
7. And they shall not divide bread to the mourner,
To console him for the dead:
Nor shall they give them to drink the cup of consolations,
Lach one for his father and for his mother.
Blayney quotes Jerome, who says, “It was usual to carry provisions to
mourners, and to make an entertainment, which sort of feasts the Greeks
call wgderva, and the Latins parentalia.”—Ed.
2 —————-_--
—*
er
CHAP. XVI. 8,9. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. sil
one another in lamenting for the dead ; for it was deemed a
shame not to shew grief at the death of their friends. When
tears did not flow, when the nearest relations did not howl
for the dead, they thought them inhuman; hence it was,
that there was much dissimulation in their mourning ; and it
was foolishly regarded an alleviation to extend the cup of
consolation. But as I have said before, the Prophet here
did not point out what was right, but borrowed his words
from what was commonly practised. It follows—
8. Thou shalt not also go into the 8. Et domum conyivii ne ingre-
house of feasting, to sit with them diaris, ut sedéas cum ipsis ad eden-
to eat and to drink. dum et ad bibendum.
Here the Prophet refers to other feasts, where hilarity
prevailed. The meaning then is,—that the people were given
up to destruction, so that nothing was better than to depart
from them as far as possible. So Jeremiah is prohibited
from going at all to them, so that he might not be their asso-
ciate either in joy or in sorrow ; as though he had said,—
‘Have no more anything to do with this people; if they
lament their dead, leave them, for they are unworthy of any
act of kindness ; and if they make joyful feasts, be far from
them, for every intercourse with them is accursed.” We now
then understand why the Prophet spoke of grief, lamenta-
tion and mourning, and then mentioned joy. He afterwards
adds,—
9. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, 9. Queniam sic dixit Jehova
the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to exercituum, Deus Israel, Ecce
cease out of this place in your eyes, and ego auferens ab hoc loco, coram
in your days, the voice of mirth, and the oculis vestris, et in diebus ves-
voice of gladness, the voice of the tris, vocem gaudii et vocem
bridegroom, and the voice of the letitiz, vocem sponsi et vocem
bride. sponse.
This verse contains a reason for the preceding,—that every
connection with that people would be accursed. Yet he states
one thing more expressly,—that the time was come in which
they were already deprived of all joy ; for the ungodly, even
when God most awfully threatens them, strengthen them-
selyes in their security. Hence God intended to give them
some presage, that they might before the time know that the
saddest calamities were at hand, by which every joy and
gladness were to be taken away.
an
t
312 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXIII.
He then says, that the God of hosts and the God of Israel
had spoken. He at the same time deprived them of all
hope, though he called himself the God of Israel. Hypocrites
were wont either to despise the power of God, or to abuse
his goodness. Had not God checked them, they would have
deemed as nothing what the prophets threatened ; and how
so? Because they depreciated, as far as they could, the
power of God. Hence God says, that he is the God of hosts.
But when they could not in their pride and haughtiness
throw down, as it were the power of God, then they betook
themselves to another asylum ; they promised to themselves
that he would deal indulgently with them; and thus they
deceived themselves. Hence, on the other hand, God calls
himself here the God of Israel, in order that they might
know, that it was of no avail to them, that he had adopted
the seed of Abraham ; for they were not the children of
Abraham, but aliens, as they had departed from his piety
and faith. This served as a preface.
Now when he says, °337, enni, Behold me, he shews that
the Jews had no reason to put off the time, and to indulge
a vain confidence ; for vengeance was already come. Behold
me, he says, he thus comes forth and testifies that he is al-
ready prepared to execute his judgment. Behold me, he *
says, taking away from this place, before your eyes, and in
your days, &c. ; their destruction would happen in a short
time and before their eyes. I am taking away, he says, the
voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bride-
groom and the voice of the bride. Here by stating a part for
the whole, he intimates that they would become like the
dead rather than the living ; for the continuance of the hu-
man race is preserved by marriage, as in the offspring man-
kind are as it were born again, who would otherwise perish
daily. Since then there was no more time left for marriages,
it was a token of final destruction. This is what the’ Pro-
phet intimates, when he says, that God would cause the
voice of the bridegroom and of the bride to cease, so that
there would be no more any congratulations. It follows,—
* Rather, « The voice of exultation and the voice of joy ;” the most mani-
fest display first—exultation ; and then the most hidden feeling—joy —Ed.
CHAP. Xvi. 10-13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 313
10. And it shall come to pass,
when thou shalt shew this people
all these words, and they shall say
unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord
pronounced all this great evil against
us? or what is our iniquity? or
what is our sin that we have com-
mitted against the Lord our God.
11. Then shalt thou say unto
them, Because your fathers have
forsaken me, saith the Lord, and
have walked after other gods, and
have served them, and have wor-
shipped them, and have forsaken me,
and have not kept my law:
12. And ye have done worse than
your fathers; (for, behold, ye walk
every one after the imagination of
his evil heart, that they may not
hearken unto me;)
13. Therefore will I cast you out
of this land into a land that ye know
not, neither ye nor your fathers ; and
there shall ye serve other gods day
and night, where I will not shew you
favour.
10. Et erit quum annuntiaveris
populo huic omnia verba heec, tune
dicent (vel, si diceret) tibi, Cur lo-
quutus est Jehova super nos omne
malum hoc magnum? et que ini-
quitas nostra? et quod scelus nos-
trum, quo sceleraté egimus adver-
sus Jehovam Deum nostrum?
11. Tune dices illis, Quia dereli-
querunt me patres vestri, dicit Je-
hova, et profecti sunt post deos
alienos, et servierunt illis. et adora-
verunt illos (vel, sese inflexerunt
coram illis,) et me reliquerunt et
legem meam non servarunt ;
12. Et vos deteriores fuistis (de-
terius egistis) ad faciendum, (vel,
perpetrandum) quam patres vestri,
et ecce vos profecti estis quisque
post pravitatem cordis sui mali, et
absque audire me (hoc est, ita ut non
audieritis me :)
13. Et expellam vos é terra hac
ad terram quam non novistis vos et
patres vestri, et servietis illic diis
alienis die ac nocte ; quia non dabo
vobis gratiam.
He shews here what we have seen elsewhere,—that the
people flattered themselves in their vices, so that they could
not be turned by any admonitions, nor be led by any means
to repentance. It was a great blindness, nay, even madness,
not to examine themselves, when they were smitten by the
hand of God; for conscience ought to have been to them
like a thousand witnesses, immediately condemning them ;
but hardly any one was found who examined his own life ;
and then, though God proved them guilty, hardly one in a
hundred willingly and humbly submitted to his judgment ;
but the greater part murmured and made a clamour, when-
ever they felt the scourges of God. This evil, as Jeremiah
shews, prevailed among the people ; and he shewed thesame
in the fifth chapter.
Hence it is that God says, When thou shalt declare these
words to this people, and they shall say, Wherefore has Jehovah
spoken all this great evil against us ; what is our iniquity ?
what is our sin, that he so-rages against us, as though we had
ol COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIII.
acted wickedly against him? God no doubt intended to
obviate in time what that perverse people might have said,
for he knew that they possessed an untameable disposition.
As then he knew that they would be so refractory as to re-
ceive no reproof, he confirms his own Prophet, as though he
had said, “There is no reason for their perverseness to dis-
courage thee; for they will immediately oppose thee, and
treat thee as one doing them a grievous wrong ; they will
expostulate with thee and deny that they ought to be deemed
guilty of so great crimes ; if then they will thus petulantly
cast aside thy threatenings, there is no reason for thee to be
disheartened, for thou shalt have an answer ready for them.”
We now see how hypocrites gained nothing, either by
their evasions, or by wantonly rising against God and his
Prophets. At the same time all teachers are reminded here
of their duty, not to vacillate when they have to do with
proud and intractable men, As it appeared elsewhere, where
God commanded his Prophet to put on a brazen front, that
he might boldly encounter all the insults of the people ;
(chap. i. 18 ;) the same is the case here, they shall say to
thee, that is, when thou threatenest them, they will not
willingly give way, but they will contend as though thou
didst accuse them unjustly, for they will say, “ What is our
sin? what is our iniquity? what is the wickedness which
we have committed against Jehovah our God, that he should
declare this great evil against us?” Thus we see that hypo-
crites vent their rage not only against God’s servants, but
against God himself, not indeed that they profess openly
and plainly to do so. But what is the effect when they
cannot bear to be corrected by God’s hand, but resist and
shew that they do not endure correction with a resigned
mind? do they not sufficiently prove that they rebel against
God ?
But Jeremiah here graphically describes the character of
those who struggled with God, for they dared not wholly to
deny that they were wicked, but they extenuated as far as
they could their sin, like Cain, who ventured not to assert
that he was innocent, for he was conscious of having done
wrong; and the voice of God, “ Where is thy brother ?”
eee
an he eee
CUAP, XVI.10-13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. old
strengthened the voice of conscience, but in the meantime
he ceased not to utter this complaint, “ Greater is my pun-
ishment than I can bear.” (Gen. iv. 9,13.) So also Jere-
miah introduces the people as speaking, “ O, what is our
iniquity ? and what is the sin which we have committed
against Jehovah our God, that he should speak this great
evil against us?” They say not that they were wholly with-
out fault, they only object that the atrocity of their sins
was not so great as to cause God to be so angry with them,
and to visit them with so grievous a punishment. They
then exaggerated the punishment, that they might obtain
some covering for themselves ; and yet they did not say
that they were innocent or free from every fault, but they
speak of their iniquities and sins as though they had said,
“We indeed confess that there is something which God may
reprehend, but we do not acknowledge such a mass of sins
and iniquities as to cause him thus to thunder against us.”
But he then says, Thow shalt answer them, Because your
Jathers forsook me; they went after foreign gods, served and
worshipped them; and me they forsook and my law they
kept not, and ye have done worse." God in the first place
accused their fathers, not that punishment ought to have
fallen on their children, except they followed the wickedness
of their fathers, but the men of that age fully deserved to
be visited with the judgment their fathers merited. Besides
well known is that declaration, that God reckons the iniqui-
ties of the fathers to their children ; (Exodus xx. 5; xxxiv.
7; Deut. v. 9;) and he acts thus justly, for he might justly
1 The division of these verses, the 11th and the 12th, seems incorrect.
Were the latter part of the 11th connected with the 12th, the repetition
which now appears would not be perceived. I render the verses thus—
11. Then say to them,
Because your fathers forsook me, saith Jehovah,
And walked after foreign gods,
And served them and bowed down to them:
Yea, me they forsook and my law kept not,
12. And ye have become evil by doing worse than your fathers ;
For lo, ye are walking, every man,
After the resolutions of his own evil heart,
So as not to hearken to me.
In the first part their fathers’ conduct is set forth; in the second their
fathers’ conduct and their own. And their “ worse” conduct was in not
hearkening to the voice of God by his Prophets. —Ed.
Ww , — oy
316 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIII.
execute vengeance for sins on the whole human race, ac-
cording to what Christ says, ‘On you shall come the blood
of all the godly, from righteous Abel to Zachariah the son
of Barachiah.” (Matt. xxiii. 35; Luke xi. 51.) Thus then
the Scripture often declares, that children shall be punished
with their fathers, because God will at one time or another
require an account of all sins, and thus will make amends
for his long forbearance, for as he waits for men and kindly
invites them through his patience to repent, so when he sees
no hope he inflicts all his scourges. It is hence no wonder
that children are more grievously punished after iniquity
has prevailed for many ages.
We hence see that these two things are not inconsistent—
that God connects the punishment of children with that of
their fathers, and that he does not punish the innocent.
We indeed see this fulfilled, “The soul that sinneth it shall
die ; the children shall not bear the iniquity of their fathers,
nor the father the iniquity of his child,” (Ezek. xviii. 4, 20,)
for God never blends children with their fathers except they
be their associates in wickedness. But yet there is nothing
to prevent God to punish children for the sins of their
fathers, especially when they continually rush headlong into
worse sins, when the children, as we shall hereafter see, ex-
ceed their fathers in all kinds of wickedness.
We further learn from this passage, that they bring for-
ward a vain pretence who allege against us the examples of
the Fathers, as we see to be done now by those under the
Papacy ; for the shield they boldly set up against us is this,
that they imitate the examples of the fathers. But God
declares here that they were worthy of double punishment
who repented not when they saw that their fathers had been
ungodly and transgressors of the law.
Let us now notice the sins which God mentions: he says,
that they had forsaken him. That people could not make
any excuse for going astray, like the unhappy heathens, to
whom no Prophet had been sent, and no law had been given.
Hence the heathens had some excuse more than the Jews.
The truth indeed respecting all was, that they were all apos-
tates, for God had bound the human race to himself, and all
a
ST
CHAP. XVI.10-13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 317
they who followed superstitions were justly charged with the
sin of apostasy ; there was yet a greater atrocity of wicked-
ness in the Jewish people, for God had set before them his
law, they had been brought up as it were in his school, they
knew what true religion was, they were able to distinguish
the true God from fictitious gods. We now then see the
meaning of the expression, They have forsaken me: and it
is twice repeated, because it was necessary thus to prove the
Jews guilty, that their mouths might be stopped; for we
have seen that they were to be thus roused from their in-
sensibility, inasmuch as they would have never yielded nor
acknowledged their sins, were they not constrained.
He says further, that they went after foreign gods, served
them, and worshipped them. Now this statement enhances
again their sins, for the Jews preferred their own inventions
to the true God, who had by so many signs and testimonies
manifested his glory and made known his ‘power among
them. As then God had abundantly testified his power, it
was by no means an endurable ingratitude in them to follow
strange gods, of whom they had only heard. The heathens
indeed vainly boasted of their idols, and spread abroad many
fables to allure unhappy men to false and corrupt worship,
but the Jews knew who the true God was. To believe the
fables of the heathens, rather than the law and their own
experience, was not this the basest impiety? This then was
the reason why God complained that foreign gods were wor-
shipped by them.
Then he adds, They served and worshipped them. The
verb to serve is often used by the Hebrews to express wor-
ship, as we have stated elsewhere; and thus is refuted
the folly of the Papists who deny that they are idolaters,
because they worship pictures and statues with dulia, that
is, with service, if we may so render it, and not with latria,
as though Scripture in condemning idolatry never used this
verb. But God condemns here the Jews because they served
strange gods, because they gave credit to the false and vain
fictions of the heathens; and then he adds the outward
action, that they prostrated themselves before their idols.
At the end of this verse he shews how he had been for-
a?)
rT
518 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIV.
saken, even because they kept not his aw. He then con-
firms what I have already stated, that there was on this
account a worse apostasy among the Jews, for they had
knowingly and wilfully forsaken the fountain of living water,
as we have seen in the second chapter: hence simple igno-
rance is not what is here reprehended, as though they had
sinned through error or want of knowledge, but they had
rejected the worship of God as it were designedly. The rest
I shall defer till to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we in various ways daily provoke
thy wrath against us, and thou ceasest not to exhort us to re-
pent,—O grant, that we may be pliant and obedient and not
despise thy kind invitations, while thou settest before us the
hope of thy mercy, nor make light of thy threatenings; but
that we may so profit by thy word as to endeavour to anticipate
thy judgments ; and may we also, being allured by the sweet-
ness of thy grace, consecrate ourselves wholly to thee, that thus
thy wrath may be turned away from us, and that we may be-
come receivers of that grace which thou offerest to all who truly
and from the heart repent, and who desire to have thee propi-
tious to them in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Amen. .
Lecture Sixty=Fourth.
I was constrained yesterday to leave unfinished the words
of the Prophet. He said that the children were worse than
their fathers, and gave the reason, Because they followed the
wickedness of their evil heart,’ and hearkened not to God.
He seems to have said before the same thing of the fathers:
it might then be asked, Why does he say that the children
had done worse than their fathers, and pronounce their sins
worse? Now we have already seen that sins became worse
before God, when the children strengthened themselves in
wickedness by following the examples of their fathers. We
must also notice, that not only the law had been set before
them, but that also Prophets had been often sent to them,
1 See note in vol. i. p. 187.
—_—_”- — —_
CHAP. XVI. 10-13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 519
who added their reproofs: and this is what Jeremiah seems
to have expressed at the end of the verse, by saying that
they hearkened not, though daily spoken to by the Prophets.
It was then their obstinacy that God so severely punished :
they had imitated their wicked fathers, and then they not
only had despised, but also through their obstinate wicked-
ness had rejected all the warnings which the Prophets gave
them.
Then follows a commination, J will eject you, he says,
or remove you, from this land to a land which ye know not,
nor your fathers, for they had followed unknown gods, and
went after inventions of their own and of others. God now
declares that he would be the vindicator of his own glory,
by driving them to a land unknown to them and to their
fathers. He immediately adds, There shall ye serve other
gods day and night. We must take notice of this kind of
punishment, for nothing could have happened worse to the
Jews than to be constrained to adopt false and corrupt forms
of worship, as it was a denial of God and of true religion.
As this appears at the first view hard, some mitigate it, as
though the worship of strange gods would be that servitude
into which they were reduced when they became subject to
idolators: but this is too remote. I therefore do not doubt
but that God abandoned them, because they had violated
true and pure worship, and had gone after the many abomi-
nations of the heathens; and thus he shews that they were
worthy to be thus dealt with, who had in every way con-
taminated themselves, and as it were plunged themselves
into the depth of every thing abominable: and it is certainly
probable that they were led by constraint into ungodly cere-
monies, when the Chaldeans had the power to treat them,
as they usually did, as slaves, without any measure of human-
ity. It is then hence a probable conjecture that they were
drawn to superstitions, and that interminably ; so that they
were not only forced to worship false gods, but were also
constrained to do so by way of sport, as they daily triumphed
over them as their conquerors.
And he confirms this clause by what follows, For I will
not, &c., for the relative WN, asher, is here to be taken for
-. Se tae.
320 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ‘LECT. LXIV.
a causative particle, For I will not shew you favour, or
mercy ; that is, I will not turn the hearts of your enemies
so as to be propitious or kind to you. By these words God
shews that he would not only punish them by subjecting
them to their enemies, or by suffering them to be driven into
exile; but that there would be an additional punishment by
rendering their enemies cruel to them; for God can either
tame the ferocity of men, or, when he pleases, can rouse
them to greater rage and cruelty, when it is his purpose to
use them as scourges.
We now then understand the whole design of what the
Prophet says, that the Jews who had refused to worship God
in their own land would be led away to Chaldea, where they
would be constrained, willing or unwilling, to worship strange
gods, and that without end or limits. It now follows—
14. Therefore, behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that it shall
no more be said, The Lord liveth,
that brought up the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt;
15. But, The Lord liveth, that
brought up the children of Israel
from the land of the north, and from
all the lands whither he had driven
them: and I will bring them again
into their land that I gave unto their
fathers.
14. Propterea ecce dies veniunt,
dicit Jehova, et non dicetur amplius
(hoc est, quibs non dicetur amplius,)
vivit Jehova, qui eduxit (ascendere
fecit, ad verbum) filios Israel é terra
Egypti;
15. Quin potius, vivit Jehova,
qui ascendere fecit filios Israel é
terra Aquilonis, et ex omnibus re-
gionibus, ad quas expulerat eos; et
reducam ad terram eorum quam dedi
patribus vestris.
Jeremiah seems here to promise a return to the Jews ; and
so the passage is commonly expounded, as though a conso-
lation is interposed, in which the faithful alone are concerned.
But I consider the passage as mixed, that the Prophet, in
part, speaks in severe terms of the dreadful exile which he
foretells, and that he in part blends some consolation ; but
the latter subject seems to me to be indirectly referred to
1 The Targum and the versions, except the Syriac, apply this clause
to their enemies, “ who will not shew you favour,” or mercy; and no doubt
this reads better; and the verb in that case would be 13M"; but there is
no MS. in its favour. The relative may be regarded in the same way as
at the second verse of the first chapter, (To whom the word, &c.,) “To
whom I will not shew favour.” This kind of idiom evidently exists in
Hebrew. However the sense is the same as given in the ancient versions,
only according to the Hebrew reading the original cause of the favour is
expressly mentioned. ‘The denial of favour proceeded from God’s provi-
dence, though it was through the instrumentality of their enemies.—Zd.
CHAP. XVI. 14-15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 321
by the Prophet. I therefore think this to be an amplifica-
tion of what he had said. This is to be kept in mind. He
had said, “I will expel you from this land, and will send
you to a land unknown to you and to your fathers.” Now
follows a circumstance which increased. the grievousness of
exile: they knew how cruel was that servitude from which
God had delivered their fathers. Their condition was worse
than hundred deaths, when they were driven to their ser-
vile works; and also, when all justice was denied them, and
when their offspring were from the womb put to death. As
then they knew how cruelly their fathers had been treated
by the Egyptians, the comparison he states more fully shewed
what a dreadful punishment awaited them, for their redemp-
tion would be much more incredible.
We now perceive what the Prophet meant, as though he
had said, “ Ye know from what your fathers came forth,
even from a brazen furnace, as it is said elsewhere, and as
it were from the depth of death, so that that redemption
ought to be remembered to the end of the world; but God
will now cast you into an abyss deeper than that of Egypt
from which your fathers were delivered; and when from
thence he will redeem you, it will be a miracle far more
wonderful to your posterity, so that it will almost extinguish,
or at least obscure the memory of the first redemption: It
will not then be said any more, Live does Jehovah, who
brought the children of Israel from Egypt, for that Egyptian
captivity was far more endurable than what this latter shall
be; for ye shall be plunged as it were into the infernal
regions ; and when God shall rescue you from thence, it will
be a work far more wonderful.” This I consider to be the
real meaning of the Prophet.’
Yet his object was at the same time indirectly to give
them some hope of their future redemption ; but this he did
not do avowedly. We ought then to regard what the Pro-
phet had in view, even to strike the Jews, as I have said,
1 No particular notice is taken of 105, rendered “therefore,” at the be-
ginning of the verse. Gataker renders it “ notwithstanding ;” Lowth,
* nevertheless,” and Blayney, “after this.” What suits the passage best
is “nevertheless.” The verse appears to be parenthetic, introduced for the
purpose of keeping the people from despair under their sufferings.— Ed.
VOL. IT. X
322 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIV.
with terror, so that they might know that there was an evil
nigh at hand more grievous than what their fathers suffered
in Egypt, who yet had been most cruelly oppressed. Then
their former liberation would be rendered obscure and not
celebrated as before, though it was nevertheless an evidence
of the wonderful power of God.
But, it will be rather said, Live does Jehovah, for he has
brought his people from the land of the north; and for
this reason, because there will be less hope remaining for
- you, when the Chaldeans shall subdue and scatter you like
a body torn asunder, and when the name of Israel shall be
extinguished, when the worship of God shall be subverted
and the Temple destroyed. When therefore all things shall
appear to be past remedy, this captivity shall be much more
dreadful than that by which your fathers had been oppressed.
Therefore, when God restores you, it will be a miracle much
more remarkable. And that the Prophet took occasion to
give them some hope of God’s favour, may be gathered from
the end of the verse, when he says, And I will make them
to return to their own land: but the copulative ought to be
rendered as a conditional particle, as though he had said,
When I shall restore them to their own land which I gave to
their fathers. It now follows—
16. Behold, I will send for many
fishers, saith the Lord, and they
shall fish them; and after will I
send for many hunters, and they
shall hunt them from every moun-
tain, and from every hill, and out of
the holes of the rocks.
16. Ecce ego mitto ad piscatores
multos, dicit Jehova, et pisecabuntur ;
et sic (post heee) mittam ad multos
venatores, et venabuntur eos de
super omni monte, (hoc est, ex omni
monte,) et omni colle, et foraminibus
(vel, cavernis) rupium.
Some explain this of the apostles ; but it is wholly foreign
to the subject: they think that Jeremiah pursues here what
he had begun to speak of; for they doubt not but that he
had been speaking in the last verse of a future but a near
deliverance, in order to raise the children of God into a
cheerful confidence. But I have already rejected this mean-
ing, for their exposition is not well founded. But if it be
conceded that the Prophet had prophesied of the liberation
of the people, it does not follow that God goes on with the
same subject, for he immediately returns to threatenings, as
Pe
7 ah er Se, at
CHAP. XVI.16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 323
ye will see; and the allegory also is too remote when he
speaks of hunters and fishers; and as mention is made of
hills and mountains, it appears still more clearly that the
Prophet is threatening the Jews, and not promising them
any alleviation in their miseries. I therefore connect all
these things together in a plain manner; for, having said
that the evil which the Jews would shortly have to endure
would be more grievous than the Egyptian bondage, he now
adds a reason as a confirmation,—
Behold, he says, I will send to them many fishers, that
they may gather them together on every side. He mentions
fishers, as they would draw the children of Israel from every
quarter to their nets. He then compares the Chaldeans to
fishers, who would so proceed through the whole land as to
leave none except some of the most ignoble, whom also they
afterwards took away ; and to fishers he adds hunters. Some
understand by fishers armed enemies, who by the sword slew
the conquered; and they consider that the hunters were
those who were disposed to spare the life of the many, and
to drive them into exile; but this appears too refined. Simple
is the view which I have stated,—that the Chaldeans were
called fishers, because they would empty the whole land of
its inhabitants, and that they were called hunters, because the
Jews, having been scattered here and there, and become fugi-
tives, would yet be found out in the recesses of hills and rocks.
The two similitudes are exceedingly suitable; for the
Prophet shews that the Chaldeans would not have much
trouble in taking the Jews, inasmuch as fishers only spread
their nets ; they do not arm themselves against fishes, nor is
there any need; and then all the fish they take they easily
take possession of them, for there is no resistance. Thus,
then, he shews that the Chaldeans would gain an easy victory,
for they would take the Jews as fishes which are drawn into
nets. This is one thing. Then, in the second place, he says,
that if they betook themselves into recesses of mountains,
that if they hid themselves in caverns or holes, their enemies
would be like hunters who follow the wild beasts in forests
and in other unfrequented places; no brambles, nor thorns,
nor any obstructions prevent them from advancing, being
824 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXIV,
led on by a strong impulse; so in like manner no recesses
of mountains would be concealed from the Chaldeans, no
caverns where the Jews might hide themselves, for they
would all be taken. We hence see that he confirms by two
similitudes, what he had said in a preceding verse. He
afterwards adds—
17. For mine eyes are 17. Quia oculi mei super ommes vias
upon all their ways: they ipsorum; non abscondite sunt a facie mea,
are not hid from my face, et non sunt occulte iniquitates é regione ocu-
neither is their iniquity hid lorum meorum, (coram oculis meis; ad ver-
from mine eyes. bum est, de coram oculis meis. )
The Prophet now shews that the grievous calamity of
which he had spoken would be a just reward for the wicked-
ness of the people; for we know that the prophets were
endued with the Spirit of God not merely that they might
foretell things to come—for that would have been very
jejune ; but a doctrine was connected with their predictions.
Hence the prophets not only foretold what God would do,
but at the same time added the causes. There is then now
added a doctrine as a seasoning to the prophecy; for the
Prophet says that the destruction of the Jews was at hand,
because they had long greatly provoked the wrath of God.
As there is no end to the evasions of hypocrites, according
to what we observed yesterday, God here reminds them of
his judgment, as though he had said, “This one thing is
sufficient, he knows their iniquities, and he is a fit judge;
so they contend in vain, and try in vain, to excuse or to ex-
tenuate their fault.”
Hence he says that the eyes of God were on all their ways :
and he mentions all their ways, because they had not offended
only once, or in one way, but they had added sins to sins.
Nor are they hid, he says: the Prophet presses the matter
on their attention ; for had he allowed their false pretences,
they would have made no end of excuses. He therefore says
that their ways were not hid, nor their iniquities concealed
JSrom the eyes of God. Now follows a confirmation—
18. And first I will recom- 18. Et rependam ab initio duplum
pense their iniquity and their iniquitatum eorum et scelerum eo-
sin double; because they have rum; quia polluerunt (super polluere
defiled my land, they have filled ipsos) terram meam in cadayeribus
aw. *
CHAP. xvi. 18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 325
mine inheritance with the car- abominationum suarum, et suis in-
cases of their detestable and quinamentis replerunt hereditatem
abominable things. meam.
Jeremiah introduces here nothing new, but proceeds with
the subject we observed in the last verse,—that God would
not deal with so much severity with the Jews, because
extreme rigour was pleasing to him, or because he had for-
gotten his own nature or the covenant which he had made
with Abraham, but because the Jews had become extremely
obstinate in their wickedness. As, then, he had said that
the eyes of God were on all their ways, so now he adds that
he would recompense them as they deserved.
But every word ought to be considered: He says NWN",
rashune, which I render “ From the beginning.” Some ren-
der it more obscurely, “at first,’—I will first recompense
them. The word means formerly, and refers to time. The
Prophet then, I have no doubt, means what I have already
referred to,—that God would punish the fathers and their
children, and would thus gather into one mass their old
iniquities. We have quoted from the law that God would
recompense unto the bosom of children the sins of their
fathers; and we have also quoted that declaration of
Christ, “Come upon you shall righteous blood from Abel
to Zachariah, the son of Barachiah.” (Matt. xxiii. 35; Luke
xi. 51.) The Prophet now repeats the same thing,—that
God, in allotting to the Jews their reward, would collect
together as it were all the iniquities which had been as it
were long buried, so that he would include the fathers and
their children in one bundle, and gather together all their
sins, in order that he might consume them as it were in one
heap. In this way I explain the term “From the be-
ginning.”
1 The Septuagint omit this word, and give this rendering, “ And I will
recompense their two-fold iniquities,” &c., so does the Vulgate, only it
retains this word, and renders it “ first.” But the Hebrew will not admit
the connection of “ two-fold” with “ iniquities.”
Venema gives the best exposition of this passage, from verse 14 to the
end. He considers it a prophecy of the restoration of the people from
Babylon. The “fishers” and “ the hunters,” in verse 16, he regards as
the individuals employed by God to gather them from the countries to
which they had been dispersed, such as Zerubbabel, Joshuah, Ezra, and _
Nehemiah. He connects this verse more especially with the latter part
oe” ae ,
! of o~
™-
326 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAL. LECT, LXIV.
He then adds, The double of their iniquities and their sins.
The Prophet does not mean that there would be an excess
of severity, as though God would not rightly consider what
men deserved; but “double” signifies a just and complete
measure, according to what is said in Isaiah xl. 2, “The
Lord hath recompensed double for all her sins;’ that is,
sufficiently and more, (satis supérque,) as the Latins say.
There God assumes the character of a father, and, according
to his great kindness, says that the Jews had been more
than sufficiently punished. So also in this place, in speak-
ing of punishment, he calls that double, not what would
exceed the limits of justice, but because God would shew
himself differently to them from what he had done before,
when he patiently bore with them; as though he had said,
“T will to the utmost punish them; for there will be no
remission, no lenity, no mercy.” We hence see that what is
here designed is only extreme rigour, which yet was just
and right; for had God punished a hundred times more
severely even those who seemed to have sinned lightly, his
justice could not have been questioned as though he had
acted cruelly. Since the Jews, then, had in so many ways,
and for so long a time, and so grievously sinned, God could
not have been thought too severe, when he rendered to them
of verse 17. Having stated that their ways would not be hid from God
in their dispersion, the Prophet refers to their previous iniquity as having
not been hid from him, and then says in God’s name, “ And I will first
recompense doubly their iniquity,” &c., that is before I restore them.
These two verses may be thus rendered, the first line being connected
with the previous verse,—
; 17. For mine eyes shall be on all their ways.
Concealed have they not been from me,
Nor hid has been their iniquity from my eyes;
18. And I will first doubly recompense
Their iniquity and their sin,
Because they have polluted my land
With the vileness of their detestable things,
And with their abominations have filled mine inheritance.
As the previous verse is in the future tense, so the first line in the 17th
verse. The “ detestable things” were their idols. The version of the
Septuagint is, “ with the dead bodies (¢vcizaias) of their abominations ;”
of the Vulgate, “ with the carrions (morticinis) of their idols ;” and of
the Syriac, “ with the sacrifices of their idols.” Blayney’s rendering is,
“by the vileness of their odious practices.” The word “ careases” is de-
rived from the Targum. Idolatrous practices are evidently the things
referred to.—Ed.
CHAP, XVI1.18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 327
their reward; and he calls it double because he omitted
nothing in order to carry it to the utmost severity. Pro-
bably he alludes also to the enemies as being ministers of
his vengeance, whose cruelty would be more atrocious than
the Jews thought, who imagined some slight remedies for
slight sins, as we say, Il n’y faudra plus retourner, or, tout
outre.
He mentions sins and iniquities, for Jeremiah had intro-
dued them before as speaking thus, “‘ What is our iniquity ?
and what is our sin?’ Though they could not wholly ex-
culpate themselves, they yet continued to allege some pre-
tences, that they might not appear to be altogether wicked.
But here God declares that they were wholly wicked and
ungodly ; and he adds a confirmation, that they had polluted
the land with the carcases of their abominations, The Pro-
phet mentions a particular thing, for had he spoken gene-
rally, the Jews would have raised a clamour and said, that
they were not conscious of being so wicked, That he might
then bring the matter home to them, he shews as it were
by the finger that their sin was by no means excusable, for
they had polluted the land of God with their superstitions ;
they have polluted, he says, my land. He exaggerates their
crime by saying, that they polluted the holy land. The
earth indeed is God’s and its fulness. (Psalm xxiv. 1.)
Hence it might be said justly of the whole world, that the
land of God is polluted when men act on it an ungodly part.
But here God distinguishes Canaan from other countries,
because it was dedicated as it were to his name. As God
then had set apart that land for himself, that he might be
there worshipped, he says, they have polluted my land.
And he adds, With the carcases of their abominations,
It is probable that he calls their sacrifices carcases. For
though in appearance their superstitions bore a likeness to
the true and lawful worship of God, yet we know that the
sacrifices which God had commanded were seasoned by his
word as with salt; they were therefore of good odour and
fragrance before God. As to the sacrifices offered to idols,
they were foetid carcases, they were mere rottenness, yet
the ceremony was altogether alike. But God does not re-
328 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. LXIV.
gard the external form, for obedience is better before him
than all sacrifices. (1 Sam. xv. 22.) We hence see that
there is to be understood a contrast between the careases
and the sweet odour which lawful sacrifices possessed. For
as sacrifices, rightly offered according to the rule of the law,
pleased God and were said to be of sweet savour, so the
victims superstitiously offered having no command of God
in their favour, were called filthy carcases.
And he says further, With their defilements have they filled
mine inheritance. The land of Canaan is called the inherit-
ance of God in the same sense in which the land is before
called his land. But in this second clause something more is
expressed, as it is the usual manner of Scripture to amplify.
It was indeed a grievous thing that the land dedicated to
God should be polluted ; but when he says, This is mine im-
heritance, that is, the land which I have chosen to dwell in
with my people, that it might be to me as it were a kind of
an earthly habitation, and that this land was filled with de-
filements, it was a thing altogether intolerable. We now
then see that the Jews were so bridled and checked that
they in vain attempted to escape, or thought to gain any-
thing by evasions, for their impiety was intolerable and
deserved to be most severely punished by God. I will not
proceed further, for it is a new discourse.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not given to thy servants
a small corner only of the earth to dwell in, but hast designed
to extend thy kingdom to the utmost borders of the earth, and
to dwell with us, wherever we be, by thine only-begotten Son,—
O grant, that we may offer ourselves as sacrifices to thee, and
labour also so to regulate our life according to thy word that
thy name may be glorified in and by us, till we shall become at
length partakers of that celestial and eternal glory, which has
been provided for us by Christ our Lord—Amen.
CHAP. xvi. 19.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 329
Decture Sixty=fitth.
19. O Lord, my strength, and
my fortress, and my refuge in the
day of affliction, the Gentiles shall
come unto thee from the ends of
the earth, and shall say, Surely our
fathers have inherited lies, vanity,
and things wherein there is no profit.
19. Jehova, robur meum et mu-
nitio mea, et refugium in die angus-
tie, (vel, afflictionis,) ad te Gentes
venient é finibus terre ac dicent,
Certé mendacium possederunt patres
nostri, vanitas (vanitatem) et nihil
in ipsis utile.
Wuat the Prophet has said hitherto might appear con-
trary to the promises of God, and wholly subversive of the
covenant which he had made with Abraham. God had
chosen to himself one people from the whole world, now
when this people were trodden under foot what could the
most perfect of the faithful suppose but that that covenant
was rendered void, since God had resolved to destroy the
Jews and to obliterate their name? This was then a most
grievous trial, and sufficient to shake the strongest minds.
The Prophet therefore now returns to the subject, and
obviates this temptation; and seeing men in despair he
turns to God, and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles,
which was sufficient wholly to remove that stumbling-
block, which I have mentioned respecting the apostasy and
ruin of the chosen people. We now perceive the Prophet’s
meaning.
When any one reads the whole chapter, he may think
that Jeremiah abruptly turns to address God ; but what I
have stated ought to be borne in mind, for his purpose was
to fortify himself and the faithful against the thought I have
mentioned, which would have otherwise shaken the faith
of them all. And he shews what is best to be done in a
troubled and dark state of things, for Satan hunts for no-
thing more than to involve us in various and intricate dis-
putes, and he is an acute disputant, yea, and a sophist ; we
are also very ready to receive what he may suggest, and
thus it happens that the thoughts which we either attain
ourselves or too readily receive when offered by the artifice
of Satan, often overwhelm us. There is then no better
remedy than to break off such disputes and to turn our eyes
a
i
Vas
4
330 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAI. LECT. LXV.
and all our thoughts to God. This the Prophet did when
he said, O Jehovah, to thee shall the Gentiles come.
We now see that Jeremiah sets the conversion of the
Gentiles in opposition to the destruction which he had be-
fore denounced ; for the truth of God and his merey were
so connected with the salvation of the chosen people, that
their destruction seemed to obliterate them. Therefore the
Prophet sets forth in opposition to this the conversion of the
Gentiles, as though he had said, “ Though the race of Abra-
ham perishes, yet God’s covenant fails not, nor is there any
diminution of his grace, for he will convert all the Gentiles
to himself.” If any one objects and says, that though the
Gentiles be converted, yet the covenant of God could not
have been valid and perpetual, except the posterity of Abra-
ham were heirs of that grace which God had promised to
him. ‘To this there is a ready answer, for when God turned
the Gentiles to himself he was mindful of his promise, so as
to gather a Church to himself both from the Jews and the
Gentiles, as we also know that Christ came to proclaim
peace to those afar off and to them who were nigh, according
to what Paul teaches. (Eph. ii.17.) Jeremiah then includes
in the calling of the Gentiles what is said elsewhere, “ A
remnant according to the election of grace.” (Rom. xi. 5.)
It is an argument from the greater to the less; “ God will
not retain a few men only, but will gather to himself those
who now seem dispersed through the whole world ; much
more then shall all those of the race of Abraham, who are
chosen by God, be saved ; and though the great body of the
people perish, yet the Lord, who knows his own people, will
not suffer them to perish even in the worst state of things.”
But as the struggle was difficult, he calls God his strength,
and fortress, and refuge. He says ‘tY) “IY, ozi vemozt, ma
force et forteresse, for the two words come from the same
root, and we cannot in Latin thus fitly translate them. He
then calls God his strength and his fortress, but both words
are derived from a verb which means to be strong. He then
adds, my refuge in the day of affliction. We here see that
God according to circumstances is adorned with names, such
as are fit to give us confidence, and as it were to arm us
‘
CHAP. XVI.19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 331
for the purpose of sustaining all the assaults of temptations,
for there was not sufficient force and power in that plain
declaration, “ O Jehovah, the Gentiles shall come to thee,”
but as the Prophet was reduced to the greatest straits, and,
as I have said, his faith must have been greatly tried, he
calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the
day of affliction ; as though he had said, “ Now is the time
when I find how necessary is thy protection, thy strength,
thy power; for though my present miseries, and the ap-
proaching ruin dishearten me, yet thou wilt be to me a
refuge.”
But he says, that the Gentiles would come from the ends of
the earth.' A contrast is to be observed here also; for the
Jews at first worshipped God, as it were in an obscure cor-
ner; but he says, “ When that land shall cast out its inha-
bitants, all nations shall come, not only from neighbouring
countries, but also from the extremities of the earth.” He
adds, that the Gentiles would say, surely falsehood have our
Jathers possessed ; it was vanity, there was nothing profitable
in them. 'To possess, here means the same as to inherit ; for
we know that one’s own inheritance is valuable to him; and
men are as it were fixed in their farms and fields. As then
the Gentiles, before they were enlightened, thought their
1 Though the word rendered here ‘‘ Gentiles” may be often so trans-
lated, yet it does not necessarily mean the heathens. It signifies a people
associated together; and it may mean here the Jewish people in their
dispersion, formed into companies or tribes, as Grotius thinks; and a due
consideration of the context will lead us to this opinion. They are spoken
of in verse 15 as “ brought from all the lands” whither God had driven
them; and as the idolatry of their fathers is continually mentioned in con-
nection with their own, the confession in this verse seems appropriate to
them; and the last verse, the 21st, clearly refers to the people of Israel.
There is nothing in the whole passage (except it be this clause) that has
any reference to the conversion of the heathens. Iam aware that com-
mentators take the same view of this clause with Calvin, yet I fully believe
that the “ nations” here were the Jews, scattered here and there, as dis-
tinct portions of the community, in various parts of the heathen world.
The prophet, after having received an assurance of a restoration, makes
a thankful acknowledgment to God, and tells us what would be the con-
fession of the returned exiles, which includes the next verse. Then God
assures him in the last verse, that such would be the effect of exile as to
make them ever afterwards to acknowledge his power and his majesty,
which has been remarkably fulfilled; for the Jews have never been guilty
of idolatry since their return from Babylon.—£d.
332 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXV. °
chief happiness to be in their superstitions, the Prophet says
here, by way of concession, that they possessed falsehood, as
though it was said, “ Our fathers thought themselves blessed
and happy when they worshipped idols and their own inven-
tions.” It was therefore their heritage, that is, they thought
nothing better or more to be desired than to embrace their
idols and their errors; but it was falsehood, he says, that is,
when they thought that they had a glorious inheritance it
was only a foolish imagination ; it was, in short, vanity, and
there was nothing useful or profitable in them. This confession
proves the conversion of the Gentiles by external evidences.
When we offend God, not only secretly, but also by bad ex-
amples, repentance requires confession. Hence the Prophet
shews a change in the Gentiles, for they would of themselves
acknowledge that their fathers had been deceived by super-
stitions ; for while they thought that they were acting rightly,
they were only under the influence of illusions and fascinations.
But it is not to be doubted but that the Prophet here in-
directly condemns the Jews, because they had not departed
from the sins of their fathers, though they had been often
admonished. The Gentiles then shall come, and the ignorance
of their fathers shall not prevent them from confessing that
they and their fathers were guilty before God. Since then
the hinderance which from deliberate wickedness held fast
the Jews, would not prevail with the Gentiles, it appeared
evident how great was the contumacy of the people, who
could not be persuaded to forsake the bad examples of their
fathers. We now understand what the Prophet means, and
for what purpose he introduced this prayer. It follows—
20. Shall a man make gods unto 20. An faciet sibi homo deos? et
himself, and they are no gods? ipsi non sunt dii.
Some frigidly explain this verse, as though the Prophet
said that men are doubly foolish, who form for themselves
gods from wood, stone, gold, or silver, because they cannot
change their nature; for whatever men may imagine, the
stone remains a stone, the wood remains wood. The sense
then they elicit from the Prophet’s words is this—that they
are not gods who are devised by the foolish imaginations
of men. But the Prophet reasons differently,—“ Can he who .
CHAP. XVI.20. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 333
is not God make a god?” that is, “can he who is created be
the creator?” No one can give, according to the common
proverb, what he has not; and there is in man no divine
power. We indeed see what our condition is; there is nothing
more frail and perishable: as man then is all vanity, and has
in him nothing solid, can he create a god for himself? This
is the Prophet’s argument: it is drawn from what is absurd,
in order that men might at length acknowledge, not only their
presumption, but their monstrous madness. For when any
one is asked as to his condition, he must necessarily confess
that he is a creature, and that he is also, as the ancients
have said, an ephemeral animal, that his life is like a sha-
dow. Since then men are constrained, by the real state of
things, to make such a confession, how comes it that they
dare to form gods for themselves? God does not create a
god, he creates men ; he has created angels, he has created
the heavens and the earth, but yet he does not put forth his
power to create anew god. Now man, what is he? nothing but
vanity ; and yet he will create a god though he is no God."
There is no doubt but that the Prophet here, as with new
vigour, boldly attacks the Jews. For it seems evident that,
when this temptation assailed him—“ What can this mean ?
what will at length happen when God rejects the race of
1 Calvin in this instance follows the Syriac version, which is different
from all the other ancient versions, and also the Targum. Blayney gives
the same meaning with Calvin, which Horsley wholly disapproves, and
which the Hebrew can hardly admit. The literal rendering is,—
Shall man make for himself gods ?
But they are no gods.
As the future may often be rendered potentially, the better version would
be this,—
: Can man make for himself gods
When they are no gods?
That is, can he make gods of those who are not gods? This is, in my view,
a continuation of the confession in the previous verse, which I render as
follows,—
« Truly, falsehood have our fathers inherited—vanity,
And they had nothing that profited :
Can man make for himself gods,
When they are no gods?”
« Falsehood” was false religion, the character of which was “ vanity,” an
empty and useless thing: and this is more fully asserted in the next line,
which is literally, “ And nothing in them,” or with them, 7.¢., the fathers,
“ that was profitable.”—Zd.
- a
oe
334 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAN. LECT. LXV.
Abraham whom he had chosen?’ he turned to God: but
now, having recovered confidence, he inveighs against the
ungodly, and says, can man create gods for himself while yet
he is not a god? The change in the number ought not to be
deemed strange ; for when there is an indefinite declaration
the number is often changed, both in Greek and Latin. If
some particular person was intended, the Prophet would not
have said, And they themselves are not gods ; but as he speaks
of mankind generally and indefinitely, the sentence reads
better when he says, “Shall man make a god? and they,”
that is men, “are not gods.” This remark I have added,
because it is probable that those who consider idols to be
intended in the last clause have been led astray by the
change that is made in the number. It follows,—
21. Therefore, behold, I will this 21. Propterea eece ego cognoscere
once cause them to know, I will cause faciam ipsos hac vice, ostendam ipsis
them to know mine hand and my (cognoscere ipsos faciam) manum
might; and they shall know that my meam et potentiam meam; et cog-
name is The Lord. noscent quod nomen meum Jehova.
The Prophet again threatens the Jews, because their im-
piety was inexcusable, especially when attended with so
great an obstinacy. He therefore says that God was already
present as a judge: Behold I, he says—the demonstrative
particle shews the near approach of vengeance—J will shew
at this time: the words are emphatical, for God indirectly in-
timates that the Babylonian exile would be an extraordinary
event, far exceeding every other which had preceded it. At
this time, he says—that is, if ye have hitherto been tardy
and insensible, or, if the punishments I have already inflicted
~ have not been sufficiently severe—I will at this time shew to
them my hand and my power ; and they shall know that my
name is Jehovah."
1 As the captivity and the restoration of the people are expressly re-
ferred to in the previous verses, it seems necessary to connect here the
display of God’s power with both these events. The restoration was as
remarkable an instance of divine interposition as the captivity, if not more
so. And the future effect on the people’s mind, their preservation from
idolatry, is to be ascribed to the power manifested in their restoration as
well asin their captivity. “ Therefore,’ at the beginning of the verse,
seems to be an inference from what has been said of the captivity and the
restoration; and this accounts for the repetition of making known to them
his power: God first made known his power in driving them to captivity,
and, secondly, in restoring them,—
—eVrlc——“—“
“ars
CHAP. XVI. 21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. SAS
This way of speaking often occurs in Scripture ; but God
here, no doubt, reproves the false sentiments with which the
Jews were imbued, and by which they were led astray from
true religion—for they had devised for themselves many
gods; hence-he says, They shall know that my name is Je-
hovah, that is, that my name is sacred, and ought not to be
given to others. But at the same time he intimates that he
would shew to them his power by destroying them, which
they had refused to acknowledge in the preservation pro-
mised to them. They would indeed have ever found the
God of Abraham to be the same, had they not deprived
themselves of his favour. As then they had wandered after
their own delusions and inventions, God says now, I will shew
to them my hand, that is, for their ruin; and they shall now
know for their own misery what they had refused to acknow-
ledge for their own safety—that I am the only true God.
Here let us first learn that it was wholly a diabolical mad-
ness, when men dared to devise for themselves a god; for
had they regarded their own beginning and their own end,
doubtless they could not have betrayed so much presumption
and audacity as to invent a god for themselves. If this only
came to the mind of an idolater, “ What art thou? whence
is thine origin? where goest thou, and what end awaits thee?”
all his false imaginations would have instantly fallen to the
ground; he would no longer think of forming a god for
Therefore, behold I make known to them, at this time,
And I will make known to them
My hand and my power;
And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
The Septuagint is as follows,—
Therefore, behold I will manifest to them at this time my hand,
And I will make known to them my power;
And they shall know that my name is the Lord.
To remove the word “ hand” to the first line has no MS. in its favour;
but it shews that they thought that the two verbs had a similar objective
case, and the conjunction “and” is supplied before the second verb, as it
is also in the Syriac and Arabic.
It is probable that by the “ hand” is meant the infliction of punishment,
and is rendered “ vengeance” in the Targum; and that by “ power” or
strength is intended what God manifested in the restoration of the people.
The combined influence of both was to make them to know that God was
really Jehovah, the only supreme, ever the same, true and faithful, without
any change. How remarkably has this prophecy been accomplished! The
Jews have ever since acknowledged Jehovah as the only true God.— Ed.
334 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAI. LECT. LXV.
Abraham whom he had chosen?’ he turned to God: but
now, having recovered confidence, he inveighs against the
ungodly, and says, can man create gods for himself while yet
he is not a god? The change in the number ought not to be
deemed strange ; for when there is an indefinite declaration
the number is often changed, both in Greek and Latin. If
some particular person was intended, the Prophet would not
have said, And they themselves are not gods ; but as he speaks
of mankind generally and indefinitely, the sentence reads
better when he says, “Shall man make a god? and they,”
that is men, “are not gods.” This remark I have added,
because it is probable that those who consider idols to be
intended in the last clause have been led astray by the
change that is made in the number. It follows,—
21. Therefore, behold, I will this 21. Propterea eece ego
once cause them to know, I will cause faciam ipsos hac vice, ostendam ipsis
them to know mine hand and my (cognoscere ipsos faciam) manum
might; and they shall know that my meam et potentiam meam; et cog-
name is The Lord. noscent quod nomen meum Jehova.
The Prophet again threatens the Jews, because their im-
piety was inexcusable, especially when attended with so
great an obstinacy. He therefore says that God was already
present as a judge: Behold I, he says—the demonstrative
particle shews the near approach of vengeance—J will shew
at this time: the words are emphatical, for God indirectly in-
timates that the Babylonian exile would be an extraordinary
event, far exceeding every other which had preceded it. At
this tume, he says—that is, if ye have hitherto been tardy
and insensible, or, if the punishments I have already inflicted
. have not been sufficiently severe—I will at this time shew to
them my hand and my power ; and they shall know that my
name is Jehovah."
1 As the captivity and the restoration of the people are expressly re-
ferred to in the previous verses, it seems necessary to connect here the
display of God’s power with both these events. The restoration was as
remarkable an instance of divine interposition as the captivity, if not more
so. And the future effect on the people’s mind, their preservation from
idolatry, is to be ascribed to the power manifested in their restoration as
well asin their captivity. “ Therefore,’ at the beginning of the verse,
seems to be an inference from what has been said of the captivity and the
restoration ; and this accounts for the repetition of making known to them
his power: God first made known his power in driving them to captivity,
and, secondly, in restoring them,—
CHAP. XVI.21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 30D
This way of speaking often occurs in Scripture; but God
here, no doubt, reproves the false sentiments with which the
Jews were imbued, and by which they were led astray from
true religion—for they had devised for themselves many
gods; hence-he says, They shall know that my name is Je-
hovah, that is, that my name is sacred, and ought not to be
given to others. But at the same time he intimates that he
would shew to them his power by destroying them, which
they had refused to acknowledge in the preservation pro-
mised to them. They would indeed have ever found the
God of Abraham to be the same, had they not deprived
themselves of his favour. As then they had wandered after
their own delusions and inventions, God says now, I will shew
to them my hand, that is, for their ruin; and they shall now
know for their own misery what they had refused to acknow-
ledge for their own safety—that I am the only true God.
Here let us first learn that it was wholly a diabolical mad-
ness, when men dared to devise for themselves a god; for
had they regarded their own beginning and their own end,
doubtless they could not have betrayed so much presumption
and audacity as to invent a god for themselves. If this only
came to the mind of an idolater, “ What art thou? whence
is thine origin? where goest thou, and what end awaits thee?”
all his false imaginations would have instantly fallen to the
ground; he would no longer think of forming a god for
Therefore, behold I make known to them, at this time,
And I will make known to them
My hand and my power;
And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
The Septuagint is as follows,—
Therefore, behold I will manifest to them at this time my hand,
And I will make known to them my power;
And they shall know that my name is the Lord.
To remove the word “ hand” to the first line has no MS. in its favour;
but it shews that they thought that the two verbs had a similar objective
case, and the conjunction “and” is supplied before the second verb, as it
is also in the Syriac and Arabic.
It is probable that by the “ hand” is meant the infliction of punishment,
and is rendered “ vengeance” in the Targum; and that by “ power” or
strength is intended what God manifested in the restoration of the people.
The combined influence of both was to make them to know that God was
really Jehovah, the only supreme, ever the same, true and faithful, without
any change. How remarkably has this prophesy been accomplished! The
Jews have ever since acknowledged Jehovah as the only true God.— Ed.
ae
as 7
» ; a
+
‘ '
338 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXV.
their hearts. He calls by a metaphor the affections or feel-
ings the tables of the heart: for he compares the heart to
tables; as writing appears when cut in stone or brass, so
when a sinful impression is made on the hearts of men, ini-
quity itself may be said to be graven on the tables of the
heart.
He afterwards adds, And on the horns of your altars.
He had spoken of the heart, he now proceeds farther,—that
there appeared openly an evidence of hidden iniquity. Had
he spoken only of their hearts, the Jews might have objected
and said, “ How canst thou penetrate into our hearts? Art
thou God, to examine and try our inward emotions?” But
the Prophet adds, that their iniquity was sufficiently known
by their altars. He at the same time intimates, that they
in vain alleged the name of religion; for under that pre-
tence they especially sinned against God; for they had
vitiated his pure worship. And to confirm this yery thing
he adds—
2. Whilst their children 2. Secundum recordari filios ipsorum (hoe
remember their altars and ¢st, cum memores erunt filii ipsorum) altari-
their groves by the green um ipsorum et lucorum ipsorum super arbo-
trees upon the high hills. rem frondosam, super colles excelsos.
Interpreters seem not to me to have perceived the design
of the Prophet here, at least they have not clearly explained
the subject. He proceeds, as I think, with what he said at
the end of the last verse,—that the iniquity of Judah was
graven on the altars, or on the horns of the altars: how was
this? even because they transmitted to posterity whatever
they devised as to their ungodly forms of worship. How
then was iniquity graven on the horns of the altars? even
because it was not a temporary wickedness only, when
the Jews cast aside the Law and followed their corrupt
superstitions ; but, on the contrary, their iniquity flowed
down, as it were, by a hereditary right, to their posterity.
Justly then does Jeremiah accuse them, that they were not
only led away into evil through the whole course of their
own lives, but that they also corrupted their children, for
they left to them memorials of their own superstitions.
Some give this explanation, “As they remember their
————————— — OO
CHAP. XVII.3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 339
children, so also their altars ;” as though the Prophet had
said, that idolaters burnt with such ardour, that they held
the altars dedicated to their idols as dear to them as their
own children. But this view seems too ‘forced. I then
have no doubt but that the Prophet here amplifies their
wickedness, when he says, that it was graven on the horns
of the altars; for their posterity remembered the supersti-
tions, which they had received from their fathers. He men-
tions also their groves ;* for on or near every shady tree they
built altars; and also on all high hills. It follows—
3. O my mountain in the field, I 3. Montane, in agro substantiam
will give thy substance and all thy tuam (opes tuas,) omnes thesauros
treasures to the spoil, and thy high _tuos in preedam dabo propter excelsa
places for sin, throughout all thy tua, propter peccatum tuum in om-
borders. nibus finibus tuis.
The Prophet again repeats, that punishment was nigh the
Jews, and that it availed them nothing to seek for them-
selves recesses and lurking-places, for God would draw them
forth from the mountains and expose them as a prey to their
enemies. _
Some render “V1, erri, “ O my mountain,” &.; and at
the first view this meaning seems appropriate ; but as the
context requires this to be understood of the Israelites and
the Jews, who always resorted to their recesses, when any
fear of enemies assailed them, I prefer another rendering.
Since then at times of distress they betook themselves to
their hiding-places, the Prophet says, that they would in vain
attempt to escape, for the mountains would be like the fields:
I will expose, he says, as in the field, or the plain, your riches
and treasures, that they may become a prey to your enemies.
The meaning is, that the Prophet denounces vengeance on
the Jews, and at the same time shakes off their foolish con-
fidence, which rendered them secure, so as to despise all the
threatenings of God : “ Ye think,” he says, “ that there will
be a safe refuge for you on the mountains ; but God will draw
forth from thence all your possessions, and expose them on
the open field, so that they may become an easy prey.”
1 The word rendered “ groves,” means also idols. See 2 Kings xxiii. 6,
where “ grove” in our version must mean an idol. What follows here,
“near the green tree,” shews clearly that “ idols,” or images, are the things
meant ; and such is the version given by Venema and Horsley.—Ed.
340 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXV.
He again repeats what he had said, that God would inflict
a just punishment on the Jews, because they had sinned
very greatly on their high places, By high places he doubt-
less means all their ungodly and corrupt modes of worship.
For God had chosen for himself a Temple on Mount Sion ; he
designed sacrifices to be offered there: but they, carriedaway
by a foolish zeal, had built for themselves many altars, so
that there was no hill where they had not set up some
altar or another. By stating then a part for the whole, the
Prophet here refers to every thing that was inconsistent with
the law of God: and in order to amplify their sin, he says,
In all thy borders ; that is, their impiety was widely and
extensively diffused, so that no part of the land was free
from their corrupt superstition. Since then the land was
throughout contaminated, justly does the Prophet say, “ In
all thy borders ;” he declares that there would be no refuge
for them, to preserve them and their treasures from becom-
ing a prey to their enemies. It follows—
4. And thou, even thyself, shalt
discontinue from thine heritage that
I gave thee; and I will cause thee
to serve thine enemies in the land
which thou knowest not: for ye have
kindled a fire in mine anger, which
shall burn for ever.
4, Et derelinqueris et in te ab
hereditate tua, quam dedi tibi, et
servire te faciam inimicis tuis in terra
quam non cognoscis; quia ignem suc-
cendistis in excandescentia mea (vel,
in nare mea, vultu meo) in seeculum
usque (id est, in perpetuum) ardebit.
Here, as it is a concise mode of speaking, there seems to
be some obscurity; but as to the subject handled, the mean-
ing of the Prophet is evident, that they would be dismissed
JSrom their inheritance, and as it were from their own bowels.
Hence he says, You shall be dismissed from your inheritance ;
that is, though ye think yourselves to be beyond the reach
of danger, because as yet the city remains safe, and ye con-
tinue in it; yet ye shall perish, as they say, living and
seeing. There shall then be a dismissal from the inheritance
even as to thee; that is, “ Though the Lord should delay the
time and suffer you to remain, yet ye shall be like the dead,
for God will destroy you, though he may leave you a pining
life.” It seems an emphatical expression when the Prophet
says that there would be at length a dismissal even as to
herself: he intimates, that though some of the people would
CHAP. XVII. 4. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 341
remain alive, they would yet be given up to exile and dis-
persion. And it was a condition worse than death for the
Jews to have their lives continued and to be scattered among
their enemies.
And he says, From the inheritance which I gave to thee ;
and he says this that they might not expostulate with him,
that their own was taken away from them. ‘“ How has the
land,” he says, “ become your inheritance? even because ye
have obtained it through my bounty. And now, since ye
are so ungrateful, why should I be blamed for taking away
what I had given you? or what wrong is done to you? and
what can ye object to me? for it has always been my herit-
age, though for a time I granted it to you. Had ye been
thankful to me it would have been yours perpetually ; but
now when I deprive you of it, this you must ascribe to your
own fault.”
For the same purpose he adds, J will make thee to serve thine
enemies: and this was much more grievous than to serve
their neighbours by whom they were not hated. But he
shews here how dreadful would be their calamity, they being
constrained to serve their enemies. He adds, In a land
which thou knowest not. This is a repetition of what has
been said before, and it requires no remark. He in the last
place confirms what he had said of their wickedness ; Burn,
he says, shall fire in my nostril: but 8, aph, may be taken
for God’s countenance, though it often means anger. As
however he says, “ Ye have kindled a fire,” it seems better
to render it here, In my face. Further, by the word J never,
he intimates that God would be implacable to the Jews, for
they had so deserved.’
* The whole of this passage, from the first to the end of the fourth verse,
is wanting in the Septuagint and Arabic, but is found in the other ver-
sions and the Targum. The many emendations of Houbigant and Horsley
are quite unwarrantable; the first makes his mostly from the Syriac;
and the second from various readings, and those of no value, except in one
or two instances, as “their” instead of “your altars” in the first verse,
countenanced by very many MSS.; the other nine emendations have, for
the most part, nothing of any weight in their favour. The transpositions
of Houbigant are quite irreconcilable with any thing like errors inciden-
tally committed by scribes. The same objection does not lie against the
emendations of Horsley ; but that ten mistakes should occur in the space
342 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXV.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou kindly invitest us every day to
repentance, and shewest thyself ready to be reconciled,—O grant
that we may not through our perverseness reject so inestimable
a favour, but submit ourselves to thee, and become so displeased
with our vices as to be touched with a true and sincere concern
for religion, and to labour through the whole course of our life
for nothing else but to render ourselves and our duties approved
by thee, and thus to glorify thy name, so that we may become
at last partakers of that celestial and eternal glory which thine
only-begotten Son has attained for us.—Amen.
of four verses is not credible; nor are most of the emendations at all
necessary.
The received text is no doubt materially correct, there being no different
readings of any weight or suitable, except the one noticed above. The
Vulgate, the Syriac, and Targum, differ from one another as much as
they do from the Hebrew. They indeed all agree materially as to the
beginning of the third verse, in regarding “ the mountain” and “ the field”
as places where the people worshipped idols; and the Vulgate and the
Syriac connect the words with the former verse; and this, I believe, is
what ought to be done. Then the passage will read as follows :—
1. The sin of Judah is written by a pen of iron,
By the point of adamant it is graven, -
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of their altars :
2. As a memorial to their children
Are their altars and their idols,
Near the green tree, on the high hills,
On the mountains, in the field. —
3. Thy substance, all thy treasures
For a plunder will I give,
Thy high places aso for sin in all thy borders;
4. And thou shalt be removed, even for thyself,
From thine inheritance which I gave thee;
And I will make thee to serve thine enemies
In a land which thou knowest not ;
For a fire have ye kindled in mine anger,
Perpetually shall it burn.
According to the frequent manner of the prophets, the last line in the
first verse is connected with the first line, and the third with the second.
The sin of Judah was “written” on “the horns of the altars;” it was
“ graven” on “ the tablet of their heart.” The services at the altars were
visible; the impressions within were seen only by God. They left their
altars and their idols to their children. The genitive case in Hebrew ma:
often be rendered by a dative, as here, “ A memorial to their children.
All emendations as to the beginning of the third verse are unsatisfactory :
i = aan the rendering above; “ for thyself,” that is, for thine own
ault.—Ld.
CHAP. XVII. 5,6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
343
Recture Sixty-Sixth.
5. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and
maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the Lord:
6. For he shall be like the heath
in the desert, and shall not see when
good cometh; but shall inhabit the
parched places in the wilderness, in
a salt land and not inhabited.
5. Sic dicit Jehova, Maledictus
vir qui confidit in homine, et ponit
carnem brachium suum, et a Jehova
aversum est cor ejus:
6. Et erit quasi myrica (sic ver-
tunt communiter) in deserto, et non
videbit cum veniet bonum (id est,
feecunditas,) et habitabit in siccita-
tibus in deserto, in terra salsuginis,
et que non habitatur.
Tue Prophet, I doubt not, prefixed this sentence to many
of his discourses, for it was necessary often to repeat it, as
the Jews were so refractory in their minds. We have al-
ready seen how sharply he inveighed against their false con-
fidence: but it was necessary to lay down this truth. He
then wrote once for all what he had often said. And this
deserves to be especially observed, for we shall not sufficiently
understand how needful this truth was, unless we consider
the circumstances: the Prophet had often found that the
promises as well as the threatenings of God were disregarded,
that his doctrine was despised, and that he had to do with a
proud people, who, relying on their own defences, not only
esteemed as nothing what was brought before them under,
the authority of God, but also, as it were, avowedly rejected
it. This then was the reason why the Prophet not only
once, but often exhorted the people to repent, by setting
before them this truth, that accursed are they who trust in
men.
Flesh here is to be taken for man, as we may easily gather
from the context. It was a common thing with the Hebrews
to state the same thing twice: In the first clause man is
mentioned, and in the second flesh : and arm means power
or help. The meaning is, that all are accursed who trust in
man. But the word flesh is no doubt added in the second
line by way of contempt, according to what is done in Isaiah
xxxi. 3, where the Prophet says, “The Egyptian is man and
not God, flesh and not spirit.” He calls the Egyptians flesh
by way of contempt, as though he had said that there was
nothing strong or firm in them, and that the aid which the
344 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVIL.
Jews expected from them would be evanescent. So it is in
this place, though the Prophet, according to the common
usage, repeats in the second clause what he had said in the
first, he yet expresses something more, that men are ex-
tremely sottish when they place their salvation in a thing
of nought; for, as we have said, there is nothing solid
or enduring in flesh. As men therefore quickly vanish
away, what can be more foolish than to seek safety from
them ?
But it must be observed that the Prophet had spoken
thus, because the Jews, in looking now to the Assyrians and
then to the Egyptians, thought to gain sufficient defence
against God himself, though they might not have expressly:
or avowedly despised God: but we shall hereafter see that
God cannot be otherwise deemed than of no account, when
safety is sought from mortal man. As then this false con-
fidence was an hinderance to the Jews to rely on the favour
of God, and to lead them to repentance, the Prophet said
Accursed is the man who trusts in man.
It seems to be a sentence abruptly introduced; but as we
have observed, the doctrine of the Prophet could not have
been confirmed, had he not shaken off from his people the
presumption through which they were blinded, for they
thought the Egyptians would be to them like a thousand
gods. We shall thus understand the design of the Prophet,
if we bear in mind what was the condition of the Jews, and
what were the difficulties the Prophet had to contend with,
while he was daily threatening them and labouring to re-
store them to God. But no progress was made, and why?
because all God’s promises were coldly received, for they
thought themselves ever safe and secure, while the Egyp-
tians were kind to them and promised them help: his
threatenings also were coldly received, because they hesitated
not to set up as their shield, and as the strongest fortress,
the aid which they expected from the Egyptians. Hence
the Prophet was constrained to cry out, not only once, or
ten times, but a hundred times, accursed is he who trusts in
man and makes flesh his arm."
1 Like the Hebrew, there is no need of the verb is, or be, after “ cursed,”
OHAP. XVII. 5,6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 345
This is however a general truth. We also, at this day,
advance general truths, which we apply to individual cases.
The spirit then declares here generally, that all are accursed
who trust in men. We indeed know that men are in vari-
ous ways deceived while they trust in men: they begin with
themselves, and seek in this and in that thing a ground of
security ; for every one is inflated with vain and false confi-
dence, either in his own prudence or dexterity or power.
There is then no one who does not trust in himself before
he trusts in others: I speak even of the most wretched. It
is indeed what men ought to be ashamed of; but there is
no one so contemptible but that he swells with some secret
pride, so that he esteems something in himself, and even
ascribes to himself some high dignity. Then they who seem
prudent in their own eyes take aids to themselves from every
quarter, and in these they acquiesce. But when men look
behind and before, they gather help to themselves from all
parts of the world: however their goings around are useless,
and not only so, but they turn out to their own destruction,
for God not only derides in this place the folly of them who
trust in flesh, but declares that they are accursed. This
curse of God ought to strike us with terror; for we hence
learn that God is highly displeased with all those who seek
their own salvation in the world and in creatures.
It is added, And from Jehovah turned away ts his heart.
Hypocrites draw this to their own advantage; for there is
no one who will not object and say, that he does not so
trust in man as to take away or diminish anything from the
glory of God. Were all asked, from the least to the greatest,
every one would boldly say that he leaves God’s honour
entire, and never wishes to take anything from it: this
would be the common saying. But yet, when confidence is
reposed in the flesh, God is deprived of his own honour.
These two things are no less contrary, the one to the other,
than light is to darkness. Hence the Prophet intended here
in Welsh: the sentence is more emphatical without it. In that language,
too, the future tense of “ trust” is understood as the present,—
Melldigedig y gur yr hwn a hydero mewn dyn.
It is a denunciation, not an imprecation; therefore “ be,” introduced
into the English version, is not proper.—Ed.
¢
* («af
ae a
1
=a
' p f
:
346 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVI.
to shew that these two things cannot be connected together—
to put confidence in the flesh and in God at the same time.
When water is blended with fire, both perish; so, when one
seeks in part to trust in God and in part to trust in men,
it is the same as though he wished to mix heaven and earth
together, and to throw all things into confusion. It is, then,
to confound the order of nature, when men imagine that they
have two objects of trust, and ascribe half of their salvation
to God, and the other half to themselves or to other men.
This is the meaning of the Prophet.
Let us then know that all those who place the least portion
of their hope in men do in part depart from God, and there-
fore turn aside from him. In short, the Holy Spirit declares,
briefly indeed, but very solemnly, that all are apostates and
deserters from God who turn to men and fix their hope in
them. But if this declaration be true as to the present life,
when we treat of eternal life, it is doubtless a twofold mad-
ness if we ascribe it, even in the smallest degree, either to
our own righteousness or to any other virtues. He who
looks for aid from men is pronounced accursed by God, even
when he expects from them what belongs to this frail life,
which soon vanishes ; but when we hope for eternal life and ~
the inheritance of heaven from ourselves or from other crea-
tures, how much more detestable it is? Let us then observe
this inference, so that the truth taught here by the Prophet
may keep us dependent on God only.
But here a question may be raised,— Are we not to hope
for help from those men whom God may employ to assist us,
and who are not only the instruments of his favour and aid,
but who are also as it were his hands? for whenever men
assist us, it is the same as though God stretched forth his
hands from heaven. Why, then, should we not look for aid
from men whom God has appointed as ministers of his favour
tous? But there is great emphasis in the word trust ; for
it is indeed lawful to look to men for what is given to them;
but we ought to trust in God alone, and to hope for all things
from him, as well as to pray for them: and this will here-
after appear more clearly. But we must now only briefly
observe, that when we seek from men what is given them by
CHAP. XVII. 5,6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 847
God, we detract nothing from his power, who chooses his
ministers as he pleases. But this is a rare thing; for when
anything is done to us by men, we forget God, and our
thoughts are drawn downwards to men, so that God loses a
part of his honour; and when anything, even the least, is
taken away from him, he condemns us, as we deserve. We
ought especially to observe what he declares here, that
turned away from him is the heart of man whenever he
places his hope in the flesh.
He adds a similitude for the purpose of confirming his
doctrine, He shall be like a tamarisk, or a juniper, as some
render it. The word WY, oror, means a copse. But the
Jews themselves are not agreed; some think it to be the
juniper, and others the tamarisk; but we may hold it as
certain that it was a useless shrub, not fruit-bearing: for
those Jews are mistaken, in my judgment, who consider it
to be the juniper, for some fruit grows on branches of that.
It was a shrub or a tree, as I think, unknown to us now.’
* It is rendered “ a wild tamarisk—dyeiuugixn,” by the Septuagint; “a
tamarisk,” by the Vulgate and the Targum; and “a log,” or “a trunk,”
by the Syriac. Gataker considers that no particular tree is meant, but
that it means a “solitary” or a “ barren” tree, agreeably, in his view,
_ with what is contrasted with it in the 8th verse. Blayney renders it,
“a blasted tree,” of which Horsley approves. The word is a reduplicate
of a verb, which means to be bare; and the wild tamarisk may suitably
be thus designated, as it bears a very few leaves. The idea of being
“blasted” is foreign to the word.
But Venema contends that the reference is not to any tree, but to a
person dwelling in solitude; and he renders the passage thus,—
And he shall be like the naked in solitude,
Nor shall he see when good cometh ;
And is like him who inhabits parched spots in the desert,
A land of salt and not inhabited. ;
The words “see” and “inhabit,” appear doubtless more suitable when
the passage is thus rendered; yet what is said of the “tree” in verse 8
is equally metaphorical. What seems most agreeable to the whole con-
text is such a rendering as follows :—
And he shall be like a bare tree in the desert,
Which perceives not when good cometh ;
For it inhabits parched spots in the wilderness,
The land of salt and not inhabited.
It is sometimes the case that it is proper in our language to render the
copulative 1 by “ which;” not that it properly means that, but the mean-
ing cannot be otherwise seen. The connection here is with the “ bare”
tree; it is bare, and perceives or knows not when good comes, for it
inhabits parched places. This seems to be the meaning.—Jd.
348 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVI.
Then he says that they were like shrubs which grow in the
desert, which see not fruitfulness, but dwell in droughts, in a
land of brine. The Hebrews call barren land the land of
brine or of salt: and he enlarges on the subject by saying,
Which is not inhabited : for where nothing grows there are
no inhabitants. The object of the Prophet, then, was merely
to shew, that their hopes who look to men would be vain ;
for God would frustrate them, so that they could never
succeed.
But we must notice also the other part of the simile;
for the Prophet does not compare the unbelieving to dry
branches, but to shrubs, which have roots, and bear the
appearance of having some life. Such are the unbelieving,
while success, as they say, smiles on them ; they think them-
selves happy, and so they become hardened in their own
false counsels, and reject, every instruction, and, as though
they were freed from the authority of God, they rejected all
his prophets. Hence the Prophet, conceding something to
them, says, that they were like shrubs, which indeed have
roots and leaves, but no fruit, and which also dry up when
heat comes. As then the heat of the sun consumes what-
ever moisture, beauty, and life, may appear in shrubs, so
also God would scorch and dry up the hopes of the unbe-
lieving, though they may think that they have roots to pre-
serve them and their life. A similar declaration is found in
Psalm cxxix. 6, where it is said that the unbelieving are
like the grass which grows on the housetops; for such grass
appears conspicuous in a high place, while the wheat grows
in the low fields, and is even trodden under foot; but that
grass, the more elevated it is, the sooner it dries up and
perishes without bringing forth any fruit; so also are the
unbelieving, who for a time glory and exult over God’s
children, and look down on them from their high place, be-
cause they are simple and lowly; but as from the corn
comes food to us, and that very corn is blessed, so also the
elect bring forth fruit in their low and despised condition,
while the unfaithful, who occupy elevated stations, vanish
away without producing any fruit. It is the same thing
that the Prophet means here. These two parts of tlie
re
CHAP. xvit. 7,8.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
349
comparison ought therefore to be particularly noticed. It
follows—
7. Blessed is the man that trust-
eth in the Lord, and whose hope
the Lord is:
8. For he shall be as a tree plant-
ed by the waters, and that spread-
eth out her roots by the river, and
shall not see when heat cometh, but
her leaf shall be green; and shall
not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding
fruit.
7. Benedictus vir qui confidit in
Jehova, et cujus est Jehova fiducia
(ad verbum, et erit Jehova fiducia
ejus :)
8. Et erit tanquam arbor plan-
tata prope aquas, et prope rivum
emittet (hoc est, que emittit) radi-
ces suas, et non videbit cum veniet
zstus, et erit folium ejus viride, et
anno prohibitionis non timebit, et
non desinet a faciendo fructu (hoe
est, a proferendo fructu.)
Observed ought to be the order which the Prophet keeps ;
for he could not have profitably spoken of this second part
had he not first taken away that false confidence to which
the Jews had long cleaved; for when any one casts seed
on an uncultivated soil, what fruit can there be to his
labour? As then it is necessary to make use of the plough
before the seed is sown, so also, when we seek to teach pro-
fitably, it is necessary to pull up the vices which have their
roots in the hearts of men; and this especially must be the
case when we treat of faith in God alone, and of sincere
calling on his name. And the Prophet had a particular
reason for what he did, because the Jews had long hardened
themselves in false confidences, so that they disregarded
God in two respects,—they despised his threatenings, and
also made no account of his gracious promises. The Prophet
then could have effected nothing had he not pursued this
method,—that is, to correct the evil by which they had been
long tainted ; for noxious weeds must be first taken away
before there can be any room for the corn to grow.
But had he spoken only negatively, that is, had he only
condemned their false confidence, it would not have been
sufficient. The Jews indeed might have said, that they had
been deceived in placing their hopes in the Egyptians; but
this might have happened through some bad men: and by
looking for aid elsewhere, when disappointed, they would
indeed have condemned their own counsels, but would yet
have remained in suspense and anxious, without seeking
en
, ee
’
350 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVI.
God. Hence we see how suitably the Prophet began by
condemning the Jews for placing confidence in men, and
then how wisely he added this second part; for, as I have
said, it was not enough to speak as it were negatively, with-
out inviting them to return to God. But this is often the
ease in the present day; for we see that many laugh at
those superstitions which have hitherto prevailed under the
Papacy ; but yet no religion appears in them. It is enough
for them to ridicule these mummeries ; but it would have been
better for them to be retained in the fear of God, even by
some superstition, than thus to expose evil, and yet to have
no reverence for God. It is the same absurdity as to pull
down a bad house and to leave man under the open air; for
what end can such a thing be done? for he who is compelled
to leave his house had something to cover him for a time.
Hence it is not sufficient to destroy what is bad, except a
good building succeeds.
This is the method and order which the Prophet observed :
After having said, that all they are accursed who confide in
men, he now adds, Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah ;
as though he had said, that men are wholly inexcusable in
relying on themselves or on others, when God willingly offers
himself to them. What then is it that prevents men from
having their safety secured? Their own sin in rejecting
the grace of God, which is freely offered to them ; but they
prefer to deceive themselves, and to ascribe to themselves
and to others what justly belongs to God alone.
We see then that the ingratitude of the whole world is
here condemned by the Prophet when he says, that all who
trust in Jehovah are blessed : for had God concealed himself
there would have been some covering for ignorance; and
also a defence of this kind might have been made,—“ What
else could we do? We sought the aid which was within our
reach: had God called us to himself or allowed us to come
to him, we would have been very willing ; but as he has for-
saken us, it was indeed the last refuge of despair to consider
what was to be done, and to seek from every quarter aids
for ourselves.” Hence the Prophet here shews that all such
defences were frivolous, for God had freely invited them to
te
CHAP. XVII. 7,8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 351
himself; for to no purpose would he have said, that they
are blessed who trust in Jehovah, had not God set himself
forth as their confidence.
But we must notice what farther confirms this sentence,
which is in itself very clear, And whose confidence Jehovah
is. No additional light seems to be given to the preceding
truth ; and then what ambiguity does it contain which re-
quires an explanation? Blessed is the man who trusts in
Jehovah; even children can understand this: the words, then,
of the Prophet are either superfluous, or there is some reason
why he repeats what is so clear. Doubtless the unbelief,
which every one of us finds in himself, is the best teacher ;
for even they who seem to have real confidence in God, yet
falter when some trial assails them. Since then it is a
common thing with us to look around to various quarters
when any danger is near, we may hence easily know that we
do not hope in God. What then seems to us so easy, we
find in reality to be very difficult: and hence the Prophet,
after having said, that they are blessed who trust in God,
has mentioned this in the second place, And whose hope is
God ; as though he had said, “ The world knows not what
it is to trust in God: though every one boldly testifies this,
and even boastingly declares that he trusts in God, yet not
one in a thousand finds that he understands this, or has ever .
known what it is from the heart to hope in God.” We now
see that this repetition is not superfluous or unmeaning.
He then adds a comparison, answerable to that in the
former clause, He shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
which sends its roots upon, or nigh the river, which shall not
see when heat comes. Here the Prophet points out the differ-
ence between the true servants of God, who trust in him, and
those who are inflated with their own false imaginations, so
that they seek safety either from themselves or from others:
he had said of the unbelieving, that they are like tamarisks,
which flourish for a time, but never bring forth any fruit,
and are also soon dried up by the heat; but he says now as
to the faithful, that they are like trees planted by the waters,
and send their roots to the river. The tamarisks have the
appearance of life, but there is no moisture in a dry soil ; so
, a
ea
852 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXVI.
their roots quickly dry up; but the servants of God, they
are planted, as it were, in a moist soil, irrigated continually
by streams of water. Hence the Prophet adds, that this
tree shall not see the heat when it comes.
He indirectly intimates that God’s children are not ex-
empt from adversities; for they feel the heat of the sun,
like trees, who are exposed to it; but moisture is supplied,
and the juice diffuses itself through all the branches: hence
the Prophet says, that the leaf was green, even by means of
the moisture which the earth supplied, being itself watered.
The Prophet then intimates, that though God’s children
feel great heats, as well as the unbelieving, for this is com-
mon to both, they shall yet be kept safe; for though the
sun dries up by its great heat, there is yet a remedy; for
the root has moisture, derived from the irrigation of water.
We now then see how suitable is every part of the com-
parison. He says farther, that it shall not be careful. The
verb ANT, dag, means to fear and to be careful; it means
also sometimes to grieve, and so some render it here, “ It
will not grieve:” but the other meaning seems better to
me,—that the tree planted nigh streams of waters is not
afraid of heat; and then he adds, nor shall it cease from
producing fruit.’
Nearly the same similitude is found in Psalm i. 3, only
that the fear of God and meditation on his law are men-
tioned, and not hope: “ Blessed is the man, &c., who medi-
1 The verbs here are all futures, but ought to be rendered in our lan-
guage, as they are in Syriac, in the present tense,—
And he shall be like a tree which is planted by waters,
And nigh the stream sends forth its roots,
Which perceives not when heat comes ;
And its leaf is flourishing,
And in the year of drought it suffers not,
And never ceases from bringing forth fruit.
The verb 38, when applied to the mind, means agitation, commotion,
trouble, disturbance: but here, as applied to a tree, it must mean a wither-
ing effect, a disturbance as to the process of growing. Joined with a
negative, it may therefore be rendered, “ it suffers not,” or, it withers not,
according to the Targum, which applies it to the leaf, but not correctly.
“Tt will not fear” is the rendering of the Septuagint; of the Vulgate,
“ it will not be careful,” as in our version; and of Blayney, “it is with-
out concern.” None of these give the secondary meaning of the verb,
which it evidently has here.—Ed.
,
CHAP. XV1I.9, 10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 353
tates on the law of God;’ but Jeremiah speaks here ex-
pressly of the hope which ought to be put in God alone.
Yet the two Prophets well agree together as to this truth,—
that all their hopes are accursed, by which men inebriate
themselves, while they seek salvation in themselves or in
the world, and make more account of their own counsels,
virtues, power, or the aids they expect from others, than of
God himself and of his promises: for he who really meditates
on the law of God day and night, well knows thereby, where
to put his trust for salvation, both temporal and eternal. It
follows—
9. The heart is deceitful 9. Insidiosum cor pre omnibus (super om-
above all things, and des- nia) et perversum (vertunt quidam; alii,
perately wicked: who can durum; alii, egrotum; possumus vertere, vi-
know it? tiosum, vel, morbidum ;) quis cognoscet illud ?
10. I the Lord search the 10. Ego Jehova exquirens (vel, explorans)
heart, 7 try the reins, even cor, examinans renes, ad dandum (id est,
to give every man accord- ut dem, ut reddam) cuique secundum vias
ing to his ways, and accord- ejus, secundum fructum operum ejus.
ing tothe fruit of his doings.
What is taught here depends on what is gone before; and
therefore they ought to be read together. Many lay hold
on these words and mutilate them without understanding
the design of the Prophet. This is very absurd: for we
ought first to see what the prophets had in view, and by
what necessity or cause they were led to speak, what was
their condition, and then the general doctrine that may be
gathered from their words. If we wish to read the prophets
with benefit, we must first consider the reason why a thing
is spoken, and then elicit a general doctrine. Thus we shall
be able rightly to apply this passage to a common use, if we
first understand why the Prophet said, that the heart of man
was imsidious. He wished, no doubt, to be more earnest
with the Jews; for he saw that they had so much wanton-
ness and obstinacy, that a simple and plain doctrine would
not have penetrated into their hearts. The declaration,
that they are accursed who trust in men, and that no
blessédness can be expected except we rely on God, ought
to have been sufficient to move them; but when he saw
that there was no sufficient power in such a declaration, he
added, “ I see how it is, the heart is wicked and vicious ; so
VOL. IL. Z
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354 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVI.
ye think that you have so much craftiness, that ye can with
impunity deride God and his ministers: J, says Jehovah, I
wil inquire and search; for it belongs to me to examine
the hearts of men.”
We hence see that there is an implied reproof, when he
says, that the heart is insidious and wicked; as though
he had said, “ Ye think yourselves in this instance wise; is
not God also wise?” Isaiah says ironically the same, “ Woe
to them who go down to Egypt and make secret covenants,
and who trust in horses, as though they could deceive me: ye
are wise, I also have a portion of wisdom.” (Isaiah xxxi. 1.)
Notice especially the expression, “ Ye are wise, &c.;” that
is, “ Ye are not alone wise ; leave to me some portions of
wisdom, so that I may be wise like yourselves.” So also in
this place, “ Ye are deceitful and insidious, and think that
I can be deceived:” for astute men are ever pleased with
their own counsels, and seek to deceive God with mere
trumperies. “ Ye are,” he says, “ very cunning; but I, Je-
hovah, will search both your hearts and your reins.” I can-
not finish the whole to-day.
1 The early versions and the Targum are neither consistent nor satis-
factory as to the beginning of this verse: “ Deep is the heart above all
things, and it is man,” Septuagint ; “ Depraved is the heart of all, and
inscrutable,” Vulgate; “ Hard in heart is man above all things,” Syriae;
«“ The heart, deeper than anything, is human,” Arabic; “ Deceitfal is the
heart above all things, and it is strong,” Targum. Correct, no doubt, is
the first clause in the Targum, but not the last.
Critics agree as to the first word, “ deceitful,” but not as to the word
rendered in our version “ desperately wicked.” It occurs in all nine times,
and four times in other parts of Jeremiah, ch. xv. 18; xvii. 16; xxx. 12,
15; and it is rendered “incurable,” except in ch. xvii. 16. It means to
be so bad as to be past endurance or past remedy. Bla renders it
here, “ past all hope;” and Horsley, “incurable,” which is perhaps the
best word,—
Deceitful the heart above every thing,
And incurable it is, who can know it ?
The meaning is, that it is incurably deceitful; hence the question, * Who
can know it ?”—Ed,
CHAP, xviI. 9,10, COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 355
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are wholly nothing and less than
nothing, we may know our nothingness, and haying cast away
all confidence in the world as well as in ourselves, we may learn
to flee to thee as suppliants, and so put our trust in thee for our
present life and for eternal salvation, that thou alone mayest be
glorified: and may we be devoted to thee through the whole
_ course of our life, and so persevere in humility and in calling on
thy name, that thou mayest not only for once bring us help, but
that we may know that thou art always present with those who
truly and from the heart call upon thee, until we shall at length
be filled with the fulness of all those blessings, which are laid up
for us in heaven by Christ our Lord.—Amen.
Lecture Sixty-Sebenth.
We began yesterday to explain that passage where the
Prophet says, that the heart is insidious, or fallacious and
wicked, so that no one can penetrate into those deceits
which are concealed within it. We referred to the Prophet’s
object in saying this,—that the Jews might know that their
cunning was in vain, while they hid their thoughts as it
were under the earth, that is, while they thought that by
their false pretences they could, deceive God as well as
men.
He says then what he takes as granted, “ I know that you
have a fallacious heart.” This indeed they did not allow;
for they made a specious pretext and boasted of their wis-
dom, and not of deceit and guile. But the Prophet speaks
plainly and expresses the fact as it was, “There is in you,”
he says, “ a fallacious and a wicked heart: hence is the con-
fidence, which inebriates you; for ye think that your de-
ceits cannot be discovered.” Then in astonishment he asks,
Who can search it? but’ the answer immediately follows,
I—I Jehovah ; that is, “It belongs to one to search the
heart and the reins, and*so nothing can escape me.”’ The
? The beginning of this verse is an answer to the previous question,
“ Who can know it?’ The best rendering would be this,—
I Jehovah,—who search the heart and try the reins,
And that in order to give to every man
According to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.—Fd.
Bi
356 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVII.
meaning then is, that when men try to deceive God, they
gain nothing, for God knows how to take the wise in their
own craftiness, and to discover all their guiles and deceits.
Then he adds for what end is this done, That I may render
to every one according to his ways, according to the frutt of
his works.
By these words he means that they, after having for a
long time made many evasions, would yet be brought to
judgment, willing or unwilling ; for they could not possibly
deprive God of his right, that he should not be the judge of
the world, and thus render to each the reward of his own
works: for the Prophet does not speak of merits or of vir-
tues, but only shews that how much soever the ungodly
might hide themselves, they could not yet escape the tribu-
nal of God, but that they must at last render an accoum
to him.
We may further gather from this passage a general truth,
—that the recesses of the heart are so hidden, that no judg-
ment can be formed of man by any human being. We in-
deed know that there are appearances of virtue in many;
but it belongs to God alone to search the hearts of men and
to try the reins. Rashly then do many form an estimate of
man’s character according to their own apprehensions or the
measure of their own knowledge ; for the heart of man is
ever false and deceitful. If any one objects and says, that
Jeremiah speaks of the Jews then living, there is an answer
given by Paul, “ Whatsoever things are written in the Law
pertain to all” (Rom. xv. 4.) Described then is here the
character of all mankind, until God regenerates his elect.
As then there is no purity except from the Spirit of God, as
long as men continue in their own nature, their hearts are
full of deceits and frauds. So the fairest splendour is no-
thing but hypocrisy, which is abominable in the sight of God.
Let us proceed—
11. As the partridge sitteth on 11. Perdix que congregat et non
eggs, and hatcheth them not ;sohe parit, qui facit (hoc est, acquirit, vel,
that getteth riches, and not by comparat) divitias, idque non in ‘9
right, shallleavethem in the midst dicio (id est, non recté) in medio
of his days, and at his end shall be rum suorum relinquet illas, et in ea.
a fool. itu suo erit nihili.
a | ae
~
CHAP. XVII. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 357
The Prophet no doubt intended only to shew that those who
enriched themselves by unlawful means, or heaped together
great wealth, would yet be subject to the curse of God, so
that whatever they may have got through much toil and
labour would vanish away from them ; for God would empty
them of all they possessed, There is therefore no ambiguity
in the meaning of the Prophet, or in the subject itself. But
as to the words, interpreters do not agree: the greater part,
however, incline to this view,—That as the partridge gathers
the eggs of others, which she does not hatch, so also he who
accumulates wealth, shall at length have nothing, for God
will deprive him. But the passage seems to me to be plainly
this,— Whosoever makes, or procures or acquires, riches,
and that not by right, that is, not rightly nor honestly, but
by wicked and artful means, shall leave them in the midst of
his days, and at last shall be of no account, or shall be a
mockery: for b55, nabal, means a thing of nought ; some
render it fool, and rightly, for so it often means.
But there is a similitude employed, As the partridge
gathers eggs and produces not. To produce may be here ex-
plained in two ways; it may be applied to the pullets or to
the eggs. Some consider the word, NP, kora, to be mas-
culine: then it is, The partridge, that is, the male, gathers,
or lays on eggs which he has not produced, or did not lay.
But to produce may also mean to hatch,’
1 It is evident from 1 Sam. xxvi. 20, that the partridge is meant; and
it appears from a quotation which Parkhurst makes from Buffon, under
the word 87), that the red partridge is referred to here; for the male of
the red kind in eastern countries sits on eggs as well as the female. This
explains what appears intricate in this passage; for the word is mascu-
line, and the verbs are in the same gender. What is here stated respect-
ing the partridge is what often happens, the nest being often disturbed ;
and then the eggs become useless. It is a case of this kind that is here
referred to,—
A partridge sitting and not hatching,
Js he who gets wealth, and not by right ;
In the midst of his day shall he leave it,
And at his end shall be a fool.
The reason why the partridge sits and hatches not, is intimated in the
second clause, when it is said that the getter of wealth leaves it in the midst
of his day: various things often compel the partridge to leave its eggs,
such as dogs, cattle, &c.: and then nothing is brought forth. So the rich
man is constrained to quit his wealth before he derives any benefit from
it. This seems to be the comparison.—£d.
358 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVII-
It may be now asked, how can this similitude be applied
to the subject in hand? The Rabbins, according to their
practice, have devised fables; for they imagine that the
partridge steals all the eggs of other birds which she can find,
and gathers them into one heap; and then that the pullets,
when hatched, fly away, as by a certain hidden instinet,
they understand that it is not their mother. But neither
Aristotle nor Pliny say any such thing of partridges. They
indeed say that the bird is full of cunning, and mention
several instances; but they refer to no such thing as that
the partridge collects thus stealthily its eggs. These things
then are fables, which it would be very absurd to believe.
But it is said of partridges with one consent, by Aristotle
and Pliny, as well as by others, that it isa very lustful bird.
So great is their lust, that the males seek after the eggs, and
lest the females should lay on them, they break them with
their beaks or scatter them with their feet. There is also,
as they say, great lust in the females, but a greater concern
for their brood: they therefore hide their eggs, except when
lust at times compels them to return to the males ; and then
they lay their eggs in their presence ; and the male, when
it finds an egg, breaks it with his feet. Hence great is the
difficulty to protect the brood ; for before the female hatches
the eggs, they are often forced out by the male. I doubt
not therefore but that the real meaning of the Prophet is
this,—that while partridges so burn with love to their brood,
they are at the same time led away by their own lust, and ~
that while they conceal their eggs, the male cunningly steals
them, so that their labour proves useless. Now the Prophet
says, “that all those who accumulate riches in an unjust
manner are like partridges ; for they are compelled to leave
riches unlawfully got in the midst of their days.” The pur-
There are many MSS. and the marginal reading, in favour of “ days”
for “day :” but the latter is more poetical: man’s day is his life. “A
fool,”—so the versions, and more suitable here than any other word: he
will then appear to all to have acted foolishly and not wisely ; and he will
find himself to have so acted, though he thougbt himself before to be very
wise,
Some consider the word to be a proper name, Nabal, whose history we
have in 1 Sam. xxv. 10-39; and they render the line thus,—
And at his end shall be a Nabal.—-Ed.
tal
CHAP. XVII. 11. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 859
port of the whole is, that whosoever seeks to become rich by
means of injustice and wrong, will be exposed to the curse
of God, so that at last he will not enjoy his ill-gotten
wealth.
If any one will object and say, that many who are avari-
cious, perfidious and rapacious, do enjoy their riches: I an-
swer, that there is no true enjoyment, when there is no use
made of them and no security for them. If we duly consi-
der how the avaricious possess what they have plundered,
we shall find that they always gape for more plunder and
are like the partridges ; for they lay eggs as it were, and yet
no fruit appears. Before any fruit is brought forth, or at
least before it comes to them, they become destitute in the
midst of their days. And though God permits them to hold
hidden riches, yet they derive, as it is well known, no benefit
from them: nay, their cupidity, as it is insatiable, is a drop-
sy ; for they are always thirsty ; and the very mass of wealth
so inflames their avarice, that the richest of them has less
than he who is contented with a*moderate and even with a
small fortune. It is then certain, that those who, even to
death, possess ill-gotten wealth, do not yet really enjoy it ;
for they always lay on their eggs, and yet, as I have said,
they derive no benefit. And then the more remarkable
judgment of God may be noticed ; for in a moment the rich-
est are reduced to the extremest poverty ; and though they
think to make their children happy by leaving them a large
patrimony, they yet leave them nothing but what proves to
be snares to them all their life, and turns to their ruin.
However this may be, experience sufficiently proves the
truth of the old proverb, “ What is ill-got is ill-spent.” And
this is what the Prophet means, when he compares to par-
tridges those who accumulate riches, not by right, as he
Bays.
An exception is to be here noticed ; for a just man may
become rich, as God made Abraham rich ; but he became not
rich by frauds and plunder and cruelty: the blessing of God
made him rich. But they who by wrong and injustice ac-
cumulate wealth must necessarily at length be destroyed by
God.
360 Ne COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LEOT. LXVII,
He says first, In the midst of his days shall he leave them ;
that is, even while he has money shut up in his chest, while
he has his granaries and his cellars full, even then his wealth
shall vanish away. We see that where there is the greatest
abundance, the master himself is hungry and famishing; he
cannot eat so as to satisfy his hunger, while he could feed
hundreds. Thus then his wealth disappears and vanishes in
his hands. He afterwards adds, at his end he will be nothing,
or he will be a mockery, or he will be a fool. The world in-
deed esteems those alone wise, who are provident, who are
attentive to their own gain, and who plunder on every side,
and tenaciously hold what has once come to their hands;
but the Lord here condemns them all for their folly and
vanity. I think, at the same time, that the slaves of money
are here called men of nought and contemptible. It fol-
lows :—
12. A glorious high throne 12. Solium gloriz excelsum (vel, cel-
from the beginning is the place situdo; DIN enim tam adjective capitur
of our sanctuary, quam substantive) ab initio locus sane-
tuarii nostri.
No doubt the Prophet refers to the singular favour which
God granted the Jews, when he chose for himself an habita-
tion among them. It was an incomparable honour when
God was pleased to dwell in the midst of that people.
Hence the Prophet exclaims, that the throne of glory and of
loftiness was the place of his sanctuary, which God had
chosen in that land. But we must understand the design
of the Prophet ; for the Holy Spirit sometimes commemo-
rates the blessings of God, to raise the minds of men to con-
fidence, or to rouse them to make sacrifices of praise. Here
is then a twofold object, when the Scripture sets before us
the blessings of God; it is first, that we may be fully per-
suaded, that he will be always a father to us, for he who
begins is wont to bring his work to an end, according to
what is said in Psalm exxxviii. 8, “The work of thine hands
thou wilt not forsake.” And then, the Scripture sometimes
encourages us to render thanks to God, when it shews how
bountifully he has dealt with us. But here is a reproof when
the Prophet says, that the glorious throne of God was among
CHAP. XVII. 12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAN. 361
the Jews, as though God appeared there openly and in a
visible form ; for Judea, so to speak, was as it were a terres-
trial heaven; for God had consecrated to himself mount
Sion, that he might dwell there.
We now then understand why the Prophet here extols the
dignity to which God had raised the Jews, when he had
commanded a temple for himself to be built on mount Sion.
Some will have a particle of comparison to be understood,
“ As a throne of glory ;” that is, as heaven itself in height,
so is the place of our sanctuary ; but we may take the words
simply as they are. We must at the same time repudiate
the Rabbinical comment,—that God before the creation of
the world had built the temple, as he had appointed the
Messiah and other things. But these are foolish trifles. Yet
this passage has afforded the Jews an occasion for fabling ;
for it is said from the beginning, WWD, merashun. If the
throne of God, that is, the sanctuary, [they say] was from
the beginning, it then follows that it was created before
heaven and earth. But this is disproved by this single
consideration,—that he speaks not here of time but of the
order of things, and that that order is not according to the
essence of things, but according to the providence of God.
From the beginning then was the throne of God glorious
in Judea, even because God in his eternal counsel had de-
termined to choose the race of Abraham, and then to raise
up in that nation the throne of David, and from thence to
extend salvation to the whole world.’ Predestination there-
fore is the antiquity of the throne of which the Prophet
now speaks. Hence the most suitable view is this,—that
God had honoured the Jews with a singular privilege, be-
cause he had purposed to dwell among them, not otherwise
? If we connect “ from the beginning” with the following words, and not
with “high,” which seems to give a better meaning, we shall get rid of the
Rabbinical figment: and it seems also right to join with this verse the first
words in the next, as it has been done by the Septuagint,—
A throne of glory on high,
Is from the beginning the place of our sanctuary,—
The hope of Israel.
Or we may render the first line thus,—
The glorious throne of the most high.
For so we find O19) rendered in Psalm lvi. 2.— Ed.
862 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVII.
than in heaven, so that their condition became more excel-
lent than all human glory. It now follows,—
13. O Lord, the hope of 13. Spes (vel, expectatio) Israel Jeho-
Israel, all that forsake thee va, quicunque abs te discedunt (vel, qui
shall be ashamed, and they that te derelinquunt, P\3IY ; hoe verbo nuper
depart from me shall be written fuerat usus de perdicibus loquens) pude-
in the earth, because they have fient; qui deficiunt 4 me in terra scriben-
forsaken the Lord, the fountain tur; quia dereliquerunt (idem est ver-
of living waters. bum) fontem aquarum viventium Jeho-
vam.
It appears more clear from this verse why the Prophet
had commended before the excellency of his own nation,
even that by the comparison their impiety might appear less
excusable; for the more bountiful God had dealt with them,
the more atrocious was their sin of ingratitude. As then
the Jews had been raised high, so that their elevation ap-
peared eminent through the whole world, the more detestable
became their contumacy against God, and also their ingra-
titude in rejecting and despising a favour so remarkable,
when they forsook him and followed idols, vain hopes, and
their own false counsels. It is the same as though the Pro-
phet had said,—“ What does it avail you, that God dwells
among you, and that the Temple is as it were his earthly
habitation, where he converses familiarly with you? what
benefit is this to you ? for no one accepts of this favour; nay,
we wilfully, and as it were designedly, cast away from us
this kindness which is freely offered to us.”
- We hence see that all this ought to be read together,—
that the throne of God was in Judea, but thatthe people in
the meantime malignantly and wickedly rejected the favour
offered them.
But the Prophet turns to God, that he might rouse the
Jews, for such was their perverseness that he in vain taught
them. And he says, Jehovah, the expectation of Israel ! who-
soever forsake thee shall be.made ashamed ; as though he
had said,—‘‘ The ungodly multitude which accepts not the
dignity by which our race excels all other nations, receives
no benefit. God indeed dwells in the midst of us, but hardly
one in a hundred cleaves to him ; nay, almost all treacher-
ously forsake him ; but notwithstanding all their glory, they
CHAP. XVII. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 363
shall be made ashamed who thus reject the kindness of God.”
The Prophet, in short, reminds the Jews how vainly and pre-
sumptuously they gloried, because God had adopted their
race ; for a reciprocity was required, so that they were to
respond to God and receive his benefits. But when they
perversely rejected his favour, what could have remained for
them ?
Hence he says, Ashamed shall all they be made who for-
sake thee. By the word forsake, he intimates that the Jews
had been favoured by God; for this could not have been
said in the same sense, and in an equal degree of the heathens,
as the heathens had never been gathered by God into one
body ; but the Jews alone had enjoyed this favour. When
therefore he had manifested himself to them, and testified
that he would be their Father, he was forsaken by them.
This defection, of which the Jews alone were guilty, is
noticed, because God had sought them for himself; he had
also come to them, and made with them a covenant. As
then they were thus brought nigh to God, this defection was
the more execrable. This is what the Prophet means.
He now adds, And they who depart shall be written in the
earth. Literally it is, “ Who depart from me;” but the 4, zod,
at the end, as many think, is a servile letter. And some
think that the word is a verb, and that the, cod, at the be-
ginning denotes the future tense, and they regard the %, zod,
at the end to be for }, vaw, 11D, tsuru, “ Who depart.”
Others suppose it to be a noun, and read “\D", zsuri, for
DD), vasurim.' As to the meaning, it is evident that the
Prophet designed here to shake off from the Jews the vain
glory with which they were inflated, when they boasted that
they were the people of God, the holy race of Abraham, the
royal priesthood ; all these things he ridicules as vain, as
1 The reading of the Keri and of many MSS. is no doubt to be adopted,
and the final D, as is sometimes the case, is dropped. It would then be,
according to the Septuagint, DD). Our version is the Vulgate. I would
connect “ earth” or land with this word,—
And apostates in the land shall they be recorded.
This would be their designation; they were to be handed down to pos-
terity as apostates in the very land which God gavethem. The reason why
the D is dropped is the connection of the word with “land,” though pre-
ceded by 2.—£d.
t.! i “
7 a
364 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVIL.
though he had said,—“ Away with all these boastings, which
are all false ; ye are apostates, therefore your name shall be
written in the earth.” No doubt the earth here is set in
opposition to heaven; and Scripture sometimes says, that
the name of the wicked shall be a reproach on earth, But
as they often acquire a celebrated and honourable name on
earth, the Prophet makes a concession and says, “ Be it so;
let the world regard you as the holy race of Abraham, the
blessed seed and the chosen people ; let, in short, every one
of you claim for himself whatever he pleases, but your name
shall be on earth, and shall be blotted out from heaven ;
there will be no inheritance above for you, no portion in the
kingdom of God.” He in short intimates, that the Jews
would have no place before God and his angels, for they
were unworthy that God should regard them as his children,
since they had wickedly denied him. He then grants them
a name on earth ; but it is the same as though he had said,
that they wickedly lied in boasting that they were a chosen
people, since they themselves, as far as they could, obliter-
ated the election of God.
He afterwards adds, Because they have forsaken Jehovah,
the fountain of living waters. The Prophet confirms what
he had said, lest the Jews should think that they were too
severely rebuked, when he said that their name was blotted
out from heaven: Ye have forsaken, he says, the fountain of
living waters. “What does this mean? God (according to
what is said in the second chapter) manifested himself to you;
is there not in him a full and sufficient happiness for you?
What more can be sought for by a mortal man than to enjoy
his God, in whom there is the fulness of all blessings? God
has offered himself to you, and his bounty has ever been ex-
tended to you, as though he were a fountain from which
you might draw enough to satisfy you; but ye have forsaken
this fountain. You must therefore perish through thirst,
and justly so, for your ingratitude has been so great as to
despise these remarkable and invaluable favours of God.”
It now follows—
14. Heal me, O Lord. and I shall 14. Sana me Jehova, et sanabor ;
be healed; save me, and I shall be serva me, et salvus ero; quia laus
saved: for thou art my praise. mea tu es.
CHAP. XVII. 14. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 365
Here the Prophet, as though terrified, hides himself under
the wings of God, for he saw that apostasy and every kind
of wickedness prevailed everywhere throughout the land ;
he saw that the principal men of his nation were wicked de-
spisers of God, and that they vainly boasted of their own
descent, while yet destitute of all care for justice and up-
rightness. When therefore he saw that the land was thus
infected, in order that fainting might not overcome him, he
presents himself to God, as though he had said, “ What shall
become of me, Lord? for Iam here surrounded with wicked-
ness; wherever I turn I find nothing but what allures and
leads me away from true religion and the sincere worship of
thy name. What then will be the case if thou forsakest
me? I shall be immediatcly seized, and it will be all over
with me, for there is no safety in the whole land, and no
healing: it is as though pestilence prevailed, so that no one
ean go forth lest he should meet with some contagion.” Thus
the Prophet in this passage, on seeing the whole land so
polluted with crimes that there was not a corner free from
them, flees to God for help, and says, “ O Lord, I cannot be
safe except thou keep me; I cannot be pure except my
purity comes from thee.” We now understand the design
of the Prophet, and how this verse is connected with the
preceding verses.
He says first, Heal me, and I shall be healed ; as though
he had said that he was now diseased, having contracted a
taint from corrupt practices. He therefore seeks healing
from God alone, and through his gracious help. And for
the same reason he adds that then only he should be safe
when saved by God.
We are taught by these words, that whenever stumbling-
blocks come in our way, we ought to call on God with in-
creasing ardour and earnestness. For every one of us must
well know his own infirmity; even when we have not to
fight, our own weakness does not suffer us to stand uncor-
rupted ; how then will it be with us, when Satan assails our
faith with his most cunning devices? While therefore we
now see all things in the world in a corrupted state, so that
we are allured by a thousand things from the true worship
366 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVII.
of God, let us learn by the example of the Prophet to hide
ourselves under the wings of God, and to pray that he may
heal us, for we shall not only be apparently vicious, but
many corruptions will immediately devour us, except God
himself bring us help. Hence the worse the world is, and
the greater the licentiousness of sin, the more necessity there
is for praying God to keep us by his wonderful power, as it
were in the very regions of hell.
A general truth may be also gathered from this passage,
that it is not in man to stand or to keep himself safe, so.as
to be preserved, but that this is the peculiar kindness of
God ; for if man had any power to preserve himself, so as to
continue pure and unpolluted in the midst of corruptions,
no doubt Jeremiah would have been endued with such a
gift; but he confesses that there is no hope of healing and
of salvation, except through the special favour of God. For
what else is healing but purity of life? as though he had
said, “O Lord, it is not in me to preserve that integrity
which thou requirest :” and hence he says, Heal me, and I
shall be healed. And then, when he speaks of salvation, he
no doubt intended to testify, that it is not enough for the
Lord to help us once or for a short time, except he continues
to help us to the end. Therefore the beginning, as well as
the whole progress of salvation, is here ascribed by him to —
God. It hence follows that all that the sophists vainly talk
about free-will 1s reduced to nothing. They indeed confess
that it is not in man’s power to.save himself; but they after-
wards pull down and subvert what they seem to confess, for
they say that the grace of the Spirit concurs with free-will,
and that man saves himself while God is co-operating with
him. But all this is mere trifling; for the Prophet here not
only implores help, and prays God to succour his infirmity,
but he confesses that it is God’s work alone to heal and to
save him.
And this he further confirms by saying, Thou art my
praise ;* for he thus declares that he effected nothing, but
* Both the object and the ground of praise: Thou art he whom I praise
or glorify; or, Thou art he who givest me an occasion to praise. “ Thou
art my boasting (««#t~2ue,”) is the Septuagint. —Ed.
CHAP, XVI. 15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 367
that all the praise for his salvation was due alone to God;
for how can God be said to be our praise, except when we
glory in him alone? according to what is said in the ninth
chapter. If men claim even the least thing for themselves,
they cannot call God their praise. The Prophet then ac-
knowledges here that he contributed nothing towards the
preservation of his purity, but that this was wholly the work
of God. And then he confirms his own hope, as he doubted
not but he would be heard by God, for he asks of him what-
ever was necessary for his salvation.
We have then this general rule, that if we desire to obtain
from him the beginning and the end of our salvation, his
praise must be given to him, so that we may glory in him
alone. If then we own ourselves destitute of all power, and
flee to God under the consciousness of such a want, we shall
doubtless obtain whatever is needful for us; but if we are
inflated with the conceit of our own power, or of our own
righteousness, the door is closed against us. We now then
see the benefit of this confirmation ; it assures the faithful
that they shall find in God whatever they may want, for
they do not obscure the glory of God by transferring to
themselves what peculiarly belongs to him, but confess that
in him dwells what they cannot find in themselves. The
rest I defer till to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that we may learn, whether in want or in
abundance, so to submit ourselves to thee,*that it may be our
only and perfect felicity to depend on thee and to rest in that
salvation, the experience of which thou hast already given us,
until we shall reach that eternal rest, where we shall enjoy it in
all its fulness, when made partakers of that glory, which has
been procured for us by the blood of thine only-begotten Son,—
Amen.
Lecture Sixty-Cighth.
15. Behold, they say unto me, Where _15. Ecce ipsi dicunt mihi, Ubi
is the word of the Lord? let it come now. est sermo Jehove ? veniat nunc.
Here Jeremiah complains of the obstinate contempt of
368 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVIIL
the people; he found them not only uncourteous but even
petulant towards God, so that they hesitated not to diseredit
all prophecies, to despise the promises, and boldly to reject
all threatenings. The Prophet had often threatened them ;
and when God delayed the time, they made a wrong use of
his forbearance, as it is commonly the case with the repro-
bate. Nor did they deem it enough even to add sins to
sins, but they openly and petulantly provoked God, “ Where
is the word? many years have now elapsed since thou hast
continually spoken of war, of famine, and of pestilence; but
we still remain quiet, and God spares us; where then is the
word of Jehovah, which thou hast announced ?”
We now then see how great was the wilfulness of this
people, for the teaching of Jeremiah became not only useless
but was treated with ridicule. They had however heard
much before from the mouth of Isaiah, “ Alas! when the
Lord calls you to ashes and sackcloth, ye say, “Let us eat
and drink, to-morrow we shall die” “ As I live, saith the
Lord, not forgiven to you shall be this iniquity.” (Isaiah
xxii. 12-14.) God then had sworn by his own glory that
their sin would be inexpiable, because they continued obsti-
nately in their vices, and were in no degree terrified by the
threatenings of the prophets. We however see that they
ever became worse and worse. Isaiah was dead when they
thus spoke in contempt and mockery, Where is the word of
Jehovah ? let it now come, as though they designedly pro-
voked God, like one who despises his enemy, and says, “Oh!
thou art indeed’ to be dreaded, if thou art to be believed ;
let us now see thy power, shew to us what thou canst do.”
Thus contemptibly did they utter their scoffs, when God by
his servants made known to them the approaching ruin which
they deserved. We see, in short, that the Prophet shews here
that they had come to a hopeless state.’ It follows—
16. As for me, I have not hastened from 16. Ego autem non festin-
being a pastor to follow thee: neither have avi, ut essem pastor post te, et
I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: diem doloris non concupivi, tu
that which came out of my lips was right nosti: quod egressum est élabiis
before thee. meis, coram facie tua fuit.
1 The Targum thus paraphrases the verse,—
Behold they say to me, “ Where is what thou hast prophesied in the
name of the Lord? let it be now confirmed.”
CHAP. Xv1I.16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 3869
The Prophet here implores God as his defender, having
found his own nation so refractory, that they could in no
way be brought toa right mind. There is yet no doubt but
he intended to double their fear in thus testifying that he
brought nothing of his own, but faithfully executed the
command of God, that he did not presumptuously undertake
the office of a teacher, but obeyed the call of God, as though
he had said, that they (as we shall find in another place) did
not resist a mortal man, but God himself. He therefore re-
fers the matter to God, as though he had said, “ Contend
with God; for what have I to do with you, or you with me?
For I do not plead my own cause, nor came I forth through
any desire of my own; but as God has committed to me this
office, it was necessary for me to obey. As then I am only
* the instrument of God, what will you at last gain after
having quarrelled ever so rauch? No doubt God will shew
that he is an adversary to you, and can ye conquer him ?”
We now understand the object of the Prophet.
But we have said elsewhere that the Prophet fled to God
when he found no equity or rectitude in the world; yea,
when all were deaf and so blinded that there was no hope of
obtaining notice. When therefore men are thus perverted in
their minds, we must necessarily have recourse to God. So
the Prophet does now, as he had done before, leaving men he
addresses his words to God ; and this kind of apostrophe has
more force than if he had charged them with perverseness.
But I, he says, I have not hastened. Here interpreters
differ ; for ys, auts, means sometimes to hasten, and some-
times to be slow, two contrary things. It signifies also to
be careful and to abominate or to dislike ; and so some ren-
der it here, “I have not disliked, so as not to become a
pastor ;” for 15, men, in Hebrew is often taken as a nega-
tive. Others give this version, “I have not been careful,”
or anxious, “I have not cared to become a pastor.” But a
meaning more suitable to the context may be given to the
words, that the Prophet hastened not, for it follows, and I
have not coveted. These two expressions, ‘H¥N N°, la atsati,
Their language was similar to that of those mentioned in 2 Peter iii. 4.
d.
VCL. IT. poe |
370 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXVIIT.
and “AYWHN wd, la ethaviti, correspond the one with the
other, “I have not hastened,” and, “1 have not coveted ;”
and both is a denial of his temerity. Many indeed thrust
themselves, as we shall see in the twenty-third chapter,
without being called by God; they run of themselves, and
are led astray by foolish imaginations.
The Prophet says first, that he had not hastened to be a
pastor after God, literally ; for many are ruled by ambition,
which leads them to undertake more than what is right for
them, and they do not regard what may please God. Hence
the Prophet says in the first place, that he had not hastened,
and then that he had not coveted, which is not different in
meaning, but is a confirmation of the same thing. But let
us first bear in mind that he thus proves the impiety of the
people, for they fought against God himself the author of
his call. How so? had he hastened, that is, had he through
foolish zeal obtruded himself, the Jews might have justly
contended with him, and might have done so with impunity;
but as he had waited for the call of God, they had no
ground to contend with him, and by opposing the servant
of God, they discovered their own impiety.’
Jeremiah prescribes here a law for all prophets and teach-
ers, and that is, that they are not to aspire to this office as
many do, who, as we have already said, are guided by am-
bition. He then alone is to be deemed a lawful minister
1 It is singular how variously the early versions and the Turgum have
rendered the first half of this verse. Various, too, have been the opinions
- of critics. The first verb means to hasten, in a transitive, and in an intran-
sitive sense, to wrge, and to be urgent, forward, or hasty. It is used here
evidently intransitively. Then the literal rendering seems to be this,—
But I a not been more forward than a pastor after thee, ov follow-
ing thee.
The meaning seems to be, that he did not exceed his commission; and this
is confirmed by the latter part of the verse. The preposition 9 has often
the meaning of “ more than,” or above.
The word “ woeful” is the same with what is rendered “ desperately
wicked” in verse 9. Its meaning is, to be bad beyond recovery; and when
applied to day, it may be properly rendered “irretrievable.” 1 thus ren-
der the two lines,—
But I—I have not been forwarder than a pastor following thee,
And the irretrievable day have I not desired.
This day was the day of exile which he kad foretold. Then the words,
“ thou knowest,” stand connected with what follows. —Zd.
OHAP. XVII. 16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 371
and prophet of God and a teacher in his church who is not
led by the impulse of his own flesh, nor by inconsiderate
zeal, but to whom God extends his hand, and who. being
called obeys. The beginning then is obedience, if we wish
to become lawful teachers. This is one thing.
In the second place he shews, that those who are called
to the office of teaching are not endued with a sovereign
power, so that they can announce whatever pleases them,
but that they are pastors for God. God indeed would have
his prophets to take the lead, so as to point out the way to
the rest of the people, and he thus honours them with no
common dignity. He would have them to be heads or
leaders, or ensign-bearers, but still he himself retains his
own peculiar honour; hence no one ever so presides over
God’s Church as to be the chief pastor, for God takes away
nothing from himself by transferring the office of teaching
to his ministers, but on the contrary he remains complete in
his own authority. In short, he does not resign, as they
say, his own right, but substitutes those who teach in his
own place, and in such a way as still to retain what pecu-
liarly belongs to him. Hence these words ought to be care-
fully noticed, J have not hastened to become a pastor after
thee, that is, that he might follow God. Whosoever then
takes so much liberty as not to follow God, but is carried
away by his own spirit, is to be repudiated, and deserves
not to be reckoned among lawful pastors.
But this passage seems to militate against what is de-
clared by Paul when he says, that he who desires the episco-
pate seeks an excellent work. (1 Tim. iii. 1.) Paul does
not there condemn, it is said, the desire, he only reminds us
how difficult and arduous is the office of a bishop. To this
we may readily answer, that Paul there does not speak of
that foolish ardour by which many are inflamed, while they
do not consider.their own abilities, or rather their own weak-
ness ; but he says, that if any offers himself to God for the
office of teaching, he is to think and duly to consider that
it is no common work. He ought then rather to restrain
himself, while bearing in mind how difficult it is to fulfil all
the dutics of a good bishop. But Jeremiah here refers to
372 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVIII.
what we have seen in the first chapter, for he even dreaded
the prophetic office, and confessed that he was not able to
speak. As then he alleged his own stammering, he was
very far from having any corrupt desire. There is then
nothing inconsistent in the words, that Jeremiah did not
desire the office of a pastor, and that whosoever desires the
episcopate desires an excellent work.
He now adds a confirmation, Zhe day of grief, he says,
have I not desired. Some think the verb to be passive, but
I have rendered it with others as an active verb, yet some
read, “ And the day of affliction, or of sorrow, has not been
wished for by me.” But there is, in reality, no difference.
He confirms what he had said, for he saw clearly, when God
chose him a Prophet, that he would be drawn into hard con-
tests ; “ Why, he says, should I covet the prophetic office ?
It would have been an insane ambition.” He found out
from the very beginning the consequence of undertaking
the office, that he had to contend with the whole people, yea,
with every one of them, “ I knew how great would be their
stubbornness, and how great also would be their cruelty ;
how then could I have wished of mine own accord to run
into danger, and to throw myself into so many troubles and
so many sorrows?” Jeremiah then shews from what he had
apprehended as to the issue, that he had not been led by
any hasty desire.
If one objects and says, that many are notwithstanding
led away by a foolish ambition to undergo dangers and
troubles which they cannot but foresee. To this I answer,
that the Prophet assumes the fact as it was, that not only
known to him from the beginning was whatever he after-
wards experienced, for he had well considered what the
people were, but that he had been also constrained by God’s
command to renounce his own will. Many hasten because
they consider not the difficulties of the office. Hardly one
in a hundred at this day duly considers how difficult and
arduous it is rightly to discharge the pastoral office. Hence
many are led to undertake it as an easy duty, and of no
great importance. Afterwards experience too late teaches
them, that they have foolishly desired what was unknown
CHAP. XVII. 16. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ote
tothem. Some think that they possess great skill and ac-
tivity, and also promise themselves great things on account
-of their own capacities, learning, and judgment; but they
afterwards very soon find how scanty is a furniture, as they
say, of this kind, for aptness for the work fails them at the
very outset, and not in the middle of their course. Some
also, while seeing that they are to have many and grievous
contests, dread nothing and put on an iron front, as though
they were born to fight. Others there are who, in desiring
the office of teachers, are mercenaries. We indeed know
that all God’s servants are miserable as to this world, and
according to the perceptions of men, for they must carry on
war against the prevailing dispositions of all, and thus dis-
please men that they may please God; but mercenaries, who
have no religion and adulterate God’s word, desire the office,
and why? because they see that they can deal in a pleasing
manner with men, for they will carefully avoid everything
that may offend. But this was not the case with the Pro-
phet ; hence he assumes, as I have said, this fact, that he
sincerely engaged in his office of teaching, and was not in-
duced by any other motive than that of promoting the
wellbeing of the people.
He says that he hastened not ; how so? “I should have
been,” he says, “ altogether insane had I been led by an in-
- considerate zeal, for I know that I should have to contend,
and to contend not with one man only, but with the whole
people, yea, with every one of them.” Hence he calls the war-
fare which awaits all true pastors, the day of sorrow, for if
they please men they cannot be the servants of God. And
of this fact he makes God a witness, Thow knowest. Men of
wind profess boldly enough that they have nothing in view
but to serve God, that they do not rashly enter on their
course ; but the Prophet here sets himself in God’s presence,
and is not anxious to secure the approbation of men, being
content with that of God alone.’
1 The Targum connects “thou knowest” with what follows; and such
is the version of Blayney, and more suitable it is to the passage,—
Thou knowest what has gone forth from my lips,
Before thy face has it been.—-£d.
374 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXVIII.
And then he adds, Before thy face has been whatever has
proceeded from my lips. By these words he intimates, that
he had not vainly spoken whatever came to his mind, but
what he had received from God himself, and that before God
was everything which had proceeded from his mouth. We
hence learn, that it is not enough for one to have been onee
called, except he faithfully delivers what he has reecived
from God himself. It now follows—
17. Be not a terror unto me: thou
art my hope in the day of evil.
18. Let them be confounded that
persecute me, but let not me be
confounded ; let them be dismayed,
but let not me be dismayed: bring
upon them the day of evil, and de-
17. Ne sis mihi in terrorem; pro-
tectio mea tu in die mali.
18. Pudefiant qui persequunter
me, et non pudetiam ego; terre-
antur illi, et non terrear ego; in-
ducas super eos diem mali, et du-
plici contritione contere eos.
stroy them with double destruction.
Now the Prophet, having appealed to God as a witness to
his integrity, prays him to shew himself as his patron and
defender. Thus he again implores God’s aid, Be not thou,
he says, a terror to me, that is, “Suffer me not while plead-
ing thy cause to be terrified.” By the word, terror, he means
such a dread as stupifies all the feelings. It would have
indeed been wholly unreasonable for the Prophets to fail in
constancy and firmness, for it belonged to God to rule them
by his Spirit, and to support them by his grace, from the
time he committed to them their office.
is of himself fit to discharge the duties of a faithful teacher,
God must necessarily succour and aid those whom hie calls
and sends to the work. This is now what the Prophet
speaks of when he says, Be not to me a terror, that is, “ Be
not to me a cause of dread by depriving me of constancy
and firmness, so as to render me an object of ridicule to all ;”
and why? because thou art my protection, or my hope, for
the word means both.
Thou art then my protection (of this meaning I mostly
approve) in the day of evil, that is, “ I have chosen thee as
my protector, as though thou wert a shield to me; as then
I have promised myself the favour of having thee as my
help, see that I be not left destitute, since I have to fight
for thee and under thy banner.” Hence he adds, Ashamed
Since then no one -
CHAP. Xv1I. 17,18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 375
let them be who persecute me, and let not me be ashamed ;
terrified let them be; and let not me be terrified.
The Prophet, as we have seen, had a hard contest, not
only with one man or with a few, but with the whole people,
and then it is probable that there were many sects, for when
he cried against the avaricious, there was a commotion in-
stantly made by all those who lived on plunder; when he
spoke against the indulgence of lust, there was a second
conspiracy against him; when he condemned drunkenness
and intemperance, there was a new combination formed to
oppose him. We hence sce how all the ungodly in all parts
and for various reasons assailed the Prophet, he was there-
fore constrained to pray, as he now does, Ashamed let them
be who persecute me, even because they now testified that
they were evidently the enemies of God, for he had‘ no
private concern with them, but faithfully obeyed the com-
mand of God. As then he knew them to be God’s avowed
enemies, he hesitated not to ask God himself to oppose them."
We must yet notice what we have said in other places,
that the Prophet was not only influenced by a holy and
pious zeal, but was also governed by the wisdom of the
Spirit. This I again repeat, for there are many foolish
imitators, who always appeal to the vehemence which the
Prophets shewed, while they themselves are carried away
by a violent rather than by a vehement impulse. But we
must first see whether the Holy Spirit guides us, lest we
1 I would render the 18th verse thus,—
18. Ashamed let my persecutors be,
That I may not be ashamed ;
Dismayed let them be,
That Pes not be dismayed ;
Bring on them the day of evil,
And doubly with breaking break them.
There was a contest between the Prophet and his enemies; the shame
and dismay of his enemies would deliver him from shame and dismay. The
copulative } may often be rendered that, ut. The two last lines refer to
the two preceding couplets in an inverted order. “The day of evil” was
to dismay his enemies, and “ the breaking” was to make them ashamed.
The breaking was that of the spirit or of the heart; it means sorrow,
trouble, such as brings men to a state of helplessness; it does not mean
destruction. The line may be thus rendered,—
And doubly with depression depress them.
The word doubly, means what is extreme.—Ed.
376 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. — LECT. LXVIIT.
should utter imprecations against the very elect ; and then
we must beware of being influenced by the feelings of our
flesh, and intemperate zeal is ever to be feared, for it is a
rare gift so to burn with zeal as to join with it the modera-
tion that is required. As then there is always something
turbulent in our zeal, we must remember that the Prophets
never uttered a word but as the Spirit guided their tongues,
and then that they had no regard to themselves, and, thirdly,
that they were so calm and composed in their ardour that
they were not guilty of excess.
The Prophet no doubt fully knew that all those were
reprobate on whom he imprecated God’s vengeance, but as
it does not belong to us to distinguish between the elect
and the reprobate, let us learn to suspend and check our
zeal, so that it may not be too fervid, for we may often mis-
take, if we follow generally what the Prophet says here,
Bring on them the day of evil, and with a double breach break
them. Were we thus to speak indiscriminately of all, our
zeal would often hit the very children of God. We must
therefore bear in mind, that before the Prophet uttered this
imprecation he was taught by the Spirit of God that he had
to do with reprobate and irreclaimable men. Now a new
discourse follows—
19. Thus said the Lord unto me,
Go and stand in the gate of the
children of the people, whereby the
kings of Judah come in, and by the
which they go out, and in all the
gates of Jerusalem ;
20. And say unto them, Hear ye
the word of the Lord, ye kings of
Judah, and all Judah, and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter
in by these gates :
21. Thus saith the Lord, Take
heed to yourselves, and bear no
burden on the sabbath-day, nor
bring it in by the gates of Jeru-
salem.
19. Sie dixit mihi Jehova, Vade
et sta in porta filiorum populi; per
quam ingrediuntur reges Jehudah, et
per quam egrediuntur, (ad verbum,
é qua egrediuntur in ipsa; sed 12 est
supervacuum,) et omnibus portis
Jerusalem :
20. Et dic illis, Audite sermonem
Jehovee, reges Jehudah, et totus Je-
hudah, et omnes incole Jerusalem,
qui ingredimini per has portas :
21. Sic dicit Jehova, Custodite
vos, (vel, cayete vobis,) in animabus
yestris, ne inferatis onus die sabbathi,
(ne tollatis,) et inferatis per portas
Jerusalem.
This discourse is no doubt to be separated from the pre-
ceding one, and whosoever divided the chapters was deficient
in judgment as to many other places as well as here.
Now
CHAP. XVII. 19-21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 377
the meaning is, that so great and so gross was the contempt
of the law, that they neglected even the observance of the
. Sabbath ; and yet we know that hypocrites are in this re-
spect very careful, nay, Isaiah upbraided the men of his day
that they made so much of their sanctity to consist in the
outward observance of days. (Isaiah i.13.) But, as I have
already said, the Jews were so audacious in the time of
Jeremiah that they openly violated the Sabbath, men were
become so lost, as we commonly say, as not to pretend any
religion. The licentiousness of the people was so great that
they had no shame; nay, they all openly shewed that they
had wholly cast away the yoke of God and of his law. When
this was the case at Jerusalem, what can we think was done
in obscure villages where so much religion did not exist? for
if there was any right teaching, if there was any Sup ater’
.of religion, it must have been at Jerusalem.
We now then see that the Prophet was sent by God to
charge the people with this gross and base contempt of the
law ; as though he had said, “ Go to now, and pretend that
you retain at least some religion: yet even in this small
matter, the observance of the Sabbath, ye are deficient, for
ye bring burdens, that is, ye carry on business on the Sab-
bath as on other days. As then there is not among you
even an external sanctity as to the Sabbath, why do you go
on with your evasions? for your impiety is sufficiently proved.”
We now see what the Prophet means, and what the import
of this discourse is which we are now to explain.
He says first, that he was sent, go, to bring this message.
He had been indeed chosen before a prophet ; but he speaks
here of a special thing which he was commissioned to do:
and he says that he was sent to the chief gate of the city,
through which the kings entered in and went out and the
whole people ;' and then that he was sent to all the gates. By
1 There is a peculiarity in the phraseology of the original as to the rela-
tive “which,” after “the gate of the city:” literally it is, “ which they
enter through it the kings of Judah, and which they go out through it.”
In Welsh there is exactly the same form of expression,— Yr hwn yr a
trwyddo frenhinoedd Iwda, &c. Wad this been the Welsh version, it
would have been literally the Hebrew, and more consonant than the pre-
sent version with the idiom of the language. —Ed.
378 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXVIII.
these words he means, that it was not God’s will that the
profanation of the Sabbath should be partially made known,
but be everywhere proclaimed, in order that he might shame
not only the king but also the whole people. The prophets
usually spoke first in the Temple, and then they went to
the gates, where there was a larger concourse of people.
But Jeremiah had here something unusual ; for God in-
tended most clearly to condemn the Jews for their base and
inexcusable contempt of the Sabbath.
He then adds, Thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of
Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and let all the people hear, and
let all the citizens of Jerusalem hear, who enter in at these
gates. The Prophet was commanded to begin with the king
himself, who ought to have repressed so great a licentious-
ness. It was therefore an intolerable indifference in the
king silently to bear this contempt of religion, especially in
a matter so easy and so evident; for he could not have pre-
tended that he was unacquainted with it: it was indeed the
same as though the Jews intended to triumph against God,
and to shew that his law was deemed of no value. Hence
the profanation of the Sabbath was a proof of their shame-
lessness, as they thereby shewed that they cared nothing
either for God or for his law. We shall hereafter see how
great that wickedness was; but I shall defer the subject, as
I cannot now discuss it at large, and a more convenient op-
portunity will offer itself.
He bids them to attend, or to beware in their souls, Some
render the words, “‘ As your souls are precious to you.” But
I take souls, not for their lives, but for the affections of their
hearts; as though he had said, “ Take heed carefully of
yourselves, that this may be laid up in your inmost heart.”
The word &%5), nuphesh, means often the heart, the seat of
the affections. It is said in Deut. iv. 15, “Take heed to
yourselves, pomiw5y, lanupheshuticam, to your souls:”
here it is, DI'WW533, benupheshuticam, “in your souls ;”
but there, “to” or “ for your souls,” as also in Joshua xxiii,
11. But the same thing is meant, and that is, that they
were to take great heed, to take every care, to exert every
effort, and, in short, every faculty of their souls. Take heed
CHAP. XV1I.19-21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 379
then carefully,” he says, take heed with every thought and
faculty of your soul, that ye carry no burden on the Sabbath-
day, and that ye bring it not through the gates of Jerusalem.
It was a thing not difficult to be observed ; and further, it
was a most shameless transgression of the law; for, as I
have said, by this slight matter they shewed that they de-
spised the law of God, while yet the observance of the Sab-
bath was a thing of great importance: it was important in
itself, but to observe it was easy. Hence appeared the two-
fold impiety of the people,—because they despised God’s
singular favour, of which the seventh day was an evidence ;
and, because they were unwilling to take rest on that day,
and in so easy a matter, they hesitated not, as it were, to
insult God, as it has been before said.
Hence we ought to notice also what he says in these
words, Carry no burden, and bring tt not through THE GATES
of Jerusalem : and this was emphatically added ; for it was
not lawful even in the fields or in desert places to do any-
thing on the Sabbath; but it was extremely shameful to
earry a burden through the gates of Jerusalem ; it was as
though they wished publicly to reproach and despise God.
Jerusalem was a public place; and it was as though one
was not content privately to do dishonour to his neighbour
or his brother, but must shew his ill-nature openly and in
the light of day. Thus the Jews were not only reproachful
towards God, but also dared to shew their impiety in his own
renowned city, and, in short, in his very sanctuary. The
rest we must defer.
; PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast not only in former times
sent thy prophets, but makest the testimony of thy will to be
declared to us daily,—O grant, that we may learn to render our-
selves teachable and submissive to thee, and so willingly bear
thy yoke, that thy holy word may gain among us that reverence
which it deserves: and may we so submit ourselves to thee, while
1 “ Guard ye your souls” is the version of the ee Vulgate, and
the Turgum; but that of the Syriac is, “« Take heed to yourselves ;” which
is no doubt the meaning, as the word soul, WD), is often used for one’s
self.— Ld.
+e
baat
eh
580 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIX.
thou speakest to us by men, that we may at length enjoy a view
of thy glory, in which will consist our perfect felicity; and that
we may not only contemplate thy glory face to face, but also
hear thee thyself speaking, and so speaking, that we shall de-
light in that sweetness, which is laid up for us in hope, through
Christ, our Lord. —Amen.
Lecture Sixty-Pinth.
22. Neither carry fortha burden 22. Et ne efferatis onus é domibus
out of your houses on the Sabbath- vestris die Sabbathi, et omne opus
day, neither do ye any work; but ne faciatis (nullum opus faciatis.) et
hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I sanctificetis diem Sabbathi, quem-
commanded your fathers. admodum precepi patribus vestris.
WE stated in our last lecture why the Prophet so severely
reproved the Jews for neglecting an external rite. It
seems indeed a thing in itself of small moment to rest on
one day; and God by Isaiah clearly declares, (Isaiah i. 13,)
that he cares not for that external worship, for hypocrites
think they have done all their duty when they rest on the
seventh day; but God denies that he approved of such a
service, it being like a childish play. We know what Paul
says, that the exercises of the body do not profit much.
(1 Tim. iv. 8.) This was not written when Jeremiah spoke,
but it must have been written in the hearts of the godly.
It might then, at the first view, appear a strange thing, that
the Prophet insisted so much on a thing of no great moment:
but the reason I have briefly explained, and that was,—be-
cause the gross impiety of the people was thereby plainly
detected, for they despised God in a matter that could easily
be done. Men often excuse themselves on the ground of difii-
culty,—“ I could wish to do it, but it is too onerous for me.”
They could not have alleged this as to the sanctification of
the Sabbath ; for what can be easier than to rest for one day ?
Now, when they carried their burdens and did their work
on the Sabbath as on other common days, it was, as it were,
designedly to shake off the yoke, and to shew openly that
they wholly disregarded the authority of the law.
Another reason must also be noticed, which I have not
yet stated: God did not regard: the external rite only, but
CHAP. xvul. 22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 381
rather the end, of which he speaks in Ex. xxxi. 13, and in
Ezek. xx. 12. In both places he reminds us of the reason
why he commanded the Jews to keep holy the seventh day,
and that was, that it might be to them a symbol of sanctifi-
cation. “I have given my Sabbaths,” he says, “to you,
that ye might know that Iam your God who sanctifies you.”
If then we consider the end designed by the Sabbath-day,
we cannot say that it was an unimportant rite: for what
could have been of more importance to that ancient people
than to acknowledge that they had been separated by God
from other nations, to be a holy and a peculiar people to him,
nay, to be his inheritance ?
And it appears from other places that this command was
typical. We learn especially from Paul that the Sabbath-
day was enjoined in order that the people might look to
Christ ; for well known is the passage in Col. ii. 16, where
he says that the Sabbath as well as other rites were types
of Christ to come, and that he was the substance of them.
And the Apostle also, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, iv. 9,
shews that we are to understand spiritually what God had
formerly commanded respecting the seventh day, that is,
that men should rest from their works, as God rested from
his works after he had finished the creation of the world:
and Isaiah, in the fifty-eighth chapter, teaches us with suf-
ficient clearness what the design of the Sabbath is, even that
the people should cease from their own pleasure ; for it was
to be a day of rest, in which they were truly to worship God,
and to leave off pursuing any of the lusts of their own flesh.
And God did not simply forbid them to do some things;
but he says, “Thou shalt rest from all thy work.” (Ex. xx.
10; Deut. v.14.) To come to the Temple, to offer sacrifices,
and to circumcise infants, were indeed works; but we can-
not say that it was a human work to circumcise infants, for
they obeyed God’s command in thus presenting to him their
offspring; and it was the same when they came to sing
God’s praises and to offer sacrifices.
We now then perceive that the design as to the ancient
people was, that they might know that they were to rest
from all the works of the flesh; and God, that he might
882 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXIX.
more easily bend them to obedience, set before them his
own example; for there is nothing more to be desired than
a mutual agreement between us and God. For this reason
God says, “I rested the seventh day from all my works:
therefore, rest ye also now from your works,” (Ex. xx. 31.)
God had no doubt chosen the seventh day, that men might
devote themselves wholly to the consideration of his works,
However this may be, we see that the principal thing on the
seventh day was the worship of God. And even heathen
writers, whenever they speak of the Sabbath, mention it as
the difference between the Jews and the rest of the world.
It was, in short, a general profession of God’s worship, when
they rested on the seventh day. When they now regarded
it as nothing, by carrying their burdens and violating their
sacred rest, it was doubtless nothing less than wantonly to
cast away the yoke of God, as though they openly boasted
that they despised whatever he had commanded. There was
then in the violation of the Sabbath a public defection from
the law. As then the Jews had become apostates, Jeremiah
with severity justly condemns them; and hence he says that
their extreme impiety was sufficiently proved, because they
thus disregarded the seventh day.
He says further, Carry not a burden from your houses.
Under one thing he includes every worldly business, *by
which they violated the Sabbath, though he afterwards adds
also what is general, And do no work, but sanctify the Sab-
bath, as I commanded your fathers. To sanctify the Sab-
bath-day is to make it different from the other days; for
sanctification is the same as separation: they ought not
then to have done their own concerns on that day as on
other days; for it was a day consecrated to God. He then
adds, that it was a day which he commanded their fathers to
keep holy. He doubtless claims here authority for the law
on the ground of time; as though he had said, that he did
not introduce the law on that day or on the day before,
but that from the time he gathered the people for himself,
the precept concerning the observance of the Sabbath had
been given, as it was evident; for God at the beginning
thus spoke by Moses, ‘‘ Remember the seventh day,” &e.
f
—
CHAP. XVII. 23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 383
(Ex. xx. 8.) As then the whole law of God and the whole
of religion fell to the ground through the violation of the
Sabbath, the Prophet rightly reminded them here that this
day was commanded to be observed by their fathers. We
may add further, that they were not ignorant of the memor-
able punishment by which God had sanctioned the observ-
ance of the Sabbath, when by his command he who gathered
wood on that day was stoned to death. It now follows—
23. But they obeyed not, neither 23. Et non audierunt, et non incli-
inclined their ear, but made their narunt aurem suam, et obduraverunt
neck stiff, that they might not hear, cervicem suam non audiendo et non
nor receive instruction. recipiendo disciplinam.
Here the Prophet exaggerates their crime,—that the Jews
had not now begun for the first time to violate this precept of
the Law ; for he reminds them that the Sabbath had been
before violated by their fathers. We have said elsewhere
that men are less excusable when the children follow the bad
examples of their fathers. This is indeed what the world
does not commonly think ; for we see at this day, that most
men boast of the examples of their fathers, when they wish
to reject both the Law and the Prophets and the gospel : they
think themselves to be defended by a strong shield, when
they can object to us and say that the fathers had done
otherwise. But we have seen from many passages how fri-
volous is such a defence ; and Jeremiah here confirms the
same thing, by saying that the crime of the people was the
more atrocious, because their fathers had many ages before
begun to despise this command of God.
But they heard not,’ he says, nor inclined their ear, but
hardened their neck. By these words he shews most clearly
that their fathers had not sinned through inadvertence or
ignorance, but because they had hardened themselves in the
1 Our version, “ they obeyed not,” is the Targum. The Septuagint
and the Vulgate have the same rendering with that of Calvin. ‘The verb
is POW, which is to hear, to hearken, tolisten. ‘The charge of not hearing
God’s word, was often brought by the prophets against the Jews. ‘They
would not hear or attend to what was said to them, not that they did not
obey it. This is the case still with all who are perverted by superstition
and tradition; they will not hear the word of God, and its authority is
wholly disregarded. Anything about tradition and the Church will be at-
tended to; but God’s word is neglected; they will not hear it.—£d.
vey
4 Rn '
hed}
Ay
384 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIX.
contempt of God. It often happens that men, rightly taught,
go astray through ignorance, as their want of knowledge may
prevent them to understand what they hear: but when men
incline not their ear, but harden their neck, their obstinacy
becomes manifest, for they knowingly and wilfully reject
God. Such perverseness then does Jeremiah here set forth
by the various expressions he employs, as we have seen done
in other places.
As to the hardening of the neck, it is a metaphor, as
stated elsewhere, taken from untameable oxen. God com-
pares his law to a yoke, and for the best reason; for as the
oxen are tamed that they may labour and are trained to
obey when the yoke is laid on them ; so also God proves our
obedience, when he rules us by his law, for we otherwise
wander after our lusts. As therefore God corrects and
checks in us by his law, all the unruly passions of the flesh,
he is said to lay his yoke on us. Now, if we are intractable
and do not submit to the authority of God, we are said to
harden our neck. Jeremiah speaks afterwards without a
metaphor, and says, That they heard not, nor received in-
struction, or correction." The word “DD, musar, means
teaching or correction. The import of the whole is, that the
Jews were not only unteachable when the will of God was
plainly made known to them, but that they were also re-
fractory and perverse in their spirit: for when to teaching
were added exhortations the more to stimulate them, and
when to these were added threatenings, yet God could not
by any means subdue their wantonness. It now follows—
24. And it shall come to pass, if
ye diligently hearken unto me, saith
the Lord, to bring in no burden
through the gates of this city on the
sabbath-day, but hallow the sabbath-
day, to do no work therein ;
25. Then shall there enter into
the gates of this city kings and
princes sitting upon the throne of
24. Et erit, si audiendo audieritis
me, dicit Jehova, ne efferatis onus
per portas urbis hujus die Sabbathi,
et ad sanctificandum diem (hoe est,
si sanctificatis diem, ) non agendo in
eo quicquam operis ;
25. ‘lune (copula enim hie acei-
pitur pro adverbio tempuris) ingre-
dientur per portas urbis hujus Reges
1 The verse may be thus rendered,—
And they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear ;
But hardened their neck,
So as not to hear, and not to receive correction.
They were reproved and warned, but they refused to be corrected, —Ed.
CHAP. XVII. 25. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 385
David, riding in chariots and on _ et principes, sedentes super solium
horses, they, and their princes, the Davidis, vecti curru et equis, ipsi et
men of Judah, and the inhabitants proceres eorum, vir Jehudah, et in-
of Jerusalem ; and this city shall re- cole Jerusalem, et habitabitur urbs
main for ever. heee in perpetuum.
Jeremiah introduced, as I have said, a condemnation as
to the fathers, that he might make the Jews of his age
ashamed of themselves, lest they should imitate the example
of those whom they saw to have been disobedient to God.
He yet shews, that God would be reconciled to them, pro-
vided they from the heart repented ; as though he had said,
—‘ Your fathers indeed provoked, for many years, and even
for ages, the vengeance of God; but as he is ever inclined
to mercy, he is ready to forgive you, if only you cease to fol-
low your fathers and return to him.” In short, he promises
them pardon for the time past, if they turned to God.
Tf by hearing ye will hear, he says, so as to carry no bur-
. den through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to
_ sanctify (this is connected with “hear”) the sabbath-day, so
that ye do no work on it ; then shall enter through the gates
of this city kings and princes, &c. He first promises them
a perpetuity as to the kingdom ; and it was the chief hap-
piness of the people to have a king from the posterity of
David; for thus they saw as it were with their eyes the
favour of God present with them, inasmuch as David and
his posterity were visible pledges of God’s favour. And we
must remember also, that that kingdom was a type of a
better kingdom, which had not yet been plainly discovered.
Hence in the posterity of David the Jews beheld Christ, un-
til he was manifested. For this reason I said, that they were
miserable without a king, and that the perpetuity of the
kingdom was a main part of their happiness. This is the
reason why Jeremiah now sets before them, as a singular
benefit, the continuance of David’s kingdom among them,
provided they observed the sabbath-day: and thus God did
not only strictly demand what he had a right to do, but also
allured them by the sweetness of his promise, according to
his usual manner. He may indeed in one word command
what he pleases ; but when he invites us by promises, he has
a regard to our infirmity.
VOL, II. 2B
> ie
a,
386 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LXIX.
But it may be here asked, Was the rest on the seventh
day of such a moment, that God should on that account
promise to them the perpetuity of the kingdom? The an- -
swer has been already given, that is, that the end, which was
spiritual, was connected with the outward rite; for God
commanded the people to keep holy this day, that they
might have a manifest symbol, as it has been said, of their
own sanctification. When therefore the Prophet thus speaks,
If ye carry no burden through the gates of this city, that is,
If ye observe the sabbath-day, the perpetuity of the king-
dom shall be secured to you,—when he thus speaks, he had
doubtless, as I have said, a regard to a true observance of
the day, which consists not in the naked rite, but included
something greater and more excellent, even that they might
learn by self-denial to-render themselves up to God to be
ruled by him ; for God will not work in us, unless we first
renounce our own reason and the thoughts and feelings of .
our flesh. In the observance of the Sabbath, therefore,
is briefly included the whole of religion: hence he says,
Enter in shall kings and princes, sitting on the throne of
David.
Noticed also ought to be the state of things at that time:
It was a time when the country was nearly in ruins and the
kingdom greatly weakened, so that the kings and the whole
people were daily exposed to danger. When therefore there
were hardly any means to defend the city and to support
the kingdom, Jeremiah promised it, as a special favour from
God, that the kings and the princes. would be rendered
secure. From the family of David, as it is well known, were
descended the royal counsellors ; and hence he says of the
counsellors as well as of the king, that they would sit on the
throne of David: and he further says, They shall ride in a
chariot and on horses, they the kings and their princes ; and
he adds, the men of Judah, &c. He extends the promise to
the whole body of the people; after having spoken of the
chief men, he then adds, that the whole community would
be partakers of this blessing and favour of God; for the
kingdom was formed, that the whole people might know that
they were under God’s care and protection. It was not then
CHAP. XVII. 26. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 387
without reason that Jeremiah states here that this blessing
would be conferred in common on the whole people.
And inhabited, he says, shall be the city perpetually. For
the same reason he also adds this; for Jerusalem was then
in great danger; nay, there were new terrors daily, and
there was a horrible desolation in every part, for the whole
country had been visited with many calamities. Jeremiah
therefore promised now what in a manner seemed incredible,
that is, that the city would be made safe, if they truly and
faithfully worshipped God, and testified that by observing
the Sabbath. The meaning is, that it would be their own
fault, if they found not the aid of God sufficient for them,
that even if they were besieged by enemies, yet God would
be a sure protector of their safety, provided they became his
true and faithful servants. He afterwards adds—
26. And they shall come from
the cities of Judah, and from the
places about Jerusalem, and from
the land of Benjamin, and from the
plain, and from the mountains, and
from the south, bringing burnt-of-
ferings, and sacrifices, and meat-of-
ferings, and incense, and bringing
sacrifices of praise, unto the house of
the Lord.
26. Et venient ex urbibus Jehu-
dah, et ex cireuitibus (hoe est, ex
toto circuitu) Jerusalem, et ex terra
Benjamin, et ex planitie, et ex monte
(hoe est, ex montibus, vel, regionibus
montanis,) et a meridie, alferentes
holecaustum, sacrificium, et oblatie-
nem (3) et thus, et afferentes
eonfessionem (vel, laudem,) in do-
mum Jehovee.
Here he mentions the second part of the blessing ; for the
whole people would be preserved safe in the possession of
their kingdom and priesthood, as in both the favour of God
appeared; for both the king and the priest were types
of Christ. For as by the priesthood they knew that God was
propitious to them, they being reconciled to him by sacri-
fices, and as by the kingdom they knew that God was the
protector and guardian of their safety, so these two things
constituted a real and complete happiness. Hence the Pro-
phet, having mentioned one of these things, now proceeds to
the other,—
They shall come from the cities of Judah and from the whole
circuit of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and
from other places, to offer sacrifices in the Temple. Sacri-
fices of themselves could not indeed save the people; but
Jeremiah assumed this principle,—that reconciliation was
388 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIX,
not in vain promised to the people by the sacrifices ; for sins
were really atoned, and God as it were came forth to gather
a people for himself. It was the same as though God
said, that he would by all means be gracious to them, if only
they observed the Sabbath, that is, if they with a pure heart
devoted themselves to his service. The country, as I have
said, was in a great measure laid waste ; but the Prophet,
after having spoken of the city, now adds, that all Judea
would become inhabited, for from thence they would as-
cend to the Temple to offer sacrifices. After having men-
tioned the whole circuit, he names the land of Benjamin,
the half tribe of whom, as it is well known, had continued
in the faith, and had not separated from the family of
David ; indeed a part of the city was in the tribe of Ben-
jamin.
He afterwards adds, the plain and the mountains, as
though he had said, God’s worshippers would come from all
the neighbouring region to celebrate the feasts and to offer
sacrifices as usual.
At last he mentions burnt-offering, sacrifice, and oblation,
35, meneche ; the three principal offerings. But Jeremiah
wished to shew briefly that God would cause religion to flourish
and prevail among them as before. But after having spoken
of the external worship, he then refers to the end, They shall
bring, he says, confession, or praise, MN, tude, into the
Temple." Here by one word Jeremiah includes the chief
thing in sacrifices, as we may learn from Psalm 1. 14, 23;
where it is said, “sacrifice praise unto God.” God there re-
jects the sacrifices which were offered by the Jews without a
1 It is more consistent with the rest of the passage to regard this word
as meaning “ sacrifice of praise,’ or thanksgiving, or confession. ‘There
were sacrifices of this kind especially prescribed; see Ley. vii. 12-15, and
the word is often taken in this sense, without the word “ sacrifice” bei
connected with it. Offerings according to the Law are the things which
are here mentioned : and the same verb “ bring,” precedes 71M, as in the
previous instances, when “ burnt-offering, sacrifice,” &c., are named.
The Septuagint, as in many other instances, give only a verbal transla-
tion, “ praise ;” “ oblation,” is the Vulgate; “ thanksgiving,” the Syriac ;
and “ sacrifice of confession,” the Targum.
All the words are singular in Hebrew—burnt-offering—sacrifice—obla-
tion, (or meat-offering)—incense—thanksgiving. It would be well to re-
tain the singular in a version.—Ed.
~
CHAP. XVII. 27. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 889
right motive: he then shews what he required, commanding
them to sacrifice praise. So now Jeremiah teaches us that
the design of all sacrifices was to celebrate the name of God,
that is, that the Jews might profess that they owed all things
to him, that they received their life and their safety freely
from him: in short, they were thereby to testify their grati-
tude before God. So at this day this truth remains the
same, though the types have been abolished: we do not
offer calves or oxen or rams, but the sacrifice of praise, by
confessing and proclaiming his benefits and blessings, accord-
ing to what the Apostle says in Hebrews xiii. 15. But what
ought to prevail among us apart from types, was formerly
accompanied with types; and yet this truth was observed
by the Jews in common with us,—that while they offered
their sacrifices under the Law, they were to testify their
gratitude by visible symbols. Let us proceed—
27. But if ye will not hearken unto 27. Quod sinon audietis me ad
me to hallow the sabbath-day, and notto sanctificandum diem sabbathi, et
bear a burden, even entering in at the non tollendo onus, et ingrediendo
gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; per portas Jerusalem die sabba-
then will Ikindleafirein thegates there. thi; tune accendam ignem in por-
of, and it shall devour the palaces of Je- tis ejus, et vorabit palatia Jeru-
rusalem, and it shall not be quenched. salem, et non extinguetur.
Now, on the other hand, the Prophet terrifies them, if
they hearkened not to the promises of God. God first kindly
allures us; but when he sees us to be refractory, he deals
with us according to the hardness of our hearts. He there-
fore now adds threatenings to promises. He had said, that
the Jews would be happy, if they worshipped and served
God faithfully ; for their priesthood and their kingdom would
be continued to them.
But he now adds, If ye will not obey, so as to sanctify the
sabbath-day, and not to carry a burden on it, and not to enter
through the gates of Jerusalem, that is, for the purpose of
doing business (for it was lawful for them, as it is well known,
to go out of the city, but by entering he means the transac-
tion of business)—If then ye will not hearken to me in this
respect, then, he says, I will kindle a fire in the gates of this
city. We see the design of the Prophet,—that he would
have the Jews to entertain a sure hope of their safety, pro-
390 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXIX.
vided they repented, and provided the pure and uncorrupted
worship of God prevailed among them; but that, on the
other hand, he wished to fill them with terror, if they went
on in their obstinacy.
No doubt this commination greatly offended them ; for we
know how self-confident they were, and how foolishly they
boasted that the city, in which God had his habitation, could
not be demolished ; and yet the Prophet declares here that
the destruction of the holy city was nigh at hand, if they
violated the sabbath-day as they had been accustomed to do.
But that this punishment might not seem to be too severe,
he shews that the people were inexcusable, if they rejected
these plain warnings: he says, If ye will not hearken to me ;
for they might have otherwise objected and said, that they
had been deceived, as they did not think that there was so
great a sin in violating the Sabbath. Jerentiah now excludes
all such evasions, for he says in effect, ‘ Behold I am present
with you by God’s authority ;.if ye will violate the Sabbath
as hitherto, what excuse can you make? Have you not
been proved guilty of open impiety? for God has spoken ;
and how is it that ye reject his teaching?’ We thus see
that this, Jf ye will not hearken to me so as to sanctify the
Sabbath, was said to anticipate an objection.
He then adds, Devour shall the fire the gates of the city,
and shall not be extinguished, that is, shall not be extin-
guished until it shall consume the whole city and its gates.
We indeed know that assemblies were then held at the
gates, and that they were therefore places of great import-
ance. As to the fire it is to be taken metaphorically for
destruction ; and yet we know that even fire was kindled
by the Chaldeans ; for they deemed it not enough to demo-
lish the city, but proceeded still farther: hence the Temple
was burnt, and the houses were consumed by fire. We ought
however to explain the words of the Prophet as meaning
simply this—that God’s vengeance would be like fire, de-
stroying and consuming all things, so that not even the gates
would remain. Something usually remains when cities are
demolished to the foundations; but God threatens the Jews
with something more grievous—that the city would not be
CHAP, Xvit. 1-6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAU.
391
in a common way destroyed, but be so wholly consumed that
nothing would remain.
We shall proceed to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou dost not now prescribe to us
one day on which we are to testify that we are sanctified by thee,
but commandest us to observe a sacred rest through our whole
life, so as to renounce ourselves and the world,—O grant, that
we may really contemplate this rest, and so crucify the old man,
that being effectually united to thine only-begotten Son, we may
become also partakers of that resurrection in which he has led
the way, and be gathered into that celestial kingdom which he
has procured for us by his death and resurrection, after having
so fought in this world, under thy banner, that thou mayest ever
reign in us and rule and govern us by thy Spirit, so that nothing
throughout life may be our own doing, but that we suffer our-
selves to be governed by thee, until thou at length become to us
all in all.—Amen.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Recture Seventicth.
1. The word which came to Jere-
miah from the Lord, saying,
2. Arise, and go down to the pot-
ter’s house; and there I will cause
thee to hear my words.
3. Then I went down to the pot-
ter’s house ; and, behold, he wrought
a work on the wheels.
4, And the vessel that he made of
clay was marred in the hand of the
potter: so he made it again another
vessel, as seemed good to the potter
to make it.
5. Then the word of the Lord
came to me, saying,
6. O house of Israel, cannot I do
with you as this potter? saith the
Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the
1. Sermo qui fuit ad Jeremiam a
Jchova, dicendo,
2. Surge, et descende in domum
figuli, et faciam audire! te verba
mea.
3. Et descendi in domum figuli,
et ecce ipse faciens opus super lapide
(super typo; alii vertunt, super ro-
tam :)
4. Et corruptum fuit vas, quod
ipse faciebat ex luto (lutum, ad ver-
bum) in manu figuli; et reversus est,
et fecit vas aliud sieut rectum fuit in
oculis figuli ut faceret:
5. Et fuit sermo Jehove ad me,
dicendo,
6. Annon sicut figulus hie potero
yobis facere, domus Israel? dicit
Jehova: ecce sicut lutum in manu
? Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate improperly render the verb
“thou shalt hear;” but the Zargum retains the causative sense, “1 will
cause thee to hear.”—Ld.
892 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXX.
tter’s hand, so are ye in mine figuli, ita vos in manu mea, domus
and, O house of Israel. Israel,
The sum of what is here taught is, that as the Jews gloried
in God’s singular favour, which yet had been conferred on
them for a different purpose, even that they might be his
sacred heritage, it was necessary to take from them a con-
fidence of this kind; for they at the same time heedlessly
despised God and the whole of his law. We indeed know
that in God’s covenant there was a mutual stipulation—that
the race of Abraham were faithfully to serve God, as God
was prepared to perform whatever he had promised; for it
was the perpetual law of the covenant, “ Walk before me
and be perfect,” which was once for all imposed on Abra-
ham, and extended to all his posterity. (Gen, xvii. 1.) As
then the Jews thought that God was by an inviolable com-
pact bound to them, while they yet proudly rejected all his
prophets, and polluted, and even as far as they could, abol-
ished, his true worship, it was necessary to deprive them of ©
that foolish boasting by which they deluded themselves. —
Hence the Prophet was commanded to go down to the pot-
ter’s house, that he might relate to the people what he saw
there, even that the potter, according to his own will and
pleasure, made and re-made vessels.
It seems indeed at the first view a homely mode of speak-
ing; but if we examine ourselves we shall all find, that
pride, which is innate in us, cannot be corrected except the
Lord draws us as it were by force to see clearly what it is,
and except he shews us plainly what we are. The Prophet
might have attended to God speaking to him at his own
house, but he was commanded to go down to the house of
the potter—not indeed for his own sake, for he was willing
to be taught—but that he might teach the people, by adding
this sign as a confirmation to his doctrine.
He then relates what had been enjoined him, that he
descended into the potter’s house ; and then he relates what
he saw there—that when the potter formed a vessel i was
marred, and that he then made another vessel from the
same clay, and, as it seems, one of a different form; for
there is a peculiar emphasis in these words, as i seemed
CHAP. XVIII. 1-6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 393
right in his eyes. The application is afterwards added—
cannot I, as the potter, change you, O house of Israel?
Doubiless, ye are in my hand as the clay in the hand of the
potter; that is, I have no less power over you than the
potter over his work and his earthen vessels.’
We now see what this doctrine contains—that men are
very foolish when they are proud of their present prosperous
condition, and think that they are as it were fixed in a state
of safety ; for in a single moment God can cast down those
whom he has raised up, and also raise up on high those
whom he has before brought down to the ground. This is
even well known by heathens, for moderation is commended
by them, which they describe thus—“ That no one ought to
be inflated in prosperity, nor succumb in adversity.” But
no one is really influenced by this thought, except he who
acknowledges that we are ruled by the hand of God: for
they who dream that fortune rules in the world set up their
own wisdom, their own wealth, and their own strongholds.
It must then necessarily be, that they always delude them-
selves with some vain hope or another. Until then men are
brought to know that they are so subject to God’s power
that their condition can in a single moment be changed,
according to his will, they will never be humble as they
ought to be. This doctrine therefore was entitled to special
notice, especially when we consider how foolishly the Jews
had abused the privilege with which God had favoured
Abraham and all his posterity ; it was therefore an admoni-
tion altogether necessary. Besides, if we come to ourselves,
we shall find that it requires a great effort to learn to humble
ourselves, as Peter reminds us, under the mighty hand of
God. (1 Peter v. 6.)
1 The proper rendering of the former part of this verse, according to
Gataker and Venema, is as follows,—
* And marred was the vessel which he made, as the clay was in the hand
of the potter.”
Though there be readings, and many, which have 2 instead of 5 before
“clay,” yet the received text is the most suitable. The word “clay” is
omitted in the Septuagint. The meaning is, that the vessel was marred,
while it was yet as a soft clay in the hand of the potter, after he had formed
it on the stones. As to * potter,” the noun here is used instead of the
pronoun, “in his hand,” which is often the case in Hebrew. The pronoun
“his” is what is given by the Septuagint and the Vulgate.—Ed.
394 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXX.
With regard to the words we must observe that DXJINA,
eabenim, is a word in the dual number. The Prophet no
doubt meant the moulds, des moules ; for they who render it
“wheel” seem not to understand the subject. The Pro-
phet evidently refers to the moulds, made either of stone, or
of wood, or of white clay; and this the number sufficiently
proves. He then saw the potter with his moulds, avee ses
moules, so that when he had formed one vessel it was marred ;
then he took the same clay and formed another vessel, and
that according to his own will. I have already stated why it
was necessary for the Prophet to go down to the potter's house:
he did so that he might afterwards lead the Jews to see their
own case in a more vivid manner; for we know what a powerful
effect a representation of this kind produces, when a scene like
this is set before our eyes. Naked doctrine would have been
frigid to slothful and careless men; but when a symbol was
added, it had much greater effect. This then was the reason
why God ordered the Prophet to see what the potter was doing.
Now, in the application, we must notice how things corre-
spond: As the clay is at the will and under the power of the
potter, so men are at the will of God: God then is compared
to the potter. There is indeed no comparison between things
which are equal, but the Prophet argues from the less to the
greater. Then God, with respect to men, is said to be the
potter, for we are the clay before him. We must also notice
the variety in what was formed: from the same clay one
vessel is made, then another different from the first. These
three things that are compared ought to be specially ob-
served. It is then said, cannot I, as the potter, do with you,
O house of Israel? God includes here two of these compari-
1 On the stones,” is the Septuagint ; “on the wheel,” the Vulgate and
the Targum; “on the anvil,” the Syriac. ,
“ There can be no doubt,” says Blayney, “that the machine is intended
on which the potters formed their earthen vessels; and the appellation
oi ai¢o, * the stones,” will appear very proper if we consider this machine
as consisting of a pair of circular stones, placed upon one another like
millstones, of which the lower was immovable, but the upper one turned
upon the foot of a spindle or axis, and had motion communicated to it by
the feet of the potter sitting at his work, as may be learned from Eccles.
xxxvili. 29. Upon the top of this upper stone, which was flat, the clay
was placed, which the potter, having given the stone the due velocity,
formed into shape with his hands,”
CHAP. XVIII. 1-6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAI. 395
sons: he compares himself to the potter, and he compares
the people to clay. We know that God has much greater
power over men than a mortal man over the clay; for how-
ever he may form it into vessels he is yet not the creator of
the clay. Then much greater authority has God over men
than the potter over the clay. But the comparison, as I
have said, is of the greater with the less, as though he had
said, “ The potter can form the clay at his will; am I infe-
rior to him? or, is not my power at least equal to the power
of the artificer, who is a mortal and of an abject condition ?”
Then he adds, with you, or to you, O house of Israel? as
though he had said, “Trust ye in your own excellency as
you please, yet ye are not better than the clay, when ye
consider what I am and what I can do to you.”
We have now seen two of the comparisons ; the third fol-
lows—that God can turn us here and there, and change us
at his will. Then how foolishly do men trust in their present
good fortune ; for in a single moment their condition can be
altered, as there is nothing certain on the earth.
But we must bear in mind what I have already stated—_
that vain was the confidence by which the Jews deluded
themselves ; for they thought that God was bound to them,
and so they promised themselves a state of perpetuity, and,
as though they could with impunity despise the whole law,
they ever boasted that the covenant, by which God had
adopted the seed of Abraham, was hereditary. Now the
Prophet shews that the covenant was in such a way heredi-
tary, that yet the Jews ought to have regarded it as it were
an adventitious benefit, as though he had said, “What God
gave you he can take away at any time; there is then no-
thing certain to you, except so far as God will be propitious
to you.” In short, he reminds them that the whole of their
safety depended on God’s gratuitous favour, as though he
had said, “ Ye have nothing as your own, but what God has
conferred on you is at his will and pleasure; he can to-day
take away even what he had yesterday given you. What
meaneth then this foolish boasting, when ye say that ye are
exempted from the common lot of men ?”’
The Jews might indeed have rightly disregarded all the
396 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXX.
dangers of the world, for God had gathered them under his
own protection; they would indeed have been safe under
his guardianship, had they observed mutual faithfulness, so
as to be really his people as he had promised to be their God;
but as they esteemed as nothing his whole law, and made
void the covenant in which they foolishly gloried, the Pro-
phet, as we see, did not without reason shake off that confi-
dence by which they deceived themselves.
We may hence gather a useful doctrine: With regard to
the whole race of man there is nothing certain or permanent
in this life; for God can change our condition at any time,
so as to cast down the rich and the eminent from their ele-
vation, and also to raise up the most despised of men, ac-
cording to what is said in Psalm exiii. 7. And we know this
to be true, not only as to individuals, but also as to nations
and kingdoms. Many kings have so increased their power
as to think themselves beyond the reach of harm; and yet
we have seen that God laid them prostrate as by a sudden
whirlwind: so also it has happened to powerful nations,
With regard then to the condition of mankind, God shews
here as in a mirror, or by a vivid spectacle, that sudden
changes are often in the world, which ought to awaken us
from our torpor, so that no one of us may dare to promise
himself another day, or even another hour, or another mo-
ment. This is one thing; but this doctrine has a peculiar
application to us; for as God has by a peculiar favour sepa-
rated us from the rest of the world, so he would have us to
depend wholly on his mere good will. Faith indeed ought
to be tranquil, nay, it ought to disregard whatever may bring
on us any terror or anxiety ; but faith, where has it its seat?
In heaven. Then courage is required in all the children of
God, so that they may with a quiet mind disregard all the -
changes of the world. But we must see that the tranquillity
of faith be well founded, that is, in humility. For as we
cast our anchor in heaven, so also, with regard to ourselves,
we ought always to lie low and be humble. Whosoever then
flies in vain confidence boasts in vain of faith, and falsely
pretends that he trusts in God. Let it then ever come to
our minds, and constantly recur to us, that our condition is
CHAP. xvitt. 7-10.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 397
not through ourselves safe and secure, but through the gra-
tuitous goodness of God. We now see the application of this
doctrine.
7. At what instant I shall speak
concerning a nation, and concerning
a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull
down, and to destroy it ;
8. If that nation, against whom
I have pronounced, turn from their
evil, I will repent of the evil that
I thought to do unto them.
9. And at what instant I shall
speak concerning a nation, and con-
cerning a kingdom, to build, and to
plant it;
10. If it do evil in my sight. that
it obey not my voice, then I will re-
pent of the good wherewith I said
I would benefit them.
The Prophet proceeds,—
7. Subitd loquar contra gentem et
contra regnum, ad evellendum et
eradicandum (alii vertunt, ad fran-
gendum, vel, conterendum) et ad
perdendum. "
8. Et conversa fuit gens illa a
malo suo (hoc est, 4 malitia sua,) de
qua (vel, pro qua) locutus sum ad-
versus illam; et (potius, tune; co-
pula valet hic adverbium temporis)
penitebit me super malo, quod cogi-
taveram ut facerem ei.
9. Et repenté loquar super gentem
et super regnum, ad edificandum et
ad plantandum ;
10. Quod si fecerit malum coram
oculis meis, ut non audiat vocem
meam, tune peenitebit me super bono,
quod locutus fueram ut benefacerem
el.
This is a fuller application of the Prophet’s doctrine ; for
he had said generally before, that the people were in God’s
hand as the clay is in the hand of the potter; but he adds
here what is more popular or comprehensive,—that all men
are in the hand of God, so that he now favours one nation
with his blessing, and then deprives them of it, and that he
raises up those whom he had previously brought low.
I have said that this part of the doctrine is more popular
or comprehensive, for he refers to repentance. When Paul
adduced this similitude,—that we are in the power of God
as the clay is in the hand of the potter, he spoke not in so
popular a manner: for he did not speak of repentance, but
ascended higher and said, that before the world was created,
it was in God’s power to determine what he pleased respect-
ing every individual, and that we are now formed according
to his will, so that he chooses one and rejects the other.
Paul then did not refer to faithfulness nor to repentance,
but spoke of the hidden purpose of God, by which he has
predestinated some to salvation and some to destruction.
(Rom, ix. 21.) Isaiah also seems to have had the same thing
398 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXX.
in view ; for he says only, “ Woe to them who rise up against
their Maker.” (Isaiah xlv. 9.) Cannot I determine, saith —
God, with regard to men, as the potter, who forms the clay
as he pleases? We must then maintain this principle,—that
men are thus formed according to God’s will, so that all must
become mute ; for uselessly do the reprobate make a clamour,
object and say, “ Why hast thou formed us thus?” Has not
the potter, says Paul, power, &e.? This is what must be said
of God’s hidden predestination.
But Jeremiah here accommodates his doctrine to the
people, that he might shew, that God had by a gratuitous
covenant chosen and adopted the seed of Abraham in such
a way, that he could still repudiate the unworthy, even all
those who despised so great a favour.
We now sce the various applications of this doctrine; God
determined, before tire creation of the world, what he pleased
respecting each individual ; but his counsel is hid, and to us
incomprehensible. There is here a more familiar application
made,—that God at one time takes away his blessings, and
that at another he raises men as it were from death, that
he might set them on high, according as he pities those
who truly and from the heart turn to him, or is offended
with the ingratitude of such as reject his offered favours.
Hence he says, Suddenly will I speak against a nation and
against a kingdom, to pull down, to root wp, or to extirpate,
and to destroy. By saying suddenly, he reminds the Jews
of their origin; for what was their condition when the Lord
stretched out his hand to them, and brought them from that
wretched bondage in which they lived? as though he had
said, “Consider from. whence God raised you, and then ae-
knowledge that he raised you in a wonderful manner and be-
yond human expectation ; for in the same day ye were of all
the most miserable, and of all the most happy; one night
not only brought you from death into life, but carried you
from the deepest abyss above all earthly happiness, as
though ye rode on the clouds.” God then suddenly spoke." -
‘« At length,” or finally— tees, is the Septuagint ; “suddenly,” the
Vulgate; but the Targum renders the word here, “ At one time,” and in
ver. 9, “ At another time ;” and this seems to be the meaning of Y39, when
:
CHAP. Xvill. 7-10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAIL. 399
But he refers also te punishment ; God speaks of a nation
and of a kingdom, to do it good; and he. speaks again, in
order to pull down, to destroy a nation anda kingdom. How
then comes it, that they who seem for a time to flourish
and to be most happy, suddenly perish? Because God
punishes men for theiringratitude. And how comes it, that
they, who were trodden under foot by all, suddenly rise ?
Because the Lord pities them.
But the Prophet speaks first of punishment ; Suddenly, he
says, will I speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to pull down,
to extirpate and to destroy ; that is, eyen they who seem far
from all danger shall find that they are exposed to my judg-
ment. But if a nation, he says, turns from its wickedness,
against whom I have spoken, then I will repent of the evil,
&e. The Prophet no doubt intended to shut up the mouths
of the Jews, who, as we have before seen, continually con-
tended with God; for he could not convince them that
the punishments were just which God inflicted on them
for their sins. As then they were thus perverse in their
wickedness, and hypocrisy also had hardened them the more,
the Prophet says here in God’s name, “ When I speak against
a nation and threaten final ruin, if it repents, I shall be im-
mediately reconciled to it ; there is therefore no ground for
the Jews to expostulate with me, as though I dealt with
them too severely ; for they shall find me reconcilable if
repeated, as it is here. Let it be so rendered, and let the future verb
which comes after it be viewed as present, which is often the case in He-
brew, and the whole passage may be literally rendered, without giving an
unusual meaning to the copulative, 1,—
7. At one time I speak of a nation and of a kingdom,
In order to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy ;
8. And that nation returns from its evil,
Against which [ had spoken,
And I repent of the evil
. Which [ had thought of doing to it:
9. And at another time I speak of a nation and of a kingdom,
In order to build and to plant;
And it doeth evil in mine eyes,
So as not to hear my voice ;
And I repent of the good
Which I had spoken of doing to it,
or of making good to it.
The whole is a striking narrative of God’s dealings with nations and
kingdoms.— Ed.
ee
ve
400 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXX.
they repent from the heart.” It follows then, that their
obstinacy was the cause why God proceeded in his judg-
ments, for the repentance of God means no other thing than
what Scripture says elsewhere, that he is merciful, slow to
wrath, and ready to forgive. (Num, xiv. 18; Psalm ciii. 8.)
He then here testifies, that nothing hindered the Jews from
being in a better state but their own perverseness.
On the other hand, he affirms, that the lost are restored,
when the Lord speaks suddenly of a nation and of a kingdom,
to build and to plant; as though it was said,—* I will not
only forgive, but I am ready to bestow blessings on those
whom I had previously rejected as mine enemies.” Then
God amplifies his goodness when he says, that he will not
only forgive the sins of men, so as freely to pardon them,
but that he is ready to bestow on them all kinds of blessings,
if they seek to be reconciled to him.
Now follows the opposite clause, But if it will do evil be-
fore mine eyes, so as not to hear my voice ; that is, when a
nation has been planted through my kindness, (for this is
_ required by the context,) then I will repent, &e. By this
denunciation is meant, that God would tread in the dust
those whom he had favoured with singular benefits, on account
of the abuse made of them; as though he had said, “ When
I promise bountifully and freely to a nation or a kingdom
everything that can be wished, except my favour and good-
ness be rightly received, then I repent of the good done to
it.” The meaning is, that the way of pardon is always open,
when a sinner turns to God, and that it is in vain for men to
boast of God’s promises, except they in fear and obedience
submit themselves to him.
Both these things were necessary ; that is, that the Jews
should know that God would be entreated if they repented
and that his promises could not be extended to those who
were guilty of such gross abuse as a total disregard of his
law and his prophets. Then the Prophet mentions here the
ordinary course,—that as soon as men repented, they might
safely and fully expect good things from God, for he is in-
clined to mercy ; and then, that no nation, however it may
excel in gifts, ought to indulge a foolish confidence and to
‘OHAP. xvii. 11,12.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 401,
use its present glory as means to despise its giver, for God
ean take away what he has given. ‘The real import of the
whole then is, that we cannot expect to enjoy the benefits
which God bestows on us, except we persevere in faithfulness
and in the fear of him. It is indeed certain that God’s bless-
ings do not depend on worthiness in men; but still he will
not have his bounty to be despised, as was the case with the
Jews, and at this day it is a common thing in the world.
It now follows,—
11. Now therefore go to, speak
to the men of Judah, and to the in-
habitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus
saith the Lord, Behold, I frame evil
against you, and devise a device
against you: return ye now every
one from his evil way, and make
your ways and your doings good.
12. And they said, There is no
hope: but we will walk after our
own devices, and we will every one
do the imagination of his evil heart.
11. Et nunc (agedum) dic ad vi-
rum Jehudah (hoe est, ad unum-
quemque,) et incolas Jerusalem,
dicendo (alloquere omnes Judeos et
incolas Jerusalem,) sie dicit Jehova,
Ecce ego fingo super vos malum, et
cogito super vos cogitationem ; re-
vertimini igitur quisque a via sua
mala, et rectas facite vias vestras et
studia vestra.
12. Et dixerunt, Actum est; quia
post cogitationes nostras ambulabi-
mus, et quisque pravitatem cordis
sui mali faciemus.
The Prophet is now bidden to turn his discourse to the Jews,
that he might apply the doctrine of repentance, to which he
had referred; for a doctrine generally stated, as it is well
known, is less efficient. He then contends here, as it were,
in full force with his own nation: Say then to the Jews and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who indeed ought to have
shewn the way to others, but were themselves the worst of
all, return ye, he says, every one from his evil way. Here
God shews, that what he had before stated generally, ap-
plied peculiarly to the Jews,—that he is reconcilable when
a sinner returns to him, and that they who disregard
and despise his goodness cannot possibly escape un-
punished.
Return ye, he says, every one from his evil way, and make
right your ways ; why so? For behold I frame for you an evil,
and I think for you a thought ; that is, “ Vengeance is now
prepared and is suspended over your heads, except ye turn —
in due time ; but if ye truly and from the heart repent, I
am ready to receive you.” We see how God includes the two
VOL. IT. 2¢
402 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT. LXX.
things before referred to: He had previously said, “If I speak
against a nation, and it turns from its sins, I immediately
repent ; but when I promise to be a father to a nation or a
kingdom, I do not allow myself and my bounty to be despised,
which men do when they reject what I offer.” But he now
says, Behold, I think,’ &c.; this refers to the former clause, the
threatenings; and then when he adds, Return ye, he pro-
mises pardon ; for as it has been said elsewhere and often,
there can be.no exhortation to repentance without a hope
of favour, as God cannot be feared, except there be pro-
pitiation with him, according to what is said in Psalm
cxxx. 4, ;
God then shews in this verse, that he was ready to receive
the Jews if they repented; but that if they continued perverse
as they were wont to be, he would not suffer them to go un-
punished, for he thought of evil for them. But this thought
included the effect, the execution, as he was the potter, in
whose hand and power they were.
Then the Prophet adds what shews how hopeless was the
impiety of the people, for all his labour was in vain. It was
indeed a monstrous stupidity, when they could not be terri-
fied by God’s threatenings nor allured by his kind promises.
But the Prophet meant also to shew, that God tried all
means to restore the people from ruin to life and salvation,
but that all means were tried in vain, owing to the irre-
claimable character of the people. I cannot finish the sub-
ject to-day ; I must therefore defer it till to-morrow.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since we stand or fall at thy will, we
may be conscious of our weakness and frailty, and constantly re-
member that not only our life is a shadow, but that we are
wholly nothing, and thus learn to trust in thee alone, and to de-
pend on thee alone and on thy good pleasure ; and as it is thine
to begin and to complete whatever belongs to our salvation, may
1 More is meant by this word than expressed, which is often the case in
all languages. “1 contrive with respect to you a contrivance.” is per-
haps the most literal rendering. ‘ Device” is taken commonly in a bad
sense.—Ed. ;
CHAP. XVIII.1],12. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 403
we in real fear and trembling submit ourselves to thee, and proceed
in the course of our calling, ever calling on thee, and casting all
our cares into thy bosom, until being at length freed from all
dangers, we shall be gathered into that eternal and blessed rest
which has been obtained for us by the blood of thine only-be-
gotten Son.—Amen. :
Lecture Seventy=first.
Tue Prophet, having related that he had denounced on
the Jews the vengeance of God, adds now, how proudly they
despised his threatenings. And their sin was on this account
enhanced, because a hope of pardon remained for them, pro-
vided they returned to God. But the Prophet says, that
they expressly refused to do so. They said, WS), nuash,
which we render, “It is all over,” though interpreters in
general render it, “It is past hope.” We have spoken of this
word in chapter second, and the Prophet now repeats the
same thing,—that the Jews were obstinately given to super-
stitions, and also to perverted counsels, thinking that. they
could well provide for their own safety and drive away all
dangers by connecting themselves, at one time with the As-
syrians, and at another with the Egyptians. Butas the verb
WN’, iash, may be taken as signifying, to be weary, as we
learn from the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes ; it may per-
haps be not unsuitably rendered here, “We are become
weary ;” that is, we are unwilling to consume so much
labour in vain; for the ungodly took this as a reason for
their obstinacy, that they had laboured long and much in
something or another ; and pride hardened them, and they
said, “‘ Have we not hitherto laboured in vain?’ Now this
meaning, “ We have become wearied,” does not appear un-
suitable, by which they implied, “Thou oughtest to have
called us back at the beginning ; but now we have nearly
finished the whole journey and are not far distant from the
goal; it cannot then be that we shall return to the starting
place, for it would be absurd for us to spend so much labour
in vain and to no purpose.” Nor is this meaning disapproved
of by those who regard the word as a noun, “It is weari-
So t8
/~ ey
es 4)
Lee un
404 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXI
ness,” that is, ‘‘It is now too late to reprove us, for we have
‘now followed this way for many years.”
With regard to the main subject, there is but little differ-
ence. But the meaning would be clearer were we thus to
paraphrase it, “ Labour more than enough has been already
spent ; thou comest then not in due time.”
Isaiah in chap. lvii. verse 10, seems to have reproved the
Jews for what was praiseworthy, if this declaration of Jere-
miah be right; for he spoke thus, “For ye have wearied
yourselves in your ways, and no one has said WN), nuash ;
and Jeremiah reproves them here for having said WSJ,
nuash, These two places then seem inconsistent. But when
Isaiah spoke thus, he reproved the insensibility of the Jews,
for even experience, which is said to be the teacher of
fools, had not made them weary; for when they had so
often found by their own calamities that they had been at
one time deceived by the Assyrians, and at another by the
Egyptians, it was an instance of palpable madness not to
learn at length by long experience, and to confess, “ We have
surely laboured in vain.” We thus see in what sense Isaiah
blamed them for not saying, “It is weariness ;” that is, be-
cause they did not consider that their labour had been in
vain. But our Prophet here has another thing in view,—
that the Jews were unwilling to lose their toil, but went on
in their course obstinately, for they had hardened themselves
so as to persist in their corrupt habit of sinning.
It follows, For after our thoughts we shall go, and every
one will do the wickedness of his evil heart? Doubtless they
did not thus speak openly, for they did not avowedly boast
that they were ungodly and despisers of God: but the Pro-
phet did not regard what they said, but what their conduct
proved, for the Jews were wont to set up their own devices
and the fallacies of Satan against the word of God. No
1 The variety of the versions is remarkable as to the word WN13; “ We
shall be men, or act manly,” is the Septuagint ; “ We have despaired,” th
Vulgate; “ We shall perish,” the Syriac. See note in vol. i. p. 122.
is a participle, and may be rendered “ Hopeless.” Blayney’s version is,
“Tt is a thing not to be hoped.” Ed.
* More literally,—
For after our own contrivances shall we go;
And we shall do, each, the resolutions of his evil heart.—Zd.
CHAP. XVIII. 13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 405
wonder then that the Prophet charges them with these im-
pious and sacrilegious words, that they resolved to follow
their own thoughts, and the wickedness of their own hearts,
rather than to submit to God and to obey his word.
We hence see that hypocrites gain nothing by obtruding
their vain mummeries, for God cannot be dealt with sophis-
tically or cunningly. Condemnation then awaits all the
ungodly, however they may by disguises cover their wicked-
ness ; for whatever is contrary to sound doctrine, is a sinful
device, a fallacy of Satan, and, in a word, the impiety of a
) corrupt heart. Whosoever indeed turns aside from the plain
teaching of the prophets, and from the teaching of the law,
. follow their own thoughts, or the figments of their own
hearts. It hence follows that they try evasions in vain, for
when they reject pure doctrine they set up their own inven-
| tions. In the same,sense we are to take the words “ his own
| evil heart,” YF 127, labu ero; they never confessed that
| their heart was evil or wicked, and yet the Prophet charged
3 them with having uttered the words here stated, for he con-
. sidered, as I have said, what their conduct proved, and not
) the evasions by which hypocrites usually attempt to deceive
God. It now follows—
13. Therefore thus saith the 13. Propterea sic dicit Jehova, Inter-
Lord, Ask ye now among the rogate agedum inter gentes, quis audie-
heathen, who hath heard such rit secundum hoe (quis unquam audierit
things? the virgin of Israel hath aliquid simile?) fceditatem (vel, porten-
done a very horrible thing. tum) patravit valde virgo Israel.
God shews here that the Jews were become wholly irre-
elaimable, for they arrived at the highest pitch of impiety,
when they were so daring as to reject the salvation offered
to them; for what had the Prophet in view but to extricate
them from ruin? God himself by his Prophet wished to
secure their safety. How great then was their ingratitude
to reject God’s paternal care, and not to give ear to the Pro-
phet who was to be a minister of salvation to them? Now
as they were extremely deaf and stupid, God turns to the
Gentiles.
Enquire, or ask, he says, among the Gentiles, Has any one
. + heard such a thing? as though he had said, “I will no more
contend with those brute animals, for there is no reason in
406 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXI.
them ; but the Gentiles, destitute of the light of knowledge,
can be-made witnesses of so gross an impiety.” And he
says the same thing in chap. ii. 10, “ Go, pass through the
isles and survey the whole world, has any nation forsaken
its own gods, and yet they are no gods?” As though he
had said, “ Religion so much prevails among wretched ido-
laters, that they continue stedfast in their superstitions; as
they consider it a dreadful thing to change their god, they
therefore shun it as a monstrous thing. Hence it is; that
they are devoted to their superstitions, for the god whom
they have once received, they think it the highest impiety
to forsake, while yet they are no gods; but my people have
forsaken me, who am the fountain of living water.” Jere-
miah repeats now the same thing in other words, that such
an example could not be found among heathens.
He then adds, A base thing has the virgin of Israel done.
Some indeed render MWY, shorret, “a monstrous thing,”
and it may be thus taken metaphorically, for the verb WY,
shor, means to count, to think; and this meaning may be
adopted here; but as in many places it signifies baseness, I
will not depart from that common meaning.’ He says then,
that it was an extremely base thing for the people to forsake
him. He does not call the people the virgin of Israel by
way of honour, but to augment their reproach. For God, as
we have before seen, had espoused the people to himself;
and so it was their duty to observe conjugal fidelity, as a
virgin espoused by a husband, who ought not to regard any
other, for she is not to look for any other after she has
pledged her faith. But the people of Israel, who ought to
have been as it were the bride of God, sinned most basely,
yea, most disgracefully and infamously, when they prostituted
* It is rendered in the Septuagint and Vulgate as a noun in the plural
number, and more suitably in this place,—
13. Therefore thus saith Jehovah,
Enquire I pray among the nations,
Who hath heard such things as these—
The horrible things which she hath fully done,
The virgin of Israel.
The particle IND, much, very much, &c., must from its position be con-
strued with the verb, and not with “horrible.” It may be rendered,
“ which she hath done excessively.” —Ed.
rae
*.
CHAP. XVIII. 14,15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 407
themselves to wicked counsels as well as to superstitions.
He now adds comparisons, by which he more fully exposes
their wickedness,—
14. Will a man leave the snow of
Lebanon which cometh from the rock
of the field? or shall the cold flow-
ing waters that come from another
place be forsaken?
15. Because my people hath for-
gotten me, they have burnt incense
to vanity, and they have caused them
to stumble in their ways from the
ancient paths, to walk in paths, in
a way not cast up.
14. An relinquet é rupe agri-ni-
vem Libani? an relinquentur aque
aliene et frigide fluentes?
15. Quia oblitus est mei populus
meus, frustra suffitum faciunt (vel,
adolent,) dum corruere eos fecerunt
(copula enim explicitivé accipitur,
vel causaliter) in viis suis (vel, ipso-
rum,) semitis seculi, ut ambularent
per semitas ,viam non caleatam
(quamquam Sw significat etiam
impingere, vel, offendere, ideo verti
posset, et eos impingere fecerunt in
e : Viis suis. ) .
As I have just said, God here enhances the sin of the
people by a twofold comparison; for when one can draw
water in his own field, and find there a spring, what folly
will it be for him to run to a distance to seek water? And
then, when water does not spring up near, but flows from a
distance in a pure and cold stream, who will not be satisfied
with such water? and if he seeks to find the spring, will not
all laugh at such madness? Now God was like a living
fountain, and at Jerusalem was the spring where the Jews
might drink to their full; and God’s blessings flowed also
to them as it were through various channels, so that nothing
was wanting to them. We then see that here is condemned
a twofold madness in the people, that they despised God’s
kindness which was near at hand, as though one close to
Mount Libanus refused its cold waters, or as though one
would not draw water from a river without going to the
spring-head. Since then God offered himself to them in
every way, and presented his bounty to them, it was a mad-
ness extremely base and inexcusable to reject flowing waters
and the fountain itself.
We now perceive the meaning of this passage. It is doubt-
less natural for all to be satisfied with present blessings,
especially when nothing better can anywhere else be found.
When one has a fountain in his own field, why should he go
is
408 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. ~ LECT. LXXI.
elsewhere to drink? This would be monstrous. Dost thou
want water? God supplies thee with it; take it from thine
own fountain. If one objects and says, “That fountain I
dislike ; I wish to know whether better waters can be found
at a distance.” This we see is a proof of brutal stupidity ;
for if the water which flows be cold and pure, and he dis-
likes it, because he wishes to go to the spring, he shews his
own folly, whoever he may be. If, for instance, any one at
this day would not drink the waters of the Rhone, which
flows by here, and would not taste of the springs, but would
run to the fountain and spring-head of the Rhone, would he
not deserve to perish through thirst? God then shews that
the Jews were so void of all sense and reason, that they
ought to have been deemed detestable by all; and therefore
in the application, when he says, My people have forgotten
me, both clauses ought to be repeated. This indeed by itself
would have been obscure, or at least not sufficiently explicit;
but God here in substance repeats what he had said before,
that he is the fountain of living water which was offered to
the Jews; and also that his bounty flowed through various
channels like living and cold waters, As then the people
forgat God they were doubly ungrateful, for they refused to
drink of the fountain itself, and disdained the cold and flow-
ing waters, which were not hot to occasion a nausea; they
were also pure and liquid, having no impure mixture in
them."
1 The general drift of this verse is no doubt given here, though the
version seems not to be correct.- ‘the early versions and the Targum are
all different, and hardly present any meaning at all. ‘The versions of
Blayney and Horsley are not much better. Venema appears to have
given the most satisfactory version, which is as follows,—
Will azy one forsake for a rock
A field irrigated by the snow of Libanus?
Shall for strange waters
Be abandoned cold streams ?
To make the two clauses alike, the preposition 1) is put before “ waters,”
which is found before “rock.” “Strange waters” were those conducted
to a place by artificial means. But to give D the meaning which it often
has, rather than, the verse may be thus rendered,— ,
Shall it be forsaken, rather than the rock,
The field watered by the snow of Libanus?
Shall they be abandoned rather than strange waters,
The cooling streams (or rills) ? ‘
CHAP. XVI. 14,15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 409
He again ealls them his people, but for the sake of re-
proaching them ; for the less excusable was their perverse-
ness, when God in an especial manner offered himself to
them, and they refused his offered bounty. Had this been
done by heathens it would have been no small sin, though
God had not favoured them with any remarkable privilege,
but when the Jews had been chosen in preference to all
others, it was as it were a monstrous thing that they forgot
God, even him whom they had known. He was unknown
to heathens, but he had made himself known to the Jews;
hence this forgetfulness, with which the Prophet charged
them, could not have proceeded from ignorance, but from
determined perverseness.
He afterwards adds, In vain' they burn incense to me, since
to stwmble, &e., (the copulative is to be rendered as a causal
particle.) When he says, in vain they burn incense, it is to
anticipate an objection. For we know that the Jews trusted
in their ceremonial rites, so when they were reproved by the
Prophets they had ever ready this answer, “ We are the wor-
shippers of God, for we constantly go up to the Temple, and
he has promised that the incense which we offer shall be to
him a sweet odour.’ He at the same time includes under
this word all the sacrifices, for it is said generally of them
all, “ A sweet odour shall ascend before the Lord.’ Then
by mentioning one thing he denotes all that external wor-
ship in which the Jews were sufficiently assiduous. But as
the whole was nothing but hypocrisy, when the integrity of
the heart was absent, the Prophet here dissipates this vain
objection, and says, “In vain do they set forth their cere-
monial rites, that they attend very regularly to their sacri-
The change proposed in the last verb is unnecessary, as both verbs are
nearly of the same meaning. The second line literally rendered is, “'The
field of the snow of Libanus;” so called as being irrigated by the melted
snow from that mountain. To prefer a rocky dry ground for such a field,
symbolized the conduct of the Jews, as well as to prefer waters brought
by pipes from a distance to refreshing streams.—Ld.
1 So the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Targum, but the Syriac and
Arabic are like our version, “to vanity,” the idol being often so called:
and this is the most suitable rendering here, as it shews the object of their
worship when they forsook Jehovah. The word may be rendered “to a
lie,” or, what is meant, “to a false god.” See Rom. i. 25.— Ed.
410 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXI.
fices, and that they do not neglect anything in the external
worship of God: it is all in vain,” he says.
This truth is often referred to by the Prophets, arid ought
to be well known by the godly; yet we see how difficult it
is to bring the world to believe it. Hypocrisy ever prevails,
and men think that they perform all that is required of them
when some kind of religion appears among them. But God,
as we have before seen, has regard to the heart itself or in-
tegrity ; yet this is what the world cannot comprehend.
Therefore the Prophets do not without reason so often in-
culcate the truth, that inward piety, connected with integrity
of heart, alone pleases God.
He afterwards mentions the cause—that they made them
to stumble in their ways. He means here no doubt the false
teachers, who allured the people from the true and simple
worship of God, and corrupted wholesome doctrine by their
many fictions. And it is a common thing in Hebrew to
leave a word, as we have said elsewhere, to be understood:
they then made them to stumble, or to fall. The meaning is,
that the sacrifices of the people could not be approved by
God, because the whole of religion was corrupted. And the
crime the Prophet names was, that the people were drawn
aside from the right way, that is, from the law, which is
alone the rule of piety and uprightness.
But we hence learn how frivolous is the excuse of those
who say, that they follow what they have learnt from the
fathers, and what has been delivered to them from the
ancients, and received by universal consent; for God here
declares, that the destruction of the people would follow,
because they suffered themselves to be deceived by false
prophets.
As to the words in their ways, or in their own ways, in-
terpreters differ, and many apply the pronoun BM, em, to the
false Prophets; but I prefer the other view, that they made
them to stumble in their right ways, for by errors they led
them away from the right course. When therefore he says,
in their ways, the words are to be taken in a good sense ; for
God had pointed out the right way to the people. He then
calls the doctrine of the law the ways to which the people
CHAP. XvIII. 14,15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 411
had been accustomed. Then follows the expression, the paths
of ages, which is to be taken in the same sense. But we
must notice the contrast between those paths, and the way
not trodden."
This brevity may be deemed obscure; I will therefore
give a more explicit explanation. The Prophet calls those
the ways of the people in which they had been fully taught ;
and this took away every colour of defence; for the people
could not object and say that they had been deceived, as
though they had not known what was right ; for they had
not only been taught, but had also been led as it were by
the hand, so that the way of the law ought to have been
well known by them. Then he adds, the paths of ages ; for
as the law had not been introduced a short time before, but
fo many ages, this antiquity ought to have strengthened
their faith in God’s law. We now see how these two things
bear on what is said, that the Jews, being deceived by false
teachers, fell or stumbled in those ways to which they had
been accustomed; and then in the paths of ages, that is, in the
doctrine long before received, and whose authority had been
for many ages established. On the other hand, he says that
the Jews had been drawn to paths and to a way not trodden,
that is, had been led from the right way into error. And
he farther aggravates their sin by saying, that they preferred
to go astray rather than to keep the way which had been
trodden by their fathers.
But it may be here asked, whether this change in itself
ought to be condemned, since we despise antiquity, or rather
regard what is right? To this the easy reply is, that the
1 I propose the following rendering of the verse,—
For forsaken me have my people;
To vanity they burn incense,
And make them stumble in their ways,
The paths of ages;
So that they walk in the tracks
Of a way not prepared ;
literally, not cast up or raised.
That “they” were the false priests is evident, because to burn incense
was the office of the priests. To stumble in God’s ways is to transgress
his law; and these “ ways” were “the paths of ages,” or, of antiquity, or,
“ancient paths,” as they had for ages been made known to the people.—
Ed.
412 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECY. LXXI.
Prophet speaks here in the name of God: therefore this
principle ought to be maintained, that there is no right way
but what God himself has pointed out. Had any one else
come and boasted antiquity, the Prophet would have laughed
to scorn such boasting, and why? for what antiquity can be
in men who vanish away? and when we count many ages,
there is nothing constant and sure among men. It ought
then to be noticed, that God was the author of that way
which the Prophet complains had been forsaken by the
people. Now the things which follow harmonize together,
that the people had strayed from the way which they had
long kept; for the Jews, as it has been said, had not followed
any men, but God himself, who had been pleased to stretch
forth his hand to them and to shew them the sure way of
salvation; and we must also observe what sort of peoffle
were the fathers, even such as had followed God, and when
they had such examples, they ought to have been more and
more stimulated to imitate them.
It was therefore an inexcusable wickedness to forsake a
way found good by long experience, the way of ages, which
had been approved for a long time, and to depart into paths
not trodden, for by no example of the saints who were alone
the true fathers, had they been led to devise for themselves
new and fictitious modes of worship, and also to depart from
the plain doctrine of the law. Had any one answered, that
these ways had been long trodden, because they had both
the Assyrians and the Egyptians as associates in their
superstitions, such an exception could not be admitted, for
the Prophet, as I have said, does not speak indiscriminately
of any kind of examples, but of the examples of the fathers,
who had been ruled and led by the Lord. It follows—
16. To make their land deso- 16. Ad ponendum terram eorum in
_late, and a perpetual hissing: vastitatem, (hoe est, ut ponam terram
every one that passeth thereby eorum in vastitatem,) in sibila per-
shall be astonished, and wag his petua; quisquis transibit per eam
head. obstupescet et movebit caput.
The Prophet again denounces the punishment which they
deserved, that desolation awaited the land. It would be, he
says, their reward to have the land reduced to a solitude,
CHAP. XVIII.17. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 413
and also to perpetual hissings. The word phy, oulam,
which the Prophet had just used, is here also used, but in
a different sense, for when he said, the paths of ages, he re-
ferred to past time, but now toa future time. As then the
Jews had alienated themselves from the ways of ages, that
is, from the eternal verity of God, so now he says, that their
land would be for the hissings of ages, for the dreadful
ealamity now at hand would not be for a few years but to
the end of the world.
And in the second clause he expresses more clearly what
he meant by eternal hissings, that every one passing through
it would be astonished and move or shake his head,’ as one
does either in amazement, or in contempt, or in abhorrence ;
this kind of. speaking often occurs in the Prophets. The
land of Canaan, after having been given to the Jews, became
as it were an extraordinary country, in which all kinds of
opulence appeared, for God poured upon it the invaluable
treasures of his bounty, so that the very sight of it filled all
with admiration ; on the other hand, it became the scene of
horror and an object of hissing when God cursed it. A con-
firmation then follows—
17. Iwill scatter them 17. In vento orientali, (vel, per ventum orien-
as with an east wind talem; guidam legunt J loco A, et dicunt, tanquam
before the enemy; I ventus orientalis; sed quod ad mentem Prophet
will shew them the back, spectat nulla est ambiguitas, per ventum ergo
and not the face, in orientalem,) dispergam eos coram facie inimici ;
the day of their cala- cervicem, non faciem ostendam ipsis (videre ipsos
mity. faciam) in die calamitatis ipsorum, (vel, interi-
tus, ut alii vertunt.)
Though no word of comparison is expressed, if we read 4,
beth, and not 3, caph, yet the Prophet employs a compari-
son, for God did not drive away the Jews by an eastern
wind, but as the force of that wind is violént in Judea, the
eastern wind often means a storm or a whirlwind, as though
he had said, ‘‘ As by a whirlwind ora storm will I cast them
out.”? TJ will disperse or dissipate them, he says, before the
face of the enemy. He means that enemies would come to
1 More literally, “ And shall nod with his head.”— Ed.
* Many copies read 3, though all the versions retain the 3; “ As a burn-
ing wind will I scatter them,” is the version of the Septuagint and the
Vulgate ; “ As a hot wind,” &c., is the Syriac.—Ed.
414 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXTI.
exterminate the Jews from the land; and he adds another
thing, that these enemies would be full of terror, for God
would give them the force of a whirlwind or a storm to dis-
perse and scatter the Jews, for being terrified by God they
would not dare to withstand.
Then follows a commination, that God would turn to them
the neck, or the back, and not the face in the day of calamity.
It sometimes happens that we are severely chastised by
God, he thus often tries his faithful people when he subjects
them to the will of the ungodly ; but yet all remedy is not
taken away from them, as they find consolation in God’s
mercy, for as he casts down so he raises up, as he puts to
death so he gives life, according to what is said in 1 Sam.
ii. 6. But God here denounces a punishment without any
prospect of pardon or alleviation, J will scatter them, he says,
as by an east wind before their enemies. Then he adds;
“In vain shall they flee to me and seek my mercy, though
otherwise it is offered to all, yet then they shall implore it
in vain, for it is decreed not to pardon them. I will shew
to them my back, (or neck, for #}1Y, oreph, is the hinder
part of the head, but here it means the back,) they shall
then find that I am turned away from them, so that they
shall not be set before my eyes.” For it is an invaluable
consolation when God is pleased to look on our miseries, but
he deprives the Jews of this hope, for he would turn to
them his back in the day of slaughter. I cannot proceed
farther now.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that we may in due time anticipate thy
wrath, and never so kindle it by our perverseness as to preclude
every remedy; and then also when thou for a time chastisest
us, do not wholly cast us away, but let this resort ever remain
to us, to seek thee in the day of calamity and to find thee ac-
cessible, so that being reunited to thee we may find that thou
rememberest mercy even in wrath, until we shall enjoy a full
and real participation of thy favour and paternal love in thy
celestial kingdom, which has been procured for us by the blood
of thine only-begotten Son.—Amen.
GHAP, xvii. 18.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
415
Becture Seventy-Second.
18. Then said they, Come, and let
us devise devices against Jeremiah ;
for the law shall not perish from the
priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor
the word from the prophet: come,
and let us smite him with the tongue,
and let us not give heed to any of
his words.
18. Et dixerunt, Venite, et co-
gitemus contra Jeremiam cogita-
tiones, quia non peribit Lex a sa-
cerdote, et consilium a sapiente,
et sermo a Propheta: venite, et
percutiamus eum lingua, neque
attendamus ad cunctos sermones
ejus.
Here Jeremiah relates how great was the fury which seized
the minds of those on whom he had denounced the venge-
ance of God. It was no doubt a dreadful thing to hear, that
when they should be in a state of despair, no aid from God
could be expected: for this is the import of what we have
observed,—“ In the day of their calamity I will shew them
my back and not my face ;” that is, “They shall see my
back and not my face.” As then there was no hope of par-
don remaining for them, was it not a monstrous stupidity
not to be moved and humbled, when they saw that God was
thus angry with them? But the Prophet shews, that his
denunciation was heedlessly despised by them ; nay, that
there was such obstinacy in their wickedness, that they then
more stoutly prepared themselves for battle. For he says
that they avowedly conspired against him, after he had
warned them of God’s dreadful judgment.
And he introduces them as encouraging one another,
Come, and let us think thoughts against Jeremiah. We may
observe what it was that they set up against God’s judg-
ment, eyen their own counsels and purposes: this was in a
word to transfer authority from God to themselves. They
thus deprived God of his right, and sought to occupy his
throne, as though they were the judges and could subject to
their own will whatever the Prophet had declared. It is
indeed probable, that they did not avowedly or designedly
carry on war with God; for hypocrites raise up for them-
selves mists and clouds, by which they wilfully bring dark-
ness on themselves. In the meantime a diabolical fury pos- .
sesses them, so that they make no account of God ; for were
416 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXITI,
they really to consider the truth brought to them, they
might easily understand it. Whence then is this violent
fury and madness, that when they seek to contend with man,
they really fight with God? Even because their impiety and
pride, as I have said, so blinds them, that they hesitate not
to rob God of his honour, and thus they put themselves in
his place.
The same thing is to be seen now under the whole Papacy :
for when they conspire among themselves to oppose plain
truths, they do not ask at the mouth of God, nor regard any-
thing taught in the Scriptures, but are satisfied with trum-
peting forth their rotten decrees, or rather dreams, in which
there is nothing, however futile, which they do not regard
as an oracle: and when they bring forth their bulls, they
think themselves sufficiently fortified, as though God were
deprived of his own right. But this will appear more ree
from the context.
They said, For perish shall not the law from the rine
This reason, which they added, shews whence that security
arose, through which they healiatea not to reject the words
of the Prophet: there were priests and prophet#vho occu-
pied a place in the Church, and who boasted of their titles,
though they were nothing but mere masks, having no care
to possess what their calling required. Thus the vizarded
priests were satisfied with an honourable vocation, and cared
nothing for the account that was to be rendered to God;
and thus in all ages hypocrites have abused the gifts of God.
This is seen most clearly under the Papacy. For doubtless
when all things are well examined, we find that the Pope
and all his party mainly rely on these weapons ; for when
1 It would be better to render this, “ The law cannot perish,” &c. ; for
the future with a negative may often be thus rendered: "5, translat
“ For,” often means certainly, truly, surely, doubtless, and might be s
translated here,— J
Surely, not perish can the law from the priests,
Or counsel from the wise,
Or the word from the Prophet.
These things they thought were impossibilities. How like are errors and
the delusions of men in every age! “ The word” was what the prophets
taught and preached: hence “ ‘the word” in the New Testament ore
means the preaching of the gospel — Ed.
CHAP. XVIII.18.. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 417
they are a hundred times conquered by proofs from Scrip-
ture, they still strenuously defend themselves with this one
shield,—That the Church cannot err, that the Church is re-
presented by the Pope, the bishops, and the whole clergy,
and also that those whom they call prelates are successors
of the Apostles: and so they boastingly thunder out a con-
tinual succession from Peter. They at length conclude, that
the Church of Rome is the mother of all the faithful, and
also that the Holy Spirit dwells there ; for whosoever suc-
ceeds in the place of Peter and occupies his chair, is endued
with the same spirit and the same authority. We hence see,
that the Papists at this day contend with us with no other
weapons than those with which all the ungodly reprobates
assailed Jeremiah.
They said first, that it would be enough if they had their
own thoughts, that is, if they resolved among themselves
what was necessary to be done ; for under the word thoughts,
they included decrees as well as deliberations ; as though
they had said,—‘‘ We possess an ordinary jurisdiction ; for
God has set us over his Church: whatever then proceeds
_from us, ought to be deemed inviolable. The reason is,
because the law cannot perish from the priest, and coun-
sel cannot perish from the wise, nor the word from the Pro-
phets.” These three things were very speciously brought
against Jeremiah; nor could it have been denied, but
that there were legitimate priests as to their vocation, that
there was also a church, and that the elders, who were
connected with the priests, justly boasted. of their dignity ;
and lastly, that the people ever had their prophets. We
hence see that they could have alleged very specious pre-
tences against God’s Prophet, by which they might have
easily deceived the simple. If a comparison be made, doubt-
less the whole Papal system cannot justly have any such
pretensions ; but they are far inferior to those of the
Jews. For when they say that they represent the Church,
that is disputed ; and they are at length constrained to come
to this point—to define what the Church is: and when it is
settled what the Church is, we are then to inquire whether
the bishops or prelates are legitimate. Now their calling is
VOL. II. 2 p>
418 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXII.
not founded on the word of God; for they are all schisma-
tics; and this appears from their own canons, as there is
among them, at this day, no canonical election. It then fol-.
lows that their calling, of which they are so foolishly and
arrogantly proud, comes to nothing. But let us allow them to
be lawful ministers, and their calling to be approved according
to God’s word, it does not yet hence follow that they are
true ministers of God, that is, because they hold an ordinary
station and jurisdiction in the Church. For we find that im
all ages the Church of God has been subject to the evil of
having wolves occupying the place of pastors, of having impi-
ous and perfidious men daring to oppose God in his own name.
As it thus happened formerly, neither the Pope nor all his
masked bishops can shew any difference in the present day,
why we ought not to dread wolves: how so? “There were
formerly,” says the Apostle, “ false prophets, so also there
will be false teachers among you.” (2 Peterii. 1.) Heshews
that at this time no less than formerly we ought to beware
of false bishops, of false prophets, and of false teachers, how-
ever high their titles may be. When therefore the Papists
vainly boast that the Church cannot err, they are justly ob-
jects of ridicule ; for we see who those are whom they fol-
low: as formerly the manifest enemies of God contended
with Jeremiah, even so now they openly oppose God by this
vain pretence only—they are priests, they are prophets, they
are elders or presbyters, that is, they hold an ordinary juris-
diction. But this passage is sufficient to confute their folly ;
for they bring words instead of proof, and rely only on this
argument—“ The Church cannot err:” and what the Pro-
phet relates further, ‘‘ The law cannot perish from the priest,”
means the same thing. But we find elsewhere what God
threatened, even that a dreadful judgment was at hand,
when the wise would become blind, when the priests and
prophets would become foolish and fatuitous. (Hosea ix. 7;
Isaiah xxix. 14.) But we may hence learn on what condi-
tion and for what purpose God everywhere honours the mi-
nisters and pastors of the Church with high eulogies: it is
not certainly that they may be proud through a false pre-
tence, but that they may faithfully execute their office.
CHAP. XVIII. 18. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 419
However this may be, we see that it isa false confidence, when
pastors allege that the law and the word or the truth, cannot
depart from them, because they are, and are called priests.
They added, Come and let us smite him with the tongue.
They again magnify their own authority, as the Papists do
at this day, who, standing as it were on high, look down on
us with contempt, and say, “We must not dispute with
heretics, for things formerly settled, and which the Church
has once decreed, must not be called in question.” For it
seems very strange to them, and even unbecoming, when we
ask a hearing and wish the controversies, by which the world
is now disturbed, to be decided and removed, by the law, and
the prophets, and the gospel. “ What ! are then the Church’s
decrees to be reduced to nothing? The Scripture is a nose
of wax ; it has nothing sure or certain ; it can be twisted to
favour any party, and hypocrites always pervert the word of
God; and therefore it follows that there is nothing certain
or clear in the Scripture.” This is to smite with the tongue,
as we see to have been done to Jeremiah,—“ Why should we
dispute with that man, who so daringly threatens us, as
though he was superior to others ? but he is only one of the
people; what need then of long disputation ; for we have
authority, and it will be enough by one word to determine,
that whatever he brings is to be rejected. There is then no
reason why we should weary ourselves by a long contest ;
for our tongue, as they say, decisively settles what is right.”
We see how the ungodly dared to set forward their own
decrees, by which they tried to overwhelm the prophetic
word and to take away the authority of Jeremiah. When-
ever then men thus elevate themselves, so as to seek to
smite God’s servants with the tongue, and to suppress his
word when spoken by them, we understand how to regard
them, and what weight belongs to all their decrees or de-
terminations.1 3
1 This phrase, “ Let us smite him with the tongue,” is thus literally ren-
dered by the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Arabic ; but by the Syriac,
“Let us smite his tongue,” and paraphrased by the Targum, “Let us
testify against him false testimonies.” ‘“ With our tongue,” is Piscator’s ;
that is, by accusations to the king; “ For his tongue,” is Junius’s ; that is,
for his denunciations; “On the tongue,” is Blayney’s; that is, on the
7
420 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LXXII.
But the end of this verse shews more clearly how wantonly
they despised every truth ; for it is a proof of hopeless con-
tumacy when no attention is paid to the prophetic word:
Let us not attend, they said; that is, “ Let us not care for
what he says, and let us boldly despise whatever he may
speak.” The Prophet, as Ihave said, meant by this expres-
sion to shew, that they were so blinded by a diabolical im-
pulse, that they hesitated not to reject whatever proceeded
from God, to close their ears and designedly to neglect it,
as is usual with the wholly wicked. No less contempt is
now to be seen under the Papacy ; for were they calmly to
hear us, were they to consider with tranquil minds and meek
hearts what we allege, doubtless the matter would soon be
settled between us. But their only resolution is, not to hear ;
for they are content with this fallacious prejudice,—that as
they represent the Church, it is in their power to condemn
whatever we say, and that when they have condemned us,
there is no need of any disputation.
But we are hence reminded, that when men are guilty of
many vices, there is yet some hope of salvation remaining,
provided they are not unteachable, and do not with resolute
confidence reject what is proposed to them from the law, and
the prophets, and the gospel. For as there are many diseases,
and those grievous and dangerous, which yet may be healed,
so also we ought to conclude that men are healable, as long
as they bear to be taught, to be admonished and reproyed ;
but when with closed ears they pass by every truth, when
they despise all counsels, when they esteem as nothing God’s
threatenings and reproofs, then their salvation is hopeless.
It follows—
19. Give heed to me, O Lord, 19. Attende, Jehova, ad me, et.
and hearken to the voice of them audi vocem litigatorum meorum (hoc
that contend with me. est, rixantium mecum.)
As the Prophet saw that his labour as to men was use-
offending part, an allusion to a mode of punishment that was practised ;
or, as Gataker suggests, in order to stop his mouth.
The most probable meaning is, that they meant to accuse him before
the authorities; therefore “ with the tongue,” as countenanced by the best
versions, is the best rendering.
“Let us accuse him, let us speak so ill of him, that no man may attend
to him, but that all may flee from him,” Cacceius.— Ed.
CHAP. XVIII. 19. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 421
less, he turned to God, as we find he had done often before.
This way of speaking, no doubt, had more force than if he
had continued to address the people. He might indeed have
said, “ Miserable men! where are you rushing headlong ?
what means this madness? what at last do ye think will be
the end, since ye are resisting God, being obstinate against
his Spirit ? for ye cannot extinguish the light by your
perverseness or by your effrontery.” The Prophet might
have thus reproved them ; but it betokens more vehemence,
when he leaves men and addresses God himself. This apos-
trophe then ought to be carefully noticed, for we hence
gather that the madness of the Jews was reprobated, inas-
much as the Prophet did not deign to contend with them.
But he notwithstanding said, “ As they do not attend, attend
thou, Jehovah, to me.” He saw that he was despised by
God’s enemies, and by this prayer he intimates, that his
doctrine was in force before God, and retained its own im-
portance and could not fail. Hence he says, Jehovah, regard
me, and hear the voice of those who contend with me.
Here Jeremiah asks two things,—that God would under-
take his cause, and that he would take vengeance on the
wantonness of his enemies. And this passage deserves espe- —
cial notice, for it is a support which can never fail us, when
we know that our service is approved by God, and that as
he prescribes to us what to say, so what proceeds from him
shall ever possess its own weight, and that it cannot be
effected by the ingratitude of the world, that any portion
of the authority of celestial truth should be destroyed or
diminished. Whenever then the ungodly deride us, and
elude or neglect the truth, let us follow the example of the
Prophet, let us ask God to look on us; but this cannot be
done, except we strive with a sincere heart to execute what
he has committed to us. Then a pure conscience will open
a door for us, so that we may be able confidently to call on
God as our guardian and defender, whenever our labour is
despised by men.
He asks, in the second place, that God would lie the
voice of those who contended with him.’ We hence conclude,
1 « The voice of my justification,” is the Septuagint ; “the voice of my
422 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXII.
that the wicked gain nothing by their pride, for they pro-
voke God more and more, when they thus oppose his pure
doctrine and contend against his prophets and faithful ~
teachers. Since then we see that the ungodly effect nothing,
except that they kindle God’s wrath the more, we ought to
go on more courageously in the discharge of our office; for
even when for a time they suppress by their great clamours
the truth of God, he will yet check them, and so check them,
that the doctrine, which is now subverted by unjust calum-
nies, may shine forth more fully. He afterwards adds— —
20. Shall evil be recompensed for § 20. An reddetur pro bono malum?
good? for they have digged a pit quia foderunt foveam anime mer ;
for my soul. Remember that I recordare quéd steterim coram facie
stood before thee to speak good for tua ad loquendumproipsis in bonum,
them, and to turn away thy wrath ad avertendam iracundiam tuam ab
from them. ipsis.
The Prophet in this verse exaggerates the sin of his ene-
mies, for they not only were ferocious against God, but also
forgot everything humane, and wickedly assailed the Prophet
himself. Impiety is indeed more detestable than inhuman-
ity, inasmuch as God is far above all mortals; but inhu-
manity has in it more baseness ; for it is, so to speak, more
gross and more evident. The ungodly often hide their per-
fidy ; but when they come to act towards men, then it ap-
‘pears immediately what they are. Hence the Prophet,
having made known the impiety of his enemies, now adds,
that they, when tried by the judgment of men, were found
to be wholly intolerable, for they rendered a shameful re-
ward to an innocent man who was sedulous in securing their
salvation. We now understand the meaning of the Prophet.
Though it often happens that evil is rendered for good,
and ingratitude is a common vice, yet nature itself detests
ingratitude; hence it has been said that there is no law
against the ungrateful, because ingratitude seems a mon-
strous thing. As then nature dictates that merit deserves
a reward, and this ought to be a fixed principle in the hearts
adversaries,” the Vulgate; “the voice of my oppression,” the Syriac ;
* the voice of my strife,” the Arabic. But the best is our version and that
of Calvin. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac are wholly wrong ;
for the verb 19 never means any one of the ideas which they convey.—
Fad. :
:
4
.
CHAP. XVIII, 21. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, 423
of all, the Prophet reasons according to the common sense
and judgment of all mankind.
Shall evil, he says, be rendered for good? for they have
digged a pit for my soul ?* and yet I prayed for them, and
endeavoured to turn: away the wrath of God. Since I have
set myself humbly to pray for their salvation, how great is
their savageness and inhumanity in persecuting me? But
as he saw that it was vain to speak to the deaf, he again
appeals to God as a witness to his integrity ; Remember, he
says, that I stood before thy face to speak for them ; as though
he had said, “ Even if malignity prevent men to own what
I am, and how I have conducted myself towards them, God
will be to me a sufficient witness, and I shall be satisfied
with his judgment.” It then follows—
21. Therefore deliver up their
children to the famine, and pour out
their blood by the force of the sword;
and let their wives be bereaved of
their children, and be widows; and
let their men be put to death; let
their young men be slain by the
sword in battle.
21. Propterea pone filios eorum ad
famem (hoe est, projice, vel, prostitue
ad famem,) et diffunde (vel, diffluere
fac) eos ad manus gladii, et sint
mulieres eorum orbe et vidus, et
viri eorum sint percussi ad mortem
(lethaliter,) juvenes eorum sint per-
cussi gladio in preelio.
The Prophet seems here to have been driven through in-
dignation to utter imprecations which are not consistent with
a right feeling ; for even if Christ had not said with his own
mouth, that we are to pray for those who curse us, the very
law of God, ever known to the holy fathers, was sufficient.
Jeremiah then ought not to have uttered these curses, and
to have imprecated final destruction on his enemies, though
they fully deserved it. But it must be observed, that he |
was moved not otherwise than by the Holy Spirit, to become
thus indignant against his enemies; for he could not have
been excused on the ground that indignation often trans-
gresses the bounds of patience, for the children of God ought
* It is better to render these lines like the Septwagint and Vulgate,—
Is not evil rendered for good ?
For they have dug a pit for my soul.
Or thus,—
Should evil be rendered for good ?>—
For they haye dug a pit for me.
So should “ soul” be rendered here and in many other places. There
is here an allusion to the practice of digging pits to take wild beasts,—/d.
424 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXII.
to bear all injuries to the utmost; but, as I have said, the
Prophet here has announced nothing rashly, nor did he allow
himself to wish anything as of himself, but obediently pro-
claimed what the Holy Spirit dictated, as his faithful in-
strument.
We have said elsewhere, that the first thing to be noticed
is, that when we pray for any evil on the wicked, we ought
not to act on private grounds; for he who has a regard to
himself, will ever be led away by too strong an impulse; and
even when our prayers are calmly and rightly formed, we
are yet ever wrong, when we consult our private advantages
or redress our own injuries. This is one thing. And second-
ly, we ought to have that wisdom which distinguishes be-
tween the elect and the reprobate. But as God bids us to
suspend our judgment, inasmuch as we cannot surely know
what will take place to-morrow, we ought not to imitate
indiscriminately the Prophet in praying God to destroy and
scatter ungodly men of whom we despair; for, as it has been
stated, we are not certain what has been decreed in heaven.
In short, whosoever is disposed, after the example of Jere-
miah, to pray for a curse on his enemies, must be ruled by
the same spirit, according to what Christ said to his dis-
ciples ; for as God destroyed the wicked at the request of
Elijah, the Apostles wished Christ to do the same by fire
from heaven ; but he said, “ Ye know not by what spirit ye
are ruled.” (Luke ix. 55.) They were unlike Elijah, and
yet wished like apes to imitate what he did.
But, as I have said, let first all regard to our own benefit
or loss be dismissed, when we would shew ourselves indig-
nant against the wicked; and secondly, let us have the
spirit of wisdom and discretion; and lastly, let all the tur-
bulent feelings of the flesh be checked, for as soon as any-
thing human be mixed with our prayers, some confusion will
ever be found. There was nothing turbulent in this impre-
cation of Jeremiah, for the Spirit of God ruled his heart and
his tongue, and then he forgot himself; and lastly, he knew
that they were reprobate and already doomed to final ruin.
He therefore hesitated not, through the prophetic spirit, to
imprecate on them what we here read. And there is no
OHAP. XVIII. 22. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 425
doubt but that he was ever solicitous for the remnant, for he
knew that there were some faithful; and though they were
unknown, he yet prayed God for them. But he fulminates
here against the reprobate who were already given up to
ruin. This is the reason why he hesitated not to pray that
they might be delivered up to famine and given to the
sword,’ so that their women might be bereaved and become
widows, and their men put to death,’ and their youth smitten
by the sword. It now follows—
22. Let a cry be heard from their 22. Audiatur clamor ex edibus
houses, when thou shalt bring a troop eorum cum induxeris super eos ex-
suddenly upon them; for they have ercitum repenté ; quia foderunt fove-
digged a pit to take me, and hid am ad capiendum me, laqueos oc-
snares for my feet. cultarunt pedibus meis.
He proceeds with his imprecation: he then wishes that a
ery should he heard from the houses, as though he had said,
“ Let there be no refuge for them when their calamity shall
happen.” For his own house is to every one his place of
safety in a disordered state of things. The Prophet then
wished them to be slain by their enemies even when con-
cealed in their houses; for it appears from the preceding
verse that he meant slaughter. For why should a ery be,
except on account of enemies breaking in and raging against
them, while they, being not able to defend their life, were
driven to lamentations and howlings? Let a cry then be
heard from their houses, when thou bringest an army wpon
1 The rendering of this line is various: our version, “ pour out,” &c.,
cannot be sustained; nor “ drain them,” &c., by Blayney. The idea
generally given by the versions and the Targum to the verb, is that of
giving up, delivering, committing. The Syriac seems to give the original
correctly, “deliver them into the hands of the sword;” only the verb
i173, signifies to draw or drive rather than to deliver. Perhaps the literal
rendering would be, “drive them on the hands of the sword,” as though
the sword was a person with hands stretched out to receive what might
come in its way: but “hands” in this instance mean power; so that the
best version would be, ;
And deliver them into the power of the sword.
2 Literally, “the slain of death,” as in the next line, “ the smitten of
the sword.” The two lines are literally thus,—
And let their men be the slain of death;
Their youths the smitten of the sword in battle.
«“ Death” here, notwithstanding what Horsley has said, evidently means
pestilence. See chap. xv. 2. The “men” were those past the time of
service, and “ youths” or young men were those fit for war.— Ed.
: als
426 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXII.
them suddenly ; and he adds, For they have digged a pit to
take me.
The Prophet indeed seems here to be the defender of his
own cause: but there is no doubt, but that apart from any-
thing personal, he hated the impiety of those of whom he
speaks, because they insidiously assailed him, when yet he
was doing the work of God. For the Prophet neither sowed
nor reaped for himself, but only laboured to obey God. When
therefore they artfully assailed and circumvented him, what
was it but openly to carry on war with God? Let us then
remember, that the Prophet does not here complain of troubles
which he underwent, or of injuries, but that he only pleads
a public cause; for these ungodly men treated him perfi-
diously, while he was doing nothing else but spending his
labour for God, and indeed for their salvation. At last he
adds—
23. Yet, Lord, thou know- 23. Et tu Jehovah nosti omnia consilia
est all their counsel against me eorumsuper me in mortem; ne propitius
to slay me: forgive not their sis (vel,placabilis) super iniquitate eorum,
iniquity, neither blot out their et peccatum eorum (vel, scelus eorum) a
sin from thy sight, but let them facie tua ne deleas (quidam existimant
be overthrown before thee; deal ‘MDM esse in kal, et * poni loco 71,) et sint
thus with them in the time of impingentes coram facie tua, in die ex-
thine anger. candescentiz tuse fac cum ipsis.
I shall not be able to explain this verse to-day.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou exhortest us daily, and even
constantly to repent, by the doctrine of thy Gospel, and shewest
thyself to us reconcilable,—O grant, that we may not disregard
so incomparable a benefit, but with resigned minds devote our-
selves wholly to thee, and that we may not so far provoke thy
wrath as to be altogether rejected by thee, and to find at last
that there is no mercy for us; but may we anticipate extreme
judgment, while the time of thy good-will continues, and thus
embrace the benefit of reconciliation which thou offerest to us,
so that being thankful to thee and accepted in thine only-begot-
ten Son, we may proceed in the course of our vocation, until we
shall at length enjoy that eternal inheritance which thine only-
begotten Son has obtained for us by his own blood.—Amen,
CHAP. XVIII. 23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 4.27
Lecture Sebenty-ThHird.
Tur words of the last verse of the eighteenth chapter we
gave yesterday. Let us now see what the Prophet means
by them, and what fruit we ought to gather from them. He
says, that God was a witness of the wickedness of his ene-
mies—that all their counsels had in view his destruction.
There is, moreover, to be understood a contrast,—that the
Prophet, as we have before seen, cared faithfully for their
salvation. It was then a most base ingratitude in them to
plot the death of the holy Prophet, who was not only inno-
cent, but highly deserved their thanks for labouring for their
salvation. We hence conclude that they deserved no mercy.
Thou knowest, he says, their counsel, that what they consult
among themselves tends to bring death on me: be not thow
then propitious to their iniquity, and blot not out their sin.
We said in our last lecture that this vehemence, as it was
dictated by the Holy Spirit, is not to be condemned, nor
ought it to be made an example of, for it was peculiar to the
Prophet to know that they were reprobates: and we also
shewed why no common law is to be made from particular
examples ; for Jeremiah was endued with the spirit of wisdom
and judgment, and zeal also for God’s glory so ruled in his
heart, that the feelings of the flesh were wholly subdued, or
at least brought under subjection; and farther, he pleaded
not a private cause. We said in the last place, that it was
oracular ; for God designed to make it known, that they who
thus obstinately resisted true doctrine were reprobate and
irreclaimable. As all these things fall not to our lot, we
ought not indiscriminately to imitate Jeremiah in this
prayer: for that would then apply to us which Christ said
to his disciples, “ Ye know not what spirit governs you.”
(Luke ix. 55.)
And doubtless it ought to fill us with dread when we
hear, Be not propitious to them, nor blot out their sin. God
testifies in many places that he is gracious and inclined to
mercy, and that when he is angry it is only for a moment.
(Num, xiv, 18; Psalm ciii. 8; xxx. 5.) There seems then
428 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXIII.
a great difference between the words of the Prophet and
these testimonies, by which God makes known his own na-
ture. But we have said already that the destruction of the
people, against whom the Prophet thus prayed, had been
made evident to him: and we must also bear in mind what
we have stated, that he did not include the people without
exception; for he knew that there was a seed remaining
among them. He then confined his imprecation to the re-
probate and irreclaimable, as he knew that they were already
doomed to ruin, even by the eternal purpose of God: and
as they had over and over again destroyed themselves, he
boldly declares that God would never be propitious to them.
To the same purpose is what follows, Let them ever stumble
before thy face. He mentions face here for manifest judg-
ment; for the wicked exult as long as he spares them. The
Prophet then would have God to sit on his throne, that he
might appear as a Judge, and thus check the wantonness of
those who despised his judgment, being constrained to know
that they could not escape. There is also a contrast to be
understood here between the presence and the absence of
God. For hypocrites think that God is absent as long as
he is indulgent to them and does not take vengeance: hence
they grow wanton, as though they had a permission to de-
ceive him: but when God constrains them to acknowledge
what they are unwilling to do, they are said to stand in his
presence ; for they are pressed too near to render it possible
for them to evade, and willing or unwilling they are held fast,
as the Lord proves that he is their Judge. We hence see
the meaning of the expression when the Prophet says, Let
them stumble before thy face.
He in the last place adds, In the time of thy wrath deal
thus with them. The manner of his presence is set forth.
There is, however, no doubt but that the Prophet here checks
both himself and all the godly, that they may not be hasty,
for we are often too precipitant in our wishes; for we would
that God would fulminate every moment from heaven. This
hastiness ought to be moderated ; and the Prophet here pre-
scribes to us the rule of moderation, by saying, In the tume
of thy wrath ; as though he had said, “ Even though thou
CHAP, XVIII. 23. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 429
deferrest and seemest now to connive at these great crimes,
yet the time will eventually come in which thou wilt take
vengeance on the reprobate.”
Whenever then the Scripture speaks of the time of God’s
wrath, let us know that under this form of speaking there is
an exhortation to patience, so that excessive ardour may not
lead us beyond the limits of moderation, but that we may
wait with resigned minds until the due time of judgment
comes. This is one thing; but at the same time the Pro-
phet expresses also something more: for he would have the
reprobate of whom he speaks, to be so involved in endless
judgment as never to be able to extricate themselves. It is
said in Psalm evi. 4, ‘‘ Remember me, O Lord, with the fa-
vour of thy people,” that is, “O Lord, this only I ask, to be
joined to thy people ; for even when thy Church is afflicted
and deemed miserable, it will still be enough for me to be of
the number of those whom thou honourest with thy paternal
favour.” The favour then of God’s people is that paternal
regard which he entertains for his Church. So, on the other
hand, the time of wrath is that judgment by which God de-
votes the reprobate to eternal perdition, so that there is
no hope of salvation remaining for them. Deal thou with
them, but when? even in the teme of thy wrath ; that is, deal
with them as thou art wont to deal with thine irreclaimable
enemies, to whom thou wilt never be reconcilable.’ This is
the meaning. Now another discourse follows.
CHAPTER XIX.
1. Thus saith the Lord, Go 1. Sic dicit Jehova, Vade et acquire
and get a potter’s earthen bottle, (alii vertunt, posside; et NIP significat
and take of the ancients of the wutrunque, sed hic non convenit verbum
people, and of the ancients of the possidendi; acquire tibi) lagenam figuli
priests ; testaceam, et quidem cum senioribus
populi, et cum senioribus sacerdotum :
1 The last line in the Syriac is,—
In the time of thine indignation act against them.
* Take vengeance on them,” is the paraphrase of the Targum.
Horsley would have it, “ deal with them,” leaving out “ thus” in our
version. It is no doubt an expression which includes more than what
is stated. It may be rendered “ do for them,” that is, wholly destroy
them.— Ed.
™ —_
- +}
430 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXXIII-
2. And go forth unto the valley 2, Et egredere ad vallem filii Hin-
of the son of Hinnom, which is nom, que est in introitu porte orien-
by the entry of the east gate, and talis, (alii vertwnt, fictilis,) et clama
proclaim there the words that I illic (hoe est, alta voce pronuntia) ser-
shall tell thee : mones quos loquutus fuero ad te ;
3. And say, Hear yethe wordof 3. Et dices, Audite sermonem Je-
the Lord, O kings of Judah, and hove, reges Jehudah et incole Jeru-
inhabitants of Jerusalem ; Thus salem, Sic dicit Jehova exercituum,
saith the Lord of hosts, the God Deus Israel, Ecce adduco malum super
of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil locum hune, de quo quisque audierit,
upon this place, the which whoso- tinnient aures ejus.
ever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
We see that the Prophet was sent by God to er the
people that there was no firmness in that state of which
hypocrites boasted ; for God, who had favoured the people
of Israel with singular benefits, did no less retain them in
his own possession than the potter. The Prophet had be-
fore shewn to the Jews that the potter formed his vessels as
he pleased, and also, that when he had taken the clay and
the vessel did not please him, he formed another. This pro-
phecy has a similar import, and yet it is different, as we
shall presently see. The*Prophet is here bidden to buy an
earthen vessel of the potter, and at the meeting of the people
to break it, that all might understand that they were like
earthen vessels, and that being thus admonished of their
fragility, they might no longer be proud, as though wees
possessed a firm and perpetual state of happiness.
The main object of the two visions is, however, the same:
for the Jews thought that they were not subject to the com-
mon lot of men, because they had been chosen as a peculiar
people ; nor would they have gloried in vain with regard to
that inestimable privilege, had there been a mutual agree-
ment between God and them; but as they were covenant-
breakers, their glorying was vain and foolish, in thinking
that God was bound to them. For what right had they to
claim this privilege? God indeed had adopted the whole
race of Abraham, but there was a condition introduced,
“Walk before me and be perfect.” (Gen. xvii. 2.) When
they all had become apostates, the covenant, as to them,
was abolished. Then God could not have been called, as it
were, to an account, as though he had violated his covenant
with them, for he owed them nothing. They had become
OHAP. XIX. 1-3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 431
aliens ; for through their wickedness and perfidy they had
departed from him. God then designed to shew how vain
and how false was their confidence, when they said, “ We
are a holy race, we are God’s heritage ;” because they had
wholly departed from the covenant which God had made
with their fathers.
But in the form adopted, as I have said, there is some
difference. The Prophet had before introduced the potter
to shew that there was no less power in God than in a mor-
tal man, because we are before him as the clay, so that he
can form and destroy his vessels as he pleases: but here the
Prophet shews, that though the Jews had been formed for a
time, and so formed as to have been like an excellent and a
beautiful vessel, yet it was not a perpetual condition. And
it is probable that when they had heard that God could, like
the potter, form and re-form them, they had devised an eva-
sion, according to what men usually do who deal sophisti-
cally with God,—“ O, be it so, the potter can from the same
clay form both a precious and a worthless vessel ; but we are
the precious vessel, and God has given us that form; for
when he made a covenant with Abraham, he adorned him
with this singular distinction: he afterwards brought our
fathers out of Egypt, and then there was a better form
added ; and since at length he raised a kingdom among us
with this promise, that the throne of David would be per-
petual, it cannot possibly be otherwise than that we are to
continue in our state.” Hence the Prophet expresses here
more than in the former prophecy, that not only God had
the power of a potter in forming his vessels, but that when
the vessel is already formed and possesses great splendour,
it can again be broken: he stated this lest the Jews should
‘object by saying, that the state in which they were under
David and his posterity would be perpetual. He says, “This
is nothing: for the earthen vessel, though splendid and ele-
gant in its form, can yet be broken in the third or fourth
year no less than at the time when it is formed, and can be
broken for ever,” according to what is afterwards implied by
the similitude.
We shall proceed now to the words: he says, Go and get
7
432 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIATI. LECT. LXXIII.
for thee an earthen vessel. The Rabbins think the name
given to the vessel to be factitious, as the grammarians say,
that is, made from its sound; for it appears to have been a
flagon ora bottle; and as the bottle has a narrow mouth, it
makes this sound, bakbuk, when we drink from it; and
hence they think the name is derived. There is, however,
no ambiguity as to the thing itself, that the word means a
bottle, not only made of earth, but also either of glass or of
wood. By adding the word WIN, cheresh, he specifies what
it was; but P Da, bekbek, is a general word. He then adds
what is literally, From the elders, and interpreters think
that the words “ bring with thee” are to be understood ;
and as to the sense I agree with them, for we shall hereafter
see, that in the presence of those who went with him he
broke the vessel: it then follows that the elders here spoken
of were taken by Jeremiah as his companions; but as D,
mem, sometimes means “ with,” as in the fifty-seventh chap-
ter of Isaiah, (verse 8,) “‘and made thee a covenant with
them, O15,” I take it to be of the same meaning here; and
this is doubtless suitable here, for he was to go with the
elders of the people and with the elders of the priests.*
And he adds, Enter into the valley of the son of Hinnom,
which is at the entrance of the east gate, rendered by some :
* of the earthen gate,” for which I see no reason ; but I leave
this to be examined by those who are more versed in the
language. It is indeed thought that &, shin, is changed
here into D, samech ; but if we take the word as it is, it means
“ solar,” for DM, cheras, from which YD, cherasit, is de-
rived, signifies the sun; and it seems to have been called
the solar gate by way of excellency, because it looked to-
ward the rising sun.” I do.not yet oppose the idea of those
' The literal rendering ofthis verse I conceive to be the following,—
“ Thus saith Jehovah, go and get a bottle from the maker of earthen-
ware, and some of the elders of the people and of the elders of
the priests.”
The ®, of, or from, before elders, implies a part; and it is the idiom of
the language not to put in “ some,”—* get (or take) from the elders,” &c.
He was first to get the bottle, and then some of the elders. The Vulgate
very strangely represents the Prophet as taking the bottle from the elders,
omitting the 1, and as taking it from both elders!—Zd.
* It appears that the valley of Hinnom was not to the east, but to the
CHAP. XIX. 1-3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 433
who think that the Prophet alludes to WIN, cheresh, of
which he had spoken, and that he calls it the east gate,
though it was as it were an earthen gate; for the two letters
Y, shin, and D, samech, as it is well known, are closely allied.
Cry there, he says, the words which I shall speak to thee.
I come now to the subject: God bids his Prophet to get
from the potter an earthen vessel, and to do so in the pre-
sence of the elders; for it was necessary to have witnesses
in a matter so important; and as the public safety of the
people was concerned, it was God’s purpose, lest the pro-
phecy should be despised, that there should be present the
gravest witnesses, suitable, and, as they say, authorized, or
approved ; and he calls them the elders of the people and of
the priests ; and no doubt they were chosen from a great
number, even from among the priests who were chief. There
were also Levites of the sons of Aaron; but there were then
chief priests a large number; but, as they say, it was a tur-
bulent rabble. They were chosen from those first orders
who ruled the Church, and Jeremiah calls them the elders
of the priests. There were also others chosen from the
people who presided over the Church. And we know that
there were two public functionaries, or, as they say, a two-
fold government: the priests were the rulers of the Church
with regard to the law, so that their government was spi-
ritual ; there were also the elders of the people who managed
civil affairs ; but there were some things in which they ruled
in common. We now then see what the Prophet meant by
saying that he was bidden to call witnesses to see what is
afterwards stated, and that they were taken partly from the
priests and partly from the people.
south of Jerusalem. See Joshua xv. 8. The Keri and several copies
read N’D7NN, and it is given untranslated by the Septuagint, the Syriac,
and the Arabic. It is rendered “ earthen” by the Vulgate, as though the
D, as Calvin mentions, is substituted for Y. In this case it might be ren-
dered “ the potsherd”—* at the entrance of the gate, The potsherd.” It
was the gate, before which did lie all the broken vessels, and the dirt and
filth from the Temple. For this reason it may be that the Targum ren-
ders it here, “ the gate of the dunghill.”
Parkhurst, however, takes the word as it is in the text, and gives this
version, “ the gate of the burnings,” so called because of the practice of
burning children in the valley opposite the gate. See chap. vii. 31. All
these names would properly designate the south gate.—Ed.
VOL. II. 25
\
434 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXIII.
He says, Enter into the valley of the son of Hinnom. This
valley was in the suburbs, and was called MSM, Tophet, as
we shall hereafter see. It is thought that this name is de-
rived from drums, because they did beat drums when infants
were killed, lest their cry should excite any feeling of human-
ity. But we shall again say something on the etymology
of this word. In this valley they were accustomed to sacri-
fice ‘and offer their children by casting them into the fire.
Many indeed performed this in a different way, by purifying
their children ‘and carrying them round the fire, so that they
felt only the flame and escaped unhurt. But there were
those who wished to shew their zeal above others, whose
ambition drove them farther, and they killed their children
and then burnt them. But of this matter I have spoken
elsewhere, and I shall now only briefly notice it. This opi-
nion is not what is commonly received; but it seems to me
that it may be gathered from many parts of Scripture, that
many killed their children, and that some only purified
them. However this may have been, God justly abominated
the sacrifice ; for his will was that sacrifices should be offered
only in one place. When any one offered a calf or a lamb
in any other place than at Jerusalem, it was a spurious sac-
rifice ; and the Jews ought to have followed what God had
prescribed, and not to have done anything presumptuously,
for obedience is ever better than any sacrifices.
But here there was a double crime; they left the Temple
and sought to obtrude on God sacrifices against his expressed
will; and then there was another crime still more atrocious,
for they devoted their children to Baalim or to Baal, and not
to the only true God. (I pass by now their slaughter and
burning.) This then was the reason why the Prophet was
commanded to go to this place. How detestable that service
was to God appears clear from this, that the prophets give
the name of hell to the valley of Hinnom, B37 N*A, gia-enom.
And we know that at the time of Christ it was the common
name for hell; and whenever Christ speaks of Gehenna, he
uses the word according to its common acceptation at that
time. The word has indeed been corrupted by the Greeks,
for it is properly BIT 83, gia-enom. But what does the
CHAP. XIX. 1-3. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 435
word mean in the gospel? Hell itself; and whence was its
origin? We indeed know how great and how incurable was
the madness of those who gave themselves up to their own
superstitions; for though the prophets strongly condemned
the place, yet the people proceeded in their usual idolatry ;
it was therefore necessary to give the place a disgraceful
name in order to render it more abominable. |
It is now added, that the place was by the entrance of the
east gate. As it was especially a celebrated gate, and as the
sun, rising there, reminded them to behold the light which
God had kindled for them in his law, it was a monstrous
stupidity proudly to tread, as it were, under foot the law of
God in so renowned a place, and to- profane his worship, as
though they openly wished to shew that they esteemed as
nothing what God had commanded. [If any still think that
there is an allusion to the word NM, cheresh, before used,
I offer no opposition ; that is, though this gate was indeed
oriental, it was yet as it were an earthen gate.
He says, Cry there, or, proclaim with a clear voice, the
words which I shall speak to thee. The Prophet no doubt
said this expressly, in order to add more weight to his pro-
phecy. He indeed did nothing but by God’s command ; but
as his authority was not acknowledged by the Jews, he here
testifies for their sakes that he would say nothing but what
God himself would command. ‘This preface then confirmed
the authority of his prophecy, so that the Jews might not
reject what he might say, as though it came from Jeremiah
himself.
But a general doctrine may be hence gathered,—that mi-
nisters are to bring forward nothing but what they have
learnt from God himself. For though Jeremiah was a great
man and endued with excellent gifts, yet he was not to bring
one word or a syllable as from himself : how great then must
be the presumption of those who seek to be superior to him
by bringing their inventions, and at the same time demand
to be deemed oracles? This passage confirms the doctrine
of Peter, who says, “‘ He who speaks, let him speak the words
of God.” (1 Peter iv. 11.)
He now adds, Hear ye the word of Jehovah. This is a
436 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT. LXXIII.
confirmation of the former sentence. We hence see why it
was said, Ory, or, with a clear voice proclaim, what I shall
say to thee; it was, that they might know that he spake
not according to his own ideas as a man, but that he was a
celestial herald to proclaim what God commanded. Hear,
he says, ye kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
We see how the Prophet did not spare even kings, according
to what God had before commanded him, that he should act
boldly and shew no respect of persons, (chap. i. 8.) He then
faithfully performed his office, as he did not flatter kings,
and was not terrified by their dignity and power. But he
addressed them first, and then the people, because they who
had most grievously sinned, were made rightly to bear the
first reproof. We hence see what that passage means, “ Re-
prove mountains and chide hills,” (Micah vi. 1;) and also
this passage, “I have set thee over nations and kingdoms,”
(chap. i. 10:) for heavenly truth ought to bring under sub-
jection, as Paul says, everything high in the world, so that
all the pride of man may be subdued. (2 Cor.x. 5.) Kings
indeed do very ill bear to be thus boldly treated ; for they
wish to be exempt from every law and to be free from every
yoke. But if they now acknowledge not their subjection to
God’s word, they must at last come before his tribunal ; and
then they shall find how perversely they have abused their
_ power. As to teachers, they ought, small and great, to teach
after the example of Jeremiah ; they ought to reprove and
to rebuke, when necessary, without shewing any respect of
“persons.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, and the God of Israel, Be-
hold, I am bringing an evil on this place, of which whosoever
shall hear, tingle shall his ears. The prophetic word had more
power when the Jews were brought to the very place where
the event was exhibited. He might have said the same.
thing in the Temple or in the gate or in the palace of the
- king: but his prophecy would not have been so effectual.
We indeed know how much tardiness there is in men in
general ; but so great was then the obstinacy of the Jews,
that however forcibly the truth might have been set forth,
yet it was received with so much indifference, that it was
, 7
hs 7
i.
1
CHAP. XIX. 4,5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 437
neglected. God then intended to shew to them, as it were,
the event itself. He says, Jehovah of hosts and the God of
Israel ; and he used these words, that they might know, as
we have stated elsewhere, that they had to do with God,
whose power is dreaded even by angels. And in-order to
shake off their foolish boasting, that they were the children
of Abraham,—“ God,” he says, “ has sufficient power to
chastise you, and the same is the God of Israel, whose name
ye falsely and absurdly pretend to profess.” These subjects
I only in a brief manner handle, because I have explained
them more fully elsewhere.
He says that such a calamity was nigh that place as
would make the ears to tingle: when there is a violent noise,
our ears are stunned, and there is at the same time a cer-
tain tingling or ringing. Whenaman is killed, or when ten
or twelve men are slain, there is a dreadful ery; but in a
great tumult occasioned by men perishing, such is the noise
that it stuns in a manner the ears, like that which proceeds
from cataracts ; for the violent noise of the Nile, they say,
causes some degree of deafness. So also the Prophet says
here, I am bringing, says God, a calamity on this place,
which shall not only terrify those who will hear of it, but
also render them quite astonished, so that their ears shall
tingle, as is the case when there is a violent and dreadful
noise. The cause follows—
+. Because they have forsaken
me, and have estranged this place,
and have burnt incense in it unto
other gods, whom neither they nor
their fathers have known, nor the
kings of Judah, and have filled this
place with the blood of innocents ;
5. They have built also the
high places of Baal, to burn their
sons with fire for burnt-offerings
unto Baal, which I commanded not,
nor spake it, neither came i¢ into my
mind.
4. Propterea quod reliquerunt me
et alienarunt locum hune, et suffitum
fecerunt in eo diis extraneis, quos
non noyerunt ipsi neque patres ip-
sorum, neque reges Jehudah ; et im-
plerunt locum hune sanguine inno-
centium ;
5. Et extruxerunt excelsa (edifi-
earunt excelsa) ipsi Baal, ad combu-
rendum filios suos igne in holocaus-
tum ipsi Baal; quod non mandavi et
non loquutus sum, et non ascendit su-
per cor meum (vel, in cor meum.) |
The reason is given why God would so severely deal with
that place.
We indeed know that hypocrites are ever ready
with their answer; as soon as God threatens them, they
bark and bring forward their evasions.
The Prophet then
438 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH, LECT, LXXIII.
shews that the judgment announced would be just, lest the
Jews should pretend that it was extreme.
God first complains that he had been forsaken by them,
because they had changed the worship which had been pre-
scribed in his Law. And this is what ought to be carefully
considered ; for no one would have willingly confessed what
Jeremiah charged upon them all; they would haye said,—
“We have not forsaken God, for we are the children of
Abraham ; but what we wish to do is to add to his worship ;
and why should it be deemed a reproach to us, if we are not
content with our own simple form of worship, and add yari-
ous other forms? and we worship God not only in the Tem-
ple, but also in this place ; and further, we do not spare our
own children.”. But God shews by one expression that
these were frivolous eyasions; for he is not acknowledged
except what he orders and commands is obediently received,
Let us know, that God is forsaken as soon as men turn aside
from his pure word, and that all are apostates who turn here
and there, and do not follow what God approves.
Then he says that they had alienated the place. God had
consecrated to himself the whole of Judea: he would not
indeed have sacrifices offered to him in every place; but
when the Jews worshipped him, as they were taught by
Moses and the prophets, the whole land was as it were an
altar and a temple to him. Then God complains that his
authority in that part of the suburbs was taken away; as
though he had said,—“ The whole of Judea is my right and
my jurisdiction, and Jerusalem is the royal palace in which
I dwell; but ye, deluded beings, do by force take away my
right and transfer it to another, as though one gaye to a
robber a place nigh a royal residence.” Thus God justly
complains that they had alienated that place.’
But we must remember the reason, which immediately
1 Perhaps the idea would be better expressed, if we were to say, * They
had alienized the place,” or heathenized it, made it a heathen place. To
alienate is to transfer a right or property from one to another. This was
indeed true, for they separated as it were the place from God and trans-
ferred it to heathen deities. But the idea here seems to be, that they
made the place heathenish: “and have heathenized this place.” Alien-
ated” is the Septuagint; “made it alien,” the Vulgate ; “ polluted,” the
Syriac; and “ defiled,” the Targum.— Ed.
OHAP. XIX. 4, 5. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 439
follows, because they had burned incense to Baal. They pre-
tended, no doubt, the name of God ; but yet it was a most
preposterous superstition, when they worshipped inferior
gods, as the Papists do at this day. The word Baal is some-
times used in the singular number by the prophets, and
sometimes in the plural: but what is Baal? a patron. They
were not content with one patron, but every one desired a
patron for himself: hence under the words Baal and Baalim,
the prophets characterized all fictitious modes of worship:
when they worshipped God’s name, they blended the wor-
ship of patrons, who had not been made known to them ;
hence he adds, They have made incense in it to foreign gods.
He afterwards says, that these foreign gods were such as
neither they nor their fathers nor their kings knew. By
saying that they were gods unknown to their fathers as well
as to themselves and to their kings, he no doubt calls their
attention to the doctrine of the law, and to the many certain
proofs by which they had found that he was the only true
God.
' The Jews might have raised such an objection as the Pa-
pists do at this day,—that their modes of worship were not
devised in their time, but that they had derived them from
their ancestors. But God regarded as nothing those kings
and the fathers, who had long before degenerated from true
and genuine religion. It must be here observed, that true
knowledge is connected with verity : for they who had first
contrived new forms of worship, doubtless followed their own
foolish imaginations ; as when any one in the present day
asks the Papists, why they weary themselves so much with
their superstitions, good intention is ever their shield,—“ O,
we think that this is pleasing to God.” Therefore rightly does
God here repudiate their inventions as wholly vain, for they
possess nothing solid or permanent. At the same time, he
by implication condemns the Jews for rejecting his law,
whose authority had been established among them, so that
they ought not to have entertained any doubt: for it would
have been the greatest ingratitude to say, “We know not
who introduced the Law!” God had indeed sanctioned the
law by so many miracles, that it could not have been dis-
440 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXIIL.
puted ; and they had also found by many evidences and
proofs that he was the only true God. He had then been
known by their fathers as well as by their kings, even by
David and by all his godly successors. Hence their crime
was exaggerated, by seeking for themselves foreign gods.
Now we also see how foolishly the Papists lay hold on this
passage and similar passages, in order to commend their
abominations by the pretext of antiquity: for vain are their
disguises when they say, “O, we have been thus taught by
our ancestors, and we have the authority of kings.” But the
Prophet here does not speak of fathers indiscriminately ;
but by fathers he means those who had embraced the true
and pure worship of God, as they had been taught by the
law ; and those kings were alone worthy of imitation, who
had faithfully worshipped God according to the doctrine of
the law: and thus he excludes all those fathers and kings
who had degenerated from the law of Moses.
He at last adds, that that place was filled with the blood
of innocents; for there they killed their children. And
by this circumstance Jeremiah again amplifies the wicked-
ness of the people ; for they had not only despised God and
his law, but also cruelly destroyed their innocent infants ;
and thus he proved them guilty not only of impiety and pro-
faneness in vitiating the worship of God, but also of brutal
and barbarous savageness in not sparing innocent blood.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased to shew to
us the way in which we cannot err, provided we obey thee,—O
grant, that we may render ourselves really teachable and ready
to obey, and never undertake anything but what we know is ap-
proved by thee, nor turn aside on the right hand or on the left ;
but continue in that form of worship which thou hast prescribed
to us in thy word, so that we may be able to bear witness, not
only before the world, but before thee and the holy angels, that
we obediently follow thee ; and may we never blend anything of
our own, but with submissive minds worship thee alone, and
strive to render ourselves wholly subject to thee, until hay-
ing at length rendered to thee due service through the whole
course of our life, we shall reach that blessed rest which thy
Son has procured for us by his own blood.— Amen.
CHAP, XIX. 6. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 441
Recture Seventy=fFourth.
6. Therefore, behold, the days 6. Propterea ecce dies veniunt, dicit
come, saith the Lord, that this place Jehova, et non (hoe est, quibus non)
shall no more be called Tophet, nor vocabitur locus hicamplius Thopheth
The valley of the son of Hinnom, et vallis filii Hinnon, sed vallis in-
but The valley of slaughter. terfectionis.
Wz saw in the last Lecture that the Prophet was sent by
God’s bidding to the house of the potter, that he might there
take an earthen bottle, carry it to Tophet, and there ex-
plain the judgment of God, which was nigh at hand on
account of his worship being violated. And he shewed why
the Jews deserved reproof, even because they made incense
to Baal, built groves and high places for themselves, and
committed their sons and daughters to the fire: they were
not only profane towards God, but also cruel towards inno-
cent souls. Now, lest they pretended an excuse, he also
added, that such a thing never came to God’s mind; and
this is worthy of notice, because God by this one expression
fulminates against all those inventions with which men de-
light themselves. As then there is no command, it follows
that whatever is thus attempted is frivolous and useless.
He now denounces punishment, The days are coming, or
shall come, in which this place shall no more be called Tophet,
nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaugh-
ter. This seemed incredible to the Jews; for they had chosen
that place for themselves to perform their superstitions :
they thought therefore that a great part of their safety de-
pended on their false worship.
As to the word Tophet, some think that it is to be taken
simply for hell, or for eternal death ; but this cannot by any
means be admitted. More probable is their opinion who
derive it from AN, teph, which means a drum ; for they think
that they did beat drums when infants were killed, that their
cries might not be heard. But as this is only a conjecture,
I know not whether another reason may be given. Some
derive the word from M15", iphe, which signifies to be decorous
or beautiful ; and this etymology has something apparently
442 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXIV.
in its favour. And perhaps it ought to be so taken in Job
xvii. 6, where the holy man complains that he was become a
proverb, and that he had been MSM, Tophet, in the pre-
sence of all. There are indeed some who explain the word
there as signifying something monstrous, and thus take it in
a bad sense. But it seems rather to have been put in con-
trast with the former clause,—he had been a pleasant spee-
tacle, but he was now become detestable. But they who
take the word there as meaning hell, do so entirely without
any reason, for that Job perished, seeing and knowing his
perdition, as they say, is a forced view. I doubt not then
but that he said, that he had been MSN, Tophet ; that is,
an object of joy and of praise, but that he was then a-sad
and mournful spectacle. And it is certain that this name,
MSDN, Tophet, was given to the valley of Hinnom, because of
the hilarity and joy which thence arose to the people; for
they thought that God was propitious to them, when they
so sedulously offered there their sacrifices, and yet they pro-
voked his wrath. Then Tophet is to be taken in a good
sense, when we regard the origin of the word. It is indeed
true that in Isaiah xxx. 33, Tophet is to be taken for
Gehenna ; but it may be that the prophets had now begun
so to execrate the place as to call hell indiscriminately Ge-
hinnon and Tophet; for the word Gehenna, as we have
stated elsewhere, had its origin from the same place; it is
indeed corrupted, but its origin is not doubtful. Now, the
reason why the prophets and other faithful men called the
place hell, was plainly this,—because the devil reigned in
that place, when God’s worship became vitiated, and the
whole of true religion was subverted; and especially, because
superstition became so deeply fixed in the hearts of the
people, that it could not be rooted up except by an extraor-
dinary force and power.
However this may have been, we may conclude from this
passage, as well as from other passages, that this name was
given on account of the joy experienced there, even because
they thought themselves altogether happy, as God was paci-
fied towards them. But what does Jeremiah say? This place
shall be no more called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of
CHAP. XIx. 7.
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
443
Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. This seemed, as I have
said, incredible to the Jews.
Prophet boldly to declare what was to be.
follows,— '
7. And I will make void the
counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in
this place ; and I will cause them to
fall by the sword before their ene-
mies, and by the hands of them that
seek their lives; and their carcases
will I give to be meat for the fowls
of the heaven, and for the beasts of
the earth. .
But it however behoved the
It afterwards
7. Et exinaniam consilium Jehu-
dah et Jerusalem in loco hoe, et
prosternam eos in gladio coram ini-
micis ipsorum, et in manu queren-
tium animam eorum, et ponam
(dabo) cadaver eorum in cibum
volucri cceli (hoc est, avibus ceeli,- est
enallage) et bestize (hoe est, bestiis)
terre.
This amplification farther exasperated the minds of the
people,—that they in vain trusted that this place would be
to them a fortress. For, as we have already stated, they had
persuaded themselves that it was abundantly sufficient to
reconcile them with God, when they spared not their own
children, and so zealously performed their acts of worship.
And hypocrites are commonly inflated with this presumption,
for they prefer what pleases them to what pleases God ;
they regard not what the law bids, what God approves, but
they adore their own inventions. Since then almost all the
superstitious are filled with such a presumption, God here
rightly declares, that he would make void their counsels."
It is indeed certain that there is neither wisdom nor
counsel in deluded men, while they thus devise new and fri-
volous modes of worship, for these are sheer mummeries.
But we ought to observe what Paul says in Col. ii. 23, that
all the fictions which men devise for themselves have in
them some appearance of wisdom; for we know that wherever
our imagination may carry us, we think ourselves wise, and
that whatever God prescribes becomes insipid to us. Then the
Prophet concedes “ counsel,” though improperly, to frivolous
and vain inventions, but not without reason, for experience
teaches us sufficiently, that men ever take great delight in
their superstitions, for they wish to subject God as it were
to their own will. He then says, by way of concession, that the
1 « The plain meaning is, I will frustrate all your plots and projects,
whereby you think to escape and to secure yourselves, and make them as
vain and empty as this earthen bottle is.”—G@ataker.
444 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXIV.
counsels of the whole people, especially of the city Jerusalem,
would be made void, which was above others the teacher of
errors, while yet the doctrine of the law ought especially to
have prevailed there. And it may be also that there is an
allusion to that word P35, bekbek, which we have before
seen, and which the Prophet will repeat again, for it means
to make void or empty, though some think it to be a facti-
tious word, because the sound, bekbek, is produced while
the bottle is emptied. However this may be, the allusion is
still sufficiently striking.
He afterwards adds, And I will lay them prostrate by the
sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek
their life. In this second part, the Prophet intimates that the
hatred entertained by their enemies towards the Jews would
not be common. Wars are carried on sometimes in such a
way, that the conquerors are satisfied with the spoils ; but
the Prophet intimates, that the cruelty of their enemies —
would be such, that they would seek the life of the whole
people, and delight in slaughter ; as though he had said, that
they would be deadly enemies and altogether implacable.
He will again repeat these words, and in the same sense.
He then adds, J will give your carcase to be meat to the
birds of heaven, and to the beasts of the field." We have said
elsewhere that it is deemed a punishment inflicted by heaven
when the carcases of the dead remain unburied ; for it is the
last office of humanity to bury the dead. And this is a
distinction which God would have to be between men and
brute animals, for animals have not the honour of a burial.
It has also been ever granted as a singular privilege to men
to be buried, in order to set forth the hope of resurrection.
When, therefore, a burial is denied, it is a proof of extreme
dishonour. It has indeed often happened that the saints
have been without a burial; but temporal punishment is
ever turned to salvation to God’s children. As to the re-
probate it must be deemed a judgment from God, when he
casts away their carcases, as then there is no difference be-
tween them and animals. But I have treated this subject
1 The words are in the singular number—* The bird of heaven and the
beast of the field.”—Zd.
CHAP. XIx. 8. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 445
more fully elsewhere, and I shall not proceed with it now.
It follows—
8. And I will make this city de- 8. Et ponam urbem hanc in stu-
solate, and an hissing; every one porem et sibilum; quisquis transibit
that passeth thereby shall be aston- per eam stupebit et sibilabit super
ished and hiss, because of all the omnem plagam ejus.
plagues thereof.
Jeremiah proceeds with his denunciation, and it was ne-
cessary for him to add this amplification, that he might
penetrate into their hard and perverse hearts; for had he
employed only a single sentence, or a common mode of
speaking, in describing their calamity and the ruin of the
city, they would not have been at all moved. Hence he en-
larges on the subject, and advances with greater vehemence,
and always speaks in the person of God, that his denuncia-
tion might have greater weight. |
I will set, &e. Here is to be noticed a second reason ; for
it was not enough that a calamity should be denounced on
the Jews, without adding this, that it was inflicted by God’s
hand, and that thus the punishment of their wickedness was
just. Then he says, I will set this city for an astonishment ;
for so in this place the word MY sheme ought to be ren-
dered, inasmuch as the reason afterwards follows, astonished
shall be whosoever shall pass through it. He adds also, for
a hissing, which is rather a mark of detestation than of
scorn; yet the desolation of the whole land, and also the
ruin of the holy city in which God had chosen an habita-
tion for himself, might have filled all with terror, and ought
justly to have done so. Whosoever, he says, shall pass
through shall be astonished, and shall hiss on account of all
her stroke ;? for it was not to be a common calamity, but
1 Blayney gives the same meaning,—
« And I will make this city an object of astonishment and of hissing.”
The Vulgate and the Syriac are the same; but the Septuagint and the
Targum have “ desolation” instead of “ astonishment.” The word nD
signifies both, as in Hebrew the same word often expresses the cause and
the effect: desolation is the cause, astonishment is the effect. The pri-
mary meaning is what is given mostly by the Septuagint, and very seldom
the secondary. The literal rendering of the sentence. is,—
« And I will set this city for an astonishment and for a hissing.” —Ed.
2 Plagam; the original word is considered to be in the plural number,
and means strokes, stripes, scourges, but not plagues in the usual sense of
the word—pestilences: it may be rendered smitings, or more properly, in-
446
*
COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH.
LECT. LXXIV.
one in which might be seen God’s dreadful judgment. It
follows—
9. And I will cause them to eat
the flesh of their sons, and the flesh
of their daughters, and they shall
eat every one the flesh of his friend,
in the siege and straitness wherewith
their enemies, and they that seek
their lives, shall straiten them.
9. Et pascam eos carne filiorum
suorum et carne filiarum suarum, et
vir carnem proximi sui comedent
(hoc est, singuli comedent carnem
proximi sui) in afflictione et angus-
tia, qua angent (vel, constringent)
eos hostes ipsorum, et qui querent
animam ipsorum.
Here the Prophet goes farther—that so atrocious would
be the calamity, that even fathers and mothers would not
abstain from their children, but would devour their flesh.
This was indeed monstrous. It has sometimes happened
that husbands, in a state of extreme despondency, haye
killed their wives and children, (anxious to exempt them
from the lust of enemies,) or have kindled a fire in the midst
of the forum, to cast their children and wives on the pile,
and afterwards to die themselves ; but it was more barbarous
and brutal for a father to eat the flesh of his son. The Pro-
phet then describes an unusual vengeance of God, which
could not be classed among the calamities which usually
happen to mankind.
We know that this was also done in the last siege of that
city ; for Josephus shews at large that mothers in a brutal
manner slew their children, and that they so lay in wait
for one another that they snatched at anything to eat. This
was also an evidence of God’s dreadful vengeance.
But it was no wonder that God visited in such an awful
manner the sins of those who had in such various ways, and __-
for so long a time, provoked him: for if we compare the
Jews with other nations, we shall find that their impiety,
and ingratitude, and perverseness, exceeded the crimes of
all nations. Then justly did God inflict such a punishment,
which even at this day cannot be referred to without horror,
The whole indeed is to be ascribed to his judgment; for it
was he who fed! the fathers with the flesh of their children ;
flictions. It occurs three times in Deut. xxviii. 59, and is rendered plagues,
but it ought to be smitings or inflictions; and so here, “ on aecount of all
her inflictions.”—Ed.
1 The expression, according to the Hebrew, is, “1 will cause them to
eat.” What a punishment! Those who sacrificed their children to their
CHAP. XIx.10. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 447
for as they had sacrificed their sons and their daughters to
demons, as before stated, so it was necessary that the ven-
geance of God should be openly pointed out as by the finger.
This was done when God imprinted marks on the bodies of
children, which even the blind could not but perceive.
He adds, In the tribulation’ and straitness with which
their enemies shall straiten them. We have said that those
who had been long besieged, and were not able to resist,
have been often reduced to the necessity to freeing their
wives, or their children, or themselves, from dishonour; but
to protract life in the manner here mentioned was altogether
brutal. It follows—
10. Then shalt thou break the 10. Et conteras lagenam in oculis
bottle in the sight of the men that virorum qui proficiscentur (vel, qui
go with thee. profecti fuerint) tecum.
Jeremiah summoned witnesses, that the confirmation of
the prophecy might be more fully attested to the people.
With regard to the history of this transaction we may add,
that he was first sent to the house of the potter, from whence
he procured the bottle; he then went to Tophet, and there
spoke against their impious and corrupt superstitions ; and
at last, to seal the prophecy, he broke the bottle in the pre-
sence of the witnesses whom he had brought with him. And
we have said that it was necessary thus to deal with a people,
not only ignorant and stupid, but, which is worse, perverse
and obstinate. There was not only importance in the sign,
that they might thence learn the doom of the city and of the
whole land, but it was also a solemn sealing of the prophecy ;
and on this account he was commanded to break the vessel,
even that he might shew, by a visible act, the near approach
of God’s vengeance, of which the Jews had no apprehension,
It follows—
11. And shalt say unto 11. Et dices ad eos, Sie dicit Jehova
them, Thus saith the Lord exercituum, Ita confringam populum hune
idols were judicially brought to such straits as to be driven to eat their
own children! God often punishes men in a way that corresponds with
their sin. Through superstitious madness the Jews willingly offered their
children in sacrifice to demons; and through the extreme cravings of
hunger they were constrained to eat their own children !—Ed.
1 The word is 1), which means a siege, as well as tribulation or dis-
tress ; and the former is the most suitable word here; and so it is rendered
by the Targum and the early versions, except the Syriac.—Ed.
448 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LEOT, LXXIV.
of hosts, Even so willI break et urbem hane, sicut quis confringit vas
this people, and this city, as figuli, (vc est, vas testaceum; vel, vas
one breaketh a potter's ves- fragile, figulinum,) quod non poterit re-
sel, that cannot be made parari amplius: et in Thopheth sepeli-
whole again: and they shall entur; quia non erit locus ad sepeliendum
bury them in Tophet, till there (ad verbum, a non loco ad sepelien-
be no place to bury. um. )
The Brophet again confirms what he had shewn by the
external symbol, and he does this by a new command from
God. We know that signs are wholly useless when the word
of God does not shine forth, as we see that superstitious men
always practise many ceremonies, but they are only histrionie
acts. But God never commanded his prophets to shew any
sign without adding doctrine to it. This is what we see was
done on this occasion; for Jeremiah spoke against impious
superstitions, and as a celestial herald denounced punish-
ment ; he then sealed the prophecy by breaking the bottle,
and a repetition of the doctrine follows again, Thus shalt
thou say to them. This is not said of the Prophet’s com-
panions, the pronoun is without an antecedent, but the
whole people are the persons referred to.
Thus saith Jehovah, I will so break this people and this city.
He mentions the city, in which they thought they had an
impregnable fortress, because the temple of God was there.
But as they had profaned the temple and polluted the city
with their crimes, Jeremiah reminded them that no con-
fidence or hope was to be placed in the city. Then he says,
As one breaks a vessel which cannot be repaired, &e. Here
again he shews that they were wholly to perish, so as no
more to rise again. We indeed know that sometimes those
who are most grievously afflicted retain some remnants of
strength, and are at length restored to their former vigour ;
but the Prophet shews that the approaching calamity would
be wholly irremediable. It is no objection to say, that God
afterwards restored the people, and that the city and the
temple were rebuilt, for all this was nothing to the ungodly
men of that age, as their memory wholly perished. A curse
and God’s vengeance remained on the heads of those who
thus continued obstinate in their wickedness ; and hence
those who returned from exile are said in Psalm cii. 19, to
CHAP. XIX. 12,13. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 449
have been a people created again, as though they rose up
as new men, “ A people, who shall be created, shall praise
the Lord.”
He then says, Buried shall they be in Tophet, for there
will be no place elsewhere." They had chosen that place at
a time when they thought that they had some evidence of
God’s favour, and a cause for joy ; but he declares that that
place would be filled with dead bodies, for they would flee
in great numbers into the city, which afterwards would be-
come so full of dead bodies that no room for burial could be
found except in Tophet. It follows—
12. Thus will I do unto this place, 12. Sic faciam loco huic, dicit
saith the Lord, and to the inhabi- Jehova, et incolis ejus; et ad ponen-
tants thereof, and even make this dum (et ponam) urbem hanc sicut
city as Tophet. Thopheth.
As he had said before that the valley would be the place
of slaughter, that thence it might take its name, so now he
declares the same as to the city; “ As then Tophet shall be
the valley of slaughter, so shall Jerusalem be.” They were
no doubt kindled into rage (as we shall see in the next
chapter) on hearing this prophecy; but yet God purposed,
however irreclaimable and refractory they were, to let them
know what was approaching, and though they did not be-
lieve the words of the Prophet, God touched and even deeply
wounded their consciences, so that before the event came
they were miserable. For the same purpose he adds—
13. And the houses of Jerusalem, 13. Et erunt domus Hierusalem
and the houses of the kings of Judah,
shall be defiled as the place of To-
phet, because of all the houses upon
whose roofs they have burnt incense
unto all the host of heaven, and
have poured out drink-offerings
unto other gods.
et domus regum Jehudah, sicut
locus Thopheth immunde; ad
omnes domos in quibus suffitum
fecerunt super tecta eorum univers
militiz ccelorum, et libarunt liba-
men diis alienis.
He describes, as I have said, more at large what he had
briefly expressed, for he had spoken of the city ; but as the
1 This is evidently the meaning, and not that given in our version. See
note in vol. i. p. 415.—Ed.
2 The ellipsis in the last clause is what often occurs in Hebrew ; it may
be supplied in our language by that,—
“ Thus will I do to this place, saith Jehovah, and to its inhabitants,
and that to make this city like Tophet.”
The full sentence is, “ and thus will I do to make,” &e.— Ed.
VOL, II.
2F
aa
24 :
nd
'
450 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT, LXXIV,
belief of that was difficult, he now enumerates particulars,
as though he had said, that Jerusalem was a wide city and
splendidly built, for there were there many large and elegant
houses, and the royal palaces, yet he says, that all these
-things would not prevent God to demolish the whole city.
And this deserves particular notice, for we know that Satan
dazzles our eyes whenever he suggests anything that gives
a hope of defence, but what God threatens we think is vain,
and as it were fabulous, or at least produces no effect on us.
Since then so gross an hypocrisy prevailed in the hearts of
the people, the Prophet rightly tried to shake off from them
whatever might deceive them.
Hence he says, The houses of Jerusalem, &e.—these were
many and splendid—and the houses of the kings of Judah,
their palaces either within or without the city shall be as
the place of Tophet ; that is, no house shall be exempt from
slaughter, and no palace shall protect its inhabitants. They
shall be unclean, he says, that is, on account of dead bodies,
for men slain would be found everywhere ; and this is, as
it is well known, often mentioned in Scripture as a pollution
or defilement. With regard to all the, houses; some read,
“On account of all the houses,” and 5 lamed, is often a
causal preposition. But it seems rather to be taken here as
explanatory ; and hence I render the words, With regard to
all the houses, so that the Prophet speaks of all the houses
in which they made incense. As then there was no house
free from sacrilege, he says that God’s vengeance would
penetrate into all houses without any exception.
He says also, On the roofs, with the view of condemning
them for their effrontery ; for they raised their baseness as
a standard, that it might be seen at a distance. They in-
deed thought that God was delighted with such a service;
but how came they to entertain such a foolish persuasion,
1 “On account of all the houses,” is the Septuagint and the Targum ;
“all the houses,” is the Vulgate and the Syriac, being put in apposition
with “ the houses of Jerusalem,” &e.
The words which follow are literally,—“ which they have burned incense
on their roofs,” which we properly render in our language, “ on whose
roofs they have burned incense ;” but the Welsh is literally the Hebrew,
Y rhai yr arogldarthasant ar eu pennau,—* which they incensed on their
roofs ;” but incensed” in this sense is not used.—Zd.
CHAP. XIx. 14,15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 451
except through their neglect and contempt of the law, and
also through a mad presumption in giving more credit to
their own fictions than to certain truth. The Prophet then
justly condemns them, for they had cast off all shame, and
went up to the roofs of their houses, that their doings might
be more open. Then he mentions the whole host of heaven ;
and says further, that they had poured a libation to foreign
gods. We see that many kinds of superstitions prevailed
among the people; for he spoke of Baal in the singular num-
ber, he mentioned also Baalim, patrons, and he now adds,
the whole host of heaven; that is, the sun, the moon, and
all the stars.
We hence see that the Jews kept no limits as to their sa-
erileges, which is usually the case with all the ungodly ; for
as soon as men begin to turn aside from the pure and
genuine worship of God, they sink into the lowest depths.
It is then this wantonness that the Prophet now refers to,
when he intimates that their various forms of worship were
so increased, that they had devised as many gods as there
are stars in heaven; which is similar to what is said else-
where, “ According to the number of thy cities, O Judah,
are thy gods,” (chap. ii. 28 ; xi. 13.)
14. Then came Jeremiah from
Tophet, whether the Lord had sent
him to prophesy; and he stood in
the court of the Lord’s house, and
said to all the people,
“15. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, Behold, I will
bring upon this city, and upon all
her towns, all the evil that I have
pronounced against it, because they
have hardened their necks, that they
might not hear my words.
14. Et venit (reversus est) Jere-
mias € Thopheth, quo miserat eum
Jehova ad prophetandum ; et stetit
in atrio domus Jehovee, et dixit ad
totum populum,
15. Sie dicit Jehova exercituum,
Deus Israel, Ecce ego adduco super
urbem hance et super omnes urbes
ejus omne malum quod loquutus sum
super eam, quia obduraverunt cer-
vicem suam, ut non audirent ser-
mones meos.
Jeremiah had been led to the very place, when he foretold
the punishment, which was nigh at hand, on account of the
superstitions of Tophet or of the valley of Hinnom. That
his doctrine might be more efficacious, God intended that
he should preach before the very altar and in the very
valley, then well known for ungodly and false modes of wor-
ship. He says now that he went to the Temple and de-
452 COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. LECT. LXXIYV.
livered there the same message. We hence learn how great
must have been the stupidity and indifference of the people,
for the repetition of the prophecy was not unnecessary. For ~
as God knew that the Jews were extremely tardy and slow,
he caused them to be warned twice by his servant, and in
two different places.
Jeremiah, it is said, returned from Tophet, where God had
sent him to prophesy ; which last words were added, that we
may not suppose that he without reason preached in the
valley of Hinnom. God then commanded Jeremiah to de-
nounce there, as it were in the very place, on the Jews their
own destruction. And he stood, it is added, in the court of
Jehovah’s house. As it was not lawful for the people to enter
into the Temple, they usually assembled in the court, which
was a part of the Temple. Then Jeremiah stood there ; for
he had to speak, not to a few, or in a corner, but to the whole
people, and to make them witnesses of his prophecy. But
we read here nothing new ; for, as it has been stated, he was
bidden to declare twice the same thing—the approaching
calamity ; and he was so bidden, because the Jews were so
hardened, that they could not easily be moved. That he
connects other cities with Jerusalem is not to be wondered
at; he thereby intimates, that the whole land was guilty
before God, and that therefore desolation was near at hand,
as to all the towns and cities ; as though he had said, “God
will not spare Jerusalem, though it has been hitherto his
sanctuary ; but as lesser cities are not innocent, they shall
also feel the hand of God together with Jerusalem.”
The reason is subjoined, Because they have hardened their
neck. He again confirms what we have before observed,—
that they had fallen, not through ignorance, but through
perverseness ; for they had learned with sufficient clearness
from the law what was right, and they had also been often
warned by the prophets. Hence then their wickedness ap-
peared and their untameable spirit, for they had heard the
sound doctrine of the law, and had many to warn them.
Now this passage teaches us that there is no pardon left
for us, when we, as it were, avowedly reject the yoke of God.
And this ought to be carefully noticed, for we see how diffi-
CHAP. XIX.14,15. COMMENTARIES ON JEREMIAH. 453
cult it is to subdue men, even when they confess that the
word of God is what they hear. Since then there is in all
mankind an innate perverseness, that hardly one in a hun-
dred allows himself to be ruled by God’s word, it behoves us
seriously to consider what is here said,—that they are un-
worthy of mercy who harden their neck. Hence it is said
in Psalm xcey. 8, “ Harden not your hearts like your fathers.”
And a clearer definition follows, That they might not hear my
words. Though there be hardness in all mortals, yet when
the doctrine of salvation is made known and not received,
then a greater impiety and pride shew themselves; for in
that case, men hear God speaking, and yet rob him of his
authority. It then follows, that the more clearly God makes
known his truth, the less ground of excuse there is ; for then
especially comes to light the impiety of men, and their dis-
dain seems incapable of being subdued.
PRAYER.
Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast been pleased to pre-
scribe a rule for us, by which we may truly and purely worship
thee,—O grant, that we may follow this plain rule, and never
indulge our own imaginations, nor trifle with thee through our
own fancies or through the foolish wisdom of our flesh, but con-
tinue in thy law, and in the doctrine which thine only-begotten
Son, our Lord, has delivered to us, so that we may advance more ~
and more in the knowledge of that glory, the foretaste of which
thou givest us now, until we shall at length fully and perfectly
enjoy it, when we shall be gathered into that celestial kingdom,
which thy Son has procured for us by his own blood.— Amen.
1
2
3
4
9
10
11
A TRANSLATION
OF
CALVINS VERSION OF JEREMIAH.
CHAPTERS I1—XIX,
CHAPTER I.
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who
were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin: even the word of
Jehovah came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon,
the king of Judah, in the tenth year of his reign; and it came
in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah,
to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah,
the king of Judah, to the transmigration of Jerusalem in the
fifth month.
And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,—
Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee;
Before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee ;
A prophet to the nations have I made thee.
And I said,—
. Ah! Lord Jehovah,
Behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.
And Jehovah said to me,—
Say not, I am a child;
For wheresoever I send thee, thou shalt go;
And whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt say :
Fear not their face, for [ am with thee,
To deliver thee, saith Jehovah.
And Jehovah extended his hand and touched my mouth ;
and Jehovah said to me,—
Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth ;
See, I have set thee to-day
Over nations and over kingdoms,
To pull down and to destroy,
To root up and to demolish,
To build and to plant. (i. 47)
Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What seest
CHAP. 11. 1-3. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 455
thou, Jeremiah? And TI said, The rod of a watcher zs what I
12 see. Then Jehovah said to me, Thou hast rightly seen, for I
watch over my word to do it.
13 And the word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, What
seest thou? And I said, A pot boiling is what I see; its face
14 is towards the north. And Jehovah said to me,—
From the north shall break forth an evil
On all the inhabitants of the land:
15 For behold, I am calling all the families
Of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah ;
And they shall come, and set shall each his throne,
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
And on all its walls around,
And on all the cities of Judah:
16 And I will execute my judgments on them
For all their wickedness ;
Because they have forsaken me,
And have burnt incense to strange gods,
And bowed down to the works of their own hands. (i. 58)
17 Thou then, gird thy loins and arise,
And speak to them whatsoever I command thee ;
Fear not their face,
Lest I dismay thee before them.
18 And I, behold I have made thee this day
A fortified city, an iron pillar,
And a brazen wall, as to the whole land,
Against the kings of Judah,
Against his princes, against his priests,
Against the people of the land :
19 And they shall fight with thee,
But shall not prevail over thee,
For with thee am I, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.
CHAPTER I.
1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,—
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,
Saying, Thus saith Jehovah,—
I remember thee for my kindness to thine youth
And my love at thy espousal,
When thou didst follow me in the desert,
In a land not sown. (i. 70)
3 Holiness was Israel to Jehovah,
The first-fruits of his increase :
Whosoever devour him shall be punished,
Evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
456
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12
13
14
15
16
Lei
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP, I. 4-16.
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye house of Jacob,
And all the families of the house of Israel :
Thus saith Jehovah,—
What iniquity did your fathers find in me?
For they alienated themselves from me,
And walked after vanity, and became vain; (i. 75)
And they said not, ‘‘ Where is Jehovah,
Who brought us out of the land of Egypt,
And led us through the wilderness,
In a land waste and rugged,
In a land horrible and deadly,
In a land through which none passed,
And in which no man dwelt?” (i. 79)
And I brought you into a fertile land,
To eat its fruit and its abundance;
But ye entered and polluted my land,
And my heritage have ye made an abomination :
The priests said not, “ Where is Jehovah?”
And they who handled the law, knew not me;
And the pastors dealt treacherously with me,
And the prophets prophesied by Baal,
And after things which did not profit, they walked.
Therefore still will I contend with you, saith Jehovah ;
And with your children’s children will I contend.
For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see;
And to Kedar send, and consider diligently ;
And see whether such a thing as this has been done—
Has a nation changed its gods,
Though they are no gods?
Yet my people have changed their glory ~
Unto that which does not profit.
Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and terrified,
Be ye wholly desolated, saith Jehovah: (i. 92)
Surely, two evils haye my people done,—
Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters,
And dug have they for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns, which hold no waters !
Is Israel a servant? Is he one born in the house?
Why is he become a prey ?
Over him roar the lions,
They have raised their voice ;
They have made his land waste;
His cities are burnt up,
Without an inhabitant.
Even the children of Noph and Thaphanes
Do break thy crown.
OHAP.11.17-27. NEW TRANSLATIUN OF JEREMIAH.
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
26
27
Hast thou not done this for thyself,
By forsaking Jehovah thy God,
While he was leading thee in the way?
And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt,
That thou mightest drink the waters of the Nile?
And what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria,
That thou mightest drink of the water of the river ?
Chastise thee shall thine own wickedness,
And thy apostasies, they shall punish thee ;
And thou shalt understand and know,
That it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee
To have forsaken Jehovah thy God,
And that my fear has not been in thee,
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
For of old have I broken thy yoke,
Have I burst thy bands;
But thou hast said, ‘‘I will not serve ;”
For on every high hill and under every shady tree
Hast thou rambled like a harlot. (i. 107)
I indeed planted thee a choice vine,
Altogether a good seed ;
How then art thou turned to me
A degenerated foreign vine !
Even though thou washest thyself with nitre,
And multipliest to thee the herb of the fuller ;
Yet imprinted is thine iniquity
Before my face, saith the Lord Jehovah.
How canst thou say, ‘“‘I am not polluted,
After Baalim have I not gone ?”
See thy ways in the valley,
Know what thou hast done,—
Thou swift dromedary, traversing her ways,—
A wild she-ass, used to the desert,
In her own lust snuffing up the wind she meets with ;
Who can thence bring her back ?
Whosoever seeks her, needs not weary himself;
In her month will he find her. (@. 118)
Keep thy foot from being unshod,
And thy throat from thirst :
Yet thou hast said, “It is all over;
No, for I have loved strangers,
And after them will I go.”
As there is shame to a thief when caught,
So ashamed shall be the house of Israel,
Their kings and their princes,
Their priests and their prophets,—
Who say to the wood, ‘* My father art thou ;”
457
458
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
36
37
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. 11, 1.
And to the stone, “Thou hast begotten me :”
For they have turned to me the back, not the face ;
But in the time of their calamity they say,
*‘ Arise and save us.”
But where are thy gods,
Which thou hast made for thyself?
Let them arise, if they can save thee
In the time of thy calamity ;
For according to the number of thy cities
Have been thy gods, O Judah !
Why do ye contend with me?
Ye have all dealt perfidiously with me, saith Jeboth.
In vain have I chastised your children ;
Correction they received not ;
Devoured has the sword your prophets,
As a destroying lion.
O generation! see ye the word of Jehovah ;
Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of darkness ?
Wherefore have my people said,—
** We have ruled, we will come no more to thee.” (i. 135)
Can a maid forget her ornaments,
A spouse her attire?
But my people have forgotten me,
Days without number.
Why trimmest thou thy ways to seek love ?
Thou hast even thus taught wickedness by thy ways .
Even in thy skirts is found
The blood of the souls of the poor innocents ;
Not in digging under have they been found,
But on account of all these things: (i. 143)
Yet thou hast said, “‘ Surely I am clean ;
Only let his fury depart from me.”
Behold I will contend with thee in judgment,
Because thou hast said, “‘ I have not sinned.”
Why ramblest thou so much to change thy ways?
Even of Egypt shalt thou be ashamed,
As thou hast been ashamed of Assyria.
Even now for this thou shalt go forth,
And thine hands on thine head ;
For abhorred hath Jehovah thy confidences,
And in them thou shalt not prosper. (i. 151)
CHAPTER III.
It is said, when a man puts away his wife,
And she goes from him to another man,
CHAP. 111.2-12. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 459
Shall he return to her again ?
Would not the land be thus greatly polluted ?
But thou hast played the harlot with many friends ;
Yet return to me, saith Jehovah.
Raise thine eyes to the high places,
And see where thou hast played the harlot:
By the ways thou didst sit for them,
As the Arabian in the desert ;
And polluted hast thou the land
With thy whoredoms and thy wickedness.
Restrained therefore have been the showers,
And the late rain has not been ;
Yet the front of a strumpet has been thine,
Thou hast refused to be ashamed.
Wilt thou not hereafter cry to me,—
*‘ My Father, the guide of my youth art thou?
Will he keep wrath for ever?
Will he reserve it perpetually ?”
Behold, thou hast spoken,
And hast done evils with all thy might. (i. 162)
6 And Jehovah said to me in the days of Josiah the king,—
10
11
12
Hast thou seen what the apostate Israel has done ?
She went on every high mountain
And under every shady tree,
And played there the harlot :
And I said, after she had done all these things,
*“ Return to me;” but she returned not;
And see this did her perfidious sister Judah.
And I saw, that when for all these things,
Because rebellious Israel had played the harlot,
I had dismissed her and given her a bill of divorce,
Yet fear did not her perfidious sister Judah,
But went and played also the harlot. (i. 166)
And it happened through the levity of her whoredom,
That she polluted the land,
And played the harlot with stone and with wood.
And yet after all this, returned to me
Has not her perfidious sister Judah,
With her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.
And Jehovah said to me,—
Justified herself has apostate Israel
Rather than perfidious Judah :
Go and publish these words towards the north,
And say, Return, rebellious Israel, saith Jehovah 3
I will not let fall my wrath upon you,
For I am merciful, saith Jehovah ;
460 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. 111. 13-22.
I will not keep it for ever :
13 But know thine iniquity, .
That against Jehovah thy God thou hast acted wickedly,
And prostituted thy ways to strangers
Under every shady tree ; (i. 176)
And to my voice thou didst not hearken, saith Jehovah.
14 Return, ye rebellious children, saith Jehovah ;
For I am your husband ;
And I will take you, one from a city,
And two from a family, and bring you to Sion ;
15 And will give you pastors according to my heart,
And they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it shall be, when ye shall multiply and increase
In the land, in those days, saith Jehovah,
That they will no more say,—
“ The ark of the covenant of Jehovah ;”
And it shall not come to mind,
And they shall not remember nor visit it ;
Even ¢his shall not be done any more. (i. 185)
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem,
The throne of Jehovah;
And assemble to it shall all nations,
For the name of Jehovah, even to Jerusalem ;
And walk shall they no more
After the evil hardness of their own hearts. (i. 186)
18 In those days shall come
The house of Judah with the house of Israel ;
Together shall they come from the land of the north,
To the land which I have given
For an inheritance to your fathers.
19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children,
And give thee the desirable land,
The heritage coveted by hosts of nations ?
And I said, “ My Father,” shalt thou call me,
And from me thou wilt not depart. (i. 189)
20 Surely as a woman deals perfidiously with her partner,
So hast thou dealt perfidiously with me,
O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.
21 A voice on high places was heard,
The weeping of the prayers of the children of Israel ;
Because they had perverted their way,
And forgotten Jehovah their God. (i. 192)
22 “ Return, ye rebellious children,
I will heal your transgressions.”
‘* Behold we come to thee,
CHAP. Iv. 1-6. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
23
24
25
o
For thou art Jehovah our God:
Surely deceit zs from the hills,
From the multitude of mountains ;
Surely, in Jehovah our God
Is the salvation of Israel. (i. 194)
Even shame hath devoured the labour
Of our fathers, from our youth,
Even their sheep and their cattle,
Their sons and their daughters.
We have lain down in our shame,
And our reproach hath covered us,
Because with Jehovah our God
We have dealt wickedly, we and our fathers,
From our childhood even to this day, (i. 196)
461
And have not attended to the voice of Jehovah our God.”
CHAPTER IV.
If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah,
Return to me ;
Even if thou wilt take away
Thine abominations from my sight,
And wilt not wander: (i. 199)
And thou shalt swear, ‘“ Live does Jehovah,
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness ;”
Then bless themselves in him shall nations,
And in him shall they glory. (i. 202)
For thus saith Jehovah
To the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,—
Plough again the first ploughing,
And sow not among thorns:
Be ye circumcised to Jehovah,
And take away the foreskin of your heart,
Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem ;
Lest my fury go forth like fire,
And burn that none may quench it ;
On account of the evil of your doings.
Proclaim ye in Judah,
And publish in Jerusalem, and say,
“Sound the trumpet in the land ;”
Call, assemble, yea, say,—
‘‘ Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities ;”
Raise the standard in Sion ;
Flee, stay not, for an evil do I bring
From the north, even a great ruin. (i. 208)
462
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10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. OHAP. IY. 7-18,
Ascended has the lion from his thicket,
And the waster of nations is gone forth ;
He is come forth from his place,
To make thy land a waste ;
Thy cities shall be destroyed,
So as to be without an inhabitant.
For this gird yourselves with sackcloth,
Lament and howl; for turned away from us
Is not the fury of Jehovah’s wrath.
And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah,
That perish shall the heart of the king,
And the heart of the princes ;
And amazed shall be the priests,
And the prophets shall be astonished. (i. 212)
Then I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah!
Surely, deceiving thou hast deceived
This people and Jerusalem, by saying,
‘** Peace shall be to you ;”
Yet reached has the sword to the soul. (i. 214)
At that time it shall be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,—
A dry wind from the heights of the desert
Shall be towards the way of the daughter of my people,
Not to fan nor to cleanse ;
A wind stronger than this shall come for me ;
Now also will I pronounce judgments on them. (i. 217)
Behold as clouds shall he ascend,
And as a whirlwind his chariots ;
Swifter than eagles his horses :
Wo to us! for we are lost.
Cleanse from evil the heart, Jerusalem;
That thou mayest be saved :
How long will remain within thee
The thoughts of vanity! (i. 221)
For a voice proclaims from Dan
And publishes ruin from Mount Ephraim.
Rehearse it to the nations ;
Behold, publish against Jerusalem,—
Besiegers come from a remote land,
And raise over the cities of Judah their voice ;
As keepers of the field they shall be over her around;
Because she hath provoked me, saith Jehovah.
Thy way and thy doings have done this for thee ;
This is thy wickedness, though it be bitter,
Though it reaches to thy heart. (i. 227)
7
OHAP. Iv.19-30. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 463
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20
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22
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27
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29
30
My bowels! my bowels! Iam in pain ;
The walls of my heart !
My heart is in a tumult within me ;
I will not be silent, for the sound of the trumpet
Has my soul heard,
And the clamour of war has it heard. (i. 229)
Calamity on calamity is cried ;
For destroyed is the whole land ;
Suddenly destroyed are my tents,
In an instant my curtains.
How long shall I see the standard—
Shall I hear the sound of the trumpet ?
Because foolish are my people,
Me have they not known;
Sottish children are they,
And they are not intelligent ;
Acute are they for evil,
But how to do good they know not.
I beheld the land, and lo, it was waste and without form ;
And the heavens, and they had no light :
I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled ;
And all the hills were shaking:
I beheld, and lo, there was no man,
And every bird of the heavens was fled :
I beheld, and lo, Carmel was a desert ;
And all its cities were destroyed,
At the presence of Jehovah,
At the presence of the burning of his wrath.
For thus saith Jehovah,
Laid waste shall be the whole land;
But an end will I not make.
For this mourn shall the land,
And black shall become the heavens above ;
For I have spoken, I have purposed,
And will not repent nor be turned from this.
At the voice of the horseman and of the bowmen,
Flee shall the whole city ;
They shall penetrate into thick clouds,
They shall ascend into rocks ;
Every city shall be forsaken,
And no man shall dwell in them. (i. 245)
And thou, wretched one, what wilt thou do?
Though thou puttest on crimson,
Though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold,
Though thou adornest with paint thine eyes,
In vain wilt thou decorate thyself;
464
81
2
3
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP, V. 1-7.
Hate thee will thy lovers,
Thy life will they seek.
Surely, the voice of one in travail have I heard,
The distress as of one giving birth to a first-begotten,
The voice of the daughter of Sion ;
Who mourns, who spreads her hands,—
‘Wo to me now! for fainted has my soul
On account of murderers.” (i. 251)
CHAPTER V.
Go round through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see, I pray, and know,
Inquire also in its cross-ways,
Whether ye shall find a man,
Whether there be any, who doeth judgment,
Who seeketh the truth,
And I will spare it. (i. 252)
Though they say, “ Live does Jehovah ;”
Yet in this they swear falsely.
Jehovah! are not thine eyes on the truth?
Thou hast smitten them,
But they have not grieved ;
Thou hast consumed them,
But they have not received correction :
They have made their faces harder than a rock,
They have refused to return.
But I said, Surely the poor are these ;
They have acted foolishly,
Because they knew not the way of Jehovah,
The judgment of their God:
I will go to the great and speak to them,
For they know the way of Jehovah,
The judgment of their God:
But these have altogether broken the yoke,
They have burst the bonds.
Therefore smite them shall the lion from the forest,
The wolf of the desert shall spoil them,
The leopard shall watch over their cities ;
Whosoever goeth out shall be torn:
For manifold are their transgressions,
Increased are their defections.
How for this shall I spare thee ?
Thy children have forsaken me,
And have sworn by one that is not a god ;
.. ie
7
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CHAP. Vv. 8-19. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 465
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When I fully satisfied them, they committed adultery,
And at the house of the harlot they assembled:
Fed horses! rising early in the morning,
Every one at his neighbout’s wife neigheth.
Should I not for these things visit? saith Jehovah,
And on such a nation as this
Shall not my soul be avenged ?
Ascend her walls and demolish,
But an end make not;
Take away her foundations,
For they are not Jehovah’s:
For by transgressing they have transgressed against me,
The house of Israel and the house of Judah, saith Jehovah.
They have denied Jehovah and said,
*¢ He is not, and come on us shall no evil;
Yea, the sword and the famine we shall not see:
And the prophets shall be wind,
For the word is not in them:
Thus shall it be done to them.”
Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts,—
Because you have uttered this word,
Behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them:
Behold I will bring on you a nation from far,
O house of Israel, saith Jehovah,
A strong nation, an ancient nation,
A nation whose language thou knowest not,
And understandest not what it says: (i. 286)
Their quiver zs like an open sepulchre,
All of them are valiant ;
And they will devour thy harvest and thy bread ;
They will devour thy sons and thy daughters,
They will devour thy flocks and thy herds,
They will devour thy vine and thy fig-tree ;
To want shall they reduce thy fortified cities,
To which thou trustest, by the sword :
But even in those days, saith Jehovah,
I will not make with you an end.
And it shall be, when ye say,
** Why hath Jehovah our God done to us
All these things?” that thou wilt say to them,—
As ye have forsaken me,
And served foreign gods in your land,
So shall ye serve foreigners in a land not your own.
VOL. II. 2a
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. VI, 1
Declare this in the house of Jacob,
And publish it in Judah, saying,—
Hear this, I pray,
Ye foolish people and void of heart,
Who have eyes and see not,
Who have ears and hear not:
Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah ;
Will ye not at my presence tremble ?
Who have set the sand a bound to the sea,
By a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it ;
Though its waves rage, yet they cannot prevail ;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
But this people hath a perverse and rebellious heart ;
They have turned aside and departed :
And they have not said in their heart,—
Let us now fear Jehovah our God,
Who giveth rain, both the early
And the latter shower in its season,
Who keeps to us the appointed weeks of harvest. -
Your iniquities have prevented these things,
And your sins have restrained good from you,
For found among my people are the wicked ;
They look, as though they would set snares ;
A trap they set, in which they catch men. (i. 303)
As a cage is full of birds
So their houses are full of fraud :
Therefore they are increased and become rich ;
They are become fat, they shine ;
They even surpass the deeds of the wicked :
The cause they judge not,
The cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper ;
And the judgment of the poor they judge not. (i. 306)
Shall I not for this visit, saith Jehovah?
On such a nation as this
Shall not my soul be avenged ?
A monstrosity and baseness is in the land!
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their means; (i. 309)
And my people wish it to be so:
But what will ye do at the end of it?
CHAPTER VIL
Be assembled, ye children of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem,
CHAP. VI.2-12. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
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11
And in Tekoa sound the trumpet;
In Beth-haccerem also set up a sign ;
For evil is seen from the north,
And great distress.
To a quiet and delicate woman
Have I likened the daughter of Sion:
To her shall come shepherds and their flocks ;
They shall pitch their tents near her around,
Feed shall each in his own place. ~
Prepare ye war against her:
** Arise ye, and let us ascend at mid-day;
Alas for us! for declined has the day,
For extended are the evening shadows:
Arise, and let us ascend in the night,
And let us demolish her palaces.” (i. 319)
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts,—
Cut ye down wood,
And form against Jerusalem a mound ;
It is a city of visitation,
Entire oppression is in the midst of her:
As a fountain casts out its waters,
So she casts out her wickedness ;
Violence and plunder is heard of in her ;
Before me continually is grief and smiting.
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem,
Lest my soul be torn from thee,
Lest I make thee a desert,
A land not inhabited.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts,—
By gleaning they shall glean, as a vine,
The remnant of Israel :
Turn back thine hand,
As a grape-gatherer into the baskets. (i. 326)
To whom shall I speak and protest,
That they may hear ?
Behold, uncircumcised is their ear,
And they cannot hear ;
Behold, the word of Jehovah zs to them a reproach ;
They delight not in it.
Of Jehovah’s indignation therefore am I full,
I am wearied with refraining
To pour it on the children in the streets,
And on the assembly of young men also ;
For the husband with his wife shall be taken,
The aged with the full of days:
12 And turned shall be their houses to aliens,
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. Vr. 13-23,
Their fields and their wives in like manner ;
For I will stretch out my hand
On the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah :
For from the least to the greatest of them,
Every one is given to covetousness ;
And from the prophet to the priest,
Every one acts deceitfully ;
And healed have they the wound
Of the daughter of my people slightly
Bysaying, ‘‘ Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. (1.336)
Were they ashamed, that they had done abomination ?
Even of shame they were not ashamed,
And how to blush they knew not:
Fall therefore shall they among the fallen;
At the time of their visitation
They shall perish, saith Jehovah. (i. 339)
Thus said Jehovah,—
Stand in the ways and see,
Inquire also concerning the old paths,
Which is the right way, and walk ye in it,
That ye may find rest to your soul :
And they said, “ We will not walk in i.”
I also set over them watchmen,
That they might attend to the sound of the trumpet ; =e
But they said, “‘ We will not attend.” .
Hear therefore, ye nations,
And know, thou assembly, what shall be to them :
Hear, thou land; behold I bring an evil
On this people, the fruit of their thoughts;
Because to my words they have-not hearkened,
And my law have they despised.
To what purpose is this to me?
Incense cometh from Sheba,
And the sweet cane from a far country ;
Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable,
And your sacrifices are not pleasant to me.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, I lay before this people stumblingblocks ;
And stumble shall fathers and sons alike ;
Neighbour and friend, they shall perish.
Thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, a people shall come from the north country,
And a great nation shall be roused
From the sides of the earth :
On the bow and spear shall they lay hold ;
They are cruel and will not spare ;
CHAP. vir. 1-5. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 469
Their voice, like the sea, will roar,
And on horses shall they mount;
Arrayed shall they be as men for war,
Against thee, O daughter of Sion.
24 We have heard its fame ;
Relaxed are our hands,
Anguish has laid hold on us,
- The pain as of one in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field,
Nor walk by the way ;
For the sword of the enemy
Js a terror on every side.
26 Daughter of my people! gird on sackcloth,
And roll thyself in the dust ;
Make thee mourning, as for an only son,
Most bitter lamentation ;
For suddenly shall come on thee the spoiler,
27 A tower have I made thee to my people,—
A fortress ; that thou mightest know
And try their ways:
28 All are entire apostates,
Walking in detraction ;
Brass and iron are they ;
All of them are corrupters. (i. 358)
29 Burnt are the bellows by the fire,
Entire is the lead,
In vain has melted the melter ;
For the wicked have not been refined :
30 Reprobate silver shall they call them,
Because rejected them has Jehovah. (i. 360)
CHAPTER VII.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,—
2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah,
And proclaim there this word, and say,—
Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah,
Who enter through these gates to worship Jehovah ;
3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,—
Make good your ways and your doings,
And 1 will dwell with you in this place :
4 ‘Trust not in words of falsehood, by saying,
“The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah,
The temple of Jehovah, are these buildings.” (i. 364)
5 Surely, if by making good ye make good
Your ways and your doings,
470 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. VII. 6-17.
If by doing ye do judgment
Between man and his neighbour,
6 If the stranger, the orphan and the widow,
Ye oppress not, and innocent blood
Ye shed not in this place,
And after strange gods
Ye walk not to your hurt,—
Then will I cause you to dwell in this place,
In the land which I gave to your fathers,
For ever and ever.
be |
8 Behold, ye trust in words of falsehood,
Which are without profit.
9 Will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery,
Swear falsely, burn incense to Baal,
And walk after alien gods, .
Whom ye do not know;
10 And come and stand before me in this house,
Which is called by,my name, and say,
‘“* We have been made free
To do all these abominations ?” (i. 373)
11 Is this house, called by my name,
Become a den of robbers in your eyes?
Even I, behold I see, saith Jehovah.
12 But go now to my place in Shilo,
Where I made to dwell my name at first,
And see what I did there,
For the wickedness of my people Israel :
13 And now, because ye have done
All these works, saith Jehovah,
And I spoke to you, rising early,
And when I spoke, ye heard not,
When I called you, ye answered not ;
14 I will therefore do to this place,
Which is called by my name,
In which ye trust—
Even to the place which I gave to you
And to your fathers, as I did to Shilo ;
15 AndI will cast you out from my presence,
As I have cast out all your brethren,
The whole seed of Ephraim.
16 And thou, pray not for this people,
And raise not for them a ery and a prayer,
And intercede not with me;
For I will not hear thee. (i. 384)
17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah
And in the streets of Jerusalem ?
CHAP. VII. 18-28. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
18 Children gather wood,
And fathers kindle a fire,
And women knead a dough,
To make cakes for the queen of heaven ;
And they pour libations to alien gods,
That they may provoke me to wrath! (i. 887)
19 Do they provoke me to wrath, saith Jehovah?
Is it not to the shame of their own faces?
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah,—
Behold my wrath, even my fury,
It shall be poured on this place,
Upon men and upon beast,
Upon the tree of the field and the fruit of the land;
And it shall burn, and none shall quench #.
21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,—
Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices,
And eat ye the fiesh :
22 For I spoke not to your fathers,
Nor commanded them in the day,
In which I brought them out of the land of Egypt,
Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices ;
23 But this is what I commanded them, saying,—
“* Hear my voice,
And I will be to you a God,
And you shall be to me a people;
And walk ye in all the ways
Which I have commanded you,
That it may be well with you :”
24 Yet they heard not, nor inclined their ear ;
But walked in perverse counsels,
In the wickedness of their own evil heart,
And went backward and not forward.
25 From the day in which your fathers came out
From the land of Egypt, to this day,
Have I sent to you-all my servants, the prophets,
Every day rising early and sending them:
26 Yet they heard not nor inclined their ear,
But hardened their neck ;
They have acted more perversely than their fathers.
27 Thou also shalt say to them all these words,
But they will not hear thee;
And thou shalt call to them,
But they will not answer thee:
28 Therefore say to them,—This is a nation,
Which have not hearkened to the voice
Of Jehovah, their God,
And have not received correction :
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. ViIt.1,2.
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Perished has the truth,
And cut off has it been from their mouth.
Shave off thy hair and cast it away,
Raise on the heights a lamentation ;
For rejected’ thee has Jehovah ;
And forsaken hath he the generation of his wrath :
For the children of Judah have done evil
Before mine eyes, saith Jehovah ;
They have set their abominations in the house,
On which my name is called, to pollute it ;
And they have built the high places of Tophet,
Which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom,
To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire ;
Which I have not commanded,
Nor has it ever come into my heart.
Therefore, behold the days come, saith Jehovah,
That it shall no more be called Tophet,
And The valley of the son of Hinnom,
But, The valley of slaugliter ;
And they shall bury in Tophet,
For elsewhere there will be no place:
And the carcases of this people shall be for meat
To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth ;
And there will be none to frighten them :
And to cease will I make, from the cities of Judah
And from the streets of Jerusalem,
The voice of joy and the voice of gladness,
The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride ;
For to a waste shall the land be reduced.
CHAPTER VIII.
In that day, saith Jehovah, they shall bring forth
The bones of the kings of Judah,
And the bones of his princes,
And the bones of the priests,
And the bones of the prophets,
And the bones of the citizens of Jerusalem,
Out of their graves ;
And they shall spread them before the sun,
And the moon, and all the host of heaven,
Which they have loved and served,
And after which they have walked,
And which they have sought,
And before which they have bowed themselves ;
They shall not be gathered nor buried ;
CHAP. VIII. 3-13. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 473
For dung on the face of the land shall they be :
8 And chosen shall be death,
Rather than life, by all the residue,
Who shall remain of this wicked nation,
Who shall remain in all the places
Where I shall drive them, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Thou shalt also say to them, Thus saith Jehovah,—
Shall not they who have fallen rise again ?
If any one turns aside shall he not return ?
Why rebel does this people at Jerusalem
With a perpetual rebellion?
They have held fast deceit,
They have refused to return.
6 I hearkened and heard; they will not speak aright ;
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11
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There is no one who repents of his wickedness,
And says, ‘‘ What have I done?”
Every one turns to his own course,
Like a horse who rushes into battle. (i. 425)
Even the stork in the heavens knows its times ;
The turtle also, and the swallow and the crane,
Observe the time of their journey ;
But my people know not the judgment of Jehovah.
How. say ye, “‘ We are wise
And the law of Jehovah is with us :”
Surely, behold in vain
Hath the writer prepared his pen,
In vain are the scribes !
Ashamed are the wise, terrified and taken ;
Behold the word of Jehovah have they rejected ;
And wisdom, what is it to them! (i. 432)
I will therefore give their wives to aliens,
And their fields to inheritors ;
For from the least even to the greatest,
Every one is given to covetousness ;
From the prophet even to the priest,
All have acted deceitfully ;
And healed have they the wound
Of the daughter of my people slightly,
By saying, ‘‘ Peace, peace,” when there was no peace.
Had they shame, that they had done abomination ?
Even of shame they were not ashamed,
And how to blush they knew not:
Fall therefore shall they with the fallen ;
At the time of their visitation
They shall perish, saith Jehovah.
Destroying, I will destroy them, saith Jehovah ;
* eae 4
474 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. Ix. 1,
No grapes shail be on the vine,
And no figs on the fig-tree ;
The leaf also shall fall,
And what I gave them shall pass from them,
14 Why do we sit still? Assemble ye,
And let us enter into fortified cities,
And let us rest there:
Surely, Jehovah our God hath made us silent,
And given us waters of gall to drink :
Because we have sinned against Jehovah. (i. 442)
15 We looked for peace, but there was nogood;
For time of healing, but behold terror.
16 From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses ;
At the sound of the neighing of his strong ones,
Tremble does the whole land;
For they will come and devour
The land and its abundance,
The city and its inhabitants,
17 For behold, I will send among you
Serpents and basilisks,
Which will not be charmed ;
And they shall bite you, saith Jehovah.
18 I would strengthen myself against grief:
But within me my heart is weak.
19 Behold the voice of the crying
Of the daughter of my people from a far country !
‘Ts not Jehovah in Sion ?
Is not her king within her ?”—
Why have they provoked me to wrath
With their images, with foreign vanities ?
20 Past has the harvest, ended is the summer,
And we have not been saved! (i. 452)
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people
I am hurt, I am become black ;
Astonishment has laid hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead ?
Is there no physician there ?
For why is not restored
The healing of the daughter of my people! (i. 456)
CHAPTER IX.
1 Who will make my head waters
And mine eye a fountain of tears!
Then would I bewail, day and night,
The slain of the daughter of my people.
CHAP. Ix. 2-12. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
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10
Who will set me in the desert,
In the lodging of travellers!
Then would I leave my people
And depart from them :
For all of them are adulterers,
An assembly of perfidious men.
And they shoot lies with their tongue as with a bow;
But not for truth are they strong in the land;
For from evil to evil they proceed ; (i. 462)
And me they know not, saith Jehovah.
And every one of his friend take ye heed,
And in a brother trust ye not ;
For every brother by supplanting will supplant,
And every friend walks fraudulently :
And a man deceives his neighbour,
And the truth he speaks not ;
They have taught their tongues to speak falsehood ;
With doing evil they weary themselves.
Thou dwellest in the midst of deceit ;
Through deceit they refuse
To know me, saith Jehovah. (i. 469)
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts,—
Behold, I will try them, and will prove them ;
For how should I deal
With the daughter of my people?
A sharpened arrow is their tongue,
Falsehood it speaks ;
His mouth speaks peace to his neighbour,
But within he sets up intrigues.
For this shall I not visit, saith Jehovah,
On such a nation as this
Shall not my soul be avenged ?
475
For the mountains will I raise up weeping and wailing,
For the pastures of the wilderness, lamentation ;
Because they are laid waste,
So that there is not a man passing through,
' And they hear not the voice of cattle ;
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From the bird of heaven to the beast,
Have they fled, have they departed. (i. 475)
I will also make Jerusalem heaps,
A place for dragons ;
And the cities of Judah will I make a waste,
So that there shall be no inhabitant.
Who is a wise man to understand this?
And to whom has Jehovah’s mouth spoken,
476
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. Ix, 13-23.
That he may declare why the land is to perish—
Is to be laid waste like the desert,
So that no man should pass through ? (i. 480)
Then Jehovah said,—
Because they have forsaken my law,
Which I have set before them,
And hearkened not to my voice,
Nor walked according to it;
But walked after the imaginations
Of their own hearts, and after Baalim,
As their fathers taught them ;
Therefore, thus saith Jehovah of hosts,
The God of Israel,—Behold,
I will feed this people with bitterness,
And will give them the water of gall to drink ;
I will also scatter them among the nations,
Whom they have not known nor their fathers,
And I will send after them the sword,
Until I shall have consumed them.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts,-—
Attend ye and call for the mourning women,
That they may come,
And send for those who are skilful,
That they may come.
And let them hasten and make a wailing for us,
That our eyes may let fall tears,
And our eyelids drop down waters. (i. 489)
19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Sion,
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22
23
‘** How we are wasted! How greatly shamed !
Because we have left the land,
They have cast down our dwellings.”
Therefore hear, ye women, the word of Jehovah,
And let your ears receive the word of his mouth,
And teach your daughters wailing,
And each one her friend lamentation :
For come up is death to our windows,
It has entered into our palaces,
To cut off the infant from the street,
The young men in the broad places. (i. 493)
Speak, thus saith Jehovah,
Fall shall the carcases of men
As dung on the face of the field,
And as the handful after the reaper,
And none gathering 7.
Thus saith Jehovah,—
Let not the wise glory in his wisdom,
CHAP. x. 1-7. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 477
And let not the brave glory in his courage,
- Let not the rich glory in his riches;
24 But in this let him glory who glorieth,
In understanding, and in knowing me,
That I am Jehovah, who doeth mercy,
Judgment and righteousness i in the land;
For in these things I delight, saith Johdveh. (i. 502)
25 Behold the days are coming, saith Jehovah,
That I will visit every one -cireumeised,
Who is in uncircumcision,—
26 Egypt and Judah and Edom,
The sons of Ammon and Moab,
And all those who are in extreme recesses,
Who dwell in the wilderness ;
For all these nations are uncircumcised,
And the whole house of Israel,
They are uncircumcised in heart.
CHAPTER X.
Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaks to you, O house of
Israel :
2 Thus saith Jehovah,—
The way of the Gentiles learn not,
And of the signs of heaven be not afraid,
For fear them do the Gentiles :
3 Because the rites of the heathens are vanity,
For a tree from the forest does one cut—
The work of the craftsman’s hands by the ax ;
4 With silver and gold they beautify it,
With nails and hammer they make it fast,
That it should not move ;
5 Asa palm, erect, bunt they speak not;
And being raised, they are raised, for they cannot walk:
Fear them not, for they cannot do evil,
And to do good is not in their power. (ii. 14)
pp
6 From no time has been found any
Like thee, Jehovah; great art thou,
And great is thy name in power.
7 Who should not fear thee, king of nations ?
For to thee this belongs ;
For among all the wise of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
From no time has there been one like thee. (ii. 28)
478
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14
15
16
17
18
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP.X.8-20.
Even in this one thing they are foolish and fatuitous—
The teaching of vanities the wood is:
Silver, extended, is from Tarshish brought,
And gold from Ophas,—
The work of the artificer and of the melter’s hands ;
Hyacinth and purple are their garments,
The work of the wise, all of them.
But Jehovah is God, the truth,
God, the life and the king of ages :
Through his fury tremble will the earth,
And the nations will not bear his wrath.
Thus shall ye say to them,—
The gods who made not the heaven and the earth,
Let them perish from the earth and from under heaven :
He who made the earth by his power,
Who set.in order the world by his wisdom,
And by his understanding extended the heavens,—
At his voice there 7s abundance of waters in the heavens,
And he makes vapours to ascend from the extremity of the
earth ;
Lightnings he makes for rain,
And brings the wind from his treasures. (ii. 31)
Foolish is every man through his knowledge,
Ashamed is every maker of the graven image,
For a falsehood is the molten image,
And there is no breath in them.
Vanity they are, the work of illusions ;
At the time of their visitation they shall perish.
But not like them is the portion of Jacob,
For the Creator of all things is he,
And Israel zs the rod of his inheritance ;
Jehovah of hosts is his name.
Gather from the land thy treasures
Thou who dwellest in a fortress:
For thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold I will cast out as with a sling
The inhabitants of the land at this time,
And I will straiten them,
That they may find what they deserve.
Wo is me on account of my bruising!
Full of pain is the smiting given to me! and I said,—
. Surely it is my stroke, and I will bear it:
20
My tent is pulled down,
And all my cords are broken ;
My sons are gone from me, and there are none—
No one to extend any more my tent,
¥
CHAP. XI- 1-8. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 479
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And to set up my curtains!
For infatuated are the pastors,
And Jehovah have they not sought ;
Therefore have they not prospered,
And all that was in their pastures has been destroyed.
A sound of rumour! lo, it comes,
And a great tumult, from the land of the north,
To make the cities of Judah a waste,
The habitation of dragons !
I know Jehovah,
That his way is not in the power of man,
That it is not in man who walketh to guide his steps.
Chastise me, Jehovah, but only in moderation ;
Not in thy wrath, lest thou shouldest consume me:
Pour thy wrath on the nations, who know thee not,
And on the families who have not called on thy name;
For they have devoured Jacob,
Yea, they have devoured and consumed him,
And his tents have they laid waste.
CHAPTER XI.
The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,—
Hear ye the words of this covenant; and say ye to the men
of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and thou shalt
say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,—Cursed
is the man who hears not the words of this covenant, which
I commanded your fathers in the day in which I brought them
out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying,—Hear
ye my voice, and do according to all those things which I have
commanded you; and ye shall be to mea people and I will
be to you a God; that I may confirm the oath which I sware
to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and
honey, according to what it is at this day. And I answered
and said, Amen, Jehovah.
And Jehovah said to me, Proclaim these words in the cities of
Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying,—
Hear the words of this covenant and do them ;
For protesting I protested to your fathers,
In the day in which I brought them
Out of the land of Egypt, to this day,
Rising up early and protesting, and saying,—
“ Hear ye my voice :”
Yet they heard not, nor inclined their ear,
But walked, every one of them,
After the wickedness of his own evil heart: _
480
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11
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16
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NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. x1. 9-18.
I have therefore brought on them
All the words of this covenant,
Which I commanded them to do,
But they did them not. (ii. 84)
And Jehovah said to me,—
Found out is a conspiracy,
Among the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem :
Returned are they to the iniquities of their forefathers,
Who refused to hear my words,
But walked after foreign gods to serve them :
Broken have the house of Israel and the house of Judah
My covenant, which I made with their fathers.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, I will bring upon you an eyil,
From which ye shall not be able to escape ;
And they shall cry to me, but I will not hear them:
And go shall the cities of Judah and the citizens of Jeru-
salem,
And cry to the gods to whom they have offered incense ;
But by saving they will not save them
In the time of their affliction :
For according to the number of thy cities
Have been thy gods, O Judah;
And according to the number of streets of Jerusalem,
Have ye set up altars for reproach—
Altars to offer incense to Baal. (ii. 94)
And thou, pray not for this people,
And raise not for them a cry and a prayer ;
For I will not hear them at the time
When they shall ery to me for their distress.
What has my beloved to do in mine house,
While she commits abomination with many ?
And the flesh of the sanctuary is taken from thee;
For when thou didst evil, thou didst then glory. (ii. 102)
A green olive, fair in fruit and form,
Hath Jehovah called thy name ;
At the noise of great tumult hath he kindled a fire on it,
And broken down are its branches: (ii. 105)
For Jehovah of hosts who planted thee
Hath spoken against thee an evil,
For the wickedness of the house of Israel
And of the house of Judah,
Which they have done for themselves,
To provoke me by offering incense to Baal.
Jehovah hath made me to know, and I knew it;
CHAP. XiI. 1-5. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 481
Thou didst then discover to me their works.
19 But I was like a lamb or an ox
Led to be slain; and I knew not
That they meditated thoughts against me :
*¢ Let us spoil with wood his bread,
And cut him off from the land of the living ;
And let his name be remembered no more.” (ii. 113)
20 Now, Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously,
Who searchest the reins and the heart,
Let me see thy vengeance on them,
For to thee have I revealed my cause.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah
To the men of Anathoth, who seek thy life and say,
‘** Prophesy thou not in the name of Jehovah,
That thou mayest not die by our hand ;”
22 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts,—
Behold, I will visit them ;
Their young men shall die by the sword,
Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine,
23 And there shall be no remnant of them ;
For I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth,
In the year of their visitation.
CHAPTER XII.
1 Just art thou, Jehovah, though I contend with thee ;
Yet of judgments will I speak to thee:
How long shall the way of the ungodly prosper?
Secure are all they who by transgressing transgress. (ii. 121)
2 Thou hast planted them, they have even taken root;
They have grown, they have even produced fruit :
Nigh art thou in their mouth,
But far from their reins.
3 But thou, Jehovah, knowest me,
Thou seest me and hast tried my heart towards thee ;
Draw them forth as sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for the day of destruction.
4 How long shall mourn the land,
And the grass of every field wither,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it?
Consumed are the beasts and the birds,
Because they have said, ‘He shall not see our end.” (ii. 129)
5 If with footmen thou hast run,
And they have wearied thee,
How canst thou contend with horsemen?
In the land of peace thou hast trusted,
VOL. II. 2H
482
6
7
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH, OMAP. x1r. 6-16.
How then canst thou do in the rising of Jordan?
Truly, even thy brethren and the house of thy father,
Even these act perfidiously towards thee ;
Yea, they cry after thee with a loud voice:
Trust them not, even when they speak good things to thee.
I have forsaken my house,
I have left my heritage ;
I have given up the darling of my soul
Into the hand of her enemies!
My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest ;
It has sent forth its voice against me ;
Therefore have I hated it.
Is my heritage to me a speckled bird ?
Is there not a bird around over it ?
Come, gather yourselves all ye beasts of the field ;
Come to devour it. (ii. 140)
Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
They have trodden under foot my portion,
They have made my choice portion a desolate wilderness ;
They have made it a desolation,
It mourns to me, being desolate ;
Desolate is become the whole land;
Though no one hath laid it to heart.
On all high places in the wilderness have come destroyers ;
For the sword of Jehovah hath devoured,
From one end to the other, end of the land;
There is no peace to any flesh.
They have sown wheat,
And thorns have they reaped ;
An heritage have they got, but have not succeeded :
Ashamed have they been of your produce,
Through the burning of the wrath of Jehovah. (ii. 149)
Thus saith Jehovah,—
As to all my evil neighbours,
Who touch my heritage,
Which I have inherited, even my people Israel,
Behold, I will pluck them up from their land,
And the house of Judah
Will I pluck up from the midst of them.
And it shall be, after I draw them out,
That I shall return and shew mercy to them,
And will restore them, every one to his heritage,
And every one to his own land.
And it shall be, that if by learning they will learn
The ways of my people, .
To swear by my name, “ Live does Jehovah,”
As they taught my people to swear by Baal,
saa
CHAP. XIII. 1-14. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
They shall then be built up
In the midst of my people :
17 But if they will not hear,
I will then pluck up that nation,
Plucking # up and destroying #, saith Jehovah.
CHAPTER XIII.
1 Thus saith Jehovah to me,—
483
Go and get thee a linen belt, and put if on thy loins, and
lori! He © bo
in water set it not. So I got for mea belt, as Jehovah had
commanded, and put it on my loins. Then came the word of
Jehovah to me again, saying,—Take the belt which thou hast
got, which is on thy loins, and rise, go to Euphrates and hide
wtthere in the hole of a rock. Then I went and hid it by
Euphrates, as Jehovah had ordered me. And it was, that at
the end of many days, Jehovah said to me, Rise and go to
Euphrates, and take thence the belt which I commanded thee
7 to hide there. So I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took
the belt from the place where I had hid it; and behold the belt
8 was marred, and it was good for nothing. Then came the
word of Jehovah to me, saying,—
9 Thus saith Jehovah,—
In this way will I mar the excellency of Judah
And the great excellency of Jerusalem :
10 This wicked people, who refuse to hear my words,
Who walk in the wickedness of their own heart,
And walk after foreign gods,
That they may serve them and worship them,—
Shall be even as this belt,
Which is good for nothing.
11 For as the belt cleaves to the loins of man,
So had I joined to me the whole house of Israel
And the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah,
That they might be to me a people and a name,
Yea, a praise and a glory;
But they hearkened not.
12 Thou shalt also say this word to them, Thus saith Jehovah»
the God of Israel,—Every bottle shall be filled with wine. When
they shall say to thee, Knowing do we not know, that every
13 bottle shall be filled with wine? then shalt thou say to them,—
Thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, I will fill with drunkenness
All the inhabitants of this land,
And all the kings who sit for David on his throne,
The priests also and the prophets,
And all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ;
14 And I will dash them, every one against his brother,
48 4
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP, x11I. 15-25.
The fathers also and the sons together, saith Jehovah :
I will not spare, nor will I be propitious,
Nor shew pity until 1 destroy them.
Hear ye and attend, be not lifted up,
For Jehovah hath spoken :
Give to Jehovah your God the glory,
Before he makes it to grow dark,
And before your feet stumble at the dark mountains,
And before he turns the light ye hope for
Into the shadow of death,
And makes it thick darkness. (ii. 179)
But if ye will not hear this,
In secret will my soul mourn for pride,
And weeping my eye will weep
And run down with tears ;
For led captive is the flock of Jehovah. :
Say to the king and to the queen,
Be ye humbled, lie ye down,
For come down from your heads
Shall the crown of your glory.
The cities of the south are closed up,
And there is no one to open them;
For carried away has been all Judah,
He has been carried away completely. (ii. 185)
Raise ye your eyes,
And behold them who come from the north:
Where is the flock, which has been given to thee,
The sheep of thy glory ?
What wilt thou say when he visits thee?
But thou hast taught them to be leaders over thy head ;
Shall not sorrows lay hold on thee,
As on a woman in travail ?
But if thou wilt say in thine heart,
‘«« Why have these evils happened to me ?”
For the multitude of thine iniquity
Are thy skirts discovered,
And naked are made thy heels,
Can the Ethiop change his skin,
And the panther his spots ?
Even so can ye do good,
Who have been taught evil. (ii. 192)
I will therefore scatter them like the stubble,
That passeth away by the wind of the desert.
This thy lot és the portion of thy measures
From me, saith Jehovah,
For thou hast forgotten me,
And thou hast trusted in falsehood ;
OHAP. xiv. 1-10. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 485
26
27
ne
10
And I also will uncover thy skirts on thy face,
That seen may be thy shame.
Thy adulteries and thy neighings,
The thought of thy whoredom,
On the mountains, in the field, have I seen,
Even thine abominations ;
Wo to thee, Jerusalem !
Wilt thou not at length be made clean ?
How long yet!
CHAPTER XIV.
The word which came to Jeremiah respecting the drought :
Mourned has Judah,
And his gates have been weakened ;
They are become black on the ground,
And the ery of Jerusalem has gone up: (ii. 205)
And their chiefs sent the common people to the waters ;
They came to the cisterns, they found no water ;
They returned with empty vessels ;
They were confounded and ashamed,
And they covered their head :
For the chapt ground, as there was no rain in the land,
Ashamed were the husbandmen,
And they covered their head:
Moreover the hind brought forth young in the field,
And forsook it, for there was no grass ;
And the wild asses stood on the cliffs,
They drew in wind like serpents ;
Fail did their eyes, for there was no grass. (ii, 209)
Though our iniquities testify against us, O Jehovah,
Deal with us for thine own name’s sake;
For multiplied have our defections,
Against thee have we done wickedly,
Hope of Israel! Saviour art thou
In the time of trouble ;
Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land?
As a traveller, turning aside to pass the night?
Why shouldest thou be as a man terrified ?
As a strong man, who yet cannot save ?
Thou art in the midst of us, O Jehovah,
And on us is thy name called,
Forsake us not. (ii. 214)
Thus saith Jehovah of this people:
As they have loved to wander,
And have not restrained their feet,
Therefore Jehovah has not been pleased with them ;
He will now remember their iniquities,
486 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. xIv. 11-2].
And visit their sins.
11 Jehovah said also to me:
Pray not for this people for their good :
12 When they fast I will not hear their ery;
And when they offer a sacrifice and an oblation,
I will not be pleased with them ;
For with the sword and with famine,
And with pestilence, will I consume them.
13 AndIsaid, Ah! Lord Jehovah,
Behold, the prophets say to them,—
‘** Ye shall not see the sword,
And famine shall not be to you,
Nay, sure peace will I give you in this place.”
14 Then said Jehovah to me,—
Falsehood do the prophets prophesy in my name;
I have not sent them nor commanded them,
Nor have I spoken to them;
A false vision and divination,
Yea, vanity and the deceit of their own heart,
Do they of themselves prophesy to you. (ii. 226)
15 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, of the prophets who prophesy in
my name, and I have not sent them, and who say, The sword
and the famine shall not be in this land,— By the sword and
16 famine shall these prophets be consumed; and the people, to
whom they have prophesied, shall be cast out in the streets of
Jerusalem through the famine and the sword, and there will be
none to bury them,—they, their wives, and their sons, and their
daughters; and I will pour upon them their own wickedness.
17 Therefore shalt thou say to them this word,—
Run down shall mine eyes with tears
Day and night, and they shall not rest,
For with a great breach is broken down
The virgin, the daughter of my people ;
The stroke zs very grievous :
18 IfI go out to the field, behold the slain with the sword !
And if I enter the city, behold the sorrowful with famine!
For both the prophet, and the priest,
Go round through the land, and know not what to do.
19 Repudiating hast thou repudiated Judah? -
Has thy soul abominated Sion ?
Why hast thou so smitten us, that we have no healing?
We have looked for peace, and there is no good,
And for time of healing, and behold terror !
20 We know, O Jehovah, our wickedness,
And the iniquity of our fathers ;
For we have done wickedly against thee.
21 Reject not, for thy name’s sake,
CHAP, Xv. 1-8. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 487
Overthrow not the throne of thy glory ;
Remember, render not void,
Thy covenant with us. (ii. 240)
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles,
Who can cause it to rain ?
And can they give rain from heaven ?
Art not thou thyself, Jehovah, our God?
And we have looked to thee,
For thou hast done all these things.
CHAPTER XV.t
1 Then Jehovah said to me:
Though Moses and Samuel stood before me,
My soul would not be towards this people ;
Send them from my presence, and let them depart.
2 And it shall be, if they say to thee,
** Whither shall we go forth ?”
Then shalt thou say to them,—
Thus saith Jehovah,—
They who are for death, to death,
And they who are for the sword, to the sword,
And they who are for the famine, to the famine,
And they who are for captivity, to captivity :
3 And I will set over them four kinds, saith Jehovah,—
The sword to kill, and the dogs to drag,
And the bird of heaven, and the beast of the earth,
To devour and to destroy:
4 And I will set them a vexation,
To all the kingdoms of the earth,
For Manasse, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah,
On account of what he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who will pity thee, O Jerusalem ?
And who will condole with thee?
And who will turn aside
To inquire of thy welfare ?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith Jehovah ;
Backward hast thou gone;
I will therefore stretch my hand against thee,
And I will destroy thee ;
I am wearied with repenting :
7 And I will fan them with a fan
Through all the gates of the earth;
I have bereaved, I destroyed my people ;
From their own ways they have not returned :
8 Multiplied have their widows to me
1 The beginning of this chapter is evidently connected with the end of
the last, and ought not to have been separated.— Ed.
488 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. XV. 9-18,
Above the sand of the sea;
I brought to them, on the troop of youths,
A waster at mid-day ;
And I cast on them suddenly
A tumult and terrors.
9 Weakened did she become who had born seven,
Expire did her soul,
Go down did her sun while it was yet day,
Confounded has she been and ashamed :
And the remainder of them to the sword will I give,
Before their enemies, saith Jehovah, (ii. 266)
10 Wo to me, my mother!
That thou hast born me a man of strife,
And a man of contention to the whole land:
I have not lent on usury,
And they have not on usury lent to me ;
Yet every one curses me.
11 And Jehovah said,—
Surely thy latter end shall be well;
Surely I will cause to meet thee the enemy,
In the time of evil and in the time of distress. (ii. 278)
12 Shall iron break
The iron from the north and the steel !
13 Thy wealth and thy treasures
To plunder will I give,
Not in exchange, but for all thy wickedness,
And for all thy counsels :
14 And I will make thee to pass to the enemy ~
Into a land which thou knowest not ;
For a fire is kindled in my wrath,
On you it shall burn.
15 Thou knowest, O Jehovah,
Remember me and visit me,
And avenge me on my persecutors,
Lest thou shouldest take me away
By protracting thy wrath :
Know that for thee have I borne reproach. (ii, 280)
16 Found were thy words, and I did eat them ;
And thy word was my joy and the gladness of my heart;
For called on me was thy name,
O Jehovah, the God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of mockers,
Nor exulted on account of thy hand ;
I sat apart, for with indignation
Hast thou filled me.
18 Why is my pain strong, and my stroke incurable,
And refuses to be healed ?
CHAP. xvi. 1-9. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 489
19
20
21
wore
Wilt thou be to me
As the deception of unfaithful waters ?
Therefore, thus saith Jehovah,—
Tf thou wilt be turned, then I will turn thee,
That thou mayest stand before me ;
And if thou separatest the precious from the worthless,
As my mouth shalt thou be:
Let them turn to thee, but turn not thou to them.
I have even made thee to this people
A wall of brass, fortified ;
They shall therefore fight against thee,
But over thee they shall not prevail;
For with thee am I to save thee,
And to deliver thee, saith Jehovah :
Yea, I will save thee from the hand of the wicked,
And deliver thee from the hand of the strong. (ii. 300)
CHAPTER XVI.
Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying,—
Take not to thee a wife,
And have no sons and daughters in this place :
For thus saith Jehovah,—
As to the sons and daughters, born in this place,
And as to the mothers who shall bear them,
And as to the fathers, who shall beget them in this land—
With deaths of sicknesses shall they die,
They shall not be lamented nor buried ;
As dung on the face of the earth shall they be;
With the sword also and the famine shall they be consumed,
And their carcases shall be for meat
To the birds of heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. (ii. 305)
For thus saith Jehovah,—
Enter not the house of mourning
Nor go to lament, nor be moved for them ;
For I have taken away my peace
From this people, saith Jehovah,
My kindness also and mercies :
And die shall they, great and small, in this land;
They shall not be buried,
Nor shall any lament for them nor cut themselves,
Nor shall baldness be made for them ;
And they shall not for them smite the hand,
To console them for the dead ;
Nor shall they drink to them the cup of consolations,
For their father or for their mother. (ii. 310)
The house of feasting also enter not,
To sit with them to eat and to drink ;
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,—
490
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. xvi, 10-19.
Behold, I will take away from this place,
Before your eyes and in your days,
The voice of joy and the voice of gladness,,
The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
And it shall be, when thou declarest to this people
All these words, that they will say to thee,—
*“ Why has Jehovah spoken against us
All this great evil ?
And what is our iniquity? and what is our sin?
Which we have wickedly done against Jehovah, our God.”
Then thou shalt say to them,—
Because your fathers forsook me, saith Jehovah :
For they went after foreign gods,
And served them and bowed down to them,
And me they forsook, and my law they did not keep;
And worse are ye become than your fathers ;
For, behold, ye have walked, every one of you,
After the wickedness of his own evil heart,
So as not to hearken to me.
I will therefore cast you out of this land,
Into a land which ye have not known, nor your fathers,
And there shall ye serve foreign gods, day and night;
For I will shew you no favour.
Therefore, behold, the daysgwill come, saith Jehovah,
When it shall be no more said, Live does Jehovah,
Who brought upthe children of Israel from the land of Egypt:
But, Live does Jehovah, who has brought up
The children of Israel, from the land of the north,
And from all the lands to which he had driven them ;
For I will restore them to the land
Which I gave to their fathers.
Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovah ;
And they shall fish them ;
And afterwards I will send for many hunters,
And they shall hunt them from every mountain,
And from every hill and holes of rocks :
For mine eyes are on all their ways;
They are not hid from my face,
Nor are their iniquities hid from mine eyes:
And I will render double, from the beginning,
For their iniquities and their sins ;
For they have polluted my land
With the carcases of their abominations;
And with their defilements
Have they filled mine inheritance. (ii. 325)
O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress,
And my refuge in the day of distress,
4
CHAP. XVII.1-8. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH.
20
21
To thee shall come the Gentiles
From the extremities of the earth, and shall say,—
“Surely falsehood did our fathers inherit;
Vanity and nothing profitable had they.”
Can men make gods for themselves,
When they themselves are no gods? (ii. 333)
Therefore, behold, I will make them to know at this time,
I will make them to know
My hand and my power;
And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
CHAPTER XVII.
The sin of Judah is written
With a pen of iron, with the point of adamant,
It is graven on the tablet of their hearts,
And on the horns of your aitars :
For their children remember
Their altars and their groves,
Under the shady tree, on high hills.
Dweller on mountains! in the field will I give for spoil
Thy wealth and all thy treasures,
Because of thy high places,
Because of thy sin in all thy borders:
And dismissed shalt thou be, even thyself,
From thine inheritance which I gave thee;
And I will make thee to serve thine enemies
In a land which thou knowest not;
For ye have kindled a fire in my wrath,
Perpetually shall it burn. (ii. 342)
Thus saith Jehovah,—
Cursed is the man who trusts in man,
And makes flesh his arm,
And whose heart turns away from Jehovah :
And he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
And shall dwell in dryness in the desert,
In the land of salt and not inhabited.
Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah,
And whose hope Jehovah is:
And he shall be like a tree,
That is planted near waters,
And nigh the stream sends its roots,
And shall not see when heat comes ;
And green shall be its leaf,
And in the year of drought it shall not fear,
Nor cease from bringing forth fruit. (ii. 347)
491
492 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. OHAP. XVII, 9-22,
9 Insidious is the heart above all things,
And vicious,—who can know it ?
10 IJehovah, who search the heart
And try the reins, to give to every one,
According to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings. (ii. 354)
11 A partridge, which gathers and produces not,
Is he who gains riches, and not by right ;
In the midst of his days he leaves them,
And at his end he is nothing.
12 A high throne of glory, from the beginning,
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 The hope of Israel art thou, Jehovah ;
All who thee forsake shall be ashamed :
They who turn aside shall on the earth be written ;
For they have forsaken
The fountain of living waters, even Jehovah.
14 Heal me, O Jehovah,
And I shall be healed ;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For my praise art thou.
15 Behold they say to me,—
** Where is the word of Jehovah? let it now come.”
16 But I hastened not to be a pastor following thee,
And the day of grief I desired not, thou knowest :
What went forth from my lips,
Before thy face has it been.
17. Be not to me a terror ;
My protector art thou in the day of evil.
18 Ashamed let them be who persecute me,
And let not me be ashamed ;
Terrified let them be,
And let not me be terrified :
Bring upon them the day of evil,
And with a double breach break them.
19 Thus said Jehovah to me,—
Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through
which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go
20 out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; and say to them,—
Hear the words of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah,
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter in through these
21 gates, Thus saith Jehovah,—
Take heed to yourselves,
And bring not a burden on the Sabbath-day,
Yea, bring it not through the gates of Jerusalem ;
22 Nor bring a burden from your houses
On the Sabbath-day, nor do any work,
CHAP. Xvill. 1-8. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 493
But sanctify the Sabbath-day,
As I commanded your fathers ;
23 ‘Though they heard not nor inclined their ear,
But hardened their neck,
So as not to hear nor receive correction :
24 And it shall be, if by hearing
Ye will hear me, saith Jehovah,
So as not to bring a burden
Through the gates of the city on the Sabbath-day,
And if ye sanctify the Sabbath-day
By doing on it no work ;
25 Then shall enter through the gates of this city
Kings and princes, sitting on David’s throne,
Riding in chariots and on horses,
They and their princes, the men of Judah
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And inhabited shall be this city perpetually :
26 And come shall they from the cities of Judah,
And from the circuits of Jerusalem,
And from the land of Benjamin,
And from the plain, and the mountain, and the south,
Bringing burnt-offering and sacrifice,
And oblation and incense,
And bringing praise, to the house of Jehovah. (ii. 388)
27 But if ye will not hearken to me,
So as to sanctify the Sabbath-day,
And not to bring a burden, nor enter
Through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day ;
Then will I kindle a fire in its gates,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem,
And it shall not be extinguished.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,—
2 Rise and go down to the potter’s house, and I will cause thee
3 to hear my words. And I went down to the potter’s house,
4 and, behold, he was making a work on the stone: and the
vessel was marred, which he made of the clay in the hand of
the potter; and he again made another vessel, as it seemed
5 good in the eyes of the potter to make. And the word of
Jehovah came to me, saying,—
6 Cannot I as this potter do to you,
O house of Israel ? saith Jehovah.
Behold, as the clay is in the hand of the potter,
So are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.
7 Suddenly will I speak of a nation and a kingdom,
To pull down and to eradicate and to destroy :
8 If that nation turn from its evil,
494 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. XvItt. 9-18.
For which I spoke against it ;
Then will I repent of the evil
Which I had thought of doing to it.
9 Suddenly also will I speak of a nation and a kingdom,
To build up and to plant:
10 But if it do evil before mine eyes,
So as not to hearken to my voice ;
Then will I repent of the good
Which I had said that I would do to it. (ii. 398)
11 And now, I pray, say to the men of Judah and to the inhabit-
ants of Jerusalem, saying,—
Thus saith Jehovah,—
Behold, I frame for you an evil,
And I think for you a thought ;
Return ye then, every one from his evil way,
And make right your ways and your doings.
12 And they said,—
It is all over ;
For after our own thoughts will we walk,
And we will do, every one,
The wickedness of his own evil heart.
13. Therefore thus saith Jehovah,—
Ask, I pray, among the heathens,
Who hath heard such a thing ?
A monstrous thing hath the virgin of Israel done.
14 Will any one leave the snow of Libanus from the rock of the
field ?
Will waters brought from another place,
And cold streams, be relinquished ? (ii. 408)
15 For forgotten me have my people ;
In vain do they offer incense,
Since they have made them to stumble
In their ways—the paths of ages,
That they might walk in paths—
In a way not trodden ;
16 To make their land a desolation,
A perpetual hissing :
Whosoever shall pass through it
Shall be astonished and shake his head.
17 By the east wind will I scatter them
Before the face of the enemy ;
The back and not the face will I shew them
In the day of their calamity.
18 And they said,—
Come, and let us think thoughts against Jeremiah ;
For perish shall not the law “from the priest,
Nor counsel from the wise,
Nor the word from the prophet :
— ee
OHAP, xtx. 1-5. NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. 495
And let us smite him with the tongue,
And not attend to any of his words.
19 Hearken, O Jehovah, to me,
And hear the voice of those who contend with me.
20 Shall evil be rendered for good?
For they have digged a pit for my soul:
_ Remember that I stood before thee
To speak good for them—
To turn away from them thy wrath.
21 Therefore give their children up to famine,
And deliver them into the hands of the sword,
And let their wives be bereaved and be widows,
And their men be smitten to death,
And their youths be smitten with the sword in battle :
22 Let acry be heard from their houses,
When thou bringest on them an army suddenly ;
For they have dug a pit to take me,
And snares have they hid for my feet.
23 And thou, Jehovah, who knowest their counsels
To be against me for death,
Be not propitious to their iniquity,
And their sin from thy sight blot not out,
But let them stumble before thee;
In the time of thy wrath deal thus with them.
CHAPTER XIX.
1 Thus saith Jehovah,—
Go and get a potter’s vessel, even with the elders of the
people and with the elders of the priests; and enter into the
valley of Hinnom, which is at the entrance of the oriental
gate, and proclaim there the words which I shall speak to
8 thee: and thou shalt say, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings
of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,—
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,—
Behold I bring an evil on this place,
The which whosoever hears, tingle shall his ears :
‘4 Because they have forsaken me,
And have alienated this place,
And have made incense in it to foreign gods,
Whom they have not themselves known,
Nor their fathers, nor the kings of Judah,
And have filled this place
With the blood of innocents :
And they have built high places to Baal,
To burn their sons with fire,
For a burnt-offering to Baal;
Which I have not commanded nor spoken of,
And which came not into my mind.
bo
or
496 NEW TRANSLATION OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. XIX. 6-] 5,
6
10
11
12
13
14
15
Therefore behold the days shall come, saith Jehovah,
When this place shall no more be called Tophet,
Nor The valley of the son of Hinnom,
But, The valley of slaughter :
And void will I make the counsel of Judah
And of Jerusalem in this place,
And lay them prostrate by the sword before their enemies,
And by the hand of those who seek their life;
And I will give their carcases for meat
To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth ;
And I will set this city
For an astonishment and for hissing ;
Whosoever shall pass through it shall be astonished,
And shall hiss on account of all her stroke :
And I will feed them with the flesh of their sons,
And with the flesh of their daughters ;
And they shall eat, every one the flesh of his friend,
In the tribulation and straitness,
By which their enemies shall straiten them,
And those who seek their life.
Then shalt thou break the bottle in the presence of the men
who shall go with thee ; and thou shalt say to them,—
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts,—
So will I break this people and this city,
As one breaks an earthen vessel,
Which can no more be repaired :
And in Tophet shall they be buried,
For there will be no other place to bury them:
Thus will I do to this place,
Saith Jehovah, and to its inhabitants,
I will even make this city like Tophet;
For the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses of the kings of Judah,
Shall be, like the place of Tophet, unclean,
Even all the houses, on whose roofs
They have made incense to all the host of heaven,
And poured a libation to foreign gods.
Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, where Jehovah had sent
him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the house of Je-
hovah, and said to the whole people,—
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,—
Behold, I will bring upon this city
And upon all her towns, all the evil
Which I have pronounced against her ;
Because they have hardened their neck,
That they might not hear my words.
END OF VOLUME SECOND.
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