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3. Instructions as to the conduct of the Lord’s servant among the people who have incurred judgment
Jer_16:1-9
2 Thou shalt not take to thee a wife,
Nor shalt thou have sons and daughters in this place:
3 For thus saith Jehovah of the sons and of the daughters born in this place,
And of their mothers that bare them,
And of their fathers that begat them in this land:
4 Miserable deaths shall they die,
They shall not be mourned nor buried;
They shall become dung on the surface of the earth;
And by sword and famine shall they perish;
And their carcases shall serve for food to the fowls of heaven and the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus saith Jehovah: Enter not into the house of mourning,
And go not to bewail them or to commiserate them;
For I have taken my peace from this people, saith Jehovah,—
The loving-kindness and the mercy.
6 Both great and small shall die in this land;
They shall not be buried and men will not mourn them,
Nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:
7 Nor will men break bread for them in mourning,
To console them concerning the dead;
Nor will they present them the cup of consolation,
Concerning father or mother.
8 And also thou shalt not go into the house of feasting, [lit. drinking],
To sit with them to drink and to eat.
9 For thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel:
Behold, I 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.
Jer_16:1-4. The word … beasts of the earth. The probibition to marry is closely connected with the complaint of the prophet in Jer_16:10 : let it not be that thy children charge thee as thou hast charged thy mother. Comp. Jer_8:2; Jer 26:33.—With the sword, comp. Jer_14:12; Jer_14:15; Jer_44:12; Jer_44:27.—Become food. Comp. Jer_7:33; Jer_19:7; Jer_34:20.
Jer_16:5-7. For thus saith … father or mother. The connection of Jer_16:4, with Jer_16:5 sqq., is as follows: the inhabitants shall perish miserably and lie unburied, for it is the command of the Lord that the prophet go into no house of mourning, i.e., it is the divine purpose to decree that punishment of which the command to the prophet is only the outward sign. The ground of this purpose is that God has withdrawn His favor from the people. (For I have taken, etc.).—Commiserate. Comp. Jer_15:5; Jer_22:10; Job_2:11; Job_42:11.—For I have taken, etc. Comp. Joel 2:10; 4:15; Gen_30:23.—Loving-kindness Comp. Hos_2:21; Zec_7:9.—Cut make bald, customs forbidden by the law (Vid. Lev_19:28; Deu_14:1), but which were, however, practised. Comp. Jer_41:5 (Jer_48:37). ÷ָøְçַä [baldness] is mentioned with especial frequency: Isa_22:12; Eze_7:18; Amo_8:10; Mic_1:16. Comp. Ewald, Alterthümer d. V. Isr. [Jewish Antiquities] S. 225; Saalschuetz, Mos. Recht., S. 380.—They shall not break bread [A. V., “tear themselves.” Comp. Textual Notes].—The cup of consolation, comp. Pro_31:6-7.
Jer_16:8-9. And also thou shalt not … voice of the bride. In this relation also the absence of the prophet is to indicate that joyful festivals are things denied by the Lord.—Before your eyes. This calamity will not just come upon a later generation, but upon the present.—Voice of the bridegroom. Comp. Jer_7:34; Jer_25:10.
Footnotes:
Jer_16:4.— îְîåֹúֵé úַçֲìֻàִéí [literally, deaths of diseases], different kinds of death in torment. Comp. Jer_14:18 [the sick (pining) of famine]. îîåú here only and in Eze_28:9; comp. îåֹúֵé , Eze_28:10.
Jer_16:5.— îַøְæֵçַ ּáֵéú îַøְæֵçַ occurs besides only in Amo_6:7 (in the construct state, îִøְæַç . Comp. Olsh. § 198, a. b. S. 376, 7), in the latter place with the meaning of jubilation. The root øָæַç , which does not occur in the Hebrew, has according to the dialects (Arab. marsih, vox vehemens) the meaning of loud crying, be it for joy or sorrow.
Jer_16:7.— ôָøַñ interchangeably with ôָøַùׂ (Lam_4:4)=frangere, dividere. With ìäí Isa_58:7. Here ìäí is wanting, but is found in some codd. of Kennicott. The LXX. and Jerome also express it. At any rate the bread, corresponding to the cup of consolation, is intended, which in Eze_24:17; Eze_24:22 is called ìֶäֶí àֲðָùִׁéí ; Hos_9:4 ìֶäֶí àåֹðִéí . The suffixes in ìְðַäֲîִåֹ as in àáéå and àִîּåֹ refer to the idea present, not in the words but in the mind of the mourner (Comp. Ewald, § 318 a).
Reason Of The Rejection And Announcement Of The Captivity (Jer_16:10 to Jer_17:4)
1. Idolatry the cause of the removal into exile
Jer_16:10-15
11 Then shalt thou say unto them:
Therefore, because your fathers have forsaken me. saith Jehovah,
And went after other gods, and served them and worshipped them,
And have forsaken me and not kept my law;
12 And ye have done still worse than your fathers,
Since ye walk every one according to the hardness of his evil heart,
That ye hearken not unto me;—
13 Therefore I cast you away out of this land
Into the land that ye have not known, ye and your fathers;
And there ye shall serve the other gods day and night,
Because I will shew you no favour.
14 Therefore behold, the days come, saith Jehovah,
When it shall no more be said: As Jehovah liveth,
Who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
15 But: As Jehovah liveth,
Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North,
And from all lands whither he had driven them:
And I bring them back into their land, that I gave to their fathers.
Jer_16:10-13. And it shall come to pass … shew you no favour. This mode of speech, viz., the hypothesis of a question of the people and answer to it is found Jer_5:19; Jer_13:22.—Therefore that your fathers, etc. Comp. Jer_7:24-28; Jer_9:11-15; Jer_11:7, sqq.—Hardness. Comp. Jer_3:17; Jer_9:13; Jer_18:12.—that ye hearkened not. Comp. Jer_17:23; Jer_18:10; Jer_19:15; Jer_43:13.—Therefore I cast, etc., comp. Jer_22:26; Jer_22:28.—Into the land. The article is explained by the prophet’s reference to what has been already said (Jer_15:14).—And ye shall serve. What was before sin is now punishment. The prophet has in view Deu_4:28; Deu_28:36; Deu_28:64.—Day and night. The servants’ toil consists in this, that they must attend to their service day and night.—Because I will shew. This causal sentence refers not to the first clause of the verse, which is circumstantially founded on the preceding context from Jer_16:10, but on the second. Because Jehovah has withdrawn His favor, they have to seek help of their idols.
Jer_16:14-15. Therefore behold … gave to your fathers. ìָëֵï , therefore, at the beginning of Jer_16:14 is entirely in place. On this very account, because Israel, according to Jer_16:13, were to be cast away into a foreign land, the form of oath is to be correspondingly altered. Accordingly the purport of Jer_16:14-15 is primarily not consolatory, but sad. It confirms the declaration concerning the captivity. In so far, and because Jeremiah frequently quotes himself, as well as because interruptions of a prophecy of sorrowful import by consolatory prospects also frequently occur (comp. Jer_4:27; Jer_5:10; Jer_5:18), these verses may well be genuine here. I bring back is then connected with I cast away in Jer_16:13. Moreover that the words, even if transferred by Jeremiah himself, are in their original position in Jer_23:7, is clear from the connection, as well as from “the more peculiar and concrete form of the text” (Hitzig) of this passage.
Footnotes:
Jer_16:10.— àùׁø äèàðå . The nota relationis may be regarded as a pronoun in the accusative, because it is said— äֲèָàָä äָèָà , Exo_32:31; comp. Lev_4:3; Deu_19:15.
Jer_16:12.— çøòúí å× . Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 95, e.
Jer_16:12.— åäðëí åðå× , causal sentence. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 110, 1, e.
Jer_16:13.—The àֵú before àìäéí in this passage may have this reason, that the word may be regarded as determinate in itself. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 68,1. Anm. 1.
Jer_16:13.— àùׁø ּàùׁøÎìà is causal here as in Jer_13:25. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 110, 1.
Jer_16:13— çֲðִéðָä ἄð . ëåã .
Jer_16:16-18
After that I send for many hunters, who shall hunt them
Down from every mountain, and from every hill,
And from out of the clefts of the rocks.
17 For my eyes overlook all their ways; they are not hidden from me,
Nor is their iniquity concealed from mine eyes.
18 And I recompense the first time double their iniquity and sin,
Because they have desecrated my land with the carcases of their monsters,
And have filled mine inheritance with their abominations.
Jer_16:16-18. Behold … abominations.—Many hunters. The reason why the adjective many is used, is that the prophet means to say: then again I send for many, viz., hunters.—Hunters is, therefore, epexegetical. That øáéí is here used as a numeral (as in Psa_89:51; Pro_31:29; 1Ch_28:5; Neh_9:28), is less probable. From Jer_16:17-18 it is evident that fisher and hunter were not to bring together the Israelites out of exile, but to drive them out of their own land.—As it follows from ëִּé , Jer_16:17, the figure declares that no concealment will profit them. As fishers and hunters, who proceed according to the rules of their art, know how to drive out the animals from all their hiding-places, so will the enemies do with the Israelites. The former will see through all the plans and measures of the latter and defeat them, for they are revealed to them by God. before whose sight those measures equally with the sins of Israel lie bare and exposed. Comp. Jer_23:24; Jer_32:19.— øàùׁåֹðäּ , first time. [Henderson, following Hitzig, etc., renders “previously.”—S. R. A.] The explanation according to which this word is referred to Jer_16:15 (Hitzig, Ewald, Umbreit), would be perfectly satisfactory if it did not leave unregarded the evidently intended antithesis to îùׁðä double. This requirement can be met satisfactorily without any alteration of the text (as attempted by Graf, according to Isa_56:7), if we recognize that the prophet assumes the possibility of a second visitation. Then he would say: for this first time double will be recompensed (Isa_61:7; Zec_9:12), but in case of repetition a much severer measure will be rendered:—as in reality the second destruction by the Romans was total in comparison with the first merely partial one.—Because, etc. The punishment has an inner relation to the sin: they have desecrated the land and rendered it uninhabitable, they must therefore leave it.
Footnotes:
Jer_16:16.— ùָׁìַç ìְ is used here with the meaning of “to send for, cause to be brought,” exactly as in Jer_14:3 in the expression ùָׁ ֽìְçåּ ìַîּéִí . It is, therefore, quite a mistake to assume an Aramaism here as in Jer_40:2 (comp. 2Ch_17:7; Ezr_8:16), or, to refer to entirely different passages, as 1Ki_20:7. Even Num_22:40, cannot be compared.
Jer_16:16.— ãַåָּðִéí . The word occurs besides only in Isa_19:8 and Eze_47:10, in the former place in the form ãַéָðִéí , in the second ãַּåָּðִéí , without any proposed alteration of reading in the Keri. In the present passage the Keri probably proceeds from the endeavor to produce uniformity with öַéָãִéí .
Jer_16:16.— åãéðåí ἄ ëåã .—Fuerst and Ewald (§ 127, a) would explain ãִּéð as an abbreviation of äֵãִéð . But why should there not be a root with a weak é as middle radical? Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 37; Olsh. § 233 d, S. 486.
Jer_16:18.—As îìà is not construed with áְ , we must connect with îìàå only åúåòáåֹúéäí (comp. Jer_2:7; Jer_44:22).
Jer_16:19-21
And my refuge in the day of distress!
“To thee will the heathen come from the ends of the earth, and will say:
Falsehood only have our fathers inherited,
Vapour, and there is none among them that profiteth.
20 Should a man make himself gods? And they are not gods!”
21 Therefore behold I teach them this once,
And teach them to know my hand and my might,
And they shall know that my name [is] Jehovah.
Jer_16:19-20. O Jehovah my strength … not gods. Since the prophet addresses the Lord as my strength, etc., and then says that the heathen, after they have perceived the nothingness of the idols, will all come to this Lord, he includes himself, as it were, together with the heathen, among the believers in Jehovah, but excludes Israel from this communion, until instructed by the judgments they recognize their errors, and obtain the same saving knowledge.—My strength. Comp. Psa_28:7-8; Psa_59:17; 2Sa_22:3.—Heathen [lit., nations.—S. R. A.] Even this word shows that it is not the tribes of Israel that are meant. (Meier).—Falsehood only. Comp. Jer_10:14; Jer_51:17.—Our fathers inherited. The expression is still stronger than if it had been we inherited. The tradition is false from the very beginning.—Profiteth. Comp. Isa_44:10; Jer_2:8; Jer_2:11.—Should a man. The words of the heathen in which they themselves set forth the vanity of the idols. Manufactured gods are on this very account no gods. The sentence and they are not gods is to be taken in a causal sense. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 109, 4.
Jer_16:21. Therefore behold … my name Jehovah. From the connection the prophet’s object cannot be to give instruction concerning the future conversion of the heathen. He only wishes, by the good which he says of the heathen, to set the folly of Israel in a clearer light. We are therefore after the sentences “I come to thee,” and “the heathen will come to thee” to supply: but Israel comes not to thee. There is a reference to this thought in therefore. Because Israel has not the knowledge which he might long have had, as well as, or better than the heathen will have it in the future, the Lord will this once impart it to them.—This once (comp. Jer_10:18) like the first time in Jer_16:18, refers to the impending first catastrophe of the theocracy by the Chaldeans. Israel is to feel the hand of the Lord, and thus learn to understand the significance of His name. The prophet evidently alludes to Exo_3:14. We perceive in what sense the understanding of the name is meant, from the words “I will teach them to know (i. e., to experience, to feel) My hand and My might,” in comparison with the expression äֶáֶì , which is used of the idols in Jer_16:19. By that visitation, namely, will Jehovah manifest Himself as the Really Existent (this point from the connection is evidently here brought into the foreground) in opposition to the non-existent deities, and thus bring Israel to the consciousness that he has certainly sinned in worshipping other gods together with Jehovah. Comp. Isa_52:6, coll. Jer_23:27; Exo_6:3.
[“This passage (Jer_16:19 to Jer_17:14) is appointed as the Haphtorah, or Proper Prophetical Lesson, to Lev_26:3 to Lev_27:34, where God declares the vanity of idols, and the blessings of faith, repentance and obedience.” Wordsworth.—S. R. A.]
2. “In earnest and hearty prayer there is a conflict between the spirit and the flesh. The flesh regards the greatness of the sins, and conceives of God as a severe Judge and morose being, who either will not help further or cannot. The spirit, on the other hand, adheres to the name of God, i. e., to His promise; he apprehends God by faith as his true comfort and aid, and depends upon Him.” Cramer.
3. On Jer_14:9 a. “Ideo non vult Deus cito dare, ut discas ardentius orare.” Augustine.
4. On Jer_14:9 b. “Quia in baptismo nomen Domini, i. e., totius SS. et individuæ Trinitatis super nos quoque invocatum est, eo et ipso nos in fœdus Dei recepti sumus et inde populus Dei salutamur.” Förster.
5. On Jer_14:10. “So long as the sinner remains unchanged and uncontrite God cannot remove the punishment of the sin (Jer_26:13).” Starke.—“Quotidie crescit pœna, quia quotidie crescit et culpa.” Augustine.
6. On Jer_14:11-12. [“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 subdue all their lusts;—except these things be regarded, fasting 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 regarded, but that they provoke the wrath of God as all superstitions do, for His worship is polluted.” Calvin.—S. R. A.] “Unbelief is a mortal sin, so that by it the good is turned into evil. For fasting or praying is good; but when the man who does it has no faith it becomes sin (Psa_109:7).” Cramer.
7. On Jer_14:14. “He who would be a preacher must have a regular appointment. In like form for all parts of divine worship we must have God’s word and command for our support. If we have it not all is lost.” Cramer.
8. On Jer_14:14 (I have not sent them). “This does not come at all into the account now-a-days; and I do not know, whether to such a preacher, let him have obtained his office as he may, in preaching, absolution, marrying and exorcising, or on any other occasion, when he appeals to his calling before the congregation or against the devil, the thought once occurs, whether he is truly sent by God. Thus the example of the sons of Sceva (Act_19:14; Act_19:16) is no longer considered, and it appears that the devil is not yet disposed by such frightful occurrences to interrupt the atheistical carelessness of the teachers.” Zinzendorf.
9. On Jer_14:15. “The example of Pashur and others shortly afterwards confirms this discourse. This is an important point. One should however, with that modesty and prudence, which Dr. Wiesmann (Prof. of Theol. in Tübingen), who seems called of God to be a writer of church history, in his Introd. in Memorabilia historiæ sacræ N. T. (1731 and 1745) which I could wish were in the hands of all teachers, repeatedly recommends, have regard to this also, when so-called judgments on the wicked are spoken of, that when the Lord in His wisdom and omnipotence exercises justice on such transgressors by temporal judgments, these are often a blessing to them and the yet remaining means of their salvation. It is related that a certain clergyman in a Saxon village, about the year 1730, felt such a judgment upon himself and his careless ministry, and after happy and humble preparation on a usual day of fasting and prayer, presented himself before his church as an example, and exercised on himself what is called church discipline, whereupon he is said to have fallen down dead with the words,
‘My sin is deep and very great,
And fills my heart with grief.
O for thy agony and death,
Grant me, I pray, relief.’
He is no doubt more blessed, and his remembrance more honorable, than thousands of others, who are praised by their colleagues in funeral discourses as faithful pastors, and at the same time, or already before, are condemned in the first but invisible judgment as dumb dogs, wolves or hirelings.” Zinzendorf.
10. On Jer_14:16. “Although preachers lead their hearers astray, yet the hearers are not thus excused. But when they allow themselves to be led astray, the blind and those who guide them fall together into the ditch (Luk_6:39).” Cramer. [“When sinners are overwhelmed with trouble, they must in it see their own wickedness poured upon them. This refers to the wickedness both of the false prophets and the people; the blind lead the blind, and both fall together into the ditch, where they will be miserable comforters one to another.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
11. On Jer_14:19. Chrysostom refers to Rom_11:1 sqq., where the answer to the prophet’s question is to be found.
12. On Jer_14:21. “Satan has his seat here and there (Rev_2:13). I should like to know why the Saviour may not also have His cathedral. Assuredly He has, and where one stands He knows how to maintain it, and to preserve the honor of the academy.” Zinzendorf.
[“Good men lay the credit of religion, and its profession in the world, nearer their hearts than any private interest or concern of their own; and those are powerful pleas in prayer which are fetched from thence, and great supports to faith. We may be sure that God will not disgrace the throne of His glory, on earth; nor will He eclipse the glory of His throne by one providence, without soon making it shine forth, and more brightly than before, by another. God will be no loser in His honor in the long run.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
13. On Jer_14:22. “Testimony to the omnipotence of God, for His are both counsel and deed (Pro_8:14). Use it for consolation in every distress and for the true apodictica [demonstration] of all articles of Christian faith, however impossible they may appear.” Cramer.—[“The sovereignty of God should engage, and His all-sufficiency encourage, our attendance on Him, and our expectations from Him, at all times.” Henry.—“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 venturing to seek pardon from Him; but on the contrary a form of prayer is here prescribed for us; for if we are convinced 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.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
14. On Jer_15:1. On the part of the Catholics it is maintained that “hoc loco refellitur hæreticorum error … orationes defunctorum sanctorum nihil prodesse vivis. Contrarium enim potius ex hisce arguendum suggeritur, nempe istiusmodi sanctorum mortuorum orationes et fieri coram Deo solere pro viventibus, et quando viventes ipsi non posuerint ex semet obicem, illas esse iis maxime proficuas. Ghisl. Tom. II. p. 296). To this it is replied on the part of the Protestants. 1. Enuntiatio isthæc plane est hypothetica. 2. Eo tantum spectat, ut si Moses et Samuel in vivis adhuc essent, adeoque in his terris pro populo preces interponerent suas, perinde ut ille, Exodus 32. hic vero 1 Samuel 7. (Förster, S. 86).” He also adds two testimonies of the fathers against the invocation of saints. One from Augustine, who (contra Maximin., L. 1), calls such invocation sacrilegium, the other from Epiphanius who (Hæres 2) names it an error seductorum, and adds “non sanctos colimus, sed sanctorum dominum.”—That the intercession of the living for each other is effective, Cramer testifies, saying “Intercession is powerful, and is not without fruit, when he who prays and he for whom he prays are of like spirit.” Comp. Rom_15:30; 2Co_1:11; Eph_6:18-19; 1Ti_2:1-2; 1Jn_5:16. [To the same effect also Calvin and Henry.—S. R. A.]
15. On Jer_15:4 b. “Scilicet in vulgus manant exempla regentum, utque ducum lituos, sic mores castra sequuntur.”—“Non sic inflectere sensus humanos edicta valent ut vita regentum.”—“Qualis rex talis grex.” Förster.
16. “God keeps an exact protocol [register] of sins, and visits them to the third and fourth generation.” Cramer. [“See what uncertain comforts children are; and let us therefore rejoice in them as though we rejoiced not.” Henry.—S. R. A]
17. On Jer_15:5. “When God abandons us we are abandoned also by the holy angels, and all creatures. For as at court when two eyes are turned away the whole court turns away; so when the Lord turns away all His hosts turn away also.” Cramer.
18. On Jer_15:7. “God as a faithful husbandman has all kinds of instruments for cleaning His grain. He has two kinds of besoms and two kinds of winnowing-fan. With one He cleanses, winnows the grain and sweeps the floor, so that the chaff may be separated from the good wheat. This is done by the Fatherly cross. But if this does not avail He takes in hand the besom of destruction.” Cramer.
19. On Jer_15:10. “The witnesses of Jesus have the name among others of being hard and rough people, from whom they cannot escape without quarreling. It is not only a reproach which Ahab and such like make to Elijah, ‘Art thou he that troubleth Israel?’ (1Ki_19:17). But even true-hearted people like Obadiah do not thoroughly trust to them; every one has the thought, if they would only behave more gently it would be just as well and make less noise. Meanwhile the poor Elijah is sitting there, knowing not what to do; a Jeremiah laments the day of his birth … why am I then such a monster? Why such an apple of discord? What manner have I? How do I speak? ‘For when I speak, they are for war’ (Psa_120:7). He does not at once remember that they called the master Beelzebub, and persecuted all the prophets before him; that his greatest sin is that he cares for the interests of Jesus in opposition to Satan.” Zinzendorf. [“Even those who are most quiet and peaceable, if they serve God faithfully, are often made men of strife. We can but follow peace; we have the making only of one side of the bargain, and therefore can but, as much as in us lies, live peaceably.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
20. On Jer_15:10 b. (I have neither lent nor borrowed at usury). “My dear Jeremiah! Thou mightest have done that; that is according to the custom of the country, there would be no such noise about that. There is no instance of a preacher being persecuted because he cared for his household. But to take payment in such natural products as human souls, that is ground of distrust, that is going too far, that thou carriest too high, and thou must be more remiss therein, otherwise all will rise up against thee; thou wilt be suspended, removed, imprisoned or in some way made an end of, for that is pure disorder and innovation, that smacks of spiritual revolutionary movements.” Zinzendorf.
21. On Jer_15:15 a. (Thou knowest that for thy sake I have suffered reproach). “This is the only thing that a servant of the Lamb of God should care for, that he does indeed suffer not the least in that he has disguised and disfigured the doctrine of God and his Saviour. … It might be wished that no servant of the Lord, especially in small cities and villages, would now and then make a quarrel to relieve the tedium, which will occupy the half of his life, and of which it may be said in the end: vinco vel vincor, semper ego maculor.” Zinzendorf.
22. On Jer_15:16. “The sovereign sign of a little flock depending on Christ is such a hearty, spiritual tender disposition towards the Holy Scriptures, that they find no greater pleasure than in their simple but heart-searching truths. I, poor child, if I but look into the Bible, am happy for several hours after. I know not what misery I could not alleviate at once with a little Scripture.” Zinzendorf. [On Jer_17:17. “It is the folly and infirmity of some good people that they lose much of the pleasantness of their religion by the fretfulness and uneasiness of their natural temper, which they humor and indulge instead of mortifying it.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
23. On Jer_15:19, a. (And thou shalt stand before me: [Luther: thou shalt remain my preacher]) “Hear ye this, ye servants of the Lord! Ye may be suspended, removed, lose your income and your office, suffer loss of house and home, but ye will again be preachers. This is the word of promise. * * * And if one is dismissed from twelve places, and again gets a new place, he is a preacher to thirteen congregations. For in all the preceding his innocence, his cross, his faith preach more powerfully than if he himself were there.” Zinzendorf.
Note.—On this it may be remarked that in order to be the mouth of the Lord it is not necessary to have a church.
24. On Jer_15:19 b. (Before thou return to them) “We can get no better comfort than this, that our faithful Lord Himself assures us against ourselves. I will make thee so steady, so discreet, so well-founded, so immovable, that, hard as the human heart is, and dead and opposed, yet it will be rather possible that they all yield to thee, than that thou shouldest be feeble or slack and go over to them.” Zinzendorf.
25. On Jer_15:20. “A preacher must be like a bone, outwardly hard, inwardly full of marrow.” Förster. [“Ministers must take those whom they see to be precious into their bosoms, and not sit alone, as Jeremiah did, but keep up conversation with those they do good to, and get good by.” Henry.—S. R. A.]
26. On Jer_16:2. “It is well-known that in no condition is celibacy attended by so many evils as in that of the clergy and that this condition entails in a certain measure a present necessity of marrying. For if any one needs a helpmeet to be by his side, it is the man who must be sacrificed to so many different men of all classes. But all this must be arranged according to circumstances. Ye preachers! Is it made out that ye marry only for Jesus? … that you have the church alone as your object? and that you subject yourselves to all the hardships of this condition with its tribulations only for the profit of many? First, then, examine maturely in your offices, whether there is no word of the Lord, whether circumstances do not show, whether there is not an exception from the rule in your case, that you are to take no wife; whether Paul does not call to you in spirit, ‘I would that thou wert as I.’ May it not sometimes be said? ‘Take no wife at this time or at this place!’ or ‘Take not another!’ How does the matter look on closer examination? The rather, as it is known to the servants of Christ to be no hyperbolical speech, when it is said, ‘The minister has slain his thousands, but the minister’s wife her ten thousands.’ He that loves anything more than Christ is not worthy of Him. If it cannot be cured endure it. But see to it the more, that those who have wives be as those who have them not (1Co_7:29). Lead your wife in prayer diligently and plainly, as Moses with Zipporah (Exo_4:25, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me). If they would not have you dead they must leave you your Lord. I know not when anything was so pleasing to me as when I saw a certain minister’s wife weeping sorely from apprehension that her husband would not endure a certain trial. She saw clearly that he would retain his charge, but she feared the Saviour would make it hard to him.”Zinzendorf.
27. On Jer_16:2. “Ridiculi sunt Papicolæ, qui ex hoc typo articulum religionis suæ de cœlibatu saceraotum exstruere conantur. Nam. 1. tota hæc res fuit typica. Typica autem et symbolica theologia non est argumentativa juxta axioma Thomæ. 2. Non simpliciter interdicitur conjugium prophetæ in omni loco, sed tantum in hoc loco.” Förster.
28. On Jer_16:7. This passage (as also Isa_58:7) is used by the Lutheran theologians to prove that panem frangere may be equivalent to panem distribuere, as also Luther translates: “They will not distribute bread among them.” This is admitted by the Reformed, who, however, remark that it does not follow from this that frangere et distribuere also “in Sacramento æquipollere, quod esset a particulari ad particulare argumentari.” Comp. Turretin., Inst. Theol. Elencht. Tom. III., p. 499.
29. On Jer_16:8. “When people are desperately bad and will not be told so, they must be regarded as heathen and publicans (Mat_17:18; Tit_3:10; 1Co_5:9).” Cramer.
30. On Jer_16:19. “The calling of the heathen is very consolatory. For as children are rejoiced at heart when they see that their parents are greatly honored and obtain renown and praise in all lands, so do all true children of God rejoice when they see that God’s name is honored and His glory more widely extended.” Cramer.—This passage is one of those which predict the extension of the true religion among all nations, and are therefore significant as giving impulse and comfort in the work of missions. Comp. Deu_32:21; Hos. 2:1, 25; Joe_3:5; Isa_49:6; Isa_65:1; Rom_10:12 sqq.
31. On Jer_16:21. “Nothing can be learned from God without God. God instructs the people by His mouth and His hand, verbis et verberibus.” Cramer.
32. On Jer_17:1. “Scripta est et fides tua, scripta est et culpa tua, sicut Jeremias dixit: scripta est Juda culpa tua graphio ferreo et ungue adamantino. Et scripta est, inquit, in pectore et in corde tuo. Ibi igitur culpa est ubi gratia; sed culpa graphio scribitur, gratia spiritu designatur.” Ambros. de Sp. s. III. 2.
33. On Jer_17:1. “The devil is God’s ape. For when he sees that God by the writing of His prophets and apostles propagates His works and wonders to posterity, he sets his own pulpiteers to work, who labor with still greater zeal, and write not only with pens and ink, but also with diamonds, that such false religion may have the greater respect and not go down.” Cramer.
34. On Jer_17:5.
“O man in human help and favor
Trust not, for all is vanity,
The curse is on it,—happy he,
Who trusts alone in Christ the Saviour.”
[“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 their salvation to God and the other half to themselves or to other men.” Calvin.—S. R. A.]
35. On Jer_17:5. “A teacher is commanded to be the first to honor the authorities, to pray for them and be subject to them as God’s servants… But since the authorities, in all which pertains to the concerns of the soul, have part only as members, there is great occasion for this cursed dependence on flesh … when one from the hope of good personal protection … gives up the work of the Lord to the powers of the earth. … It is true the church is to have foster-parents who are kings. But nevertheless neither kings nor princes are its tutelar deities, much less lords and commanders of the church, but one is our Master, one our Judge, one our King, the Crucified.” Zinzendorf.
36. On Jer_17:5. Reformed theologians, ex. gr., Lambertus Danæus (ob. 1596) have applied this passage in the sense of Joh_6:63, in their controversies against the Lutheran doctrine of the Supper. But as Calvin declared, it is not the flesh of Christ, but only earthly flesh and that per contemtum which is here spoken of Comp. Förster, S. 97.
37. On Jer_17:7. “Blessed are those teachers, who have betaken themselves, to His protection, who once promised His Church, that even the gates of hell should not prevail against it …… Who has ever been put to shame who trusted in Him?” Zinzendorf.
38. On Jer_17:9. “This is a spiritual anatomy of the heart. Examples: Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33.); Hezekiah (38:39); the children of Israel (Numbers 14.). Alii sumus dum lætamur et omnia in vita nobis secundo vento succedunt; alii vero in temporibus calamitosis, ubi quid præter sententiam acciderit. Comp. Ser. Jer 11:27.” (MS. note in my copy of Cramer’s Bibel).
39. On Jer_17:9. Íᾶöå êáὶ ìÝìíáóï ἀðéóôåῖí . This applies with respect to ourselves and others. For the defiant it avails as an extinguisher (Rom_12:3); but the despairing may be reassured by it (1Jn_3:19-20).
40. On Jer_17:14. (Thou art my praise)…… “When a teacher confines himself to the praise of the cross and lets all other matters of praise go, which might adorn a theologian of these times, and adheres immovably to this: ‘I am determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ the crucified’ (1Co_2:2),—amid all the shame of His cross He is victorious over the rest.” Zinzendorf.
41. On Jer_17:16. (That which I have preached was right before thee). “It is not difficult to know in these times what is right before the Lord. There is His word; he who adheres to this strictly, knows in thesi that he is right …… In all this it is the teacher’s chief maxim, not to make use of the application without need, but to make the truth so plain in his public discourse, that the hearers must necessarily make the application to themselves. … ‘Thus saying, thou reproachest us also,’ said the lawyer (Luk_11:45).… Others went away convicted in their consciences.” Zinzendorf.
42. On Jer_17:17. “That is a period which straitens the hearts of witnesses, when their rock, their protection, their consolation, their trust is a terror to them. But under this we must bow and faithfully endure, and we shall have a peaceable fruit of righteousness. Discipline always ends gloriously.” Zinzendorf.
2. On Jer_14:13-16. Against false prophets. 1. They tell the world what it likes to hear (Jer_17:13); 2. The Lord denies them (Jer_17:14); 3. The Lord punishes them (Jer_17:15); 4. The Lord also punishes those who allow themselves to be deceived by them (Jer_17:16).—Tüb. Bibelw.: To enter the preacher’s office without divine calling, what an abomination is that! But mark this, ye hirelings! the sentence of condemnation is already pronounced over you (Jer_23:21; Mat_7:15).—Osiander Bibl.: God avenges the deception of false teachers most severely, if not in this world in the next (Act_13:10-11).—Starke: God punishes both deceivers and deceived, the latter cannot then lay all the guilt on the former (Jer 27:45).
3. On Jer_14:19-22. The church’s distress and consolation. 1. The distress is (a) outward (Jer_17:19), (b) inward (Jer_17:20, the reason of the outward, confession). 2. The consolation (a). The Lord’s Name, [ á ] It is called and is One (Jer_17:22): [ â ] His glory and that of the church (throne of glory) are one; (b) the Lord’s covenant (Jer_17:21).—What in the present circumstances should be our position towards God? 1. The divine providence, in which we are at present: 2. Our confession, which we make before God: 3. Our petition, which we should address to Him. Voelter in Palmer’s Ev. Casual-Reden. [Occasional Discourses], 4th Ed., 1865.
4. On Jer_15:16. Sermon on a Reformation or Bible-Anniversary. The candlestick of the Gospel has been rejected by more than one church. We therefore pray: Preserve to us Thy word (Ps. 109:43). 1. Why we thus pray (Thy Word is our hearts’ joy and comfort); 2. Why we hope to be heard (for we are named by Thy name).
5. On Jer_15:19. Caspari (Installation-sermon at Munich, Adv., 1855). These words treat; 1, of the firm endurance; 2, of the holy zeal; 3, of the joyful confidence, with which a preacher of God must come to an evangelical church.
6. Homilies of Origen are extant on Jer_15:5-6; (Hom. XII., Ed. Lommatzsch); Jer_15:10-19 (Hom. XIV.); Jer_15:10; Jer_17:5 (Hom. XV.). [On Jer_15:20. “I. God’s qualification to be an overseer of the church. The metaphor of a wall implies, (1) courage, (2) innocence and integrity, (3) authority. II. The opposition a church-governor will be sure to meet with, (1) by seditious preaching and praying, (2) by railing and libels; (3) perhaps by open force. III. The issue and success of such opposition (they shall not prevail).” South.—S. R. A.]
7. On Jer_16:19-21. Missionary Sermon. The true knowledge of God. 1. It is to be had in Christianity (Jer_17:19, a). 2. It will also make its way to the heathen, for (a) It is God’s will that they should be instructed (Jer_17:21); (b) they are ready to be instructed (Jer_17:19 b. 20).
8. On Jer_17:5-8. The blessing of faith and the curse of unbelief (comp. Ebal und Gerizim). 1. Why does the curse come upon the unbeliever? (He departs in his heart from the Lord). 2. Wherein this curse consists (Jer_17:6). 3. Why must blessing be the portion of the believer? (Jer_17:7). 4. Wherein this blessing consists (Jer_17:8).
9. On Jer_17:5-8, and Jer_18:7-10. Schleiermacher (Sermon on 28 Mar., 1813, in Berlin): We regard the great change (brought about by the events of the period) on the side of our worthiness before God. 1. What in this respect is its peculiar import and true nature. 2. To what we must then feel ourselves summoned.
10. On Jer_17:9-10. The human heart and its Judges 1. The antithesis in the human heart. 2. The impossibility of fathoming it with human eyes. 3. The omniscient God alone sees through it; and 4, judges it with justice. [“The heart is deceitful—it always has some trick or other by which to shuffle off conviction.” Henry.—“It is extremely difficult for sinners to know their hearts. I. What is implied in their knowing their own hearts. 1. It implies a knowledge of their selfishness. 2. Of their desperate incurable wickedness. 3. Of their extreme deceitfulness. II. Why it is so extremely difficult for them to know their own hearts. 1. They are unwilling to know them. 2. Because of the deceitfulness of sin. They love or hate, as they appear friendly or unfriendly to them: (a) God, (b) Christ, (c) good men, (d) one another, (e) the world, (f) their own hearts, (g) the means of grace, (h) their convictions, (i) heaven—Improvement. The only way to know the heart is to inquire whether it loves God or not, etc. 2. Saints can more easily ascertain their true character than sinners Song of Solomon 3. All changes in life are trials of the heart,” etc., etc. Emmons.—“I. The human heart exhibits great fraud and treachery. 1. We are changeable by that connection which the soul has with the body. 2. By its connection with external objects by our senses. 3. By its love of novelty and variety. 4. By its hasty resolutions. 5. By its self-love. II. Its excessive malice is seen in history and experience. III. Its deep dissimulation and hypocrisy render it inscrutable. Inferences: 1. We should entertain a sober diffidence of ourselves. 2. We should not be surprised when men use us ill or disappoint us. 3. We should take care and give good principles and a good example to those young persons under our guidance. 4. We should be ready to confess our offences to God. 5. We should bear in mind that we are under the inspection of one who searcheth the hearts,” etc. Jortin.—See also two Sermons by Jer. Taylor.—S. R. A.].
11. Rud. Kœgel (Court and Cathedral preacher at Berlin, 1865). Sermon on Jer_17:9; Jer_17:19, and Heb_13:9 : Two pictures: 1, the unregenerate; 2, the regenerate heart.
12. On Jer_17:12-13. Sermon for the dedication of a church, the anniversary of the Reformation, or on Whitsunday. The church of the Lord. 1. What it is in itself (place of sanctuary, throne of divine glory, house of Him, who is Israel’s hope). 2. What it will be (it will ever remain firm, Mat_16:18): 3. What they find who forsake it (Jer_17:19).
13. On Jer_17:14-18. Cry for help of a preacher tempted on account of the truth. 1. The temptation (Jer_17:15). 2. The demonstration of innocence (Jer_17:16). 3. The cry for help, (a) negative (Jer_17:17-18), (b) positive (Jer_17:19). [On Jer_17:14. The penitent’s prayer. 1. The words express an earnest desire for salvation. 2. He applies to Almighty God for it. 3. Through the medium of prayer. 4. With confidence that he will be heard. Dr. A. Thomson of Edinburgh.—S. R. A.].