PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1
Thomas Kelly Cheyne [1841-1915] · 535,674 words · 592 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DF:AN OF GLOUCESTER; AND BY THE REV. JOSEPH S, EXELL, M.A. WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERBURY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RAW…
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Jeromiah himself should take up the study of the bouk with special earnest- ness, ancl that its phraseology should impre1,s itself on his own ~tyle of writing. 'l'here is yot another circumstance which may help U8 to under- stand our prophet's strong interest in the Book of Deuteronomy. It is that his father was not im…
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possible that passages originally spoken of the Scythians have been inter- mixed with later prophecies respecting the Chaldeans. The descriptions in eh. iv., v., viii., of the wild, northern nation, sweeping along and spreading devastation as it goes, seems more strikingly appropriate to the Scythians (see Professor Ra…
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11 the throne of Jehovah's glory" ( eh. xvi i. 12). But, as our own Milton says, "when God commands to take the trumpet and blow a dolorous or fl. j:nring blast, it lies not in man's will what he shall say." 1 There are several passages which show bow nearly intolerable Jeremiah's position became to him, and how terrib…
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3. Jorcmiah's warnings became more and more definite. He foresaw, at any rate in its main outlines, the course which events wo11lcl shortly after- wards take, and refers expressly to the dishonoured burial of Jehoiakim, and the captivity of the youthful Jehoiachin. 1 In the presence of such misfortunes he becomes tende…
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(oh. xliv. 17-19). What answer could Jeremiah make? His mission to that generation was closed. He could only console himself with that heroic faith which was one of his most striking qualities. During the siege of Jerusalem he had, with a Roman belief in his country's destinies, purchased a piece of ground at no great.…
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on, an intensified interest in the details of the future contributed to heighten the estimation of Jeremiah's works (Dan. ix. 2; comp. 2 Chron. xxvi. 21); und several traces of the extraordinary respect in which this prophet was held appear in the Apocrypha (2 l\faec. ii. 1-7; xv. 14; Epist. Jer.) and in the Gospel nar…
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-above and apart from his literary merits or demerits, Jeremiah des(;rves the l1ighest honour for his almost unparalleled conscientiousness. Under the most trying circumstances, ho never swerved from his fidelity to the truth nor gave way to the" grief that saps the mind." In a quieter age he migh~ (for his talent is o…
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Thus not only is this group of prophecies differently placed as a whole, but the members of the group are diITcrently arranged. In particular, Elam, which comes last but one ( or even last, if the prophecy on Babylon be excluded from the group) in the Hebrew, opens the series of prophecies in the Septuagint. Which of …
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should have to conclude that the latter king reigned not eleven but twelve yea.re. The following table, which is at any rate based on a critical use of the sometimes discorclant data, is taken from Professor H. Brandes' ' The Royal Successions of Judah and Israel according to the Biblical Narratives and the Cuneiform …
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( i ncd as the author of a great religions sc~ues interieures, jc n'imnginnis rien 1110vcment, he in whom God is not ml\ni- c'.ct~ient de saisiss~ntes et tl'es-cnergiqnes fl'stly, sensibly, avowedly working out his rea.lltes auxquelles Je ne m'o.ttendnis nnlle• pre-established designs, will never be saint or ment." …
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forms the burden of the prophet's dis• showed itself in burning incense to "other oottrscs. Shall break forth; literally, shall ?.or!~," an~ bowiu/f ~own to their images. open; i.e. let loose by opening ( comp. the Barned mcense 1e, however, too narrow uee of tho same verb in Isa. xiv. 17, liter- a sense. The root-m…
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HOMILE'l'ICS. Vcrs. 1~.-0n the external surroundings of the life of Jereniiah. 'l'hese words "·hich constitute the preface to the Book of Jeremiah, arc evidently intended to furnish n. historical setting for the writings of the prophet. But they also throw light on his character and work. For, though the true life …
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Ver. 5.-Predestination. I. CoNSIDEB THE CHARACTERISTIOS OF A DIVINE PRE- DESTINATION. 1. This implies (1) foreknowledge-God has his idea about a man and his mission before he forms the initial germ of his life ; (2) a sanctifying, or setting apart, by which the man is considered by God in relation to his destined missi…
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(2) Sensitiveness inclines to diffidence. There is a confidenco ,vhich depends simply on dcnsene11s and callousness. Acute feeling is a great hindrance to bold action. Jeremiah felt the miseries of his nation deeply, and it was pccnliarly difficult for such a man to assume the position of a stern censor. (3) Humilit…
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the deep principles of God's government, and in the discernment of them lies tbe force of his utterances; 2. It is the power of right. The prophet takes his stand on the side of justice, purity, goodness. In the end the might must go with the right. 3. It is the power of God. The prophet is nothing in himself; he is…
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Vers. 13, 14.-The seething pot. I. THE VISION OF THE BEE'l'BING POT FOnEBH.ADOWS APPROACHING DOOM. God is about to" hold his session" upon Jerusalem and the cities ot Judah. 1. They who are most favou1·ed by God must expect the severest judgment if they prove unfaithful to him. The Jews were a favoured people. Their…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. On Jeremiah's ministry in general. "It is sufficient," said our Saviour, "that iLe disciple be as his Lord." Now, of all his servants few answered more closely to this description than did the prophet Jeremiah. In a very deep and real sense his life was a type of our Lord's. It is in the s…
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ein. It wae not simply that he announced that there should be a " rooting out ana pulling down" (of. ver. 10), but tho words which he spoke so wrought in men's minds that these results followed. Hence men, conscious of the power of his words, con- fessed that it wae "the word of the Lord" which had come to him. This…
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spare no class, no rank, no order. Kings, princes, priests, and people were all to bo alike solemnly warned of the sure judgments that were coming upon them. And the like work has to be done now. How prone we all are to speak with bated breath or the retribution of God! bow ready, to ourselves and to others, to expl…
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Jeremiah w11s enabled to" see well" the visions, that is, to realize very forcibly what they meant. Oh, if we could but more vividly realize what the anger of God is against sin; if we could have a vision of the wrath of God; with how much more power and urgency should we plead with men to flee from the wrath to come! …
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of Judah and Jerusalem saw nothing in these circumstances, any more than in tho prophet's visions, to nlarm them very much. And so, still, ungodly men are nt ease iv the presence of facts and indications which Jill those who believe God's Word wit\ unspeakable alarm. How foolish, then, is it to take the unconcern, t…
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1ileasure breaks upon them, A transgressor.against God iJi safe nowhere: nothincr may be visible ,to his eye, everyLhing may be going on in orderly course, and h~ may have full confidence that all is well. But notwithstanding this, events soon to happeu may prove that he has wrongly read the whole of God's providence, …
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Jc:sus in the temple seems in his natural element, not too young even at twelve years ol age to show an ardent interest in all that concerned Divine worship and service. Ill. 'l'IIE AMPLE ENCOURAGEME1'"T WHICH JEHOVAH GIVES TO JEREMIAH, Jn I\ few 'lrnrds, God puts before his servant all that is needed and all that c…
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Vers. 11-14.-fhe al-mond tree and the seething pot. He who put his word into the prophet's mouth also put a new power of vision into his eyes, and gave him to see 8ig,ns such as tended to fix permanently in his mind deep convictions with regard to th<J power and purposes of God. Thus the prophet was assured of his abil…
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Ver. 17.-The consequ~nce of un1·easonablefear. God has already exhorted Jeremiah to courage, and given him the strongest assurances of his own unfailing presence. But now he adds wcm1ing. Fear of the enemies of God will bring not only suffering but shame. 'l'be man who goes out to fight for his country, and turns in…
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I ost antidote to error is the healthful development of truth. There is no phase c,f <lcpravHy, transgression, or unbelief for which the Word of God has not, in its historic evoluLion, some doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness. Ilevcale,\ through human lips and lives by the operation of the Ho…
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Vers. 12-IG.-Hastening ills. (For the first fig, cf. Matt. xxiv. 32.) The vision oi the prophet is twofold, viz. a wakeful almond rod, and a boiling pot. They are symbols of quick accomplishment and violent invasion. As the almond rod is wakeful or ready to sprout when planted, and" first to wake from the sleep of w…
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voutly recogni~ed it in himself, in spite or all bis blind hostility to the name of Christ in former years (Gal. i. 15). We fail too often to take sufficient note or this mystery of God's foreknowledge and predetermination underlying the progress of the kingdom of truth and righteousness in the world. And yet we unders…
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EXPOSITION. OHAPTER n. developing and adapting the truths long ago "delivered." The whole group of The second chn.pter forms the introduction prophecies to which oh. ii. belongs contains of a group of discourses (eh. ii.-vi.), which numerous points of contact, in ideas or should be read togethe'l'. It is called by…
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God led thee these forty years in the lRnd," os it were (so Payne Smith). wilderness"). "Carmel" is strictly an appellative noun Ver, 3.-Israel was holineBB, etc. Israel moaning "garden-land," i.e. land planted woe a consecrated people (comp. Exod. xix. with vines ond other choice plants. So eh. 5, 6: Deut. vii. 6 ;…
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implies n negnti,e nnswer; and yet it roust freedom? The view of some, that "servo.nt" be admitted that the ndoption of a new reli• means" servant or Jehovah" (comp. eh. xxx. gion, under the pressure of conquest or a 10), and that the question thorefore is to be higher foreign civilization is not an unknown answered…
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prefer it, explain "by (or, rather, in) the Septuagint and Vulgate in rendering "thou wny ," on the nnalo~y of the promise in eh. hast broken . . . (and) burst." This docs :uxi. O, "I will lead them . , . in o. straight not, strictly speaking, imply a new rearlin~ way," i.e. I will gmnt them an uninterrupted of the tex…
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eort. " Seed" for " shoot," as in Isa.. xvi i. 11 her oooe.sion. ·, , , in her month; i.e. at tho (comp. ver. 10). The degenerate plant; pairing-time. rather, degenerate shoou (if at least the text Ver. 25.-Withhold thy foot, cto. Hitzig, is right). with unnecessary ingenuity, explains this Ver. 22.-Nitre docs not …
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count for tho propondero.nce of " false pro- women [' wicked ones' ie in the feminine] phets" referred to in ver. 8 (cf.Matt. xxiii. 29). ho.ve been able to learn something from thee" Ver. 31.-0 generation, see ye. It is (so the great Dutch scholar,De Dieu,in 1518). doubtful whether generation here means Bat e. more n…
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been undisturbed by any foreign power, that "·ith Assyria still continued. Is it possible the people fancied the promises of Deute- that J ercmiah, in thcso words, has in view ronomy were being fulfilled, and that they, rnther the circumstances of Jehoiakim that~ on their part, had pleased God by their those of Josiah?…
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II. THE IlECOLLEOTION OF A HAPPY PAST 18 PilOFITAllLE, 1. God remembers the pa<t. Not like tho sour censor who remP-mbcrs only our past faults, but rather like the ki,,<l parent who delights to call to mind the goodness of his cliildreu's early days, Go,\ makes no mention of the sins of the wilderness life, but dwells …
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Yer. 8.-Wickedness in leading men. The great indictment of Israel reachc8 its climax in the accusation of the leaders of the people. Even they who should bave been the guardians of truth and the vindicators of right have. turned aside to evil ways. After this the defection of the whole nation appears utter and hopel…
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raUonal brutos, for "man is a religious animal." 2. Thi9 is intensified. by the ex- perience of life.. Thirst is increased by a heated atmosphere, hard work, disease, and special agents, e.g. salt water; so spiritual thirst is deepened by the heat and burd.cn of life, by its toil and battle, by tho fever of passion and…
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Ver. 22.-.The stain.s of sin. I. Sm STAINS THE CHARACTER AND LIFE OF MEN. 1. Sin leaves stains behind it. No man can have clean hands after touching--it. Theso stains are of two classes: (1) internal-the soiled imagination, the corrupted will, the ,itiated habit which a single act of sin tends to produce; and (2) ex…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-14.-.A sweet remembrance embittered; or Divine delight tnrned by his people's ingratitude into Di vine distress. I. Goo GREATLY DELIGHTS IN HIS PEOPLE'S LOVE. See the similitude he employs: "the love of thine espousals." It is difficult for us to recall any period in the history o…
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are seen to be involved in the common corruption, then the case of such a Church com- munity, or nation is hopeless indeed. See, too, the insensibility that such sin c~uscs. In ver. 2 Jeremiah is bidden" Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem." As you would bend down your face to the ear of one in whom the sense of hearin…
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they say what our hearts have often: said, and not least do they thus speak for us when, as they so often do, they confess the smart, the shame, the pain,. and the manifold distress which our sin has brought upon us, UL Tn:E CAUSE OF THIS COKTRAST, (Ver.17.) Did not thy forsaking of Jehovah thy Go l procure thee this…
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IV. THE TRUE CLEANSING WHICll IT SUGGESTS AND INVITES UB TO. Isa. i. 18, "Come now, and let us reason together," eto.-C. Ver. 25.-.A dread snare of tlie devil. I. IN WHAT IT CONSISTS. The persuading tl,e sinner that " there is no hope." • II. ITS TERRIBLE CIIARACTER, H leads the sinner to excuse himself in his sin by…
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Intention, the subjective conditions that originate aml give character to it. It is sub- jeclivo, not actualized; or its actualization in one of several forms or directions is in- different. Towards any of these the Divine power may dir~t th? impulse and tendency ; or they may be shut up to them through the unconsc10us…
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III. FOR ALL THESE THINGS MEN WILL DE DROUGHT IN'l'O JODGMENT, 'l'he I\S6Uf• ance is very terrible: "I will yet plead with" (i.e. reckon with or plead against) "you, .. , and with your children's children will I plead." This is the same Jehovah who "keepeth mercy for thousands," but "visitcth the iniquity of the father…
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Ver: 28.-'' Lords many and gods many." The multiplicity of idols contrasts with the unity of the trne God. It involves inconsistency, spiritual confusion, etc. But here the argument is- I. THAT IDOLATRY IS A LOCAL, EXCLUSIVE, AND SEPARATIVE PRINCIPLE. II. IT IS THUS. THE OREATURE AND THE OCCASION OF IGNORANCE, PREJUD…
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I. THE WHOLE NATION rs SPOKEN TO. God has tho power to look at human life in the light of a unity which the individual man is scarcely able to conceive. Here be looks not only at the living generation of those who hnd sp1•un"'0 from Jacob but all backward through the past; each generation is, as it were, a y ear in …
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make a contrast more humiliating still wiLh hcaLhen nations. The request to look back is succeeded by a request to look rownd. Search through every nation, inquire in every idol temple, watch the religious life of idolaters, and everywhere you will see a fideliLy which puts the apostate children of Israel to shame. The…
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Yer. 13.-Forsaking the fountain of living waters. I. THERE IS SUGGESTED HERB AN INCONCEIVABLE ACT OF FOLLY, It is a thing which could bo believed of no one in his sound se1;1se~ that he woul~ leave a fountain of living water, knowing it to be such, and enJoymg the use of 1t; and be contented ,with a cistern such as …
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Ver. 26.-A shame to be ashamed of. There is, as Paul tells us (2 Cor. vii.), a godly sorrow and a sorrow of the world; a godly sorrow working out a repentance never to be regretted, and a sorrow of the world which works out death. So there is a shame and humiliation which is profitable in the right way and to the highe…
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Ver. 37.- Why the confidences of men do not prosper. The people o( Israel are set forth, even within the limits of this one chapter, as having multiplied and extended their confidences; and yet it could not be said that they were prospering. Men with the religious element in their nature strongly clamouring for sati…
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wealth that man should let his whole heart rest upon it; should come to let the com- forts, occupations, and hopes of life depend upon external possessions. There is failure also when men put confidence in self, confidence in present views of life, present feelings, present vigour of body and mind, in natural qnalities…
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perish, to doom yourself to the pangs of an insatiable hunger and a quenchless thirst. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee," etc. (John xvii. 3). '!'his is death eternal-not to know him, to refuse the knowledge of him, to dream that you can live without him. TI. THE FOLLY AND EXCEEDING SINFULYESS OF BIN.…
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ebo hnd beon Dlllrriod to another. The Jews language to [Jehovah] for new favour and ho.d broken o. still more ea.creel tie, not once abatement of the old sufferings, [but] she only, but repeatedly; they worshipped "gods immediately fell a.gain into her sin, and many and lords many; " so that they had carried it ont…
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suitable to the context, and if, as King been removed from the pat\ll'nal hearth, J ames's tre,nslators seem to have felt it they are still " sons." For I am. married necessary to do, we desert the faithful tmns- .u.nto you.. The ea.me Hebrew phrase occurs lation, and enter on the path of conjecture, in ch. xxxi. 32…
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upon it is in the highest dogree worthy of Messianic period-descriptions which often the Di vino subject. 'fhe doubt, of course, is wear at any ~at_e a superficial appeo.rance of whether in the Old Testament a special inconsistency, see tbe luminous remarks 0 ( pro,idence is extended elsewhere so dis- Professor Rieh…
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indi~ation ; "Isn.. xxvi. 8," The desire of our prophet's thoughts. "Unto your fathers." l!oul wns to thy Name;" Isa. lix.19, "So shn.ll t.hey fear the Name of Jehovah from the ! cs ; how bright the prospect whon that ideal of Israel wo.s fro.mod in the Divine west, and his glory from the rising of the co'Uusels I…
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comp. Iso.. i. 2; !xiii. 16 ; E.xocl. iv. 22; noteworthy. It is far from provin"' that Hos. xi. 1.) the traditional text is correct; what it rlr,, s Vor. 20.-Buroly. The word acquires nn suggest ie th11t the writings of tl1e propl1<,ts odvel'so.tive sense from the context, ns in were at first written down in a very in…
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with us can we mca~me the depth of our sin or the motives wo havo for returning to him. I. GoD's PEOPLE CAN CALI, TO MIND OLD MEMORIES OF HIS FATHERLY aoODNEBS. 1. In our own experience of his grace he has revealed himself as a J?ather. He is the Source and Origin of life. In him we continue to exist (Acts xvii. 28…
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.