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 241
ment. The true material wealth of every land, when we get at the substance of it lies in what its soil produces; and when men boast, as they are apt ti) do, that their'own land has gotten them their wealth, it is needful that Jehovah should show them how completely he controls the roots and fruits of everything that he…
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CHAPTER IX. repetition of himself in eh. xxiii. 10, "Their valour is-untruth." A less pointed form Ver. 1.-The Hebrew more correctly of the same figurative statement is that of attaches thiJ! verse to eh. viii. Oh that my the psalmist in Ps. lxiv. 3. Upon the earth; head were waters, etc. I A quaint conceit, it rat…
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present, not the future, both here and in the Wherefore halh the land perished, ia it next verse. Will walk; rother, goeth about burned up life the wilderness with none that (see eh. vi. 28). passeth tliroogh 1 Ver. 5.-They have taught their tongue, Ver. 13.-'l'here is no o.nswer, for the wise otc. ; ago.in an intimat…
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Ver. 20.-Yet hea.r; rather,for hear. (Ps. lxxxv. 10, oorrected version), and as Ver. 21.-Death is oome up, eto. "Death," here (comp. Ps. v. 7, 8; xxxvi. 5, 6), "mcroy equivalent to "pestilence" (as eh. xv. 2), and righteousness." Israel is weak nnd the most dreaded foe of a besieged popul:i- erring, and needs meroies …
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-Grief for other,. I. THE RIGHT SPmIT m WHICH TO BEGA.RD THE MISERIES OF. OTHER MEN IS ONE OF GRIEF, A less worthy spirit is too common. 1. Self-con- gratulation. The evil condition of others is simply used as a dark background on which to throw out in relief our own superiodty. 2. Indifference-ilia…
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Vere. 12-16.-The causes of national disaster. I. IT 18 PROFITABLE TO INQUIBB INTO THE CAUSES OF NATIONAL DIBAB'l'EB. 1. Inkllectually, this is a subject of profound interest, dealing with fundamental principlcs and the vast issues to which they lead when working on the largest scale. 2. Morally, it is of great praotica…
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Vcrs. 25, 26.-Impru·fial fustice. I. SPECIAL PRIVILEGES DO NOT INTERFERE WITII THE IMPARTIAL EXERCISE OF DIVINE JL"STICE. Judah is specially privileged, and prizes circumcision as a seal of the peculiar favour of Heaven (Gen. xvii. 9-14). Yet Judah must take its place in the indiscriminate catalogue of corrupt nations.…
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II. WHAT ARE THE COUNTERVAILING ADVANTAGES ·wmcH LIGHT UP THIS MYSTERY~ It cannot be wholly to the detriment of those in whom it is illustrated. The justice of God is involved in the question. 1. The keenest joys spring from or coincide with the deepest, purest sorrows. 2. By-and-by the sorrow will transfer itself to i…
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have there not been many graciom promisns to the contrai·y, 2. On the whole, the past reverses of Israel have been ret,·ieved, and a measure of continuous progress attained. 3. The special affiiction referi·ed to is unprecedented, and its i·esult would almost appear to be final. The history of the Christirm Church and …
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Vere. 22-24.-The knowledge of God the only real, "glory" of man. Comparison of the earthly acquisitions and properties of the natural man with those which are spiritual and Divine frequent in Scripture. In hi8tory and in life they are seen in com- petition. It is not that the one class of gifts is to be wholly despised…
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ill, and "' with many tears," we are constrained to inquire the motive of such a life. But only one of three suppositions is possible. (1) Either he who labours is a deceiver. He is consciously acting a part. But this supposition in regard to prophets and apostles of God's " 7 ord has long been given up. " The world…
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II. To PROFOUND COMPASSION'. He who has known the compassion of God for his own soul will, in proportion to the depth of that knowledge, feel compassion for the souls of otherd. Indifference and unconcern are no longer possible to him who knows the love of God when he sees men perishing in sin. "'l'he love of Christ co…
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CAN" BBBATHB Ul'ON THESE BLAIN, THAT TIIEY MAY LIVE." The Spirit of Christ dld so breathe upon one such, and she lived. He said to her, " Thy sins are forgiven. , .. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke vii. 36-50).-0. Ver. 2.-Sighing• after tM wilderness. The text reminds us of Ps. lv. 6, "Oh that I bad wing…
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in sacrifice, a.e that which was pure a.lone could be. The doves were allowed to fly about the temple and to rest on its roofs and pillars (see H. Runt's picture of the 'Finding in the Temple'). But purity opens the door of heaven, and enraptures the beholder with the beatific vision there. "Blessed are the pure in hea…
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where fraud and falsehood, like a plague or cancer, comes over to invade society, the b1md which hchl together the parts compounding it presently breaks, e.nd men nre thereby put to a loss where to league and to fasten their dependencies, and so nre forced to scatter and shift every one for himself. Upon which account …
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he also reap." The threatenings of God are not, as are many of the threatenings of men mere empty vapourings, great swelling words, never designed to be fulfilled. Let th~ records of all human history, of all human lives, whether told of within or without the pages of the Dible, attest the absolute certainty of fulf…
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avail; therefore these, so love resolves, shall not be left untried. It will shrink from nothing to accomplish its compassionate purpose of rescuing from the murderous sin the soul it loves. 3. And there is no wickedness so deep as that of outragin" love. Men will never see sin in all its hatcfnlness until they see …
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sider and understand what he has done. God calls not for mere credulity from any of us; he asks for no rnere blind faith; but it is to a "reasonable service" he summons us, and this reasonableness he would have us consider and "understand." "I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say:" such is his appeal. IV. AND WHE…
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~s alto~ether ~wt, an<l far more than met., by tho a~ain gathering up of all in One, oven m Chnst, which works such graco. But that ultimate redemption which is in Christ does not hinder, but that meanwhile, and for a weary while, hereditary sin may work woeful sorrow and harm. 'l'herefore- VI. Tms FACT APPEALS: 1. …
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thelcss, he has given them, and it is true that "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Let us see to it that we arc, by a living abiding trust, "in the Lord," and then though we sorrow, and sorrow bitterly still, yet it will not be, it is not," as those that have no hope."-O. Vers. 23-26.-" Whereof to glory." I…
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Vers. 23, 24.-The cltief good. The people had little reason to glory in their wisdom, or power, or wealth. These natural resources had utterly failed them as a safeguard against the avenger and destroyer. The prophet directs them to an infinitely surer ground of trust, 11, higher cause of rejoicing. These words are …
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and hearty enjoyment of it, it will always cast some slight shadow over the sunshine of our delight. But there is no shadow here, no sense of insecurity, no fear of disappoint- ment. Ravo your soul in con~cious fellowship with God, and you may rest in the thought that "nothing shall ever be able to separate you from hi…
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us by theso thrcatenini's and cries and tears?" The exclamation of ver. 1 guides us to what t-he prophet's answer would be. " My tears, which you count so causeless, rnther fall short-short beyond all expressing-of the occasion for them." 'l'he fact is that the deepest,, tenderest human pity and s01-ro,v, when compared…
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Then that the inn should be in a wilderness was a sort of necessity, to round his wi~b off and make it perfectly express the state of his mind. Travellers had often wide. stretches of wilderness-land to cross, where, just because it was wilderness, some sort of shelter needed to be provided for the night. But it mig…
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Vers. 4-S.-77w social bond a rope of sand. This is very strong language for a man to use concerning the society in which be lives, but it harmonizes with the strength of the language which the prophet has been using with respect to himself in vers. 1, 2. A very bad state of things ca.nnot be described by mild words. …
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preclict with tolerable correctness how long it will take the mischief to run its course . .And shall not God be much more discerning? All doleful statements as to the rottcn- nc8S of society have come to be called jeremiads, as if they were really in the same class as the statement of Jeremiah here. But very often suc…
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and sing when, perhaps, their feelings should rather tend to the other txtremc, of mourning and humiliation. A word on the warning to each of these classes. 1. The wise. The existence of the wise man is recognized. A wise man is not of necessity to be always contrasted with the foolish. He has a right to the name of w…
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EXPOSITION. plied in a new sense), i.e. by persons provi- CHAPTER X. dent.io.Ily raised up for this purpose, o.n,l Whoever wrote tbe prophecy in vers.1-16 endowed with o.t lenst a younger son's of this chapter, it was not Jeremfah; but portion of the prophetic Spirit. In tl10 of course, ns the passage forms part of …
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was, bad his mind saturated with the idea.a Ver. 4.-They deok it ... that it move 1md phraseology of that mo.guificent work. not. The close resemblance of this verse to The similarity, however, is hardly so close as Isa. xl. 19, 20; xii. 7, will strike every reader. to justify the view that Isa. xl.-lxvi. and "ll'Io…
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folly of the heathen ; how should they 22; xiii. 5; xliv. 24; xlv. 12, 18; Ii. 13). By oltuin to more thon o "wooden" know- his diaoretion; rather, by his understanding. ledge, when the idols themscl vee are but Ver. 13.-When he uttereth his voice, etc. wood? A bitter trnth in an ironicol form. The phrase is difficult,…
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inheritance. "Tiod" should mihcr be tribe. comp. also, "Aud the children of Iernel The tweh-e 1ribes hnd au iuner unity, ns dwelt in their tents, as aforetime" (2 Kings contrasted with other peoples; comp. Ps. xiii. 5). My oords ... my cm-tains. The h:xiv. 2 and Isa. lxiii. 17 ("tribes''). "cords" arc those wliich, by …
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-5.-Tlie folly of paganism. I. THE FOLLY OF PAGANISM PUOVES Tm: WEAKNESS OF SUPERSTITIOUS FE.utB. The Jews were tempted to fear astrological port.cnts (ver. 2) and idol-powers (ver. 5). Yet a little reflection was enough to show that those things were impotent for harm. 'l'he lowest religion is a pr…
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him, but only a sign of foolish prido which ,vill certainly bo humiliated. The.fear of God thus engendered is an awe, a rcverenco, not mcro terror. 'l'he gospel tempers this with the confident love of cliildren, but docs not destroy it, since perfect love, while casting out terror, infuses feelings of reverence. Ve…
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Ill. Goo's PECULIAR RELATION WITH ms PEOPLE IS AN UNSPEAKABLE BLESSYNG TO THEM, 1. He makes them his inheritance, i.e. prizes them as property, values them "as the apple of his eye" (Deut. xxxii. 10), as bis "peculiar treasure" (Mai.iii. 17). If God showers down upon all his creatures mercies countless as the stars of …
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HOMILIES DY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 2-5.-The helpless?.iss of he,athen gods a conclusive argument against them. How is the superstitious worship of nature and inanimate objects to be corrected? It is obvious that the attributes attached by the worshippers to the idols they worship are wholly foreign to them. It is igno…
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reflection 1md effort, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketb," etc.-M. Vers. 1-17.-Idolatry. This section of Jeremiah's prophecy is one of the notable rmssages i_n the Scriptures concerning idolatry. It is like that in Ps. cxv., and in Isa. xl., xliv. It states or suggests much of great interest on…
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but that which he worshipped was the unseen powers of which that idol was the symbol. No doubt idolatry degenerates into actual idol-worship. That with which something Divine bas been so long associated comes to be regarded as itself Divine and worshipped accordingly. And then idolatry has sunk down into fetishism: …
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lower natmc, but also the seductive force of the seeming success which idolatry had won and they had lost. Only such faith would serve them, and hence, in vers. 6, 7, 10-1:l, 161 the prophet bids them remember the incomparable glory, majesty, and power of tbe Lord, the true God, the living God (ver. 10), and the terrib…
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truest representative of all their race found strength and solace and salvation. 'l'hus this appellation here given to God, "the Portion of Jacob," was calculated to waken up many very tender and holy memories, and might lead, as was sorely needed, to a better mind towards God amongst those to whom the prophet spoke,…
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II. Another element of this portion which Jacob possessed in God was the CON- TINUAL AND MOST COMFORTING MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD which he was privi\ecred to enjoy. How continually in his career are we met with instances of God's app~arino to him I · And besides the distinctly recorded instances, the impression is left up…
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Bethel, "Surely God is in this place, though I knew it not." Hearken how he speaks of God when blessing the sons of Joseph. He tells of him as "the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil." Such was his confession of that never-failing care, that incessant interest …
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spoken of tell rather of the few mean possessions, the small triBing properties, of a poor mo.n, which in his haste he would gather together in a. bundle and so endeavour to save (cf. Exposition). In former judgments it was mainly the high and lofty, those of wealth and station, who had suffered; but now all, from t…
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affected all classes and in all ways, in mind, body, e.nd estate. 2. So severe. It was not a" light affliction," but "the iron entered into their souls." 3. And it was self. caused. 'l'he fangs of remorse were fastened in them by the consciousness they could not escape, that they had brought all their sorrows upon t…
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them by a dexterous management ; and it is certainly a man's wisdom to make the best of a bad condition, there being a certain kind of pious and prudential husbandry by which a man may so improve a calamHy as to make the endurance of it the per- formance of a duty, and by his behaviour under it t.o procure a release fr…
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nocks all scattered ; those that tho foe had not destroyed driven olf and wandering in the wilderness, none knew where. It is a picture of utter and most mournful desolation. II. lTs MEANING. Its intent is to represent what was about to happen in regard to the Church and people of Judah. 'l'he temple shoulll be ove…
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bidden to care, turning from her with disgust, scouting her claims, running riot in sin unchecked, unhindered, unwamed; sinking down into awful depths of wickedness and spiritual ignorance, living "without God and without hope in the world." Such is the scattering of the flock, the alienation of her children, and th…
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how mighty, how manifold, how subtle, aro the difficulties in tho way! There is the ea.rth-bou~d h~art, that eyer clogs _onr souls wit~ its clinging clay; that makes them like t~e bird with the li~e. of the bird-snarer on !ts fe;athers, unable either to fly or go: when 1t would. soar aloft 1t 1s powerless to spread i…
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the control of our lives. (2) Scripfore. We have cited some instances already. (3) Observation. The world is strewn with the wrecks of men who have disregarded the chart given them of God, and have run upon the rocks in consequence. (4) But the most strenuous and resistless teacher of all is Ezperience. He will make…
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Ver. 23.-" The way of man." The prophet probably speaks here not merely for himself, but in the name of the whole nation. He gives articulate utterance to the better elements of thought and feeling existing among them, their conscious short- sightedness as regards the meaning and issue of their own national experienc…
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go into such a city," etc. (Jae. iv. 13-16). 2. Thoughtful observation of tM course of events, with a view to trace the path of the providence that is over us. Hidden as the power that governs our life may be, the teachable mind discerns ever more and more clearly the method of its working. "The secret of the Lord is w…
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shines more brightly still by contrast with the darkness and shame that l\re over against it.. He is tha great and strong One, the living One, llnd the evel'lastina King, The ever-living God over ~aainst dead and degraded matterl-can there be a"greater oontrast? And to bring out God's strength, his strength to make his…
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God had fallen from heaven, But the messenger did not know that; all he knew was that some extraordinary flame had destroyed the sheep. He went beyond the actual fact of bis experience, &nd from it made such an inference as his superstitious mind naturally led him to make. Thus, then, we may take it this dismay at the …
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Ver. 24.-God's correction of his people. A preliminary difficulty is felt here, in that this earnest deprecation seems to apply to the position of an individual. Ver. 23 is easily taken as being the utterance of Jeremiah himself, but ver. 24 can only apply with pro- priety to the nation. Such an ntterance as that of…
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EXPOSITION. 17). 4. Second sto.ge of the conspiracy: the OHAPTER XI. plot of the men of Ano.U1oth (eh. xi. 18-23). The BUperscription in ver. 1 evidently be• 5. Third stage; the plot in the prophet's longs to the three chu.pters xi.-xiii., though own fo.mily(ch.xi.1-6). N11egelsbo.ch, how- eh. xi. and xii. o.re more…
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si&Sm to oarry tlwtu homo to tho hearts of experience. So be it, 0 Lo1·d. Tho Hebrow the people. Hence it wns that "the word has" Amen, Jehovah." "Amen" equivalent came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, to •• trno, faithful, trustworthy;" or used in HeaT ,e the words of t.his covenant, and this way as a formula of a…
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two reo.cliags is CI\BY, and Lhe rending of the Ver. 16.-A green olive tree. The olive versions is to be preferred. tree is "one of the most Lhri ving, hardy and Ver. 15.-What hath my beloved to do in productive trees in the East" (it we.a' the mine honae 1 " My beloved'' is evidently fuet tree elected king in the p…
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is impossible to help thinking or that Ps. xxii. 811ud Prov. xvi. 3, suggests thnt tho "Serve.nt of Jehovah," of whQm Jeremiah meaning is "Upon thee have I rolled my we.e a type, who is said, in prophetic vision, co.use." This expression is certninly not to have been "brought e.s a le.mb to the only more forcible, but …
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bored and practised, though of course not to the exclusion of new troths. The New Testament docs not abolish but perfects the spiritual truth of the old. It contains that and more, IV. 'fHE BREACH OF THE COVENANT. The people are accused of disobeying the precepts of the covenant (ver. 8). Disobedience involved both th…
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Vcrs. 18-23.-Tke conspiracy of .dnathoth. This incident may afford us some lessons on the subject of persecution, in its occasion and character, the behaviour of the persecuted and the dghteous action of God i11 dealing with it. J. THE OCCASION OF 'I'IIE 0ONSPJBAOY ILLUSTRATES A COMMON 0AUSE OF PERSECUTION, Jeremiah…
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HOMILIES IlY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 5.-The response of the spiritttal conscience to the words of 0od. "Aud I said, Amen, Jehovah." This expression, uttered by Jeremiah with apparent 01iginality, i, really an echo of Deut. xxvii. _15. There it expresses the agreement of the whole congregation of Israel: here it is the w…
623 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.