The solemn attestation NE'UM YAHWE, "It is the utterance of Jehovah," is continually appended to prophecies, almost as if it were the sign-manual of the Almighty. Isaiah and other prophets frequently use the term MASSA (A.V., R.V., "burden") as a title, especially for prophecies concerning neighbouring nations. The ancient records loved to tell how Jehovah revealed Himself to the patriarchs in dreams. Jeremiah's rivals included dreams in their clerical apparatus:--
"Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying dreams-- _Ne'um Yahwe_-- And tell them, and lead astray My people By their lies and their rodomontade; It was not I who sent or commanded them, Neither shall they profit this people at all, _Ne'um Yahwe_"
These prophets "thought to cause the Lord's people to forget His name, as their fathers forgot His name for Baal, by their dreams which they told one another."
Moreover they could glibly repeat the sacred phrases as part of their professional jargon:--
"Behold, I am against the prophets, It is the utterance of Jehovah (_Ne'um Yahwe_), That use their tongues To utter utterances (_Wayyin'amu Ne'um_)."
"To utter utterances"--the prophets uttered them, not Jehovah. These sham oracles were due to no Diviner source than the imagination of foolish hearts. But for Jeremiah's grim earnestness, the last clause would be almost blasphemous. It is virtually a caricature of the most solemn formula of ancient Hebrew religion. But this was really degraded when it was used to obtain credence for the lies which men prophesied out of the deceit of their own heart. Jeremiah's seeming irreverence was the most forcible way of bringing this home to his hearers. There are profanations of the most sacred things which can scarcely be spoken of without an apparent breach of the Third Commandment. The most awful taking in vain of the name of the Lord God is not heard among the publicans and sinners, but in pulpits and on the platforms of religious meetings.
But these prophets and their clients had a special fondness for the phrase "The burden of Jehovah," and their unctuous use of it most especially provoked Jeremiah's indignation:--
"When this people, priest, or prophet shall ask thee, What is the burden of Jehovah? Then say unto them, Ye are the burden.[117] But I will cast you off, _Ne'um Yahwe_. If priest or prophet or people shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will punish that man and his house. And ye shall say to one another, What hath Jehovah answered? and, What hath Jehovah spoken? And ye shall no more make mention of the burden of Jehovah: For (if ye do) men's words shall become a burden to themselves.
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Thus shall ye inquire of a prophet, What hath Jehovah answered thee? What hath Jehovah spoken unto thee? But if ye say, The burden of Jehovah, Thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, When I have sent unto you the command, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah, Therefore I will assuredly take you up, And will cast away from before Me both you and the city which I gave to you and to your fathers. I will bring upon you everlasting reproach And everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten."
Jeremiah's insistence and vehemence speak for themselves. Their moral is obvious, though for the most part unheeded. The most solemn formulæ, hallowed by ancient and sacred associations, used by inspired teachers as the vehicle of revealed truths, may be debased till they become the very legend of Antichrist, blazoned on the _Vexilla Regis Inferni_. They are like a motto of one of Charles's Paladins flaunted by his unworthy descendants to give distinction to cruelty and vice. The Church's line of march is strewn with such dishonoured relics of her noblest champions. Even our Lord's own words have not escaped. There is a fashion of discoursing upon "the gospel" which almost tempts reverent Christians to wish they might never hear that word again. Neither is this debasing of the moral currency confined to religious phrases; almost every political and social watchword has been similarly abused. One of the vilest tyrannies the world has ever seen--the Reign of Terror--claimed to be an incarnation of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity."