Jer. xxxi. 18 — 20. / have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that
/ was turned, I repented ; and after that I teas instructed, I smote upon my thigh : I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is JEphraim my dear son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my boioels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
THERE is a wide difference between ostentatious sanctity and true piety. Hypocrites always endeavour to attract the attention of the world. The true peni- tent, on the contrary, affects privacy and retirement : though cheerful before men, his sorrows are deep before God : were his groanings overheard by the world, he would probably be made an object of pity or derision ; but God beholds him with pleasure and complacency a. Ephraim, or the ten tribes, are repre- sented in the text as penitent; the secret working of their minds is here opened to our view : and this accords with the experience of every repenting sinner. God then declares how acceptable such repentance is in his sight.
The passage naturally leads us to consider,
I. The reflections of a true penitent —
We first see the state of his mind in the beginning of his repentance —
He reflects on his incorrigibleness in the ways of sin —
[Men seldom turn to God, till subdued by heavy afflic- tions : nor does the rod at first produce any thing but im- patience. The penitent calls to mind his perverseness under such a state. He compares his conduct with an untamed heifer b. He laments that there is such enmity in his heart against God.]
He pleads with God to turn and convert his soul —
a Isai. lxvi. 2.
b The bullock, while unaccustomed to the yoke, rebels against the will of his master : though nourished and supported by him, it will not subserve his interests : when chastised, it rebels the more ; yea, repeated strokes serve only to inflame its rage, and to call forth its more strenuous resistance : nor will it ever submit, until it be wearied out, and unable to maintain its opposition. Thus the sinner gene- rally rights against God.