Ver. 9.-Law and propl1e,;y suspended. Judah was professedly and actually a theo- cracy. The form of government was a mon:trChy, but the true Ruler was Jehovah. Spiritual disobedience and rebellion were Judah's offences; and it was the natural out- come of perseverance in these that the Lord should withdraw his favour, and leave his people to eat of the bitter fruit of their own misguided planting. And it was one consequence of the Divine displeasure that the highest privileges Jehovah had bestowed, the most sacred and precious tokens of his presence, should be for a season withdrawn. It is the climax, as Jeremia.h conceives it, of Judah's misfortunes, that "the Law is no more ; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord.» I. Tms 'l'EMPORARY PRIVATION WAS OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL PRIVILEGES. It was so far as the Law was Jewish, that it ceased to be observed in Jerusalem. When the city was in the possession of heathen troops, when the temple was in ruins, when the priest- hood was in disgrace, there was no possibility of observing the ordina.nces which the Law prescribed. The sacrifices and festivals came to an end. There were none to observe them and none to minister. And it was so far as the prophet was a functionary of the time and place, that he ceased to utter the mind of the Eternal. There were prophets of the Captivity; but Jerusalem, the true home of this noble class of religious teachers, knew their voice no more. For them was no vision which they might see in the ecstasy of inspiration, and depict in glowing colours before the imagination of the attentive multitude. Il. THE ETEBNAL LAW OF B.IGHTE0USNEBS, THE EVEB·LIVING WITNESS OF SPffilTUAL PROPHECY, CAN NEVER CEASE. The words, the commandments and prohibitions, the outward ordinances, might pass away for a season of Divine displeasure, might be absorbed in the fuller revelation of the gospel. But the principles of the moral law, the obligations of unchanging righteousness, can never cease; for they a.re the expression of the mind and will of him whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. The vision may no longer be granted to the seer of Jerusalem; the city may stone her prophets or the Lord him.self remove them. But every purified eye shall through all time behold God's glory, and the ear that is open to truth a.nd love shall not cease to recognize the still, small voice of Heaven.-T. Ver. 13.-0ommiseration. The spirit of the prophet deserves our warm admiration. Jerusalem, its king and its citizens, had treated him with injustice and indignities. But in the day when his predictions were fulfilled and the city was overwhelmed by disaster and humiliation, so far from boasting over her, Jeremiah regarded her state with profoundest pity. Observe in this verse- I. THE AFFECTIONATE AND ADMIBING LANGUAGE BY WHICH THE PROPHET DESIGNATES THE AFFLICTED CITY. Not a word of insult or of contempt, but, on the contrary, language evincing the deepest, the fondest interest. The population that had so despised his prophecy and had treated him so ill is here personified in language apparently more appropriate to times of prosperity. Jeremiah bewails the state of the daughter of Jerusalem, the virgin daughter of Zion. 11. THE TE1'"'DEB COH.MISERATION OF THE PROPHET WITH THE CITY'S WOES. 1. He pronounces the sorrows of Jerusalem unequalled. It is a common mode of expressing i;ympathy to assure the afflicted that others have the same griefs and trials to endure. Ko such coru;olation is offered here; the prophet looks around in vain for a case so distressing. The breach is "great like the sea." This is either a figure drawn from the vastness of the ocean, with which the great woe of Judah is compared; or it depicts tLe enemy as rushing in upon Jerusalem, as the sea in its fury makes a breach in the wall of a low-lying territory, and, sweeping the defences away by irresistible force, Ott. tr.1-22.] TllE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 27
cree.tos B deRolation, so that e. waste of waters is beheld where villa~c~ and fruitful fields once smiled in pee.ea e.nd plenty. 2. He pronounces the sorrows of .Jerusalem irre- mediable. A mortal wound has been inflicted, which no leechcraft can heal. If -Jeru- salem is e.gnin to_ flourish it must be by e. revival from the dead. For nothing now CBn BO.VB her. APPLIOATION. 1. The captive city is e. picture of the d0l!Olation and misery to which (sooner or later) sin will surely bring all those who submit themselves to it. 2. The commiseration shown by the prophet is an example of the state of mind with which the pious should contemplate the ravages of sin and the wretchedness of sinful men. 3, 'l'he gospel forbids despondency over even the most utter debasement and humiliation of man. "'rhere is balm in Gilead; there is a Physician there.":-T, Ver. 15.-The glory and the shame of Jerusalem. Contrast with misery escaped heightens the joy of the rescued and the happy ; and, on the other hand, contrast with bygone prosperity adds to the wretchedness of those who are fallen from high estate. I. THE BEAUTY AND RENOWN OF JEBUBALEJI IN ITS PROSPERITY. Into these many elements entered. 1. Its situation was superb. Nature pointed out the heights of Zion for a metropolis. Especially when beheld from the brow of Olivet the city impresses every traveller with admiration. 2. Its history and memorable a~sociations. Won by the valour of David, adorned by the magnificence of Solomon, the home of heroes and of saints, this city possessed a fascination with which few cities of the earth could compare. 3. Its sacred edifice ranked alone, far above all the temples of the ancient world. Not that its architecture was commanding or beautiful in the highest degree; but that its erection, its dedication, the presence of the Eternal, a.II lent an interest and a. sacredness to the peerless building. 4. Its sacrifices and festivals, which were attended by hundreds of thousands of worshippers, were altogether unique. II. 'l'HE DISGRA0E OF JERUSALEM. This appears: 1. From its ruinous and almost uninhabitable condition. 2. From the slaughter or dispersion of its citizens. 3. From its degradation from its proud position a.s the metropolis of a. nation. 4. From the hatred, scorn, a.nd insults of its triumphant enemies. APPLICATION. There is a day of visitation which it behoves every child of privilege and mercy to use aright. To neglect that da.y is surely to entail a bitter overtaking by the night of calamity and destruction.-T.