or the n11tlon; if we should not rather eo.y which ea.me to an end. It would m,iko this tlmt the no.tion itself, personified, is the plainer if we were to alter the renrlering, spor,kcr. In the first trio.cl some have sup- Thou didat plead . . . thou didst redeem. posed o reference to the persecution suffered The speaker likens hie case to that of a by Jeremio.h o.t the ho.nds of his country- poor man who is opposed o.t law by a rich men. The "dungeon," or rather" pit," will oppressor, and who, for want of an 11rlvocate, in this co.se be the '' dungeon " (" pit ") will, to all appearance, become his victim. mentioned in J er. xxxviii. 6. But 11, " pit" Suddenly Jehovah appeared and supplied is 11, figure in the pealme for destruction this want. Such a.re God's " wonders of (Ps. xl. 2 ; Jxix. 16), and there is nothing re- old time." corded in Jeremiah BB to the" prinCP.e" hav- Ver. 59.-Thou hB8t seen my wrong. ing cast stones at Jeremiah, or rolled a stone Here the speo.ker returns to the present. on to the top of the "pit." Besides, the This is clea.r from the following words : "pit" into which the prophet WBB cast had J'udge thou my cause. " no water, but mire." Ver. 62.-The lips eto.nd here for "the Ver. 52. - llline enemies . . . without fruit of the lips; " and the verb which oe.use. These words ought to be connected, governs the nouns is "thou hast heard," as in the Hebrew. in the preceding verse. Ver. 54.-1 am out o:11:'. Some words have Ver. 63.-Their Bitting down, and their to be supplied, and Pe. xxxi. 22 suggests rising up. Elsewhere the phrase is a com- which these are:-" I am cut off from be- prehensive expression for all a man's occu- fore thine eyes," i.e. from the region on pations (comp. Ps. cxxxix. 2; Isa. x:uvii. which the eyes of God rest. 28). I 11m their music ; rather, their song ; Ver. 55.-1 called. Bunsen renders, "Then i.e. the subject of their taunting songs, p. I ea.lied." But there is no connection in- in the parallel passage, Joh xxx. 9 ; comae dicated in the Hebrew between this o.nd the Ps. lxix. 12 (Hebrew, 13). preceding triad. Out of the low dungeon; Ver. 64.-Bender unto them, etc. The literally, out of the pit of the lower parts sacred poet is familiar with the psalms; (of the earth)-a phre.ee borrowed from Ps. here we have a condensation of Ps. xxviii. lxxxviii. 6 (Hebrew, 7). Sheol, or Hades, is 4. The tone of vers. 64--66 reminds ns of signified. passages in the Book of Jeremiah (see Jer. Ver. 56.-At my breathing; rather, at my llviii. 23 ; XX. 12). sighing ; litere.lly, at my relieving myself. Ver. 65.-Sorrow of heart; rather, a cm,wr- Ver. 57.-Thou drewest near, etc. The ing of the heart ; spiritual blindness, like se.crod poet reminds Jehovah of his former the "veil npon the hen.rt " in 2 Cor. iii. 15. gracious interpositions. Thy curse unto them. This should mther Ver. 58.-Thou hast pleaded, etc. The form a sepo.ro.te interjectional clause, "Thy reference is still to a former state of things curse upon them I "
HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-" The man that has seen affiictiO'Tl." In the first and second chapters of Lamentations the desolation of the city of Jerusalem is described and deplored. The third chapter brings the picture to a focus by giving us the plaint of a single individual -either one typical or exceptionally distressed citizen, or the city regarded imaginatively as an affiicted man. Our sympathy is most moved by individual appeals. We are horrified by disasters that affect thousands ; but we are more touched by the details of the suffering of one person. Nearness is requisite for sympathy, a nearness of view, at least, that enables us to see the humanity of the sufferer. Statistics of public distress do not so affect us as the sight of a few severe cases that a.re brought under our own eyes. We cannot pity "the masses;" we pity this mau and that woman. Therefore we should bring ourselves into contact with the sufferers of our own neighbourhood, and not be content to follow only such promptings of benevolence as may arise from a dis- tant survey of large fields of distress afforded by the formal reports of charitable institutions. J. THE MAN THAT HAS SEEN AFFLICTION HAS CLAIMS UPON THE CONSIDER.cl.TION OF ms FELI,OW-MEN. The sufferer of Jerusalem arrests our attention. He has a right to do so. Great distress is by itself sufficiently important to demand our notice. .Moral merit will add to the force of the appeal of suffering. But even where the mertt is lacking the suffering itself still has claims upon us. We must not roughly shake oft' the obligations of sympathy by the observation that the client is ill deserving. If the 3G THE LAMENT A'l'IONS OF JEREMIAII. [OH. III, 1-00,