distress do theeo words present: "I forgat prosperity"! Daye of happiness are Sf) distant that they hove faded into oblivion; their memory is obliterate<l by recurring sorrows, by continuous misfortunes. J. ADVERSITY DOES NOT FULFIL ITS INTENDED PURPOSE IF IT LEADS TO DP:SPAIR. There are natures in which a reverse of circumstances induces depression, which gradually deepens into despondency. Where this is the case there is ground for fearing thnt the affections and desires have been too much centred upon things earthly and perishable, that the gifts of a kind Providence have been regarded as possessions to which those who enjoy them have a right, that the higher purposes of this earthly discipline called life have been neglected. II. ADVERSITY SHOULD BE REGARDED BY 'l'HE CHRISTIAN AS TEMPORARY, AND AB AN APPOINTMENT OF DIVINE WISDOM AND LOVE. To forget prosperity in the past is to forget that, for the devout, obedient, and submissive, there is prosperity in reserve in the future. The cloud comes over the sky, but the sunshine of the morning will be followed in due time by the brightness which shall close in glorious sunset. The disciple of Christ cannot lose sight of the fact that his Master was "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," and that he assured his followers that "in the world they should have tribulation." But the voice that foretold conflict promised victory. To the faithful favour shall be restored and prosperity shall be renewed. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."-T.
Vers. 19, 20. -Remembering affiiction. As the prophet entreats the Lord to remember the afflictions he and his countrymen have passed through, he records his own vivid recollection of bygone misery and humiliation. Now, the counsel of the world would be- Forget your troubles; they are past; why allow them to disturb and to distress the mind? There are, however, good reasons why this advice should be rejected, why the afflictions we have passed through should sometimes be recalled to mind. I. Tms EXERCISE SERVES TO REMIND us OF THE UNCERTAINTY AND VICISSITUDES OF THIS LIFE. It is well that in days of prosperity men should not forget how soon the sky may be clouded, that in times of health liability to sickness and disease should be borne in mind, that the living and the active should hear a voice gently counselling them Memento mori I II. Tms EXERCISE SERVES TO PRESERVE us FROM A DISPOSITION TOWARDS WORLD- LINESS. In prosperity it is very common for men to cling to this world, to over-esti- mate its wealth, its pleasures, its honours. Let them remember days of adversity; let them consider how possible it is that such days may recur; and thus preserve them- selves from the threatened sin of worldly mindedness. III. Tars EXERCISE MAY LEAD us TO GLORIFY THE DIVINE DELIVERER. Affliction is to many a thing of the past; they have left the tempestuous seas and are in the quiet haven. Let such consider by whose great mercy such deliverance has been effected, to whom their gratitude is due. Who interposed upon their behalf and brought them into safety? Do they forget to sing, "'l'his poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles " ? JV. THIS EXERCISE MAY SUGGEST THE EXPECTATION OF HEAVEN, AND JILI.Y LESD ATTRACTIVENESS TO THE PROSPECT. The past naturally suggests the future. In remembering the afflictions of earth we are reminded of that state where "the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."-T.
Ver. 21.-Hope reviving. At length the unmitigated anguish and desolation expressed in the previous parts of thi,; book seem relieved. A ray of light breaks through the dense mass of clouds. Despondency gives place to hope. I. ~'ROM WHAT STATE THIS LANGUAGE BETOKENS A REVULSION, A REACTION. Jeremiah has, not unnaturally, been plunged into distress, dismay, despondency. The terrible calamities which have befallen his nation are sufficient to account for this. Yet, as a child of God and II believer in Divine providence, he could nut remain in desolation, he could not abandon himself to despair. II. THE ORIGIN OF HOPE. How was the prophet lifted out of the discouragement an<l despondency into which he had falleu? It seems that here, as so uften, hope LAMENTATIONS, • 50 THE LAMENTA'l'IONS OF JEREMIAH. [en. m. 1-60,
sprang out of humility. When his heart was bowed and humbled within him then he began to lift up his eyes unt.o the hills from whence alone his help could come~ Ill. TrrE GREAT OBJECT OF HOPE, The prophet saw nothing in existing circum- stances which could afford a ground for anticipating better things and brighter days. But his hope was in the Lord, who listens to the lowly, the penitent, the contrite, and in answer to their cry, delivers and exalts them in due time. ' IV. 'l'HE EXPF.CTATIONS OF HOPE. When within the prophet's heart the star of hope arose, to what did it point, with its enlivening, cheering rays? To consolation, to deliYerance, to revi't'al of natural life, to renewal of Divine favour. No hope, based upon God's faithfulness and compassion, is t.oo bright for him to fulfil and realize.-'!'.