fellow-crmtures unmoved; but, a sensitive nature views them wit.h poignant sor- row, Our Lord wept over the same city when, at a later period, he foresaw a fate impending over Jerusalem oven worse than that which occasioned the lamentation of Jeremiah, II. 'l'HE 0HARA0TERJBTI0B OP' THIB SYMPATHETIC BORROW. 1. It is cordial; not the eympnthy of words merely, but of the heart. Politeness may dissimulate; sincere pity will feel. The sorrows of the soul because of human sin and woe al'e prompted by sympathy and consecrated by religion. 2. It is manifested. In the East and among simple nations grief displays itself in a more demonstrative way than amongst ourselves. '!'here was nothing extravagant or unmanly in the pouring down of teaTs, in the running down of rivers of waters from the eyes, described in these verses. The manner in which sympathy is exhibited may v:'lry, but this passage may suggest to us that the expression of compassion ought not to be withheld. 3. It is unintermitted ; it cease~ not. Such sympathy is not a mere paroxysm of grief; it is constant, enduring whilst the occasion of it endures. III. THE PDRPOSE AND HOPE ACCOMPANYING THIS SYMPATHETIC BORROW. Men sometimes speak of the uselessness of tears, the vanity of grief, etc. The godly sorrow exhibited by the prophet was not of this order; it had an aim, and that aim was the relief of those who were commiserated. Penitence and supplication were regarded as means to procure the regard, the interposition, the delivering mercy of Jehovah. Help, and help from above,-this is the practical design which blends with the anguish and the tears of the Christian.-'!'. Vere. 55, 56.-The cry from the dungeon. There seems every reason for believing that, in these words, the prophet is recording his own actual experience. Under the reign ofZedekiah, when the doom of ,Jerusalem was near at hand, the faithful Jeremiah prophesied to the people, and by his warnings and predictions so offended the princes who were in authority in the city that they cast him into the pit of the prison. By Divine goodness he was delivered from this misery by the aiency of the eunuch Ebed- :Melech. Like a truly godly man, he witnesses to that God who is ever the Hearer of bis people's prayers. I. Tm: CRY FROM THE DEPTH. It was indeed de profundis that Jeremiah raised his voice and called upon the Lord. From sorrow, suffering, destitution, desertion, misery, helplessness, let men cry unto the Lord. The evil condition that impels them to such a cry is not all evil; there is "the soul of goodness " in it. The dungeon of oppression, of persecution, thus becomes a church indeed. II. 'l'HE WITNESS OF THE RESCUED. The prophet testifies that his cry had not been unheeded. Even when immured in a pit so deep that his voice could not reach bis fellow-men, his entreaty had reached the ear and roused the pity of the eternal Lord. And he who bad heard had answered too, and had sent his messenger to deliver his servant. Where is there a child of God who has not experie □ ced the compassionate interposition of the Most High? The Church should he as one of those temples whose walls are covered with tablets and brasses testifying to mercies received at the hand of the All-gracious. III. 'l'HE CONFIDENT PRAYER. AU former troubles were as nothing compared to this disaster which now overtakes the city, the nation. Renewed calamity prompts to renewed entreaty, and the memory of compassionate interposition incites to faith and hope. "The Lord hath been mindful of us; he will help us."-T.
Vers. 57, 58.-Prayer heard and answered. How natural that the mind of a pious man should, in seasons of distress and calamity, revert to the bygone days, remernber the clouds by which they were overcast, and take encouragement at the vivid recollec- tion of gracious interposition and help! L THE DA y OF DELIVERANCE. 1. This was a day of need and of distress, of sore need and of bitter distress. 2. It was a day of prayer, a day in which Divine aid had been zealously and urgently implored. II. 'l'HE VOICE OF THE DELIVERER. " Thou saidst, Fear not I " How often nre these words represented. by the prophets to have been spoken by Jehovah! How often by the evangelists to have been spoken by Christ l They seem to constitute a ~.note" 66 'lt-IE LAMEN'l1A'l'IONS OF J~rmMIA11. [cu. nt, 1-G0.
of Divine utterance. They are a.s reassuring and consolatory to man as they are appro- priate Rnd becoming to God. III. THE FACT OF DELIVERANCE. Comforting words are welcome; how much more th<' exNcise of mighty power! This passage depicts (1) the approach of the mighty One and (2) t,he redemption of t-he captive's life. What was literally t,rne of Jeremiah'~ bodily condition is true of the spiritual state of sinful man; and all temporal inter- positions are an emblem of the delivering, the redemptive grace of God in Jesus Christ. IV. THE ACKNOWI,EDGMENT OF DELIVERANCE. 'l'he testimony of the prophet is 110 example to all who bave experienced the blessedness of Divine love and grace. Such acknowledgrnent should be grateful, cordial, public, and everlasting.-T.