Ver. 21.-How hope rises frO'I'!- the depths of despair. This utterance needs to be contrasted with that in ver. 18. There the prophet says that hope is perished. Here he has hope, grounded on a "therefore" and strea.gthened by a resolved attitude of mind. 'l'hus we are helped to get an explanation of his past depression, or, as we might even call it, despair. We are helped to distinguish between abiding Di vine realities and the way in which they are coloured or concealed by our moods. How is it, then, the prophet is here able to come to such an inspiring resolution? Tw~ things are to be noticed. I. Tms HOPE COMES BY CONSIDERING THE RIGHT THINGS. The prophet says, " This will I recall to my mind," or" take to heart." This, that is to say, such things as he goes on to mention. later in the chapter. He said that he had been led into rbrkness and confine- ment. That he had been led was only his own way of putting the thing; the important point to note is that he got into such confusion of mind, such preoccupation with mighty evils, as to be unable to see life in the whole. Darkness had covered gracious truth, or clouds had risen between it and his spiritual vision. We can easily come to the most melancholy conclusions if only we determia.e to shut certain considerations from the mind. Let it also be noted that, as satisfying hope comes from considering the right things, so delusive hope comes from lettiug the mind dwell exclusively on the wrong ones. And what is true of the production of satisfying hope is true of other satisfying states of mind. So men may pass from unbelief to the firmest and most fruitful faith, and from selfishness to love. II. Tws HOPE COMF.S FROM CONSIDERING THE RIGHT THINGS lN THE RIGHT SPIP.lT. 'l'BE LAMENTATIOXS OF JEREllttAit. [ott. Ill. 1-QC,,
As the <'Xpressi?n may be rendered, ~here must be '.' a taking ro hea~t." Loss of kope comes from tak10g to heart the sad side of human hfe. The same thmgs 11re of course before us all. Thero is enongh mysterious misery in the world to oppress R~Y hum111; henrt that thinks of nothing else, but then along with this we should ever have before us, as _things to ~ sea.~hed into with all earn~tness, the great facts of the loving r~velat1on of God m Christ Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus, rightly considered, will give a hope rooted deep below the most discomposing powers of this world. It is not enough to place the great fact8 before us ; they must be dealt with as being very dear aad necessary to the heart.-Y.
'Vers. 22, 23.-The ,11nfailing compassions of Jehovah. Here indeed is a full retrac- tation of t.he reckless falsehood recorded in ver. 18. Ho who had hinted thRt God was a Des_troJ'.er, t.hat he delighted, as it were, in reducing his children to despair, is now found glorymg in the same God as the great Preserver, the one effectual Guardian of man's existence and peace. I. NOTE THE DESTROYING POWERS THAT BESET HUMAN LIFE. God's mercies are the only guarantee against our being consumed. How great, then, must be the perils of life! Jeremiah had nothing to do but look back on his own experience, and then he would be filled with wonder to think he had got so far. Think of the vivid way in which Paul summed up the perils of his life. It is indeed true that we do well not to think too much of such perils. .All the comfort would be taken out of life if we thought of them too much. But there they are, and time~ do come when it is useful to pass them before the mind. .And especially we should note those perils which ate perils because they have temptation in them. One of the greatest perils of life is to make an inadequate estimate of perils. The greatest of all perils is to be false to truth and goodness for the sake of life or even of temporal prosperity. Our passions, our fears,, and our pride are all ready to league with the great enemy of God and of mankind. !I. NoTE THE 01,,"'LY ADEQUATE DEFENCE AGAINST THESE DESTROYING POWERS. 1. That defence is to "be found in Jehovah. With him alone is the might and the power requisite to make due provision. Man is ignorant and prejudiced, continually going into the way of death, under a firm conviction that it is the way of life. If J eremia.h had been left to himself, to his own prudence and his own notions of safety, the chances are he would have been a dead man in no long time after he had begun prophesying. The true wisdom is to put ourselves into the hands of God. Then the way of duty becomes the way of safety. We are no longer misled by appearances. We suffer from the lesser danger and escape the greater. We discover how true it is that a man may lose his life. and yet in the very losing find it. 2. The compa.~sion and faithfulness of Jehovah are speciaUy insisted on. We ask constantly why men do things, and what motives are at the bottom of their doings. And we must ask the same things with respect to God. From the thing done we may rise to understand the heart of the doer. And then, knowing what his character is, we may confidently calculate what sort of things he will do in the future. God's mercies are new every morning-light after darkness, strength after sleep, conscious life with all its large endowments after hours of unconsciousness. And great is his faithfulness. The irregularities and forgettings of human procedure are not to be found in the dealings of God. .And this is just the responsibility that comes to us from all the attainments of science, that the deeper we search into the constitution of the universe, the more we should be impreased with the greatness of God's faithfulness.-Y. Ver. 24.-Tlwse who have Jelwvahfor their Portion. I. EVERY MAN BAS BIB POR• TION. That which is his capital, which constitutes hie resources, and out of which he has to build up the results of his life. It was only natural that an Israelite should make a great deal of portions. Israel had a portion, divinely secured and wonderfully 'Packed with the raw materials of wealth. Each tribe had its portion, given by lot, so tliat there w311 no ground of complaint, and so to each household in due time there came a portion. In Israel, as in every other nation, there were the rich and the poor- those with great possessions and those with none at all. Thus there are inequalities, and not the least of them are those which inhere in the constitution of the individual. Our :i,ortion de}'ends, not on what we legally possess, but on what we have the energy on. nr, 1-66.] 'fHE LAMEN'l'ATIONS OF JEREMIAH.