The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 19

ein. It wae not simply that he announced that there should be a " rooting out ana pulling down" (of. ver. 10), but tho words which he spoke so wrought in men's minds that these results followed. Hence men, conscious of the power of his words, con- fessed that it wae "the word of the Lord" which had come to him. This is the ohl prophetic word which, whenever spoken, constrains men to confess the presence of God (cf. 1 Cor. xiv. 25). And St. Peter (2 Epist. i. 19) says concerning it," We have, surer still, the prophetic word." "More sure," he meant, than even the wondrous voice and vision of "the holy mount," for that was but a transient testimony given once and to the three favoured apostles of the Lord alone; but the prophetic word, that which woke up the response in men's hearts, and by which the secrets of each soul were disclosed-that was a more constant, more universal, more powerful, and therefore , a more sure testimony than aught beside, And the occasions when this " word of the Lord" comes to any of his servants are well known. See how particular and definite the dates are here. "In the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah. It camo also in the days of Jehoiakim," etc. The coming of the word of the Lord to any soul is a marked and memorable period. He through whom that word is spoken is conscious of an unusual power, he realizes the Divine presence in an altogether unusual manner. He is more passive than active. It is said of·the holy men of old, that they "spake as they were moved [borne along] of the Holy Ghost," and this, St. Peter declares (2 Epist. i. 21), is ever a characteristic of the prophetic word. And those who hear the word know that the Lord is speaking through his servant. Listlessness and unconcern give way to serious concern. :Some can tell the very day and hour when they first heard the -" word bf the Lord." They had listened to sermons and read the Scriptures again and •again, but one day they felt that the Lord· himself was speaking to them, and they could not but give heed. Like as the people of Judah and Jerusalem knew when the voice of God, though they despised it to their ruin, was speaking to them, so do men 'now. A.nd if we have heard it for our salvation, the time, the place, the speaker, will often be vividly remem.bered in connection with it, like as those who heard Jeremiah knew the very year when the " word of the Lord came" to him. It is ill for both hearers and speakers alike if they be-unable to point to periods when they were conscious that "the word of the ,Lord" came to them. For a preacher never to realize the sacreu glow and the uplifting of soul which accompany the utterance of the prophetic word , or for a· hearer to have so dulled his conscience, so destroyed bis spiritual ear, that though the word· of the Lord be spoken his heart never responds, his soul never realizes the presence of God ;-from the sin and sorrow of either may God mercifully save us. IV. THE DATE AND DURATION OF JEREMIAn's .MINISTRY. We are told when it began, a'nd'how long it lasted. It began when the evil days for Judah and Jerusalem wero drawing very near. It was in vain that the devout King Josiah endeavoured to turn back the hearts of the people to the Lord God of their fathers. Bnt though the long- suffering of God bad been so tried and was now almost ceasing, yet, ere they were given up to the punishment which was their due, God raises up his servant Jeremiah arnl the band of faithful men who stood by him (cf. 2 Chroi;i. xxxvi. 15-21). For forty years-for that is the period covered by the reigns of the several kings spoken of- Jeremiah exhorted, warned, entreated, threatened, prayed, wept; but all in vaiu. Therefore God's wrnth at length rose against them, and there was no remedy. " Behol,l the goodness and the severity of God!" How reluctantly will he abandon any to the results of their own ways! how slow is he to let come upon them that which they have long deserved! Yea, he ia the long-suffering God. But whilst we fail not to remember and to rejoice in this, let us not fail either to rP-member and· to dread tlu~ other equally sure faot, that" God-is a consuming·fire" to those who set at nought all his .counsel, and will have none of his reproof (Prov. i. 24-33). Those to whom Jeremiah prophesied found it so, and so will all who sin in like manner now.-0. Vera. 4-19.-The dread commission. I. WHAT WAB,rr? (Of. ver. 10.) It was to denounce the judgments of God against his people. At the end of the commission there is mention made of "building and planting;" but the chief charge is of an nlto- gether opposite character. Jeremiah was set over the nations "to root out, and to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down." It was a terrible undertaking. Ho was to 12 THE 1300K OF 'l'HE PROPHET JEREMIAH. [cu. r. 1-10.