The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 57

upon it is in the highest dogree worthy of Messianic period-descriptions which often the Di vino subject. 'fhe doubt, of course, is wear at any ~at_e a superficial appeo.rance of whether in the Old Testament a special inconsistency, see tbe luminous remarks 0 ( pro,idence is extended elsewhere so dis- Professor Riehm, 'Messianic Prophecy,' pp. tinctly to the individual. But Jeremiah is 161-163. At the samo time, we must be pre-eminently an individualizing prophet; extremely cautions how fa.r we admit that he fe,els the depth and reality of individual Old Testament prophecies of the latter days as opposed to eol'poro.te life o.s no one else have received a complete fnlfilment in the nmong .the p:i;ophets. (At o.ny ro.te, one Christian Chlllch, considering how far the point is.clear, that the prophet foresees tho.t latter is from the realizable ideal, and also the number-iof the exiles who return will tho importance attached in the New Testa- be but smo.11 compared with the increo.se to ment as well as in the Old to the continuance be divinely vouchsafed· to them; see var. of Israel as a nation. 16.) • Ver. 17.-Jerusalem's spiritual glory. Ver. 15.-Pastors. In eh. xxiii. 4, the same With Jeremiah's description, comp. that word is rendered in the Authorized Ver- of Ezekiel," The name of the city from tha.t sion" shepherds," which would be less open day shall be, The Lord is there" (xlviii. 35). to., misunderstanding her0' than "pastors," This gives us the positive aspect of the civil and not spiritual authorities being in- Messianio period (comp. on ver. 16). Jeru- tended (see on eh. ii. 8). The prophecy salem shall be the spiritual centre of the is, of course, not inconsistent with passages universe, because it is pervaded by the like oh. xxiii. 5, but DB the n11tional con- presence of tho Most High (comp. Isa. iv. 5). tinuance of . Israel w11s guarantee(!, it W!I.B May we explain with Dr. Payne Smith, natural to refer to the •snbordin11te civil "Jerusalem, i.e. the Christian Church"? authorities. . Aooordi.ng to mine heart; Only if the provisional character of the better, aooording to my mind; for here, GS existing Church be kept well in view. All also in I Sam. xiii. 14, it is something very the nations; i.e. all except the chosen people. far from perfection which is ascribed to the The word for "nations" (gmJim) is that chosen rulers. "Heart " is sometimes eq ui- oft.en rendered " heathen." To the name ; valent to '' understanding." or, because of the name, i.e. becanso Jehovah Ver. 16.-When ye be multiplied; a has revealed his name at Jerusalem. The common feature in piotures of the latter phrase occurs again with a commentary in days (eh. xxiii, 3; Ezek. xxxvi. 11; Hos. Josh. ix. 9, "Thy servants are come because ii. I). They shall say no more, The ark of' of the n:lme of Jehovah thy God, for we the covenant of the Lord. A definition of have heard llie fame of him, and all that he· the Messianic period on its negative side- did in Egypt." But we must not suppose the ·ark shall be no longer the centre of that" name" is equivalent to" revelation;" religione worship. We must remember that rather, there is here an ellipsis-" because the nrk is represented in the Law as the of the name" is equivalent to" because of the tl:irone .'.of·. Jehovah, who wo.s "enthroned l'evelation of the name," or better still, " ... upon the cherubim" on the lid of the ark. of the Name." The ".Name of Jehovah" is It is in virtuo of this sacramental presenoe 'in fact a distinct hypostasis in the Divine that the tom11le •is oallecl the "dwelling- Being; no mere personification of the Divine-· plaoee" of J'chovah (e.g. Ps.xlvi.4; lxxxiv. l, attributes (as the commentators are fond of where Antho,rized Version., has wrongl7 saying), but (in the theological sense) a " tabernaolce h). Now, in the Messio.mc Person. The term," Name of such and such period tho c,oi;i~cious1:1ess of Jehovah'e pre- aGod," is common to Hebrew with Phcenicinn sence wO:s _tci be, so widely spread, at any. religion. In the famous inscription ot rate in the centre of God's kingdom, the Eshmuno.zar, King of Zidon, Ashtoreth is holy· oity, that the ark wciu1d no longer be called "Namo of Bo.al;" and to whichever thought of; it would be, if not destroyed proper name the religious term Name may (we know; 11-s a matter of fact, thqt the ark· be Q.ttached, it means a personal existence was destroyed iri some unrecorded way), yet. in the Divine nature, specially related to at least become uttE:rly unimportant. J eru- the worlll of humanity; or, to use the salem would then natqrally succeed to the Io.nguuge of Hcngstenberg, the bridge be- title "Jehovah's throne" (applied to the tween the latter and the transcendent temple in eh. xiv. 12), Neither. shall it come heights of God as ho is in himself. In to mind. 'l'he same phrnse is used of the old short, the No.me of Jehovah is virtuo.l?y heaven and earth as compared with the new identical with the Logos of St. John, or tho (Isa. lxv. I 7). In the concluding clauses, second Person in the blessed Trinity. "visit" should rather be "miss," and " that Hence the per~onal language now and again be done" should bo "it [ viz. tho ark J be used of this Name in the Olcl Testmncnt, made." On the whole subject of tho pro- e.g. Is11. xxx. 27, '' The Namo of Jchovuh phetic descriptions of the worship of tho cometh from for . . . his lips are fu II of  52 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. LoH. m.1-25.