The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 69

ris_es one ~nows not how, a~d presently subsides without man being able to do nny- thmg for its removal. Gods anger was as a fire, and the wickedness of the people was like dry and highly combustible fuel before the flame. 'fhe one thino- neerlfnl wns tll stop the fuel, and the fire would then very speedily btirn out To s~y with the lips "'My Father, thou wast the Guide of my youth," w1U only be of use when there i~ something like correspondence between what is spoken and what is done.-Y. Ver. 15.-God will provide pa.stors according to his own '1ea1·t. I. 'l'HE NEED so EMPHATICALLY IMPLIED THAT SUCH PASTORS SIIOULD DE GIVEN, 'l'he shepherd's oecupa- !-ion, it _need hardly be said, is one that comes ~p again and again in the Scriptures, both I? the literal sense of the word and the figurative one. And even in the literal occupa- twn there was, doubtless, often need of men who could be described as shepherds after God's own heart. Every shepherd who was faithful, observant, courao-eous and alto- gether superior to the hireling spirit, was to that extent a shepherd ;'rter God's own heart. Such a one might possibly not be after God's own heart in other respects. Many are very watchful over the brutes committed to their charge, and utterly thought- less about the shepherding of their own souls and of the various human beings dependent on them and influenced by them. Then passing to the figurative flocks and shepherds, there are very pathetic representations in the Scriptures of the mischief conse- quent on the unfaithfulness of those rulers and providers who had been set over God'd people. Take such a man as King Ahab. He was not a man after God's own heart, and what is the result 'I Going out against the King of Syria, Ahab, not very hopeful of a favouring word, consults Micaiah, the faithful prophet ·of God: "I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd;" which was not only a warning of utter defeat, but a bitter charge against Ahab that he had been utterly faithless to his trust (1 Kings xxii. 17). There is so much of the sheep-nature in the human breast. How many have been troubled because there is no shepherd (Zech. x. 2) ! ·Every time the confession is uttered, "All we like sheep have gone astray," there is a hint of pastoral unfaithfulness somewhere or other. 'fhe sheep-nature in tho human breast has never been better set forth than in the anxiety of the departing Moses with respect to a competent successor (Numb. xxvii. 17). Food needs to be pro- vided. There must be a guarding against self-willed wandering away from the supplies and comforts belonging to a constant member of the flock. '!'here are the perils from "ll"ild beasts (1 Sam. xvii. 34). There is the work needed to bring back that which is lost. Look at Zech. xi. 16, where there is a hint of what the shepherd has to do- visiting those that are cut off, seeking the young ones, healing the broken, bearing that which standeth still (see also eh. I. 6; Ezck. xxxiv.; John x.). JL 'l'HE FACT TIIAT 6UCII PASTORS WILL ASSUREDLY DE l'ROVInED. Great is the re-· quiremcnt, and there has often been a grievous disappointment in getting it met, but assuredly it can be met. The rulers in Israel had 1not all been as Ahab. That samo Moses, who was so anxious concerning his successor, had been himself taken from faithful oversight of another man's sheep in order to deliver Israel from PharaoL's clutch, and lead him towards the green pastures and still waters of the promised land (Exod. iii.). David, who had followed the ewes great with young, no doubt gently leading them when needful, gathering the lambs in his arm and carrying them in his bosom, who also had smitten the lion and the bear, was now taken to feed Jacob the people of God, and Israel hie inheritance (Ps. lx:xviii. 71; Isa. xl, 11). Not only had be been faithful as a shepherd, but he had also grown ever moro conscious of the sheep-nature in himself, and the sheeplike requirements of his own life, and so, looking away from his flock upwards, he beautifully says, "Jehovah is my Shepherd.'' lie had lions following his own soul (Ps. vii. 2; x. 9; xvii. 12; xxii. 13). Those nro fitted to be shepherds after God's own heart who, feeling their own needs, mnko Jehovah their Shepherd. It is important to remember how David in declared as tho man after God's own heart (1 Sam. xiii. 14; Acts vii. 46; xiii. 22). So God is here speaking through Jeremiah, with that confidence which cornea from actual experience of the true and the brave among his own chosen. Then there is tho groat work of Jesus to be considered. It is very significant that in eh. xxiii., after a reference to the un- Jaithful shepherd~, there is a promise of faithful ones, their work being set forth moru e:q li~itly cvcu than here; and then God goes ou to 6pcak of the righteous Urn.nch ua. 111. 1-25,] 'l'HE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 65