The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 95

Free fn,m gross external fault, morally fair, decent, and reputable. Not thou,,htlees 0 nnd trifling, ns the wayside hearers (cf. Matt. xiii.). Not obstinately self-willed, ns the stony-ground hearers, who are represented by the emblem of n superficial soil having stretched beneath it a hard, pavement-like rock, through which the rootlets of the sown seed cannot thrust themselves to reach the nourishment of the soil bcucath. Nor arc they incnpablc of yielding good service to God; on the contrary, they have like the fallow ground, all cap~cities for yi~ldiug a rich return. (2) And such pers~ns often i-ow the seed of religious profession and observance, and assume the varied ex- ternal signs of true religion. It is not necessary to inquire their motives, but they do this. And ,vhen we see them we are all well pleased. We hope very much from tl1em, as no doubt Josiah hoped much from the external religiousness of the people with whom he had to do. But God sees not as man seeth. His eye penetrates beneath the snrfacc. And the fallow ground may be full of thorns; that is, the heart of him who makes all this external profession-comes to the Lord's table, teaches in a Sunday school, leads in prayer, perhaps enters the ministry of the Church,-his heart may all the while be unrenewed, impure, fiUed with the seeds of thorns, which wait only their ,1ppo1tunity to bear their baneful harvest. (3) Hence God forbids such sowina amongst thorns. How stern his denunciations, how awful his threatenings, to thos~ who are guilty of this sin I Do any inquire, Wherefore this severity? 'l'he reply is: (a) Hypocrisy is hateful to him. See our Saviour's denunciations of hypocrisy (cf. Matt. xxiii.). He ,rho was gentle and full of grace to all others, had no words too scathina for this sin. No doubt his stern words were designed also to open the ey~s of the people who were deceived by the false professions of those to whom onr Lord spoke so severely. And we can hardly doubt, either, that there was a gracious purpose in regard to the men them- selves, to awaken and alarm them, if by any means it might be possible. But still, he who to us is the Manifestation of God, makes evident how hateful in his sight is all reli- gious profession that rests on no reality within. (b) A further reason for the severity which is so marked here is the extreme peril of such.sowing amongst thorns to the sowers themselves. Few things are more deceiving to a man's 50ul than to be professing religion, and to be accounted by others as truly religious, when he is not so. It is bad to be an unre"enerate man; it is worse to be such and not to know it; but the worst cou- c1ition of all is to be such, and to be believing all the while that you are the reverse, and that for you salvation is sure. But this dread self-deception is fearfully fostered by this sin, which God here so severely condemns. (c) And yet another reason for this Divine condemnation is that by this sin the Name of God is blasphemed. The world is keen-eyed, and soon detects the mere outside religion of those whom this word contemplates. And because of the base coin the genuine id suspected, and the way of godliness despised. Therefore note-- III. TnE SOLEMN SUGGESTIONS OF TmB SUBJECT TO ounSELVES. 1. To those who have been guilty of this sin. Yon have been, you are now, it may be, making loud religious profession, and yet your heart is not right in the sight of God. We <lo not say," Th.row up your profession, abandon all religious ways;" but we do say, "Have done with insincerity." Resolve that the fallow ground shall be broken up, the heart truly yielded to God. Implore him to give Y?U the ,:eality, that your pro~ession m_ay be a lie no more. 2. Let all remember that this purgmg of our hearts, this cleansrng of our souls, needs to be continually done. The thorn seeds float continually over the fallo_w a-round and if it be not continually cleansed, they will take root, and the good seed will Le choked. '3. The Divine condemnation of sowing amongst thorns is not designed to <letcr our sowing where the grace of God hae cleansed us from. s~ch thorna.. Many read these terrible threatenings, and fear to take upon them a rehg1ous profession, lest they should be found unworthy and untrue. But if God has given you to repent of sin, to long after holiness, to look daily to your Lord for graco and help, then he has washe_d your heart from wickedness (ve:. 14), and you may,_you ought, openly ~o avow bis name, observe his appointed ordIDan~es, and ~ngage lil any way Ins providence !DIIY invite you in his direct and recogmzed service. 4. Ancl Id not those who ne1~her possess nor profess religion deem theIJ?-Belves better off because those ~vho pr?fess with- out possessing are so severely dealt with. Let them remember that 1f the righteous-- and to the outward eye these are righteous-scarcely be saved, where shall the un- godly and the sinner appear ?-C. !llt, IV, 1-31.] TUE noo1{ OF THE PROPllET Jtnt1,IIAU.