The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 405

entrusted to him their bard-earned savings, with all of which he had made away; but, when brought to justice, condemned, and imprisoned, he could not be got to con[ess that he he.cl done wrong, but would keep quoting, in regard to himself, texts which tell of the afflictions of the righteous, and how " whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." II. THE OAUBE, Conscience is starved by neglect of that seeking of God's grace which is its nutriment and strength. And it is 8tunned by repeated acts of sin. Men can and do nibble, if we may so speak, at conscience, and gradually rid themselves of it. The clamour of sin drowns the still, small voice, and its protests, perpetually unheeded, are at last withdrawn. So that at length men find themselves able to do evil and think nothing of it ; the little rift that sin fir11t made has wi<lened and widened until the whole torrent of waters bursts through, for the faithful dyke that held the,,, back has been gradually destroyed, and so now the whole nature of the man is over- whelmed, submerged beneath the deluge of sin. And, what is most sad, the man fee lg, no more than do the sunken cities and towns that lie at the bottom of the Zuydcr Zee, the rush of the waves that for centuries have rolled over them. III. THE CURE. Thank God there is one. The sharp surgery of God's judgment~ arnuse the deadened conscience. 'l'he rags, the hunger, the degradation of the prodigal woke up his conscience and brought him "to himself." And so it was with the Jewish people. God's jud_gments made them hate and abhor, as they have done ever since, the idolatries which brought those judgments upon them. It would be dreadful to think that God had no reaources whereby, in full harmony with its freedom, he cou\.l bring into due subjection and order" the unruly wills of sinful men." Can we conceive of God having created a force greater than himself, which can for ever defy him, am\ ever maintain, as Milton's Satan in hell, a rebellious though wretched rule? God knew how to convert Israel, Saul, the penitent thief, ourselves, and we may trust him to find means whereby at length to Jesus every knee shall be made to bow. Vers. Hand 15 contemplate a converted Israel (cf. also Isa. xxx. 18; Matt. xxvii. 33-39). But let a man tremble at the thought of compelling God to deal with him thus. Let him beware how he wastes his conscience, lest it turn against him and suffer him to sin unrestrained.-0. Vere.14, 15.-Great mercies the forerunners ef greatel'still. At first reading of these verses their truth is hardly apparent to the ordinary reader of the Bible. The deliverauce from Egypt was so •magnificent an event, accompanied by such manifestations of the Divine glory, that the quiet return of but a comparatively few of the exiles from Babylon pales into insignificanco. Hence it is the latter' event that seems not worthy to be spoken of in comparison with the former, and not the former in comparison with the latter. 'l'he second temple was so greatly inferior to the first that old men who had seen the first wept when they thought of those glories which to the second were quite unattainable; and so the return from Babylon seems to fall for short in glory of the redemption from Egypt. But these verses affirm that the glory of the return from Babylon was to be far the greater. Now,howcould this be? It may be said: 1. That in this return there was a display of the moral power of God rather than his physical might. That which was needed to bring this about was the exercise of the Divine power on men's hearts rather than any material force. It was by mighty miracles that Israel was brought out of Egypt; it was by the action of God's Spirit on bis people'~ hearts that those who returned from Babylon were induced so to do. For their lot was happy, prosperous, peacefol, so far as this world was concerned. 'l'he Books of Esther, Nehemiah, and Daniel show this. Hence it was a strong religious yearning that led to the return of those who returned. The mass of the nation were content to remain, and did remain, and formed" those of the Dispersion," of whom in so many ways we hear in after ages. Hence, as Zechariah says (iv. 6), it was "not by might, nor by power, but," etc. 2. Then, also, in this return there was a display of God's pardoning love. Israel was a forgiven people. 'l'hey had received at the Lord's hand double for all their sins. But God i_s ever more glorified in the display of pardoning love than in any manifestations of mere power. 3. And there was in it such a fulfilment of prophecy, such a demon8tration of the overruling power or God in and through Rll the movements of dilfercut nations nnd ages, as proclaimed God's glory more than power alone could ever do. For tilese reasons the return or the exiles was a more glorious event than the  'l'HE BOOK OF 'l'HB l'ROPHE'l' JEREMIAB". [cu. xv1. 1-21.