The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 426

repent of; that, as far as the east is from the west, so far are they from being in a ri<d,t 0 state. II. Over against this evident indifference there must be set the prophet's EMPHATIC STATEMENT OF THE HOLD WHICH BIN HAB UPON THE PEOPLE, 'l'hat we do not see the evil of our life proves one of two things-either that there is no evil to see or that we are spir~tually blind and cannot see the evil which there is. Now, spiritual blindness has for its usual concomitant spiritual pride; and the man spiritually blind is the very last who will admit that he is so. If we are left to ourselves we shall never discover the original cause_and fountain of all our troubles; something outside of ourselves mus~ come in and lead to an altered view of the purposes and possibilities of life. This is not the place to speak of all that is required to produce that alteration of view; but it is very plain that statements such as that of the prophet here must be helpful to produce it. ls it not .a great matter for preachers to be able to fall back upon the thorotwh- going, uncompromising statements of the Word of God? For, though these may finrl°no present pi:actical response in the consciousness of the bearer, yet this very failure is a reason for repeating them over and over again, until in some critical hour the faculty is given of seeing ourselves as God sees us, which is a faculty much more to be desired than the one so often commended of seeing ourselves as others see us. Two things are here referred to-the inscribing instrument and the substance on which the inscription is made. There is a necessity for both in order to make a deep, abiding, noticeable impression. A pencil may make upon a stone a mark of some sort, but it is a. mark very easily rubbed out; a pen of iron may write some great truth upon the sand of the seashore, but one wash of the rising wave sweeps ii all away. But when you have the materials for. a deep inscription, then something is produced which can only be destroyed by destroying that on wliich it is written. Little wonder was it that these people of Judah would not face the task of inspecting their hearts. Sin jg so intimately mixed with the hear~ that you cannot get it away save by a process tantamount to the removal of the old inward life and the substitution of a new one. Hence the fitness of the peti- tion, "Create in me·a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me." But there is something more to show the bold which sin has on these people, and that is the terrible effect upon their children. A great many details might have been heaped up to show the reality of Juda.h's idolatry, but one crowning illustmtion was better still. Not_even the most hostile to the prophet could well deny that the force which compelled them to inflict such cruelties on their children in the name of religion was a hideous force. Every evil, in' default of ability immediately to seo its real nature, must be measured by its worst visible effects. And this is just what the prophet does here, when he puts in the front of his accusation the sufferings of tho little ones of Judah. As if these little ones had not enough of unavoidable pain to suffer, without sufferin 6 being sought out for them. I!J, THE EFFECT OF ALL THIS .DEEPLY ROOTED EVIL AS SEEN IN JEJIOVAU's CONSEQUENT INFLICTIONS, (Vers. 3, 4.) The people may cry, in professed. amazement, "Why all these sufferings? What have we done that we should be treated in this way?" The answer is that all this spoiling, all this turning of the promised inheritance into I\ place not worth having, all this bitterness of exile, were not produced in some arbitrary, incomprehensible way. '!'he prophet was not astonished at theso judgments coming ; he saw them approaching, anu knew why they earn~. Great effects always have great and 11ppropl'i11te causes ; and great causes, left to operate freely, will produce great nnd proper eO'ects. Every humaq heart holds within it enough to make indescribablu misery; and unless that greater cause which God offers to put in cortnin operation comes in with its counteracting force, we may be sure that indescribable misery will lie produced. Wherefore let us pray that more and more we may have eyes to see and perceive, ears to hear and understand.-Y. Ver, 6.-The curse upon the man who trusts in man. In considering this passage it is imporlant to bear in mind that two different Hebrew words (1=!¾ and o:i~) are ren- dered by the one word " man." A recollection of this differonce will bring much more meaning out of the passage, I. Thero is suagcsted for consideration MAN IN P.IB owN OPINION OF BlMBELF. Ilo reckons himsel( ~s ,;H, tbo strong one. He likes to estimate his great resources a.:d L,so  THE BOOK OF THE PROPHE1' JEREMIAH. [cu. xvu. 1-27,