The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 461

here ascribed.to· them proclaims them to have been of low and shallow natures. Only such can play the part of a spy. Yet these men could trouble Jeremiah. A spy can persecute a prophet. A gnat can stine1 a lion. Mean and despicable creatures that can do little good have considerable powe;' of doing harm. This fact is humiliating to our common human nature, and H shows the great need of a Providence to restrain lhe .outrages of wickedness which are so easily executed. (2) They were numerous. The prophet stood alone beset on every side wilh malicious spies. How difficult to be faithful in that dreadful solitude of a crowd of unsympathizing persons! (3) They were Jeremiah's familiar acquaintances. Religious and political differences separn.tc the best of friends. When a man's own near acquaintances turn against him the very ground he stands upon seems to be breaking away from beneath his foet. Such men have peculiar power for harm, because (a) they have been trusted and (b) they know the weak places in a man's armour. 2. Consider the character of the persecution. The persecution of spies must have been peculiarly harassing. (1) It was not open. It is so much easier to meet a frank foe in the field than to cope with the secret devices of spies. (2) It must have been tainted with untruth. The spy would hear ~nough to misunder- .stand, and would unconsciously misrepresent in the effort to make his report consistent and telling. The "whispering" would heighten the colour of every tale as it passed from 'one to ~nother. (3) It was perpetual. The spies were always on the watch, ready to tak,e advantage of the first unguarded moment. (4) It was malicious. The spies were cager for .Jeremiah's halting, hoping to entice him to some mistake. II. 'l'HE REFUGE FROM THIS PERSECUTION. Jeremiah found his refuge in God. 1. He Clll!ld do so because he was innocent and because he was suffering in the service of God. How hav,py to be able thus fearlessly to challenge the arbitration or God between our- selves ar{d our detractors! 2. The help of God is sought because he knows all. He sees "the reins and the heart." If the spy is watchful, with his prying looks capable of seeiug only the surface of things and with only partial views, and listening only to catch up broken fragments of speech to distort and misrepresent, God is righteously w11-tchful of all that his creatures say and do. 3. The help of God is trusted in becauso be is "a mighty terrible one." "The God is a man of war." The might and majesty of God-so terrible to th·e godless-are the refuge of his people. It should be remembered by all of us that God is actively concerned with human affairs, and in his providence, without requiring what we call "miracle," can frustrate the devices of the wise o.nd defeat the efforts of the strong. Ver.13.-Thanksgiving for future blessings, I. WE MAY BE THANKFUL FOR BLESS- INGS NOT YET RECEIVED, Jeremiah closes his prayer with praise. No sooner hns he asked for God's help than he feels so assured of receiviug it that he anticipates it in imagination, and breaks forth into grateful song as though he were already enjoying it. This is a proof of genuine faith. Faith makes the absent seem near and the future appear present (Heb. xi. 1). It influences our whole being-the imagination among other faculties-so that it enables us to conceive the good thing trusted for so vividly and so confidently that the thought of it affects the mind just as strongly as if we saw the ::,hject with our eyes and grasped it in our bands. Such an effect is a test of the carncstuess and faith of prayer. Some people could not be more surprised than by receiving the exact_ answer to their prayers. II. 'l'HE FULL DELIVERANCE FROM ALL HARM IS A FUTUllt: DLESSINO FOR WHICll WE MAY DE GRATEFUL. 1. lt is a.future blessing. Jeremiah· was not delivered immediately. Ilis life was beset with danger to the end. After the time to which our text refers, he !llet with worse troubles than any that had hitherto befallen him. 'l'he Christian must not expect a sudden and perfect escape from all distress and temptation the moment he prays to God for help. Perfect deliverance can only come with the conquest of the last enemy, death. "Now is our salvation "-our perfect deliverance-" nearer than when we first believed" (Rom. xiii. 11), but it is not yet enjoyed. 2. It is, nevertheless, a blessing for ~hich we may be truly thankful at once. For it is positively assured :to the Christian., The heir of.a great inheritance may rejoice in his prospects, though for the present he is in want, Dut earthly. pleasures of hope are checked by fe&l's of ·11ossible disappoiutmcnt. The buds may be nipped by frost; the promising young man may break down before achieving any great work. Nevertheless God is too powerful, 468 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. [cu. xx. 1-18.