The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 530

in the coumel of the Lord." In the case of the Pharisees, their external proprieties were but the veil of internal hollowness and corruption and death; and Christ said to <.hem, "Ye are they that appro,·e yourselves unto men, but God knoweth your hearts." Let our hearts be right with God, let the main stream of our inner life be flowing heavenwards, and we need not tremble to know that" all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." 2. Earnest preparation/or tlie/uture and fina./ judgment. "He bath appointed a day," etc. (Acts xvii. 31); "We must all appear," etc. (2 Cor. v. 10). Your personal alienation from God may give you little trouble now, but" what will you do when he riseth up? when he visiteth, what will you answer him?" (Job xxxi. 14). There is no way of preparation for the solemn judgment of the future but in that personal forgivP,ness and recuncilia~ion, that moral cleamin~ and rigl,teousncss of life, that comes through fellowship with the Saviour (Phil.iii. 9). • "Low at his cross we view the day When heaven and earth shall pass away, And thus prepo.re to meet him." w. Vers. 1-4.-Shepherds, bad and good. I. THE SENTENCE ON TlIE UNFAITHFUL SHEPHERDS. This is perhaps the most special and emphatic of all Jeremiah's referenceH to the unfaithful shepherds. Nowhere does he go into such detail as Ezekiel does (eh. xxxiv.). But whatever may be lacking in illustrative detail, the essential facts are mentioned. Here are men upon whom is laid a charge such as is laid on a shepherd by tbe owner of tbe pasture and the flock. The business of such a man is to provide food for the flock, defend it from beasts of prey, prevent as far as he can any of the flock from wandering; and if any should wander do his best to restore them, This might be a task of no small difficulty to tbe literal shepherd of the literal sheep. It required courage, watchfulness, patience, promptitude, and above all, fidelity. And yet even a shepherd enriched by these virtues might have many losses and failures. God knew, indeed, that for kings and persons in authority to guide those under them was a task more arduous far than that of shepherding sheep; and it was not mere failure that he comphined of. He complained because there had been no serious attempt to attain success. The very men who should have ruled firmly and righteously and with fidelity to Jehovah had been spoilers of the sheep, using them to serve their own ends, and leaving every one to do what was right in his own eyes. The rulers had thus rejected the authority and service of Jehovah and set up self in his place. Self was to rule, self was to be served. The sentence upon this traitorous conduct is given in very general terms, but was none the less real and effective. God did visit on these rulers the evil of their doings. It was necessary to give a hint of this in passing, to show thnt, while God delights in mercy, he must also always be just. The great matter to be spoken of here is tbe restoring and securing of the scattered flock, and if the judgment on those who have helped to make the mischief is simply mentioned in passing, it is enough. Besides, we must remember that the sheep also had their share of the shame. 'l'he rulers could not have done so much harm if under them there had been a people of a widely different spirit. • II. THE RESTORATION OF THE SCATTERED. The pastors are spoken of as those who !,ave destroyed and scattered the sheep. The mischief they do is therefore not confined to a simple scattering. That which is destroyed cannot be restored. But the part that has been scattered, God has in his keeping; and in due time he will bring it together a~ain. Note how Jehovah, who announces punishment to the unfaithful shepherds because they have scattered and dispersed his flock, goes on to say that his own hand has been concerned in this same dispersion, Here is a beautiful illustration of how God overrules calamities. Though it is the recklessness of evil men that has scattered lsrael, yet the good hand of God is stronger than any hand of man ; and the dispersion has been into such directions as God saw to be best. '!'hough these remnants of the flock were far from their proper pasturage, they were nevertheless in safe places, where :hey would be exercised in a truly profitable discipline. '!'hey were perhaps but a very fet;l,le remnant as man counts feebleness, and yet in God'a hands a small part may IJe moro dkct11al for his purposes than the incon:,;ruous whole Crom which it has br:en separated, Olt; xxlll, 1-40.J 'l'lIE BOOK OF 'l'llE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 687