ni11,Jogue in the oouncils of the Aryan Jeremiah was, and how completely the order village communities. " References to their of prophets had fallen below its high ideal. parliamentary status (if the phrase may We hnve 110 further knowledge of the be used) occur in Exod. iii. 16; 2 Sam. prophet Urijah. xix. 11; l Kings viii. 1; xx. 7. The insti- Ver. 20.-Kirja.th-jearim; 11 city in the tution lingered on during and after the territory of Judah, on . the wost frontier of Babylonian Exile (eh. xxix. 1; Ezck. xiv. 1; Benjamin. xx. I ; Ezra v. 5; vi. 7 ; x. 14 ; Matt. xxvi. Ver. 21.-Hismightymen. The"mighty B. 47; Mark xiv. 43; Acls iv. 5, etc.)." We men 11 (gibbi!rim) are not mentioned again find another reference to their quasi-judicial in Jeremiah, and the Septuagint omits the authority in Deut. xxi. 2. word. But it is clear from Isa. iii. 2 that Y crs. ·1s, 19.-Mioa.h the Morasthite, etc. the " mighty men" were recognized as an The "eldns" appeal for a precedent to the important part of the community. From case of Micah (called after his native place, 1 Chron x. 10 it appeo.rs that the term llforeshetb-Gath, to distinguish him from indicates a position of high command in the at.her Micuhs), who had been equally ex- army, which is in accordance with the plicit in his declarations of woe to J eru- notice in 2 Kings xxiv. 16. Went into salem, without incurring the charge of Egypt. Egypt was the natural refuge for bbsphemy. The prediction referred to is a native of Pa.Jestine (comp. I Kings xi. 17, in Micah iii. 12, the form of which agrees 40; Matt. ii. 14), just as Po.Jestine wo.s for verbally with our passage. a native of Egypt. 'fhe latter, however, Ver. 19.-Thus might we procure, etc.; proved to be not a safe asylum for Urija.h, rather, and we are about to commit a great as Pharaoh was the liege lord of J ehoiakim evil against our souu; (not merely "against (2 Kings xxiii. 34), and the extradition of ourselves "). The blood of the slain would Urijah o.s a crimino.l naturally followed. cry for vengeance against his murderers, Ver. 22.-Elna.tha.n. The name occurs who wonld come to an untimely end, their again in eh. xxxvi. 12, 25. Possibly this " souls" being sent down to lead a miser- man was the "Elnathan of Jerusalem" able parody of a life (f3los 1&/3,os) in Sheol or mentioned in 2 Kings xxiv. 8 as the father- Hades. in-law of Jehoiakim. Vera. 20-23.-The murder of the prophet Ver. 23.-Into the graves of the oommon Urijah. At first sight, these four verses people; literally, of the sons of the people appear to belong to the speech of the elders, (comp. eh. xvii. 19; 2 Kings xxiii. 6). "The hut the appearance is delusive, (l) beca.use the graves" is equivalent to "the graveyard," issue of the affair of Urijah cannot possibly as Job xvii. I. have taken place" in the beginning of the Ver. 24.-Neverthelesa the hand of Ahi- reign of Jehoiakim" (ver. l); and (2) because kam, etc.; i.e. in spite of the prepossession the passage stands in no connection with what against prophets like Jeremiah which this preceeds, whereas it is related, and that very incident reveals, Abikam threw all his closely, to ver. 24 (see below). The case is influence into the scale of toleration. The similar to that of certain passages in St. same Abikam is mentioned in circumstances John's Gospel, where the reflections of the which reflect credit on his religion in evangelist are put side by side with the 2 Kings xxii. 12-14. One of his sons, sayings of our Lord. Jeremiah, writing Gemariah, lent Baruch his officio.I room for down his experiences at a later time, intro- the reading of the prophecies of Jeremiah duces the story of U rijah to show the mag- ( eh. xxxvi. 10); another was the well-known nitude of tbe danger to which he had been Gedaliah, who became governor of Judah exposed. The notice of Urijah Las au after the fall of Jerusalem, and who wo.s additional importance, as it shows incident- himself friendly to Jeremfoh (oh, uxix. ully how isol.a.ted a spiritual prophet like 14; xl. 5).
HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-The duty of rw;laring the whole truth. I. THE DUTY. Jeremiah is com- manded to "diminish not a word" from the Divine message. .A similar obligation rests upon every man who is called to speak for God to his fellow-men. The duty is urgent for two reasons: 1. Truth is a trust. 'l'hus Timothy is admonished by St. Paul to keep that which is committed to his trust (1 Tim. vi. 20) ; and the apostle speaks of the "gospel which was committed to my trust" {l Tim. i. 11). 2. Truth is needed by the world. It is not a private monopoly ; it belongs to mo.nkiod. The world is dying for lack of H. He who has possession of it and refuses to reveal it to others is like a man who has discovered a secret spring of abundant water and en. xxvI. 1-24.J THg DOOK OF THE PROPIIET JEREMIAH.