The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 572

oountry humiliated. No charge could be more false. The preacher who feels it his duty to threaten Divine punishments to wicked men should not be accused of wishing them evil. He may speak with grief and regret, as God also punishes reluctantly (Ezek. xxriii. 11). 2. Jeremiah appeals to the example of the older prophets. He is true to their teaching, while Hananiah contradicts it. This appeal should be unanswerable to one who, like Jeremiah's opponent, professes to be the successor of these men. Amongst men who believe in the Bible the appeal to Scripture should be a first resort. How can a Christian teacher maintain his ground if he is contradicting this highest authority? Jeremiah was fond of" the old paths," the traditions and examples of earlier prophets. There is a consistency in propheoy, a common spirit, common ideas and principles in the prophets, and in revelation generally. 3. Jeremiah appeals to the ronfirmation of facts. (Ver. 9.) He dares to await the verdict of history; he challenges Hanania.h to do the same. \Ve are too hasty in following the loud and pushing popular spirits of the hour. Wait and see the issue of their work when the first excitement has died away. 4. Jeremiah meets the insolence ofHananiah with quiet rourtesy. He calmly reasons with him at first. When he finds his opponent proof against arguments which only rouse his temper, he quietly leaves him. There are times when men are too heated for argument, and there are men with whom it is always ':.lseless to argue. Under such circumstances the interest of truth, our own rightful dignity, !Jld charity to our opponent, caution us to leave him in silence. 5. Jeremiah reiterat,s his prediction at a later time, with more stringent threats, and pronounces a: solem·cL sentence of death on Hananiah. This he does after receiving fresh communications from Heaven and under the urgency of a Divine commission. It is always our duty to fore) re our enemies ; but if they are also the enemies of God, we may recognize the ju,,tice of God's judgment on them. It is to be noted that Jeremiah did not compass t'..e death of Ha.naniah ; he only foretold it, and this under a Divine impulse. The Nords of Jeremiah were verified. Hananiah died long before events proved the futility of his own prophecy. Perhaps this was best for him. His dea.th is a solemn warning to people who may be tempted to sacrifice truth for popularity. Ver. 8.-.An appeal to ancient prophecy. I. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE APPEAL. Several important principles are here illustrated. 1. The value of a precedent. Novel circumstances demand novel actions. The spirit of progress should teach us to improve on the conduct of our forefathers. Yet the most radica.l progressionist must often see the use of a precedent. It is an appeal from the confusion and excitement of the moment to an example which can be studied more calmly. If the precedent is respected by both parties of a quarrel, there is in it a common meeting-place for a reconcilia.tion. The Bible is useful to us in this way for its great examples. 2. The duty of referring to Scripture. Jeremiah did not simply refer to a.ntiquity; he referred to ancient pro- phecy-to the authority of a series of inspired teachers. This is the justification of our appeals to the Bible. It is not that the Bible is an old book, but that it is the founta.in of special Divine illumination. 3. The unity of Scripture. The most original thinkers have usually sta.rted on the founda.tion prepa.red by their predecessors. But such men as Kepler and Newton have left their teachers far behind, and exposed the error of much of their teaching. It is different with the Bible. Here, too, there is the progressive development of thought, the growing light of revelation. But while the outer husk of the earlier ideas of the Bible is cast aside, those ideas themselves a.re not discarded, but enlarged and glorified by a fuller evolution. Definite laws are changed, but vital principles remain. Thus there is a marvellous unity in the Bible. II. THE RESULT OF THE APPEAL. This led to a confirmation of the darker view of the future. It was a sad result. It is only too true tha.t the old prophets were prea.chers of repentance, threatening wrath and judgment. Their visions of the brighter future were few compared with their more stern predictions. The former, too, referred to distant times, the latter to circumstances of immediate interest. It is a terrible thought that an inspired view of human nature should lead so many great and good men to this gloomy conclusion. If these men rose from their graves and lifted up their voices in our own cities would they completely change their 1one? Such a man as Thomas Carlyle seemed to realize something of the spirit of these old Hebrew prophets, a.nu to him ihe condition of the modern world suggested the gloomiest forebodings. Happily, OH, :u.vm 1-1'1.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 58~