II. The limitation or implicit obedience. The highest obligation is to ao right. If, therefore, we could be required by a supreme being to do what we knew was wrong, it would be our plain duty to disobey his will. The being who laid such a mandate upon 08 could not be God. He would be an almighty demon. Were such a monster
•H, xtn. 1— 22.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEKEMIAH. 173
to exist, it would bo the duty of all creatures to resist him, though they became martyrs for their fidelity to ris;hteousness. Our obligation to obey God rests on the fact that he is supremely good, and not merely on his infinite power and greatness. Let us suppose that we received a seemingly Divine mandate req 'liiing what we felt to be wrong — what should we do? Three courses would then be open to us. We might believe that it emanated from a supreme being who was wicked, and should therefore be disobeyed ; we might conclude that we were mistaken in supposing it to come from a supreme being — that we were suffering from a hallucination ; or we might feel convinced that it was sent by the holy God, and that we were wrong in our impression of its unrighteous character. To Christians who believe in a perfectly good God, only the two latter alternatives could present themselves. But here the choice lies between the inward and the outward voice. If, then, the inward voice is clear and unmistakable, we are bound to give the preference to this. The outward voice claims to come from God ; but so does the inward voice. If the two conflict, we must choose between them, and then we should feel that it is more likely we are suffering from a delusion in our external perceptions than that what we firmly believe in our conscience to be wrong is yet right. Loyalty to God will lead us to obey God's voice in the conscience above all things. At all events, so long as we believe — though even erroneously — that a thing is wrong to us, it is wrong, and no prophet's or angel's yratOM should lead us t* perform it without first convincing us that it is right.
Ver. 7. — 2%e answer to prayer delayed. I. Thk vaot. Ten days elapsed before Jeremiah was able to give an answer to the people. When Christ was asked to give his aid at the wedding feast where the wine ran short, he refused to do anything immediately (John ii. 4) ; and when summoned to the sick-bed of Lazarus, " he abode at that time two days in the place where he was " (John xi. 6). We must, therefore, expect that a similar delay may sometimes attend the answer of our prayers. Perhaps the interval will he much longer. We have cast our bread upon the waters, and it will not appear till after many days. We should learn, therefore, that prayer does not fail because the response is not immediate. Whatever be the delay, we may be sure that to a true prayer in Christ's Name the right answer will come at the right time. God is not dilatory. He will never wait beyond the very best season for acting.
n. The cause. Much of this is mysterious, and we must learn to accept the mysteries of Providence with faith in the unfailing love of God. But some grounds for the delay of God's answers to our prayers may be discerned and should be considered to check our impatience. 1. There is a seaion for everything. God will watch for the fitting opportunity, and send his blessing when it will be most profitable. 2. The fitness of God's answer to prayer depends on our condition. There are things which would injure us as we are. God waits to be gracious, waits till we are in a fit ftate to receive his grace. 3. Some things given as the answer to prayer require time for development. At the beginning of Daniel's prayer the angel was sent, but some time elapsed before the prophet received his message (Dan. ix. 23). God may set in train the actions which are in answer to our prayer immediately the prayer is made, and we may only be waiting for that result which could not come quicker. 4. Meanwhile God tests our faith by delaying the answer to our prayer. The time is not lost. It is profitably spent in the trial and culture of our own souls. So it is with the greatest blessing of the heavenly reward and with many lesser good things; God withholds them for a time that we may learn to walk by faith.
Vers. 9^12. — The hlessedness of patient enduranee. In answer to the appeal of the people for guidance, Jeremiah has to tell them that good will attend them so long as they stay in their land, but curses if they flee to Egypt. Hardships crowd upon them at present, and dangers threaten for the future. But if they will but endui« these patiently, God will save and prosper them.
I. Wht the people were eequired to remain in theib land. 1. It was the will of Ood. When we know his will, if we know nothing more, that alone should be a final answer to all questions. Because he is our King we are bound to obey, and because he w our Father his will must be for our good. 2. It was the course of faith. Flight to Egypt was always regarded as a sign of distrust in God and reliance upon the ana «f
174 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH, [ch. xlii. 1—22.
flesh. Repeatedly had the people been warned not to trust " upon the staff of thit bruised reed, even upon Egypt, ou which if a man lean, it will go into his band, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh King of Egypt unto all that trust on him " (2 Kings zviii. 21). When Pharaoh takes the place of Jehovah, when any earthly judge is trusted rather than God, it will surely betray us. 3. It was a safeguard for purity. Egypt was a heathen power. An asylum in Egypt would bring temptations to immorality and unfaithfulness to the God of Israel. It is always unwise and wrong to run into tempta- tion in order to escape from trouble. 4. It was a sign of contentment. It is happiest for a man to do his duty in that state of life into which it has pleased God to call him, though if God calls him out of one state to a more prosperous one, he may enjoy the greater comfort thus gained.
II. What peomises weeb given to those who remained in theib IiAnd. 1. Prosperity would he restored. The troubles of God's people are transitory. Patient endurance will see the end of all of them. Then God will bring, not bare deliverance, but happiness and prosperity. The Jew looked for thi-s in temporal concerns ; the Christian expects it in eternal things. 2. The people would he delivered from damje'-. God would save them from the King of Babylon. And if this salvation was possible, shall we not believe that all other deliverances are possible, and rest calmly assured tl.dt to those who patiently and obediently submit to God no real harm can come ? Nebu- chadnezzar may triumph insolently; but God can cast him down to the level of the brutes. The lions may roar, but they are chained, or God will send an angel to shut their mouths.