Vers. 15 — 19. — Supposed and reed reasons for calamity. I. A supposed beason. What is the calamity V gword and famine. Ceitainly a calamity to be removed and as far as possible averted for the future. And casting about to discover a reason for the calamity, the men of Judah, or rather the women, for it is they who appear most prominently in this declaration, discover that the I'eason is to be found in the discon- tinuance ot their offerings to the queen of heaven. What a family matter this offering was is shown by ch. vii. 18. The women kneaded dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven. These offerings must have been very geneially given up when the migra- tion into Etrxpt took place, and then, on the coming of the sword and famine, what was more natural than for these women to connect the calamity with the discontinued offerings ? In one thing they were quite right ; theie was a supernatural reason for the calamity. Wrong as they were, it was well they did not rest in any mere natural reason. They were sure that a Divine Being of some sort or other had to do with their troubles. The directinn of iliou, ht is dillerent now. When calamity comes upon people, if they connect it with God at all, they very often do so in an arbitrary kind of way, as if nothing but a mere superior will, without reason or purpose of any sort, had sent calamity to tlu'm. It is easy to pity what we call the ignorance and superstition of this crowd of woinen, but always we can see the errors of other times far more easily than those of our own. The causes of suffering need to be inquired for very carelully, very patiently ; for wrong conclusions only bring more suffniing than ever.
II. The REAL REASON. They l>ad forsaken J ehovah. Not that thei e is any necessary connection between the forsaking of Jehi vah and the sword and famine. Nothing but our faith in the reality of a | rophet's predictions can enable us to see this connection. There is oftentimes an utter forsaking of God, yet neither sword nor famine follow. The true and necessary result of {loing after something else than God is found in the consequent mi^e-y and emptiness of the life. Continually we suffer from our inability to
OH. XLiv. 1— 30.] THE BOOK OP THE PROPHET JEREMIAt
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•ee things in their right proportions. Bad as sword and famine may be, tlieie are things infinitely worse. The fact that this multitude was debasing itself by worshipping the quien of heaven pointed to a state of things far worse than any pliysical suffering could be. Physical suffering may at any time be removed, if desirable, by a miracle. But that darkness of the heart producing essential idolatry, a darkness so loved and cherished, who is to remove tliat ? Nay, the very fulness of temporal comforts may become a veil between God and the soul. The very thing which helped to deceive the people here as to tlie real causes of things lay in this, that at the time when they were woishipiiing the queen of heaven they had plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.— y.
Ver. 27. — Watching over men for evil. I. This watching is never ibrespbcttv* oi CONDUCT. If God ever watches over any man for evil it is because the man's conduct deserves it. It is not so necessarily with our watching. We may watch over a man lor evil either from intensity of malice or intensity of selfishness. We may wish to do him ill Irom revenge or because his prosperity seems to mean our adversity. A word announcing watch over men fur evil is a very serious word to fall even Irom Divine lips ; and while God may speak it, perhaps we ought never to speak it. But at the same time, we cannot help watching over men for evil, and what we need esiiecially to guard ourselves a<:aitist is the doing of this from wrong motives. We must follow in the footsteps of God himself. When we Centura others, or oppose them, or make them suffer in any way, let it be clear to ourselves and as far as possible clear to the world that their conduct has demanded it.
II. I'.vir, CONDUCT is nkveb separated from such watching. God says that ho is watching in this particular instance, but we know that he watches for evil against all evil-doers. We speak of evil-doing as being invariably followeil liy suffering, liut this is only one way of putting the matter. We may also say that when suffering follows our wickedness it is the proof that God is watching for evil over the evil-door. And in this matter we need zealously and boldly to do as God does, though, of course, we must do it according to the measure of human limits and intirinity. When any one is engaged with determination in any evil jjur-uit, it must be ours to show that we are by no means indifferent. God's watching over wicked men for evil is often done through the eyes of' his own people ; fcr if we have the Spirit of God in U8 there will be some- thing of Divine discernment.
III. A connkcted truth that needs to be considered at the same time. If Odd watches over the wicked lor evil and not for good, it is equally true that he watches over the rijihteous lor pood and not for evil. Not one life, going on patiently and bravely in upriglitness, is unobserved by him. Whatever the appearances may be, the abiding realities of life are against the wicked and for the righteous. — Y.
Ver. 28. — Human and Divine confidence. I. In what thet are alike. 1. In ifce assurance ■with which they are expressed. Here are men, in their worldly wisdom, perfectly certain that the course they have adopted will turn out right. It is always important to notice the assured unquestioning spirit in which m^en will set out on their enterprises. They do not seem to see the failures, disgraces, and humiliations of others ; such overwhelming troubles are not to come nigh them. And all this is great testimony to the use of faith to men. God means men to be confident. The confidence which he ever expresses himself is meant to find a correspondent confidence in us. We need never be dubious in matters of a spiritual kind, however dubious we have to be as to certain external results. If we only act in the right, divinely ordained way, then we can continually be confident thai all will come right. 2. In the time of waiting needful to Justify the confidence. God speaks words, the truth and profound sig- nificance of which it may take not merely generations but even millenniums to make manifest to the whole world. Everything immediately apparent to the outward eye may contradict what he says. And something of his own wisdom and insight into the future he gives to men of the right spirit, so that they may work for results which are to be developed through long perioils. He makes it possible for men to go on believing, hopeful and patient through all 'liscouragements, and even to die in the faith that what thsy have sown others will reap. Thus faith which God makes to stand ia the beginning
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