Vet. 15. — ^They oried unto them, ete. As they leave the city they are pursued by the maledictions of those whom they have op- pressed. It is unolean. The cry with which tlie leper was directed to warn off passengers, lest they should become in- fected (Lev. xiii. 45). There may be an allusion to this, but, tliough commonly ac- cepted, tlie view is not certain, as the " leper " in the present case is not the person who raises the cry, but those who meet him. When they fled away and wandered. The clause is difficult. If the text is correct, Eeil's explanation may perhaps pass, " When they fled away, (there) also they wandered," alluding ta the " wandering " ascribed to them with a somewhat different shade of meaning in the preceding verse. In any case there ought to be a fuller stop than a comma after " touch not," which words close the first of the two parallel lines of which the verse consists. But very probably "when" (Hebrew, kt) is an in- trusion, and we should begin the second line thus : " They fled, they also wandered about." They said among the heathen, etc. Even in their plaoe of exile they found no rest (comp. Deut. xxviii. 65)! This is better than understanding " the heathen " (liter- ally, the nations) to mean "the Chalilean army," and the place of sojourn prohibited to be Jerusalem.
Ver. 16. — Hath divided them ; i.e. hath scattered them, like " I will divide them in Jacob" (Gen. xlix. 7).
Ver. 17. — As for us, onr eyes, etc. ; rather (correcting the reading of the first word), Our eyes were still watting uway (as we looked) /or our help in vain. To the very last the Jews leaned on " that broken reed," Egypt (Isa. xxxvi. 6) ; how vain that hope would be Jeremiah had already told them (Jer. xxxvii. 7, 8). In our watching ; i.e. earnestly and continually ; or, on our watch- tower.
Ver. 18.— They hunt onr steps, etc. Eeal- istic attempts to explain this line have not been wanting, but seem nnsuocessful. The Chaldeans were either witljin the city or withont. If within, they would not need literally to " hunt t>ie steps " of the Jews ; if withoat, th«j had not war-engine*
adequate to shootino^ the Inhabitants at some distance. Probably the expresaionsi are metaphorical ; they ure similar to these used in ch. iii. 52, immediately after which we meet with such a purely poetical phrase as, " They have out off my life in the pit [Authorized Version, ' dungeon '], and cast a stone upon me " (see note on ch. iii 52 — 56).
Ver. 19, — Swifter than the eagles of the heaven. Jeremiah, or his imitator, repeats the figure which occurs in Jer. iv. 13. There is probably no special reference to the cir- cumstances of the capture ot Zedekiah (Jer. xxxix. 4, 5); the escape of many fugi- tives would be similarly cut off.
Ver. 20. — The breath of onr nostrils. The theocratic king was the direct repre- sentative of the people with Jehovah, and to him the promises of 2 Sam. vii. were con- veyed. He was also, in a sense, the repre- sentative of Jehovah with the people. His throne was "the throne of Jehovah" (1 Chron. xxix. 23). A similar conception of the king was generally prevalent in an- tiquity. Most of all among the Egyptians ; but, even in imperial Rome, wc find Seneca (' De Clementift,' i. 4, quoted by Archbishop Seeker, in Blayney) declaring;, " Ille (Prin- ceps) est spiritus vitalls, quem heeo tut niillia (civium) trahunt." For the Jewish, or Old Testanvtit, conception, see Ps. xxviii. 8, where (as the Septuagint shows) " his people" and " his Bnointed " are used almost synonymously. Was taken in their pits. A figure from bunting (comp. ch. i. 13 : Fs. vii. 15). The fate of Zedekiah is referred to. Among the heathen; better, among the nations. The rendering of the Authorized Version suggests that the Jews hoped to preserve at least a qualilied inde- pendence under their own king, even after their captivity.
Ver. 21. — Bejoioe and be glad. An ironi- cal address to Eilom, who is bidden to enjoy her malicious triumph, but warned that it will be but short-lived. How unjienerously the Edomites behaved at the fall of Jerusa- lem we are repeatedly told (see on Jer. xlix. 7). I. the land of Uz. As to the situation of Uz, see on Jer. xxv.20. The cap; one of Jeremiah's images (see Jer. xxv. 15).
Ver. 22. — The punishment of thine iniquity or, thy guilt (see on ver. 6). The prophet speaks with the confidence of faith, and sees the guilt wiped away, and the danper of a future captivity rimoved by the purification which the Jewish national cha- racter has undergone. He will discover thy sins. Qod is said to " cover over " sins when he remits their punishment, and to "discover" them when Iw punishes them (cnmp. Job XX. 27. 28).
CH. IT. 1—22.] THE LAMENTATIONS OP JEREMIAH. 6^
H0MILETIC8.
Vers. 1, 2. — Fine gold dimmed. Gold is a precious metal, partly because it is less liable to corrode than other metals. It will not rust like iron nor oven taruisli like silver. For fine gold to be dimmed is for it to undergo exceptionally severe treatment. Such was the treatment of the gold of the temple after the Chaldean siege of Jerusalem. Josephus describes how the gold glittered on the temple walls in his day; and doubtless the effect of the earlier temple's splendour must have been similarly dazzling. But when covered with the dust of a ruined city, smol^ed with its fires, neglected and defiled, this fine gold would lose its brilliancy. In the dimming of the brighliiiess of the temple mourning patriots saw an illustration of the shame that had come over the nation, and especially of the degradation of the noblest of the citizens of Jerusalem. But whenever rich ^fts and graces of God are coiTupted we may echo the same lament, " How is the gold become dim 1 "
I. Fink gold is DIMUBD wren noble OIFTS of NATtTBB ABE Pnr TO BASE USES.
Nature is wealthy with precious things that in themselves and in the eye of God are purely good. The beauty of earth and sea, the wonder of natural forces, the delicate organizations of plant and animal, all things created by the hand of God, are fine and fair and worthy. And these things are given us as our heritage. Science opens to our use many a secret treasure-house. Art and manufactures result from the appropriation of natuial resources. But how often are they degraded by being turned to the service of evil, in constructing instruments of war, in ministering to luxurious self-indulgence, in pampering intemperate appetites, etc. 1