God's great readiness JEREMIAH. to receive Israel again. I will plead with thee] I will maintain my process, hands upon thine head] Thou shalt find all thy confollow it up to conviction, and inflict the deserved punishment. Verse 36. Why gaddest thou about] When they had departed from the Lord, they sought foreign alliances for support. 1. The Assyrians, 2 Chron. xxviii. 13-21; but they injured instead of helping them. 2. The Egyptians: but in this they were utterly disappointed, and were ashamed of their confidence. See chap. xxxvii. 7, 8, for the fulfilment of this prediction. fidence in vain,-thy hope disappointed,—and thy state reduced to desperation. The hand being placed on the head was the evidence of deep sorrow, occasioned by utter desolation. See the case of Tamar, when ruined and abandoned by her brother Amnon, 2 Sam. xiii. 19. 'Thou shalt not prosper in them.] They shall all turn to thy disadvantage; and this, as we shall see in the history of this people, was literally fulfilled. 0 what a grievous and bitter thing it is to sin against the Verse 37. Thou shalt go forth from him, and thine Lord, and have him for an enemy! CHAPTER III. The first five verses of this chapter allude to the subject of the last; and contain earnest exhortations to repentance, with gracious promises of pardon, notwithstanding every aggravation of guilt, 1-5. At the sixth verse a new section of prophecy commences, opening with a complaint against Judah for having exceeded in guilt her sister Israel, already cast off for her idolatry, 6–11: She is cast off, but not for ever; for to this same Israel, whose place of captivity (Assyria) lay to the north of Judea, pardon is promised on her repentance, together with a restoration to the Church of God, along with her sister Judah, in the latter days, 12-20. The prophet foretells the sorrow and repentance of the children of Israel under the Gospel dispensation, 21. God renews his gracious promises, 22; and they again confess their sins. In this confession their not deigning to name the idol Baal, the source of their calamities, but calling him in the abstract shame, or a thing of shame, is a nice touch of the pencil, extremely beautiful and natural, 22-25. A. M. 3375. 629. B. C. 329 Ol. XXXVII. 4. Anci Martii, R. Roman., 12. a THEY say, If a man put | In the ways hast thou sat for A. M. 3375. Anci Martii, away his wife, and she go them, as the Arabian in the wilder- OI. XXXVIL 4. from him, and become another ness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. b man's, ↳ shall he return unto-her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast d played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. e NOTES ON CHAP III. Verse 1. If a man put away his wife] It was ever understood, by the law and practice of the country, that if a woman were divorced by her husband, and became the wife of another man, the first husband could never take her again. Now Israel had been married unto the Lord; joined in solemn covenant to him to worship and serve him only. Israel turned from following him, and became idolatrous. On this ground, considering idolatry, as a spiritual whoredom, and the precept and practice of the law to illustrate this case, Israel could never more be restored to the Divine favour: but God, this first husband, in the plenitude of his mercy, is willing to receive this adulterous spouse, if she will abandon her idolatries and return unto him. And this and the following chapters are spent in affectionate remonstrances and loving exhortations addressed to these sinful people, to make them sensible of their own sin, and God's tender mercy in offering to receive them again into favour. Verse 2. As the Arabian in the wilderness] They were as fully intent on the practice of their idolatry, as the Arab in the desert is in lying in wait to plunder the caravans. Where they have not. cover to lie in ambush, they scatter themselves about, and run hither and thither, raising themselves up on their saddles to see if they can discover, by smoke, dust, or other token, the approach of any travellers. Verse 3. There hath been no latter rain] The former rain, which prepared the earth for tillage, fell in the beginning of November, or a little sooner; and the latter rain fell in the middle of April, after which there was scarcely any rain during the summer. Verse 4. Wilt thou not-cry unto me, My father] Wilt thou not allow me to be thy Creator and Pre Gracious promises A. M. 3375. B. C. 629. My father, thou art 'the guide of and committed adultery with 4. M. cir. 3392. OL XXXVII. 4. m my youth? Anci Martii, R. Roman., 12. 5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest. B. C. cir. 612. A. M. cir. 3392. 6 The LORD said also unto, me * stones and with stocks. B. C. cir. 612. Ol. cir. XLII. 1, Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 5. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me y with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. a 11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. d C 7 And I said, after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that 8 And I saw, when for all the causes thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; "yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. t * 9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, Prov. ii. 17. m W 7, &c; ciii. 9; Isa. lvii. 16; ver. 12. Ver. 11, 14; chap. vii. 24. Chap. ii. 23.- 2 Kings xvii. 13. Ezek. xxiii. 9, xxiii. 2, 4. ii. 27. Ezek. xvi. 46; -12 Kings xvii. 6, 18.- Ezek. Verse 5. Will he réserve his anger for ever?] Why should not wrath be continued against thee, as thou continuest transgression against the Lord? Verse 6. The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king] This is a new discourse, and is supposed to have been delivered after the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah. Here the prophet shows the people of Judah the transgressions, idolatry, obstinacy, and punishment of their brethren, the ten tribes, whom he calls to return to the Lord, with the most gracious promises of restoration to their own country, their reunion with their brethren of Judah, and every degree of prosperity in consequence. He takes occasion also to show the Jews how much more culpable they were than the Israelites, because they practised the same iniquities while they had the punishment and ruin of the others before their eyes. He therefore exhorts them to return to God with all their hearts, that they might not fall into the same condemnation. See the following verses. y 2 Chron. xxxiv. 33; a Ezek. xvi. 51; xxiii. 11.15; ciii. 8, 9; ver. 5.&c; Prov. xxviii. 13. Chap. ii. 25. Deut. 19, 20.- iRom. xi. 5. grossness of her idolatry: worshipping objects the most degrading, with rites the most impure. Hos. vii. 14.-— Heb. in falsehood. b2 Kings xvii. 6.- e Psa. lxxxvi, d Ley..xxvi. 40, &c; Deut. xxx. 1, 2, Ver. 2; Ezek. xvi. 15, 24, 25. xii. 2.- Chap. xxxi. 38; Hos. ii, Verse 11. Backsliding Israel hath justified herself more] She was less offensive in my eyes, and more excusable, than treacherous Judah. So it is said, Luke xviii. 14, the humbled publican went down to his house justified rather than the boasting Pharisee, The one was more to be pitied than the other, and more likely to receive the mercy of God. Verse 12. Proclaim these words toward the north] The countries where the ten tribes were then in captivity, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Media, &c., see 2 Kings xvii. 6; these lay north of Judea. How tender and compassionate are the exhortations in this and the following verses! Could these people believe that God had sent the prophet and yet prefer the land of their bondage to the blessings of freedom in their own country, and the approbation of their God? Verse 14. I will take you one of a city, and two of a family] If there should be but one of a city left, or one willing to return, and two only of a whole tribe, yet will I receive these, and bring them back from captivity into their own land. I have heard these words most sinfully applied to show the nature of a fancied eternal decree of election, that has appointed in several cases one only out of a whole city, and two out of a whole family, to be eternally saved, leaving the rest, according to the decree of reprobation, to Verse 9. The lightness of her whoredom] The perish everlastingly! And yet these persons, who Verse 7. And I said] By the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos, &c.; for all these prophesied to that rebellious people, and exhorted them to return to the Lord. Verse 8. I had put her away] Given them up into the hands of the Assyrians. Gracious promises A.. M. cir. 3392. Ol. cir. XLII. 1. cir. annum 5. JEREMIAH. B. C. cir. 612. to the penitent. 15 And I will give you *pas- | come together out of the land of A. M. cır. 3392. tors according to mine heart, the north to the land that I O. cir. XLII. 1. which shall feed you with have given for an inheritance knowledge and understanding. unto your fathers. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall • that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they a walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. W Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 5. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. с b a 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. f 21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we Acts xx. *Or, caused your fathers to possess.-0 Or, it xx. 6; Dan. vii. 9; xi. 16, 41, 45.stubborn-Heb. a heritage of glory or beauty.Hos. i. from after me. Amos e Isa. xv. 2.xiv. 4. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall kChap. xxiii. 4; Ezek. xxxiv. 23; Eph. iv. 11. 28. Isa. lxv. 17. Heb. come upon the heart.be magnified.- -P Isa. lx. 9. Chap. xi. 8.-r Or, See Isa. xi. 13; Ezek. xxxvii. 16-22; 11.- Or, to.- -u Ver. 12; chap. xxxi. 8.ix. 15. ness. spoke thus of the Fountain of eternal goodness and mercy, professed to believe in Him who by the grace of God tasted death for every man. Verse 15. I will give you pastors according to mine heart] The pastor means either the king or the prophet; and the pastors here promised may be either kings or prophets, or both. These shall be according to God's own heart; they shall be of his own choosing and shall be qualified by himself: and in consequence they shall feed the people with knowledge, ny deah, that Divine truth concerning the true God and the best interests of man, which was essentially necessary to their salvation; and understanding— haşkeil, the full interpretation of every point, that in receiving the truth they might become wise, holy, and happy. Verse 16. The ark of the covenant of the Lord This symbol of the Divine presence, given to the Jews as a token and pledge of God's dwelling among them, shall be no longer necessary, and shall no longer exist; for in the days of the Messiah, to which this promise seems to relate, God's worship shall not be confined either to one place or to one people. The temple of God shall be among men, and every where God be adored through Christ Jesus. Out of the land of the north] From Chaldea. This prophecy has two aspects: one refers to the return from the Babylonish captivity; the other, to the glorious days of Christianity. But the words may refer to that gathering together of the Jews, not only from Chaldea, but from the countries of their dispersion over the face of the whole earth, and uniting them in the Christian Church. Verse 19. How shall I put thee among the children] As if he had said, How can ye be accounted a holy seed, who are polluted? How can ye be united to the people of God, who walk in the path of sinners?. How can ye be taken to heaven, who are unholy within, and unrighteous without? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father] This is the answer to the above question. They could not be put among the children unless they became legal members of the heavenly family and they could not become members of this family unless they abandoned idolatry, and took the Lord for their portion. Nor could they be continued in the privileges of the heavenly family, unless they no more turned away from their hea Neither shall that be done any more.] The ark shall be no more established, nor carried from place to place; nor shall men go to visit it. All its ceremo-venly, Father.. nies and importance shall cease; and, if lost, shall never be rebuilt. Verse 17. They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord] The new Jerusalem, the universal Church of Christ, shall be God's throne: and wherever he is acknowledged as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, there God sits on his throne, and holds his court. Verse 21. A voice was heard upon the high places] Here the Israelites are represented as assembled together to bewail their idolatry and to implore mercy. While thus engaged, they hear the gracious call of Jehovah Verse 22. Return, ye backsliding children] This they gladly receive, and with one voice make their confession to him; "Behold, we come unto thee, for Gracious promises A. M. cir. 3392. come unto thee; for thou art the their herds, their sons and their LORD our God. h 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: i truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. k 24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and Psa. cxxi. 1, 2. Psa. iii. 8. Chap. xi. 13; Hos. ix.. 10. thou art Jehovah our God;" and thence to the end of the chapter, show the reasons why they return unto God. 1. Because he is the true God. 2. Because the idols did not profit them: they could give no help in time of trouble. 3. Because it is the prerogative of God alone to give salvation. 4. Because they had no kind of prosperity since they had abandoned the worship of their Maker. And this was not only their case, but it was the case of their forefathers, who all suffered in consequence of their idolatry and disobedience. 5. These reasons are concluded with a hearty confession of sin, at the thought of which they are confounded; for the remembrance of their sin was daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, A. M. cir. 3392. B. C. cir. 612. Ol. cir. XLII. 1. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 5. and our confusion covereth us : grievous to them, and the burden was intolerable. This confession ended, God appears in the next chapter with gracious promises, and proper directions how they are to return, and how to conduct themselves in future. Verse 24. For shame hath devoured] The word shame, here and in chap. xi. 13; Hos. ix. 10, is supposed to signify Baal, the idol which they worshipped. That thing or shame which has brought you into contempt, confusion, and ruin. Sooner or later every sinner must be ashamed of his conduct; next, confounded; and, lastly, ruined by it, unless by true faith and hearty repentance he returns to the Lord. CHAPTER IV. The prophet Sequel of the exhortations and promises addressed to Israel in the preceding chapter, 1, 2. then addresses the people of Judah and Jerusalem, exhorting to repentance and reformation, that the dreadful visitation with which they were threatened might be averted, 3, 4, He then sounds the alarm of war, .5, 6. Nebuchadnezzar, like a fierce lion, is, from the certainty of the prophecy, represented to be on his march; and the disastrous event to have been already declared, 7–9. And as the lying prophets had flattered the people with the hopes of peace and safety, they are now introduced, (when their predictions are falsified by the event,) excusing themselves; and, with matchless effrontery, laying the blame of the deception upon God, (" And they said," &c., so the text is corrected by Kennicott,) 10. The prophet immediately resumes his subject; and, in the person of God, denounces again those judgments which were shortly to be inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar, 11-18. The approaching desolation of Jerusalem lamented in language amazingly energetic and exquisitely tender, 19-21. The incorrigible wickedness of the people the sole cause of these calamities, 22. In the remaining verses the prophet describes the sad catastrophe of Jerusalem by such a beautiful assemblage of the most striking and afflictive circumstances as form a picture of a land " swept with the besom of destruction." The earth seems ready to return to its original chaos; every ray of light is extinguished, and succeeded by a frightful gloom; the mountains tremble, and the hills shake, under the dreadful apprehension of the wrath of Jehovah; all is one awful solitude, where not a vestige of the human race is to be seen. Even the fowls of heaven, finding no longer whereon to subsist, are compelled to migrate; the most fruitful places are become a dark and dreary desert, and every city is a ruinous heap. To complete the whole, the dolorous shrieks of Jerusalem, as of a woman in peculiar agony, break through the frightful gloom; and the appalled prophet pauses, leaving the reader to reflect on the dreadful effects of apostasy and idolatry, 23-31. A. M. cir. 3392. cir. annum 5. IF thou wilt return, O Israel, | sight, then shalt thou not re- A. M. cir. 3392. saith the LORD, return unto move. me and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my 2 b And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgChap. iii. 1, 22; Joel ii. 12.- Deut. x. 20; Isa. xlv. 23; lxv. 16; see chap. v. 2; Zech. viii. 8. NOTES ON CHAP. IV. Verse 1. Shalt thou not remove.] This was spoken before the Babylonish captivity; and here is a promise that if they will return from their idolatry, they shall not be, led into captivity, So, even that positively B. C. cir. 612. Ol. eir. XLII. 1. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 5., Isa. xlviii. 1. threatened judgment would have been averted had they returned to the Lord. Verse 2. Thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth] Thou shalt not bind thyself by any false god; thou shalt acknowledge ME as the Supreme. Bind thyself By me, The prophet reasons A. M. cir. 3392. Ol. cir. XLII. . ment, and in righteousness; and | way; he is gone forth from his R. Roman., in him, and in him shall they cir. annum 5. e ⚫ glory. 3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land cry, gather together, and say, i Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. thicket, 7 The lion is come up from his and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his 4 Gen. xx 18; Ps. Ixxii. 17; Gal. in. 8. Isa. xlv. 25; 1 Cor 1. 31-Hos. x. 13. Matt. xiii. 7, 22.- Deut. x. 16; xxx 6; chap. ix. 26; Col. ii. 11; Rom. ii. 28, 29. Chap, viti 14. — Or, strengthen.—Chap. i. 13, 14, 15; vi. 1.90 -Heb. breaking. late; and thy cities shall be laid A. M. cir. 3392. B. C. cir. 612. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 5. Chap. xxv. 9. Isa. xxii. 12; chap. vi. 26. Ezek. Chap. v. 12; xiv. 13.- Chap. Or, a fuller wind Heb. utter judgments. xiv. 9; 2 Thess. ii, 11. -3 W and ro me; and do this in truth, in judgment, and in all the people, who resisted his authority. He derighteousness. stroyed them all. The nations shall bless themselves in him] They Verse 8. Lament and howl] 'n heililu. The shall be so fully convinced of the power and good-aboriginal Irish had a funeral song called the Cavinian, ness of Jehovah in seeing the change wrought on thee, still continued among their descendants, one part of which and the mercies heaped upon thee, that their usual is termed the ulaloo: this is sung responsively or almode of benediction shall be, May the God of Israel ternately, and is accompanied with a full chorus of sighs Mess thee! and groans. It has been thought that Ireland was originally peopled by the Phoenicians: if so, this will account for the similarity of many words and customs among both these people. Vorme 3. Break up your fallow ground] Fallow ground is either that which, having been once tilled, han lain long uncultivated; or, ground slightly plough ed, in order to be ploughed again previously to its being Ve have been long uncultivated in righteousnews let true repentance Arvak up your fruitless and hardened hearts, and when the seed of the word of 475 is sown in them, take heed that worldly cares and compone do not arise, and, like thorns, choke the good Verse 9. The heart of the king shall perish] Shall lose all courage. Verse 10. Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people] The Targum paraphrases this verse thus: "And I said, Receive my supplication, O Lord God; for, behold, the false prophets deceive this people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Ye Toran 4. Cuvinte pensadows) Put away every shall have peace." The prophet could not reconcile thing that has a tendency to grieve the Spirit of God, ¦ this devastation of the country with the promises alor to render your present holy resolutions unfruitful. ready made; and he appears to ask the question, Hast Tetap a Now we the trumpet] Give full informa-thou not then deceived this people in saying there shall from to all parts of the land, that the people may aswould together and defend themselves against their My Adv Vored will bring evit from the north] From the band of Chaldea. 24. hom in comme p】 Nebuchadnezzar, 208 be peace, i. e., prosperity? Whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.] That is, the life; the people being generally destroyed. Verses 11-13. A dry wind—a full tind—as clouds as a whirlwind] All these expressions appear to refer to the pestilential winds, suffocating vapours, and clouds and pillars of sand collected by whirlwinds, which are so common and destructive in the east, (see on Isa. xxi. 1;) and these images are employed here |