The prophet prays to God, JEREMIAH. and complains of his enemies A: M. cir. 3400. and desperately wicked: who depart from me shall be written A. M. eir. 3400. B. C. cir. 604. Ol. XLIV. 1. can know it? I 8 Tarqumii Prisci, - R. Roman., 10 I the LORD search the cir. annum 13. heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, "shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be ▾ a fool. 12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. W 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that 1 Sam. xvi. 7; 1 Chron. xxviii. 9; Psa. vii. 9; cxxxix. 23, 24; Prov. xvii. 3; chap. xi. 20; xx. 12; Rom. viii. 27; Rev. ii. 23. Psa. Ixii. 12; chap. xxxii. 19; Rom. ii. 6. Or, gathereth young which she hath not brought forth.- Psa. lv, 23..————▾ Luke xii. 20. halleb, "the heart is supplanting-tortuous-full of windings-insidious;" lying ever at the catch; striving to avail itself of every favourable circumstance to gratify its propensities to pride, ambition, evil desire, and corruption of all kinds. And desperately wicked] veanush hu, and is wretched, or feeble; distressed beyond all things, in consequence of the wickedness that is in it. I am quite of Mr. Parkhurst's opinion, that this word is here badly translated, as N anash is never used in Scripture to denote wickedness of any kind. My old MS. Bible translates thus:-Schrewid is the herte of man; and unserchable: who schal knowen it ? a Who can know it?] It even hides itself from itself; so that its owner does not know it. A corrupt heart is the worst enemy the fallen creature can have; it is full of evil devices,—of deceit, of folly, and abomination; and its owner knows not what is in him till it boils over, and is often past remedy before the evil is perceived. Therefore, trust not in man, whose purposes are continually changing, and who is actuated only by motives of self-interest. Verse 10. I the Lord search the heart] The Lord is called by his apostles, Acts i. 24, Kagdroyvworns, the Knower of the heart. To him alone can this epithet be applied; and it is from him alone that we can derive that instruction by which we can in any measure know ourselves. Verse 11. As the partridge] kore. It is very likely that this was a bird different from our partridge. The text Dr. Blayney translates thus: (As) the koré that hatcheth what it doth not lay, "The covetous man," says Dahler, "who heaps up riches by unjust ways, is compared to a bird which hatches the eggs of other fowls. And as the young, when hatched, and able at all to shift for themselves, abandon her who is not their mother, and leave her nothing to compensate her trouble, so the covetous man loses those unjustly-gotten treasures, and the fruit of his labour." And at his end shall be a fool.] Shall be reputed as such. He was a fool all the way through; he lost his soul to get wealth, and this wealth he never enjoyed. To him also are applicable those strong words of the poet : O cursed lust of gold! when for thy sake who trusts in man, so he is blessed who trusts in GOD. Verse 12. A glorious high throne] As he is cursed He is here represented as on a throne in his temple; to him in the means of grace all should resort. He is the support, and a glorious support, of all them that trust in him. Verse 13. Written in the earth] They shall never come to true honour. Their names shall be written in the dust; and the first wind that blows over it shall mar every letter, and render it illegible. Verse 14. Heal me—and I shall be healed] That is, I shall be thoroughly healed, and effectually saved, if thou undertake for me. of salvation belongs to thee alone. Thou art my praise.] The whole glory of the work Verse 15. Where is the word of the Lord?] Where is the accomplishment of his threatenings? Thou hast said that the city and the temple should both be dethey did take place, and every tittle of the menace was stroyed. No such events have yet taken place. But strictly fulfilled. Verse 16. I have not hastened from being a pastor] Dr. Blayney translates thus: "But I have not been in haste to outrun thy guidance." I was obliged to utter thy prediction; but I have not hastened the evil day. For the credit of my prophecy I have not desired the calamity to come speedily; I have rather pleaded for respite. I have followed thy steps, and proclaimed thy truth. I did not desire to be a prophet; but thou hast commanded, and I obeyed. Do not com Verse 17. Be not a terror unto me] mand me to predict miseries, and abandon me to them and to my enemies. A. M. cir. 3393. B. C. cir. 611. pass, if B. C. cir. 611. Ol. cir. XLII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., eir annum 6. 24 And it shall come to ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; 25 Then shall there enter into the gates of 19 Thus saith the LORD, unto this city kings and princes sitting upon the Ol. cir. XLII. 2. -me; Go and stand in the gate of throne of David, riding in chariots and on Tarquinii Prisci, cir. annum 6. R. Roman, the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; (Psa. xxxv. 4; xl. 14; lxx. 2.- Psa. xxv. 2.break them with a double breach. Chap. xi. 20.3; xxii. 2. Num. xv. 32, &c,; Neh, xiii, 19. 8; xxiii. 12; xxxj. 13; Ezek. xx, 12. Verse 18. Let them be confounded] They shall be confounded. These words are to be understood as simple predictions, rather than prayers. I Verse 19. The gate of the children of the people] suppose the most public gate, is meant; that through which there was the greatest thoroughfare. Verse 20. Ye kings of Judah, and all Judah] This last clause is wanting in eight of Kennicott's and. Rossi's MSS., in the Arabic, and some copied. De Septuagint. Verse 21. Take heed to yourselves and bear no burden] From this and the following verses we find the ruin of the Jews attributed to the breach of the Sabbath; as this led to a neglect of sacrifice, the or horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. 27. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle. a fire in the gates thereof," and it shall devour. the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Chap. xxxii. Chap. vii. 24, 26; xi. 10.—9 Chap. xxii. 4. 44; xxxiii. 13. - Zech. vii. 7.-Zech. vii. 7. 22; cxvi. 17. Chap. xxi. 14; xlix. 27; Lam. iv. 11; Amos i. 4, 7, 10, 12; ii. 2, 5.2 Kings xxv. 9; chap. lii. 13. dinances of religion, and all public worship, so it necessarily brought with it all immorality. This breach of the Sabbath was that which let in upon them all the waters of God's wrath. Verse 24. If ye diligently hearken unto me]. So we find that though their destruction was positively threatened, yet still there was an unexpressed proviso that, if they did return to the Lord, the calamities should be averted, and a succession of princes would have been continued on the throne of David, ver. 25, 26. CHAPTER XVIII. The type of the potter's vessel, and its signification, 1-10. The inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem exhorted to repentance, 11; but on their refusal, (which is represented to be as unnatural as if a man should prefer the snowy Lebanon or barren rock to a fruitful plain, or other waters to the cool stream of the fountain,) their destruction is predicted, 12-17. In consequence of these plain reproofs and warnings of Jeremiah, a conspiracy is formed against him, 18. This leads him to appeal to God for his integrity, 19, 20; who puts a most dreadful curse in the mouth of his prophet, strongly indicative of the terrible fate of his enemies, 21-23. Parable of the marred A. M. cir. 3396. JEREMIAH. THE word which came to saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the a wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Or, frames or seats.- -b Or, that he made was marred, as clay in the hand of the potter.- - Heb. returned and made. NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII. Verse 1. The word which came to Jeremiah] This discourse is supposed to have been delivered some time in the reign of Jehoiakim, probably within the first three years. Verse 2. Go down to the potter's house] By this similitude God shows the absolute state of dependence on himself in which he has placed mankind. They are as clay in the hands of the potter; and in reference to every thing here below, he can shape their destinies as he pleases. Again; though while under the providential care of God they may go morally astray, and pervert themselves, yet they can be reclaimed by the almighty and all-wise Operator, and become such vessels as seemeth good for him to make. In considering this parable we must take heed that in running parallels we do not destroy the free agency of man, nor disgrace the goodness and supremacy of God. Verse 3. He wrought a work on the wheels.] by D' al haabnayim, upon the stones, the potter's wheel being usually made of such; the spindle of the moving stone being placed on a stone below, on which it turned, and supported the stone above, on which the vessel was manufactured, and which alone had a rotatory motion. The potter's wheel in the present day seems to differ very little from that which was in use between two and three thousand years ago. vessel of the potter. 5 Then the word of the LORD A. M. cir. 3396. came to me, saying, B. C. cir. 608. Ol. XLIII. 1. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 9. 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak. concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to f pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. dlsa. xlv. 9; Wisd. xv. 7; Rom. ix. 20, 21.Chap. i. 10.- Ezek. xviii. 21; xxxii. 11. Jonah iii. 10. Isa. Ixi. 8. Chap. xxvi. 3; not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" To this every sensible and pious man will answer, Undoubtedly he has. But would any potter make an exceedingly fair and good vessel on purpose to dash it to pieces when he had done? Surely no! And would, or could, the God of infinite perfection and love make, millions of immortal souls on purpose for eternal perdition, as the horrible decree of reprobation states? No! This is a lie against all the attributes of God. But does not the text state that he can, out of the same lump, the same mass of human nature, make one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour? Yes. But the text does not say, what the horrible decree says, that he makes one part, and indeed the greater, for eternal ́ perdition. But what then is the meaning of the text? Why evidently this: As out of the same mass of clay a potter may make a flagon for the table and a certain utensil for the chamber, the one for a more honourable, the other for a less honourable use, though both equally necessary to the owner; so God, out of the same flesh and blood, may make the tiller of the field and the prophet of the Most High; the one in a more honourable, the other in a less honourable employ; yet both equally necessary in the world, and equally capable of bringing glory to God in their respective places. But if the vessel be marred in his hand, under his providential and gracious deal Verse 4. The vessel was marred in the hands of the potter] It did not stand in the working; it got outings, he may reject it as he did the Jews; and make of shape; or some gravel or small stone having been incorporated with the mass of clay, made a breach in that part where it was found, so that the potter was obliged to knead up the clay afresh, place it on the wheel, and form it anew; and then it was such a vessel as seemed good to the potter to make it. Verse 6. Cannot I do with you as this potter?] Have I not a right to do with a people whom I have created as reason and justice may require? If they do not answer my intentions, may I not reject and destroy them; and act as this potter, make a new vessel out of that which at first did not succeed in his hands? It is generally supposed that St. Paul has made a very different use of this similitude from that mentioned above. See Rom. ix. 20, &c. His words are, "Hath another vessel, such as he is pleased with, of the Gentiles; yet even these marred vessels, the reprobate Jews, are not finally rejected; for all Israel shall be saved in (through) the Lord, i. e., Jesus Christ. And should the Gentiles act as the Jews have done, then they also shall be cut off, and God will call his Church by another name. See on Rom. ix. 22, and below. Verses 7-10. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, &c.—If that nation, against whom, &e. And at what instant, &e.-If it do evil, &c.] These verses contain what may be called God's decree by which the whole of his conduct towards man is regulated. If he purpose destruction against an offending person, if that person repent and turn to God, he shall live and not die. Plots are laid for A. M. cir. 3396. Ol. XLIII. 1. 9 And at what instant I shall 17 I will scatter them "as with A. M. cir. 3396. speak concerning a nation, and an east wind before the enemy; 10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. 11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you return ye now, every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. 12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 13 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. 14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? 15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to P vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; 16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. 12 Kings xxvii. 13; chap. vii. 3; xxv. 5; xxvi. 13; xxxv. 15. * Chap. ii. 25. Chap. ii. 10; 1 Cor. v. 1.- Chap. v. 30. Or, my fields for a rock, or for the snow of Lebanon? shall the running waters be forsaken for the strange cold waters?-o Chap. ii. 13, 32; iii. 21; xiii. 25; xvii. 13.-P Chap. x. 15; xvi. 19. Chap. vi. 16.- Chap. xix, 8; xlix. 13; 1. 13. If he purpose peace and salvation, to him that walketh uprightly, if he turn from God to the world and sin, he shall die and not live. Verse 12. There is no hope] See chap. ii. 25. Verse 13. The virgin of Israel] Instead of Yisrael, three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., with the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint, have Do Yerushalem, Jerusalem. Verse 14. Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon] Lebanon was the highest mountain in Judea. Would any man in his senses abandon a farm that was always watered by the melted snows of Lebanon, and take a barren rock in its place? How stupid therefore and absurd are my people, who abandon the everlasting God for the worship of idols! W B. C. cir. 608. OI. XLIII. 1. Tarquinii Prisci; R. Roman., eir. annum 9. 18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. a 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Res member that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. b C 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger: $1 Kings ix. 8; Lam. ii. 15; Mic. vi. 16.- Chap. xiii. 24. Psa. xlviii. 7.- - See chap. ii. 27.- -w Chap. xi. 19. -x Lev. x. 11; Mal. ii. 7; John vii. 48, 49. -y Or, for the tongue. Psa. cix. 4, 5.a Psa. xxxv. 7; lvii. 6; ver. 22. Psa. cix. 9, 10.- Heb. pour them out.d Ver. 20.e Heb. for death. f Psa. xxxv. 4: cix. 14; chap. xi. 20; xv. 15. "When the wind blows from the east, 'Tis good for neither man nor beast." Verse 18. Come, and let us devise devices] Let us form a conspiracy against him, accuse him of being a false prophet, and a contradicter of the words of God, for God has promised us protection, and he says we shall be destroyed, and that God will forsake his people. Let us smite him with the tongue] ON the tongue; so it should be rendered. Lying and false testimony are punished in the eastern countries, to the present Verse 16. A perpetual hissing) mp sherikoth, a day, by smiting the person on the mouth with a strong shrieking, hissing; an expression of contempt. piece of leather like the sole of a shoe. Sometimes By the significant type of breaking a potter's vessel, Jeremiah is directed to predict the utter desolation of Judah and Jerusalem, 1–15. The prophets taught frequently by symbolic actions as well as by words. 4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; 5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burntofferings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind : a Josh. xv. 8; 2 Kings xxiii. 10; chap. vii. 31. Heb. the sun gate.- -C Chap. xvii. 20.1 Sam. iii. 11; 2 Kings xxi. 12. -e Deut. xxviii. 20; Isa. Ixv. 11; chap. ii. 13, 17, 19; xv. 6; xvii. 13.———s2 Kings xxi. 16; chap. ii. 34.——g Chap. vii. 31, 32; xxxii. 35. NOTES ON CHAP. XIX. Verse 1. Go and get a potter's earthen bottle] This discourse was also delivered some time in the reign of Jehoiakim. Under the type of breaking a potter's earthen bottle or jug, Jeremiah shows his enemies that the word of the Lord should stand, that Jerusalem should be taken and sacked, and they all carried into captivity. Ancients of the priests] The chiefs of the twentyfour classes which David had established. See 1 Chron. xxiv. 4. B. C. cir. 607. OI. XLIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman, cir. annum 10. 6 Therefore, behold, the days A. M. cir. 3397 come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor i The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcasses will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 1 8 And I will make this city m desolate, and a hissing every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. 9 And I will cause them to eat the "flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. my temple to a widely different purpose from that for which it was erected. Verse 5. Offerings unto Baal] A general name for all the popular idols; Baal, Moloch, Ashtaroth, &c. Verse 7. I will make void the counsel of Judah] Probably this refers to some determination made to proclaim themselves independent, and pay no more tribute to the Chaldeans. To be meat for the fowls] See on chap. vii. 33. Verse 9. I will cause them to eat the flesh of their Verse 4. Estranged this place] Ye have devoted sons] This was literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was 306 ( 20*) |