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they had dared to set up these impostors against Jeremiah as well as other servants of God; for they had boasted greatly of these their false prophets whenever they sought to exult against God. How great was this presumption! When the false prophets had promised them security, they immediately triumphed in an insolent manner over Jeremiah, as though they were victorious. As, then, their wickedness and arrogance had been such against God, the Prophet justly retorts upon them, “Behold now as to your false prophets; for when they lately promised to you prosperity of every kind, I was inhumanly treated, and my calling was disdainfully repudiated by you; let now your false prophets come forward: be wise at length through your evils, and acknowledge what it is to have acted so haughtily against God and against his servants.” We now understand why the Prophet says, “They have seen for you vanity and insipidity.” He adds, they have not opened, or revealed, &c. The preposition l[, ol, is here redundant; the words are, “they have not revealed upon thine iniquity.” There is, indeed, a suitableness in the words in that language, that they had not applied their revelations to the iniquities of the people, for they would have been thus restored to the right way, and would have thus obviated the vengeance of God. Now, this passage ought to be carefully noticed: Jeremiah spoke of the fallacies of the false prophets, which he said were insipid: he now expresses how they had deceived the people, even because they disclosed not their iniquities. Let us then know that there is nothing more necessary than to be warned, that being conscious of our iniquities we may repent. And this was the chief benefit to be derived from the teaching of the prophets. For the other part, the foretelling of future things would have had but little effect had not the prophets preached respecting the vengeance of God, — had they not exhorted the people to repentance, — had they not bidden them by faith to embrace the mercy of God. Then Jeremiah in a manner detects the false doctrines of those who had corrupted the prophetic doctrine, by saying that they had not disclosed iniquities. Let us then learn by this mark how to distinguish between the faithful servants of God and impostors. For the Lord by his word summons us before his tribunal, and would have our iniquities discovered, that we may loathe ourselves, and thus open an entrance for mercy. But when what is brought before us only tickles our ears and feeds our curiosity, and, at the same time, buries all our iniquities, let us then know that the refined things which vastly please men are insipid and useless. Let, then, the doctrine of repentance be approved by us, the doctrine which leads us to God’s tribunal, so that being cast down in ourselves we may flee to his mercy. He afterwards adds, that they might turn back thy captivity; some prefer, “thy defection” — and this meaning is :not unsuitable; but the Prophet, I have no doubt, refers to punishment rather than to a crime. Then the captivity of the people would have been reversed had the people in time repented; for we obviate God’s wrath by repentance: “If we judge ourselves,” says Paul, “we shall not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31.) As, then, miserable men anticipate God’s judgment when they become judges of themselves, the Prophet does not without reason say that the false prophets had not disclosed their iniquities, so that they might remain quiet in their own country, and never be driven into exile. How so? for God would have been thus pacified, that is, had the people willingly turned to him, as it is said in Isaiah, “And be converted, and I should heal them.” (Isaiah 6:10.) Conversion, then, is said there to lead to healing; for as fire when fuel is withdrawn is extinguished, so also when we cease to sin fuel is not supplied to God’s wrath. We now, then, perceive the meaning of the Prophet; he, in short, intimates that people had been destroyed because they sought falsehoods, while the false prophets vainly flattered them; for they would have in due time escaped so great evils, had the prophets boldly exhorted the people to repentance. F41 He then adds, And they saw for thee prophecies of vanity and expulsions.
Though the word ta m, meshat, is often taken in a bad sense for a burden, that is, a hard prophecy which shews that God’s vengeance is nigh, yet it is doubtful whether the Prophet takes it now in this sense, since he speaks of prophecies which gave hope of impunity to the people; and these were not twa m, meshaut, that is, they were not grievous and dreadful prophecies. But when all things are well considered, it will be evident that Jeremiah did not without reason adopt this word; for he afterwards adds an explanation. The word, ha m, meshae, is indeed taken sometimes as meaning any kind of prophecy, but it properly means what is comminatory. But now, what does Jeremiah say? They saw for thee burdens which thou hast escaped. For to render odious the doctrine of the holy man, they called whatever he taught, according to a proverbial saying, a burden. Thus, then, they created a prejudice against the holy man by saying that all his prophecies contained nothing but terror and trouble. Now, by way of concession, the Prophet says, “They themselves have indeed been prophets to you, and they saw, but saw at length burdens.” While, then, the false prophets promised impunity to the people, they were flatterers, and no burden appeared, that is, no trouble; but these prophecies became at length much more grievous than all the threatenings with which Jeremiah had terrified them; and corresponding with this view is what immediately follows, expulsions. For the Prophet, I doubt not, shews here what fruit the vain flatteries by which the people had chosen to be deluded had produced: for hence it happened, that they had been expelled from their country and driven into exile. For if the reason was asked, why the people had been deprived of their own inheritance, the obvious answer would have been this, because they had chosen to be deceived, because they had hardened themselves in obstinacy by means of falsehoods and vain promises. Since, then, their exile was the fruit of false doctrine, Jeremiah says now that these impostors saw burdens of vanity, but which at length brought burdens; and then they saw, µyjwdm meduchim, F42 expulsions, even those things which had been the causes of expulsion or exile. PRAYER. Grant, Almighty God, that though thou chastisest us as we deserve, we may yet never have the light of truth extinguished among us, but may ever see, even in darkness, at least some sparks, which may enable us to behold thy paternal goodness and mercy, so that we may especially be humbled under thy mighty hand, and that being really prostrate through a deep feeling of repentance, we may raise our hopes to heaven, and never doubt but that thou wilt at length be reconciled to us when we seek thee in thine onlybegotten Son. — Amen. LECTURE SEVENTH. Lamentations 2:15 15. All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? 15. Plauserunt super te manibus suis (id est, comploserunt manus suas) omnes transcuntes per viam, sibilarunt, et moverunt caput suum super filia Jerusalem, An haec urbs de qua dixcrunt, perfecta decore, gaudium totius terrae? The Prophet here reminds the Jews of the miseries by which they had been already in an extreme measure afflicted, so that these words seem redundant and somewhat unkind; for unseasonable is reproof when one lies down, as it were, worn out with evils. As this was the condition of the
Page 1 and 2: Favorite Sermons RP Ministries Inc.
Page 3 and 4: and there, exposed to every contume
Page 5 and 6: Jerusalem, because all her friends
Page 7 and 8: hostes ejus feliciter egerunt (fuer
Page 9 and 10: omnium desiderabilium suorum quae f
Page 11 and 12: themselves to impiety. This is the
Page 13 and 14: noun is here put instead of an adve
Page 15 and 16: He says also, that they gave the mo
Page 17 and 18: common or human burning; because wh
Page 19 and 20: Jeremiah 51:33, that Babylon was li
Page 21 and 22: omnes populii, videte dolorem meum;
Page 23 and 24: the children of God differ greatly
Page 25 and 26: quemadmodum fecisti mihi super omni
Page 27 and 28: agree, that the Temple was the hous
Page 29 and 30: from him; but it was still a harder
Page 31 and 32: esolved to put an end to their obst
Page 33 and 34: eason why the Prophet enlarged so m
Page 35 and 36: vision from Jehovah. There is then
Page 37 and 38: forth, but in the same sense in whi
Page 39: whenever it may happen that we are
Page 43 and 44: Matthew says, that Christ opened hi
Page 45 and 46: aised up their horn. F46 By these w
Page 47 and 48: the face of Jehovah. For the unbeli
Page 49 and 50: declares; and the Prophet now menti
Page 51 and 52: well known, using only a pronoun. N
Page 53 and 54: Lamentations 3:7 7. He hath hedged
Page 55 and 56: of holy men, when they were pressed
Page 57 and 58: the sweetness of his goodness. He a
Page 59 and 60: 19. Remembering mine affliction and
Page 61 and 62: day; but he puts morning, and that
Page 63 and 64: to hope in God, when he says that h
Page 65 and 66: super se. Here he shews the fruit o
Page 67 and 68: Lamentations 3:31 31. For the Lord
Page 69 and 70: (Isaiah 1:24.) He calls them advers
Page 71 and 72: mouth of God.” As to the substanc
Page 73 and 74: this verb sometimes means to weary
Page 75 and 76: We now then understand the meaning
Page 77 and 78: so the Prophet now says that a clou
Page 79 and 80: sorrow by which the unbelieving are
Page 81 and 82: were, with a flood of evils. This s
Page 83 and 84: of what is said is, that God had be
Page 85 and 86: how the Prophet strengthens himself
Page 87 and 88: the precious gold! for µtk, catam,
Page 89 and 90: distressed people to relieve their
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against her.” But this is a force
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having been pierced through by the
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now, then, understand the design of
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their garments, because the law for
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The Prophet, then, considers now no
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19. Velociores fucrunt persequutore
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head of the people, and so constitu
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Idumeans; for we know that, shortly
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the initial letters of the verses a
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laboravimus non requies nobis. Here
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It may yet be said that children ar
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part for the whole; but that place,
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head: woe unto us, that we have sin
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together with the whole world; but
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the Prophet says, that if it please
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All her desirable things, Which wer
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thyself no rest, Let not the pupil
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2 The precious sons of Sion, Clothe
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often been threatened with banishme
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Become desolate are my sons, for th
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12. To their mothers would they say
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“stones” by the Syr. and the Ta
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has this meaning. It may be taken t
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Children asked bread, A breaker, no
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is the word rendered by Blayney and
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towards us.” For surely rejecting
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