mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 11.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xii" n="xii" next="Jer.xiii" prev="Jer.xi" progress="32.25%" title="Chapter XI">
<h2 id="Jer.xii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xii-p0.2">CHAP. XI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xii-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter, I. God by the prophet puts the
people in mind of the covenant he had made with their fathers, and
how much he had insisted upon it, as the condition of the covenant,
that they should be obedient to him, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.1-Jer.11.7" parsed="|Jer|11|1|11|7" passage="Jer 11:1-7">ver. 1-7</scripRef>. II. He charges it upon them that
they, in succession to their fathers, and in confederacy among
themselves, had obstinately refused to obey him, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.8-Jer.11.10" parsed="|Jer|11|8|11|10" passage="Jer 11:8-10">ver. 8-10</scripRef>. III. He threatens to punish
them with utter ruin for their disobedience, especially for their
idolatry (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.11 Bible:Jer.11.13" parsed="|Jer|11|11|0|0;|Jer|11|13|0|0" passage="Jer 11:11,13">ver. 11, 13</scripRef>),
and tells them that their idols should not save them (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.12" parsed="|Jer|11|12|0|0" passage="Jer 11:12">ver. 12</scripRef>), that their prophets should
not pray for them (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.14" parsed="|Jer|11|14|0|0" passage="Jer 11:14">ver.
14</scripRef>); he also justifies his proceedings herein, they
having brought all this mischief upon themselves by their own folly
and wilfulness, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.15-Jer.11.17" parsed="|Jer|11|15|11|17" passage="Jer 11:15-17">ver.
15-17</scripRef>. IV. Here is an account of a conspiracy formed
against Jeremiah by his fellow-citizens, the men of Anathoth; God's
discovery of it to him (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.18-Jer.11.19" parsed="|Jer|11|18|11|19" passage="Jer 11:18,19">ver. 18,
19</scripRef>), his prayer against them (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.20" parsed="|Jer|11|20|0|0" passage="Jer 11:20">ver. 20</scripRef>), and a prediction of God's
judgments upon them for it, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.21-Jer.11.23" parsed="|Jer|11|21|11|23" passage="Jer 11:21-23">ver.
21-23</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11" parsed="|Jer|11|0|0|0" passage="Jer 11" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xii-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.1-Jer.11.10" parsed="|Jer|11|1|11|10" passage="Jer 11:1-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xii-p1.12">
<h4 id="Jer.xii-p1.13">Charges against Judah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p1.14">b. c.</span> 606.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p2.1">Lord</span>, saying,   2 Hear ye the words
of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem;   3 And say thou unto them, Thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p2.2">Lord</span> God of Israel; Cursed
<i>be</i> the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
  4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day <i>that</i> I
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,
saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I
command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
  5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your
fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as <i>it
is</i> this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p2.3">O Lord</span>.   6 Then the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p2.4">Lord</span> said unto me, Proclaim all these words in
the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear
ye the words of this covenant, and do them.   7 For I
earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day <i>that</i> I
brought them up out of the land of Egypt, <i>even</i> unto this
day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.   8
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one
in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon
them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded <i>them</i>
to do; but they did <i>them</i> not.   9 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p2.5">Lord</span> said unto me, A conspiracy is found among
the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.   10
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which
refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve
them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my
covenant which I made with their fathers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p3" shownumber="no">The prophet here, as prosecutor in God's
name, draws up an indictment against the Jews for wilful
disobedience to the commands of their rightful Sovereign. For the
more solemn management of this charge,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p4" shownumber="no">I. He produces the commission he had to
draw up the charge against them. He did not take pleasure in
accusing the children of his people, but God commanded him to
<i>speak it to the men of Judah,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.1-Jer.11.2" parsed="|Jer|11|1|11|2" passage="Jer 11:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>. In the original it is
plural: <i>Speak you this.</i> For what he said to Jeremiah was the
same that he gave in charge to all his servants the prophets. They
none of them said any other than what Moses, in the law, had said;
to that therefore they must refer themselves, and direct the
people: "<i>Hear the words of this covenant;</i> turn to your
Bibles, be judged by them." Jeremiah must now proclaim this in the
cities <i>of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,</i> that all may
hear, for all are concerned. All the words of reproof and
conviction which the prophets spoke were grounded upon the <i>words
of the covenant,</i> and agreed with that; and therefore "<i>hear
these words,</i> and understand by them upon what terms you stood
with God at first; and then, by comparing yourselves with the
covenant, you will soon be aware upon what terms you now stand with
him."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p5" shownumber="no">II. He opens the charter upon which their
state was founded and by which they held their privileges. They had
forgotten the tenour of it, and lived as if they thought that the
grant was absolute and that they might do what they pleased and yet
have what God had promised, or as if they thought that the keeping
up of the ceremonial observances was all that God required of them.
He therefore shows them, with all possible plainness, that the
thing God insisted upon was <i>obedience,</i> which was <i>better
than sacrifice.</i> He said, <i>Obey my voice,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.4" parsed="|Jer|11|4|0|0" passage="Jer 11:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef> and again <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.7" parsed="|Jer|11|7|0|0" passage="Jer 11:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. "Own God for your
Master; give up yourselves to him as his subjects and servants;
attend to all the declarations of his mind and will, and make
conscience of complying with them. <i>Do my commandments,</i> not
only in some things, but <i>according to all which I command
you;</i> make conscience of moral duties especially, and rest not
in those that are merely ritual; hear the words of the covenant,
and do them." 1. This was the original contract between God and
them, when he first formed them into a people. It was what he
<i>commanded their fathers</i> when he first <i>brought them forth
out of the land of Egypt,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.4 Bible:Jer.11.7" parsed="|Jer|11|4|0|0;|Jer|11|7|0|0" passage="Jer 11:4,7"><i>v.</i> 4 and <i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. He never
intended to take them under his guidance and protection upon any
other terms. This was what he required from them in gratitude for
the great things he did for them when he brought them <i>from the
iron furnace.</i> He redeemed them out of the service of the
Egyptians, which was perfect slavery, that he might take them into
his own service, which is perfect freedom, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.74-Luke.1.75" parsed="|Luke|1|74|1|75" passage="Lu 1:74,75">Luke i. 74, 75</scripRef>. 2. This was not only laid
before them then, but it was with the greatest importunity
imaginable pressed upon them, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.7" parsed="|Jer|11|7|0|0" passage="Jer 11:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. God not only commanded it, but
<i>earnestly protested it to their fathers,</i> when he brought
them into covenant with himself. Moses inculcated it again and
again, by precept upon precept and line upon line. 3. This was made
the condition of the relation between them and God, which was so much
their honour and privilege: "<i>So shall you be my people and I
will be your God;</i> I will own you for mine, and you may call
upon me as yours;" this intimates that, if they refused to obey,
they could no longer claim the benefit of the relation. 4. It was
upon these terms that the land of Canaan was given them for a
possession: <i>Obey my voice, that I may perform the oath sworn to
your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.5" parsed="|Jer|11|5|0|0" passage="Jer 11:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. God was ready
to fulfil the promise, but then they must fulfil the condition; if
not, the promise is void, and it is just with God to turn them out
of possession. Being brought in upon their good behaviour, they had
no wrong done them if they were turned out upon their ill
behaviour. Obedience was the rent reserved by the lease, with a
power to re-enter for non-payment. 5. This obedience was not only
made a condition of the blessing, but was required under the
penalty of a curse. This is mentioned first here (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.3" parsed="|Jer|11|3|0|0" passage="Jer 11:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), that they might, if
possible, be awakened by the terrors of the Lord: <i>Cursed be the
man,</i> though it were but a single person, <i>that obeys not the
words of this covenant,</i> much more when it is the body of the
nation that rebels. There are curses of the covenant as well as
blessings: and Moses set before them not only <i>life and good,</i>
but <i>death and evil</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.15" parsed="|Deut|30|15|0|0" passage="De 30:15">Deut. xxx.
15</scripRef>), so that they had fair warning given them of the
fatal consequences of disobedience. 6. Lest this covenant should be
forgotten, and, because out of mind, should be thought out of date,
God had from time to time called to them to remember it, and by his
servants the prophets had made a continual claim of this rent, so
that they could not plead, in excuse of their non-payment, that it
had never been demanded; <i>from the day when he brought them out
of Egypt to this day</i> (and that was nearly 1000 years) he had
been, in one way or other, <i>at sundry times and in divers
manners,</i> protesting to them the necessity of obedience. God
keeps an account how long we have enjoyed the means of grace and
how powerful those means have been, how often we have been not only
spoken to, but protested to, concerning our duty. 7. This covenant
was consented to (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.5" parsed="|Jer|11|5|0|0" passage="Jer 11:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord!</i>
These are the words of the prophet, expressing either, (1.) His own
consent to the covenant for himself, and his desire to have the
benefit of it. God promised Canaan to the obedient: "Lord," says
he, "I take thee at thy word, I will be obedient; let me have my
inheritance in the land of promise, of which Canaan is a type." Or,
(2.) His good will, and good wish, that his people might have the
benefit of it. "<i>Amen;</i> Lord, let them still be kept in
possession of this good land, and not turned out of it; make good
the promise to them." Or, (3.) His people's consent to the
covenant: "<i>Then answered I,</i> in the name of the people, <i>So
be it.</i>" Taking it in this sense, it refers to the declared
consent which the people gave to the covenant, not only to the
precepts of it when they said, <i>All that the Lord shall say unto
us we will do and will be obedient,</i> but to the penalties when
they said <i>Amen</i> to all the curses upon Mount Ebal. The more
solemnly we have engaged ourselves to God the more reason we have
to hope that the engagement will be perpetual; and yet here it did
not prove so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p6" shownumber="no">III. He charges them with breach of
covenant, such a breach as amounted to a forfeiture of their
charter, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.8" parsed="|Jer|11|8|0|0" passage="Jer 11:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. God
had said again and again, by his law and by his prophets, "<i>Obey
my voice,</i> do as you are bidden, and all shall be well;" <i>yet
they obeyed not;</i> and, because they were resolved not to submit
their souls to God's commandments, they would not so much as
incline their ears to them, but got as far as they could out of
call: <i>They walked every one in the imagination of their evil
heart,</i> followed their own inventions; every man did as his
fancy and humour led him, right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, both
in their devotions and in their conversations; see <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.7.24" parsed="|Jer|7|24|0|0" passage="Jer 7:24"><i>ch.</i> vii. 24</scripRef>. What then could
they expect, but to fall under the curse of the covenant, since
they would not comply with the commands and conditions of it?
<i>Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this
covenant,</i> that is, all the threatenings contained in it,
because <i>they did not what they were commanded.</i> Note, The
words of the covenant shall not fall to the ground. If we do not by
our obedience qualify ourselves for the blessings of it, we shall
by our disobedience bring ourselves under the curses of it. That
which aggravated their defection from God, and rebellion against
him, was that it was general, and as it were <i>by consent,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.9-Jer.11.10" parsed="|Jer|11|9|11|10" passage="Jer 11:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9, 10</scripRef>.
Jeremiah himself saw that many lived in open disobedience to God,
but the Lord told him that the matter was worse than he thought of:
<i>A conspiracy is found among them,</i> by him whose eye is upon
the hidden works of darkness. There is a combination against God
and religion, a dangerous design formed to overthrow God's
government and bring in the pretenders, the counterfeit deities.
This intimates that they were wilful and deliberate in wickedness
(they rebelled against God, not through incogitancy, but
presumptuously, and with a high hand),—that they were subtle and
ingenious in wickedness, and carried on their plot against religion
with a great deal of art and contrivance,—that they were linked
together in the design, and, as is usual among conspirators,
engaged to stand by one another in it and to live and die together;
they were resolved to go through with it. A cursed conspiracy! O
that there were not the like in our day! Observe, 1. What the
conspiracy was. They designed to overthrow divine revelation, and
set that aside, and persuade people not to hear, not to heed, the
words of God. They did all they could to derogate from the
authority of the scriptures and to lessen the value of them; they
designed to draw people <i>after other gods to serve them,</i> to
consult them as their oracles and make court to them as their
benefactors. Human reason shall be their god, a light within their
god, an infallible judge their god, saints and angels their gods,
the god of this or the other nation shall be theirs; thus, under
several disguises, they are in the same confederacy <i>against the
Lord and against his anointed.</i> 2. Who were in conspiracy. One
would have expected find some foreigners ring-leaders in it; but
no, (1.) <i>The inhabitants of Jerusalem</i> are in conspiracy with
<i>the men of Judah;</i> city and country agree in this, however
they may differ in other things. (2.) Those of this generation seem
to be in conspiracy with those of the foregoing generation, to
carry on the war from age to age against religion: <i>They are
turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers,</i> and have
risen up in their stead, <i>a seed of evil-doers,</i> and
<i>increase of sinful men,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.32.14" parsed="|Num|32|14|0|0" passage="Nu 32:14">Num.
xxxii. 14</scripRef>. In Josiah's time there had been a
reformation, but after this death the people returned to the
idolatries which then they had renounced. (3.) Judah and Israel,
the kingdom of the ten tribes and that of the two, that were often
at daggers—drawing one with another, were yet <i>in a conspiracy
to break the covenant God had made with their fathers,</i> even
with the heads of all the twelve tribes. The house of Israel began
the revolt, but the house of Judah soon came into the conspiracy.
Now what else could be expected but that god should take severe
methods, both for the chastising of the conspirators and the
crushing of this conspiracy; for none ever hardened his heart thus
against God and prospered? He that rolls this stone will find it
return upon him.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.11-Jer.11.17" parsed="|Jer|11|11|11|17" passage="Jer 11:11-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xii-p6.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xii-p6.7">Deplorable Condition of
Judah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p6.8">b. c.</span> 606.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xii-p7" shownumber="no">11 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p7.1">Lord</span>, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which
they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto
me, I will not hearken unto them.   12 Then shall the cities
of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods
unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all
in the time of their trouble.   13 For <i>according to</i> the
number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and <i>according
to</i> the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars
to <i>that</i> shameful thing, <i>even</i> altars to burn incense
unto Baal.   14 Therefore pray not thou for this people,
neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear
<i>them</i> in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
  15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, <i>seeing</i>
she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed
from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.   16 The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p7.2">Lord</span> called thy name, A green olive
tree, fair, <i>and</i> of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great
tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are
broken.   17 For the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p7.3">Lord</span> of
hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for
the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which
they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in
offering incense unto Baal.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p8" shownumber="no">This paragraph, which contains so much of
God's wrath, might very well be expected to follow upon that which
goes next before, which contained so much of his people's sin. When
God found so much evil among them we cannot think it strange if it
follows, <i>Therefore I will bring evil upon them</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.11" parsed="|Jer|11|11|0|0" passage="Jer 11:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), the evil of
punishment for the evil of sin; and there is no remedy, no relief:
the decree has gone forth and the sentence will be executed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p9" shownumber="no">I. They cannot help themselves, but will be
found too weak to contest with God's judgments: it is <i>evil which
they shall not be able to escape,</i> or to <i>go forth out of,</i>
by any evasion whatsoever. Note, Those that will not submit to
God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath. There is no
fleeing from his justice, no avoiding his cognizance. Evil pursues
sinners and entangles them in snares out of which they cannot
extricate themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p10" shownumber="no">II. Their God will not help them; his
providence shall no way favour them: <i>Though they shall cry unto
me, I will not hearken to them.</i> In their affliction they will
seek the God whom before they slighted, and cry to him whom before
they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But how can they expect to
speed? For he has plainly told us that he that <i>turns away his
ears from hearing the law,</i> as they did, for they <i>inclined
not their ear</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.8" parsed="|Jer|11|8|0|0" passage="Jer 11:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), even his prayer shall be an abomination to him, as
the word of the Lord was now to them a reproach.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p11" shownumber="no">III. Their idols shall not help them,
<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.12" parsed="|Jer|11|12|0|0" passage="Jer 11:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. They shall
<i>go, and cry to the gods to whom they</i> now <i>offer
incense,</i> and put them in mind of the costly services wherewith
they had honoured them, expecting they should now have relief from
them, but in vain. They shall be sent to the <i>gods whom they
served</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.10.14 Bible:Deut.32.37-Deut.32.38" parsed="|Judg|10|14|0|0;|Deut|32|37|32|38" passage="Jdg 10:14,De 32:37,38">Judg. x. 14;
Deut. xxxii. 37, 38</scripRef>), and what the better? <i>They shall
not save them at all,</i> shall do nothing towards their salvation,
nor give them any prospect of it; they shall not afford them the
least comfort, nor relief, nor mitigation of their trouble. It is
God only that is a friend at need, <i>a present</i> powerful
<i>help in time of trouble.</i> The idols cannot help themselves;
how then should they help their worshippers? Those that make idols
of the world and the flesh will in vain have recourse to them in a
day of distress. If the idols could have done any real kindness to
their worshippers, they would have done it for this people, who had
renounced the true God to embrace them, had multiplied them
<i>according to the number of their cities</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.13" parsed="|Jer|11|13|0|0" passage="Jer 11:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), nay, in Jerusalem,
<i>according to the number of their streets.</i> Suspecting both
their sufficiency and their readiness to help them, they must have
many, lest a few would not serve; they must have them dispersed in
every corner, lest they should be out of the way when they had
occasion for them. In <i>Jerusalem,</i> the city which God had
chosen to put his name there, publicly in the streets of Jerusalem,
in every street, they had <i>altars to that shameful thing,</i>
that <i>shame,</i> even to Baal, which they ought to have been
ashamed of, with which they did reproach the Lord and bring
confusion upon themselves. But now in their distress their many
gods, and many altars, should stand them in stead. Note, Those that
will not be ashamed of their commission of sin as a wicked thing
will be ashamed of their expectations from sin as a fruitless
thing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p12" shownumber="no">IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them,
<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.14" parsed="|Jer|11|14|0|0" passage="Jer 11:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. What God had
said to him before (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.7.16" parsed="|Jer|7|16|0|0" passage="Jer 7:16"><i>ch.</i> vii.
16</scripRef>) he here says again, <i>Pray not thou for this
people.</i> This is not designed for a command to the prophet, so
much as for a threatening to the people, that they should have no
benefit by the prayers of their friends for them. God would give no
encouragement to the prophets to pray for them, would not stir up
the spirit of prayer, but cast a damp upon it, would put it into
their hearts to pray, not for the body of the people, but for the
remnant among them, to pray for their eternal salvation, not for
their deliverance from the temporal judgments that were coming upon
them; and what other prayers were put up for them should not be
heard. Those are in a sad case indeed that are cut off from the
benefit of prayer. "<i>I will not hear them when they cry,</i> and
therefore to not thou pray for them." Note, Those that have so far
thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their
prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p13" shownumber="no">V. The profession they make of religion
shall stand them in no stead, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.15" parsed="|Jer|11|15|0|0" passage="Jer 11:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. They were originally God's
<i>beloved,</i> his spouse, he was married to them by the covenant
of peculiarity; even the unbelieving Jews are said to be <i>beloved
for the fathers' sake,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.28" parsed="|Rom|11|28|0|0" passage="Ro 11:28">Rom. xi.
28</scripRef>. As such they had a place <i>in God's house;</i> they
were admitted to worship in the courts of his temple; they partook
of God's altar; they ate of the flesh of their peace-offerings here
called the <i>holy flesh,</i> which God had the honour of and they
had the comfort of. This they gloried in, and trusted to. What harm
could come to those who were God's beloved, who were under the
protection of his house? Even when they <i>did evil</i> yet <i>they
rejoiced</i> and gloried in this, made a mighty noise of this. And
<i>when their evil was</i> (so the margin reads it), when trouble
came upon them, <i>they rejoiced in this,</i> and made this their
confidence; but their confidence would deceive them, for God has
rejected it, they themselves having forfeited the privileges they
so much boasted of. They have <i>wrought lewdness with many,</i>
have been guilty of spiritual whoredom, have worshipped many idols;
and therefore, 1. God's temple will <i>yield them no
protection;</i> it is fit that the adulteress, especially when she
has so often repeated her whoredoms and has grown so impudent in
them and irreclaimable, should be <i>put away,</i> and turned out
of doors: "<i>What has my beloved to do in my house?</i> She is a
scandal to it, and therefore it shall no longer be a shelter to
her." 2. God's altar will yield them no satisfaction, nor can they
expect any comfort from that: "<i>The holy flesh has passed from
thee,</i> that is, an end will soon be put to thy sacrifices, when
the temple shall be laid in ruins; and where then will the holy
flesh be, that thou art so proud of?" A holy heart will be a
comfort to us when the holy flesh has passed from us; an inward
principle of grace will make up the want of the outward means of
grace. But woe unto us if the departure of the holy flesh be
accompanied with the departure of the Holy Spirit.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p14" shownumber="no">VI. God's former favours to them shall
stand them in no stead, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.16-Jer.11.17" parsed="|Jer|11|16|11|17" passage="Jer 11:16,17"><i>v.</i>
16, 17</scripRef>. Their remembrance of them shall be no comfort to
them under their troubles, and God's remembrance of them shall be
no argument for their relief. 1. It is true God had done great
things for them; that people had been favourites above any people
under the sun; they had been the darlings of heaven. God had
<i>called Israel's name a green olive-tree,</i> and had made them
so, for he miscalls nothing; he had <i>planted</i> them (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.17" parsed="|Jer|11|17|0|0" passage="Jer 11:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), had formed them into
a people, with all the advantages they could have to make them a
fruitful and flourishing people, so good was their law and so good
was their land. One would think no other than that a people so
planted, so watered, so cultivated, should be, as the olive-tree
is, ever green, in respect both of piety and prosperity, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.52.8" parsed="|Ps|52|8|0|0" passage="Ps 52:8">Ps. lii. 8</scripRef>. God called them <i>fair
and of goodly fruit,</i> both good for food and pleasant to the
eye, both amiable and serviceable to God and man, for which the
greenness and fatness of the olive both are honoured, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.9.9" parsed="|Judg|9|9|0|0" passage="Jdg 9:9">Judg. ix. 9</scripRef>. 2. It is as true that
they have done evil things against God. He had planted them a green
olive, a good olive, but they had degenerated into a <i>wild
olive,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.17" parsed="|Rom|11|17|0|0" passage="Ro 11:17">Rom. xi. 17</scripRef>.
Both <i>the house of Israel</i> and the <i>house of Judah</i> had
<i>done evil,</i> had <i>provoked God to anger in burning incense
unto Baal,</i> setting up other mediators between them and the
supreme God besides the promised Messiah; nay, setting up other
gods in competition with the true and living God, for they had
<i>gods many,</i> as well as <i>lords many.</i> 3. When they have
conducted themselves so ill they can expect no other than that,
notwithstanding what good he has done to them and designed for
them, he should now bring upon them the evil he has <i>pronounced
against them.</i> He that planted this green olive-tree, and
expected fruit from it, finding it barren and grown wild, <i>has
kindled fire upon it,</i> to burn it as it stands; for, being
without fruit, it is <i>twice dead, plucked up by the roots</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Jude.1.12" parsed="|Jude|1|12|0|0" passage="Jude 1:12">Jude 12</scripRef>), it is <i>cut
down and cast into the fire,</i> the fittest place for trees that
cumber the ground, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.10" parsed="|Matt|3|10|0|0" passage="Mt 3:10">Matt. iii.
10</scripRef>. The <i>branches of it,</i> the <i>high and lofty
boughs</i> (so the word signifies), are <i>broken</i> are <i>broken
down,</i> both princes and priests cut off. And thus it proves that
the evil done against God, to <i>provoke him to anger,</i> is
really done <i>against themselves;</i> they <i>wrong their own
souls;</i> God is out of their reach, but they ruin themselves. See
<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.7.19" parsed="|Jer|7|19|0|0" passage="Jer 7:19"><i>ch.</i> vii. 19</scripRef>. Note,
Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, and so it will be
found sooner or later.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xii-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.18-Jer.11.23" parsed="|Jer|11|18|11|23" passage="Jer 11:18-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xii-p14.10">
<h4 id="Jer.xii-p14.11">Conspiracy against Jeremiah; Destruction of
the Men of Anathoth. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p14.12">b. c.</span> 606.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xii-p15" shownumber="no">18 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p15.1">Lord</span>
hath given me knowledge <i>of it,</i> and I know <i>it:</i> then
thou showedst me their doings.   19 But I <i>was</i> like a
lamb <i>or</i> an ox <i>that</i> is brought to the slaughter; and I
knew not that they had devised devices against me, <i>saying,</i>
Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him
off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more
remembered.   20 But, <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p15.2">O Lord</span> of
hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the
heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I
revealed my cause.   21 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p15.3">Lord</span> of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life,
saying, Prophesy not in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p15.4">Lord</span>, that thou die not by our hand:   22
Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xii-p15.5">Lord</span> of
hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the
sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:  
23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil
upon the men of Anathoth, <i>even</i> the year of their
visitation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p16" shownumber="no">The prophet Jeremiah has much in his
writings concerning himself, much more than Isaiah had, the times
he lived in being very troublesome. Here we have (as it should
seem) the beginning of his sorrows, which arose from the people of
his own city, Anathoth, a priest's city, and yet a malignant one.
Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p17" shownumber="no">I. Their plot against him, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.19" parsed="|Jer|11|19|0|0" passage="Jer 11:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. They <i>devised
devices against him,</i> laid their heads together to contrive how
they might be in the most plausible and effectual manner the death
of him. Malice is ingenious in its devices, as well as industrious
in its prosecutions. They said concerning Jeremiah, <i>Let us
destroy the tree with the fruit thereof</i>—a proverbial
expression, meaning, "Let us utterly destroy him root and branch.
Let us destroy both the father and the family" (as, when Naboth was
put to death for treason, his sons were put to death with him), or
rather "both the prophet and the prophecy; let us kill the one and
defeat the other. <i>Let us cut him off from the land of the
living,</i> as a false prophet, and load him with ignominy and
disgrace, <i>that his name may be no more remembered</i> with
respect. Let us sink his reputation, and so spoil the credit of his
predictions." This was their plot; and 1. It was a cruel one; but
so cruel have the persecutors of God's prophets been. They <i>hunt
for</i> no less than <i>the precious life,</i> and very precious
the lives are that they hunt for. But, (2.) It was a baffled one.
They thought to put an end to his days, but he survived most of his
enemies; they thought to blast his memory, but it lives to this
day, and will be blessed while time lasts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p18" shownumber="no">II. The information which God gave him of
this conspiracy against him. He knew nothing of it himself, so
artfully had they concealed it; he came to Anathoth, meaning no
harm to them and therefore fearing no harm from them, <i>like a
lamb or an ox,</i> that thinks he is driven as usual to the field,
<i>when he is brought to the slaughter;</i> so little did poor
Jeremiah dream of the design his citizens that hated him had upon
him. None of his friends could, and none of his enemies would, give
him any notice of his danger, that he might shift for his own
safety, as Paul's sister's son gave him intelligence of the Jews
that were lying in wait for him. There is but a step between
Jeremiah and death; but then <i>the Lord gave him knowledge of
it,</i> by dream or vision, or impression upon his spirit, that he
might save himself, as the king of Israel did upon the notice
Elisha gave him, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.6.10" parsed="|2Kgs|6|10|0|0" passage="2Ki 6:10">2 Kings vi.
10</scripRef>. Thus he came to <i>know it.</i> God <i>showed him
their doings;</i> and such were their devices that the discovering
of them was the defeating of them. If God had not let him know his
own danger, it would have been improved by unreasonable men against
the reputation of his predictions, that he who foretold the ruin of
his country could not foresee his own peril and avoid it. See what
care God takes of his prophets: He <i>suffers no man to do them
wrong;</i> all the rage of their enemies cannot prevail to take
them off till they have finished their testimony. God knows all the
secret designs of his and his people's enemies, and can, when he
pleases, make them know. <i>A bird of the air shall carry the
voice.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p19" shownumber="no">III. His appeal to God hereupon, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.20" parsed="|Jer|11|20|0|0" passage="Jer 11:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. His eye is to God as
<i>the Lord of hosts, that judges righteously.</i> It is a matter
of comfort to us, when men deal unjustly with us, that we have a
God to go to who does and will plead the cause of injured innocency
and appear against the injurious. God's justice, which is a terror
to the wicked, is a comfort to the godly. His eye is towards him as
the God that <i>tries the reins and the heart,</i> that perfectly
sees what is in man, what are his thoughts and intents. He knew the
integrity that was in Jeremiah's heart, and that he was not the man
they represented him to be. He knew the wickedness that was in
their hearts, though ever so cunningly concealed and disguised.
Now, 1. Jeremiah prays judgment against them: "<i>Let me see thy
vengeance on them,</i> that is, do justice between me and them in
such a way as thou pleasest." Some think there was something of
human frailty in this prayer; at least Christ has taught us another
lesson, both by precept and by pattern, which is to pray for our
persecutors. Others think it comes from a pure zeal for the glory
of God and a pious and prophetic indignation against men that were
by profession priests, the Lord's ministers, and yet were so
desperately wicked as to fly out against one that did them no harm,
merely for the service he did to God. This petition was a
prediction that he should see God's vengeance on them. 2. He refers
his cause entirely to the judgment of God: "<i>Unto thee have I
revealed my cause;</i> to thee I have committed it, not desiring
nor expecting to interest any other in it." Note, It is our
comfort, when we are wronged, that we have a God to commit our
cause to, and our duty to commit it to him, with a resolution to
acquiesce in his definitive sentence, to subscribe, and not
prescribe, to him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xii-p20" shownumber="no">IV. Judgment given against his persecutors,
<i>the men of Anathoth.</i> It was to no purpose for him to appeal
to the courts at Jerusalem, he could not have justice done him
there: the priests there would stand by the priests at Anathoth,
and rather second them than discountenance them; but God will
<i>therefore</i> take cognizance of the cause himself, and we are
sure that <i>his judgment is according to truth.</i> Here is, 1.
Their crime recited, on which the sentence is grounded, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.21" parsed="|Jer|11|21|0|0" passage="Jer 11:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. They sought the
prophet's life, for they forbad him to prophesy upon pain of death;
they were resolved either to silence him or to slay him. The
provocation he gave them was his prophesying <i>in the name of the
Lord</i> without license from those that were the governors of the
city which he was a member of, and not prophesying such smooth
things as they always bespoke. Their forbidding him to prophesy was
in effect seeking his life, for it was seeking to defeat the end
and business of his life and to rob him of the comfort of it. It is
as bad to God's faithful ministers to have their mouth stopped as
to have their breath stopped. But especially when it was resolved
that if he did prophesy, as certainly he would notwithstanding
their inhibition, he should <i>die by their hand;</i> they would be
accusers, judges, executioners, and all. It used to be said that
<i>a prophet could not perish but at Jerusalem,</i> for there the
great council sat; but so bitter were the men of Anathoth against
Jeremiah that they would undertake to be the death of him
themselves. A prophet then shall find not only no honour, but no
favour, in his own country. 2. The sentence passed upon them for
this crime, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.22-Jer.11.23" parsed="|Jer|11|22|11|23" passage="Jer 11:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22,
23</scripRef>. God says, <i>I will punish them;</i> let me alone to
deal with them. <i>I will visit</i> this <i>upon them;</i> so the
word is. God will enquire into it and reckon for it. Two of God's
four sore judgments shall serve to ruin their town:—<i>The
sword</i> shall devour their <i>young men,</i> though they were
young priests, not men of war (their character shall not be their
protection), and <i>famine</i> shall destroy the children, <i>sons
and daughters,</i> that tarry at home, which is a more grievous
death than that by the sword, <scripRef id="Jer.xii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.9" parsed="|Lam|4|9|0|0" passage="La 4:9">Lam. iv.
9</scripRef>. The destruction shall be final (<scripRef id="Jer.xii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.23" parsed="|Jer|11|23|0|0" passage="Jer 11:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>): <i>There shall be no remnant
of them left,</i> none to be the seed of another generation. They
sought Jeremiah's life, and therefore they shall die; they would
destroy him <i>root and branch,</i> that <i>his name</i> might be
<i>no more remembered,</i> and therefore <i>there shall be no
remnant of them;</i> and herein the Lord is righteous. Thus <i>evil
is brought upon them, even the year of their visitation,</i> and
that is evil enough, a recompence according to their deserts. Then
shall Jeremiah <i>see his desire upon his enemies.</i> Note, Their
condition is sad who have the prayers of good ministers and good
people against them.</p>
</div></div2>