mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 30.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxxi" n="xxxi" next="Jer.xxxii" prev="Jer.xxx" progress="39.69%" title="Chapter XXX">
<h2 id="Jer.xxxi-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxxi-p0.2">CHAP. XXX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxxi-p1" shownumber="no">The sermon which we have in this and the following
chapter is of a very different complexion from all those before.
The prophet does indeed, by direction from God, change his voice.
Most of what he had said hitherto was by way of reproof and
threatening; but these two chapters are wholly taken up with
precious promises of a return out of captivity, and that typical of
the glorious things reserved for the church in the days of the
Messiah. The prophet is told not only to preach this, but to write
it, because it is intended for the comfort of the generation to
come, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.1-Jer.30.3" parsed="|Jer|30|1|30|3" passage="Jer 30:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. It is
here promised, I. That they should hereafter have a joyful
restoration. 1. Though they were now in a great deal of pain and
terror, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.4-Jer.30.7" parsed="|Jer|30|4|30|7" passage="Jer 30:4-7">ver. 4-7</scripRef>. 2.
Though their oppressors were very strong, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.8-Jer.30.10" parsed="|Jer|30|8|30|10" passage="Jer 30:8-10">ver. 8-10</scripRef>. 3. Though a full end was made
of other nations, and they were not restored, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11">ver. 11</scripRef>. 4. Though all means of their
deliverance seemed to fail and be cut off, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.12-Jer.30.14" parsed="|Jer|30|12|30|14" passage="Jer 30:12-14">ver. 12-14</scripRef>. 5. Though God himself had
sent them into captivity, and justly, for their sins, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.15-Jer.30.16" parsed="|Jer|30|15|30|16" passage="Jer 30:15,16">ver. 15, 16</scripRef>. 6. Though all about
them looked upon their case as desperate, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.17" parsed="|Jer|30|17|0|0" passage="Jer 30:17">ver. 17</scripRef>. II. That after their joyful
restoration they should have a happy settlement, that their city
should be rebuilt (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.18" parsed="|Jer|30|18|0|0" passage="Jer 30:18">ver.
18</scripRef>), their numbers increased (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.19" parsed="|Jer|30|19|0|0" passage="Jer 30:19">ver. 19, 20</scripRef>), their government established
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.21" parsed="|Jer|30|21|0|0" passage="Jer 30:21">ver. 21</scripRef>), God's covenant
with them renewed (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.22" parsed="|Jer|30|22|0|0" passage="Jer 30:22">ver.
22</scripRef>), and their enemies destroyed and cut off, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p1.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.23-Jer.30.24" parsed="|Jer|30|23|30|24" passage="Jer 30:23,24">ver. 23, 24</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxxi-p1.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30" parsed="|Jer|30|0|0|0" passage="Jer 30" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxxi-p1.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.1-Jer.30.9" parsed="|Jer|30|1|30|9" passage="Jer 30:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxxi-p1.15">
<h4 id="Jer.xxxi-p1.16">Promises of Mercy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p1.17">b. c.</span> 594.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxxi-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.1">Lord</span>, saying,   2 Thus speaketh the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.2">Lord</span> God of Israel, saying, Write
thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.   3
For, lo, the days come, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.3">Lord</span>, that I will bring again the captivity of
my people Israel and Judah, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.4">Lord</span>: and I will cause them to return to the
land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
  4 And these <i>are</i> the words that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.5">Lord</span> spake concerning Israel and concerning
Judah.   5 For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.6">Lord</span>; We have heard a voice of trembling, of
fear, and not of peace.   6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man
doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned
into paleness?   7 Alas! for that day <i>is</i> great, so that
none <i>is</i> like it: it <i>is</i> even the time of Jacob's
trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.   8 For it shall
come to pass in that day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.7">Lord</span> of hosts, <i>that</i> I will break his yoke
from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no
more serve themselves of him:   9 But they shall serve the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p2.8">Lord</span> their God, and David their
king, whom I will raise up unto them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p3" shownumber="no">Here, I. Jeremiah is directed to
<i>write</i> what God had spoken to him, which perhaps refers to
all the foregoing prophecies. He must write them and publish them,
in hopes that those who had not profited by what he said upon once
hearing it might take more notice of it when in reading it they had
leisure for a more considerate review. Or, rather, it refers to the
promises of their enlargement, which had been often mixed with his
other discourses. He must collect them and put them together, and
God will now add unto them many like words. He must write them for
the generations to come, who should see them accomplished, and
thereby have their faith in the prophecy confirmed. He must write
them not <i>in a letter,</i> as that in the chapter before to the
captives, but <i>in a book,</i> to be carefully preserved in the
archives, or among the public rolls or registers of the state.
Daniel understood by these books when the captivity was about
coming to an end, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.9.2" parsed="|Dan|9|2|0|0" passage="Da 9:2">Dan. ix. 2</scripRef>.
He must write them in a book, not in loose papers: "<i>For the days
come,</i> and are yet at a great distance, when <i>I will bring
again the captivity of Israel and Judah,</i> great numbers of the
ten tribes, with those of the two," <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.3" parsed="|Jer|30|3|0|0" passage="Jer 30:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. And this prophecy must be
written, that it may be read then also, that so it may appear how
exactly the accomplishment answers the prediction, which is one end
of the writing of prophecies. It is intimated that they shall be
<i>beloved for their fathers' sake</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.28" parsed="|Rom|11|28|0|0" passage="Ro 11:28">Rom. xi. 28</scripRef>); for <i>therefore</i> God will
bring them again to Canaan, because it was <i>the land that he gave
to their fathers,</i> which therefore <i>they shall
possess.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p4" shownumber="no">II. He is directed what to write. The very
words are such as the Holy Ghost teaches, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.4" parsed="|Jer|30|4|0|0" passage="Jer 30:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. These are the words which God
ordered to be written; and those promises which are written by his
order are as truly his word as the ten commandments which were
written with his finger. 1. He must write a description of the
fright and consternation which the people were now in, and were
likely to be still in upon every attack that the Chaldeans made
upon them, which will much magnify both the wonder and the
welcomeness of their deliverance (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.5" parsed="|Jer|30|5|0|0" passage="Jer 30:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>We have heard a voice of
trembling</i>—the shrieks of terror echoing to the alarms of
danger. The false prophets told them that they should have
<i>peace,</i> but <i>there is fear and not peace,</i> so the margin
reads it. No marvel that when <i>without are fightings within are
fears.</i> The men, even the men of war, shall be quite overwhelmed
with the calamities of their nation, shall sink under them, and
yield to them, and shall look like <i>women in labour,</i> whose
pains come upon them in great extremity and they know that they
cannot escape them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.6" parsed="|Jer|30|6|0|0" passage="Jer 30:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>. You never heard of a man travailing with child, and
yet here you find not here and there a timorous man, but <i>every
man with his hands on his loins,</i> in the utmost anguish and
agony, <i>as women in travail,</i> when they see their cities burnt
and their countries laid waste. But this pain is compared to that
of a woman in travail, not to that of a death-bed, because it shall
end in joy at last, and the pain, like that of a travailing woman,
shall be forgotten. <i>All faces</i> shall be <i>turned into
paleness.</i> The word signifies not only such paleness as arises
from a sudden fright, but that which is the effect of a bad habit
of body, the jaundice, or the green sickness. The prophet laments
the calamity upon the foresight of it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.7" parsed="|Jer|30|7|0|0" passage="Jer 30:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>Alas! for that day is
great,</i> a day of judgment, which is called the <i>great day,</i>
the <i>great and terrible day of the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Joel.2.31 Bible:Jude.1.6" parsed="|Joel|2|31|0|0;|Jude|1|6|0|0" passage="Joe 2:31,Jude 1:6">Joel ii. 31, Jude 6</scripRef>), great, so that
<i>there has been none like it.</i> The last destruction of
Jerusalem is thus spoken of by our Saviour as unparalleled,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.21" parsed="|Matt|24|21|0|0" passage="Mt 24:21">Matt. xxiv. 21</scripRef>. <i>It is
even the time of Jacob's trouble,</i> a sad time, when God's
professing people shall be in distress above other people. The
whole time of the captivity was a time of Jacob's trouble; and such
times ought to be greatly lamented by all that are concerned for
the welfare of Jacob and the honour of the God of Jacob. 2. He must
write the assurances which God had given that a happy end should at
length be put to these calamities. (1.) Jacob's troubles shall
cease: <i>He shall be saved out of them.</i> Though the afflictions
of the church may last long, they shall not last always.
<i>Salvation belongs to the Lord,</i> and shall be wrought for his
church. (2.) Jacob's troublers shall be disabled from doing him any
further mischief, and shall be reckoned with for the mischief they
have done him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.8" parsed="|Jer|30|8|0|0" passage="Jer 30:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.
<i>The Lord of hosts,</i> who has all power in his hand, undertakes
to do it: "<i>I will break his yoke from off thy neck,</i> which
has long lain so heavy, and has so sorely galled thee. <i>I will
burst thy bonds</i> and restore thee to liberty and ease, and thou
shalt no more be at the beck and command of strangers, shalt no
more serve them, nor shall they any more <i>serve themselves of
thee;</i> they shall no more enrich themselves either by thy
possessions or by thy labours." And, (3.) That which crowns and
completes the mercy is that they shall be restored to the free
exercise of their religion again, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.9" parsed="|Jer|30|9|0|0" passage="Jer 30:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. They shall be delivered from
serving their enemies, not that they may live at large and do what
they please, but that they may <i>serve the Lord their God and
David their king,</i> that they may come again into order, under
the established government both in church and state.
<i>Therefore</i> they were brought into trouble and made to
<i>serve their enemies</i> because they had not <i>served the Lord
their God</i> as they ought to have done, <i>with joyfulness and
gladness of heart,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.47" parsed="|Deut|28|47|0|0" passage="De 28:47">Deut. xxviii.
47</scripRef>. But, when the time shall come that they should be
<i>saved out of their trouble,</i> God will prepare and qualify
them for it by giving them a <i>heart to serve him,</i> and will
make it doubly comfortable by giving them opportunity to serve him.
<i>Therefore</i> we are <i>delivered out of the hands of our
enemies,</i> that we may <i>serve God,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.74-Luke.1.75" parsed="|Luke|1|74|1|75" passage="Lu 1:74,75">Luke i. 74, 75</scripRef>. And <i>then</i>
deliverances out of temporal calamities are mercies indeed to us
when by them we find ourselves engaged to and enlarged in the
service of God. They shall serve their own God, and neither be
inclined, as they had been of old in the day of their apostasy, nor
compelled, as they had been of late in the day of their captivity,
to serve other gods. They shall serve <i>David their king,</i> such
governors as God should from time to time set over them, of the
line of David (as Zerubbabel), or at least sitting on the
<i>thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David,</i> as
Nehemiah. But certainly this has a further meaning. The Chaldee
paraphrase reads it, <i>They shall obey</i> (or <i>hearken to</i>)
<i>the Messiah</i> (or <i>Christ</i>), the <i>Son of David, their
king.</i> To him the Jewish interpreters apply it. That
dispensation which commenced at their return out of captivity
brought them to the Messiah. He is called <i>David their King</i>
because he was the <i>Son of David</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.11" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.42" parsed="|Matt|22|42|0|0" passage="Mt 22:42">Matt. xxii. 42</scripRef>) and he answered to the name,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.12" osisRef="Bible:Matt.20.31-Matt.20.32" parsed="|Matt|20|31|20|32" passage="Mt 20:31,32">Matt. xx. 31, 32</scripRef>. David
was an illustrious type of him both in his humiliation and in his
exaltation. The covenant of royalty made with David had principal
reference to him, and in him the promises of that covenant had
their full accomplishment. God gave him the <i>throne of his father
David;</i> he <i>raised him up unto them, set him upon the holy
hill of Zion.</i> God is often in the New Testament said to have
<i>raised up Jesus,</i> raised him up as a King, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p4.13" osisRef="Bible:Acts.3.26 Bible:Acts.13.23 Bible:Acts.13.33" parsed="|Acts|3|26|0|0;|Acts|13|23|0|0;|Acts|13|33|0|0" passage="Ac 3:26,13:23,33">Acts iii. 26; xiii. 23, 33</scripRef>. Observe,
[1.] Those that serve the Lord as their God must also serve
<i>David their King,</i> must give up themselves to Jesus Christ,
to be ruled by him. For all men must <i>honour the Son as they
honour the Father,</i> and come into the service and worship of God
by him as Mediator. [2.] Those that are delivered out of spiritual
bondage must make it appear that they are so by giving up
themselves to the service of Christ. Those to whom he gives rest
must take his yoke upon them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxxi-p4.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.10-Jer.30.17" parsed="|Jer|30|10|30|17" passage="Jer 30:10-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxxi-p4.15">
<h4 id="Jer.xxxi-p4.16">Promises of Mercy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p4.17">b. c.</span> 594.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxxi-p5" shownumber="no">10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p5.1">Lord</span>; neither be dismayed,
O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from
the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be
in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make <i>him</i> afraid.
  11 For I <i>am</i> with thee, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p5.2">Lord</span>, to save thee: though I make a full end of
all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a
full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not
leave thee altogether unpunished.   12 For thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p5.3">Lord</span>, Thy bruise <i>is</i>
incurable, <i>and</i> thy wound <i>is</i> grievous.   13
<i>There is</i> none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound
up: thou hast no healing medicines.   14 All thy lovers have
forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with
the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for
the multitude of thine iniquity; <i>because</i> thy sins were
increased.   15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy
sorrow <i>is</i> incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity:
<i>because</i> thy sins were increased, I have done these things
unto thee.   16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be
devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go
into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all
that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.   17 For I will
restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p5.4">Lord</span>; because they called thee
an Outcast, <i>saying,</i> This <i>is</i> Zion, whom no man seeketh
after.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p6" shownumber="no">In these verses, as in those foregoing, the
deplorable case of the Jews in captivity is set forth, but many
precious promises are given them that in due time they should be
relieved and a glorious salvation wrought for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p7" shownumber="no">I. God himself appeared against them: he
<i>scattered</i> them (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>); he did <i>all these things unto them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.15" parsed="|Jer|30|15|0|0" passage="Jer 30:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. All their calamities
came from his hands; whoever were the instruments, he was the
principal agent. And this made their case very sad that God, even
their own God, spoke concerning them, to pull down and to destroy.
Now, 1. This was intended by him as a fatherly chastisement, and no
other (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>):
"<i>I will correct thee in measure,</i> or <i>according to
judgment,</i> with discretion, no more than thou deservest, nay, no
more than thou canst well bear." What God does against his people
is in a way of correction, and that correction is always moderated
and always proceeds from love: "<i>I will not leave thee altogether
unpunished,</i> as thou art ready to think I should, because of thy
relation to me." Note, A profession of religion, though ever so
plausible, will be far from securing to us impunity in sin. God is
no respecter of persons, but will show his hatred of sin wherever
he finds it, and that he hates it most in those that are nearest to
him. God here corrects his people <i>for the multitude of their
iniquity,</i> and <i>because their sins were increased,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.14-Jer.30.15" parsed="|Jer|30|14|30|15" passage="Jer 30:14,15"><i>v.</i> 14, 15</scripRef>. Are
our sorrows multiplied at any time and do they increase? We must
acknowledge that it is because our sins have been multiplied and
they have increased. Iniquities grow in us, and therefore troubles
grow upon us. But, 2. What God intended as a fatherly chastisement
they and others interpreted as an act of hostility; they looked
upon him as having <i>wounded them with the wound of an enemy</i>
and <i>with the chastisement of a cruel one</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.14" parsed="|Jer|30|14|0|0" passage="Jer 30:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), as if he had designed their
ruin, and neither mitigated the correction nor had any mercy in
reserve for them. It did indeed seem as if God had dealt thus
severely with them, as if he had turned to be their enemy and had
fought against them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.10" parsed="|Isa|63|10|0|0" passage="Isa 63:10">Isa. lxiii.
10</scripRef>. Job complains that God had become cruel to him and
<i>multiplied his wounds.</i> When troubles are great and long we
have need carefully to watch over our own hearts, that we entertain
not such hard thoughts as these of God and his providence. His are
the chastisements of a merciful one, not of a cruel one, whatever
they may appear.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p8" shownumber="no">II. Their friends forsook them, and were
shy of them. None of those who had courted them in their prosperity
would take notice of them now in their distress, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.13" parsed="|Jer|30|13|0|0" passage="Jer 30:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. It is commonly thus when
families go to decay; those hang off from them that had been their
hangers-on. In two cases we are glad of the assistance of our
friends and need their service:—1. If we be impeached, accused,
or reproached, we expect that our friends should appear in
vindication of us, should speak a good word for us when we cannot
put on a face to speak for ourselves; but here <i>there is none to
plead thy cause,</i> none to stand up in thy defence, none to
intercede for thee with thy oppressors; therefore God will <i>plead
their cause,</i> for he might well wonder there was none to uphold
a people that had been so much the favourites of Heaven, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.5" parsed="|Isa|63|5|0|0" passage="Isa 63:5">Isa. lxiii. 5</scripRef>. 2. If we be sick, or
sore, or wounded, we expect our friends should attend us, advise
us, sympathize with us, and, if occasion be, lend a hand for the
applying of healing medicines; but here there is none to do that,
none to bind up thy wounds, and by counsels and comforts to make
proper applications to thy case; nay (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.14" parsed="|Jer|30|14|0|0" passage="Jer 30:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), <i>All thy lovers have
forgotten thee;</i> out of sight out of mind; instead of seeking
thee, they forsake thee. Such as this has often been the case of
religion and serious godliness in the world; those that from their
education, profession, and hopeful beginnings, one might have
expected to be its friends and lovers, its patrons and protectors,
desert it, forget it, and have nothing to say in its defence, nor
will do any thing towards the healing of its wounds. Observe,
<i>Thy lovers have forgotten thee, for I have wounded thee.</i>
When God is against a people who will be for them? Who can be for
them so as to do them any kindness? See <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.30.11" parsed="|Job|30|11|0|0" passage="Job 30:11">Job xxx. 11</scripRef>. Now, upon this account, their
case seemed desperate and past relief (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.12" parsed="|Jer|30|12|0|0" passage="Jer 30:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>Thy bruise is incurable,
thy wound grievous,</i> and (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.15" parsed="|Jer|30|15|0|0" passage="Jer 30:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) <i>thy sorrow is
incurable.</i> The condition of the Jews in captivity was such as
no human power could redress the grievances of; there they were
like a valley full of <i>dead and dry bones,</i> which nothing less
than Omnipotence can put life into. Who could imagine that a people
so diminished, so impoverished, should ever be restored to their
own land and re-established there? So many were the aggravations of
their calamity that their sorrow would not admit of any
alleviation, but they seemed to be hardened in it, and their souls
refused to be comforted, till divine consolations proved strong
ones, too strong to be borne down even by the floods of grief that
overwhelmed them. <i>Thy sorrow is incurable because thy sins,</i>
instead of being repented of and forsaken, <i>were increased.</i>
Note, Incurable griefs are owing to incurable lusts. Now in this
deplorable condition they are looked upon with disdain (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.17" parsed="|Jer|30|17|0|0" passage="Jer 30:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>They called thee
an outcast,</i> abandoned by all, abandoned to ruin; they said,
<i>This is Zion, whom no man seeks after.</i> When they looked on
the place where the city and temple had been built they called that
an outcast; now all was in ruins, there was no resort to it, no
residence in it, none asked the way to Zion, as formerly; <i>no man
seeks after</i> it. When they looked on the people that formerly
dwelt in Zion, but were now in captivity (and we read of <i>Zion
dwelling with the daughter of Babylon,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Zech.2.7" parsed="|Zech|2|7|0|0" passage="Zec 2:7">Zech. ii. 7</scripRef>), they called them outcasts; these
are those who belong to Zion, and are wont to talk much of it and
weep at the remembrance of it, but <i>no man seeks after</i> them,
or enquires concerning them. Note, It is often the lot of Zion to
be deserted and despised by those about her.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p9" shownumber="no">III. For all this God will work deliverance
and salvation for them in due time. Though no other hand, nay,
<i>because</i> no other hand, can cure their wound, his will, and
shall. 1. Though he seemed to stand at a distance from them, yet he
assures them of his presence with them, his powerful and gracious
presence: <i>I will save thee,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.10" parsed="|Jer|30|10|0|0" passage="Jer 30:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. <i>I am with thee, to save
thee,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>.
When they are in their troubles he is with them, to save them from
sinking under them; when the time has come for their deliverance he
is with them, to be ready upon the first opportunity, to save them
out of their trouble. 2. Though they were at a distance, remote
from their own land, <i>afar</i> off <i>in the land of their
captivity,</i> yet there shall salvation find them out, thence
shall it fetch them, them and their <i>seed,</i> for they also
shall be known among the Gentiles, and distinguished from them,
that they may <i>return,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.10" parsed="|Jer|30|10|0|0" passage="Jer 30:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. 3. Though they were now full
of fears, and continually alarmed, yet the time shall come when
they <i>shall be in rest and quiet,</i> safe and easy, <i>and none
shall make them afraid,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.10" parsed="|Jer|30|10|0|0" passage="Jer 30:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. 4. Though the nations into which they were dispersed
should be brought to ruin, yet they should be preserved from that
ruin (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>):
<i>Though I make a full end of the nations whither I have scattered
thee,</i> and there might be danger of thy being lost among them,
<i>yet I will not make a full end of thee.</i> It was promised that
in the peace of these nations they should <i>have peace</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.29.7" parsed="|Jer|29|7|0|0" passage="Jer 29:7"><i>ch.</i> xxix. 7</scripRef>), and
yet in the destruction of these nations they should escape
destruction. God's church may sometimes be brought very low, but he
<i>will not make a full end of</i> it, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.5.10 Bible:Jer.5.18" parsed="|Jer|5|10|0|0;|Jer|5|18|0|0" passage="Jer 5:10,18"><i>ch.</i> v. 10, 18</scripRef>. 5. Though God
correct them, and justly, for their sins, their manifold
transgressions and mighty sins, yet he will return in mercy to
them, and even their sin shall not prevent their deliverance when
God's time shall come. 6. Though their adversaries were mighty, God
will bring them down, and break their power (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.16" parsed="|Jer|30|16|0|0" passage="Jer 30:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>All that devour thee shall
be devoured,</i> and thus Zion's cause will be pleaded and will be
made to appear to all the world a righteous cause. Thus Zion's
deliverance will be brought about by the destruction of her
oppressors; and thus her enemies will be recompensed for all the
injury they have done her; for <i>there is a God that judges in the
earth,</i> a God <i>to whom vengeance belongs.</i> "They <i>shall
every one of them,</i> without exception, <i>go into captivity,</i>
and the day will come when <i>those that</i> now <i>spoil thee
shall be a spoil.</i>" Those that <i>lead into captivity shall go
into captivity,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.9" osisRef="Bible:Rev.13.10" parsed="|Rev|13|10|0|0" passage="Re 13:10">Rev. xiii.
10</scripRef>. This might serve to oblige the present conquerors to
use their captives well, because the wheel would turn round, and
the day would come when they also should be captives, and let them
do now as they would then be done by. 7. Though the wound seem
incurable, God will make a cure of it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p9.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.17" parsed="|Jer|30|17|0|0" passage="Jer 30:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>I will restore health unto
thee.</i> Be the disease ever so dangerous, the patient is safe if
God undertakes the cure.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p10" shownumber="no">IV. Upon the whole matter, they are
cautioned against inordinate fear and grief, for in these precious
promises there is enough to silence both. 1. They must not tremble
as those that have no hope in the apprehension of future further
trouble that might threaten them (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.10" parsed="|Jer|30|10|0|0" passage="Jer 30:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>Fear thou not, O my
servant Jacob! neither be dismayed.</i> Note, Those that are God's
servants must not give way to disquieting fears, whatever
difficulties and dangers may be before them. 2. They must not
sorrow as those that have no hope for the troubles which at present
they lie under, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.15" parsed="|Jer|30|15|0|0" passage="Jer 30:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>. "<i>Why criest thou for thy affliction?</i> It is
true thy carnal confidences fail thee, creatures are physicians of
no value, but <i>I will heal thy wound,</i> and therefore, <i>Why
criest thou?</i> Why dost thou fret and complain thus? It is <i>for
thy sin</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.14-Jer.30.15" parsed="|Jer|30|14|30|15" passage="Jer 30:14,15"><i>v.</i> 14,
15</scripRef>), and therefore, instead of repining, thou shouldest
be repenting. <i>Wherefore should a man complain for the punishment
of his sins?</i> The issue will be good at last, and therefore
<i>rejoice in hope.</i>"</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxxi-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.18-Jer.30.24" parsed="|Jer|30|18|30|24" passage="Jer 30:18-24" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxxi-p10.5">
<h4 id="Jer.xxxi-p10.6">Promises of Mercy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p10.7">b. c.</span> 594.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxxi-p11" shownumber="no">18 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p11.1">Lord</span>; Behold, I will bring again the captivity
of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the
city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall
remain after the manner thereof.   19 And out of them shall
proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I
will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify
them, and they shall not be small.   20 Their children also
shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established
before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.   21 And
their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall
proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near,
and he shall approach unto me: for who <i>is</i> this that engaged
his heart to approach unto me? saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p11.2">Lord</span>.   22 And ye shall be my people, and I
will be your God.   23 Behold, the whirlwind of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p11.3">Lord</span> goeth forth with fury, a continuing
whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
  24 The fierce anger of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxxi-p11.4">Lord</span> shall not return, until he have done
<i>it,</i> and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in
the latter days ye shall consider it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p12" shownumber="no">We have here further intimations of the
favour God had in reserve for them after the days of their calamity
were over. It is promised,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p13" shownumber="no">I. That the city and temple should be
rebuilt, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.18" parsed="|Jer|30|18|0|0" passage="Jer 30:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>.
<i>Jacob's tents,</i> and <i>his dwelling places,</i> felt the
effects of <i>the captivity,</i> for they lay in ruins when the
inhabitants were carried away captives; but, when they have
returned, the habitations shall be repaired, and raised up out of
their ruins, and therein God will <i>have mercy upon their dwelling
places,</i> that had been monuments of his justice. Then <i>the
city</i> of Jerusalem <i>shall be built upon her own heap,</i> her
own hill, though now it be no better than a ruinous heap. The
situation was unexceptionable, and therefore it shall be rebuilt
upon the same spot of ground. He that can <i>make of a city a
heap</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.2" parsed="|Isa|25|2|0|0" passage="Isa 25:2">Isa. xxv. 2</scripRef>) can
when he pleases <i>make of a heap a city</i> again. <i>The
palace</i> (the temple, God's palace) <i>shall remain after the
manner thereof;</i> it shall be built after the old model; and the
service of God shall be constantly kept up there and attended as
formerly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p14" shownumber="no">II. That the sacred feasts should again be
solemnized (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.19" parsed="|Jer|30|19|0|0" passage="Jer 30:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>):
<i>Out of</i> the city, and the temple, and all the dwelling-places
of Jacob, <i>shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those that
make merry.</i> They shall go with expressions of joy to the temple
service, and with the like shall return from it. Observe, The voice
of <i>thanksgiving</i> is the same with <i>the voice of those that
make merry;</i> for whatever is the matter of our joy should be the
matter of our praise. <i>Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.</i>
What makes us cheerful should make us thankful. <i>Serve the Lord
with gladness.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p15" shownumber="no">III. That the people should be multiplied,
and increased, and made considerable: <i>They shall not be few,
they shall not be small,</i> but shall become numerous and
illustrious, and make a figure among the nations; for <i>I will
multiply them</i> and <i>I will glorify them.</i> It is for the
honour of the church to have many added to it that shall be saved.
This would make them be of some weight among their neighbours. Let
a people be ever so much diminished and despised, God can multiply
and glorify them. They shall be restored to their former honour:
<i>Their children shall be as aforetime,</i> playing in the streets
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.5" parsed="|Zech|8|5|0|0" passage="Zec 8:5">Zech. viii. 5</scripRef>); they shall
inherit their parents' estates and honours as formerly; <i>and
their congregation shall,</i> both in civil and sacred things,
<i>be established before me.</i> There shall be a constant
succession of faithful magistrates in the congregation of the
elders, to establish that, and of faithful worshippers in the
congregation of the saints. As one generation passes away another
shall be raised up, and so the <i>congregation shall be established
before</i> God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p16" shownumber="no">IV. That they shall be blessed with a good
government (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.21" parsed="|Jer|30|21|0|0" passage="Jer 30:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>):
<i>Their nobles</i> and judges <i>shall be of themselves,</i> of
their own nation, and they shall no longer be ruled by strangers
and enemies; <i>their governor shall proceed from the midst of
them,</i> shall be one that has been a sharer with them in the
afflictions of their captive state; and this has reference to
Christ our <i>governor, David our King</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.9" parsed="|Jer|30|9|0|0" passage="Jer 30:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); he is of ourselves, <i>in all
things made like unto his brethren. And I will cause him to draw
near;</i> this may be understood either, 1. Of the people, Jacob
and Israel: "<i>I will cause</i> them <i>to draw near</i> to me in
the temple service, as formerly, to come in to covenant with me, as
<i>my people</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.22" parsed="|Jer|30|22|0|0" passage="Jer 30:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>), to <i>approach to me</i> in communion; <i>for
who</i> hath <i>engaged his heart,</i> made a covenant with it, and
brought it into bonds, <i>to approach unto me?</i>" How few are
there that do so! None can do it but by the special grace of God
<i>causing them to draw near.</i> Note, Whenever we approach to God
in any holy ordinance we must engage our hearts to do it; the heart
must be prepared for the duty, employed in it, and kept closely to
it. The heart is the main thing that God looks at and requires; but
it is deceitful, and will start aside of a great deal of care and
pains be not taken to engage it, to bind this <i>sacrifice with
cords.</i> Or, 2. It may be understood of the governor; for it is a
single person that is spoken of: <i>Their governor shall</i> be
duly called to his office, shall <i>draw near</i> to God to consult
him upon all occasions. God <i>will cause him to approach to</i>
him, for, otherwise, who would engage to take care of so weak a
people, and let this ruin come under their hand? But when God has
work to do, though attended with many discouragements, he will
raise up instruments to do it. But it looks further, to Christ, to
him as Mediator. Note, (1.) The proper work and office of Christ,
as Mediator, is <i>to draw near and approach unto</i> God, not for
himself only, but for us, and in our name and stead, as the high
priest of our profession. The priests are said to draw nigh to God,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.10.3 Bible:Lev.21.17" parsed="|Lev|10|3|0|0;|Lev|21|17|0|0" passage="Le 10:3,21:17">Lev. x. 3; xxi. 17</scripRef>.
<i>Moses drew near,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.20.21" parsed="|Exod|20|21|0|0" passage="Ex 20:21">Exod. xx.
21</scripRef>. (2.) God the Father did <i>cause</i> Jesus Christ
thus <i>to draw near and approach to</i> him as Mediator. He
commanded and appointed him to do it; he sanctified and sealed him,
anointed him for this purpose, accepted him, and declared himself
well pleased in him. (3.) Jesus Christ, being caused by the Father
to approach unto him as Mediator, did <i>engage his heart to</i> do
it, that is, he bound and obliged himself to it, <i>undertook for
his heart</i> (so some read it), for his soul, that, in the
fullness of time, it should be <i>made an offering for sin.</i> His
own voluntary undertaking, in compliance with his Father's will and
in compassion to fallen man, engaged him, and then his own honour
kept him to it. It also intimates that he was hearty and resolute,
free and cheerful, in it, and made nothing of the difficulties that
lay in his way, <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.3-Isa.63.5" parsed="|Isa|63|3|63|5" passage="Isa 63:3-5">Isa. lxiii.
3-5</scripRef>. (4.) Jesus Christ was, in all this, truly
wonderful. We may well ask, with admiration, <i>Who is this
that</i> thus <i>engages his heart</i> to such an undertaking?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p17" shownumber="no">V. That they shall be taken again into
covenant with God, according to the covenant made with their
fathers (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.22" parsed="|Jer|30|22|0|0" passage="Jer 30:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>):
<i>You shall be my people;</i> and it is God's good work in us that
makes us <i>to him a people, a people for his name,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.15.14" parsed="|Acts|15|14|0|0" passage="Ac 15:14">Acts xv. 14</scripRef>. <i>I will be your
God.</i> It is his good-will to us that is the summary of that part
of the covenant.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxxi-p18" shownumber="no">VI. That their enemies shall be reckoned
with and brought down (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.20" parsed="|Jer|30|20|0|0" passage="Jer 30:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>): <i>I will punish all</i> those <i>that oppress
them,</i> so that it shall appear to all a dangerous thing to
<i>touch God's anointed,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.105.15" parsed="|Ps|105|15|0|0" passage="Ps 105:15">Ps. cv.
15</scripRef>. The <scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.23-Jer.30.24" parsed="|Jer|30|23|30|24" passage="Jer 30:23,24">last two
verses</scripRef> come under this head: <i>The whirlwind of the
Lord shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.</i> These
two verses we had before (<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.19-Jer.23.20" parsed="|Jer|23|19|23|20" passage="Jer 23:19,20"><i>ch.</i> xxiii. 19, 20</scripRef>); <i>there</i>
they were a denunciation of God's wrath against the wicked
hypocrites in Israel; <i>here</i> against the wicked oppressors of
Israel. The expressions, exactly agreeing, speak the same with that
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxxi-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.22-Isa.51.23" parsed="|Isa|51|22|51|23" passage="Isa 51:22,23">Isa. li. 22, 23</scripRef>), <i>I
will take the cup of trembling out of thy hand and put it into the
hand of those that afflict thee.</i> The wrath of God against the
wicked is here represented to be. 1. Very terrible, like a
whirlwind, surprising and irresistible. 2. Very grievous. It
<i>shall fall with pain upon their heads;</i> they shall be as much
hurt as frightened. 3. It shall pursue them. Whirlwinds are usually
short, but this shall be <i>a continuing whirlwind.</i> 4. It shall
accomplish that for which it is sent: <i>The anger of the Lord
shall not return till he have done it.</i> The purposes of his
wrath, as well as the purposes of his love, will all be fulfilled;
he will <i>perform the intents of his heart.</i> 5. Those that will
not lay this to heart now will then be unable to put off the
thoughts of it: <i>In the latter days you shall consider it,</i>
when it will be too late to prevent it.</p>
</div></div2>