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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah XXXII].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter we have,
I. Jeremiah imprisoned for foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and
the captivity of king Zedekiah,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
II. We have him buying land, by divine appointment, as an assurance
that in due time a happy end should be put to the present troubles,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:6-15">ver. 6-15</A>.
III. We have his prayer, which he offered up to God upon that occasion,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:16-25">ver. 16-25</A>.
IV. We have a message which God thereupon entrusted him to deliver to
the people.
1. He must foretel the utter destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for
their sins,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:26-35">ver. 26-35</A>.
But,
2. At the same time he must assure them that, though the destruction
was total, it should not be final, but that at length their posterity
should recover the peaceable possession of their own land,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:36-44">ver. 36-44</A>.
The predictions of this chapter, both threatenings and promises, are
much the same with what we have already met with again and again, but
here are some circumstances that are very particular and
remarkable.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Jer32_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgments Predicted; Jeremiah Imprisoned.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> in the tenth
year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which <I>was</I> the eighteenth year
of Nebuchadrezzar.
&nbsp; 2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and
Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison,
which <I>was</I> in the king of Judah's house.
&nbsp; 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore
dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Behold, I will
give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall
take it;
&nbsp; 4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand
of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of
the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and
his eyes shall behold his eyes;
&nbsp; 5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be
until I visit him, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: though ye fight with the
Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
&nbsp; 6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
&nbsp; 7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come
unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that <I>is</I> in Anathoth: for
the right of redemption <I>is</I> thine to buy <I>it.</I>
&nbsp; 8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the
prison according to the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and said unto me, Buy
my field, I pray thee, that <I>is</I> in Anathoth, which <I>is</I> in the
country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance <I>is</I> thine, and
the redemption <I>is</I> thine; buy <I>it</I> for thyself. Then I knew that
this <I>was</I> the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that <I>was</I>
in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, <I>even</I> seventeen shekels
of silver.
&nbsp; 10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed <I>it,</I> and took
witnesses, and weighed <I>him</I> the money in the balances.
&nbsp; 11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, <I>both</I> that which
was sealed <I>according</I> to the law and custom, and that which was
open:
&nbsp; 12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son
of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine
uncle's <I>son,</I> and in the presence of the witnesses that
subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat
in the court of the prison.
&nbsp; 13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
&nbsp; 14 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these
evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed,
and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen
vessel, that they may continue many days.
&nbsp; 15 For thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses
and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
It appears by the date of this chapter that we are now coming very nigh
to that fatal year which completed the desolations of Judah and
Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. God's judgments came gradually upon them,
but, they not meeting him by repentance in the way of his judgments, he
proceeded in his controversy till all was laid waste, which was in the
eleventh year of Zedekiah; now what is here recorded happened in the
tenth. The king of Babylon's army had now invested Jerusalem and was
carrying on the siege with vigour, not doubting but in a little time to
make themselves masters of it, while the besieged had taken up a
desperate resolution not to surrender, but to hold out to the last
extremity. Now,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Jeremiah prophesies that both the city and the court shall fall into
the hands of the king of Babylon. He tells them expressly that the
besiegers shall take the city as a prize, for God, whose city it was in
a peculiar manner, will give it into their hands and put it out of his
protection
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),--
that, though Zedekiah attempt to make his escape, he shall be
overtaken, and shall be delivered a prisoner into the hands of
Nebuchadnezzar, shall be brought into his presence, to his great
confusion and terror, he having made himself so obnoxious by breaking
his faith with him, he shall hear the king of Babylon pronounce his
doom, and see with what fury and indignation he will look upon him
(<I>His eyes shall behold his eyes,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),--
that Zedekiah shall be carried to Babylon, and continue a miserable
captive there, <I>until God visit him,</I> that is, till God put an end
to his life by a natural death, as Nebuchadnezzar had long before put
an end to his days by putting out his eyes. Note, Those that live in
misery may be truly said to be visited in mercy when God by death takes
them home to himself. And, <I>lastly,</I> he foretels that all their
attempts to force the besiegers from their trenches shall be
ineffectual: <I>Though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not
prosper;</I> how should they, when God did not fight for them?
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:2,3"><I>ch.</I> xxxiv. 2, 3</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. For prophesying thus he is imprisoned, not in the common gaol, but
in the more creditable prison that was within the verge of the palace,
<I>in the king of Judah's house,</I> and there not closely confined,
but in <I>custodia libera--in the court of the prison,</I> where he
might have good company, good air, and good intelligence brought him,
and would be sheltered from the abuses of the mob; but, however, it was
a prison, and Zedekiah shut him up in it for prophesying as he did,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
So far was he from <I>humbling himself before Jeremiah,</I> as he ought
to have done
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:12">2 Chron. xxxvi. 12</A>),
that he <I>hardened himself</I> against him. Though he had formerly so
far owned him to be a prophet as to desire him to <I>enquire of the
Lord for them</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:2"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 2</A>),
yet now he chides him for prophesying
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
and shuts him up in prison, perhaps not with design to punish him any
further, but only to restrain him from prophesying any further, which
was crime enough. Silencing God's prophets, though it is not so bad as
mocking and killing them, is yet a great affront to the God of heaven.
See how wretchedly the hearts of sinners are hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin. Persecution was one of the sins for which God was
now contending with them, and yet Zedekiah persists in it even now that
he was in the depth of distress. No providences, no afflictions, will
of themselves part between men and their sins, unless the grace of God
work with them. Nay, some are made worse by those very judgments that
should make them better.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. Being in prison, he purchases from a near relation of his a piece
of ground that lay in Anathoth,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>,
&c.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. One would not have expected,
(1.) That a prophet should concern himself so far in the business of
this world; but why not? Though ministers must not entangle themselves,
yet they may concern themselves in the affairs of this life.
(2.) That one who had neither wife nor children should buy land. We
find
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+16:2"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 2</A>)
that he had no family of his own; yet he may purchase for his own use
while he lives, and leave it to the children of his relations when he
dies.
(3.) One would little have thought that a prisoner should be a
purchaser; how should he get money beforehand to buy land with? It is
probably that he lived frugally, and saved something out of what
belonged to him as a priest, which is no blemish at all to his
character; but we have no reason to think that the people were kind, or
that his being beforehand was owing to their generosity. Nay,
(4.) It was most strange of all that he should buy a <I>piece of
land</I> when he himself knew that the whole land was now to be laid
waste and fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, and then what good
would this do him? But it was the will of God that he should buy it,
and he submitted, though the money seemed to be thrown away. His
kinsman came to offer it to him; it was not of his own seeking; he
coveted not to lay house to house and field to field, but Providence
brought it to him, and it was probably a good bargain; besides, the
<I>right of redemption</I> belonged to him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
and if he refused he would not do the kinsman's part. It is true he
might lawfully refuse, but, being a prophet, in a thing of this nature
he must do that which would be for the honour of his profession. <I>It
became him to fulfil all righteousness.</I> It was land that lay within
the suburbs of a priests' city, and, if he should refuse it, there was
danger lest, in these times of disorder, it might be sold to one of
another tribe, which was contrary to the law, to prevent which it was
convenient for him to buy it. It would likewise be a kindness to his
kinsman, who probably was at this time in great want of money. Jeremiah
had but a little, but what he had he was willing to lay out in such a
manner as might tend most to the honour of God and the good of his
friends and country, which he preferred before his own private
interests.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. Two things may be observed concerning this purchase:--</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) How fairly the bargain was made. When Jeremiah knew by Hanameel's
coming to him, as God had foretold he would, that <I>it was the word of
the Lord,</I> that it was his mind that he should make this purchase,
he made no more difficulty of it, but <I>bought the field.</I> And,
[1.] He was very honest and exact in paying the money. He <I>weighted
him the money,</I> did not press him to take it upon his report, though
he was his near kinsman, but weighed it to him, current money. It was
<I>seventeen shekels of silver,</I> amounting to about forty shillings
of our money. The land was probably but a little field and of small
yearly value, when the purchase was so low; besides, the <I>right of
inheritance</I> was in Jeremiah, so that he had only to buy out his
kinsman's life, the reversion being his already. Some think this was
only the earnest of a greater sum; but we shall not wonder at the
smallness of the price if we consider what scarcity there was of money
at this time and how little lands were counted upon.
[2.] He was very prudent and discreet in preserving the writings. They
were subscribed <I>before witnesses.</I> One copy was <I>sealed up,</I>
the other was <I>open.</I> One was the original, the other the
counterpart; or perhaps that which was <I>sealed up</I> was for his own
private use, the other that was <I>open</I> was to be laid up in the
public register of conveyances, for any person concerned to consult.
Due care and caution in things of this nature might prevent a great
deal of injustice and contention. The deeds of purchase were lodged in
the hands of Baruch, before witnesses, and he was ordered to lay them
up in an <I>earthen vessel</I> (an emblem of the nature of all the
securities this world can pretend to give us, brittle things and soon
broken), that they might <I>continue many days,</I> for the use of
Jeremiah's heirs, after the return out of captivity; for they might
then have the benefit of this purchase. Purchasing reversions may be a
kindness to those that come after us, and a good man thus <I>lays up an
inheritance for his children's children.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) What was the design of having this bargain made. It was to signify
that though Jerusalem was now besieged, and the whole country was
likely to be laid waste, yet the time should come when <I>houses, and
fields, and vineyards should be again possessed in this land,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
As God appointed Jeremiah to confirm his predictions of the approaching
destruction of Jerusalem by his own practice in living unmarried, so he
now appointed him to confirm his predictions of the future restoration
of Jerusalem by his own practice in purchasing this field. Note, It
concerns ministers to make it to appear in their whole conversation
that they do themselves believe that which they preach to others; and
that they may do so, and impress it the more deeply upon their hearers,
they must many a time deny themselves, as Jeremiah did in both these
instances. God having promised that this land should again come into
the possession of his people, Jeremiah will, on behalf of his heirs,
put in for a share. Note, It is good to manage even our worldly affairs
in faith, and to do common business with an eye to the providence and
promise of God. Lucius Florus relates it as a great instance of the
bravery of the Roman citizens that in the time of the second Punic war,
when Hannibal besieged Rome and was very near making himself master of
it, a field on which part of his army lay, being offered to sale at
that time, was immediately purchased, in a firm belief that the Roman
valour would raise the siege, <I>lib. ii. cap.</I>
6. And have not we much more reason to venture our all upon the word
of God, and to embark in Zion's interests, which will undoubtedly be
the prevailing interests at last? <I>Non si male nunc et olim sic
erit--Though now we suffer, we shall not suffer always.</I></P>
<A NAME="Jer32_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeremiah's Prayer.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto
Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying,
&nbsp; 17 Ah Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth
by thy great power and stretched out arm, <I>and</I> there is nothing
too hard for thee:
&nbsp; 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest
the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children
after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, <I>is</I>
his name,
&nbsp; 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes <I>are</I>
open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one
according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
&nbsp; 20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
<I>even</I> unto this day, and in Israel, and among <I>other</I> men; and
hast made thee a name, as at this day;
&nbsp; 21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of
Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and
with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;
&nbsp; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to
their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
&nbsp; 23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy
voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all
that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all
this evil to come upon them:
&nbsp; 24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it;
and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight
against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the
pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and,
behold, thou seest <I>it.</I>
&nbsp; 25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, Buy thee the field
for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the
hand of the Chaldeans.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We have here Jeremiah's prayer to God upon occasion of the discoveries
God had made to him of his purposes concerning this nation, to pull it
down, and in process of time to build it up again, which puzzled the
prophet himself, who, though he delivered his messages faithfully, yet,
in reflecting upon them, was greatly at a loss within himself how to
reconcile them; in that perplexity he poured out his soul before God in
prayer, and so gave himself ease. That which disturbed him was not the
bad bargain he seemed to have made for himself in purchasing a field
that he was likely to have no good of, but the case of his people, for
whom he was still a kind and faithful intercessor, and he was willing
to hope that, if God had so much mercy in store for them hereafter as
he had promised, he would not proceed with so much severity against
them now as he had threatened. Before Jeremiah went to prayer he
delivered the deeds that concerned his new purchase to Baruch, which
may intimate to us that when we are going to worship God we should get
our minds as clear as may be from the cares and incumbrances of this
world. Jeremiah was in prison, in distress, in the dark about the
meaning of God's providences, and then he prays. Note, Prayer is a
salve for every sore. Whatever is a burden to us, we may by prayer
cast it upon the Lord and then be easy.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this prayer, or meditation,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Jeremiah adores God and his infinite perfections, and gives him the
glory due to his name as the Creator, upholder, and benefactor, of the
whole creation, thereby owning his irresistible power, that he can do
what he will, and his incontestable sovereignty, that he may do what he
will,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:17-19"><I>v.</I> 17-19</A>.
Note, When at any time we are perplexed about the particular methods
and dispensations of Providence it is good for us to have recourse to
our first principles, and to satisfy ourselves with the general
doctrines of God's wisdom, power, and goodness. Let us consider, as
Jeremiah does here,
1. That God is the fountain of all being, power, life, motion, and
perfection: He <I>made the heaven and the earth with his outstretched
arm;</I> and therefore who can control him? Who dares contend with him?
2. That with him nothing is impossible, no difficulty insuperable:
<I>Nothing is too hard for thee.</I> When human skill and power are
quite nonplussed, <I>with God are strength and wisdom</I> sufficient to
master all the opposition.
3. That he is a God of boundless bottomless mercy; mercy is his
darling attribute; it is his goodness that is his glory: "Thou not only
art kind, but thou <I>showest lovingkindness,</I> not to a few, to here
and there one, but <I>to thousands,</I> thousands of persons, thousands
of generations."
4. That he is a God of impartial and inflexible justice. His reprieves
are not pardons, but if in mercy he spares the parents, that they may
be led to repentance, yet such a hatred has he to sin, and such a
displeasure against sinners, that he <I>recompenses their iniquity into
the bosom of their children,</I> and yet does them no wrong; so hateful
is the unrighteousness of man, and so jealous of its own honour is the
righteousness of God.
5. That he is a God of universal dominion and command: He is <I>the
great</I> God, for he is <I>the mighty God,</I> and might among men
makes them great. He is <I>the Lord of hosts,</I> of all hosts, that
<I>is his name,</I> and he answers to his name, for all the hosts of
heaven and earth, of men and angels, are at his beck.
6. That he contrives every thing for the best, and effects every thing
as he contrived it: He is <I>great in counsel,</I> so vast are the
reaches and so deep are the designs of his wisdom; and he is <I>mighty
in doing,</I> according to the counsel of his will. Now such a God as
this is not to be quarrelled with. His service is to be constantly
adhered to and all his disposals cheerfully acquiesced in.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. He acknowledges the universal cognizance God takes of all the
actions of the children of men and the unerring judgment he passes upon
them
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
<I>Thy eyes are open upon all the sons of men,</I> wherever they are,
beholding the evil and the good, and upon all <I>their ways,</I> both
the course they take and every step they take, not as an unconcerned
spectator, but as an observing judge, <I>to give every one according to
his ways and according</I> to his deserts, which are <I>the fruit of
his doings;</I> for men shall find God as they are found of him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. He recounts the great things God had done for his people Israel
formerly.
1. He brought them out of Egypt, that house of bondage, with <I>signs
and wonders,</I> which remain, if not in the marks of them, yet in the
memorials of them, <I>even unto this day;</I> for it would never be
forgotten, not only <I>in Israel,</I> who were reminded of it every
year by the ordinance of the passover, but <I>among other men:</I> all
the neighbouring nations spoke of it, as that which redounded
exceedingly to the glory of the God of Israel, and made him <I>a name
as at this day.</I> This is repeated
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
that God <I>brought them forth,</I> not only with comforts and joys to
them, but with glory to himself, <I>with signs and wonders</I> (witness
the ten plagues), <I>with a strong hand,</I> too strong for the
Egyptians themselves, <I>and with a stretched-out arm,</I> that reached
Pharaoh, proud as he was, <I>and with great terror</I> to them and all
about them. This seems to refer to
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:34">Deut. iv. 34</A>.
2. He brought them into Canaan, that good land, that <I>land flowing
with milk and honey.</I> He <I>swore to their fathers to give it
them,</I> and, because he would perform his oath, he did give it to the
children
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>)
<I>and they came in and possessed it.</I> Jeremiah mentions this both
as an aggravation of their sin and disobedience and also as a plea with
God to work deliverance for them. Note, It is good for us often to
reflect upon the great things that God did for his church formerly,
especially in the first erecting of it, that work of wonder.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
IV. He bewails the rebellions they had been guilty of against God, and
the judgments God had brought upon them for these rebellions. It is a
sad account he here gives of the ungrateful conduct of that people
towards God. He had done every thing that he had promised to do (they
had acknowledged it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:56">1 Kings viii. 56</A>),
but they had <I>done nothing of all that he commanded them to do</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>);
they made no conscience of any of <I>his laws;</I> they <I>walked
not</I> in them, paid no respect to any of his calls by his prophets,
for they <I>obeyed not his voice.</I> And therefore he owns that God
was righteous in <I>causing all this evil to come upon them.</I> The
city is besieged, is attacked <I>by the sword</I> without, is weakened
and wasted by the <I>famine</I> and <I>pestilence</I> within, so that
it is ready to fall <I>into the hands of the Chaldeans that fight
against it</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>);
it is <I>given into their hands,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
Now,
1. He compares the present state of Jerusalem with the divine
predictions, and finds that what God <I>has spoken</I> has <I>come to
pass.</I> God had given them fair warning of it before; and, if they
had regarded this, the ruin would have been prevented; but, if they
will not do what God has commanded, they can expect no other than that
he should do what he had threatened.
2. He commits the present state of Jerusalem to the divine
consideration and compassion
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
<I>Behold the mounts,</I> or <I>ramparts,</I> or the <I>engines</I>
which they make use of to batter the city and beat down the wall of it.
And again, "<I>Behold thou seest it,</I> and takest cognizance of it.
Is this the city that thou has chosen to put thy name there? And shall
it be thus abandoned?" He neither complains of God for what he had done
nor prescribes to God what he should do, but desires he would behold
their case, and is pleased to think that he does behold it. Whatever
trouble we are in, upon a personal or public account, we may comfort
ourselves with this, that God sees it and sees how to remedy it.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
V. He seems desirous to be let further into the meaning of the order
God had now given him to purchase his kinsman's field
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
"<I>Though the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans,</I> and no
man is likely to enjoy what he has, yet <I>thou hast said unto me, Buy
thou the field.</I>" As soon as he understood that it was the mind of
God he did it, and made no objections, was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision; but, when he had done it, he desired better to
understand why God had ordered him to do it, because the thing looked
strange and unaccountable. Note, Though we are bound to follow God with
an implicit obedience, yet we should endeavour that it may be more and
more an intelligent obedience. We must never dispute God's statutes and
judgments, but we may and must enquire, <I>What mean these statutes and
judgments?</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+6:20">Deut. vi. 20</A>.</P>
<A NAME="Jer32_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer32_33"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_34"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_35"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_36"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_37"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_38"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_39"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_40"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer32_41"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgments Predicted; Restoration of the Jews; Encouraging Promises.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 Then came the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> unto Jeremiah, saying,
&nbsp; 27 Behold, I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of all flesh: is there any
thing too hard for me?
&nbsp; 28 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Behold, I will give this city
into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
&nbsp; 29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come
and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon
whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out
drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
&nbsp; 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have
only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of
Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their
hands, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 31 For this city hath been to me <I>as</I> a provocation of mine
anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto
this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
&nbsp; 32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the
children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger,
they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their
prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
&nbsp; 33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face:
though I taught them, rising up early and teaching <I>them,</I> yet
they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
&nbsp; 34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is
called by my name, to defile it.
&nbsp; 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which <I>are</I> in the
valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their
daughters to pass through <I>the fire</I> unto Molech; which I
commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they
should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
&nbsp; 36 And now therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel,
concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into
the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine,
and by the pestilence;
&nbsp; 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I
have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great
wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will
cause them to dwell safely:
&nbsp; 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
&nbsp; 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may
fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children
after them:
&nbsp; 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I
will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my
fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
&nbsp; 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will
plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my
whole soul.
&nbsp; 42 For thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Like as I have brought all this
great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the
good that I have promised them.
&nbsp; 43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, <I>It
is</I> desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of
the Chaldeans.
&nbsp; 44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and
seal <I>them,</I> and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in
the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in
the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and
in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to
return, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We have here God's answer to Jeremiah's prayer, designed to quiet his
mind and make him easy; and it is a full discovery of the purposes of
God's wrath against the present generation and the purposes of his
grace concerning the future generations. Jeremiah knew not how to
<I>sing both of mercy and judgment,</I> but God here teaches to sing
unto him of both. When we know not how to reconcile one word of God
with another we may yet be sure that both are true, both are pure, both
shall be made good, and not one iota or tittle of either shall fall to
the ground. When Jeremiah was ordered to buy the field in Anathoth he
was willing to hope that God was about to revoke the sentence of his
wrath and to order the Chaldeans to raise the siege. "No," says God,
"the execution of the sentence shall go on; Jerusalem shall be laid in
ruins." Note, Assurances of future mercy must not be interpreted as
securities from present troubles. But, lest Jeremiah should think that
his being ordered to buy this field intimated that all the mercy God
had in store for his people, after their return, was only that they
should have the possession of their own land again, he further informs
him that that was but a type and figure of those spiritual blessings
which should then be abundantly bestowed upon them, unspeakably more
valuable than fields and vineyards; so that in this <I>word of the
Lord,</I> which came to Jeremiah, we have first as dreadful
threatenings and then as precious promises as perhaps any we have in
the Old Testament; life and death, good and evil, are here set before
us; let us consider and choose wisely.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here pronounced. The decree has
gone forth, and shall not be recalled.
1. God here asserts his own sovereignty and power
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
<I>Behold, I am Jehovah,</I> a self-existent self-sufficient being;
<I>I am that I am; I am the God of all flesh,</I> that is, of all
mankind, here called <I>flesh</I> because weak and unable to contend
with God
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:4">Ps. lvi. 4</A>),
and because wicked and corrupt and unapt to comply with God. God is the
Creator of all, and makes what use he pleases of all. He that is the
God of Israel is the <I>God of all flesh</I> and of <I>the spirits of
all flesh,</I> and, if Israel were cast off, could raise up a people to
his name out of some other nation. If he be the <I>God of all
flesh,</I> he may well ask, <I>Is any thing too hard for me?</I> What
cannot he do from whom all the powers of men are derived, on whom they
depend, and by whom all their actions are directed and governed?
Whatever he designs to do, whether in wrath or in mercy, nothing can
hinder him nor defeat his designs.
2. He abides by that he had often said of the destruction of Jerusalem
by the king of Babylon
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
<I>I will give this city into his hand,</I> now that he is grasping at
it, <I>and he shall take it</I> and make a prey of it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
<I>The Chaldeans shall come and set fire to it,</I> shall burn it and
all the <I>houses in it,</I> God's house not excepted, nor the king's
neither.
3. He assigns the reason for these severe proceedings against the city
that had been so much in his favour. It is sin, it is that and nothing
else, that ruins it.
(1.) They were impudent and daring in sin. They <I>offered incense to
Baal,</I> not in corners, as men ashamed or afraid of being discovered,
but upon the <I>tops of their houses</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>),
in defiance of God's justice.
(2.) They designed an affront to God herein. They did it <I>to provoke
me to anger,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
<I>They have only provoked me to anger with the works of their
hands,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
They could not promise themselves any pleasure, profit, or honour out
of it, but did it on purpose to offend God. And again
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>),
<I>All the evil which they have done was to provoke me to anger.</I>
They knew he was a jealous God in the matters of his worship, and there
they resolved to try his jealousy and dare him to his face. "Jerusalem
has been <I>to me a provocation of my anger and fury,</I>"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
Their conduct in every thing was provoking.
(3.) They began betimes, and had continued all along provoking to God:
"They have <I>done evil before me from their youth,</I> ever since they
were first formed into a people
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>),
witness their murmurings and rebellions in the wilderness." And as for
Jerusalem, though it was the <I>holy city,</I> it has been <I>a
provocation</I> to the holy God <I>from the day that they built it,
even to this day,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
O what reason have we to lament the little honour God has from this
world, and the great dishonour that is done him, when even in Judah,
where <I>he is known</I> and <I>his name is great,</I> and in Salem
where his <I>tabernacle is,</I> there was always that found that was a
provocation to him!
(4.) All orders and degrees of men contributed to the common guilt, and
therefore were justly involved in the common ruin. Not only the
<I>children of Israel,</I> that had revolted from the temple, but the
<I>children of Judah</I> too, that still adhered to it--not only the
common people, the <I>men of Judah</I> and <I>inhabitants of
Jerusalem,</I> but those that should have reproved and restrained sin
in others were themselves ringleaders in it, their <I>kings</I> and
<I>princes,</I> their <I>priests</I> and <I>prophets.</I>
(5.) God had again and again called them to repentance, but they turned
a deaf ear to his calls, and rudely turned their back on him that
called them, though he was their master, to whom they were bound in
duty, and their benefactor, to whom they were bound in gratitude and
interest,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>.
"<I>I taught them</I> better manners, with as much care as ever any
tender parent taught a child, <I>rising up early, in teaching them,</I>
studying to adapt the teaching to their capacities, taking them
betimes, when they might have been most pliable, but all in vain; they
<I>turned not the face to me,</I> would not so much as look upon me,
nay, they <I>turned the back upon me,</I>" an expression of the highest
contempt. <I>As he called them,</I> like froward children, <I>so they
went from him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+11:2">Hos. xi. 2</A>.
<I>They have not hearkened to receive instruction;</I> they regarded
not a word that was said to them, though it was designed for their own
good.
(6.) There was in their idolatries an impious contempt of God; for
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>)
<I>they set their abominations</I> (their idols, which they knew to be
in the highest degree abominable to God) <I>in the house which is
called by my name, to defile it.</I> They had their idols not only in
their high places and groves, but even in God's temple.
(7.) They were guilty of the most unnatural cruelty to their own
children; for they <I>sacrificed them to Moloch,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
Thus because they <I>liked not to retain God in their knowledge,</I>
but <I>changed his glory</I> into shame, they were justly given up to
vile affections and stripped of natural ones, and their glory was
turned into shame. And,
(8.) What was the consequence of all this?
[1.] They <I>caused Judah to sin,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
The whole country was infected with the contagious idolatries and
iniquities of Jerusalem.
[2.] They brought ruin upon themselves. It was as if they had done it
on purpose that God <I>should remove them from before his face</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>);
they would throw themselves out of his favour.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is here promised,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>,
&c. God will in judgment remember mercy, and there will a time come, a
set time, to favour Zion. Observe,
1. The despair to which this people were now at length brought. When
the judgment was threatened at a distance they had no fear; when it
attacked them they had no hope. They said concerning the city
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>),
<I>It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon,</I> not
by any cowardice or ill conduct of ours, but by <I>the sword, famine,
and pestilence.</I> Concerning the country they said, with vexation
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:43"><I>v.</I> 43</A>),
<I>It is desolate, without man or beast;</I> there is no relief, there
is no remedy. <I>It is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.</I> Note,
Deep security commonly ends in deep despair; whereas those that keep up
a holy fear at all times have a good hope to support them in the worst
of times.
2. The hope that God gives them of mercy which he had in store for them
hereafter. Though their carcases must fall in captivity, yet their
children after them shall again see this good land and the goodness of
God in it.
(1.) They shall be brought up from their captivity and shall come and
settle again in this land,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>.
They had been under God's <I>anger and fury, and great wrath;</I> but
now they shall partake of his grace, and love, and great favour. He had
dispersed them, and <I>driven them into all countries.</I> Those that
fled dispersed themselves; those that fell into the enemies; hands were
dispersed by them, in policy, to prevent combinations among them. God's
hand was in both. But now God will find them out, and <I>gather them
out of all the countries whither they were driven,</I> as he promised
in the law
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+30:3,4">Deut. xxx. 3, 4</A>)
and the saints had prayed,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:47,Ne+1:9">Ps. cvi. 47; Neh. i. 9</A>.
He had banished them, but he will <I>bring them again to this
place,</I> which they could not but have an affection for. For many
years past, while they were in their own land, they were continually
exposed, and terrified with the alarms of war; but now <I>I will cause
them to dwell safely.</I> Being reformed, and having returned to God,
neither their own consciences within nor their enemies without shall be
a terror to them. He promises
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:41"><I>v.</I> 41</A>):
<I>I will plant them in this land assuredly;</I> not only I will
certainly do it, but they shall here enjoy a holy a security and
repose, and they shall take root here, shall be <I>planted in
stability,</I> and not again be unfixed and shaken.
(2.) God will renew his covenant with them, a covenant of grace, the
blessings of which are spiritual, and such as will work good things in
them, to qualify them for the great things God intended to do for them.
It is called an <I>everlasting covenant</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:40"><I>v.</I> 40</A>),
not only because God will be for ever faithful to it, but because the
consequences of it will be everlasting. For, doubtless, here the
promises look further than to Israel according to the flesh, and are
sure to all believers, to every Israelite indeed. Good Christians may
apply them to themselves and plead them with God, may claim the benefit
of them and take the comfort of them.
[1.] God will own them for his, and make over himself to them to be
theirs
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:38"><I>v.</I> 38</A>):
<I>They shall be my people.</I> He will make them his by working in
them all the characters and dispositions of his people, and then he
will protect, and guide, and govern them as his people. "And, to make
them truly, completely, and eternally happy, <I>I will be their
God.</I>" They shall serve and worship God as theirs and cleave to him
only, and he will approve himself theirs. All he is, all he has, shall
be engaged and employed for their good.
[2.] God will give them a heart to fear him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>.
That which he requires of those whom he takes into covenant with him as
his people is that they fear him, that they reverence his majesty,
dread his wrath, stand in awe of his authority, pay homage to him, and
give him the glory due unto his name. Now what God requires of them he
here promises to work in them, pursuant to his choice of them as his
people. Note, As it is God's prerogative to fashion men's hearts, so it
is his promise to his people to fashion theirs aright; and a heart to
fear God is indeed a good heart, and well fashioned. It is repeated
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:40"><I>v.</I> 40</A>):
<I>I will put my fear in their hearts,</I> that is, work in them
gracious principles and dispositions, that shall influence and govern
their whole conversation. Teachers may put good things into our heads,
but it is God only that can put them into our hearts, that can work in
us <I>both to will and to do.</I>
[3.] He will <I>give them one heart and one way.</I> In order to their
walking in one way, he will give them one heart: as the heart is, so
will the way be, and both shall be one; that is <I>First,</I> They
shall be each of them one with themselves. <I>One heart</I> is the same
with a <I>new heart,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+11:19">Ezek. xi. 19</A>.
The heart is <I>then</I> one when it is fully determined for God and
entirely devoted to God. When the eye is single and God's glory alone
aimed at, when our hearts are fixed, trusting in God, and we are
uniform and universal in our obedience to him, then the heart is one
and way one; and, unless the heart be thus steady, the goings will not
be stedfast. From this promise we may take direction and encouragement
to pray, with David
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+86:11">Ps. lxxxvi. 11</A>),
<I>Unite my heart to fear thy name;</I> for God says, <I>I will give
them one heart, that they may fear me. Secondly,</I> They shall be all
of them one with each other. All good Christians shall be incorporated
into one body; Jews and Gentiles shall become <I>one sheep-fold;</I>
and they shall all, as far as they are sanctified, have a disposition
to love one another, the gospel they profess having in it the strongest
inducements to mutual love, and the Spirit that dwells in them being
the Spirit of love. Though they may have different apprehensions about
minor things, they shall be all one in the great things of God, being
renewed after the same image. Though they may have many paths, they
have but <I>one way,</I> that of serious godliness.
[4.] He will effectually provide for their perseverance in grace and
the perpetuating of the covenant between himself and them. They would
have been happy when there were first planted in Canaan, like Adam in
paradise, if they had not departed from God. And therefore, now that
they are restored to their happiness, they shall be confirmed in it by
the preventing of their departures from God, and this will complete
their bliss. <I>First,</I> God will never leave nor forsake them: <I>I
will not turn away from them to do them good.</I> Earthly princes are
fickle, and their greatest favourites have fallen under their frowns;
but God's <I>mercy endures for ever. Whom he loves he loves to the
end.</I> God may seem to turn from this people
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:8">Isa. liv. 8</A>),
but even then he does not turn from doing and designing them good.
<I>Secondly,</I> They shall never leave nor forsake him; that is the
thing we are in danger of. We have no reason to distrust God's fidelity
and constancy, but our own; and therefore it is here promised that God
will <I>give them a heart to fear him for ever,</I> all days, to be in
his fear every day and all the day long
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+23:17">Prov. xxiii. 17</A>),
and to continue so to the end of their days. He will put such a
principle into their hearts that they <I>shall not depart from him.</I>
Even those who have given up their names to God, if they be left to
themselves, will depart from him; but the fear of God ruling in the
heart, will prevent their departure. That, and nothing else, will do
it. If we continue close and faithful to God, it is owing purely to his
almighty grace and not to any strength or resolution of our own.
[5.] He will entail a blessing upon their seed, will give them grace to
fear him, <I>for the good of them and of their children after them.</I>
As their departures from God had been to the prejudice of their
children, so their adherence to God should be to the advantage of their
children. We cannot better consult the good of posterity than by
setting up, and keeping up, the fear and worship of God in our
families.
[6.] He will take a pleasure in their prosperity and will do every
thing to advance it
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:41"><I>v.</I> 41</A>):
<I>I will rejoice over them to do them good.</I> God will certainly do
them good because he rejoices over them. They are dear to him; he makes
his boast of them, and therefore will not only do them good, but will
delight in doing them good. When he punishes them it is with
reluctance. <I>How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?</I> But, when he
restores them, it is with satisfaction; he rejoices in doing them good.
We ought therefore to serve him with pleasure and to rejoice in all
opportunities of serving him. He is himself a cheerful giver, and
therefore loves a cheerful servant. <I>I will plant them</I> (says God)
<I>with my whole heart and with my whole soul.</I> He will be intent
upon it, and take delight in it; he will make it the business of his
providence to settle them again in Canaan, and the various
dispensations of providence shall concur to it. All things shall appear
at last so to have been working for the good of the church that it will
be said, The governor of the world is entirely taken up with the care
of his church.
[7.] These promises shall as surely be performed as the foregoing
threatenings were; and the accomplishment of those, notwithstanding the
security of the people, might confirm their expectation of the
performance of these, notwithstanding their present despair
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>):
<I>As I have brought all this great evil upon them,</I> pursuant to the
threatenings, and for the glory of divine justice, <I>so I will bring
upon them all this good,</I> pursuant to the promise, and for the glory
of divine mercy. He that is faithful to his threatenings will much
more be so to his promises; and he will comfort his people <I>according
to the time that he has afflicted them.</I> The churches shall have
rest after the days of adversity.
[8.] As an earnest of all this, houses and lands shall again fetch a
good price in Judah and Jerusalem, and, though now they are a drug,
there shall again be a sufficient number of purchasers
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:43,44"><I>v.</I> 43, 44</A>):
<I>Fields shall be bought in this land,</I> and people will covet to
have lands here rather than any where else. Lands, wherever they lie,
will go off, not only in <I>the places about Jerusalem,</I> but <I>in
the cities of Judah</I> and of Israel, too, whether they lie <I>on
mountains,</I> or in valleys, or <I>in the south,</I> in all parts of
the country, <I>men shall buy fields, and subscribe evidences.</I>
Trade shall revive, for they shall have money enough to buy land with.
Husbandry shall revive, for those that have money shall covet to lay it
out upon lands. Laws shall again have their due course, for they shall
<I>subscribe evidences and seal them.</I> This is mentioned to
reconcile Jeremiah to his new purchase. Though he had bought a piece of
ground and could not go to see it, yet he must believe that this was
the pledge of many a purchase, and those but faint resemblances of the
purchased possessions in the heavenly Canaan, reserved for all those
who have God's fear in their hearts and do not depart from him.</P>
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