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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah XXXVII].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This chapter brings us very near the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans, for the story of it lies in the latter end of Zedekiah's
reign; we have in it,
I. A general idea of the bad character of that reign,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
II. The message which Zedekiah, notwithstanding, sent to Jeremiah to
desire his prayers,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:3">ver. 3</A>.
III. The flattering hopes which the people had conceived, that the
Chaldeans would quit the siege of Jerusalem,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:5">ver. 5</A>.
IV. The assurance God gave them by Jeremiah (who was now at liberty,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:4">ver. 4</A>)
that the Chaldean army should renew the siege and take the city,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:6-10">ver. 6-10</A>.
V. The imprisonment of Jeremiah, under pretence that he was a deserter,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:11-15">ver. 11-15</A>.
VI. The kindness which Zedekiah showed him when he was a prisoner,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:16-21">ver. 16-21</A>.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Jer37_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Zedekiah's Wicked Reign; Sign of Jerusalem.</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 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made
king in the land of Judah.
&nbsp; 2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land,
did hearken unto the words of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, which he spake by the
prophet Jeremiah.
&nbsp; 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah,
saying, Pray now unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God for us.
&nbsp; 4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they
had not put him into prison.
&nbsp; 5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the
Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they
departed from Jerusalem.
&nbsp; 6 Then came the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> unto the prophet Jeremiah,
saying,
&nbsp; 7 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to
the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me;
Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall
return to Egypt into their own land.
&nbsp; 8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this
city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
&nbsp; 9 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The
Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
&nbsp; 10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans
that fight against you, and there remained <I>but</I> wounded men
among them, <I>yet</I> should they rise up every man in his tent, and
burn this city with fire.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
1. Jeremiah's preaching slighted,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
Zedekiah succeeded Coniah, or Jeconiah, and, though he saw in his
predecessor the fatal consequences of contemning the word of God, yet
he did not take warning, nor give any more regard to it than others had
done before him. <I>Neither he, nor his</I> courtiers, <I>nor the
people of the land, hearkened unto the words of the Lord,</I> though
they already began to be fulfilled. Note, Those have hearts wretchedly
hard indeed that see God's judgments on others, and feel them on
themselves, and yet will not be humbled and brought to heed what he
says. These had proof sufficient that it was the Lord who spoke by
Jeremiah the prophet, and yet they would not hearken to him.
2. Jeremiah's prayers desired. Zedekiah sent messengers to him,
saying, <I>Pray now unto the Lord our God for us.</I> He did so before
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:1,2"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 1, 2</A>),
and one of the messengers, Zephaniah, is the same there and here.
Zedekiah is to be commended for his, and it shows that he had some good
in him, some sense of his need of God's favour and of his own
unworthiness to ask it for himself, and some value for good people and
good ministers, who had an interest in Heaven. Note, When we are in
distress we ought to desire the prayers of our ministers and Christian
friends, for thereby we put an honour upon prayer, and an esteem upon
our brethren. Kings themselves should look upon their praying people as
the strength of the nation,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:5,10">Zech. xii. 5, 10</A>.
And yet this does but help to condemn Zedekiah out of his own mouth. If
indeed he looked upon Jeremiah as a prophet, whose prayers might avail
much both for him and his people, why did he not then believe him, and
<I>hearken to the words of the Lord</I> which he spoke by him? He
desired his good prayers, but would not take his good counsel, nor be
ruled by him, though he spoke in God's name, and it appears by this
that Zedekiah knew he did. Note, It is common for those to desire to be
prayed for who will not be advised; but herein they put a cheat upon
themselves, for how can we expect that God should hear others speaking
to him for us if we will not hear them speaking to us from him and for
him? Many who despise prayer when they are in prosperity will be glad
of it when they are in adversity. Now <I>give us of your oil.</I> When
Zedekiah sent to the prophet to pray for him, he had better have sent
for the prophet to pray with him; but he thought that below him: and
how can those expect the comforts of religion who will not stoop to the
services of it?
3. Jerusalem flattered by the retreat of the Chaldean army from it.
Jeremiah was now at liberty
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>);
he <I>went in and out among the people,</I> might freely speak to them
and be spoken to by them. Jerusalem also, for the present, was at
liberty,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>
Zedekiah, though a tributary to the king of Babylon, had entered into a
private league with Pharaoh king of Egypt
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:15">Ezek. xvii. 15</A>),
pursuant to which, when the king of Babylon came to chastise him for
his treachery, the king of Egypt, though he came no more in person
after that great defeat which Nebuchadnezzar gave him in the reign of
Jehoiakim
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:7">2 Kings xxiv. 7</A>),
yet sent some forces to relieve Jerusalem when it was besieged, upon
notice of the approach of which the Chaldeans raised the siege,
probably not for fear of them but in policy, to fight them at a
distance, before any of the Jewish forces could join them. From this
they encouraged themselves to hope that Jerusalem was delivered for
good and all out of the hands of its enemies and that the storm was
quite blown over. Note, Sinners are commonly hardened in their security
by the intermissions of judgments and the slow proceedings of them; and
those who will not be awakened by the word of God may justly be lulled
asleep by the providence of God.
4. Jerusalem threatened with the return of the Chaldean army and with
ruin by it. Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah to desire him to pray for them,
that the Chaldean army might not return; but Jeremiah sends him word
back that the decree had gone forth, and that it was but a folly for
them to expect peace, for God had begun a controversy with them, which
he would make an end of: <I>Thus saith the Lord, Deceive not
yourselves,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
Note, Satan himself, though he is the great deceiver, could not deceive
us if we did not deceive ourselves; and thus sinners are their own
destroyers by being their own deceivers, of which this is an
aggravation that they are so frequently warned of it and cautioned not
to deceive themselves, and they have the word of God, the great design
of which is to undeceive them. Jeremiah uses no dark metaphors, but
tells them plainly,
(1.) That the Egyptians shall retreat, and either give back or be
forced back, into <I>their own land</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:17">Ezek. xvii. 17</A>),
which was said of old
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:7">Isa. xxx. 7</A>),
and is here said again,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
The Egyptians shall help in vain; they shall not dare to face the
Chaldean army, but shall retire with precipitation. Note, If God help
us not, no creature can. As no power can prevail against God, so none
can avail without God nor countervail his departures from us.
(2.) That the Chaldeans shall return, and shall renew the siege and
prosecute it with more vigour than ever: <I>They shall not depart</I>
for good and all
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>);
<I>they shall come again</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>);
they shall <I>fight against the city.</I> Note, God has the sovereign
command of all the hosts of men, even of those that know him not, that
own him not, and they are all made to serve his purposes. He directs
their marches, their counter-marches, their retreats, their returns, as
it pleases him; and furious armies, like <I>stormy winds,</I> in all
their motions are <I>fulfilling his word.</I>
(3.) That Jerusalem shall certainly be delivered into the hand of the
Chaldeans: <I>They shall take it, and burn it with fire,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
The sentence passed upon it shall be executed, and they shall be the
executioners. "O but" (say they) "the Chaldeans have withdrawn; they
have quitted the enterprise as impracticable." "And though they have,"
says the prophet, "nay, <I>though you had smitten</I> their army, so
that many were slain and all the rest wounded, yet those <I>wounded men
should rise up and burn this city,</I>"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
This is designed to denote that the doom passed upon Jerusalem is
irrevocable, and its destruction inevitable; it must be laid in ruins,
and these Chaldeans are the men that must destroy it, and it is now in
vain to think of evading the stroke or contending with it. Note,
Whatever instruments God has determined to make use of in any service
for him, whether or mercy or judgment, they shall accomplish that for
which they are designed, whatever incapacity or disability they may lie
under or be reduced to. Those by whom God has resolved to save or to
destroy, saviours they shall be and destroyers they shall be, yea,
though there were all wounded; for as when God has work to do he will
not want instruments to do it with, though they may seem far to seek,
so when he has chosen his instruments they shall do the work, though
they may seem very unlikely to accomplish it.</P>
<A NAME="Jer37_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Jer37_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeremiah Attempts to Quit Jerusalem; Jeremiah Imprisoned; Jeremiah Favoured by the King.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>B.&nbsp;C.</FONT>&nbsp;589.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was
broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
&nbsp; 12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the
land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the
people.
&nbsp; 13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the
ward <I>was</I> there, whose name <I>was</I> Irijah, the son of Shelemiah,
the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.
&nbsp; 14 Then said Jeremiah, <I>It is</I> false; I fall not away to the
Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah,
and brought him to the princes.
&nbsp; 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote
him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe:
for they had made that the prison.
&nbsp; 16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the
cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
&nbsp; 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king
asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there <I>any</I> word
from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou
shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
&nbsp; 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I
offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this
people, that ye have put me in prison?
&nbsp; 19 Where <I>are</I> now your prophets which prophesied unto you,
saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor
against this land?
&nbsp; 20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my
supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou
cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest
I die there.
&nbsp; 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit
Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give
him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all
the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the
court of the prison.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We have here a further account concerning Jeremiah, who relates more
passages concerning himself than any other of the prophets; for the
histories of the lives and sufferings of God's ministers have been very
serviceable to the church, as well as their preaching and writing.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. We are here told that Jeremiah, when he had an opportunity for it,
attempted to retire out of Jerusalem into the country
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>):
<I>When the Chaldeans</I> had <I>broken up from Jerusalem</I> because
<I>of Pharaoh's army,</I> upon the notice of their advancing towards
them, Jeremiah determined <I>to go into the</I> country, and (as the
margin reads it) <I>to slip away from Jerusalem in the midst of the
people,</I> who, in that interval of the siege, went out into the
country to look after their affairs there. He endeavoured to steal away
in the crowd; for, though he was a man of great eminence, he could well
reconcile himself to obscurity, though he was one of a thousand, he was
content to be lost in the multitude and buried alive in a corner, in a
cottage. Whether he designed for Anathoth or no does not appear; his
concerns might call him thither, but his neighbours there were such as
(unless they had mended since
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:21"><I>ch.</I> xi. 21</A>)
might discourage him from coming among them; or he might intend to hide
himself somewhere where he was not known, and fulfil his own wish
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+9:2"><I>ch.</I> ix. 2</A>),
<I>Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place!</I> Jeremiah found
he could do no good in Jerusalem; he laboured in vain among them, and
therefore determined to leave them. Note, there are times when it is
the wisdom of good men to retire into privacy, to <I>enter into the
chamber and shut the doors about them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+26:20">Isa. xxvi. 20</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. That in this attempt he was seized as a deserter and committed to
prison
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:13-15"><I>v.</I> 13-15</A>):
<I>He was in the gate of Benjamin,</I> so far he had gained his point,
when <I>a captain of the ward,</I> who probably had the charge of that
gate, discovered him and <I>took him</I> into custody. He was the
grandson of Hananiah, who, the Jews say, was Hananiah the false
prophet, who contested with Jeremiah
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+28:10"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 10</A>),
and they add that this young captain had a spite to Jeremiah upon that
account. He could not arrest him without some pretence, and that which
he charges upon his is, <I>Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans</I>--an
unlikely story, for the Chaldeans had now gone off, Jeremiah could not
reach them; or, if he could, who would go over to a baffled army?
Jeremiah therefore with good reason, and with both the confidence and
the mildness of an innocent man, denies the charge: "<I>It is false; I
fall not away to the Chaldeans;</I> I am going upon my own lawful
occasions." Note, it is no new thing for the church's best friends to
be represented as in the interest of her worst enemies. Thus have the
blackest characters been put upon the fairest purest minds, and, in
such a malicious world as this is, innocency, nay, excellency itself,
is no fence against the basest calumny. When at any time we are thus
falsely accused we may do as Jeremiah did, boldly deny the charge and
then commit our cause to him that judges righteously. Jeremiah's
protestation of his integrity, though he is a prophet, a man of God, a
man of honour and sincerity, though he is a priest, and is ready to say
it <I>in verbo sacerdotis--on the word of a priest,</I> is not regarded;
but he is brought before the privy-council, who without examining him
and the proofs against him, but upon the base malicious insinuation of
the captain, fell into a passion with him: they <I>were wroth;</I> and
what justice could be expected from men who, being in anger, would hear
no reason? They beat him, without any regard had to his coat and
character, and then <I>put him in prison,</I> in the worst prison they
had, that <I>in the house of Jonathan the scribe;</I> either it had
been his house, and he had quitted it for the inconveniences of it, but
it was thought good enough for a prison, or it was now his house, and
perhaps he was a rigid severe man, that made it a house of cruel
bondage to his prisoners. Into this prison Jeremiah was thrust, <I>into
the dungeon,</I> which was dark and cold, damp and dirty, the most
uncomfortable unhealthy place in it; in the cells, or <I>cabins,</I>
there he must lodge, among which there is no choice, for they are all
alike miserable lodging-places. <I>There Jeremiah remained many days,
and</I> for aught that appears, nobody came near him or enquired after
him. See what a world this is. The wicked princes, who are in rebellion
against God, lie at ease, lie in state in their palaces, while godly
Jeremiah, who is in the service of God, lies in pain, in a loathsome
dungeon. It is well that there is a world to come.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. That Zedekiah at length sent for him, and showed him some favour;
but probably not till the Chaldean army had returned and had laid fresh
siege to the city. When their vain hopes, with which they fed
themselves (an in confidence of which they had re-enslaved their
servants,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:11"><I>ch.</I> xxxiv. 11</A>),
had all vanished, then they were in a greater confusion and
consternation then ever. "O then" (says Zedekiah) "send in all haste
for the prophet; let me have some talk with him." When the Chaldeans
had withdrawn, he only sent to the prophet to pray for him; but now
that they had again invested the city, he sent for him to consult him.
Thus gracious will men be when pangs come upon them.
1. The king sent for him to give him private audience as an ambassador
from God. He <I>asked him secretly in his house,</I> being ashamed to
be seen in his company, "<I>Is there any word from the Lord?</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)--
any word of comfort? Canst thou give us any hopes that the Chaldeans
shall again retire?" Note, Those that will not hearken to God's
admonitions when they are in prosperity would be glad of his
consolations when they are in adversity and expect that his ministers
should then speak words of peace to them; but how can they expect it?
What have they to do with peace? Jeremiah's life and comfort are in
Zedekiah's hand, and he has now a petition to present to him for his
favour, and yet, having this opportunity, he tells him plainly that
<I>there is a word from the Lord,</I> but no word of comfort for him or
his people: <I>Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of
Babylon.</I> If Jeremiah had consulted with flesh and blood, he would
have given him a plausible answer, and, though he would not have told
him a lie, yet he might have chosen whether he would tell him the worst
at this time; what occasion was there for it, when he had so often told
it him before? But Jeremiah was one that had <I>obtained mercy of the
Lord to be faithful,</I> and would not, to obtain mercy of man, be
unfaithful either to God or to his prince; he therefore tells him the
truth, the whole truth. And, since there was no remedy, it would be a
kindness to the king to know his doom, that, being no surprise to him,
it might be the less a terror, and he might provide to make the best of
bad. Jeremiah takes this occasion to upbraid him and his people with
the credit they gave to the false prophets, who told them that <I>the
king of Babylon</I> should <I>not come</I> at all, or, when he had
withdrawn, should <I>not come</I> again <I>against</I> them,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
"<I>Where are now your prophets,</I> who told you that you should have
peace?" Note, Those who deceive themselves with groundless hopes of
mercy will justly be upbraided with their folly when the event has
undeceived them.
2. He improved this opportunity for the presenting of a private
petition, as a poor prisoner,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:18,20"><I>v.</I> 18, 20</A>.
It was not in Jeremiah's power to reverse the sentence God had passed
upon Zedekiah, but it was in Zedekiah's power to reverse the sentence
which the princes had given against him; and therefore, since he
thought him fit to be used as a prophet, he would not think him fit to
be abused as the worst of malefactors. He humbly expostulates with the
king: "<I>What have I offended against thee, or thy servants, or this
people,</I> what law have I broken, what injury have I done to the
common welfare, <I>that you have put me in prison?</I>" And many a one
that has been very hardly dealt with has been able to make the same
appeal and to make it good. He likewise earnestly begs, and very
pathetically
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
<I>Cause me to return</I> to yonder noisome gaol, <I>to the house of
Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.</I> This was the language of
innocent nature, sensible of its own grievances and solicitous for its
own preservation. Though he was not at all unwilling to die God's
martyr, yet, having so fair an opportunity to get relief, he would not
let it slip, lest he should die his own murderer. When Jeremiah
delivered God's message he spoke as one having authority, with the
greatest boldness; but, when he presented his own request, he spoke as
one under authority, with the greatest submissiveness: <I>Near me, I
pray thee, O my Lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be
accepted before thee.</I> Here is not a word of complaint of the
princes that unjustly committed him, no offer to bring an action of
false imprisonment against them, but all in a way of modest
supplication to the king, to teach us that even when we act with the
courage that becomes the faithful servants of God, yet we must conduct
ourselves with the humility and modesty that become dutiful subjects to
the government God hath set over us. A lion in God's cause must be a
lamb in his own. And we find that God gave Jeremiah favour in the eyes
of the king.
(1.) He gave him his request, took care that he should not die in the
dungeon, but ordered that he should have the liberty of the <I>court of
the prison,</I> where he might have a pleasant walk and breathe a free
air.
(2.) He gave him more than his request, took care that he should not
die for want, as many did that had their liberty, by reason of the
straitness of the siege; he ordered him his <I>daily bread out of
the</I> public stock (for the prison was within the verge of the
court), <I>till all the bread was spent.</I> Zedekiah ought to have
released him, to have made him a privy-counsellor, as Joseph was taken
from prison to be the second man in the kingdom. But he had not courage
to do that; it was well he did as he did, and it is an instance of the
care God takes of his suffering servants that are faithful to him. He
can make even their confinement turn to their advantage and the court
of the of their prison to become as green pastures to them, and raise
up such friends to provide for them that <I>in the days of famine they
shall be satisfied. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh.</I></P>
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