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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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As in the history of the Acts of the Apostles that of their preaching
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and that of their suffering are interwoven, so it is in the account we
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have of the prophet Jeremiah; witness this chapter, where we are told,
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I. How faithfully he preached,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. How spitefully he was persecuted for so doing by the priests and
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the prophets,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:7-11">ver. 7-11</A>.
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III. How bravely he stood to his doctrine, in the face of his
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persecutors,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:12-15">ver. 12-15</A>.
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IV. How wonderfully he was protected and delivered by the prudence of
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the princes and elders,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:16-19">ver. 16-19</A>.
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Though Urijah, another prophet, was about the same time put to death by
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Jehoiakim
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:20-23">ver. 20-23</A>),
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yet Jeremiah met with those that sheltered him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:24">ver. 24</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer26_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeremiah's Solemn Address.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah
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king of Judah came this word from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying,
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2 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Stand in the court of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s house,
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and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto
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them; diminish not a word:
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3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil
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way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto
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them because of the evil of their doings.
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4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; If ye will
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not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before
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you,
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5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I
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sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending <I>them,</I> but ye
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have not hearkened;
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6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this
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city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the sermon that Jeremiah preached, which gave such offence
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that he was in danger of losing his life for it. It is here left upon
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record, as it were, by way of appeal to the judgment of impartial men
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in all ages, whether Jeremiah was worthy to die for delivering such a
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message as this from God, and whether his persecutors were not very
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wicked and unreasonable men.</P>
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<P>
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I. God directed him where to preach this sermon, and when, and to what
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auditory,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Let not any censure Jeremiah as indiscreet in the choice of place and
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time, nor say that he might have delivered his message more privately,
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in a corner, among his friends that he could confide in, and that he
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deserved to smart for not acting more cautiously; for God gave him
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orders to preach <I>in the court of the Lord's house,</I> which was
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within the peculiar jurisdiction of his sworn enemies the priests, and
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who would therefore take themselves to be in a particular manner
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affronted. He must preach this, as it should seem, at the time of one
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of the most solemn festivals, when persons had come from all the
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<I>cities of Judah</I> to <I>worship in the Lord's house.</I> These
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worshippers, we may suppose, had a great veneration for their priests,
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would credit the character they gave of men, and be exasperated against
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those whom they defamed, and would, consequently, side with them and
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strengthen their hands against Jeremiah. But none of these things must
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move him or daunt him; in the face of all this danger he must preach
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this sermon, which, if it were not convincing, would be very provoking.
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And because the prophet might be in some temptation to palliate the
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matter, and make it better to his hearers than God had made it to him,
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to exchange an offensive expression for one more plausible, therefore
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God charges him particularly <I>not to diminish a word,</I> but to
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speak all the things, nay, <I>all the words,</I> that he had commanded
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him. Note, God's ambassadors must keep closely to their instructions,
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and not in the least vary from them, either to please men or to save
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themselves from harm. They must neither <I>add</I> nor <I>diminish,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:2">Deut. iv. 2</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. God directed him what to preach, and it is that which could not
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give offence to any but such as were resolved to go on still in their
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trespasses.
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1. He must assure them that if they would <I>repent of their sins,</I>
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and turn from them, though they were in imminent danger of ruin and
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desolating judgments were just at the door, yet a stop should be put to
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them, and God would proceed no further in his controversy with them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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This was the main thing God intended in sending him to them, to try if
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they would return from their sins, that so God might turn from his
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anger and turn away the judgments that threatened them, which he was
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not only willing, but very desirous to do, as soon as he could do it
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without prejudice to the honour of his justice and holiness. See how
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God <I>waits to be gracious,</I> waits till we are duly qualified, till
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we are fit for him to be gracious to, and in the mean time tries a
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variety of methods to bring us to be so.
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2. He must, on the other hand, assure them that if they continued
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obstinate to all the calls God gave them, and would persist in their
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disobedience, it would certainly end in the ruin of their city and
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temple,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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(1.) That which God required of them was that they should be observant
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of what he had said to them, both by the written word and by his
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ministers, that they should <I>walk in all his law which he set before
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them,</I> the law of Moses and the ordinances and commandments of it,
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and that they should <I>hearken to the words of his servants the
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prophets,</I> who pressed nothing upon them but what was agreeable to
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the law of Moses, which was <I>set before them</I> as a touchstone to
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try the spirits by; and by this they were distinguished from the false
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prophets, who drew them from the law, instead of drawing them to it.
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The law was what God himself set before them. The prophets were his own
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servants, and were immediately sent by him to them, and sent with a
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great deal of care and concern, <I>rising early to send them,</I> lest
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they should come too late, when their prejudices had got possession and
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become invincible. They had hitherto been deaf both to the law and to
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the prophets: <I>You have not hearkened.</I> All he expects now is that
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at length they should heed what he said, and make his word their
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rule--a reasonable demand.
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(2.) That which is threatened in case of refusal is that this city, and
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the temple in it, shall fare as their predecessors did, Shiloh and the
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tabernacle there, for a like refusal to walk in God's law and hearken
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to his prophets, then when the present dispensation of prophecy just
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began in Samuel. Now could a sentence be expressed more
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unexceptionably? Is it not a rule of justice <I>ut parium par sit
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ratio--that those whose cases are the same be dealt with alike?</I> If
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Jerusalem be like Shiloh in respect of sin, why should it not be like
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Shiloh in respect of punishment? Can any other be expected? This was
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not the first time he had given them warning to this effect; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:12-14"><I>ch.</I> vii. 12-14</A>.
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When the temple, which was the glory of Jerusalem, was destroyed, the
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city was thereby <I>made a curse;</I> for the temple was that which
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made it a blessing. <I>If the salt lose</I> that <I>savour, it is
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thenceforth good for nothing.</I> It shall be <I>a curse,</I> that is,
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it shall be the pattern of a curse; if a man would curse any city, he
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would say, <I>God make it like Jerusalem!</I> Note, Those that will not
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be subject to the commands of God make themselves subject to the curse
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of God.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer26_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer26_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeremiah Prosecuted for His Preaching; Jeremiah's Defence.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard
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Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of
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speaking all that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had commanded <I>him</I> to speak unto all
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the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people
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took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
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9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying,
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This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate
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without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against
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Jeremiah in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came
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up from the king's house unto the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and sat down
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in the entry of the new gate of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s <I>house.</I>
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11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and
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to all the people, saying, This man <I>is</I> worthy to die; for he
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hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your
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ears.
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12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the
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people, saying, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> sent me to prophesy against this house
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and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
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13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the
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voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God; and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will repent him of the
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evil that he hath pronounced against you.
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14 As for me, behold, I <I>am</I> in your hand: do with me as
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seemeth good and meet unto you.
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15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye
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shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this
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city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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One would have hoped that such a sermon as that in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:1-6">foregoing verses</A>,
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so plain and practical, so rational and pathetic, and delivered in
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God's name, would work upon even this people, especially meeting them
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now at their devotions, and would prevail with them to repent and
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reform; but, instead of awakening their convictions, it did but
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exasperate their corruptions, as appears by this account of the effect
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of it.</P>
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<P>
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I. Jeremiah is charged with it as a crime that he had preached such a
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sermon, and is apprehended for it as a criminal. The <I>priests,</I>
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and <I>false prophets,</I> and <I>people, heard him speak these
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words,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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They had patience, it seems, to hear him out, did not disturb him when
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he was preaching, nor give him any interruption till he had <I>made an
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end of speaking all that the Lord commanded him to speak,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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So far they dealt more fairly with him than some of the persecutors of
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God's ministers have done; they let him say all he had to say, and yet
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perhaps with a bad design, in hopes to have something worse yet to lay
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to his charge; but, having no worse, this shall suffice to ground an
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indictment upon: He hath said, <I>This house shall be like Shiloh,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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See how unfair they are in representing his words. He had said, in
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God's name, <I>If you will not hearken to me, then will I make this
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house like Shiloh;</I> but they leave out God's hand in the desolation
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(<I>I will make</I> it so) and their own hand in it in not hearkening
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to the voice of God, and charge it upon him that he <I>blasphemed this
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holy place,</I> the crime charged both on our Lord Jesus and on
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Stephen: He said, <I>This house shall be like Shiloh.</I> Well might he
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complain, as David does
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:5">Ps. lvi. 5</A>),
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<I>Every day they wrest my words;</I> and we must not think it strange
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if we, and what we say and do, be thus misrepresented. When the
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accusation was so weakly grounded, no marvel that the sentence passed
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upon it was unjust: <I>Thou shalt surely die.</I> What he had said
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agreed with what God had said when he took possession of the temple
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+9:6-8">1 Kings ix. 6-8</A>),
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<I>If you shall at all turn from following after me, then this house
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shall be</I> abandoned; and yet he is condemned to die for saying it.
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It is not out of any concern for the honour of the temple that they
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appear thus warm, but because they are resolved not to part with their
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sins, in which they flatter themselves with a conceit that the
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<I>temple of the Lord</I> will protect them; therefore, right or wrong,
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<I>Thou shalt surely die.</I> This outcry of the priests and prophets
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raised the mob, and <I>all the people were gathered together against
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Jeremiah</I> in a popular tumult, ready to pull him to pieces, were
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<I>gathered about him</I> (so some read it); they flocked together,
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some crying one thing and some another. <I>The people</I> that were at
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first present were hot against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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but their clamours drew more together, only to see what the matter
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was.</P>
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<P>
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II. He is arraigned and indicted for it before the highest court of
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judicature they had. Here,
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1. The <I>princes of Judah</I> were his judges,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Those that filled the thrones of judgment, <I>the thrones of the house
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of David,</I> the elders of Israel, they, hearing of this tumult in the
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temple, <I>came up from the king's house,</I> where they usually sat
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near the court, <I>to the house of the Lord,</I> to enquire into this
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matter, and to see that nothing was done disorderly. They <I>sat down
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in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house,</I> and held a court,
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as it were, by a special commission of <I>Oyer and Terminer.</I>
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2. The <I>priests and prophets</I> were his prosecutors and accusers,
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|
and were violently set against him. They appealed to <I>the
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princes,</I> and <I>to all the people,</I> to the court and the jury,
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|
whether <I>this man</I> were not <I>worthy to die,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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The corrupt priests and counterfeit prophets have always been the most
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|
bitter enemies of the prophets of the Lord; they had ends of their own
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to serve, which they thought such preaching as this would be an
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obstruction to. When Jeremiah prophesied in the house of the king
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concerning the fall of the royal family
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+22:1"><I>ch.</I> xxii. 1</A>,
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&c.), the court, though very corrupt, bore it patiently, and we do not
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|
find that they persecuted him for it; but when he comes into the
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<I>house of the Lord,</I> and touches the copyhold of the priests, and
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|
contradicts the lies and flatteries of the false prophets, then he is
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|
adjudged <I>worthy to die.</I> For the prophets <I>prophesied
|
|
falsely,</I> and the <I>priests bore rule by their means,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+5:31"><I>ch.</I> v. 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe, When Jeremiah is indicted before the princes the stress of his
|
|
accusation is laid upon what he said concerning the city, because they
|
|
thought the princes would be most concerned about that. But concerning
|
|
the words spoken they appeal to the people, "<I>You have heard</I> what
|
|
he hath said; let it be given in evidence."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Jeremiah makes his defence before the princes and the people. He
|
|
does not go about to deny the words, nor to diminish aught from them;
|
|
what he has said he will stand to, though it cost him his life; he owns
|
|
that he had prophesied against <I>this house</I> and <I>this city,</I>
|
|
but,
|
|
|
|
1. He asserts that he did this by good authority, not maliciously nor
|
|
seditiously, not out of any ill-will to his country nor any
|
|
disaffection to the government in church or state, but, <I>The Lord
|
|
sent me</I> to prophesy thus: so he begins his apology
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and so he concludes it, for this is that which he resolves to abide by
|
|
as sufficient to bear him out
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all these
|
|
words.</I> As long as ministers keep closely to the instructions they
|
|
have from heaven they need not fear the opposition they may meet with
|
|
from hell or earth. He pleads that he is but a messenger, and, if he
|
|
faithfully deliver his message, he must bear no blame; but he is a
|
|
messenger from the Lord, to whom they were accountable as well as he,
|
|
and therefore might demand regard. If he speak but what God appointed
|
|
him to speak, he is under the divine protection, and whatever affront
|
|
they offer to the ambassador will be resented by the Prince that sent
|
|
him.
|
|
|
|
2. He shows them that he did it with a good design, and that it was
|
|
their fault if they did not make a good use of it. It was said, not by
|
|
way of fatal sentence, but of fair warning; if they would take the
|
|
warning, they might prevent the execution of the sentence,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Shall I take it ill of a man that tells me of my danger, while I have
|
|
an opportunity of avoiding it, and not rather return him thanks for it,
|
|
as the greatest kindness he could do me? "<I>I have</I> indeed (says
|
|
Jeremiah) prophesied <I>against this city;</I> but, <I>if you will now
|
|
amend your ways and your doings,</I> the threatened ruin shall be
|
|
prevented, which was the thing I aimed at in giving you the warning."
|
|
Those are very unjust who complain of ministers for preaching hell and
|
|
damnation, when it is only to keep them from that place of torment and
|
|
to bring them to heaven and salvation.
|
|
|
|
3. He therefore warns them of their danger if they proceed against him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>As for me,</I> the matter is not great what become of me;
|
|
<I>behold, I am in your hand;</I> you know I am; I neither have any
|
|
power, nor can make any interest, to oppose you, nor is it so much my
|
|
concern to save my own life: <I>do with me as seems meet unto you;</I>
|
|
if I be led to the slaughter, it shall be as a lamb." Note, It becomes
|
|
God's ministers, that are warm in preaching, to be calm in suffering
|
|
and to behave submissively to the powers that are over them, though
|
|
they be persecuting powers. But, for themselves, he tells them that it
|
|
is at their peril if they put him to death: <I>You shall surely bring
|
|
innocent blood upon yourselves,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:15">
|
|
<I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
They might think that killing the prophet would help to defeat the
|
|
prophecy, but they would prove wretchedly deceived; it would but add to
|
|
their guilt and aggravate their ruin. Their own consciences could not
|
|
but tell them that, if Jeremiah was (as certainly he was) sent of God
|
|
to bring them this message, it was at their utmost peril if they
|
|
treated him for it as a malefactor. Those that persecute God's
|
|
ministers hurt not them so much as themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer26_24"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jeremiah's Acquittal; Jeremiah's Deliverance.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests
|
|
and to the prophets; This man <I>is</I> not worthy to die: for he hath
|
|
spoken to us in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God.
|
|
17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to
|
|
all the assembly of the people, saying,
|
|
18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king
|
|
of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus
|
|
saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts; Zion shall be plowed <I>like</I> a field, and
|
|
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as
|
|
the high places of a forest.
|
|
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to
|
|
death? did he not fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and besought the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against
|
|
them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
|
|
20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied
|
|
against this city and against this land according to all the
|
|
words of Jeremiah:
|
|
21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and
|
|
all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to
|
|
death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and
|
|
went into Egypt;
|
|
22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, <I>namely,</I>
|
|
Elnathan the son of Achbor, and <I>certain</I> men with him into
|
|
Egypt.
|
|
23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him
|
|
unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast
|
|
his dead body into the graves of the common people.
|
|
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with
|
|
Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the
|
|
people to put him to death.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The acquitting of Jeremiah from the charge exhibited against him. He
|
|
had indeed spoken the words as they were laid in the indictment, but
|
|
they are not looked upon to be seditious or treasonable, ill-intended
|
|
or of any bad tendency, and therefore the court and country agree to
|
|
find him not guilty. The priests and prophets, notwithstanding his
|
|
rational plea for himself, continued to demand judgment against him;
|
|
but the princes, and all the people, are clear in it that <I>this man
|
|
is not worthy to die</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>);
|
|
|
|
for (say they) <I>he hath spoken to us,</I> not of himself, but <I>in
|
|
the name of the Lord our God.</I> And are they willing to own that he
|
|
did indeed speak to them <I>in the name of the Lord</I> and that that
|
|
Lord is their God? Why then did they not amend their ways and doings,
|
|
and take the method he prescribed to prevent the ruin of their country?
|
|
If they say, His prophecy is <I>from heaven,</I> it may justly be
|
|
asked, <I>Why did you not then believe him?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:25">Matt. xxi. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is a pity that those who are so far convinced of the divine
|
|
original of gospel preaching as to protect it from the malice of others
|
|
do not submit to the power and influence of it themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A precedent quoted to justify them in acquitting Jeremiah. Some of
|
|
the <I>elders of the land,</I> either the princes before mentioned or
|
|
the more intelligent men of the people, stood up, and put the assembly
|
|
in mind of a former case, as is usual with us in giving judgment; for
|
|
the wisdom of our predecessors is a direction to us. The case referred
|
|
to is that of Micah. We have extant the book of his prophecy among the
|
|
minor prophets.
|
|
|
|
1. Was it thought strange that Jeremiah prophesied against this city
|
|
and the temple? Micah did so before him, even in the reign of Hezekiah,
|
|
that reign of reformation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Micah said it as publicly as Jeremiah had now spoken to the same
|
|
purport, <I>Zion shall be ploughed like a field,</I> the building shall
|
|
be all destroyed, so that nothing shall hinder but it may be ploughed;
|
|
<I>Jerusalem shall become heaps</I> of ruins, and <I>the mountain of
|
|
the house</I> on which the temple is built shall be <I>as the high
|
|
places of the forest,</I> overrun with briers and thorns. That prophet
|
|
not only spoke this, but wrote it, and left it on record; we find it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+3:12">Mic. iii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
By this it appears that a man may be, as Micah was, a true prophet of
|
|
the Lord, and yet may prophesy the destruction of Zion and Jerusalem.
|
|
When we threaten secure sinners with the taking away of the Spirit of
|
|
God and the kingdom of God from them, and declining churches with the
|
|
removal of the candlestick, we say no more than what has been said many
|
|
a time, and what we have warrant from the word of God to say.
|
|
|
|
2. Was it thought fit by the princes to justify Jeremiah in what he
|
|
had done? It was what Hezekiah did before them in a like case. Did
|
|
Hezekiah, and the people of Judah (that is, the representatives of the
|
|
people, the commons in parliament), did they complain of Micah the
|
|
prophet? Did they impeach him, or make an act to silence him and put
|
|
him to death? No; on the contrary, they took the warning he gave them.
|
|
Hezekiah, that renowned prince, of blessed memory, set a good example
|
|
before his successors, for he <I>feared the Lord</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
as Noah, who, being <I>warned of God of things not seen as yet,</I> was
|
|
<I>moved with fear.</I> Micah's preaching drove him to his knees; he
|
|
<I>besought the Lord</I> to turn away the judgment threatened and to be
|
|
reconciled to them, and he found it was not in vain to do so, for
|
|
<I>the Lord repented him of the evil</I> and returned in mercy to them;
|
|
he sent an angel, who routed the army of the Assyrians, that threatened
|
|
to plough <I>Zion like a field.</I> Hezekiah got good by the preaching,
|
|
and then you may be sure he would do no harm to the preacher. These
|
|
elders conclude that it would be of dangerous consequence to the state
|
|
if they should gratify the importunity of the priests and prophets in
|
|
putting Jeremiah to death: <I>Thus might we procure great evil against
|
|
our souls.</I> Note, It is good to deter ourselves from sin with the
|
|
consideration of the mischief we shall certainly do to ourselves by it
|
|
and the irreparable damage it will be to our own souls.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Here is an instance of another prophet that was put to death by
|
|
Jehoiakim for prophesying as Jeremiah had done,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Some make this to be urged by the prosecutors, as a case that
|
|
favoured the prosecution, a modern case, in which speaking such words
|
|
as Jeremiah had spoken was adjudged treason. Others think that the
|
|
elders, who were advocates for Jeremiah, alleged this to show that thus
|
|
they might <I>procure great evil against their souls,</I> for it would
|
|
be adding sin to sin. Jehoiakim, the present king, had slain one
|
|
prophet already; let them not fill up the measure by slaying another.
|
|
Hezekiah, who protected Micah, prospered; but did Jehoiakim prosper who
|
|
slew Urijah? No; they all saw the contrary. As good examples, and the
|
|
good consequences of them, should encourage us in that which is good,
|
|
so the examples of bad men, and the bad consequences of them, should
|
|
deter us from that which is evil. But some good interpreters take this
|
|
narrative from the historian that penned the book, Jeremiah himself, or
|
|
Baruch, who, to make Jeremiah's deliverance by means of the princes the
|
|
more wonderful, takes notice of this that happened about the same time;
|
|
for both were in the reign of Jehoiakim, and this <I>in the beginning
|
|
of his reign,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Urijah's prophecy. It was <I>against this city, and this land,
|
|
according to all the words of Jeremiah.</I> The prophets of the Lord
|
|
agreed in their testimony, and one would have thought that out of the
|
|
mouth of so many witnesses the word would be regarded.
|
|
|
|
2. The prosecution of him for it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Jehoiakim and his courtiers were exasperated against him, and <I>sought
|
|
to put him to death;</I> in this wicked design the king himself was
|
|
principally concerned.
|
|
|
|
3. His absconding thereupon: <I>When he heard</I> that the king had
|
|
become his enemy, and sought his life, <I>he was afraid, and fled, and
|
|
went in to Egypt.</I> This was certainly his fault, and an effect of
|
|
the weakness of his faith, and it sped accordingly. He distrusted God,
|
|
and his power to protect him and bear him out; he was too much under
|
|
the power of that <I>fear of man</I> which <I>brings a snare.</I> It
|
|
looked as if he durst not stand to what he had said or was ashamed of
|
|
his Master. It was especially unbecoming him to flee <I>into Egypt,</I>
|
|
and so in effect to abandon the land of Israel and to throw himself
|
|
quite out of the way of being useful. Note, There are many that have
|
|
much grace, but they have little courage, that are very honest, but
|
|
withal very timorous.
|
|
|
|
4. His execution notwithstanding. Jehoiakim's malice, one would think,
|
|
might have contented itself with his banishment, and it might suffice
|
|
to have driven him out of the country; but those are
|
|
<I>bloodthirsty</I> that <I>hate the upright,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:10">Prov. xxix. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was the life, that precious life, that he hunted after, and nothing
|
|
else would satisfy him. So implacable is his revenge that he sends a
|
|
party of soldiers into Egypt, some hundreds of miles, and they bring
|
|
him back by force of arms. It would not sufficiently gratify him to
|
|
have him slain in Egypt, but he must feed his eyes with the bloody
|
|
spectacle. They <I>brought him to Jehoiakim,</I> and he <I>slew him
|
|
with the sword,</I> for aught I know with his own hands. Yet neither
|
|
did this satisfy his insatiable malice, but he loads the dead body of
|
|
the good man with infamy, would not allow it the decent respects
|
|
usually and justly paid to the remains of men of distinction, but cast
|
|
it into <I>the graves of the common people,</I> as if he had not been a
|
|
prophet of the Lord; thus was the <I>shield of Saul vilely cast away,
|
|
as though he had not been anointed with oil.</I> Thus Jehoiakim hoped
|
|
both to ruin his reputation with the people, that no heed might be
|
|
given to his predictions, and to deter others from prophesying in like
|
|
manner; but in vain; Jeremiah says the same. There is no contending
|
|
with the word of God. Herod thought he had gained his point when he had
|
|
cut off John Baptist's head, but found himself deceived when, soon
|
|
after, he heard of Jesus Christ, and said, in a fright, <I>This is John
|
|
the Baptist.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Here is Jeremiah's deliverance. Though Urijah was lately put to
|
|
death, and persecutors, when they have tasted the blood of saints, are
|
|
apt to thirst after more (as Herod,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+12:2,3">Acts xii. 2, 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet God wonderfully preserved Jeremiah, though he did not flee, as
|
|
Urijah did, but stood his ground. Ordinary ministers may use ordinary
|
|
means, provided they be lawful ones, for their own preservation; but
|
|
those that had an extraordinary protection. God raised up a friend for
|
|
Jeremiah, whose hand was with him; he took him by the hand in a
|
|
friendly way, encouraged him, assisted him, appeared for him. It was
|
|
<I>Ahikam the son of Shaphan,</I> one that was a minister of state in
|
|
Josiah's time; we read of him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+22:12">2 Kings xxii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think Gedaliah was the son of this Ahikam. He had a great
|
|
interest, it should seem, among the princes, and he used it in favour
|
|
of Jeremiah, to prevent the further designs of the priests and prophets
|
|
against him, who would have had him turned over <I>into the hand of the
|
|
people,</I> not those people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+26:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
that had adjudged him innocent, but the rude and insolent mob, whom
|
|
they could persuade by their cursed insinuations not only to cry,
|
|
<I>Crucify him, crucify him,</I> but to <I>stone him to death</I> in a
|
|
popular tumult; for perhaps Jehoiakim had been so reproached by his own
|
|
conscience for slaying Urijah that they despaired of making him the
|
|
tool of their malice. Note, God can, when he pleases, raise up great
|
|
men to patronize good men; and it is an encouragement to us to trust
|
|
him in the way of duty that he has all men's hearts in his hands.</P>
|
|
|
|
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