mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 20.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxi" n="xxi" next="Jer.xxii" prev="Jer.xx" progress="35.96%" title="Chapter XX">
<h2 id="Jer.xxi-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxi-p0.2">CHAP. XX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxi-p1" shownumber="no">Such plain dealing as Jeremiah used in the
foregoing chapter, one might easily foresee, if it did not convince
and humble men, would provoke and exasperate them; and so it did;
for here we find, I. Jeremiah persecuted by Pashur for preaching
that sermon, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.1-Jer.20.2" parsed="|Jer|20|1|20|2" passage="Jer 20:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>.
II. Pashur threatened for so doing, and the word which Jeremiah had
preached confirmed, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.3-Jer.20.6" parsed="|Jer|20|3|20|6" passage="Jer 20:3-6">ver.
3-6</scripRef>. III. Jeremiah complaining to God concerning it, and
the other instances of hard measure that he had since he began to
be a prophet, and the grievous temptations he had struggled with
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.7-Jer.20.10" parsed="|Jer|20|7|20|10" passage="Jer 20:7-10">ver. 7-10</scripRef>), encouraging
himself in God, lodging his appeal with him, not doubting but that
he shall yet praise him, by which it appears that he had much grace
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.11-Jer.20.13" parsed="|Jer|20|11|20|13" passage="Jer 20:11-13">ver. 11-13</scripRef>) and yet
peevishly cursing the day of his birth (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.14-Jer.20.18" parsed="|Jer|20|14|20|18" passage="Jer 20:14-18">ver. 14-18</scripRef>), by which it appears that he
had sad remainders of corruption in him too, and was a man subject
to like passions as we are.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20" parsed="|Jer|20|0|0|0" passage="Jer 20" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.1-Jer.20.6" parsed="|Jer|20|1|20|6" passage="Jer 20:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxi-p1.8">
<h4 id="Jer.xxi-p1.9">The Sin and Doom of Pashur. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p1.10">b. c.</span> 600.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxi-p2" shownumber="no">1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who
<i>was</i> also chief governor in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p2.1">Lord</span>, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these
things.   2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put
him in the stocks that <i>were</i> in the high gate of Benjamin,
which <i>was</i> by the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p2.2">Lord</span>.   3 And it came to pass on the
morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then
said Jeremiah unto him, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p2.3">Lord</span>
hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.   4 For
thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p2.4">Lord</span>, Behold, I will
make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they
shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall
behold <i>it:</i> and I will give all Judah into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and
shall slay them with the sword.   5 Moreover I will deliver
all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all
the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of
Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil
them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.   6 And thou,
Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity:
and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt
be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast
prophesied lies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. Pashur's unjust displeasure
against Jeremiah, and the fruits of that displeasure, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.1-Jer.20.2" parsed="|Jer|20|1|20|2" passage="Jer 20:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>. This Pashur was a
priest, and therefore, one would think, should have protected
Jeremiah, who was of his own order, a priest too, and the more
because he was a prophet of the Lord, whose interests the priests,
his ministers, ought to consult. But this priest was a persecutor
of him whom he should have patronized. He was <i>the son of
Immer;</i> that is, he was of the sixteenth course of the priests,
of which Immer, when these courses were first settled by David, was
father (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.24.14" parsed="|1Chr|24|14|0|0" passage="1Ch 24:14">1 Chron. xxiv.
14</scripRef>), as Zechariah was of the order of Abiah, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.5" parsed="|Luke|1|5|0|0" passage="Lu 1:5">Luke i. 5</scripRef>. Thus this Pashur is
distinguished from another of the same name mentioned <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.1" parsed="|Jer|21|1|0|0" passage="Jer 21:1"><i>ch.</i> xxi. 1</scripRef>, who was of the
fifth course. This Pashur was <i>chief governor in the temple;</i>
perhaps he was only so <i>pro tempore—for a short period,</i> the
course he was head of being now in waiting, or he was suffragan to
the high priest, or perhaps captain of the temple or of the guards
about it. <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.1" parsed="|Acts|4|1|0|0" passage="Ac 4:1">Acts iv. 1</scripRef>. This
was Jeremiah's great enemy. The greatest malignity to God's
prophets was found among those that professed sanctity and concern
for God and the church. We cannot suppose that Pashur was one of
those ancients of the priests that went with Jeremiah to the valley
of Tophet to hear him prophesy, unless it were with a malicious
design to take advantage against him; but, when he came into the
courts of the Lord's house, it is probable that he was himself a
witness of what he said, and so it may be read (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.1" parsed="|Jer|20|1|0|0" passage="Jer 20:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), <i>He heard Jeremiah
prophesying these things.</i> As we read it, the information was
brought to him by others, whose examinations he took: <i>He heard
that Jeremiah prophesied these things,</i> and could not bear it,
especially that he should dare to preach in the courts of the
Lord's house, where he was <i>chief governor,</i> without his
leave. When power in the church is abused, it is the most dangerous
power that can be employed against it. Being incensed at Jeremiah,
1. He <i>smote</i> him, struck him with his hand or staff of
authority. Perhaps it was a blow intended only to disgrace him,
like that which the high priest ordered to be given to Paul
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Acts.23.2" parsed="|Acts|23|2|0|0" passage="Ac 23:2">Acts xxiii. 2</scripRef>), he struck
him on the mouth, and bade him hold his prating. Or perhaps he gave
him many blows intended to hurt him; he beat him severely, as a
malefactor. It is charged upon the husbandmen (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.35" parsed="|Matt|21|35|0|0" passage="Mt 21:35">Matt. xxi. 35</scripRef>) that they beat the servants.
The method of proceeding here was illegal; the high priest, and the
rest of the priests, ought to have been consulted, Jeremiah's
credentials examined, and the matter enquired into, whether he had
an authority to say what he said. But these rules of justice are
set aside and despised, as mere formalities; right or wrong,
Jeremiah must be run down. The enemies of piety would never suffer
themselves to be bound by the laws of equity. 2. He <i>put him in
the stocks.</i> Some make it only a place of confinement; he
imprisoned him. It rather seems to be an instrument of closer
restraint, and intended to put him both to pain and shame. Some
think it was a pillory for his neck and arms; others (as we) a pair
of stocks for his legs: whatever engine it was, he continued in it
all night, and in a public place too, <i>in the high gate of
Benjamin, which was</i> in, or <i>by, the house of the Lord,</i>
probably a gate through which they passed between the city and the
temple. Pashur intended thus to chastise him, that he might deter
him from prophesying; and thus to expose him to contempt and render
him odious, that he might not be regarded if he did prophesy. Thus
have the best men met with the worst treatment from this ungracious
ungrateful world; and the greatest blessings of their age have been
counted as the <i>off-scouring of all things.</i> Would it not
raise a pious indignation to see such a man as Pashur upon the
bench and such a man as Jeremiah in the stocks? It is well that
there is another life after this, when persons and things will
appear with another face.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p4" shownumber="no">II. God's just displeasure against Pashur,
and the tokens of it. <i>On the morrow Pashur</i> gave Jeremiah his
discharge, <i>brought him out of the stocks</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.3" parsed="|Jer|20|3|0|0" passage="Jer 20:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>); it is probable that he
continued him there, in little-ease, as long as was usual to
continue any in that punishment. And now Jeremiah has a message
from God to him. We do not find that, when Pashur put Jeremiah in
the stocks, the latter gave him any check for which he did; he
appears to have quietly and silently submitted to the abuse;
<i>when he suffered, he threatened not.</i> But, when he brought
him out of the stocks, then God put a word into the prophet's
mouth, which would awaken his conscience, if he had any. For, when
the prophet of the Lord was bound, <i>the word of the Lord was
not.</i> What can we think Pashur aimed at in smiting and abusing
Jeremiah? Whatever it is, we shall see by what God says to him that
he is disappointed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p5" shownumber="no">1. Did he aim to establish himself, and
make himself easy, by silencing one that told him of his faults and
would be likely to lessen his reputation with the people? He shall
not gain this point; for, (1.) Though the prophet should be silent,
his own conscience shall fly in his face and make him always
uneasy. To confirm this he shall have a name given him,
<i>Magor-missabib—Terror round about,</i> or <i>Fear on every
side.</i> God himself shall give him this name, whose calling him
so will make him so. It seems to be a proverbial expression,
bespeaking a man not only in distress but in despair, not only in
danger on every side (that a man may be and yet by faith may be in
no terror, as David, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.3.6 Bible:Ps.27.3" parsed="|Ps|3|6|0|0;|Ps|27|3|0|0" passage="Ps 3:6,27:3">Ps. iii. 6,
xxvii. 3</scripRef>), but in fear on every side, and that a man may
be when there appears no danger. <i>The wicked flee when no man
pursues,</i> are in <i>great gear where no fear is.</i> This shall
be Pashur's case (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.4" parsed="|Jer|20|4|0|0" passage="Jer 20:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>): "<i>Behold, I will make thee a terror to
thyself;</i> that is, thou shalt be subject to continual frights,
and thy own fancy and imagination shall create thee a constant
uneasiness." Note, God can make the most daring sinner a terror to
himself, and will find out a way to frighten those that frighten
his people from doing their duty. And those that will not hear of
their faults from God's prophets, that are reprovers in the gate,
shall be made to hear of them from conscience, which is a reprover
in their own bosoms that will not be daunted nor silenced. And
miserable is the man that is thus made a terror to himself. Yet
this is not all; some are very much a terror to themselves, but
they conceal it and seem to others to be pleasant; but, "<i>I will
make thee a terror to all thy friends;</i> thou shalt, upon all
occasions, express thyself with so much horror and amazement that
all thy friends shall be afraid of conversing with thee and shall
choose to stand aloof from thy torment." Persons in deep melancholy
and distraction are a terror to themselves and all about them,
which is a good reason why we should be very thankful, so long as
God continues to us the use of our reason and the peace of our
consciences. (2.) His friends, whom he put a confidence in and
perhaps studied to oblige in what he did against Jeremiah, shall
all fail him. God does not presently strike him dead for what he
did against Jeremiah, but lets him live miserably, like Cain in the
<i>land of shaking,</i> in such a continual consternation that
wherever he goes he shall be a monument of divine justice; and,
when it is asked, "What makes this man in such a continual terror?"
it shall be answered, "It is God's hand upon him for putting
Jeremiah in the stocks." His friends, who should encourage him,
shall all be cut off; they shall <i>fall by the sword of the
enemy,</i> and <i>his eyes shall behold it,</i> which dreadful
sight shall increase his terror. (3.) He shall find, in the issue,
that his terror is not causeless, but that divine vengeance is
waiting for him (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.6" parsed="|Jer|20|6|0|0" passage="Jer 20:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>); he and his family shall <i>go into captivity,</i>
even to <i>Babylon;</i> he shall neither die before the evil comes,
as Josiah, nor live to survive it, as some did, but he shall die a
captive, and shall in effect be buried in his chains, he <i>and all
his friends.</i> Thus far is the doom of Pashur. Let persecutors
read it, and tremble; tremble to repentance before they be made to
tremble to their ruin.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p6" shownumber="no">2. Did he aim to keep the people easy, to
prevent the destruction that Jeremiah prophesied of, and by sinking
his reputation to make his words fall to the ground? It is probable
that he did; for it appears by <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.6" parsed="|Jer|20|6|0|0" passage="Jer 20:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef> that he did himself set up for a
prophet, and told the people that they should have peace. He
<i>prophesied lies to them;</i> and because Jeremiah's prophecy
contradicted his, and tended to awaken those whom he endeavoured to
rock asleep in their sins, therefore he set himself against him.
But could he gain his point? No; Jeremiah stands to what he has
said against Judah and Jerusalem, and God by his mouth repeats it.
Men get nothing by silencing those who reprove and warn them, for
the word will have its course; so it had here. (1.) The country
shall be ruined (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.4" parsed="|Jer|20|4|0|0" passage="Jer 20:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>): <i>I will give all Judah into the hand of the king
of Babylon.</i> It had long been God's own land, but he will now
transfer his title to it to Nebuchadnezzar, he shall be master of
the country and dispose of the inhabitants some to the sword and
some to captivity, as he pleases, but none shall escape him. (2.)
The city shall be ruined too, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.5" parsed="|Jer|20|5|0|0" passage="Jer 20:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. The king of Babylon shall spoil
that, and carry all that is valuable in it to Babylon. [1.] He
shall seize their magazines and military stores (here called <i>the
strength of this city</i>) and turn them against them. These they
trusted to as their strength; but what stead could they stand them
in when they had thrown themselves out of God's protection, and
when he who was indeed their strength had departed from them? [2.]
He shall carry off all their stock in trade, their wares and
merchandises, here called <i>their labours,</i> because it was what
they laboured about and got by their labour. [3.] He shall plunder
their fine houses, and take away their rich furniture, here called
their <i>precious things,</i> because they valued them and set
their hearts so much upon them. Happy are those who have secured to
themselves precious things in God's precious promises, which are
out of the reach of soldiers. [4.] He shall rifle the exchequer,
and take away the jewels of the crown and <i>all the treasures of
the kings of Judah.</i> This was that instance of the calamity
which was first of all threatened to Hezekiah long ago as his
punishment for showing his treasures to the king of Babylon's
ambassadors, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.39.6" parsed="|Isa|39|6|0|0" passage="Isa 39:6">Isa. xxxix. 6</scripRef>.
The treasury, they thought, was their defence; but that betrayed
them, and became an easy prey to the enemy.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxi-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.7-Jer.20.13" parsed="|Jer|20|7|20|13" passage="Jer 20:7-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxi-p6.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xxi-p6.7">The Prophet's Impatient
Appeal. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p6.8">b. c.</span> 600.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxi-p7" shownumber="no">7 <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.1">O Lord</span>, thou
hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and
hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
  8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and
spoil; because the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.2">Lord</span>
was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.   9 Then I
said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his
name. But <i>his word</i> was in mine heart as a burning fire shut
up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not
<i>stay.</i>   10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on
every side. Report, <i>say they,</i> and we will report it. All my
familiars watched for my halting, <i>saying,</i> Peradventure he
will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall
take our revenge on him.   11 But the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.3">Lord</span> <i>is</i> with me as a mighty terrible one:
therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail:
they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper:
<i>their</i> everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.  
12 But, <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.4">O Lord</span> of hosts, that triest
the righteous, <i>and</i> seest the reins and the heart, let me see
thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.  
13 Sing unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.5">Lord</span>, praise ye the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p7.6">Lord</span>: for he hath delivered the soul
of the poor from the hand of evildoers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p8" shownumber="no">Pashur's doom was to be a <i>terror to
himself;</i> Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far
from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here,
through the infirmity of the flesh, strangely agitated within
himself. Good men are but men at the best. God is not extreme to
mark what they say and do amiss, and therefore we must not be so,
but make the best of it. In these verses it appears that, upon
occasion of the great indignation and injury that Pashur did to
Jeremiah, there was a struggle in his breast between his graces and
his corruptions. His discourse with himself and with his God, upon
this occasion, was somewhat perplexed; let us try to methodize
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p9" shownumber="no">I. Here is a sad representation of the
wrong that was done him and the affronts that were put upon him;
and this representation, no doubt, was according to truth, and
deserves no blame, but was very justly and very fitly made to him
that sent him, and no doubt would bear him out. He complains,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p10" shownumber="no">1. That he was ridiculed and laughed at;
they made a jest of every thing he said and did; and this cannot
but be a great grievance to an ingenuous mind (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.7-Jer.20.8" parsed="|Jer|20|7|20|8" passage="Jer 20:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>): <i>I am in derision; I am
mocked.</i> They played upon him, and made themselves and one
another merry with him, as if he had been a fool, good for nothing
but to make sport. Thus he was continually: <i>I was in derision
daily.</i> Thus he was universally: <i>Every one mocks me;</i> the
greatest so far forget their own gravity, and the meanest so far
forget mine. Thus our Lord Jesus, on the cross, was reviled both by
priests and people; and the revilings of each had their peculiar
aggravation. And what was it that thus exposed him to contempt and
scorn? It was nothing but his faithful and zealous discharge of the
duty of his office, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.8" parsed="|Jer|20|8|0|0" passage="Jer 20:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. They could find nothing for which to deride him but
his preaching; it was <i>the word of the Lord</i> that <i>was made
a reproach.</i> That for which they should have honoured and
respected him—that he was entrusted to deliver the <i>word of the
Lord</i> to them was the very thing for which they reproached and
reviled him. He never preached a sermon, but, though he kept as
closely as possible to his instructions, they found something or
other in it for which to banter and abuse him. Note, It is sad to
think that, though divine revelation be one of the greatest
blessings and honours that ever was bestowed upon the world, yet it
has been turned very much to the reproach of the most zealous
preachers and believers of it. Two things they derided him for:—
(1.) The manner of his preaching: <i>Since he spoke, he cried
out.</i> He had always been a lively affectionate preacher, and
since he began to speak in God's name he always spoke as a man in
earnest; he <i>cried aloud and did not spare,</i> spared neither
himself nor those to whom he preached; and this was enough for
those to laugh at who hated to be serious. It is common for those
that are unaffected with and disaffected to, the things of God
themselves, to ridicule those that are much affected with them.
Lively preachers are the scorn of careless unbelieving hearers.
(2.) The matter of his preaching: He <i>cried violence and
spoil.</i> He reproved them for the violence and spoil which they
were guilty of towards one another; and he prophesied of the
violence and spoil which should be brought upon them as the
punishment of that sin; for the former they ridiculed him as
over-precise, for the latter as over-credulous; in both he was
provoking to them, and therefore they resolved to run him down.
This was bad enough, yet he complains further.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p11" shownumber="no">2. That he was plotted against and his ruin
contrived; he was not only ridiculed as a weak man, but reproached
and misrepresented as a bad man and dangerous to the government.
This he laments as his grievance, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.10" parsed="|Jer|20|10|0|0" passage="Jer 20:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Being laughed at, though it
touches a man in point of honour, is yet a thing that may be easily
laughed at again; for, as it has been well observed, it is no shame
to be laughed at, but to deserve to be so. But there were those
that acted a more spiteful part, and with more subtlety. (1.) They
spoke ill of him behind his back, when he had no opportunity of
clearing himself, and were industrious to spread false reports
concerning him: <i>I heard,</i> at second hand, <i>the defaming of
many, fear on every side</i> (<i>of many Magor-missabibs,</i> so
some read it), of many such men as Pashur was, and who may
therefore expect his doom. Or this was the matter of their
defamation; they represented Jeremiah as a man that instilled fears
and jealousies on every side into the minds of the people, and so
made them uneasy under the government, and disposed them to a
rebellion. Or he perceived them to be so malicious against him that
he could not but be <i>afraid on every side;</i> wherever he was he
had reason to fear informers; so that they made him almost a
<i>Magor-missabib.</i> These words are found in the original,
<i>verbatim,</i> the same, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.31.13" parsed="|Ps|31|13|0|0" passage="Ps 31:13">Ps. xxxi.
13</scripRef>, <i>I have heard the slander</i> or <i>defaming of
many, fear on every side.</i> Jeremiah, in his complaint, chooses
to make use of the same words that David had made use of before
him, that it might be a comfort to him to think that other good men
had suffered similar abuses before him, and to teach us to make use
of David's psalms with application to ourselves, as there is
occasion. Whatever we have to say, we may thence take with us
words. See how Jeremiah's enemies contrived the matter: <i>Report,
say they, and we will report it.</i> They resolve to cast an odium
upon him, and this is the method they take: "Let some very bad
thing be said of him, which may render him obnoxious to the
government, and, though it be ever so false, we will second it, and
spread it, and add to it." (For the reproaches of good men lose
nothing by the carriage.) "Do you that frame a story plausibly, or
you that can pretend to some acquaintance with him, report it once,
and we will all report it from you, in all companies, that we come
into. Do you say it, and we will swear it; do you set it a going,
and we will follow it." And thus both are equally guilty, those
that raise and those that propagate the false report. The receiver
is as bad as the thief. (2.) They flattered him to his face, that
they might get something from him on which to ground an accusation,
as the spies that came to Christ feigning themselves to be just
men, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.20.20 Bible:Luke.11.53-Luke.11.54" parsed="|Luke|20|20|0|0;|Luke|11|53|11|54" passage="Lu 20:20,Lu 11:53,54">Luke xx. 20; xi. 53,
54</scripRef>. His familiars, that he conversed freely with and put
a confidence in, <i>watched for his halting,</i> observed what he
said, which they could by any strained <i>innuendo</i> put a bad
construction upon, and carried it to his enemies. His case was very
sad when those betrayed him whom he took to be his friends. They
said among themselves, "If we accost him kindly, and insinuate
ourselves into his acquaintance, per-adventure he will be enticed
to own that he is in confederacy with the enemy and a pensioner to
the king of Babylon, or we shall wheedle him to speak some
treasonable words; and then <i>we shall prevail against him,</i>
and <i>take our revenge upon him</i> for telling us of our faults
and threatening us with the judgments of God." Note, Neither the
innocence of the dove, no, nor the prudence of the serpent to help
it, can secure men from unjust censure and false accusation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p12" shownumber="no">II. Here is an account of the temptation he
was in under this affliction; his <i>feet were almost gone,</i> as
the psalmist's, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.2" parsed="|Ps|73|2|0|0" passage="Ps 73:2">Ps. lxxiii.
2</scripRef>. And this is that which is most to be dreaded in
affliction, being driven by it to sin, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.6.13" parsed="|Neh|6|13|0|0" passage="Ne 6:13">Neh. vi. 13</scripRef>. 1. He was tempted to quarrel with
God for making him a prophet. This he begins with (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.7" parsed="|Jer|20|7|0|0" passage="Jer 20:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>O Lord! thou hast
deceived me, and I was deceived.</i> This as we read it, sounds
very harshly. God's servants have been always ready to own that he
is a faithful Master and never cheated them; and therefore this is
the language of Jeremiah's folly and corruption. If, when God
called him to be a prophet and told him he would <i>set him over
the kingdoms</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.10" parsed="|Jer|1|10|0|0" passage="Jer 1:10"><i>ch.</i> i.
10</scripRef>) and <i>make him a defenced city,</i> he flattered
himself with an expectation of having universal respect paid to him
as a messenger from heaven, and living safe and easy, and
afterwards it proved otherwise, he must not say that God had
deceived him, but that he had deceived himself; for he knew how the
prophets before him had been persecuted, and had no reason to
expect better treatment. Nay, God had expressly told him that all
the <i>princes, priests, and people of the land would fight against
him</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.18-Jer.1.19" parsed="|Jer|1|18|1|19" passage="Jer 1:18,19"><i>ch.</i> i. 18,
19</scripRef>), which he had forgotten, else he would not have laid
the blame on God thus. Christ thus told his disciples what
opposition they should meet with, <i>that they might not be
offended,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:John.16.1-John.16.2" parsed="|John|16|1|16|2" passage="Joh 16:1,2">John xvi. 1,
2</scripRef>. But the words may very well be read thus: <i>Thou
hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded;</i> it is the same word
that was used, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.9.27" parsed="|Gen|9|27|0|0" passage="Ge 9:27">Gen. ix. 27</scripRef>,
margin, <i>God shall persuade Japhet.</i> And <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.25.15" parsed="|Prov|25|15|0|0" passage="Pr 25:15">Prov. xxv. 15</scripRef>, <i>By much forbearance is a
prince persuaded.</i> And <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.9" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.14" parsed="|Hos|2|14|0|0" passage="Ho 2:14">Hos. ii.
14</scripRef>, <i>I will allure her.</i> And this agrees best with
what follows: "<i>Thou wast stronger than I,</i> didst
over-persuade me with argument; nay, didst overpower me, by the
influence of thy Spirit upon me, and <i>thou hast prevailed.</i>"
Jeremiah was very backward to undertake the prophetic office; he
pleaded that he was under age and unfit for the service; but God
over-ruled his pleas, and told him that <i>he must go,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.6-Jer.1.7" parsed="|Jer|1|6|1|7" passage="Jer 1:6,7"><i>ch.</i> i. 6, 7</scripRef>. "Now,
Lord," says he, "since thou hast put this office upon me, why dost
thou not stand by me in it? Had I thrust myself upon it, I might
justly have been in derision; but why am I so when thou didst
thrust me into it?" It was Jeremiah's infirmity to complain thus of
God as putting a hardship upon him in calling him to be a prophet,
which he would not have done had he considered the lasting honour
thereby done him, sufficient to counterbalance the present contempt
he was under. Note, As long as we see ourselves in the way of God
and duty it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties
and discouragements in it, to wish we had never set out in it. 2.
He was tempted to quit his work and give it over, partly because he
himself met with so much hardship in it and partly because those to
whom he was sent, instead of being edified and made better, were
exasperated and made worse (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p12.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.9" parsed="|Jer|20|9|0|0" passage="Jer 20:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): "<i>Then I said,</i> Since by prophesying in the
name of the Lord I gain nothing to him or myself but dishonour and
disgrace, <i>I will not make mention of him</i> as my author for
any thing I say, nor <i>speak any more in his name;</i> since my
enemies do all they can to silence me, I will even silence myself,
and speak no more, for I may as well speak to the stones as to
them." Note, It is a strong temptation to poor ministers to resolve
that they will preach no more when they see their preaching
slighted and wholly ineffectual. But let people dread putting their
ministers into this temptation. Let not their labour be in vain
with us, lest we provoke them to say that they will take no more
pains with us, and provoke God to say, They shall take no more. Yet
let not ministers hearken to this temptation, but go on in their
duty, notwithstanding their discouragements, for this is the more
thankworthy; and, <i>though Israel be not gathered,</i> yet they
<i>shall be glorious.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p13" shownumber="no">III. Here is an account of his faithful
adherence to his work and cheerful dependence on his God
notwithstanding.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p14" shownumber="no">1. He found the grace of God mighty in him
to keep him to this business, notwithstanding the temptation he was
in to throw it up: "<i>I said,</i> in my haste, <i>I will speak no
more in his name;</i> what I have in my heart to deliver I will
stifle and suppress. But I soon found it was <i>in my heart as a
burning fire shut up in my bones,</i> which glowed inwardly, and
must have vent; it was impossible to smother it; I was like a man
in a burning fever, uneasy and in a continual agitation; while <i>I
kept silence from good my heart was hot within me,</i> it was
<i>pain and grief to me,</i> and I must speak, that I might be
refreshed;" <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.29.2-Ps.29.3 Bible:Job.32.20" parsed="|Ps|29|2|29|3;|Job|32|20|0|0" passage="Ps 29:2,3,Job 32:20">Ps. xxix. 2, 3;
Job xxxii. 20</scripRef>. <i>While I kept silence, my bones waxed
old,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.32.3" parsed="|Ps|32|3|0|0" passage="Ps 32:3">Ps. xxxii. 3</scripRef>. See
the power of the spirit of prophecy in those that were actuated by
it; and thus will a holy zeal for God even eat men up, and make
them forget themselves. <i>I believed, therefore have I spoken.</i>
Jeremiah was soon weary with forbearing to preach, and could not
contain himself; nothing puts faithful ministers to pain so much as
being silenced, nor to terror so much as silencing themselves.
Their convictions will soon triumph over temptations of that kind;
for <i>woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel,</i> whatever it
cost me, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.9.16" parsed="|1Cor|9|16|0|0" passage="1Co 9:16">1 Cor. ix. 16</scripRef>. And
it is really a mercy to have the word of God thus mighty in us to
overpower our corruptions.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p15" shownumber="no">2. He was assured of God's presence with
him, which would be sufficient to baffle all the attempts of his
enemies against him (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.11" parsed="|Jer|20|11|0|0" passage="Jer 20:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): "They say, <i>We shall prevail against him;</i> the
day will undoubtedly be our own. But I am sure that <i>they shall
not prevail, they shall not prosper.</i> I can safely set them all
at defiance, for <i>the Lord is with me,</i> is on my side, to take
my part against them (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.31" parsed="|Rom|8|31|0|0" passage="Ro 8:31">Rom. viii.
31</scripRef>), to protect me from all their malicious designs upon
me. He is with me to support me and bear me up under the burden
which now presses me down. He is with me to make the word I preach
answer the end he designs, though not the end I desire. He is with
me as a mighty terrible one, to strike a terror upon them, and so
to overcome them." Note, Even that in God which is terrible is
really comfortable to his servants that trust in him, for it shall
be turned against those that seek to terrify his people. God's
being a mighty God bespeaks him a terrible God to all those that
take up arms against him or any one that, like Jeremiah, was
commissioned by him. How terrible will the wrath of God be to those
that think to daunt all about them and will themselves be daunted
by nothing! The most formidable enemies that act against us appear
despicable when we see the Lord for us as a <i>mighty terrible
one,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.4.14" parsed="|Neh|4|14|0|0" passage="Ne 4:14">Neh. iv. 14</scripRef>.
Jeremiah speaks now with a good assurance: "If <i>the Lord be with
me, my persecutors shall stumble,</i> so that, when they pursue me,
they shall not overtake me (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.2" parsed="|Ps|27|2|0|0" passage="Ps 27:2">Ps. xxvii.
2</scripRef>), and then <i>they shall be greatly ashamed</i> of
their impotent malice and fruitless attempts. Nay, <i>their
everlasting confusion</i> and infamy <i>shall never be
forgotten;</i> they shall not forget it themselves, but it shall be
to them a constant and lasting vexation, whenever they think of it;
others shall not forget it, but it shall leave upon them an
indelible reproach."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p16" shownumber="no">3. He appeals to God against them as a
righteous Judge, and prays judgment upon his cause, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.12" parsed="|Jer|20|12|0|0" passage="Jer 20:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. He looks upon God as
the God that <i>tries the righteous,</i> takes cognizance of them,
and of every cause that they are interested in. He does not judge
in favour of them with partiality, but <i>tries them,</i> and
finding that they have right on their side, and that their
persecutors wrong them and are injurious to them, he gives sentence
for them. He that tries the righteous tries the unrighteous too,
and he is very well qualified to do both; for he <i>sees the reins
and the heart,</i> he certainly knows men's thoughts and
affections, their aims and intentions, and therefore can pass an
unerring judgment on their words and actions. Now this is the God,
(1.) To whom the prophet here refers himself, and in whose court he
lodges his appeal: <i>Unto thee have I opened my cause.</i> Not but
that God perfectly knew his cause, and all the merits of it,
without his opening; but the cause we commit to God we must spread
before him. He knows it, but he will know it from us, and allows us
to be particular in the opening of it, not to affect him, but to
affect ourselves. Note, It will be an ease to our spirits, when we
are oppressed and burdened, to open our cause to God and pour out
our complaints before him. (2.) By whom he expects to be righted;
"<i>Let me see thy vengeance on them,</i> such vengeance as thou
thinkest fit to take for their conviction and my vindication, the
vengeance thou usest to take on persecutors." Note, Whatever
injuries are done us, we must not study to avenge ourselves, but
must leave it to that God to do it <i>to whom vengeance
belongs,</i> and who hath said, <i>I will repay.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p17" shownumber="no">4. He greatly rejoices and praises God, in
a full confidence that God would appear for his deliverance,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.13" parsed="|Jer|20|13|0|0" passage="Jer 20:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. So full is
he of the comfort of God's presence with him, the divine protection
he is under, and the divine promise he has to depend upon, that in
a transport of joy he stirs up himself and others to give God the
glory of it: <i>Sing unto the Lord, praise you the Lord.</i> Here
appears a great change with him since he began this discourse; the
clouds are blown over, his complaints all silenced and turned into
thanksgivings. He has now an entire confidence in that God whom
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.7" parsed="|Jer|20|7|0|0" passage="Jer 20:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>) he was
distrusting; he stirs up himself to praise that name which
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.9" parsed="|Jer|20|9|0|0" passage="Jer 20:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>) he was
resolving no more to make mention of. It was the lively exercise of
faith that made this happy change, that turned his sighs into songs
and his tremblings into triumphs. It is proper to express our hope
in God by our praising him, and our praising God by our singing to
him. That which is the matter of the praise is, <i>He hath
delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the evil-doers;</i>
he means especially himself, his own poor soul. "He hath delivered
me formerly when I was in distress, and now of late out of the hand
of Pashur, and he will continue to deliver me, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.1.10" parsed="|2Cor|1|10|0|0" passage="2Co 1:10">2 Cor. i. 10</scripRef>. He will deliver my soul from
the sin that I am in danger of falling into when I am thus
persecuted. He hath <i>delivered me from the hand of
evil-doers,</i> so that they have not gained their point, nor had
their will." Note, Those that are faithful in well-doing need not
fear those that are spiteful in evil-doing, for they have a God to
trust to who has well-doers under the hand of his protection and
evil-doers under the hand of his restraint.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxi-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.14-Jer.20.18" parsed="|Jer|20|14|20|18" passage="Jer 20:14-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxi-p17.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xxi-p17.7">The Prophet's Impatient
Appeal. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p17.8">b. c.</span> 600.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxi-p18" shownumber="no">14 Cursed <i>be</i> the day wherein I was born:
let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.   15
Cursed <i>be</i> the man who brought tidings to my father, saying,
A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.   16 And
let that man be as the cities which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxi-p18.1">Lord</span> overthrew, and repented not: and let him
hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;  
17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might
have been my grave, and her womb <i>to be</i> always great <i>with
me.</i>   18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see
labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p19" shownumber="no">What is the meaning of this? Does there
<i>proceed out of the same mouth blessing and cursing?</i> Could he
that said so cheerfully (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.13" parsed="|Jer|20|13|0|0" passage="Jer 20:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), <i>Sing unto the Lord, praise you the Lord,</i> say
so passionately (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.14" parsed="|Jer|20|14|0|0" passage="Jer 20:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), <i>Cursed be the day wherein I was born?</i> How
shall we reconcile these? What we have in these verses the prophet
records, I suppose, to his own shame, as he had recorded that in
the foregoing verses to God's glory. It seems to be a relation of
the ferment he had been in while he was in the stocks, out of which
by faith and hope he had recovered himself, rather than a new
temptation which he afterwards fell into, and it should come in
like that of David (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.31.22" parsed="|Ps|31|22|0|0" passage="Ps 31:22">Ps. xxxi.
22</scripRef>), <i>I said in my haste, I am cut off;</i> this is
also implied, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.77.7" parsed="|Ps|77|7|0|0" passage="Ps 77:7">Ps. lxxvii. 7</scripRef>.
When grace has got the victory it is good to remember the struggles
of corruption, that we may be ashamed of ourselves and our own
folly, may admire the goodness of God in not taking us at our word,
and may be warned by it to double our guard upon our spirits
another time. See here how strong the temptation was which the
prophet, by divine assistance, got the victory over, and how far he
yielded to it, that we may not despair if we through the weakness
of the flesh be at any time thus tempted. Let us see here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p20" shownumber="no">I. What the prophet's language was in this
temptation. 1. He fastened a brand of infamy upon his birth-day, as
Job did in a heat (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.3.1" parsed="|Job|3|1|0|0" passage="Job 3:1"><i>ch.</i> iii.
1</scripRef>): "<i>Cursed be the day wherein I was born.</i> It was
an ill day to me (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.14" parsed="|Jer|20|14|0|0" passage="Jer 20:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), because it was the beginning of sorrows, and an
inlet to all this misery." It is a wish that he had never been
born. Judas in hell has reason to wish so (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.26.24" parsed="|Matt|26|24|0|0" passage="Mt 26:24">Matt. xxvi. 24</scripRef>), but no man on earth has
reason to wish so, because he knows not but he may yet become a
vessel of mercy, much less has any good man reason to wish so.
Whereas some keep their birth-day, at the return of the year with
gladness, he will look upon his birth-day as a melancholy day, and
will solemnize it with sorrow, and will have it looked upon as an
ominous day. 2. He wished ill to the messenger that brought his
father the news of his birth, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.15" parsed="|Jer|20|15|0|0" passage="Jer 20:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. It made his father very glad
to hear that he had a child born (perhaps it was his first-born),
especially that it was a man-child, for then, being of the family
of the priests, he might live to have the honour of serving God's
altar; and yet he is ready to curse the man that brought him the
tidings, when perhaps the father to whom they were brought gave him
a gratuity for it. Here Mr. Gataker well observes, "That parents
are often much rejoiced at the birth of their children when, if
they did but foresee what misery they are born to, they would
rather lament over them than rejoice in them." He is very free and
very fierce in the curses he pronounces upon the messenger of his
birth (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.16" parsed="|Jer|20|16|0|0" passage="Jer 20:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>):
"<i>Let him be at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Lord
utterly overthrew, and repented not,</i> did not in the least
mitigate of alleviate their misery. <i>Let him hear the cry</i> of
the invading besieging enemy <i>in the morning,</i> as soon as he
is stirring; then let him take the alarm, and by noon let him hear
their <i>shouting</i> for victory. And thus let him live in
constant terror." 3. He is angry that the fate of the Hebrews'
children in Egypt was not his, that he was not <i>slain from the
womb,</i> that his first breath was not his last, and that he was
not strangled as soon as he came into the world, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.17" parsed="|Jer|20|17|0|0" passage="Jer 20:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. He wishes the messenger of his
birth had been better employed and had been his murderer; nay, that
his mother of whom he was born had been, to her great misery,
always with child of him, and so the womb in which he was conceived
would have served, without more ado, as a grave for him to be
buried in. Job intimates a near alliance and resemblance between
the womb and the grave, <scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.1.21" parsed="|Job|1|21|0|0" passage="Job 1:21">Job i.
21</scripRef>. <i>Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither.</i> 4. He thinks his present calamities
sufficient to justify these passionate wishes (<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.18" parsed="|Jer|20|18|0|0" passage="Jer 20:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): "<i>Wherefore came I forth
out of the womb,</i> where I lay hid, was not seen, was not hated,
where I lay safely and knew no evil, to see all this <i>labour and
sorrow,</i> nay to have my <i>days consumed with shame,</i> to be
continually vexed and abused, to have my life not only spent in
trouble, but wasted and worn away by trouble?"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxi-p21" shownumber="no">II. What use we may make of this. It is not
recorded for our imitation, and yet we may learn good lessons from
it. 1. See the vanity of human life and the vexation of spirit that
attends it. If there were not another life after this, we should be
tempted many a time to wish that we have never known this; for our
few days here are full of trouble. 2. See the folly and absurdity
of sinful passion, how unreasonably it talks when it is suffered to
ramble. What nonsense is it to curse a day—to curse a messenger
for the sake of his message! What a brutish barbarous thing for a
child to wish his own mother had never been delivered of him! See
<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.10" parsed="|Isa|45|10|0|0" passage="Isa 45:10">Isa. xlv. 10</scripRef>. We can
easily see the folly of it in others, and should take warning
thence to suppress all such intemperate heats and passions in
ourselves, to stifle them at first and not to suffer these evil
spirits to speak. When the heart is hot, let the tongue be bridled,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.39.1-Ps.39.2" parsed="|Ps|39|1|39|2" passage="Ps 39:1,2">Ps. xxxix. 1, 2</scripRef>. 3. See
the weakness even of good men, who are but men at the best. See how
much those who think they stand are concerned to take heed lest
they fall, and to pray daily, Father in heaven, <i>lead us not into
temptation!</i></p>
</div></div2>