mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 17.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xviii" n="xviii" next="Jer.xix" prev="Jer.xvii" progress="34.77%" title="Chapter XVII">
<h2 id="Jer.xviii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xviii-p0.2">CHAP. XVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xviii-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter, I. God convicts the Jews of the
sin of idolatry by the notorious evidence of the fact, and condemns
them to captivity for it, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.1-Jer.17.4" parsed="|Jer|17|1|17|4" passage="Jer 17:1-4">ver.
1-4</scripRef>. II. He shows them the folly of all their carnal
confidences, which should stand them in no stead when God's time
came to contend with them, and that this was one of the sins upon
which his controversy with them was grounded, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.5-Jer.17.11" parsed="|Jer|17|5|17|11" passage="Jer 17:5-11">ver. 5-11</scripRef>. III. The prophet makes his
appeal and address to God upon occasion of the malice of his
enemies against him, committing himself to the divine protection,
and begging of God to appear for him, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.12-Jer.17.18" parsed="|Jer|17|12|17|18" passage="Jer 17:12-18">ver. 12-18</scripRef>. IV. God, by the prophet,
warns the people to keep holy the sabbath day, assuring them that,
if they did, it should be the lengthening out of their tranquility,
but that, if not, God would by some desolating judgment assert the
honour of his sabbaths, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.19-Jer.17.27" parsed="|Jer|17|19|17|27" passage="Jer 17:19-27">ver.
19-27</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xviii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17" parsed="|Jer|17|0|0|0" passage="Jer 17" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xviii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.1-Jer.17.4" parsed="|Jer|17|1|17|4" passage="Jer 17:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xviii-p1.7">
<h4 id="Jer.xviii-p1.8">The Guilt of Judah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 605.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xviii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The sin of Judah <i>is</i> written with a pen
of iron, <i>and</i> with the point of a diamond: <i>it is</i>
graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your
altars;   2 Whilst their children remember their altars and
their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.   3 O my
mountain in the field, I will give thy substance <i>and</i> all thy
treasures to the spoil, <i>and</i> thy high places for sin,
throughout all thy borders.   4 And thou, even thyself, shalt
discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause
thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for
ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, <i>which</i> shall burn for
ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p3" shownumber="no">The people had asked (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.16.10" parsed="|Jer|16|10|0|0" passage="Jer 16:10"><i>ch.</i> xvi. 10</scripRef>), <i>What is our
iniquity, and what is our sin?</i> as if they could not be charged
with any thing worth speaking of, for which God should enter into
judgment with them; their challenge was answered there, but here we
have a further reply to it, in which,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p4" shownumber="no">I. The indictment is fully proved upon the
prisoners, both the fact and the fault; their sin is too plain to
be denied and too bad to be excused, and they have nothing to plead
either in extenuation of the crime or in arrest and mitigation of
the judgment. 1. They cannot plead, <i>Not guilty,</i> for their
sins are upon record in the book of God's omniscience and their own
conscience; nay, and they are obvious to the eye and observation of
the world, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.1-Jer.17.2" parsed="|Jer|17|1|17|2" passage="Jer 17:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1,
2</scripRef>. They are <i>written</i> before God in the most
legible and indelible characters, and <i>sealed among his
treasures,</i> never to be forgotten, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.34" parsed="|Deut|32|34|0|0" passage="De 32:34">Deut. xxxii. 34</scripRef>. They are written there with
<i>a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond;</i> what is so
written will not be worn out by time, but is, as Job speaks,
<i>graven in the rock for ever.</i> Note, The sin of sinners is
never forgotten till it is forgiven. It is ever before God, till by
repentance it comes to be ever before us. <i>It is graven upon the
table of their heart;</i> their own consciences witness against
them, and are instead of a thousand witnesses. What is <i>graven on
the heart,</i> though it may be covered and closed up for a time,
yet, being graven, it cannot be erased, but will be produced in
evidence when the books shall be opened. Nay, we need not appeal to
the tables of the heart, perhaps they will not own the convictions
of their consciences. We need go no further, for proof of the
charge, than <i>the horns of their altars,</i> on which the blood
of their idolatrous sacrifices was sprinkled, and perhaps the names
of the idols to whose honour they were erected were inscribed.
Their neighbours will witness against them, and all the creatures
they have abused by using them in the service of their lusts. To
complete the evidence, their own children shall be witnesses
against them; they will tell truth when their fathers dissemble and
prevaricate; they <i>remember the altars and the groves</i> to
which their parents took them when they were little, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.2" parsed="|Jer|17|2|0|0" passage="Jer 17:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. It appears that they
were full of them, and acquainted with them betimes, they talked of
them so frequently, so familiarly, and with so much delight. 2.
They cannot plead that they repent, or are brought to a better
mind. No, as the guilt of their sin is undeniable, so their
inclination to sin is invincible and incurable. In this sense many
understand <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.1-Jer.17.2" parsed="|Jer|17|1|17|2" passage="Jer 17:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1,
2</scripRef>. Their sin is deeply <i>engraven</i> as with <i>a pen
of iron in the tables of their hearts.</i> They have a rooted
affection to it; it is woven into their very nature; their sin is
dear to them, as that is dear to us of which we say, It is
<i>engraven on our hearts.</i> The bias of their minds is still as
strong as ever towards their idols, and they are not wrought upon
either by the word or rod of God to forget them and abate their
affection to them. It is written <i>upon the horns of their
altars,</i> for they have given up their names to their idols and
resolve to abide by what they have done; they have bound
themselves, as with cords, to the horns of their altars. And
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.2" parsed="|Jer|17|2|0|0" passage="Jer 17:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef> may be read
fully to this sense: <i>As they remember their children, so
remember they their altars and their groves;</i> they are as fond
of them and take as much pleasure in them as men do in their own
children, and are as loth to part with them; they will live and die
with their idols, and can no more forget them than <i>a woman</i>
can <i>forget her sucking child.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p5" shownumber="no">II. The indictment being thus fully proved,
the judgment is affirmed and the sentence ratified, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.3-Jer.17.4" parsed="|Jer|17|3|17|4" passage="Jer 17:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3, 4</scripRef>. Forasmuch as they
are thus wedded to their sins, and will not part with them, 1. They
shall be made to part with their treasures, and those shall be
given into the hands of strangers. Jerusalem is God's <i>mountain
in the field;</i> it was built on a hill in the midst of a plain.
<i>All the treasures</i> of that wealthy city will God <i>give to
the spoil.</i> Or, <i>My mountains with the fields, thy wealth and
all thy treasures will I expose to spoil;</i> both the products of
the country and the stores of the city shall be seized by the
Chaldeans. Justly are men stripped of that which they have served
their idols with and have made the food and the fuel of their
lusts. <i>My mountain</i> (so the whole land was, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.78.54 Bible:Deut.11.11" parsed="|Ps|78|54|0|0;|Deut|11|11|0|0" passage="Ps 78:54,De 11:11">Ps. lxxviii. 54, Deut. xi.
11</scripRef>) you have turned into <i>your high places for
sin,</i> have worshipped your idols upon <i>the high hills</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.2" parsed="|Jer|17|2|0|0" passage="Jer 17:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), and now they
shall be <i>give for a spoil in all your borders.</i> What we make
for a sin God will make for a spoil; for what comfort can we expect
in that wherewith God is dishonoured? 2. They shall be made to part
with their inheritance, and shall be carried captives into a
strange land (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.4" parsed="|Jer|17|4|0|0" passage="Jer 17:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>):
<i>Thou, even thyself</i> (or <i>thou thyself and those that are in
thee,</i> all the inhabitants), <i>shall discontinue from thy
heritage that I gave thee.</i> God owns that it was their heritage,
and that he gave it to them; they had an unquestionable title to
it, which was an aggravation of their folly in throwing themselves
out of the possession of it. It is <i>through thyself</i> (so some
read it), through thy own default, that thou art disseised. <i>Thou
shalt discontinue,</i> or <i>intermit,</i> the occupation of thy
land. The law appointed them to <i>let their land rest</i> (it is
the word here used) one year in seven, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.11" parsed="|Exod|23|11|0|0" passage="Ex 23:11">Exod. xxiii. 11</scripRef>. They did not observe that
law, and now God would compel them to <i>let it rest</i> (the land
shall <i>enjoy her sabbaths,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.26.34" parsed="|Lev|26|34|0|0" passage="Le 26:34">Lev.
xxvi. 34</scripRef>); and yet it shall be not rest to them; they
shall <i>serve their enemies in a land they know not.</i> Observe,
(1.) Sin works a discontinuance of our comforts and deprives us of
the enjoyment of that which God has given us. Yet, (2.) A
discontinuance of the possession is not a defeasance of the right,
but it is intimated that upon their repentance they shall recover
possession again. For the present, <i>you have kindled a fire in my
anger,</i> which burns so fiercely that it seems as if it would
burn <i>for ever;</i> and so it will unless you repent, for it is
the anger of an everlasting God fastening upon the immortal souls,
and <i>who knows the power of that anger?</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xviii-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.5-Jer.17.11" parsed="|Jer|17|5|17|11" passage="Jer 17:5-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xviii-p5.8">
<h4 id="Jer.xviii-p5.9">True and False Confidence; Deceitfulness of
the Heart; Unlawful Gains. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p5.10">b.
c.</span> 605.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xviii-p6" shownumber="no">5 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p6.1">Lord</span>; Cursed <i>be</i> the man that trusteth in
man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p6.2">Lord</span>.   6 For he shall be like
the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but
shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, <i>in</i> a
salt land and not inhabited.   7 Blessed <i>is</i> the man
that trusteth in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p6.3">Lord</span>, and whose
hope the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p6.4">Lord</span> is.   8 For he
shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and <i>that</i> spreadeth
out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but
her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of
drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.   9 The
heart <i>is</i> deceitful above all <i>things,</i> and desperately
wicked: who can know it?   10 I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p6.5">Lord</span> search the heart, <i>I</i> try the reins,
even to give every man according to his ways, <i>and</i> according
to the fruit of his doings.   11 <i>As</i> the partridge
sitteth <i>on eggs,</i> and hatcheth <i>them</i> not; <i>so</i> he
that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the
midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p7" shownumber="no">It is excellent doctrine that is preached
in these verses, and of general concern and use to us all, and it
does not appear to have any particular reference to the present
state of Judah and Jerusalem. The prophet's sermons were not all
prophetical, but some of them practical; yet this discourse, which
probably we have here only the heads of, would be of singular use
to them by way of caution not to misplace their confidence in the
day of their distress. Let us all learn what we are taught
here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p8" shownumber="no">I. Concerning the disappointment and
vexation those will certainly meet with who depend upon creatures
for success and relief when they are in trouble (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.5-Jer.17.6" parsed="|Jer|17|5|17|6" passage="Jer 17:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>): <i>Cursed be the man that
trusts in man.</i> God pronounces him cursed for the affront he
thereby puts upon him. Or, <i>Cursed</i> (that is, miserable) <i>is
the man</i> that does so, for he leans upon a broken reed, which
will not only fail him, but will <i>run into his hand and pierce
it.</i> Observe, 1. The sin here condemned; it is <i>trusting in
man,</i> putting that confidence in the wisdom and power, the
kindness and faithfulness, of men, which should be placed in those
attributes of God only, making our applications to men and raising
our expectations from them as principal agents, whereas they are
but instruments in the hand of Providence. It is <i>making flesh
the arm</i> we stay upon, the arm we work with and with which we
hope to work our point, the arm under which we shelter ourselves
and on which we depend for protection. God is his people's
<i>arm,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.32.2" parsed="|Isa|32|2|0|0" passage="Isa 32:2">Isa. xxxii. 2</scripRef>.
We must not think to make any creature to be that to us which God
has undertaken to be. Man is called <i>flesh,</i> to show the folly
of those that make him their confidence; he is flesh, weak and
feeble as flesh without bones or sinews, that has no strength at
all in it; he is inactive as flesh without spirit, which is a dead
thing; he is mortal and dying as flesh, which soon putrefies and
corrupts, and is continually wasting. Nay, he is false and sinful,
and has lost his integrity; so his being flesh signifies, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.3" parsed="|Gen|6|3|0|0" passage="Ge 6:3">Gen. vi. 3</scripRef>. The great malignity there
is in this sin; it is the <i>departure of the evil heart of
unbelief from the living God.</i> Those that trust in man perhaps
draw nigh to God with their mouth and honour him with their lips,
they call him their hope and say that they trust in him, but really
<i>their heart departs from him;</i> they distrust him, despise
him, and decline a correspondence with him. Cleaving to the cistern
is leaving the fountain, and is resented accordingly. 3. The fatal
consequences of this sin. He that puts a confidence in man puts a
cheat upon himself; for (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.6" parsed="|Jer|17|6|0|0" passage="Jer 17:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>) <i>he shall be like the heath in the desert,</i> a
sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, sapless, useless, and
worthless; his comforts shall all fail him and his hopes be
blasted; he shall wither, be dejected in himself and trampled on by
all about him. <i>When good comes</i> he <i>shall not see it,</i>
he shall not share in it; when the times mend they shall not mend
with him, but he shall <i>inhabit the parched places in the
wilderness;</i> his expectation shall be continually frustrated;
when others have a harvest he shall have none. Those that trust to
their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do well
enough without the merit and grace of Christ, thus <i>make flesh
their arm,</i> and their souls cannot prosper in graces or
comforts; they can neither produce the fruits of acceptable
services to God nor reap the fruits of saving blessings from him;
they <i>dwell in a dry land.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p9" shownumber="no">II. Concerning the abundant satisfaction
which those have, and will have, who make God their confidence, who
live by faith in his providence and promise, who refer themselves
to him and his guidance at all times and repose themselves in him
and his love in the most unquiet times, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.7-Jer.17.8" parsed="|Jer|17|7|17|8" passage="Jer 17:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>. Observe, 1. The duty
required of us—to <i>trust in the Lord,</i> to do our duty to him
and then depend upon him to bear us out in doing it—when creatures
and second causes either deceive or threaten us, either are false
to us or fierce against us, to commit ourselves to God as
all-sufficient both to fill up the place of those who fail us and
to protect us from those who set upon us. It is to <i>make the Lord
our hope,</i> his favour the good we hope for and his power the
strength we hope in. 2. The comfort that attends the doing of this
duty. He that does so shall be <i>as a tree planted by the
waters,</i> a choice tree, about which great care has been taken to
set it in the best soil, so far from being like <i>the heath in the
wilderness;</i> he shall be like a tree that <i>spreads out its
roots,</i> and thereby is firmly fixed, spreads them out <i>by the
rivers,</i> whence it draws abundance of sap, which denotes both
the establishment and the comfort which those have who make God
their hope; they are easy, they are pleasant, and enjoy a continual
security and serenity of mind. A tree thus planted, thus watered,
shall <i>not see when heat comes,</i> shall not sustain any damage
from the most scorching heats of summer; it is so well moistened
from its roots that it shall be sufficiently guarded against
drought. Those that make God their hope, (1.) They shall flourish
in credit and comfort, like a tree that is <i>always green,</i>
whose leaf does not wither; they shall be cheerful to themselves
and beautiful in the eyes of others. Those who thus give honour to
God by giving him credit God will put honour upon, and make them
the ornament and delight of the places where they live, as green
trees are. (2.) They shall be fixed in an inward peace and
satisfaction: They <i>shall not be careful in a year of
drought,</i> when there is want of rain; for, as the tree has
<i>seed in itself,</i> so it has <i>its moisture.</i> Those who
make God their hope have enough in him to make up the want of all
creature-comforts. We need not be solicitous about the breaking of
a cistern as long as we have the fountain. (3.) They shall be
fruitful in holiness, and in all good works. Those who trust in
God, and by faith derive strength and grace from him, <i>shall not
cease from yielding fruit;</i> they shall still be enabled to do
that which will redound to the glory of God, the benefit of others,
and their own account.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p10" shownumber="no">III. Concerning the sinfulness of man's
heart, and the divine inspection it is always under, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.9-Jer.17.10" parsed="|Jer|17|9|17|10" passage="Jer 17:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9, 10</scripRef>. It is folly to
trust in man, for he is not only frail, but false and deceitful. We
are apt to think that we trust in God, and are entitled to the
blessings here promised to those who do so. But this is a thing
about which our own hearts deceive us as much as any thing. We
think that we trust in God when really we do not, as appears by
this, that our hopes and fears rise or fall according as second
causes smile or frown.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p11" shownumber="no">1. It is true in general. (1.) There is
that wickedness in our hearts which we ourselves are not aware of
and do not suspect to be there; nay, it is a common mistake among
the children of men to think themselves, their own hearts at least,
a great deal better than they really are. <i>The heart,</i> the
conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen state, <i>is deceitful
above all things.</i> It is subtle and false; it is apt to
<i>supplant</i> (so the word properly signifies); it is that from
which Jacob had his name, a <i>supplanter.</i> It calls evil good
and good evil, puts false colours upon things, and cries peace to
those to whom peace does not belong. When men say in their hearts
(that is, suffer their hearts to whisper to them) that there is no
God, or he does not see, or he will not require, or they shall have
peace though they go on; in these, and a thousand similar
suggestions the heart is deceitful. It cheats men into their own
ruin; and this will be the aggravation of it, that they are
self-deceivers, self-destroyers. Herein the heart is <i>desperately
wicked;</i> it is deadly, it is desperate. The case is bad indeed,
and in a manner deplorable and past relief, if the conscience which
should rectify the errors of the other faculties is itself a mother
of falsehood and a ring-leader in the delusion. What will become of
a man if that in him which should be <i>the candle of the Lord</i>
give a false light, if God's deputy in the soul, that is entrusted
to support his interests, betrays them? Such is the deceitfulness
of the heart that we may truly say, <i>Who can know it?</i> Who can
describe how bad the heart is? We cannot know our own hearts, not
what they will do in an hour of temptation (Hezekiah did not, Peter
did not), not what corrupt dispositions there are in them, nor in
how many things they have turned aside; who can understand his
errors? Much less can we know the hearts of others, or have any
dependence upon them. But, (2.) Whatever wickedness there is in the
heart God sees it, and knows it, is perfectly acquainted with it
and apprised of it: <i>I the Lord search the heart.</i> This is
true of all that is in the heart, all the thoughts of it, the
quickest, and those that are most carelessly overlooked by
ourselves—all the intents of it, the closest, and those that are
most artfully disguised, and industriously concealed from others.
Men may be imposed upon, but God cannot. He not only searches the
heart with a piercing eye, but he tries the reins, to pass a
judgment upon what he discovers, to give every thing its true
character and due weight. He tries it, as the gold is tried whether
it be standard or no, as the prisoner is tried whether he be guilty
or no. And this judgment which he makes of the heart is in order to
his passing judgment upon the man; it is <i>to give to every man
according to his ways</i> (according to the desert and the tendency
of them, life to those that walked in the ways of life, and death
to those that persisted in <i>the paths of the destroyer) and
according to the fruit of his doings,</i> the effect and influence
his doings have had upon others, or according to what is settled by
the word of God to be the fruit of men's doings, blessings to the
obedient and curses to the disobedient. Note, <i>Therefore</i> God
is <i>Judge himself,</i> and he alone, because he, and none
besides, knows the hearts of the children of men.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p12" shownumber="no">2. It is true especially of all the
deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart, all its corrupt devices,
desires, and designs. God observes and discerns them; and (which is
more than any man can do) he judges of the overt act by the heart.
Note, God knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a
good reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand
in awe of the judgment of God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p13" shownumber="no">IV. Concerning the curse that attends
wealth unjustly gotten. Fraud and violence had been reigning crying
sins in Judah and Jerusalem; now the prophet would have those who
had been guilty of these sins, and were now stripped of all they
had, to read their sin in their punishment (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.11" parsed="|Jer|17|11|0|0" passage="Jer 17:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>He that gets riches and
not by right,</i> though he may make them his hope, shall never
have joy of them. Observe, It is possible that those who use
unlawful means to get wealth may succeed therein and prosper for a
time; and it is a temptation to many to defraud and oppress their
neighbours when there is money to be got by it. He who has got
<i>treasures</i> by <i>vanity</i> and a <i>lying tongue</i> may hug
himself in his success, and say, <i>I am rich;</i> nay, and I am
innocent too (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.12.8" parsed="|Hos|12|8|0|0" passage="Ho 12:8">Hos. xii. 8</scripRef>),
but <i>he shall leave them in the midst of his days;</i> they shall
be taken from him, or he from them; God shall cut him off with some
surprising stroke then when he says, <i>Soul, take thy ease, thou
hast goods laid up for many years,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.19-Luke.12.20" parsed="|Luke|12|19|12|20" passage="Lu 12:19,20">Luke xii. 19, 20</scripRef>. He shall leave them to
he knows not whom, and shall not be able to take any of his riches
away with him. It intimates what a great vexation it is to a
worldly man at death that he must leave his riches behind him; and
justly may it be a terror to those who got them unjustly, for,
though the wealth will not follow them to another world, the guilt
will, and the torment of an everlasting, <i>Son, remember,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.25" parsed="|Luke|16|25|0|0" passage="Lu 16:25">Luke xvi. 25</scripRef>. Thus, <i>at
his end, he shall be a fool,</i> a Nabal, whose wealth did him no
good, which he had so sordidly hoarded, when <i>his heart</i>
became <i>dead as a stone.</i> He was a fool all along; sometimes
perhaps his own conscience told him so, but <i>at his end</i> he
will appear to be so. Those are fools indeed who are fools in
<i>their latter end;</i> and such multitudes will prove who were
applauded as <i>wise men,</i> that did <i>well for themselves,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.13 Bible:Ps.49.18" parsed="|Ps|49|13|0|0;|Ps|49|18|0|0" passage="Ps 49:13,18">Ps. xlix. 13, 18</scripRef>. Those
that get grace will be wise <i>in the latter end,</i> will have the
comfort of it in death and the benefit of it to eternity (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Prov.19.20" parsed="|Prov|19|20|0|0" passage="Pr 19:20">Prov. xix. 20</scripRef>); but those that place
their happiness in the wealth of the world, and, right or wrong,
<i>will be rich,</i> will rue the folly of it when it is too late
to rectify the fatal mistake. This is like <i>the partridge that
sits on eggs and hatches them not,</i> but they are broken (as
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.39.15" parsed="|Job|39|15|0|0" passage="Job 39:15">Job xxxix. 15</scripRef>), or stolen
(as <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p13.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.14" parsed="|Isa|10|14|0|0" passage="Isa 10:14">Isa. x. 14</scripRef>), or they
become addle: some sort of fowl there was, well known among the
Jews, whose case this commonly was. The rich man takes a great deal
of pains to get an estate together, and sits brooding upon it, but
never has any comfort nor satisfaction in it; his projects to
enrich himself by sinful courses miscarry and come to nothing. Let
us therefore be wise in time—what we get to get it honestly, and
what we have to use it charitably, that we may lay up in store a
good foundation and be wise for eternity.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xviii-p13.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.12-Jer.17.18" parsed="|Jer|17|12|17|18" passage="Jer 17:12-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xviii-p13.10">
<h4 id="Jer.xviii-p13.11">God's Justice Acknowledged; The Prophet's
Appeal of God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p13.12">b. c.</span> 605.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xviii-p14" shownumber="no">12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
<i>is</i> the place of our sanctuary.   13 <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p14.1">O Lord</span>, the hope of Israel, all that forsake
thee shall be ashamed, <i>and</i> they that depart from me shall be
written in the earth, because they have forsaken the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p14.2">Lord</span>, the fountain of living waters.   14
Heal me, <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p14.3">O Lord</span>, and I shall be
healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou <i>art</i> my
praise.   15 Behold, they say unto me, Where <i>is</i> the
word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p14.4">Lord</span>? let it come now.
  16 As for me, I have not hastened from <i>being</i> a pastor
to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou
knowest: that which came out of my lips was <i>right</i> before
thee.   17 Be not a terror unto me: thou <i>art</i> my hope in
the day of evil.   18 Let them be confounded that persecute
me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not
me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them
with double destruction.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p15" shownumber="no">Here, as often before, we have the prophet
retired for private meditation, and <i>alone with God.</i> Those
ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In
his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty
which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from
one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the
laws of method and coherence.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p16" shownumber="no">I. He acknowledges the great favour of God
to his people in setting up a revealed religion among them, and
dignifying them with divine institutions (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.12" parsed="|Jer|17|12|0|0" passage="Jer 17:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>A glorious high throne
from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.</i> The temple at
Jerusalem, where God manifested his special presence, where the
lively oracles were lodged, where the people paid their homage to
their Sovereign, and whither they fled for refuge in distress, was
the <i>place of their sanctuary.</i> That was a <i>glorious high
throne.</i> It was a throne of holiness, which made it truly
glorious; it was God's throne, which made it truly high. Jerusalem
is called <i>the city of the great King,</i> not only Israel's
King, but the King of the whole earth, so that it might justly be
deemed the metropolis, or royal city, of the world. It was <i>from
the beginning,</i> so, from the first projecting of it by David and
building of it by Solomon, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.2.9" parsed="|2Chr|2|9|0|0" passage="2Ch 2:9">2 Chron. ii.
9</scripRef>. It was the honour of Israel that God set up such a
glorious throne among them. <i>As the glorious and high throne</i>
(that is, heaven) <i>is the place of our sanctuary;</i> so some
read it. Note, All good men have a high value and veneration for
the ordinances of God, and reckon the place of the sanctuary a
glorious high throne. Jeremiah here mentions this either as a plea
with God for mercy to their land, in honour of the <i>throne of his
glory</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.14.21" parsed="|Jer|14|21|0|0" passage="Jer 14:21"><i>ch.</i> xiv.
21</scripRef>), or as an aggravation of the sin of his people in
forsaking God though his throne was among them, and so profaning
his crown and the place of his sanctuary.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p17" shownumber="no">II. He acknowledges the righteousness of
God in abandoning those to ruin that forsook him and revolted from
their allegiance to him, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.13" parsed="|Jer|17|13|0|0" passage="Jer 17:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>. He speaks it to God, as subscribing both to the
certainty and to the equity of it: <i>O Lord! the hope of</i> those
in Israel that adhere to thee, <i>all that forsake thee shall be
ashamed.</i> They must of necessity be so, for they forsake thee
for lying vanities, which will deceive them and make them ashamed.
They will be ashamed, for they shame themselves. They will justly
be put to shame, for they have forsaken him who alone can keep them
in countenance when troubles come. <i>Let them be ashamed</i> (so
some read it); and so it is a pious imprecation of the wrath of God
upon them, or a petition for his grace, to make them penitently
ashamed. "<i>Those that depart from me,</i> from the word of God
which I have preached, do in effect depart from God;" as those that
return to God are said to return to the prophet, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.15.19" parsed="|Jer|15|19|0|0" passage="Jer 15:19"><i>ch.</i> xv. 19</scripRef>. <i>Those that depart from
thee</i> (so some read it) shall be <i>written in the earth.</i>
They shall soon be blotted out, as that is which is written in the
dust. They shall be trampled upon and exposed to contempt. They
belong to the earth, and shall be numbered among earthly people,
who lay up their treasure on earth and whose names are not
<i>written in heaven.</i> And they deserve to be thus written with
the fools in Israel, that their folly may be made manifest unto
all, because they have <i>forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living
waters</i> (that is, spring waters), and that for broken cisterns.
Note, God is to all that are his a <i>fountain of living
waters.</i> There is a fulness of comfort in him, an over-flowing
ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is always fresh,
and clear, and clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of sin
are puddle-waters. They are free to it; it is not a <i>fountain
sealed.</i> They deserve therefore to be condemned, as Adam, to
<i>red earth,</i> to which by the corruption of their nature they
are allied, because they have forsaken the <i>garden of the
Lord,</i> which is so well-watered. Those that depart from God are
<i>written in the earth.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p18" shownumber="no">III. He prays to God for healing saving
mercy for himself. "If the case of those that depart from God be so
miserable, let me always draw nigh to him (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.27-Ps.73.28" parsed="|Ps|73|27|73|28" passage="Ps 73:27,28">Ps. lxxiii. 27, 28</scripRef>), and, in order to do
that, Lord, <i>heal me,</i> and <i>save me,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.14" parsed="|Jer|17|14|0|0" passage="Jer 17:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Heal my backslidings, my bent
to backslide, and save me from being carried away by the strength
of the stream to forsake thee." He was wounded in spirit with grief
upon many accounts. "Lord, <i>heal me</i> with thy comforts, and
make me easy." He was continually exposed to the malice of
unreasonable men. "Lord, <i>save me</i> from them, and let me not
fall into their wicked hands. <i>Heal me,</i> that is, sanctify me
by thy grace; <i>save me,</i> that is, bring me to thy glory." All
that shall be saved hereafter are sanctified now; unless the
disease of sin be purged out the soul cannot live. To enforce this
petition he pleads, 1. The firm belief he had of God's power:
<i>Heal thou me, and then I shall be healed;</i> the cure will
certainly be wrought if thou undertake it; it will be a thorough
cure and not a palliative one. Those that come to God to be healed
ought to be abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their
physician. <i>Save me,</i> and <i>then I shall</i> certainly <i>be
saved,</i> be my dangers and enemies ever so threatening. If God
hold us up, we shall live; if he protect us, we shall be safe. 2.
The sincere regard he had to God's glory: "<i>For thou art my
praise,</i> and for that reason I desire to be healed and saved,
<i>that I may live and praise thee,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.175" parsed="|Ps|119|175|0|0" passage="Ps 119:175">Ps. cxix. 175</scripRef>. Thou art he whom I praise,
and the praise due to thee I never gave to another. Thou art he
whom I glory in, and boast of, for on thee do I depend. Thou art he
that furnishes me with continual matter for praise, and I have
given thee the praise of the favours already bestowed upon me.
<i>Thou shalt be my praise</i>" (so some read it); "heal me, and
save me, and thou shalt have the glory of it. <i>My praise shall be
continually of thee,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.71.6 Bible:Ps.79.13" parsed="|Ps|71|6|0|0;|Ps|79|13|0|0" passage="Ps 71:6,79:13">Ps.
lxxi. 6; lxxix. 13</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p19" shownumber="no">IV. He complains of the infidelity and
daring impiety of the people to whom he preached. It greatly
troubled him, and he shows before God this trouble, as the servant
that had slights put upon him by the guests he was sent to invite
<i>came and showed his Lord these things.</i> He had faithfully
delivered God's message to them; and what answer has he to return
to him that sent him? <i>Behold, they say unto me, Where is the
word of the Lord? Let it come now,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.15 Bible:Isa.5.19" parsed="|Jer|17|15|0|0;|Isa|5|19|0|0" passage="Jer 17:15,Isa 5:19"><i>v.</i> 15, Isa. v. 19</scripRef>. They
bantered the prophet, and made a jest of that which he delivered
with the greatest seriousness. 1. They denied the truth of what he
said: "If that be the <i>word of the Lord</i> which thou speakest
to us, <i>where is it?</i> Why is it not fulfilled?" Thus the
patience of God was impudently abused as a ground to question his
veracity. 2. They defied the terror of what he said. "Let God
Almighty do his worst; let all he has said come to pass; we shall
do well enough; the lion is not so fierce as he is painted,"
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Amos.5.18" parsed="|Amos|5|18|0|0" passage="Am 5:18">Amos v. 18</scripRef>. "Lord, to what
purpose is it to speak to men that will neither believe nor
fear?"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p20" shownumber="no">V. He appeals to God concerning his
faithful discharge of the duty to which he was called, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.16" parsed="|Jer|17|16|0|0" passage="Jer 17:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. The people did all
they could to make him weary of his work, to exasperate him and
make him uneasy, and to tempt him to prevaricate and alter his
message for fear of displeasing them; but, "Lord," says he,
"<i>thou knowest</i> I have not yielded to them." 1. He continued
constant to his work. His office, instead of being his credit and
protection, exposed him to reproach, contempt, and injury. "Yet,"
says he, "<i>I have not hastened from being a pastor after
thee;</i> I have not left my work, nor sued for a discharge or a
<i>quietus.</i>" Prophets were pastors to the people, to feed them
with the good word of God; but they were to be <i>pastors after
God,</i> and all ministers must be so, <i>according to his
heart</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.15" parsed="|Jer|3|15|0|0" passage="Jer 3:15"><i>ch.</i> iii.
15</scripRef>), to follow him and the directions and instructions
he gives. Such a pastor Jeremiah was; and, though he met with as
much difficulty and discouragement as ever any man did, yet he did
not fly off as Jonah did, nor desire to be excused from going any
more on God's errands. Note, Those that are employed for God,
though their success answer nor their expectations, must not
therefore throw up their commission. but continue to follow God,
though the storm be in their faces. 2. He kept up his affection to
the people. Though they were very abusive to him, he was
compassionate to them: <i>I have not desired the woeful day.</i>
The day of the accomplishment of his prophecies would be a woeful
day indeed to Jerusalem, and therefore he deprecated it, and wished
it might never come, though, as to himself, it would be the
avenging of him upon his persecutors and the proving of him a true
prophet (which they had questioned, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.15" parsed="|Jer|17|15|0|0" passage="Jer 17:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), and upon those accounts he
might be tempted to desire it. Note, God does not, and therefore
ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that
they may turn and live. Though we warn of the woeful day, we must
not wish for it, but rather weep because of it, as Jeremiah did. 3.
He kept closely to his instructions. Though he might have curried
favour with the people, or at least have avoided their displeasure,
if he had not been so sharp in his reproofs and severe in his
threatenings, yet he would deliver his message faithfully; and that
he had done so was a comfort to him. "Lord, <i>thou knowest that
that which came out of my lips was right before thee;</i> it
exactly agreed with what I received from thee, and therefore thou
art reflected upon in their quarrelling with me." Note, If what we
say and do be right before God, we may easily despise the
reproaches and censures of men. <i>It is a small thing to be judged
of their judgment.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p21" shownumber="no">VI. He humbly begs of God that he would own
him, and protect him, and carry him on cheerfully in that work to
which God had so plainly called him and to which he had so
sincerely devoted himself. Two things he here desires:—1. That he
might have comfort in serving the God that sent him (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.17" parsed="|Jer|17|17|0|0" passage="Jer 17:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>Be not thou a
terror to me.</i> Surely more is implied than is expressed. "Be
thou a comfort to me, and let thy favour rejoice my heart and
encourage me, when my enemies do all they can to terrify me and
either to drive me from my work or to make me drive on heavily in
it." Note, The best have that in them which might justly make God a
terror to them, as he was for some time to Job (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.6.4" parsed="|Job|6|4|0|0" passage="Job 6:4"><i>ch.</i> vi. 4</scripRef>), to Asaph (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.77.3" parsed="|Ps|77|3|0|0" passage="Ps 77:3">Ps. lxxvii. 3</scripRef>), to Heman, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.88.15" parsed="|Ps|88|15|0|0" passage="Ps 88:15">Ps. lxxxviii. 15</scripRef>. And this is that
which good men, <i>knowing the terrors of the Lord,</i> dread and
deprecate more than any thing; nay, whatever frightful accidents
may befal them, or how formidable soever their enemies may appear
to them, they can do well enough so long as God is not a terror to
them. He pleads, "<i>Thou art my hope;</i> and then nothing else is
my fear, no, not <i>in the day of evil,</i> when it is most
threatening, most pressing. My dependence is upon thee; and
therefore <i>be not a terror to me.</i>" Note, Those that by faith
make God their confidence shall have him for their comfort in the
worst of times, if it be not their own fault: if we make him our
trust, we shall not find him our terror. 2. That he might have
courage in dealing with the people to whom he was sent, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.18" parsed="|Jer|17|18|0|0" passage="Jer 17:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Those persecuted him
who should have entertained and encouraged him. "Lord," says he,
"<i>let them be confounded</i> (let them be overpowered by the
convictions of the word and made ashamed of their obstinacy, or
else let the judgments threatened be at length executed upon them),
<i>but let not me confounded,</i> let not me be terrified by their
menaces, so as to betray my trust." Note, God's ministers have work
to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in,
but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it
without shame or fear. Jeremiah had not desired the woeful day upon
his country in general; but as to his persecutors, in a just and
holy indignation at their malice, he prays, <i>Bring upon them the
day of evil,</i> in hope that the bringing of it upon them might
prevent the bringing of it upon the country; if they were taken
away, the people would be better; "therefore <i>destroy them with a
double destruction;</i> let them be utterly destroyed, root and
branch, and let the prospect of that destruction be their present
confusion." This the prophet prays, not at all that he might be
avenged, nor so much that he might be eased, but that <i>the
Lord</i> may be <i>known by the judgments which he
executes.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xviii-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.19-Jer.17.27" parsed="|Jer|17|19|17|27" passage="Jer 17:19-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xviii-p21.7">
<h4 id="Jer.xviii-p21.8">Sabbath-Sanctification. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p21.9">b. c.</span> 600.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xviii-p22" shownumber="no">19 Thus said the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p22.1">Lord</span> unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the
children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by
the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;   20
And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p22.2">Lord</span>, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:  
21 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p22.3">Lord</span>; Take heed to
yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring
<i>it</i> in by the gates of Jerusalem;   22 Neither carry
forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye
any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your
fathers.   23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear,
but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive
instruction.   24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently
hearken unto me, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p22.4">Lord</span>, to
bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath
day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;   25
Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and
princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on
horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.
  26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from
the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from
the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing
burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense,
and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xviii-p22.5">Lord</span>.   27 But if ye will not hearken
unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even
entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will
I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the
palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p23" shownumber="no">These verses are a sermon concerning
sabbath-sanctification. It is a word which the prophet <i>received
from the Lord,</i> and was ordered to deliver in the most solemn
and public manner to the people; for they were sent not only to
reprove sin, and to press obedience, in general, but they must
descend to particulars. This message concerning the sabbath was
probably sent in the days of Josiah, for the furtherance of that
work of reformation which he set on foot; for the promises here
(<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.25-Jer.17.26" parsed="|Jer|17|25|17|26" passage="Jer 17:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25, 26</scripRef>) are
such as I think we scarcely find when things come nearer to the
extremity. This message must be proclaimed in all the places of
concourse, and therefore in<i>the gates,</i> not only because
through them people were continually passing and repassing, but
because in them they kept their courts and laid up their stores. It
must be proclaimed (as the king or queen is usually proclaimed) at
the court-gate first, the gate <i>by which the kings of Judah come
in and go out,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.19" parsed="|Jer|17|19|0|0" passage="Jer 17:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>. Let them be told their duty first, particularly this
duty; for, if sabbaths be not sanctified as they should be, <i>the
rulers of Judah are to be contended with</i> (so they were,
<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.13.17" parsed="|Neh|13|17|0|0" passage="Ne 13:17">Neh. xiii. 17</scripRef>), for they
are certainly wanting in their duty. He must also preach it <i>in
all the gates of Jerusalem.</i> It is a matter of great and general
concern; therefore let all take notice of it. Let the <i>kings of
Judah</i> hear the <i>word of the Lord</i> (for, high as they are,
he is above them), <i>and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,</i>
for, mean as they are, he takes notice of them, and of what they
say and do on sabbath days. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p24" shownumber="no">I. How the sabbath is to be sanctified, and
what is the law concerning it, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.21-Jer.17.22" parsed="|Jer|17|21|17|22" passage="Jer 17:21,22"><i>v.</i> 21, 22</scripRef>. 1. They must rest from
their worldly employment on the sabbath day, must do no servile
work. They must <i>bear no burden</i> into the city nor out of it,
into their houses nor out of them; husbandmen's burdens of corn
must not be carried in, nor manure carried out; nor must
tradesmen's burdens of wares or merchandises be imported or
exported. There must not a loaded horse, or cart, or wagon, be seen
on the sabbath day either in the streets or in the roads; the
porters must not ply on that day, nor must the servants be suffered
to fetch in provisions or fuel. It is a day of rest, and must not
be made a day of labour, unless in case of necessity. 2. They must
apply themselves to that which is the proper work and business of
the day: "<i>Hallow you the sabbath,</i> that is, consecrate it to
the honour of God and spend it in his service and worship." It is
in order to this that worldly business must be laid aside, that we
may be entire for, and intent upon, that work, which requires and
deserves the whole man. 3. They must herein be very circumspect:
"<i>Take heed to yourselves,</i> watch against every thing that
borders upon the profanation of the sabbath." Where God is jealous
we must be cautious. "<i>Take heed to yourselves,</i> for it is at
your peril if you rob God of that part of your time which he has
reserved to himself." <i>Take heed to your souls</i> (so the word
is); in order to the right sanctifying of sabbaths, we must look
well to the frame of our spirits and have a watchful eye upon all
the motions of the inward man. Let not the soul be burdened with
the cares of this world on sabbath days, but let that be employed,
even all that is within us, in the work of the day. And, 4. He
refers them to the law, the statute in this case made and provided:
"This is no new imposition upon you, but is what <i>I commanded
your fathers;</i> it is an ancient law; it was an article of the
original contract; nay, it was a command to the patriarchs."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p25" shownumber="no">II. How the sabbath had been profaned
(<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.23" parsed="|Jer|17|23|0|0" passage="Jer 17:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>): "Your
fathers were required to keep holy the sabbath day, <i>but they
obeyed not;</i> they <i>hardened their necks</i> against this as
well as other commands that were given them." This is mentioned to
show that there needed a reformation in this matter, and that God
had a just controversy with them for the long transgression of this
law which they had been guilty of. They hardened their necks
against this command, that they might not hear and receive
instruction concerning other commands. Where sabbaths are neglected
all religion sensibly goes to decay.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p26" shownumber="no">III. What blessings God had in store for
them if they would make conscience of sabbath-sanctification.
Though their fathers had been guilty of the profanation of the
sabbath they should not only not smart for it, but their city and
nation should recover its ancient glory, if they would keep
sabbaths better, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.24-Jer.17.26" parsed="|Jer|17|24|17|26" passage="Jer 17:24-26"><i>v.</i>
24-26</scripRef>. Let them take care to <i>hallow the sabbath</i>
and <i>do no work therein;</i> and then, 1. The court shall
flourish. <i>Kings</i> in succession, or the many branches of the
royal family at the same time, all as great as kings, with the
other <i>princes</i> that <i>sit upon the thrones</i> of judgment,
<i>the thrones of the house of David</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.122.5" parsed="|Ps|122|5|0|0" passage="Ps 122:5">Ps. cxxii. 5</scripRef>), shall ride in great pomp
<i>through the gates of Jerusalem,</i> some in chariots and some on
horses, attended with a numerous retinue of the men of Judah. Note,
The honour of the government is the joy of the kingdom; and the
support of religion would contribute greatly to both. 2. The city
shall flourish. Let there be a face of religion kept up in
Jerusalem, by sabbath-sanctification, that it may answer to its
title, <i>the holy city,</i> and then it <i>shall remain for ever,
shall for ever be inhabited</i> (so the word may be rendered); it
shall not be destroyed and dispeopled, as it is threatened to be.
Whatever supports religion tends to establish the civil interests
of a land. 3. The country shall flourish: <i>The cities of Judah
and the land of Benjamin</i> shall be replenished with vast numbers
of inhabitants, and those abounding in plenty and living in peace,
which will appear by the multitude and value of their offerings,
which they shall present to God. By this the flourishing of a
country may be judged of, What does it do for the honour of God?
Those that starve their religion either are poor or are in a fair
way to be so. 4. The church shall flourish: <i>Meat-offerings, and
incense, and sacrifices of praise,</i> shall be brought <i>to the
house of the Lord,</i> for the maintenance of the service of that
house and the servants that attend it. God's institutions shall be
conscientiously observed; no sacrifice nor incense shall be offered
to idols, nor alienated from God, but every thing shall go in the
right channel. They shall have both occasion and hearts to bring
sacrifices of praise to God. This is made an instance of their
prosperity. Then a people truly flourish when religion flourishes
among them. And this is the effect of sabbath-sanctification; when
that branch of religion is kept up other instances of it are kept
up likewise; but, when that is lost, devotion is lost either in
superstition or in profaneness. It is a true observation, which
some have made, that the streams of all religion run either deep or
shallow according as the banks of the sabbath are kept up or
neglected.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xviii-p27" shownumber="no">IV. What judgments they must expect would
come upon them if they persisted in the profanation of the sabbath
(<scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.27" parsed="|Jer|17|27|0|0" passage="Jer 17:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): "<i>If you
will not hearken to me</i> in this matter, to keep the gates shut
on sabbath days, so that there may be no unnecessary <i>entering
in,</i> or going out, on that day—if you will break through the
enclosure of the divine law, and lay that day in common with other
days—know that God will <i>kindle a fire in the gates</i> of your
city," intimating that it shall be kindled by an enemy besieging
the city and assaulting the gates, who shall take this course to
force an entrance. Justly shall those gates be fired that are not
used as they ought to be to shut out sin and to keep people in to
an attendance on their duty. This fire shall devour even <i>the
palaces of Jerusalem,</i> where the princes and nobles dwelt, who
did not use their power and interest as they ought to have done to
keep up the honour of God's sabbaths; but <i>it shall not be
quenched</i> until it has laid the whole city in ruins. This was
fulfilled by the army of the Chaldeans, <scripRef id="Jer.xviii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.52.13" parsed="|Jer|52|13|0|0" passage="Jer 52:13"><i>ch.</i> lii. 13</scripRef>. The profanation of the
sabbath is a sin for which God has often contended with a people by
fire.</p>
</div></div2>