mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 4.xml

<div2 id="Jer.v" n="v" next="Jer.vi" prev="Jer.iv" progress="28.67%" title="Chapter IV">
<h2 id="Jer.v-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.v-p0.2">CHAP. IV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.v-p1" shownumber="no">It should seem that the <scripRef id="Jer.v-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.29-Jer.3.37 Bible:Jer.4.1-Jer.4.2" parsed="|Jer|3|29|3|37;|Jer|4|1|4|2" passage="Jer 3:29-37,4:1-2">first two verses</scripRef> of this chapter
might better have been joined to the close of the foregoing
chapter, for they are directed to Israel, the ten tribes, by way of
reply to their compliance with God's call, directing and
encouraging them to hold their resolution, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.1-Jer.4.2" parsed="|Jer|4|1|4|2" passage="Jer 4:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. The rest of the chapter concerns
Judah and Jerusalem. I. They are called to repent and reform,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.3-Jer.4.4" parsed="|Jer|4|3|4|4" passage="Jer 4:3,4">ver. 3, 4</scripRef>. II. They are
warned of the advance of Nebuchadnezzar and his forces against
them, and are told that it is for their sins, from which they are
again exhorted to wash themselves, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.5-Jer.4.18" parsed="|Jer|4|5|4|18" passage="Jer 4:5-18">ver. 5-18</scripRef>. III. To affect them the more
with the greatness of the desolation that was coming, the prophet
does himself bitterly lament it, and sympathize with his people in
the calamities it brought upon them, and the plunge it brought them
to, representing it as a reduction of the world to its first chaos,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.19-Jer.4.31" parsed="|Jer|4|19|4|31" passage="Jer 4:19-31">ver. 19-31</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.v-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4" parsed="|Jer|4|0|0|0" passage="Jer 4" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.v-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.1-Jer.4.2" parsed="|Jer|4|1|4|2" passage="Jer 4:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.v-p1.8">
<h4 id="Jer.v-p1.9">Exhortation to Repentance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p1.10">b. c.</span> 620.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.v-p2" shownumber="no">1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p2.1">Lord</span>, return unto me: and if thou wilt put
away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not
remove.   2 And thou shalt swear, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p2.2">Lord</span> liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in
righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and
in him shall they glory.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p3" shownumber="no">When God called to backsliding Israel to
return (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.22" parsed="|Jer|3|22|0|0" passage="Jer 3:22"><i>ch.</i> iii. 22</scripRef>)
they immediately answered, <i>Lord, we return;</i> now God here
takes notice of their answer, and, by way of reply to it,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p4" shownumber="no">I. He directs them how to pursue their good
resolutions: "Dost thou say, <i>I will return?</i>" 1. "Then thou
must <i>return unto me;</i> make a thorough work of it. Do not only
turn from thy idolatries, but return to the instituted worship of
the God of Israel." Or, "Thou must return speedily and not delay
(as <scripRef id="Jer.v-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.21.12" parsed="|Isa|21|12|0|0" passage="Isa 21:12">Isa. xxi. 12</scripRef>, <i>If
you will enquire, enquire you</i>); if you will return unto me,
return you: do not talk of it, but do it." 2. "Thou must utterly
abandon all sin, and not retain any of the relics of idolatry:
<i>Put away thy abominations out of my sight,</i>" that is, out of
all places (for every place is under the eye of God), especially
out of the temple, the house which he had in a particular manner
his eye upon, to see that it was kept clean. It intimates that
their idolatries were not only obvious, but offensive, to the eye
of God. They were abominations which he could not endure the sight
of; therefore they must be <i>put away out of his sight,</i>
because they were a provocation to the pure eyes of God's glory.
Sin must be put away out of the heart, else it is not put away out
of God's sight, for the heart and all that is in it lie open before
his eye. 3. They must not return to sin again; so some understand
that, <i>Thou shalt not remove,</i> reading it, <i>Thou shalt
not,</i> or <i>must not, wander. "If thou wilt put away thy
abominations, and wilt not wander</i> after them again, as thou
hast done, all shall be well." 4. They must give unto God the glory
due unto his name (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.2" parsed="|Jer|4|2|0|0" passage="Jer 4:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): "<i>Thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth.</i> His
existence shall be with thee the most sacred fact, than which
nothing can be more sure, and his judgment the supreme court to
which thou shalt appeal, than which nothing can be more awful."
Swearing is an act of religious worship, in which we are to give
honour to God three ways:—(1.) We must swear by the true God
only, and not by creatures, or any false gods,—by the God that
liveth, not by the gods that are deaf and dumb and dead,—by him
only, and not <i>by the Lord and by Malcham,</i> as <scripRef id="Jer.v-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.1.5" parsed="|Zech|1|5|0|0" passage="Zec 1:5">Zech. i. 5</scripRef>. (2.) We must swear that
only which is true, <i>in truth and in righteousness,</i> not
daring to assert that which is false, or which we do not know to be
true, nor to assert that as certain which is doubtful, nor to
promise that which we mean not to perform, nor to violate the
promise we have made. To say that which is untrue, or to do that
which is unrighteous, is bad, but to back either with an oath is
much worse. (3.) We must do it solemnly, swear <i>in judgment,</i>
that is, when judicially called to it, and not in common
conversation. Rash swearing is as great a profanation of God's name
as solemn swearing is an honour to it. See <scripRef id="Jer.v-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.10.20 Bible:Matt.5.34 Bible:Matt.5.37" parsed="|Deut|10|20|0|0;|Matt|5|34|0|0;|Matt|5|37|0|0" passage="De 10:20,Mt 5:34,37">Deut. x. 20; Matt. v. 34, 37</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p5" shownumber="no">II. He encourages them to keep in this good
mind and adhere to their resolutions. If the scattered Israelites
will thus return to God, 1. They shall be blessed themselves; for
to that sense the first words may be read: "<i>If thou wilt return
to me,</i> then <i>thou shalt return,</i> that is, thou shalt be
brought back out of thy captivity into thy own land again, as was
of old promised," <scripRef id="Jer.v-p5.1" passage="De 4:29,30:2">Deut. iv. 29;
xxx. 2</scripRef>. Or, "Then <i>thou shalt rest in me,</i> shalt
return to me as thy rest, even while thou art in the land of thy
captivity." 2. They shall be blessings to others; for their
returning to God again will be a means of others turning to him who
never new him. If thou wilt own the living Lord, thou wilt thereby
influence the nations among whom thou art to bless themselves in
him, to place their happiness in his favour and to think themselves
happy in being brought to the fear of him. See <scripRef id="Jer.v-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.16" parsed="|Isa|65|16|0|0" passage="Isa 65:16">Isa. lxv. 16</scripRef>. They shall bless themselves
<i>in the God of truth,</i> and not in false gods, shall do
themselves the honour, and give themselves the satisfaction, to
join themselves to him; and then <i>in him shall they glory;</i>
they shall make him their glory, and shall please, nay, shall
pride, themselves in the blessed change they have made. Those that
part with their sins to return to God, however they scrupled at the
bargain at first, <i>when they go away, then they boast.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.v-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.3-Jer.4.4" parsed="|Jer|4|3|4|4" passage="Jer 4:3-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.v-p5.4">
<h4 id="Jer.v-p5.5">Punishment Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p5.6">b. c.</span> 620.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.v-p6" shownumber="no">3 For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p6.1">Lord</span> to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up
your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.   4 Circumcise
yourselves to the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p6.2">Lord</span>, and take
away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants
of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none
can quench <i>it,</i> because of the evil of your doings.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p7" shownumber="no">The prophet here turns his speech, in God's
name, to the men of the place where he lived. We have heard what
words he proclaimed <i>towards the north</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.12" parsed="|Jer|3|12|0|0" passage="Jer 3:12"><i>ch.</i> iii. 12</scripRef>), for the comfort of those
that were now in captivity and were humbled under the hand of God;
let us now see what he says to the <i>men of Judah and
Jerusalem,</i> who were now in prosperity, for their conviction and
awakening. In these two verses he exhorts them to repentance and
reformation, as the only way left them to prevent the desolating
judgments that were ready to break in upon them. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p8" shownumber="no">I. The duties required of them, which they
are concerned to do.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p9" shownumber="no">1. They must do by their hearts as they do
by their ground that they expect any good of; they must plough it
up (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.3" parsed="|Jer|4|3|0|0" passage="Jer 4:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): "<i>Break
up your fallow-ground. Plough to yourselves a ploughing</i> (or
<i>plough up your plough land</i>), that you <i>sow not among
thorns,</i> that you may not labour in vain, for your own safety
and welfare, as those do that sow good seed among thorns and as you
have been doing a great while. Put yourselves into a frame fit to
receive mercy from God, and put away all that which keeps it from
you, and then you may expect to receive mercy and to prosper in
your endeavours to help yourselves." Note, (1.) An unconvinced
unhumbled heart is like fallow-ground, ground untilled, unoccupied.
It is ground capable of improvement; it is our ground, let out to
us, and we must be accountable for it; but it is fallow; it is
unfenced and lies common; it is unfruitful and of no advantage to
the owner, and (which is principally intended) it is overgrown with
thorns and weeds, which are the natural product of the corrupt
heart; and, if it be not renewed with grace, rain and sunshine are
lost upon it, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.7-Heb.6.8" parsed="|Heb|6|7|6|8" passage="Heb 6:7,8">Heb. vi. 7,
8</scripRef>. (2.) We are concerned to get this fallow-ground
ploughed up. We must search into our own hearts, let the word of
God divide (as the plough does) <i>between the joints and the
marrow,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.4.12" parsed="|Heb|4|12|0|0" passage="Heb 4:12">Heb. iv. 12</scripRef>. We
must <i>rend our hearts,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Joel.2.13" parsed="|Joel|2|13|0|0" passage="Joe 2:13">Joel ii.
13</scripRef>. We must pluck up by the roots those corruptions
which, as thorns, choke both our endeavours and our expectations,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Hos.10.12" parsed="|Hos|10|12|0|0" passage="Ho 10:12">Hos. x. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p10" shownumber="no">2. They must do that to their souls which
was done to their bodies when they were taken into covenant with
God (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.4" parsed="|Jer|4|4|0|0" passage="Jer 4:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>):
"<i>Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskin
of your heart.</i> Mortify the flesh and the lusts of it. Pare off
that <i>superfluity of naughtiness</i> which hinders your
<i>receiving with meekness the engrafted word,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.21" parsed="|Jas|1|21|0|0" passage="Jam 1:21">Jam. i. 21</scripRef>. Boast not of, and rest
not in, the circumcision of the body, for that is but a sign, and
will not serve without the thing signified. It is a dedicating
sign. Do that in sincerity which was done in profession by your
circumcision; devote and consecrate yourselves unto the Lord, to be
to him a peculiar people. Circumcision is an <i>obligation to keep
the law;</i> lay yourselves afresh under that obligation. It is a
<i>seal of the righteousness of faith;</i> lay hold then of that
righteousness, and so <i>circumcise yourselves to the
Lord.</i>"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p11" shownumber="no">II. The danger they are threatened with,
which they are concerned to avoid. Repent and reform, <i>lest my
fury come forth like fire,</i> which it is now ready to do, as that
fire which came forth from the Lord and consumed the sacrifices,
and which was always kept burning upon the altar and none might
quench it; such is God's wrath against impenitent sinners,
<i>because of the evil of their doings.</i> Note, 1. That which is
to be dreaded by us more than any thing else is the wrath of God;
for that is the spring and bitterness of all present miseries and
will be the quintessence and perfection of everlasting misery. 2.
It is the <i>evil of our doings</i> that kindles the fire of God's
wrath against us. 3. The consideration of the imminent danger we
are in of falling and perishing under this wrath should awaken us
with all possible care to <i>sanctify ourselves to God's glory</i>
and to see to it that we be <i>sanctified by his grace.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.v-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.5-Jer.4.18" parsed="|Jer|4|5|4|18" passage="Jer 4:5-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.v-p11.2">
<h4 id="Jer.v-p11.3">Punishment Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p11.4">b. c.</span> 620.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.v-p12" shownumber="no">5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem;
and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and
say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
  6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I
will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.   7
The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the
Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy
land desolate; <i>and</i> thy cities shall be laid waste, without
an inhabitant.   8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament
and howl: for the fierce anger of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p12.1">Lord</span> is not turned back from us.   9 And it
shall come to pass at that day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p12.2">Lord</span>, <i>that</i> the heart of the king shall
perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be
astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.   10 Then said I,
Ah, Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p12.3">God</span>! surely thou hast
greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have
peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.   11 At that
time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind
of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my
people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,   12 <i>Even</i> a full
wind from those <i>places</i> shall come unto me: now also will I
give sentence against them.   13 Behold, he shall come up as
clouds, and his chariots <i>shall be</i> as a whirlwind: his horses
are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.   14
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be
saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?  
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from
mount Ephraim.   16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold,
publish against Jerusalem, <i>that</i> watchers come from a far
country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
  17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about;
because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p12.4">Lord</span>.   18 Thy way and thy doings have
procured these <i>things</i> unto thee; this <i>is</i> thy
wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine
heart.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p13" shownumber="no">God's usual method is to warn before he
wounds. In these verses, accordingly, God gives notice to the Jews
of the general desolation that would shortly be brought upon them
by a foreign invasion. This must be declared and published in all
the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, that all might hear
and fear, and by this loud alarm be either brought to repentance or
left inexcusable. The prediction of this calamity is here given
very largely, and in lively expressions, which one would think
should have awakened and affected the most stupid. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p14" shownumber="no">I. The war proclaimed, and general notice
given of the advance of the enemy. It is published now, some years
before, by the prophet; but, since this will be slighted, it shall
be published after another manner when the judgment is actually
breaking in, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.5-Jer.4.6" parsed="|Jer|4|5|4|6" passage="Jer 4:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5,
6</scripRef>. The <i>trumpet</i> must be <i>blown,</i> the
<i>standard</i> must be <i>set up,</i> a summons must be issued out
to the people to <i>gather together</i> and to draw <i>towards
Zion,</i> either to guard it or expecting to be guarded by it.
There must be a general rendezvous. The militia must be raised and
all the forces mustered. Those that are able men, and fit for
service, must <i>go into the defenced cities,</i> to garrison them;
those that are weak, and would lessen their provisions, but not
increase their strength, must <i>retire,</i> and <i>not
stay.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p15" shownumber="no">II. An express arrived with intelligence of
the approach of the king of Babylon and his army. It is an evil
that God will <i>bring from the north</i> (as he had said,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.15" parsed="|Jer|1|15|0|0" passage="Jer 1:15"><i>ch.</i> i. 15</scripRef>), <i>even
a great destruction,</i> beyond all that had yet come upon the
nation of the Jews. The enemy is here compared, 1. To <i>a lion</i>
that <i>comes up from his thicket,</i> when he is hungry, to seek
his prey, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.7" parsed="|Jer|4|7|0|0" passage="Jer 4:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. The
helpless beasts are so terrified with his roaring (as some report)
that they cannot flee from him, and so become an easy prey to him.
Nebuchadnezzar is this roaring tearing lion, <i>the destroyer of
the nations,</i> that has laid many countries waste, and now is
<i>on his way</i> in full speed towards the land of Judah. The
<i>destroyer of the Gentiles</i> shall be the <i>destroyer of the
Jews</i> too, when they have by their idolatry made themselves like
the Gentiles. "He has <i>gone forth from his place,</i> from
Babylon, or the place of the rendezvous of his army, on purpose
against <i>this land;</i> that is the prey he has now his eye upon,
not to plunder it only, but to make it desolate, and herein he
shall succeed to such a degree that the cities shall be <i>laid
waste, without inhabitants,</i> shall be <i>overgrown with
grass</i> as a field;" so some read it. 2. To a <i>drying</i>
blasting <i>wind</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.11" parsed="|Jer|4|11|0|0" passage="Jer 4:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>), a parching scorching wind, which spoils the fruits
of the earth and withers them, not a wind which brings rain, but
such as comes <i>out of the north,</i> which <i>drives away
rain</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.25.23" parsed="|Prov|25|23|0|0" passage="Pr 25:23">Prov. xxv. 23</scripRef>),
but brings something worse instead of it; such shall this evil out
of the north be to this people, a <i>black</i> freezing wind, which
they can neither fence against nor flee from, but, wherever they
go, it shall surround and pursue them; and they cannot see it
before it comes, but, when it comes, they shall feel it. It is a
<i>wind of the high places in the wilderness,</i> or <i>plain,</i>
that beats upon the tops of the hills or that carries all before it
in the plain, where there is no shelter, but the ground is all
champaign. It shall come in its full force <i>towards the daughters
of my people,</i> that have been brought up so tenderly and
delicately that they could not endure to have the wind blow upon
them. Now this fierce wind shall come against them, <i>not to fan,
nor cleanse</i> them, not such a gentle wind as is used in
winnowing corn, but a <i>full wind</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.12" parsed="|Jer|4|12|0|0" passage="Jer 4:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), a strong and violent wind,
blowing full upon them. This shall come <i>to me,</i> or rather
<i>for me;</i> it shall come with commission from God and shall
accomplish that for which he sends it; for this, as other <i>stormy
winds, fulfills his word.</i> 3. To clouds and whirlwinds for
swiftness, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.13" parsed="|Jer|4|13|0|0" passage="Jer 4:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
The Chaldean army shall <i>come up as clouds</i> driven with the
wind, so thick shall they stand, so fast shall they march, and it
shall be to no purpose to offer to stop them or make head against
them, any more than to arrest a cloud or give check to a whirlwind.
The horses are <i>swifter than eagles</i> when they fly upon their
prey; it is in vain to think either of opposing them or of
outrunning them. 4. To watchers and the keepers of a field,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.15-Jer.4.17" parsed="|Jer|4|15|4|17" passage="Jer 4:15-17"><i>v.</i> 15-17</scripRef>. <i>The
voice declares from Dan,</i> a city which lay furthest north of all
the cities of Canaan, and therefore received the first tidings of
this <i>evil from the north</i> and hastened it to Mount Ephraim,
that part of the land of Israel which lay next to Judea; they
received the news of the affliction and transmitted it to
Jerusalem. Ill news flies apace; and an impenitent people, that
hates to be reformed, can expect no other that ill news. Now, what
is the news? "<i>Tell the nations,</i> those mixed nations that now
inhabit the cities of the ten tribes, mention it to them, that they
may provide for their own safety; but publish it <i>against
Jerusalem,</i> that is the place aimed at, the game shot at, let
them know that <i>watchers have come from a far country,</i> that
is, soldiers, that will watch all opportunities to do mischief."
Private soldiers we call <i>private sentinels,</i> or
<i>watchmen.</i> "They are coming in full career, and <i>give out
their voice against the cities of Judah;</i> they design to invest
them, to make themselves masters of them, and to attack them with
loud shouts, as sure of victory. As <i>keepers of a field</i>
surround it, to keep all out from it, so shall they surround the
cities of Judah, to keep all in them, till they be constrained to
surrender at discretion; they are <i>against her round about,
compassing her in on every side."</i> See <scripRef id="Jer.v-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.43" parsed="|Luke|19|43|0|0" passage="Lu 19:43">Luke xix. 43</scripRef>. As formerly the good angels,
<i>those watchers,</i> and <i>holy ones,</i> were like <i>keepers
of a field</i> to Jerusalem, watching about it, that nothing might
go in to its prejudice, so now their enemies were as watchers and
keepers of a field, surrounding it that nothing might go in to its
relief and succour.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p16" shownumber="no">III. The lamentable cause of this judgment.
How is it that Judah and Jerusalem come to be thus abandoned to
ruin? See how it came to this. 1. They sinned against God; it was
all owing to themselves: <i>She has been rebellious against me,
saith the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.17" parsed="|Jer|4|17|0|0" passage="Jer 4:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. Their enemies surrounded them as keepers of a field,
because they had taken up arms against their rightful Lord and
sovereign, and were to be seized as rebels. The Chaldeans were
breaking in upon them, and it was sin that opened the gap at which
they entered: <i>Thy way and thy doings have procured these things
unto thee</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.18" parsed="|Jer|4|18|0|0" passage="Jer 4:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), thy evil way and thy doings that have not been
good. It was not a false step or two that did them this mischief,
but their way and course of living were bad. Note, Sin is the
procuring cause of all our troubles. Those that go on in sin while
they are endeavouring to ward off mischiefs with one hand are at
the same time pulling them upon their own heads with the other. 2.
God was angry with them for their sin. It is the <i>fierce anger of
the Lord</i> that makes the army of the Chaldeans thus fierce, thus
furious; that is kindled against us, and is <i>not turned back from
us,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.8" parsed="|Jer|4|8|0|0" passage="Jer 4:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Note,
In men's anger against us, and the violence of that, we must see
and own God's anger and the power of that. If that were turned back
from us, our enemies could not come forward against us. 3. In his
just and holy anger he condemned them to this dreadful punishment:
<i>Now also will I give sentence against them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.12" parsed="|Jer|4|12|0|0" passage="Jer 4:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. The execution was done,
not in a heat, but in pursuance of a sentence solemnly passed,
according to equity, and upon mature deliberation. Some read it,
<i>Now will I do execution upon them,</i> according to the doom
formerly passed; and <i>we are sure that the judgment of God is
according to the truth,</i> and the execution of that judgment.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p17" shownumber="no">IV. The lamentable effects of this
judgment, upon the first alarm given of it. 1. The people that
should fight shall quite despair and shall not have a heart to make
the least stand against the enemy (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.8" parsed="|Jer|4|8|0|0" passage="Jer 4:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): "<i>For this gird yourself with
sackcloth, lament and howl,</i>" that is, "you will do so. When the
cry is made through the kingdom, <i>Arm, arm!</i> all will be
seized with a consternation, and all put into confusion. Instead of
girding on the sword, they will gird on the sackcloth; instead of
animating one another to a vigorous resistance, they will <i>lament
and howl,</i> and so dishearten one another. While the enemy is yet
at a distance they will give up all for gone, and cry, <i>Woe unto
us! for we are spoiled,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.13" parsed="|Jer|4|13|0|0" passage="Jer 4:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>. We are all undone, the spoilers will certainly carry
the day, and it is in vain to make head against them." Judah and
Jerusalem had been famed for valiant men; but see what is the
effect of sin: by depriving men of their confidence towards God, it
deprives them of their courage towards men. 2. Their great men, who
should contrive for the public safety, shall be at their wits' end
(<scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.9" parsed="|Jer|4|9|0|0" passage="Jer 4:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>At that
day the heart of the king shall perish,</i> both his wisdom and his
courage. Despairing of success, he shall have no spirit to do any
thing, and, if he had, he will not know what to do. His princes and
privy-counselors, who should animate and advise him, shall be as
much at a loss and as much in despair as he. See how easily, how
effectually, God can bring ruin upon a people that are doomed to
it, merely by dispiriting them, <i>taking away the heart of the
chief</i> of them (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.12.20 Bible:Job.12.24" parsed="|Job|12|20|0|0;|Job|12|24|0|0" passage="Job 12:20,24">Job xii. 20,
24</scripRef>), <i>cutting off the spirit of princes,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.12" parsed="|Ps|76|12|0|0" passage="Ps 76:12">Ps. lxxvi. 12</scripRef>. The business of the
priests was to encourage the people in the time of war; they were
to say to the people, <i>Fear not, and let not your hearts
faint,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.20.2-Deut.20.3" parsed="|Deut|20|2|20|3" passage="De 20:2,3">Deut. xx. 2, 3</scripRef>.
They were to blow the trumpets, for an assurance to them that in
the day of battle they should be <i>remembered before the Lord
their God,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Num.10.9" parsed="|Num|10|9|0|0" passage="Nu 10:9">Num. x. 9</scripRef>.
But now <i>the priests</i> themselves <i>shall be astonished,</i>
and shall have no heart themselves to do their office, and
therefore shall not be likely to put spirit into the people. <i>The
prophets</i> too, the false prophets, who had cried <i>peace</i> to
them, shall be put into the greatest amazement imaginable, seeing
their own guilty blood ready to be shed by that sword which they
had often told the people there was no danger of. Note, God's
judgments come with the greatest terror upon those that have been
most secure. Our Saviour foretels that at the last destruction of
Jerusalem <i>men's hearts</i> should <i>fail them for fear,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.26" parsed="|Luke|21|26|0|0" passage="Lu 21:26">Luke xxi. 26</scripRef>. And it is
common for those who have cheated and flattered people into a
carnal security not only to fail them, but to discourage them, when
the trouble comes.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p18" shownumber="no">V. The prophet's complaint of the people's
being deceived, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.10" parsed="|Jer|4|10|0|0" passage="Jer 4:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. It is expressed strangely, as we read it: <i>Ah!
Lord God, surely thou hast greatly deceived this people, saying,
You shall have peace.</i> We are sure that God deceives none.
<i>Let no man say, when he is tempted</i> or deluded, that God has
tempted or deluded him. But, 1. The people deceived themselves with
the promises that God had made in general of his favour to that
nation, and the many peculiar privileges with which they were
dignified, building upon them, though they took no care to perform
the conditions on which the accomplishment of those promises and
the continuance of those privileges did depend; and they had no
regard to the threatenings which in the law were set over-against
those promises. Thus they cheated themselves and then wickedly
complained that God had cheated them. 2. The false prophets
deceived them with promises of peace, which they made them in God's
name. <scripRef id="Jer.v-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.17 Bible:Jer.27.9" parsed="|Jer|23|17|0|0;|Jer|27|9|0|0" passage="Jer 23:17,27:9"><i>ch.</i> xxiii. 17;
xxvii. 9</scripRef>. If God had sent them, he had indeed greatly
deceived the people, but he had not. It was the people's fault that
they gave them credit; and here also they deceived themselves. 3.
God had permitted the false prophets to deceive, and the people to
be deceived by them, giving both up to <i>strong delusions,</i> to
punish them <i>for not receiving the truth in the love of it.</i>
Herein the Lord was righteous; but the prophet complains of it as
the sorest judgment of all, for by this means they had been
hardened in their sins. 4. It may be read with an interrogation,
"<i>Hast thou indeed thus deceived this people?</i> It is plain
that they are greatly deceived, for they expect <i>peace,</i>
whereas <i>the sword reaches unto the soul;</i> that is, it is a
killing sword, abundance of lives are lost, and more likely to be."
Now, was it God that deceived them? No, he had often given them
warning of judgments in general and of this in particular; but
their own prophets deceive them, and cry peace to those to whom the
God of heaven does not speak peace. It is a pitiable thing, and
that which every good man greatly laments, to see people flattered
into their own ruin, and promising themselves peace when war is at
the door; and this we should complain of to God, who alone can
prevent such a fatal delusion.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p19" shownumber="no">VI. The prophet's endeavour to undeceive
them. When the prophets they loved and caressed dealt falsely with
them, he whom they hated and persecuted dealt faithfully. 1. He
shows them their wound. They were loth to see it, very loth to have
it searched into; but, if they will allow themselves the liberty of
a free thought, they might discover their punishment in their sin
(<scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.18" parsed="|Jer|4|18|0|0" passage="Jer 4:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): "<i>This is
thy wickedness because it is bitter.</i> Now thou seest that it is
a bitter thing to depart from God, and will certainly be
<i>bitterness in the latter end,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.2.19" parsed="|Jer|2|19|0|0" passage="Jer 2:19"><i>ch.</i> ii. 19</scripRef>. It produces bitter
effects, and grief that <i>reaches unto the heart,</i> touches to
the quick, and in the most tender part; the sword <i>reaches to the
soul,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.10" parsed="|Jer|4|10|0|0" passage="Jer 4:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>.
God can make trouble reach the heart even of those that would lay
nothing to heart. "And by this thou mayest see <i>what is thy
wickedness,</i> that it is a bitter thing, <i>a root of bitterness,
that bears gall and wormwood,</i> and that it has <i>reached to the
heart;</i> it is the corruption of the soul, of the <i>imagination
of the thought of the heart.</i>" If the heart were not polluted
with sin, it would not be disturbed and disquieted as it is with
trouble. 2. He shows them the cure, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.14" parsed="|Jer|4|14|0|0" passage="Jer 4:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. "Since <i>thy wickedness
reaches to the heart,</i> there the application must be made. <i>O
Jerusalem! wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be
saved.</i>" By Jerusalem he means each one of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; for every man has a heart of his own to take care of,
and it is personal reformation that must help the public. Every one
must return from <i>his own evil way,</i> and, in order to that,
cleanse <i>his own evil heart.</i> "And let <i>the heart of the
city</i> too be purified, not the suburbs only, the outskirts of
it." The vitals of a state must be amended by the reformation of
those that have the commanding influence upon it. Note, (1.)
Reformation is absolutely necessary to salvation. There is no other
way of preventing judgments, or turning them away when we are
threatened with them, but taking away the sin by which we have
procured them to ourselves. (2.) No reformation is saving but that
which reaches the heart. There is heart-wickedness that is defiling
to the soul, from which we must wash ourselves. By repentance and
faith we must wash our hearts from the guilt we have contracted by
spiritual wickedness, by those sins which begin and end in the
heart and go no further; and by mortification and watchfulness we
must suppress and prevent this heart-wickedness for the future. The
tree must be made good, else the fruit will not. Jerusalem was all
overspread with the leprosy of sin. Now as the physicians agree
with respect to the body when afflicted with leprosy that external
applications will do no good, unless physic be taken inwardly to
carry off the humours that lurk there and to change the mass of the
blood, so it is with the soul, so it is with the state: there will
be no effectual reformation of the manners without a reformation of
the mind; the mistakes there must be rectified, the corruptions
there must be mortified, and the evil dispositions there changed.
"Though thou art Jerusalem, called a <i>holy city,</i> that will
not save thee, unless thou <i>wash thy heart from wickedness.</i>"
In the latter part of the verse he reasons with them: <i>How long
shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?</i> He complains here
[1.] Of the delays of their reformation: "<i>How long</i> shall
that filthy heart of thine continue unwashed? When shall it once
be?" Note, The God of heaven thinks the time long that his room is
usurped, and his interest opposed, in our souls, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.13.27" parsed="|Jer|13|27|0|0" passage="Jer 13:27"><i>ch.</i> xiii. 27</scripRef>. [2.] Of the root of
their corruption, the <i>vain thoughts that lodged within them</i>
and defiled their hearts, from which they must wash their hearts.
<i>Thoughts of iniquity</i> or <i>mischief,</i> these are the evil
thoughts that are the spawn of the evil <i>heart,</i> from which
all other wickedness is produced, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.15.19" parsed="|Matt|15|19|0|0" passage="Mt 15:19">Matt. xv. 19</scripRef>. These are our own, the
conceptions of our own lusts (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.7" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.15" parsed="|Jas|1|15|0|0" passage="Jam 1:15">Jam. i.
15</scripRef>), and they are the most dangerous when they lodge
within us, when they are admitted and entertained as guests, and
are suffered to continue. Some read it <i>thoughts of
affliction,</i> such thoughts as will bring nothing but affliction
and misery. Some by the vain thoughts here understand all those
frivolous pleas and excuses with which they turned off the reproofs
and calls of the word and rendered them ineffectual, and bolstered
themselves up in their wickedness. <i>Wash thy heart from
wickedness,</i> and think not to say, <i>We are not polluted</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.2.23" parsed="|Jer|2|23|0|0" passage="Jer 2:23"><i>ch.</i> ii. 23</scripRef>), or,
"We are Jerusalem; <i>we have Abraham to our father,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.v-p19.9" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.8-Matt.3.9" parsed="|Matt|3|8|3|9" passage="Mt 3:8,9">Matt. iii. 8, 9</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.v-p19.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.19-Jer.4.31" parsed="|Jer|4|19|4|31" passage="Jer 4:19-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.v-p19.11">
<h4 id="Jer.v-p19.12">Punishment Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p19.13">b. c.</span> 620.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.v-p20" shownumber="no">19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very
heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace,
because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the
alarm of war.   20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for
the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled,
<i>and</i> my curtains in a moment.   21 How long shall I see
the standard, <i>and</i> hear the sound of the trumpet?   22
For my people <i>is</i> foolish, they have not known me; they
<i>are</i> sottish children, and they have none understanding: they
<i>are</i> wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
  23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, <i>it was</i> without form,
and void; and the heavens, and they <i>had</i> no light.   24
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills
moved lightly.   25 I beheld, and, lo, <i>there was</i> no
man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.   26 I
beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place <i>was</i> a wilderness, and
all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p20.1">Lord</span>, <i>and</i> by his fierce
anger.   27 For thus hath the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.v-p20.2">Lord</span> said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet
will I not make a full end.   28 For this shall the earth
mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken
<i>it,</i> I have purposed <i>it,</i> and will not repent, neither
will I turn back from it.   29 The whole city shall flee for
the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets,
and climb up upon the rocks: every city <i>shall be</i> forsaken,
and not a man dwell therein.   30 And <i>when</i> thou
<i>art</i> spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself
with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold,
though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make
thyself fair; <i>thy</i> lovers will despise thee, they will seek
thy life.   31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in
travail, <i>and</i> the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her
first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, <i>that</i>
bewaileth herself, <i>that</i> spreadeth her hands, <i>saying,</i>
Woe <i>is</i> me now! for my soul is wearied because of
murderers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p21" shownumber="no">The prophet is here in an agony, and cries
out like one upon the rack of pain with some acute distemper, or as
a woman in travail. The expressions are very pathetic and moving,
enough to melt a heart of stone into compassion: <i>My bowels! my
bowels! I am pained at my very heart;</i> and yet well, and in
health himself, and nothing ails him. Note, A good man, in such a
bad world as this is, cannot but be a <i>man of sorrows. My heart
makes a noise in me,</i> through the tumult of my spirits, and <i>I
cannot hold my peace.</i> Note, The grievance and the grief
sometimes may be such that the most prudent patient man cannot
forbear complaining.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p22" shownumber="no">Now, what is the matter? What is it that
puts the good man into such agitation? It is not for himself, or
any affliction in his family that he grieves thus; but it is purely
upon the public account, it is his people's case that he lays to
heart thus.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p23" shownumber="no">I. They are very sinful and will not be
reformed, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.22" parsed="|Jer|4|22|0|0" passage="Jer 4:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>.
These are the words of God himself, for so the prophet chose to
give this character of the people, rather than in his own words, or
as from himself: <i>My people are foolish.</i> God calls them his
people, though they are foolish. They have cast him off, but he has
not cast them off, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.1" parsed="|Rom|11|1|0|0" passage="Ro 11:1">Rom. xi.
1</scripRef>. "They are <i>my people,</i> whom I have been in
covenant with, and still have mercy in store for. They are
<i>foolish,</i> for <i>they have not known me.</i>" Note, Those are
foolish indeed that have not known God, especially that call
themselves his people, and have the advantages of coming into
acquaintance with him, and yet have not known him. They are
<i>sottish children,</i> stupid and senseless, and have <i>no
understanding.</i> They cannot distinguish between truth and
falsehood, good and evil; they cannot discern the mind of God
either in his word or in his providence; they do not understand
what their true interest is, nor on which side it lies. They are
<i>wise to do evil,</i> to plot mischief against the quiet in the
land, wise to contrive the gratification of their lusts, and then
to conceal and palliate them. But <i>to do good they have no
knowledge,</i> no contrivance, no application of mind; they know
not how to make a good use either of the ordinances or of the
providences of God, nor how to bring about any design for the good
of their country. Contrary to this should be our character.
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.16.19" parsed="|Rom|16|19|0|0" passage="Ro 16:19">Rom. xvi. 19</scripRef>, <i>I would
have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning
evil.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p24" shownumber="no">II. They are miserable, and cannot be
relieved.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p25" shownumber="no">1. He cries out, <i>Because thou hast
heard, O my soul! the sound of the trumpet,</i> and <i>seen the
standard,</i> both giving <i>the alarm of war,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.19 Bible:Jer.4.21" parsed="|Jer|4|19|0|0;|Jer|4|21|0|0" passage="Jer 4:19,21"><i>v.</i> 19, 21</scripRef>. He does not say,
<i>Thou hast heard,</i> O my <i>ear!</i> but, O my <i>soul!</i>
because the event was yet future, and it is by the spirit of
prophecy that he see it and receives the impression of it. His
<i>soul</i> heard it from the words of God, and therefore he was as
well assured of it, and as much affected with it, as if he had
heard it with his bodily ears. He expresses this deep concern, (1.)
To show that, though he foretold this calamity, yet he was far from
<i>desiring the woeful day;</i> for a woeful day it would be to
him. It becomes us to tremble at the thought of the misery that
sinners are running themselves into, though we have good hopes,
through grace, that we ourselves are <i>delivered from the wrath to
come.</i> (2.) To awaken them to a holy fear, and so to a care to
prevent so great a judgment by a true and timely repentance. Note,
Those that would affect other with the word of God should evidence
that they are themselves affected with it. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p26" shownumber="no">2. Let us see what there is in the
destruction here foreseen and foretold that is so very
affecting.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p27" shownumber="no">(1.) It is a swift and <i>sudden</i>
destruction; it comes upon Judah and Jerusalem ere they are aware,
and pours in so fast upon them that they have not the east
breathing time. They have no time to recollect their thoughts, much
less to recruit or recover their strength: <i>Destruction upon
destruction is cried</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.20" parsed="|Jer|4|20|0|0" passage="Jer 4:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>), <i>breach upon breach,</i> one sad calamity, like
Job's messengers, treading upon the heels of another. The death of
Josiah breaks the ice, and plucks up the flood-gates; within three
months after that his son and successor Jehoahaz is deposed by the
king of Egypt; within two or three years after Nebuchadnezzar
besieged Jerusalem and took it, and thenceforward he was
continually making descents upon the land of Judah with his armies
during the reigns of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, till about
nineteen years after he completed their ruin in the destruction of
Jerusalem: but <i>suddenly were their tents spoiled and their
curtains in a moment.</i> Though the cities held out for some time,
the country was laid waste at the very first. The shepherds and all
that lived in tents were plundered immediately; they and their
effects fell into the enemies' hands; therefore we find the
Rechabites, who dwelt in tents, upon the first coming of the army
of the Chaldees into the land retiring to Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.35.11" parsed="|Jer|35|11|0|0" passage="Jer 35:11">Jer. xxxv. 11</scripRef>. The inhabitants of
the villages soon ceased: <i>Suddenly were the tents spoiled.</i>
The plain men that dwelt in tents were first made a prey of.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p28" shownumber="no">(2.) This dreadful war continued a great
while, not in the borders, but in the bowels of the country; for
the people were very obstinate, and would not submit to the king of
Babylon, but took all opportunities to rebel against him, which did
but lengthen out the calamity; they might as well have yielded at
first as at last. This is complained of (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.21" parsed="|Jer|4|21|0|0" passage="Jer 4:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): <i>How long shall I see the
standard?</i> Shall the sword devour for ever? Good men are none of
those that <i>delight in war,</i> for they know not how to fish in
troubled waters; they are <i>for peace</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.120.7" parsed="|Ps|120|7|0|0" passage="Ps 120:7">Ps. cxx. 7</scripRef>), and will heartily say
<i>Amen</i> to that prayer, "Give peace in our time, O Lord!" <i>O
thou sword of the Lord! when wilt thou be quiet?</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p29" shownumber="no">(3.) The desolations made by it in the land
were general and universal: <i>The whole land is spoiled,</i> or
plundered (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.20" parsed="|Jer|4|20|0|0" passage="Jer 4:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>);
so it was at first, and at length it became a perfect chaos. It was
such a desolation as amounted in a manner to a dissolution; not
only the superstructure, but even the foundations, were all <i>out
of course.</i> The prophet in vision saw the extent and extremity
of this destruction, and he here gives a most lively description of
it, which one would think might have made those uneasy in their
sins who dwelt in a land doomed to such a ruin, which might yet
have been prevented by their repentance. [1.] The earth is
<i>without form, and void</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.23" parsed="|Jer|4|23|0|0" passage="Jer 4:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), as it was <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.2" parsed="|Gen|1|2|0|0" passage="Ge 1:2">Gen. i. 2</scripRef>. It is <i>Tohu</i> and <i>Bohu,</i>
the words there used, as far as the land of Judea goes. It is
<i>confusion</i> and <i>emptiness,</i> stripped of all its beauty,
void of all its wealth, and, compared with what it was, every thing
out of place and out of shape. To a worse chaos than this will the
earth be reduced at the end of time, when it, <i>and all the works
that are therein, shall be burnt up.</i> [2.] The <i>heavens</i>
too are <i>without light,</i> as the earth is without fruits. This
alludes to the <i>darkness</i> that was <i>upon the face of the
deep</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.2" parsed="|Gen|1|2|0|0" passage="Ge 1:2">Gen. i. 2</scripRef>), and
represents God's displeasure against them, as the eclipse of the
sun did at our Saviour's death. It was not only the earth that
failed them, but heaven also frowned upon them; and with their
trouble they had darkness, for they could not see through their
troubles. The smoke of their houses and cities which the enemy
burnt, and the dust which their army raised in its march, even
darkened the sun, so that <i>the heavens had no light.</i> Or it
may be taken figuratively: <i>The earth</i> (that is, the common
people) was impoverished and in confusion; and the <i>heavens</i>
(that is, the princes and rulers) <i>had no light,</i> no wisdom in
themselves, nor were any comfort to the people, nor a guide to
them. Comp. <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.29" parsed="|Matt|24|29|0|0" passage="Mt 24:29">Matt. xxiv. 29</scripRef>.
[3.] The <i>mountains trembled, and the hills moved lightly,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.24" parsed="|Jer|4|24|0|0" passage="Jer 4:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. So formidable
were the appearances of God against his people, as in the days of
old they had been for them, that <i>the mountains skipped like rams
and the little hills like lambs,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.114.4" parsed="|Ps|114|4|0|0" passage="Ps 114:4">Ps. cxiv. 4</scripRef>. The <i>everlasting mountains</i>
seemed to be <i>scattered,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.8" osisRef="Bible:Hab.3.6" parsed="|Hab|3|6|0|0" passage="Hab 3:6">Hab.
iii. 6</scripRef>. The mountains on which they had worshipped their
idols, the mountains over which they had looked for succours, all
trembled, as if they had been conscious of the people's guilt. The
mountains, those among them that seemed to the highest and
strongest, and of the firmest resolution, trembled at the approach
of the Chaldean army. The hills moved lightly, as being eased of
the burden of a sinful nation, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.24" parsed="|Isa|1|24|0|0" passage="Isa 1:24">Isa. i.
24</scripRef>. [4.] Not the earth only, but the air, was
dispeopled, and left uninhabited (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.25" parsed="|Jer|4|25|0|0" passage="Jer 4:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>): <i>I beheld</i> the cities,
the countries that used to be populous, <i>and, lo, there was no
man</i> to be seen; all the inhabitants were either killed, or
fled, or taken captives, such a ruining depopulating thing is sin:
nay, even <i>the birds of the heavens,</i> that used to fly about
and <i>sing among the branches,</i> had now <i>fled</i> away, and
were no more to be seen or heard. The <i>land of Judah</i> had now
become like the <i>lake of Sodom,</i> over which (they say) no bird
flies; see <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.11" osisRef="Bible:Deut.29.23" parsed="|Deut|29|23|0|0" passage="De 29:23">Deut. xxix. 23</scripRef>.
The enemies shall make such havoc of the country that they shall
not so much as leave a bird alive in it. [5.] Both the ground and
the houses shall be laid waste (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.26" parsed="|Jer|4|26|0|0" passage="Jer 4:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): <i>Lo, the fruitful place was
a wilderness,</i> being deserted by the inhabitants that should
cultivate it, and then soon overgrown with thorns and briers, or
being trodden down by the destroying army of the enemy. The
<i>cities</i> also and their gates and walls are <i>broken down</i>
and levelled with the ground. Those that look no further than
second causes impute it to the policy and fury of the invaders; but
the prophet, who looks to the first cause, says that it is <i>at
the presence of the Lord,</i> at <i>his face</i> (that is, the
anger of his countenance), even <i>by his fierce anger,</i> that
this was done. Even angry men cannot do us any real hurt, unless
God be angry with us. If our <i>ways please him,</i> all is well.
[6.] The meaning of all this is that the nation shall be entirely
ruined, and every part of it shall share in the destruction;
neither town nor country shall escape. <i>First,</i> Not the
country, for <i>the whole land shall be desolate,</i> corn land and
pasture land, both common and enclosed, it shall be laid waste
(<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.27" parsed="|Jer|4|27|0|0" passage="Jer 4:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>); the
conquerors will have occasion for it all. <i>Secondly,</i> Not the
men, for (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.29" parsed="|Jer|4|29|0|0" passage="Jer 4:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>)
<i>the whole city shall flee,</i> all the inhabitants of the town
shall quit their habitations by consent, <i>for fear of the
horsemen and bowmen.</i> Rather than lie exposed to their fury,
they shall <i>go into the thickets,</i> where they are in danger of
being torn by briers, nay, to be torn in pieces by wild beasts; and
they shall <i>climb up upon the rocks,</i> where their lodging will
be hard and cold, and the precipice dangerous. Let us not be
over-fond of our houses and cities; for the time may come when
rocks and thickets may be preferable, and chosen rather. This shall
be the common case, for <i>every city shall be forsaken,</i> and
<i>not a man</i> shall be left that dares <i>dwell therein.</i>
Both government and trade shall be at an end, and all civil
societies and incorporations dissolved. It is a very dismal idea
which this gives of the approaching desolation; but in the midst of
all these threatenings comes in one comfortable word (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.15" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.27" parsed="|Jer|4|27|0|0" passage="Jer 4:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): <i>Yet will not I make
a full end</i>—not a total consumption, for God will reserve a
remnant to himself, that shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's
anger—not a final consumption, for Jerusalem shall again be built
and the land inhabited. This comes in here, in the midst of the
threatenings, for the comfort of those that <i>trembled at God's
word;</i> and it intimates to us the changeableness of God's
providence; as it breaks down, so it raises up again; every end of
our comforts is not a full end, however we may be ready to think it
so. It also intimates the unchangeableness of God's covenant, which
stands so firmly, that, though he may correct his people severely,
yet he will not <i>cast them off,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p29.16" osisRef="Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 30:11"><i>ch.</i> xxx. 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.v-p30" shownumber="no">(4.) Their case was helpless and without
remedy. [1.] God would not help them; so he tells them plainly,
<scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.28" parsed="|Jer|4|28|0|0" passage="Jer 4:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. And, if the
Lord do not help them, who can? This is that which makes their case
deplorable. "<i>For this the earth mourns and the heavens above are
black</i> (there are no prospects but what are very dismal),
<i>because I have spoken it;</i> I have given the word which shall
not be called back; <i>I have purposed it</i> (it is a consumption
decreed, determined) <i>and I will not repent,</i> not change this
way, but proceed in it, and will not <i>turn back from it.</i>"
They would not repent and turn back from the way of their sins
(<scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.2.25" parsed="|Jer|2|25|0|0" passage="Jer 2:25"><i>ch.</i> ii. 25</scripRef>), and
therefore God will not repent and turn back from the way of his
judgments. [2.] They could not help themselves, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.30-Jer.4.31" parsed="|Jer|4|30|4|31" passage="Jer 4:30,31"><i>v.</i> 30, 31</scripRef>. When the thing appeared
at a distance they flattered themselves with hopes that, though God
should not appear for them as he had done for Hezekiah against the
Assyrian army, yet they should find some means or other to secure
themselves and give check to the forces of the enemy. But the
prophet tells them that, when it comes to the setting to, they will
be quite at a loss: "<i>When thou art spoiled, what wilt thou
do?</i> What course wilt thou take? Sit down now, and consider this
in time." He assures them that, whatever were now their
contrivances and confidences, <i>First,</i> They will then be
despised by their allies whom they depended upon for assistance. He
had often compared the sin of Jerusalem to whoredom, not only her
idolatry, but her trust in creatures, in the neighbouring powers.
Now here he compares her to a harlot abandoned by all the lewd ones
that used to make court to her. She is supposed to do all she can
to keep up her interest in their affections. She does what she can
to make herself appear considerable among the nations, and a
valuable ally. She compliments them by her ambassadors to the
highest degree, to engage them to stand by her now in her distress.
She <i>clothes herself with crimson,</i> as if she were rich, and
<i>decks herself with ornaments of gold,</i> as if her treasuries
were still as full as ever they had been. She <i>rents her face
with painting,</i> puts the best colours she can upon her present
distresses and does her utmost to palliate and extenuate her
losses, sets a good face upon them. But this painting, though it
beautifies the face for the present, really rends it; the frequent
use of paint spoils the skin, cracks it, and makes it rough; so the
case which by false colours has been made to appear better than
really it was, when truth comes to light, will look so much the
worse. "And, after all, <i>in vain shalt thou make thyself
fair;</i> all thy neighbours are sensible how low thou art brought;
the Chaldeans will strip thee of thy crimson and ornaments, and
then thy confederates will not only slight thee and refuse to give
thee any succour, but they will join with those that <i>seek thy
life,</i> that they may come in for a share in the prey of so rich
a country." Here seems to be an allusion to the story of Jezebel,
who thought, by making herself look fair and fine, to outface her
doom, but in vain, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.9.30 Bible:2Kgs.9.33" parsed="|2Kgs|9|30|0|0;|2Kgs|9|33|0|0" passage="2Ki 9:30,33">2 Kings ix. 30,
33</scripRef>. See what creatures prove when we confide in them,
how treacherous they are; instead of saving the life, they seek the
life; they often change, so that they will sooner do us an ill turn
than any service. And see to how little purpose it is for those
that have by sin deformed themselves in God's eyes to think by any
arts they can use to beautify themselves in the eye of the world.
<i>Secondly,</i> They will then be themselves in despair; they will
find their troubles to be like the pains of a woman in travail,
which she cannot escape: <i>I have heard the voice of the daughter
of Zion,</i> her groans echoing to the triumphal shouts of the
Chaldean army, which he heard, <scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.15" parsed="|Jer|4|15|0|0" passage="Jer 4:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. It is like the <i>voice of a
woman in travail,</i> whose pain is exquisite, and the fruit of sin
and the curse too (<scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.16" parsed="|Gen|3|16|0|0" passage="Ge 3:16">Gen. iii.
16</scripRef>), and exhorts lamentable outcries, especially of a
<i>woman in travail of her first child,</i> who, having never known
before what that pain is, is the more terrified by it. Troubles are
most grievous to those that have not been used to them. Zion, in
this distress, since her neighbours refuse to pity her, <i>bewails
herself,</i> fetching <i>deep sighs</i> (so the word signifies),
and she <i>spreads her hands,</i> either wringing them for grief or
reaching them forth for succour. All the cry is, <i>Woe is me
now!</i> (now that the decree has gone forth against her and is
past recall), for <i>my soul is wearied because of murderers.</i>
The Chaldean soldiers put all to the sword that gave them any
opposition, so that the land was full of murders. Zion was weary of
hearing tragical stories from all parts of the country, and cried
out, <i>Woe is me!</i> It was well if their sufferings put them in
mind of their sins, the murders committed upon them of the murders
committed by them; for God was now making inquisition for the
<i>innocent blood</i> shed in Jerusalem, <i>which the Lord would
not pardon,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.v-p30.7" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.24.4" parsed="|2Kgs|24|4|0|0" passage="2Ki 24:4">2 Kings xxiv.
4</scripRef>. Note, As sin will find out the sinner, so sorrow
will, sooner or later, find out the secure.</p>
</div></div2>