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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter,
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I. God by the prophet puts the people in mind of the covenant he had
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made with their fathers, and how much he had insisted upon it, as the
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condition of the covenant, that they should be obedient to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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II. He charges it upon them that they, in succession to their fathers,
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and in confederacy among themselves, had obstinately refused to obey
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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III. He threatens to punish them with utter ruin for their
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disobedience, especially for their idolatry
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:11,13">ver. 11, 13</A>),
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and tells them that their idols should not save them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:12">ver. 12</A>),
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that their prophets should not pray for them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:14">ver. 14</A>);
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he also justifies his proceedings herein, they having brought all this
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mischief upon themselves by their own folly and wilfulness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:15-17">ver. 15-17</A>.
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IV. Here is an account of a conspiracy formed against Jeremiah by his
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fellow-citizens, the men of Anathoth; God's discovery of it to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:18,19">ver. 18, 19</A>),
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his prayer against them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:20">ver. 20</A>),
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and a prediction of God's judgments upon them for it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:21-23">ver. 21-23</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer11_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Charges against Judah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 606.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying,
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2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of
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Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
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3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel;
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Cursed <I>be</I> the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
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4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day <I>that</I> I brought
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them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,
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saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I
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command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
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5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your
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fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as <I>it
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is</I> this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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6 Then the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the
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cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye
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the words of this covenant, and do them.
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7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day <I>that</I>
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I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, <I>even</I> unto this day,
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rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
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8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every
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one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will
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bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded
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<I>them</I> to do; but they did <I>them</I> not.
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9 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the
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men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers,
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which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to
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serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have
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broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet here, as prosecutor in God's name, draws up an indictment
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against the Jews for wilful disobedience to the commands of their
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rightful Sovereign. For the more solemn management of this charge,</P>
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<P>
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I. He produces the commission he had to draw up the charge against
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them. He did not take pleasure in accusing the children of his people,
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but God commanded him to <I>speak it to the men of Judah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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In the original it is plural: <I>Speak you this.</I> For what he said
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to Jeremiah was the same that he gave in charge to all his servants the
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prophets. They none of them said any other than what Moses, in the law,
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had said; to that therefore they must refer themselves, and direct the
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people: "<I>Hear the words of this covenant;</I> turn to your Bibles,
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be judged by them." Jeremiah must now proclaim this in the cities <I>of
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Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,</I> that all may hear, for all are
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concerned. All the words of reproof and conviction which the prophets
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spoke were grounded upon the <I>words of the covenant,</I> and agreed
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with that; and therefore "<I>hear these words,</I> and understand by
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them upon what terms you stood with God at first; and then, by
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comparing yourselves with the covenant, you will soon be aware upon
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what terms you now stand with him."</P>
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<P>
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II. He opens the charter upon which their state was founded and by
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which they held their privileges. They had forgotten the tenour of it,
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and lived as if they thought that the grant was absolute and that they
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might do what they pleased and yet have what God had promised, or as if
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they thought that the keeping up of the ceremonial observances was all
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that God required of them. He therefore shows them, with all possible
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plainness, that the thing God insisted upon was <I>obedience,</I> which
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was <I>better than sacrifice.</I> He said, <I>Obey my voice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>
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and again
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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"Own God for your Master; give up yourselves to him as his subjects and
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servants; attend to all the declarations of his mind and will, and make
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conscience of complying with them. <I>Do my commandments,</I> not only
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in some things, but <I>according to all which I command you;</I> make
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conscience of moral duties especially, and rest not in those that are
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merely ritual; hear the words of the covenant, and do them."
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1. This was the original contract between God and them, when he first
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formed them into a people. It was what he <I>commanded their
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fathers</I> when he first <I>brought them forth out of the land of
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Egypt,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:4,7"><I>v.</I> 4 and <I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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He never intended to take them under his guidance and protection upon
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any other terms. This was what he required from them in gratitude for
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the great things he did for them when he brought them <I>from the iron
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furnace.</I> He redeemed them out of the service of the Egyptians,
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which was perfect slavery, that he might take them into his own
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service, which is perfect freedom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:74,75">Luke i. 74, 75</A>.
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2. This was not only laid before them then, but it was with the
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greatest importunity imaginable pressed upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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God not only commanded it, but <I>earnestly protested it to their
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fathers,</I> when he brought them into covenant with himself. Moses
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inculcated it again and again, by precept upon precept and line upon
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line.
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3. This was made the condition of the relation between and God, which
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was so much their honour and privilege: "<I>So shall you be my people
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and I will be your God;</I> I will own you for mine, and you may call
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upon me as yours;" this intimates that, if they refused to obey, they
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could no longer claim the benefit of the relation.
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4. It was upon these terms that the land of Canaan was given them for a
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possession: <I>Obey my voice, that I may perform the oath sworn to your
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fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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God was ready to fulfil the promise, but then they must fulfil the
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condition; if not, the promise is void, and it is just with God to turn
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them out of possession. Being brought in upon their good behaviour,
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they had no wrong done them if they were turned out upon their ill
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behaviour. Obedience was the rent reserved by the lease, with a power
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to re-enter for non-payment.
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5. This obedience was not only made a condition of the blessing, but
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was required under the penalty of a curse. This is mentioned first here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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that they might, if possible, be awakened by the terrors of the Lord:
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<I>Cursed be the man,</I> though it were but a single person, <I>that
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obeys not the words of this covenant,</I> much more when it is the body
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of the nation that rebels. There are curses of the covenant as well as
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blessings: and Moses set before them not only <I>life and good,</I> but
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<I>death and evil</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+30:15">Deut. xxx. 15</A>),
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so that they had fair warning given them of the fatal consequences of
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disobedience.
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6. Lest this covenant should be forgotten, and, because out of mind,
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should be thought out of date, God had from time to time called to them
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to remember it, and by his servants the prophets had made a continual
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claim of this rent, so that they could not plead, in excuse of their
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non-payment, that it had never been demanded; <I>from the day when he
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brought them out of Egypt to this day</I> (and that was nearly 1000
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years) he had been, in one way or other, <I>at sundry times and in
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divers manners,</I> protesting to them the necessity of obedience. God
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keeps an account how long we have enjoyed the means of grace and how
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powerful those means have been, how often we have been not only spoken
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to, but protested to, concerning our duty.
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7. This covenant was consented to
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord!</I> These are the words
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of the prophet, expressing either,
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(1.) His own consent to the covenant for himself, and his desire to
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have the benefit of it. God promised Canaan to the obedient: "Lord,"
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says he, "I take thee at thy word, I will be obedient; let me have my
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inheritance in the land of promise, of which Canaan is a type." Or,
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(2.) His good will, and good wish, that his people might have the
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benefit of it. "<I>Amen;</I> Lord, let them still be kept in
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possession of this good land, and not turned out of it; make good the
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promise to them." Or,
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(3.) His people's consent to the covenant: "<I>Then answered I,</I> in
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the name of the people, <I>So be it.</I>" Taking it in this sense, it
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refers to the declared consent which the people gave to the covenant,
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not only to the precepts of it when they said, <I>All that the Lord
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shall say unto us we will do and will be obedient,</I> but to the
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penalties when they said <I>Amen</I> to all the curses upon Mount Ebal.
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The more solemnly we have engaged ourselves to God the more reason we
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have to hope that the engagement will be perpetual; and yet here it did
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not prove so.</P>
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<P>
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III. He charges them with breach of covenant, such a breach as amounted
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to a forfeiture of their charter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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God had said again and again, by his law and by his prophets, "<I>Obey
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my voice,</I> do as you are bidden, and all shall be well;" <I>yet they
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obeyed not;</I> and, because they were resolved not to submit their
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souls to God's commandments, they would not so much as incline their
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ears to them, but got as far as they could out of call: <I>They walked
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every one in the imagination of their evil heart,</I> followed their
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own inventions; every man did as his fancy and humour led him, right or
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wrong, lawful or unlawful, both in their devotions and in their
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conversations; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:24"><I>ch.</I> vii. 24</A>.
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What then could they expect, but to fall under the curse of the
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covenant, since they would not comply with the commands and conditions
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of it? <I>Therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this
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covenant,</I> that is, all the threatenings contained in it, because
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<I>they did not what they were commanded.</I> Note, The words of the
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covenant shall not fall to the ground. If we do not by our obedience
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qualify ourselves for the blessings of it, we shall by our disobedience
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bring ourselves under the curses of it. That which aggravated their
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defection from God, and rebellion against him, was that it was general,
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and as it were <I>by consent,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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Jeremiah himself saw that many lived in open disobedience to God, but
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the Lord told him that the matter was worse than he thought of: <I>A
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conspiracy is found among them,</I> by him whose eye is upon the hidden
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works of darkness. There is a combination against God and religion, a
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dangerous design formed to overthrow God's government and bring in the
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pretenders, the counterfeit deities. This intimates that they were
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wilful and deliberate in wickedness (they rebelled against God, not
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through incogitancy, but presumptuously, and with a high hand),--that
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they were subtle and ingenious in wickedness, and carried on their plot
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against religion with a great deal of art and contrivance,--that they
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were linked together in the design, and, as is usual among
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conspirators, engaged to stand by one another in it and to live and die
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together; they were resolved to go through with it. A cursed
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conspiracy! O that there were not the like in our day! Observe,
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1. What the conspiracy was. They designed to overthrow divine
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revelation, and set that aside, and persuade people not to hear, not to
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heed, the words of God. They did all they could to derogate from the
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authority of the scriptures and to lessen the value of them; they
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designed to draw people <I>after other gods to serve them,</I> to
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consult them as their oracles and make court to them as their
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benefactors. Human reason shall be their god, a light within their god,
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an infallible judge their god, saints and angels their gods, the god of
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this or the other nation shall be theirs; thus, under several
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disguises, they are in the same confederacy <I>against the Lord and
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against his anointed.</I>
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2. Who were in conspiracy. One would have expected find some foreigners
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ring-leaders in it; but no,
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(1.) <I>The inhabitants of Jerusalem</I> are in conspiracy with <I>the
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men of Judah;</I> city and country agree in this, however they may
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differ in other things.
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(2.) Those of this generation seem to be in conspiracy with those of
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the foregoing generation, to carry on the war from age to age against
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religion: <I>They are turned back to the iniquities of their
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forefathers,</I> and have risen up in their stead, <I>a seed of
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evil-doers,</I> and <I>increase of sinful men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+32:14">Num. xxxii. 14</A>.
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In Josiah's time there had been a reformation, but after this death the
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people returned to the idolatries which then they had renounced.
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(3.) Judah and Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes and that of the
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two, that were often at daggers--drawing one with another, were yet
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<I>in a conspiracy to break the covenant God had made with their
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fathers,</I> even with the heads of all the twelve tribes. The house of
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Israel began the revolt, but the house of Judah soon came into the
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conspiracy. Now what else could be expected but that god should take
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severe methods, both for the chastising of the conspirators and the
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crushing of this conspiracy; for none ever hardened his heart thus
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against God and prospered? He that rolls this stone will find it return
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upon him.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer11_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer11_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Deplorable Condition of Judah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 606.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Behold, I will bring evil
|
|
upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though
|
|
they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
|
|
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem
|
|
go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they
|
|
shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
|
|
13 For <I>according to</I> the number of thy cities were thy gods, O
|
|
Judah; and <I>according to</I> the number of the streets of Jerusalem
|
|
have ye set up altars to <I>that</I> shameful thing, <I>even</I> altars to
|
|
burn incense unto Baal.
|
|
14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a
|
|
cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear <I>them</I> in the time
|
|
that they cry unto me for their trouble.
|
|
15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, <I>seeing</I> she hath
|
|
wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from
|
|
thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
|
|
16 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, <I>and</I> of
|
|
goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled
|
|
fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
|
|
17 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced
|
|
evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the
|
|
house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to
|
|
provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This paragraph, which contains so much of God's wrath, might very well
|
|
be expected to follow upon that which goes next before, which contained
|
|
so much of his people's sin. When God found so much evil among them we
|
|
cannot think it strange if it follows, <I>Therefore I will bring evil
|
|
upon them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
the evil of punishment for the evil of sin; and there is no remedy, no
|
|
relief: the decree has gone forth and the sentence will be
|
|
executed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. They cannot help themselves, but will be found too weak to contest
|
|
with God's judgments: it is <I>evil which they shall not be able to
|
|
escape,</I> or to <I>go forth out of,</I> by any evasion whatsoever.
|
|
Note, Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able
|
|
to escape his wrath. There is no fleeing from his justice, no avoiding
|
|
his cognizance. Evil pursues sinners and entangles them in snares out
|
|
of which they cannot extricate themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Their God will not help them; his providence shall no way favour
|
|
them: <I>Though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them.</I>
|
|
In their affliction they will seek the God whom before they slighted,
|
|
and cry to him whom before they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But
|
|
how can they expect to speed? For he has plainly told us that he that
|
|
<I>turns away his ears from hearing the law,</I> as they did, for they
|
|
<I>inclined not their ear</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
even his prayer shall be an abomination to him, as the word of the Lord
|
|
was now to them a reproach.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Their idols shall not help them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall <I>go, and cry to the gods to whom they</I> now <I>offer
|
|
incense,</I> and put them in mind of the costly services wherewith they
|
|
had honoured them, expecting they should now have relief from them, but
|
|
in vain. They shall be sent to the <I>gods whom they served</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+10:14,De+32:37,38">Judg. x. 14; Deut. xxxii. 37, 38</A>),
|
|
|
|
and what the better? <I>They shall not save them at all,</I> shall do
|
|
nothing towards their salvation, nor give them any prospect of it; they
|
|
shall not afford them the least comfort, nor relief, nor mitigation of
|
|
their trouble. It is God only that is a friend at need, <I>a
|
|
present</I> powerful <I>help in time of trouble.</I> The idols cannot
|
|
help themselves; how then should they help their worshippers? Those
|
|
that make idols of the world and the flesh will in vain have recourse
|
|
to them in a day of distress. If the idols could have done any real
|
|
kindness to their worshippers, they would have done it for this people,
|
|
who had renounced the true God to embrace them, had multiplied them
|
|
<I>according to the number of their cities</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
nay, in Jerusalem, <I>according to the number of their streets.</I>
|
|
Suspecting both their sufficiency and their readiness to help them,
|
|
they must have many, lest a few would not serve; they must have them
|
|
dispersed in every corner, lest they should be out of the way when they
|
|
had occasion for them. In <I>Jerusalem,</I> the city which God had
|
|
chosen to put his name there, publicly in the streets of Jerusalem, in
|
|
every street, they had <I>altars to that shameful thing,</I> that
|
|
<I>shame,</I> even to Baal, which they ought to have been ashamed of,
|
|
with which they did reproach the Lord and bring confusion upon
|
|
themselves. But now in their distress their many gods, and many altars,
|
|
should stand them in stead. Note, Those that will not be ashamed of
|
|
their commission of sin as a wicked thing will be ashamed of their
|
|
expectations from sin as a fruitless thing.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
What God had said to him before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:16"><I>ch.</I> vii. 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
he here says again, <I>Pray not thou for this people.</I> This is not
|
|
designed for a command to the prophet, so much as for a threatening to
|
|
the people, that they should have no benefit by the prayers of their
|
|
friends for them. God would give no encouragement to the prophets to
|
|
pray for them, would not stir up the spirit of prayer, but cast a damp
|
|
upon it, would put it into their hearts to pray, not for the body of
|
|
the people, but for the remnant among them, to pray for their eternal
|
|
salvation, not for their deliverance from the temporal judgments that
|
|
were coming upon them; and what other prayers were put up for them
|
|
should not be heard. Those are in a sad case indeed that are cut off
|
|
from the benefit of prayer. "<I>I will not hear them when they cry,</I>
|
|
and therefore to not thou pray for them." Note, Those that have so far
|
|
thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their
|
|
prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The profession they make of religion shall stand them in no stead,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
They were originally God's <I>beloved,</I> his spouse, he was married
|
|
to them by the covenant of peculiarity; even the unbelieving Jews are
|
|
said to be <I>beloved for the fathers' sake,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:28">Rom. xi. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
As such they had a place <I>in God's house;</I> they were admitted to
|
|
worship in the courts of his temple; they partook of God's altar; they
|
|
ate of the flesh of their peace-offerings here called the <I>holy
|
|
flesh,</I> which God had the honour of and they had the comfort of.
|
|
This they gloried in, and trusted to. What harm could come to those who
|
|
were God's beloved, who were under the protection of his house? Even
|
|
when they <I>did evil</I> yet <I>they rejoiced</I> and gloried in this,
|
|
made a mighty noise of this. And <I>when their evil was</I> (so the
|
|
margin reads it), when trouble came upon them, <I>they rejoiced in
|
|
this,</I> and made this their confidence; but their confidence would
|
|
deceive them, for God has rejected it, they themselves having forfeited
|
|
the privileges they so much boasted of. They have <I>wrought lewdness
|
|
with many,</I> have been guilty of spiritual whoredom, have worshipped
|
|
many idols; and therefore,
|
|
|
|
1. God's temple will <I>yield them no protection;</I> it is fit that
|
|
the adulteress, especially when she has so often repeated her whoredoms
|
|
and has grown so impudent in them and irreclaimable, should be <I>put
|
|
away,</I> and turned out of doors: "<I>What has my beloved to do in my
|
|
house?</I> She is a scandal to it, and therefore it shall no longer be
|
|
a shelter to her."
|
|
|
|
2. God's altar will yield them no satisfaction, nor can they expect any
|
|
comfort from that: "<I>The holy flesh has passed from thee,</I> that
|
|
is, an end will soon be put to thy sacrifices, when the temple shall be
|
|
laid in ruins; and where then will the holy flesh be, that thou art so
|
|
proud of?" A holy heart will be a comfort to us when the holy flesh has
|
|
passed from us; an inward principle of grace will make up the want of
|
|
the outward means of grace. But woe unto us if the departure of the
|
|
holy flesh be accompanied with the departure of the Holy Spirit.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. God's former favours to them shall stand them in no stead,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Their remembrance of them shall be no comfort to them under their
|
|
troubles, and God's remembrance of them shall be no argument for their
|
|
relief.
|
|
|
|
1. It is true God had done great things for them; that people had been
|
|
favourites above any people under the sun; they had been the darlings
|
|
of heaven. God had <I>called Israel's name a green olive-tree,</I> and
|
|
had made them so, for he miscalls nothing; he had <I>planted</I> them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
had formed them into a people, with all the advantages they could have
|
|
to make them a fruitful and flourishing people, so good was their law
|
|
and so good was their land. One would think no other than that a people
|
|
so planted, so watered, so cultivated, should be, as the olive-tree is,
|
|
ever green, in respect both of piety and prosperity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:8">Ps. lii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
God called them <I>fair and of goodly fruit,</I> both good for food and
|
|
pleasant to the eye, both amiable and serviceable to God and man, for
|
|
which the greenness and fatness of the olive both are honoured,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:9">Judg. ix. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. It is as true that they have done evil things against God. He had
|
|
planted them a green olive, a good olive, but they had degenerated into
|
|
a <I>wild olive,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:17">Rom. xi. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Both <I>the house of Israel.</I> and the <I>house of Judah</I> had
|
|
<I>done evil,</I> had <I>provoked God to anger in burning incense unto
|
|
Baal,</I> setting up other mediators between them and the supreme God
|
|
besides the promised Messiah; nay, setting up other gods in competition
|
|
with the true and living God, for they had <I>gods many,</I> as well as
|
|
<I>lords many.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. When they have conducted themselves so ill they can expect no other
|
|
than that, notwithstanding what good he has done to them and designed
|
|
for them, he should now bring upon them the evil he has <I>pronounced
|
|
against them.</I> He that planted this green olive-tree, and expected
|
|
fruit from it, finding it barren and grown wild, <I>has kindled fire
|
|
upon it,</I> to burn it as it stands; for, being without fruit, it is
|
|
<I>twice dead, plucked up by the roots</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:12">Jude 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
it is <I>cut down and cast into the fire,</I> the fittest place for
|
|
trees that cumber the ground,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:10">Matt. iii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
The <I>branches of it,</I> the <I>high and lofty boughs</I> (so the
|
|
word signifies), are <I>broken</I> are <I>broken down,</I> both princes
|
|
and priests cut off. And thus it proves that the evil done against God,
|
|
to <I>provoke him to anger,</I> is really done <I>against
|
|
themselves;</I> they <I>wrong their own souls;</I> God is out of their
|
|
reach, but they ruin themselves. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:19"><I>ch.</I> vii. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, and so it will
|
|
be found sooner or later.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer11_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Conspiracy against Jeremiah; Destruction of the Men of Anathoth.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 606.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath given me knowledge <I>of it,</I> and I know
|
|
<I>it:</I> then thou showedst me their doings.
|
|
19 But I <I>was</I> like a lamb <I>or</I> an ox <I>that</I> is brought to the
|
|
slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against
|
|
me, <I>saying,</I> Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and
|
|
let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may
|
|
be no more remembered.
|
|
20 But, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest
|
|
the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for
|
|
unto thee have I revealed my cause.
|
|
21 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of the men of Anathoth, that
|
|
seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that
|
|
thou die not by our hand:
|
|
22 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, Behold, I will
|
|
punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and
|
|
their daughters shall die by famine:
|
|
23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil
|
|
upon the men of Anathoth, <I>even</I> the year of their visitation.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The prophet Jeremiah has much in his writings concerning himself, much
|
|
more than Isaiah had, the times he lived in being very troublesome.
|
|
Here we have (as it should seem) the beginning of his sorrows, which
|
|
arose from the people of his own city, Anathoth, a priest's city, and
|
|
yet a malignant one. Observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Their plot against him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
They <I>devised devices against him,</I> laid their heads together to
|
|
contrive how they might be in the most plausible and effectual manner
|
|
the death of him. Malice is ingenious in its devices, as well as
|
|
industrious in its prosecutions. They said concerning Jeremiah, <I>Let
|
|
us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof</I>--a proverbial
|
|
expression, meaning, "Let us utterly destroy him root and branch. Let
|
|
us destroy both the father and the family" (as, when Naboth was put to
|
|
death for treason, his sons were put to death with him), or rather
|
|
"both the prophet and the prophecy; let us kill the one and defeat the
|
|
other. <I>Let us cut him off from the land of the living,</I> as a
|
|
false prophet, and load him with ignominy and disgrace, <I>that his
|
|
name may be no more remembered</I> with respect. Let us sink his
|
|
reputation, and so spoil the credit of his predictions." This was their
|
|
plot; and
|
|
|
|
1. It was a cruel one; but so cruel have the persecutors of God's
|
|
prophets been. They <I>hunt for</I> no less than <I>the precious
|
|
life,</I> and very precious the lives are that they hunt for. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was a baffled one. They thought to put an end to his days, but
|
|
he survived most of his enemies; they thought to blast his memory, but
|
|
it lives to this day, and will be blessed while time lasts.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The information which God gave him of this conspiracy against him.
|
|
He knew nothing of it himself, so artfully had they concealed it; he
|
|
came to Anathoth, meaning no harm to them and therefore fearing no harm
|
|
from them, <I>like a lamb or an ox,</I> that thinks he is driven as
|
|
usual to the field, <I>when he is brought to the slaughter;</I> so
|
|
little did poor Jeremiah dream of the design his citizens that hated
|
|
him had upon him. None of his friends could, and none of his enemies
|
|
would, give him any notice of his danger, that he might shift for his
|
|
own safety, as Paul's sister's son gave him intelligence of the Jews
|
|
that were lying in wait for him. There is but a step between Jeremiah
|
|
and death; but then <I>the Lord gave him knowledge of it,</I> by dream
|
|
or vision, or impression upon his spirit, that he might save himself,
|
|
as the king of Israel did upon the notice Elisha gave him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+6:10">2 Kings vi. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus he came to <I>know it.</I> God <I>showed him their doings;</I> and
|
|
such were their devices that the discovering of them was the defeating
|
|
of them. If God had not let him know his own danger, it would have been
|
|
improved by unreasonable men against the reputation of his predictions,
|
|
that he who foretold the ruin of his country could not foresee his own
|
|
peril and avoid it. See what care God takes of his prophets: He
|
|
<I>suffers no man to do them wrong;</I> all the rage of their enemies
|
|
cannot prevail to take them off till they have finished their
|
|
testimony. God knows all the secret designs of his and his people's
|
|
enemies, and can, when he pleases, make them know. <I>A bird of the air
|
|
shall carry the voice.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. His appeal to God hereupon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
His eye is to God as <I>the Lord of hosts, that judges righteously.</I>
|
|
It is a matter of comfort to us, when men deal unjustly with us, that
|
|
we have a God to go to who does and will plead the cause of injured
|
|
innocency and appear against the injurious. God's justice, which is a
|
|
terror to the wicked, is a comfort to the godly. His eye is towards him
|
|
as the God that <I>tries the reins and the heart,</I> that perfectly
|
|
sees what is in man, what are his thoughts and intents. He knew the
|
|
integrity that was in Jeremiah's heart, and that he was not the man
|
|
they represented him to be. He knew the wickedness that was in their
|
|
hearts, though ever so cunningly concealed and disguised. Now,
|
|
|
|
1. Jeremiah prays judgment against them: "<I>Let me see thy vengeance
|
|
on them,</I> that is, do justice between me and them in such a way as
|
|
thou pleasest." Some think there was something of human frailty in this
|
|
prayer; at least Christ has taught us another lesson, both by precept
|
|
and by pattern, which is to pray for our persecutors. Others think it
|
|
comes from a pure zeal for the glory of God and a pious and prophetic
|
|
indignation against men that were by profession priests, the Lord's
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ministers, and yet were so desperately wicked as to fly out against one
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that did them no harm, merely for the service he did to God. This
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petition was a prediction that he should see God's vengeance on them.
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2. He refers his cause entirely to the judgment of God: "<I>Unto thee
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have I revealed my cause;</I> to thee I have committed it, not desiring
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|
nor expecting to interest any other in it." Note, It is our comfort,
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when we are wronged, that we have a God to commit our cause to, and our
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duty to commit it to him, with a resolution to acquiesce in his
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definitive sentence, to subscribe, and not prescribe, to him.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Judgment given against his persecutors, <I>the men of Anathoth.</I>
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It was to no purpose for him to appeal to the courts at Jerusalem, he
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|
could not have justice done him there: the priests there would stand by
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|
the priests at Anathoth, and rather second them than discountenance
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|
them; but God will <I>therefore</I> take cognizance of the cause
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himself, and we are sure that <I>his judgment is according to
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truth.</I> Here is,
|
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1. Their crime recited, on which the sentence is grounded,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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They sought the prophet's life, for they forbad him to prophesy upon
|
|
pain of death; they were resolved either to silence him or to slay him.
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|
The provocation he gave them was his prophesying <I>in the name of the
|
|
Lord</I> without license from those that were the governors of the city
|
|
which he was a member of, and not prophesying such smooth things as
|
|
they always bespoke. Their forbidding him to prophesy was in effect
|
|
seeking his life, for it was seeking to defeat the end and business of
|
|
his life and to rob him of the comfort of it. It is as bad to God's
|
|
faithful ministers to have their mouth stopped as to have their breath
|
|
stopped. But especially when it was resolved that if he did prophesy,
|
|
as certainly he would notwithstanding their inhibition, he should
|
|
<I>die by their hand;</I> they would be accusers, judges, executioners,
|
|
and all. It used to be said that <I>a prophet could not perish but at
|
|
Jerusalem,</I> for there the great council sat; but so bitter were the
|
|
men of Anathoth against Jeremiah that they would undertake to be the
|
|
death of him themselves. A prophet then shall find not only no honour,
|
|
but no favour, in his own country.
|
|
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|
2. The sentence passed upon them for this crime,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
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God says, <I>I will punish them;</I> let me alone to deal with them.
|
|
<I>I will visit</I> this <I>upon them;</I> so the word is. God will
|
|
enquire into it and reckon for it. Two of God's four sore judgments
|
|
shall serve to ruin their town:--<I>The sword</I> shall devour their
|
|
<I>young men,</I> though they were young priests, not men of war (their
|
|
character shall not be their protection), and <I>famine</I> shall
|
|
destroy the children, <I>sons and daughters,</I> that tarry at home,
|
|
which is a more grievous death than that by the sword,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:9">Lam. iv. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
The destruction shall be final
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+11:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
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|
|
|
<I>There shall be no remnant of them left,</I> none to be the seed of
|
|
another generation. They sought Jeremiah's life, and therefore they
|
|
shall die; they would destroy him <I>root and branch,</I> that <I>his
|
|
name</I> might be <I>no more remembered,</I> and therefore <I>there
|
|
shall be no remnant of them;</I> and herein the Lord is righteous. Thus
|
|
<I>evil is brought upon them, even the year of their visitation,</I>
|
|
and that is evil enough, a recompence according to their deserts. Then
|
|
shall Jeremiah <I>see his desire upon his enemies.</I> Note, Their
|
|
condition is sad who have the prayers of good ministers and good people
|
|
against them.</P>
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