_Hear ye the word_, &c. The prophet continues his remonstrances and exhortations to Judah. He said, at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, that the Lord would punish, without distinction, all the ungodly and unrighteous Jews, as well as Gentiles. He here informs them that if they would avoid th... [ Continue Reading ]
_One cutteth_ down _a tree_, &c. The prophet here exposes the folly of men's worshipping the work of their own hands, by arguments similar to those which are used by Isaiah 44:10; where see the notes. _They are upright,_ &c. _They are like the trunk of the palm-tree_ Houb. “They are inflexible, immo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee_ This verse would be better rendered, _O Lord, thou art great, so that there is none like unto thee, and thy name is great, because of thy might. Who would not fear thee?_ Rather, who would not _reverence_, or _stand in awe_ of thee? _For to thee doth it ap... [ Continue Reading ]
_But they are altogether brutish_ Or, _all alike brutish._ They that make images, saith the psalmist, Psalms 115:8, _are like unto them_, equally stupid and insensible. _The stock is a doctrine of vanities_ Or lies. The use of images in worship is grounded on a false and foolish opinion, that God is... [ Continue Reading ]
_Silver spread into plates_ To cover the images, and make them appear as if made of massy silver; _is brought from Tarshish_ A port of Spain, to which the merchants of Tyre and Sidon traded; of which place see note on Isaiah 2:16. _And gold from Uphaz_ The Syriac, Chaldee, and Theodotion read, _from... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the Lord_ Hebrew, _Jehovah, is the true God_ A very different being from these idols. _He is the living God_ Images are dead and senseless things; but Jehovah is life itself, and the author and fountain of life and understanding; and all creatures that live, live in and by him. _And an everlast... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus shall ye say unto them_ “This verse is in the Chaldee language, and it appears here as a kind of parenthesis. Houbigant thinks that the most probable reason why it is here inserted in the Chaldee, and not in the Hebrew, is, that Jeremiah prescribes to the Jews what they shall answer in living... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath made the earth_, &c. Here follows a noble and lofty description of God's power and providence, whereby he sets forth his infinite pre-eminence above all the dead and senseless idols of the world. _When he uttereth his voice_, &c. When he gives the word of command, and signifies his will and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every man is brutish in his knowledge_ This is spoken of the makers of idols, whose skilfulness as workmen made them foolish enough to attempt to make gods, and who afterward acted still more foolishly in worshipping them, when they knew they were but the work of their own hands. _The founder is co... [ Continue Reading ]
_The portion of Jacob is not like them_ There is no comparison between senseless idols and the great Creator of all things, who has chosen the posterity of Jacob for his peculiar people, and has promised to be their God, and that they should always have an especial interest in his favour, if they co... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gather up thy wares_, &c. That is, as some explain it, “Collect to Jerusalem all that you have valuable in the country; flee thither for refuge with your best effects; for the enemy will soon extend himself over all your land, and render it desolate.” Or, rather, the prophet, returning to his forme... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wo is me for my hurt_ The prophet here again pathetically laments the overthrow of his country, and, either in his own person or in that of his country, bewails the plundering and desolation of the cities and houses, as if they were so many shepherds' tents, to which he compares them, Jeremiah 10:2... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the pastors are become brutish_ The prophet pursues the foregoing metaphor, and says, that the reason why the tents are destroyed, is because the shepherds, meaning the governors, both civil and ecclesiastical, had, like so many brute creatures, forgotten God and their duty to him, and thereby... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, I know_, &c. The prophet now turns to God, and addresses himself to him, finding it to little purpose to speak to the people. It is some comfort to poor ministers, that, if men will not hear them, God will; and to him they have liberty of access at all times. Let them close their preaching... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, correct me_ I do not entirely deprecate all chastisement; I know we deserve correction, and am willing to accept it; persuaded that it is necessary for our purification and amendment; _but_ let it be _with judgment_ That is, in measure, with moderation, and in wisdom; not more than is neces... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pour out thine indignation upon the heathen_, &c. Let thy justice be made known, by bringing an exemplary punishment upon the Chaldeans and their allies, (see Jeremiah 1:15,) who do not acknowledge thy providence, but ascribe all their successes to their idols: _for they have eaten up Jacob_, &c. S... [ Continue Reading ]