_The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron_ Many of the Jews, though living in the habitual commission of the grossest crimes, were, nevertheless, self-righteous, and thought they did not deserve that God should enter into judgment with them in any such way as Jeremiah foretold he would do. _Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_O my mountain in the field_ By this expression the prophet is thought, by many interpreters, to intend the temple, which stood on a mountain, called elsewhere, _the mountain of the Lord's house_, (Isaiah 2:2,) _and the holy mountain._ And this, as being the principal part of Jerusalem, is understoo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Cursed be the man that trusteth in man_ Who places that confidence in the wisdom or power, the kindness or faithfulness of any man or number of men, which ought to be placed in God only; that is, miserable is the man that doth so, for he leans upon a broken reed, which will not only fail him, but w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord_ That lives in continual obedience to him, and relies entirely upon him for every blessing he wants for his body or soul, for himself or others who, under God, are dependant upon him; _and whose hope the Lord is_ Who makes the Lord's _favour_ the good he... [ Continue Reading ]
_The heart is deceitful above all things_ This passage, considered in connection with what precedes, may be understood in two points of view: 1st, As assigning a reason why we should not trust in man; namely, because he is not only weak and frail, and therefore may want power to help us in our neces... [ Continue Reading ]
_As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not_ Or rather, as the words דגר לא ילד may be more literally rendered, _hatcheth eggs which she did not lay; so he that getteth riches, and not by right_ That is, not in a due, regular manner, by the blessing of God upon honest endeavours, but by... [ Continue Reading ]
_A glorious high throne_, &c. “As in the preceding verses was set forth the vain dependance of him who seeks to advance himself by indirect methods; so here we are taught the solid foundation which he builds upon who has recourse to the divine blessing, and seeks to recommend himself to the favour o... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, the hope of Israel_ That is, He in whom alone thy true Israel can hope; _all they that forsake thee shall be ashamed_ Those who forsake thy law and that rule which thou hast given them, whereby to direct their conversation, will sooner or later be ashamed of such their disobedience. Or, as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Heal me, O Lord_, &c. Most interpreters understand the prophet as addressing God here in his own behalf. He represents himself as a person wounded, or sick, either with a sense of the dishonour done to God by the sins of the people, or with their reproaches poured upon himself, and he begs of God t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, they say unto me_ Scoffing at me, as if I had denounced threatenings in thy name, without any order or direction from thee: _Where is the word of the Lord?_ Like the scoffers, mentioned by St. Peter, 2 Peter 3:4, saying, _Where is the promise of his coming?_ This has been the practice of al... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord, Go_, &c. Here we evidently have a distinct prophecy, which the prophet was commanded to deliver most probably soon, if not immediately, after the foregoing. _Stand in the gate of the children of the people_ By which It seems is meant the gate most frequented by the people; bein... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then shall there enter into the gates of this city_, &c. “From hence it appears,” says Lowth, “that the judgments denounced against Jerusalem, at least as far as they threatened the city with utter destruction, were not irreversible. And from Jeremiah's advice to Zedekiah, Jeremiah 38:17, it may be... [ Continue Reading ]