Jeremiah 10:1-16
THE NOTHINGNESS OF IDOLS... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NOTHINGNESS OF IDOLS... [ Continue Reading ]
Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel! those who now survived as the representatives of the former great nation.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, in becoming accustomed to their idolatrous worship, AND BE NOT DISMAYED AT THE SIGNS OF HEAVEN, filled with the fear which caused the Gentile nations to associate various perils with the movements of comets, with the occurrence of eclipses, and... [ Continue Reading ]
For the customs of the people are vain, literally, "the precepts of the nations," what they fix for people to follow, "are breath, nothingness"; FOR ONE CUTTETH A TREE OUT OF THE FOREST, literally, "for wood is it," that is what the object of their worship amounts to, "hewn out of the forest," THE W... [ Continue Reading ]
They deck it with silver and with gold, with ornaments of precious metals; THEY FASTEN IT WITH NAILS AND WITH HAMMERS THAT IT MOVE NOT, for that is the only way in which the idol, supposed to be a god, can retain his upright position.... [ Continue Reading ]
They, the idols, ARE UPRIGHT AS THE PALM-TREE, they are like a statue of turned work, resembling a palm-tree, BUT SPEAK NOT, Psalms 115:5, for all their possessing a mouth; THEY MUST NEEDS BE BORNE, carried about from one place to another, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GO, they are unable to walk. BE NOT AFRA... [ Continue Reading ]
Forasmuch as there is none like unto Thee, O Lord, literally, "not a particle of anything," this being the strongest possible denial of any power in any other god besides Jehovah; THOU ART GREAT, AND THY NAME IS GREAT IN MIGHT, His essence is made known in works of His almighty power.... [ Continue Reading ]
Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain, to Him alone does it properly pertain, namely, that He is to be feared, is to be respected and revered by all men, FORASMUCH AS AMONG ALL THE WISE MEN OF THE NATIONS AND IN ALL THEIR KINGDOMS THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO THEE. No... [ Continue Reading ]
But they are altogether brutish and foolish, the heathen are all alike in their stupidity, they have sunk to the level of brutes because they have severed their connection with the true God; THE STOCK IS A DOCTRINE OF VANITIES, or, "the instruction of vanities is wood"; the very idols from whom, acc... [ Continue Reading ]
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, from Tartessus in Spain, whose gold mines were well known in the ancient world, AND GOLD FROM UPHAZ, or Ophir, 1 Kings 9:27, THE WORK OF THE WORKMAN, beaten into the form of a thin covering by the goldsmith, AND OF THE HANDS OF THE FOUNDER, the art... [ Continue Reading ]
But the Lord, Jehovah, the covenant God, IS THE TRUE GOD, His whole essence being truth over against the nothingness of the idols, AND AN EVERLASTING KING, Ruler of the universe forever; AT HIS WRATH THE EARTH SHALL TREMBLE, shrinking back in terror before His living wrath, AND THE NATIONS SHALL NOT... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus shall ye say unto them, the Jews being given an argument in the very tongue of Aramaic idolaters who were trying to seduce them to commit idolatry, THE GODS THAT HAVE NOT MADE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, those upon whom the heathen relied in their foolishness, EVEN THEY SHALL PERISH FROM THE EAR... [ Continue Reading ]
He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, Psalms 136:5; Psalms 93:1, AND HATH STRETCHED OUT THE HEAVENS BY HIS DISCRETION, spreading out the firmament by His unlimited skill and understanding.... [ Continue Reading ]
When He uttereth His voice, when He causes it to thunder, THERE IS A MULTITUDE OF WATERS IN THE HEAVENS, or, "a heaving of waters in the heavens," as the clouds come rolling along in heavy masses, AND HE CAUSETH THE VAPORS TO ASCEND FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, to form the clouds of the storm; HE MAK... [ Continue Reading ]
Every man is brutish in his knowledge, they are all stupid in their skill and understanding, as they fashion their idols; EVERY FOUNDER IS CONFOUNDED BY THE GRAVEN IMAGE, every artist who makes idols is put to shame by the work of his own hands; FOR HIS MOLTEN IMAGE IS FALSEHOOD, their casting, what... [ Continue Reading ]
They are vanity, a vapor, nothingness, AND THE WORK OF ERRORS, of deceit and mockery, causing their worshipers to be mocked and derided when the nothingness of the idols becomes evident; IN THE TIME OF THEIR VISITATION THEY SHALL PERISH, that is, when God shall punish the idol-worshipers, the idols... [ Continue Reading ]
The Portion of Jacob is not like them, that is, Jehovah, the Portion of the true Church forever, does not in any way resemble the dead idols against which He warns His people; FOR HE IS THE FORMER OF ALL THINGS, the Fashioner of the universe, AND ISRAEL IS THE ROD OF HIS INHERITANCE, the tribe or na... [ Continue Reading ]
Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress, literally, "Collect thy bundle from the earth, thou that sittest in the distress of the siege," the summons being issued to the entire nation of the Jews, in preparation for their being led into exile.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Prophet's Lamentation and Prayer... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, both the suddenness and the violence of their removal to Babylon being brought out, AND WILL DISTRESS THEM, bring them into dire straits, THAT THEY MAY FIND IT SO, feel and experience the bitterness of His op... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe is me for my hurt! so the prophet cries out in the name of Judah, bewailing its calamity. MY WOUND IS GRIEVOUS, incurable! BUT I SAID. TRULY, THIS IS A GRIEF, the desolation of the land and the captivity of the people being the suffering which Judah now had to endure, AND I MUST BEAR IT. This is... [ Continue Reading ]
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken, the picture being that of a tent which is being ruined, due to the fact that its guy-ropes are torn, all setting forth the desolation of the land; MY CHILDREN ARE GONE FORTH OF ME, AND THEY ARE NOT, this bereavement being the height of Judah's v... [ Continue Reading ]
For the pastors, the rulers and leaders of the people, ARE BECOME BRUTISH, gone down to the level of irrational beasts, AND HAVE NOT SOUGHT THE LORD, this fact explaining their growing stupidity; THEREFORE THEY SHALL NOT PROSPER, they could not rule or effect any reforms with the proper wisdom, AND... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, the report that the threatened invasion is about to begin, AND A GREAT COMMOTION OUT OF THE NORTH COUNTRY, the tumult of an advancing army, TO MAKE THE CITIES OF JUDAH DESOLATE AND A DEN OF DRAGONS, a habitation of jackals. With this situation facing Judah, th... [ Continue Reading ]
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in the power of any person to determine his way and manner of living nor the trend of his life's vicissitudes; IT IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT HIS STEPS. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs it; man proposes, but... [ Continue Reading ]
O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, with a moderation guided by the exact demands of the case, in order to lead the repentant sinner on the way of righteousness; NOT IN THINE ANGER, as in the case of obstinate sinners, LEST THOU BRING ME TO NOTHING.... [ Continue Reading ]
Pour out Thy fury upon the heathen that know Thee not, although they are now God's instruments in the punishment of Israel, AND UPON THE FAMILIES THAT CALL NOT ON THY NAME, all the nations which have joined hands against Israel; FOR THEY HAVE EATEN UP JACOB AND DEVOURED HIM AND CONSUMED HIM, the hea... [ Continue Reading ]