Jeremiah 31:1-14
THE DECREE OF RESTORATION AND ITS EXECUTION... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DECREE OF RESTORATION AND ITS EXECUTION... [ Continue Reading ]
At the same time, saith the Lord, at the time of the Messiah's rule, WILL I BE THE GOD OF ALL THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL, of all true Israelites, of His spiritual children, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, The people which were: left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, that is, those who escaped the sword of Pharaoh by the Lord's deliverance were objects of His merciful intervention against all enemies; EVEN ISRAEL, WHEN I WENT TO CAUSE HIM TO REST, when He was leading the... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, so His Church sings in grateful acknowledgment of His grace, SAYING, YEA, I HAVE LOVED THEE WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE, THEREFORE WITH LOVING-KINDNESS HAVE I DRAWN THEE, giving them respite, preserving them from extinction. As He had done in delivering His people... [ Continue Reading ]
Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel, be established for sound prosperity; THOU SHALT AGAIN BE ADORNED WITH THY TABRETS, marching in processions with tambourines, or timbrels, AND SHALT GO FORTH IN THE DANCES OF THEM THAT MAKE MERRY, in agreement with the custom obser... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall eat them as common things, a reference to the ordinance which commanded the children of Israel not to eat the fruit of the orchard and of the vineyard the first three years after planting, the fourth year's... [ Continue Reading ]
For there shall be a day that the watchmen upon the Mount Ephraim, those who were delegated to observe the time of the new moon, which determined the date of most festivals in the Jewish church-year, SHALL CRY, ARISE YE AND LET US GO UP TO ZION UNTO THE LORD, OUR GOD. Thus the work of the Gospel-mes... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, shouting over the Church's good fortune in songs of praise, AND SHOUT AMONG THE CHIEF OF THE NATIONS, exult over the head of the peoples, for the Church is composed of members of all nations; PUBLISH YE, PRAISE YE, AND SAY, in loud psalms of tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, I will bring them, the members of Jehovah's Church, FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY AND GATHER THEM FROM THE COASTS OF THE EARTH, from its most remote boundaries, AND WITH THEM THE BLIND AND THE LAME, the poorest and the least important, the very outcasts of society. Matthew 22:9; Luke 14:21, THE WOM... [ Continue Reading ]
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them, with tears of mingled joy and penitence, on account of the unmerited grace of God in accepting them into His kingdom. I WILL CAUSE THEM TO WALK BY THE RIVERS OF WATERS IN A STRAIGHT WAY, WHEREIN THEY SHALL NOT STUMBLE, on paths o... [ Continue Reading ]
Hear the Word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, the Gospel-message being proclaimed in the most remote regions of the earth, AND SAY, HE THAT SCATTERED ISRAEL WILL GATHER HIM AND KEEP HIM AS A SHEPHERD DOTH HIS FLOCK, one of the Lord's favorite pictures to describe His... [ Continue Reading ]
For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he, liberating His people from the hands of all tyrants.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, on its summit, that is, in the Temple of the Lord, AND SHALL FLOW TOGETHER, in a mighty stream of humanity, TO THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD, to receive the blessing of Jehovah, FOR WHEAT AND FOR WINE AND FOR OIL, the greatest riches of His mercy,... [ Continue Reading ]
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, for the young women went out in processions with rhythmic movements, BOTH YOUNG MEN AND OLD TOGETHER, that is, they would give expression to their joy; FOR I WILL TURN THEIR MOURNING INTO JOY, AND WILL COMFORT THEM, AND MAKE THEM REJOICE FROM THEIR SORROW,... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, namely, by the great number of the fat pieces of thank-offerings, AND MY PEOPLE SHALL BE SATISFIED WITH MY GOODNESS, SAITH THE LORD. Thus the Messianic promise concerning rest and peace, Matthew 11:28, was brought out even in the Old Testament... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Ba-mah, a city some nine or ten miles north of Jerusalem, on the boundary between the former kingdoms of Israel and Judah, LAMENTATION AND BITTER WEEPING: BAHEL, the beloved wife of Jacob, as the ancestress of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, WEEPING FOR HER... [ Continue Reading ]
SORROW TURNED INTO JOY... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, bidding all sorrow be far removed; FOR THY WORK SHALL BE REWARDED, namely, that of bearing and bringing up her children, SAITH THE LORD, AND THEY SHALL COME AGAIN FROM THE LAND OF THE ENEMY, those whom the Lord had chosen... [ Continue Reading ]
And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that is, for the future, THAT THY CHILDREN SHALL COME AGAIN TO THEIR OWN BORDER, on the basis of a sincere repentance.... [ Continue Reading ]
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, so the Lord now declares: THOU HAST CHASTISED ME, AND I WAS CHASTISED, being obliged to accept the Lord's punishment, AS A BULLOCK UNACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE, unused to the restraint of the yoke and of harness; Cf Hosea 10:11. TURN THOU ME, back from... [ Continue Reading ]
Surely after that I was turned, I repented, or, "For after my apostasy I felt sorrow," since God wrought repentance in the heart of the true Israelites among the children of Ephraim; AND AFTER THAT I WAS INSTRUCTED, coming to a right understanding through the Lord's chastisement, I SMOTE UPON MY THI... [ Continue Reading ]
Is Ephraim My dear son? literally, "a son of My favor. " IS HE A PLEASANT CHILD? literally, "a child of delights. " The question implies a decided negative answer if the actual condition of Ephraim's mind is taken into consideration, but an equally decided positive statement when one takes note of J... [ Continue Reading ]
Set thee up way-marks, finger-posts directing him back to his Father's home; MAKE THEE HIGH HEAPS, wooden posts or pillars of stone showing the way; SET THINE HEART TOWARD THE HIGHWAY, EVEN THE WAY WHICH THOU WENTEST, the road which would lead him back home. TURN AGAIN, O VIRGIN OF ISRAEL, for the b... [ Continue Reading ]
How long wilt thou go about, turning first one way and then the other, like a dissolute and wanton woman, O THOU BACKSLIDING DAUGHTER? the congregation which had so often proved apostate. FOR THE LORD HATH CREATED A NEW THING IN THE EARTH, A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A MAN, the weak and tender woman cling... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whose majesty and power are here emphasized, AS YET THEY SHALL USE THIS SPEECH IN THE LAND OF JUDAH AND IN THE CITIES THEREOF WHEN I SHALL BRING AGAIN THEIR CAPTIVITY, when His Church would once more be established, THE LORD BLESS THEE, O HABITATION O... [ Continue Reading ]
And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, such as till the ground, AND THEY THAT GO FORTH WITH FLOCKS, this picture being descriptive of the blessings which the Lord would pour out upon His people.... [ Continue Reading ]
For I have satiated the weary soul, refreshing the soul which panted after relief, AND I HAVE REPLENISHED EVERY SORROWFUL SOUL, satisfying the soul that was languishing for relief. Cf Matthew 11:28. The prophet closes this section with the remark:... [ Continue Reading ]
Upon this I awaked, namely, from the vision, or ecstasy, in which he had received the revelation of the Lord, AND BEHELD; AND MY SLEEP WAS SWEET UNTO ME. The glance into the future which had been vouchsafed him was so glorious that he kept it in his memory as a pleasant picture. To all true minister... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NEW LIFE AND THE NEW COVENANT... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah, the congregation of true believers in Him, WITH THE SEED OF MAN AND WITH THE SEED OF BEAST, with great spiritual blessings, as a field of exceeding fruitfulness.... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass that like as I have watched over them, regarding them with wakeful attention, TO PLUCK UP, AND TO BREAK DOWN, or "to root out," AND TO THROW DOWN, AND TO DESTROY, AND TO AFFLICT, the heaping of the synonyms emphasizing the thoroughness of the Lord's punishment upon His apos... [ Continue Reading ]
In those days they shall say no more, according to a proverb which had been coined during the years of tribulation in Israel, THE FATHERS HAVE EATEN A SOUR GRAPE, AND THE CHILDREN'S TEETH ARE SET ON EDGE, the meaning being, of course, that the transgressions of the fathers were visited upon the inno... [ Continue Reading ]
But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Cf Lamentations 5:7; Ezekiel 18:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, a covenant concerning all those who were His children in truth,... [ Continue Reading ]
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which My covenant they brake, although 1 was an Husband unto them, saith the Lord, surrounding His bride, the Church represented in the children of Israel, wit... [ Continue Reading ]
but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, when in the realization of His mercy the justice of His judgments will freely be acknowledged, AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAITH THE LORD, in the Messianic era, I WILL PUT MY LAW, the glorious message of His eternal Gospel, IN THEIR INW... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, such admonitory instruction in the knowledge of Jehovah being no longer required; FOR THEY SHALL ALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST OF THEM UNTO THE GREATEST OF THEM, SAITH THE LORD, the Spirit of God Hims... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,m what He should give, but rather that we should realize and confess what kind of goods He gives to us, and will and can give much more; so that by our prayer we instruct... [ Continue Reading ]