_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 ]