It is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. Jeremiah 30:7 Jacob's trouble J. Iron. There is not a malady in human life, but we find its antidote in the Bible; not a wound, but we find its balm; not a spiritual sickness, but we find its remedy there. If there is no time of trouble to Jacob, what deliverance could Jacob want? Of what use is a promise of rest to the weary and heavy. laden, unless a man finds himself burdened and oppressed? A promise of salvation is only of value for those who feel their need of it; and an assurance of deliverance is only precious to such as are made sensible of their danger. The language of our text relates primarily and literally to the languishing state of the Church — to the captivity of Israel's tribes — to Jacob's trouble on account of the desolation of their city, and the destruction of their temple; and it is not only promised to them that their trouble should be blessed to them, but also that they should be saved out of it. We notice, first, the time of Jacob's trouble; secondly, the timely deliverance promised, "He shall be saved out of it"; and thirdly, the evidence and display of the truth and faithfulness of God towards Israel and Jacob. 1. Some may inquire why the truth and faithfulness of God should be brought forward. I do not intend to present you with a catalogue of Jacob's troubles; they are too numerous. I will, however, mention a few.(1) The trouble here spoken of is of a public nature. In its literal sense, it was the distress, calamity, degeneracy, of the Lord's people — the scattering and desolation of His inheritance by captivity. I have but a sorry opinion of that man's spirituality who is not troubled for Jacob's, not grieved for Joseph's, not afflicted for Zion's low, degenerate, sunken, miry condition. It is to my mind, amid all the enjoyments of my soul in Christ, a source of daily trouble. But this degeneracy is not the worst feature in Jacob's trouble. There is such an awful determination evinced to unite the Church and the world, to amalgamate two whom God has separated in His Word, purposes, and dispensations, with the highest and broadest wall of separation.(2) But Jacob's trouble is not only of a public character; it is also of a personal nature. There is spiritual trouble when a man is first awakened — when the Lord Jesus convinces him of sin, and discovers the spirituality and extent of the Divine law. This is, indeed, a time of trouble; but here is the mercy — he shall be delivered out of it. He that melted your heart will form Christ there, the hope of glory. He that gave you the knowledge of your sins will also give you the knowledge of His Son. Again, it is a time of trouble when the soul is in legal bondage. What a time of trouble, of fear, sorrow, anxiety, dread, gloom, and dismal forebodings do souls in legal bondage pass through, till the Son of God comes Himself and makes them flee. Again, it is a time of personal trouble when the soul is led into the field of battle, and foiled by the enemy. Again, it is a time of personal trouble when we are called to walk in darkness.(3) Again, there is a time of providential trouble. It was a time of providential trouble to Joseph when sold by his brethren, falsely accused by his mistress, thrown into a dungeon by his master. It was a time of providential trouble to David, when he was hunted by Saul, betrayed by Doeg, threatened to be stoned by his own people, when Ziklag was burned, when driven into the wilderness as a fugitive, and expelled from his throne, family, and palace by his wicked son — but he shall be saved out of it. There were times and troubles to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Paul, and all the apostles. 2. The timely deliverance. He shall be saved out of it. There is a threefold method in which God saves Jacob out of his trouble. Sometimes by causing his troubles to terminate with a word. He speaks the word, "Peace, be still," and not s wave rolls, nor s wind breathes. Sometimes He causes their troubles to terminate by taking the sons of Jacob out of them to glory, and raising them above the reach of them for ever. Sometimes by teaching them how to trust and triumph in Himself; as David says, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble Thou wilt revive me." What a marvellous deliverance God effected for His people in the days of bloody Mary. Then there were multitudes of godly men in prison, under sentence to the fire, and expecting the faggots every moment to be kindled, when God suddenly summoned that cruel queen into His presence. Elizabeth succeeded, and His people were rescued Remember, whether trial is domestic, personal, spiritual, temporal, or circumstantial, a Father's wisdom directs it, a Father's love superintends it, and a Father's word will scatter it. And remember, whatever method God may adopt to save you out of your trouble, you, as a son of Jacob, will be enabled to say, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." Sometimes He delivers them by teaching them how to trust Him, and triumph in Him in the midst of troubles. Look at Gideon and his conquest over the Midianites, without a spear, a bow, dart, javelin, sword, arrow, lance, or any weapon of war — with nothing but lamps and pitchers he overcomes them. How different are the troubles of Jacob and Esau, of Isaac and Ishmael, of the Christian and the worldling, of a child and an enemy. The troubles of the worldling are not few. He is liable to all the calamities of life. He has no God to flee to, no sympathising High Priest. Place a Christless man in my circumstances, despair and anguish will be his portion; but s man that shall be saved if he has my God. Is there any relation to, any likeness to, Jacob's sons to be found in you? Is there any distinction between you and Esau? Is there any personal, spiritual difference between you and the world? Can you give an affirmative answer to these questions? If so, the promise and oath of God are on your side; and, however deep or long your troubles may be, you shall be saved out of them. ( J. Iron. ) I will correct thee in measure. Jeremiah 30:11 Correction in measure J. Parker, D. D. I. The text gives us GOD'S LAW OF CORRECTION; and remember, first of all, that it is a law. It is not a passion; it is not a surprise on the part of the Ruler Himself: it is part of His very goodness; it is quiet, solemn, inexorable, everlasting. The steadfast law of the universe is, that though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished. This is s law, it is not a caprice; it is a necessity of goodness, and not a burst of passion. All things fight for God; they are very loyal to Him. The stars in their courses utter His testimony; the winds as they fly are vocal with His name; the earth will open her mouth with eager gladness to swallow up the populations that lift their hands against Him. Let us begin with things known, with the patent and indisputable facts of life, — and amongst those facts you will find the hell which follows broken law, the earth that casts out the sour that is not holy, — and thence proceed step by step into the holy place where the altar is, and the speaking blood, and the Father, and the strange light of eternity. There is but one true line of progress: it begins with Moses, it ends with the Lamb — Moses and the Lamb: Law and Grace; and in the last eternal song we shall find in one grand line, "Moses and the Lamb," a marvellous harmonisation, the up-gathering and reconciliation of all things; the old ark built again; the law within, the mercy-lid covering it. Law and Mercy — Moses and the Lamb — these combine the whole purpose of the movement of the Divine mind and love. II. So far we have looked at the stern fact of law: we now come to WHAT IS SAID ABOUT IT. It is a law of measured correction: "I will correct thee in measure." At this point grace gets hold of law and keeps it back. Law can never stop of itself. The law is the same at the end as at the beginning. It cannot palter, it cannot compromise, it cannot make terms; it grinds, bruises, destroys. If a sinful world were left absolutely to the operation of law, it would be crushed out of existence. But the law is under mercy. We are spared by grace, by grace we are saved. The grace was accomplished before the sinner was created. The atonement is not the device of an afterthought: the Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world. Have we penetrated the gracious meaning of that astounding mystery? Before we can understand anything of the atonement, we must destroy the very basis and the relations of understanding, as it is too narrowly interpreted; we must think ourselves back of time, of space, of foundations, worlds, sinners. Great is the mystery of godliness — God manifest in the flesh. "Correction in measure" is God's law now. May the time not come when the measure will be withdrawn and the correction will take its unlimited course? That will be hell, that will be destruction. III. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS "MEASURE"? It is the Gospel. There is a higher law than the law of death. The law of life is not changed: it is enlarged over all the sins and shortcomings and crimes of life. "Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound." Grace says, "There has been great sin: now for my enlargement." And she enlarges her offers of mercy, and her signs of pity, and her opportunities of return, until the sin flee away — that which is great becomes little. Life is more than death, as the heaven is high above the earth. Death is only a partial law; the universal law is life, and it is for God to set that infinite law in motion. Here we enter upon the mysteries of Deity; here we touch the altar of the atonement. I will accept my chastening; I deserve it. This is my sweet, great faith — that no punishment ever overtakes me that is not a sign of God's watchfulness, and of God's care over my life. I have never suffered lose, social dishonour, inward compunction, without being able to say, "This is the Lord's doing, and not man's. The man did not know what he was doing to me; he was seized by God and set to do this work for my punishment — my education." Let us have no whining, no complaining, no retaliation. The man that smote you was sent to smite you. Avenge yourself by deeper confession, by larger, loftier prayer. ( J. Parker, D. D. ) I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 30:17-19 God's love in restoration Bishop Armstrong. Most times in Scripture the voice of God is the voice of love. The sterner words come forth as of necessity, on compulsion. How wonderful in the text is the tenderness with which God speaks, what marvellous considerateness for natural human feelings, for the peculiarities, if I may so speak, of human feelings, when, in promising to renew and to restore, He speaks not only of restoration, but of restoration on the very spot, restoration with the least possible loss, the least possible wrench to natural feeling, — restoration of the city on the ruinous heap, on the old foundation; not merely life again, but life where they had lived of old, the hearth to be raised where the hearth had burned of old, and home where home had been, not one joy or sorrow of association being lost, no change of place, no severance of old ties and thoughts, but all the round of life to begin again on the very site where the days had gone round before. Great mercy would it have been, if the decayed city, with its palaces and homes, had been rebuilt at all, and on other spots, in other places not known or loved before; but as there would have been a certain sorrow in changing the place of habitation, in making a new home, and on looking back on the bare desert plots where the city had once stood, so God, promising restoration, so promises it, that there should not be one cloud upon the heart in seeing the walls again built, not one touch of sorrow and regret to mingle with the joy. And how has it been with the Church of Christ, of which these words of the prophet, in a second and a spiritual sense, doubtless speak? There is no branch of the Church, alas! which has not failed at times in its high part, which has not at times sunk down into listlessness and sloth, which has not at times had an evil activity and an unwise zeal, which has not at times wasted its high gifts, spilt them as it were like water on the ground, suffered its lamp to burn low or to glare with an unhealthy light, which has not at times grudged alms, or been faint in prayer, or worshipped the world, or dressed itself out in gorgeous robes of worldly greatness, or been self-indulgent, or lax in its view of Christian verities. And yet no branch of the Church has been without its calls and recalls, its revival, whether of its spiritual life or of its form and order, its gracious renewings, its waterings from on high with the heavenly dew, that it might again look strong, again battle with the world, again bear noble witness, again do noble deeds, again shew the power of a living faith, again unite itself with heaven by its warm and frequent prayers, again preach Christ crucified by its own crucifixion of all earthly affections, and the manifestation of all saintly ways and tempers. ( Bishop Armstrong. ) Blessed promises for dying outcasts The promises of this verse will be exceedingly sweet to those who feel their personal need of them; but those who boast that they are neither sick nor wounded will take no interest in this comfortable word. I. Taken in connection with the verses which precede it, our text describes a class of men and women who are in a SERIOUS PLIGHT. These people suffer under two evils. They are afflicted with the distemper of evil, and also by dismal disquietude of conscience. They have broken God's commandments, and now their own bones are broken. They have grieved their God, and their God is grieving them. 1. They are sick with sin, and that disease is one which, according to the fifth and sixth verses, brings great pain and trouble into men's minds when they come to their senses, and know their condition before God. Sin felt and known is a terrible kill-joy: as the simoom of the desert smites the caravan with death, and as the sirocco withers every herb of the field, so does a sense of sin dry up peace, blast hope, and utterly kill delight. This disease, moreover, is not only exceedingly painful when the conscience is smarting, but it is altogether incurable, so far as any human skill is concerned. Neither body, soul, nor spirit is free from its taint. At all hours it is our curse and plague; over all places it casts its defiling influence; in all duties it injures and hinders us. To those who know this there is a music sweeter than marriage-bells in these words, — "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds" The incurable shall be cured; the insatiable malady shall be stayed. How gracious is it on God's part to pity a creature infected with this vile distemper! How good of Him to regard our iniquity rather as a sickness to be healed than as a crime to be punished! 2. I told you of a double mischief in this plight, and the second mischief is that this person has been wounded for his sin. His wounds are of no common sort, for we are told in the fourteenth verse that God Himself has wounded him. There is such a thing as cruel kindness, and the opposite to it is a loving cruelty, a gracious severity. When the Lord brings sin to remembrance, and makes the soul to see what an evil it has committed in transgressing against God, then the wound bleeds, and the heart breaks. The smart is sharp, but salutary. The Lord wounds that He may heal, He kills that He may make alive. His storms wreck us upon the rock of salvation, and His tempests drive us into the fair havens of lowly faith. Happy are the men who are thus made unhappy; but this for the present they know not, and therefore they need the promise, "I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord." The blows are not only on the conscience, but when God is in earnest to make men flee from their sins, He will smite them anywhere and everywhere. He takes away the delight of their eyes with a stroke; the child, the husband, the wife, or the friend is laid low; for the Lord will fill our houses with mourning sooner than leave us in carnal security. II. A SPECIAL INTERFERENCE. The poor creature is in desperate dolour; but the God of pitying love comes in, and I beg you to notice the result. 1. This interference is, first of all Divine. The infinite Jehovah alone can speak with that grand Ego, and say, "I will," and again, "I will." No human physician who was worthy of the name would speak thus. He would humbly say, "I will attempt to give you health; I will endeavour to heal your wounds"; but the Lord speaks with the positiveness of omnipotence, for He has the power to make good His words. 2. Note, that since this interference is Divine it is effectual. What can baffle the Lord? Can anything perplex infinite wisdom? Is anything difficult to almighty power? He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it stands fast. When therefore God says, I will restore health unto thee," health will visit the wretch who lies pining at death's door. When He says, "I will heal thee of thy wounds," the deep cuts and gashes are closed up at once. 3. Observe that this interposition performs a work which is most complete, for it meets the two-fold mischief. He will heal both disease and wound. 4. Notice, too, how sovereignly free this promise is. It does not say, "I will restore health unto thee if" — No, there is no "if"; and there is no mention of a fee. Here is healing for nothing. Jesus comes to give us health without money and without price, without pence or penance, without labour or merit. 5. Notice that, although it be thus free and unconditional, yet it is now a matter of covenant certainly, for God has made the promise, and He cannot turn from it. To every guilty sinner, conscious of his guilt, who will come and confess it before God, this promise is made to-day, "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds." III. A SINGULAR REASON. He says, not "Because you were holy," or "Because you had good desires"; but "Because they called thee an outcast." Who were they? Why, the mockers and blasphemers: the Lord actually transforms the venom of asps, which was under the tongues of the malicious, into a reason for His mercy. This clearly shows how God hates the very notion of merit; but it also shows that He will find a reason for mercy somewhere. 1. This roused the Lord's pity. "Oh," He said, "has it come to this? Have they dared to call My Beloved 'an outcast,' and say that no man seeketh after her! I will seek her, and heal her, and restore her, for I cannot endure such tauntings." Now, if there is a poor sinner in the world, upon whom other sinners, who are just as bad in their heart, begin to vent their scorn, and say, "She is an outcast"; then the God of mercy seems to say, Who are you that you should talk like this? You are as vile yourselves, and yet you dare to look down upon this poor, selected one, as if she were so much worse than you. Therefore, I will save that despised one, and will have mercy upon the rejected." 2. God's jealousy is aroused against those who despise His people and speak ill of them. It is one thing for a father to chasten his boy; but if, when he is out in the streets, a stranger begins to kick him, his father declares that it shall not be. He arouses himself to defend his child, the same child that just now he smote so heavily. That is a fair parallel to the case of our God. He will chasten His people in measure, but the moment that their enemies call them outcasts He turns His anger another way and releases His people. Oh, how blessedly does good come out of evil! How graciously He causes the wrath of man to praise Him. He restores health to Zion, and heals her wounds because she is called an outcast. IV. A LITTLE SUITABLE ADVICE. I will suppose that I have those before me who have felt their disease and their wound, and have been healed by the God of mercy. I would recommend them to attend to certain matters. 1. Take care that you live very near your Physician. I notice that patients come up from the country when they are suffering with serious complaints, and they take lodgings near a medical man who is in high esteem for such cases as theirs. Now, the Lord has healed your wound, and restored health to you, therefore abide in Him; never leave Him, nor live far away from Him, for this old disease of yours may break out on a sudden, and it will be well to have the Healer close at hand. It will be best to entertain Him constantly beneath your roof, and within your heart; for His presence is the wellspring of health to the soul. 2. I recommend you often to put yourself under His searching examination. Go to this great Physician, and ask Him to look into your hidden parts, to search you, and try you, and see what wicked way may be in you, that He may lead you in the way everlasting. 3. I recommend you from personal experience to consult with this Doctor every day. It is a wise thing before you go downstairs into the world's tainted atmosphere to take a draught of His Elixir vitae, in the form of renewed faith in Him. I am sure at night it is an admirable thing to purge the soul of all the perilous stuff which has accumulated through the day by full confession and renewed confidence. 4. Lay bare your case before Him; conceal nothing; beg of Him to deal with you according to His knowledge of your case. Make a clean breast that Christ may make a sure cure. 5. Then I should very strongly recommend you always to obey the prescriptions of the great Healer. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." The Lord Jesus must be received as a whole, or not at all 6. Take care also to exercise great confidence in this Physician. Your cure is working wondrously when you trust in Jesus heartily. Distrust is what you have to fear; faith is your strength. 7. When you are healed, as I trust you are already, speak well of your Benefactor. When you were restored from sickness the other day, you were quite able to inform your friends as to that new medicine which acted like a charm, and you found a tongue to speak well of your doctor; and I am sure you have ability enough to declare the wonderful works of the Lord in your case. "Oh, but I could not embellish the tale!" Do not attempt to embellish it; for that would only spoil it. Tell the story as simply as possible. I think it is of Mr. Cecil that I have read the following incident. A friend came from some distance to inform him of a medicine which was to relieve him of his disorder. This friend told him all about it, and having done so, entered into conversation upon the current matters of the day. The result was that Mr. Cecil was greatly interested in the talk, and when his friend was gone, he quite forgot every ingredient of the wonderful medicine. Beware of allowing the many things to drive the one thing needful out of your friend's mind. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Jeremiah 30:18-20 The Church's encouragement in times of depression R. Bond. I. A REPRESENTATION CF THE CHURCH IN A STATE OF GREAT DEPRESSION AND AFFLICTION. 1. Consternation and dismay are evinced. There is "the voice of trembling," and the agitation of "fear," at the apprehension of approaching calamities. "Every man" is represented "with his hands upon his loins," the symptoms of agonising pain; and "all faces are turned unto paleness," the effect of extreme alarm. 2. Desolation and ruin are also intimated. Their "bruise was incurable, and their wound was grievous"; for they were "wounded" by the hand of "an enemy, — with the chastisement of a cruel one." II. THE ENCOURAGING PROMISE HERE GIVEN TO THE CHURCH OF HER RESTORATION TO PEACE AND PROSPERITY. 1. Tranquillity and protection; or, "peace in all her borders" (ver. 10). 2. The renewal of her religious privileges (vers. 18, 22). 3. The increase of her converts (ver. 19). 4. The joy of her members is next promised; — and this follows as a matter of course. 5. The destruction of her enemies. ( R. Bond. ) And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them. Jeremiah 30:21 The choice of their rulers the privilege of the people N. Emmons, D. D. 1. The power of choosing their own rulers is a privilege which but very few of mankind have ever enjoyed. There is not one nation in all Asia and Africa which enjoys the power of electing its own rulers; and scarcely one in all Europe which enjoys this privilege in its full extent. 2. The power of choosing their own rulers is a privilege which all nations who are destitute of it wish to enjoy. 3. It must be a great privilege to any people, to have the power of choosing their best men to rule over them. Rulers who understand the genius and disposition of their people, who are acquainted with their laws and constitutions, who have a comprehensive view of their various interests and connections, and who are men of tried integrity, are well qualified to fill every department of government. No people can desire better rulers than these; and such as these, the power of election gives them the best opportunity of appointing to office. 4. It is a great privilege for a people to have a power of choosing their own rulers, because good rulers are a very great blessing. They are the guardians of all that a people hold most dear and sacred; and so can do them greater service, and more essentially promote their temporal good, than any other men in any other public or private stations of life.Reflections — 1. No nation which chooses its own rulers can be enslaved without its own consent. The privilege of election is the grand palladium of civil liberty. 2. If a people who choose their own rulers have not good rulers, it must be owing to their own fault. If they choose their best men, there can be no doubt but their rulers will be good. 3. A people who choose their own rulers, cannot reasonably expect to have better rulers than themselves 4. This subject directs us where to look for the origin of the political distresses and embarrassments in which we have been, and still are, involved. They have originated from the abuse of the power of election. 5. This subject suggests to us the best, and perhaps the only possible way of alleviating present, and of preventing future calamities. The way is, wisely and faithfully to improve our important privilege of election, and commit the direction of our national concerns to greater and better men. ( N. Emmons, D. D. ) The blessing of freedom O. Dewey, D. D. Our subject is the blessing of freedom; the advantages of that political condition in which we are placed. There are various causes in operation which tend to lesson in us the due sense of these advantages. Extravagance of praise; asserting too much with regard to any principle; overdrawn statements of its nature, and perpetual boasting of its effects, are likely in all cases, sooner or later, to bring about a reaction. The abuses of the principle of liberty also; the out-breakings of popular violence, mobs, and tumults, prostrating the law under foot; and the tyranny, moreover, of legal majorities; and, withal, the bitter animosities of party strife, and the consequent incessant fluctuations of public policy, constantly deranging the business of the country; all these things are leading some to say, but with more rashness than wisdom, "I must think, that even political oppression and injustice, which should make all strong, and firm, and permanent, would be better than that state of things in which we live." Add to all this, that the blessings which are common, like the air we breathe and the light of day — blessings which are invested with the familiar livery of our earliest and most constant experience — are apt to pass by us unregarded; while the evils of life, calamities and concussions of the elements, shipwrecks, and storms, and earthquakes, rise into portentous and heart-thrilling significance; and we see another and final reason why the advantages of our political condition are liable to be undervalued. The first step which I shall take in defending the ground which we as a nation have taken, win be carefully to define it. What is the principle of a democratic or representative government? It is, that no restraints, disabilities, or penalties shall be laid upon any person, and that no immunities, privileges, or charters shall be conferred on any person, or any class of persons, but such as tend to promote the general welfare. This exception, be it remembered, is an essential part of our theory. Our principle is not, as I conceive, that no privileges shall be granted to one person more than to another. If bank charters, for instance, can be proved to be advantageous to the community, our principle must allow them. It is upon the same principle that we grant acts of incorporation to the governors of colleges, academies, and hospitals, and to many other benevolent and literary societies: it is upon the ground that they benefit the public. And what is government itself, but a corporation possessing and exercising certain exclusive powers for the general weal? Again, I maintain that our democratic principle is not that the people are always right. It is this rather: that although the people may sometimes be wrong, yet that they are not so likely to be wrong, and to do wrong, as irresponsible, hereditary magistrates and legislators; that it is safer to trust the many with the keeping of their own interests, than it is to trust the few to keep those interests for them. Let me now proceed to speak of liberty as a blessing, and the highest blessing that can appertain to the condition of a people. 1. I value our political constitution because it is the only system that accords with the truth of things, the only system that recognises the great claims and inalienable rights of humanity. 2. I value our liberty, and deem it a just cause of thankfulness to Heaven, because it fosters and develops all the intellectual and moral powers of the country. 3. I value political liberty because of that which a free and unfettered energy obtains, it gives the freest and amplest use. What is the effect, nay, what is the design of a despotic Government, but to deprive the people of the largest amount that it can, or dare, of the proceeds of their honest industry and laudable enterprise? Under its grossest forms, it levies direct contributions; in its more plausible administration it levies taxes; but in either case its end is the same — to feed and batten a few at the expense of the many. Let me not be told, that differences in the form of government are mere matters of speculation; that they have very little to do with our private welfare; that a man may be as happy under one form as another. I think it was on occasion of our revolution that Dr. Johnson put forth some such oracle as this; but it is not true; it may pass for good-nature, or for smooth philosophy, if anyone pleases so to call it, but it is not true. What more obvious interest of human life is there, than that a man's labour shall produce for him the greatest possible amount of comfort; that he should enjoy, as far as it is compatible with the support of civil order, the proceeds of his toil? Labour, honourable and useful as it is, is not so very agreeable that a man should recklessly give it for that which is not bread. And that he emphatically does who gives it for pensions, sinecures, and monopolies, and establishments, and wars, which benefit him not at all. 4. I should not exhaust the subject, even in this most general view of it, if I did not add one further consideration in behalf of freedom; a consideration that is higher and stronger than any reason — I mean, the intrinsic desirableness of this condition to every human being. In this respect, freedom is like virtue, like happiness; we value it for its own sake. God has stamped upon our very humanity this impress of freedom; it is the unchartered prerogative of human nature. ( O. Dewey, D. D. ) Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me? Who is this? I. The question of our text is asked TO DIRECT ATTENTION TO THIS GLORIOUS PERSON. "Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me? saith the Lord." The person who must draw near to God must be one of ourselves. It is clear that a fit representative for men must be himself a man. In Adam we transgressed and died to God: in another Adam must we be r

Benson Commentary Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Jeremiah 30:1 . The word that came to Jeremiah, &c. — “There is no particular date annexed to this prophecy, whereby to ascertain the precise time of its delivery, but it may not unreasonably be presumed to have followed immediately after the preceding one, in which the restoration of the people from their Babylonish captivity is in direct terms foretold. From hence the transition was natural and easy to the more glorious and general restoration that was to take place in a more distant period, and was designed for the ultimate object of the national hopes and expectations. Both events are frequently thus connected together in the prophetic writings, and perhaps with this design, that when that which was nearest at hand should be accomplished, it might afford the strongest and most satisfactory evidence that the latter, how remote soever its period, would in like manner, be brought about by the interposition of Providence, in its due season.” — Blaney. Jeremiah 30:2 Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. Jeremiah 30:2-3 . Thus speaketh the Lord, Write thee all the words that I have spoken, &c. — The following words contain a promise of the restoration of God’s people. These God commands to be committed to writing for the use of posterity, to be a support to the Jews, an encouragement to them to trust in God, and a proof of his prescience and overruling providence when the event foretold should be brought about. I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah — The people that returned from Babylon were only, or at least chiefly, the people of Judah, who had been carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar; but here it is foretold, that not the captivity of Judah only should be restored, but that of Israel also, or of those ten tribes that were carried away before by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; and who still remain in their several dispersions, having never returned, at least in a national capacity; but the terms of this prophecy entitle us to expect, not an obscure and partial, but a complete and universal, restoration, when God will manifest himself, as formerly, the God and patron of all the families of Israel, not of a few only. The reunion also of Judah and Israel, after their restoration, seems to be here clearly foretold. Jeremiah 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. Jeremiah 30:4 And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. Jeremiah 30:4-7 . And these are the words that the Lord spake — And which God ordered to be written: and those promises, which were written by his order, are as truly his word as the ten commandments, which were written with his finger. We have heard a voice of trembling — Such a one as discovers great fears and apprehensions of impending evils. Ask ye now and see, &c. — Make diligent inquiry, and ask every one, whether they ever knew or heard of any such thing as a man’s travailing with child? Wherefore then do I see every man with his hands on his loins — As if he were going to bring forth, and felt all the pains of a woman in travail? Alas! for that day is great — The word day in Scripture often comprehends a succession of time, in which a whole series of events is transacted: so it here contains the whole time of the siege and taking of Jerusalem, the destruction of the city and temple, and the carrying away of the people captive. This is described as a time of great tribulation, in which it was an earnest of the day of judgment, the great and terrible day of the Lord. Jeremiah 30:5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Jeremiah 30:6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. Jeremiah 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: Jeremiah 30:8-9 . It shall come to pass in that day — In the day when Jacob shall be saved out of all his troubles, Jeremiah 30:7 . The phrase that day often denotes an extraordinary or remarkable time for some signal events of Providence: see Isaiah 4:2 . That I will break his yoke from off thy neck — This promise was in part fulfilled when Cyrus set the Jews free from the Babylonish yoke, and gave them liberty to return to their own country. And strangers shall no more serve themselves of him — In this latter part of the sentence the Jewish state, or rather that of Israel and Judah, is spoken of in the third person, him; in the foregoing part in the second person, thy neck. But they shall serve the Lord their God — They shall live in subjection and obedience to the one living and true God, and to David their king — That is, the Messiah, who is often called by the name of David in the prophets, as the person in whom all the promises made to David were to be fulfilled. See the margin. Here it is promised that, after this restoration, the Jews and Israelites “should no more fall under the dominion of foreigners, but be governed by princes and magistrates of their own nation, independent of any but God and David their king. But this was not the case with the Jews that returned from Babylon. They then indeed had a leader, Zerubbabel, one of their own nation, and also of the family of David. But both the nation and their leader continued still in a state of vassalage and the most servile dependance upon the Persian monarchy. And when the Grecian monarchy succeeded, they changed their masters only, but not their condition; till, at length, under the Asmonæan princes, they had, for a while, an independent government of their own, but without any title to the name of David. At last they fell under the Roman yoke, since which time their situation has been such as not to afford the least ground to pretend that the promised restoration has yet taken place. It remains, therefore, to be brought about, in future, under the reign of the Messiah, emphatically distinguished by the name of David; when every particular circumstance predicted concerning it will, no doubt, be verified by a distinct and unequivocal accomplishment.” — Blaney. Whom I will raise up unto them — An expression elsewhere used by the holy writers when they speak of the coming of Christ. See the margin. Hence this prophecy must be considered as implying the conversion of the Jews to the Christian faith, God, according to his promises, having constituted Christ the Prince and the Saviour to whom every knee must bow, and whom every tongue must confess. Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Jeremiah 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. Jeremiah 30:10-11 . Fear thou not, O my servant Jacob — As if God had utterly forsaken thee or cast thee off. See the margin. For, lo, I will save thee from afar — I will restore you from your captivity, though you should be dispersed into the most distant countries. And though this be not accomplished in the Jews of the present age, it shall be made good to their posterity, who are beloved for their fathers’ sake, as St. Paul speaks, Romans 11:28 . And Jacob shall be in rest and quiet, &c. — Shall enjoy peace and safety. Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee — Such as the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians; yet will I not make a full end of thee — The Jews to this day continue a remarkable monument of the truth and immutability of God’s promises. Where now are all the nations which carried them into captivity, and trod them under foot? All, all are perished; their kingdoms overturned, their laws and languages abolished, their very names, as nations, extinct; not the least footsteps remaining of their having ever been a people: for God had determined to make a full end of them. But the people of the Jews, though carried into captivity, slain by the sword, destroyed by pestilence and famine, and every other method of destruction, do yet remain a people: under all the revolutions and changes of kingdoms, languages, and people, they still exist unmixed; and, though for their heinous sins they are scattered abroad among all nations, they still preserve their name, language, and most of their ancient ceremonies and customs, for God has promised not to make a full end of them. But I will correct thee in measure — Or, according to judgment, as ??????? signifies, that is, with discretion, not more than thou deservest, nay, not more than thou canst well bear. God’s afflicting his people is in a way of correction, and that correction is always moderated, and always proceeds from love. And will not leave thee altogether unpunished — As thou art ready to think I should do because of thy relation to me. Observe, reader, a profession of religion, though never so plausible, will be far from securing to us impunity in sin. God is no respecter of persons, but will show his hatred of sin wherever he finds it, and he always hates it most in those that are nearest to him. Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. Jeremiah 30:12 For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. Jeremiah 30:12-15 . Thy bruise is incurable — In all human appearance. The state that the Jews should be in would be so miserable that it would be incurable from any hand except that of God. There is none to plead thy cause — There is none that, by the reformation of their lives, or their intercessions with God, endeavour to avert his displeasure. Or, as the words may be rendered, There is none to judge thy cause, none that knows the true nature of thy malady, or what medicines are proper to be applied to it. Their calamitous state is compared to a distempered body; (see Jeremiah 30:17 , and Jeremiah 8:22 ; Isaiah 1:5-6 ;) and the false prophets, instead of applying proper remedies, have healed thy wound slightly. Or the words may mean, There is none to intercede for thee with thy victors and oppressors. All thy lovers have forgotten thee — All the nations whose alliance they had solicited, and whose idolatries they had imitated, and who had professed much friendship for them, had neglected and forgotten them, and desired no farther connection with them. They seek thee not — Seek not thy welfare, but abandon thee to ruin. For I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, &c. — Thy iniquities have provoked me to punish thee with that severity which appears like cruelty, and as if I had declared myself an utter enemy to thee. Why criest thou for thine affliction? — Why shouldest thou expostulate with me, as if I had dealt unjustly with thee, whereas, if thy condition seem desperate, it is owing to thine own iniquities, which have still been increased with new aggravations of guilt. Jeremiah 30:13 There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. Jeremiah 30:14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Jeremiah 30:15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. Jeremiah 30:16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. Jeremiah 30:16-17 . Therefore — Or rather, yet surely, as ??? should be rendered; (see note on Jeremiah 16:14 ;) all they that devour thee shall be devoured — The Egyptians, Philistines, Midianites, Ammonites, Edomites, Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and others, who have afflicted and oppressed you, shall be extirpated, while you shall be restored and re- established. See note on Jeremiah 30:11 . Though God chastises his own people with severity, according to the nature and quality of their faults, yet he does it so as never utterly to destroy them. The Assyrians, who afflicted Israel and Judah, were so destroyed by the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians, that mention is no more made of their empire. The monarchy of the Chaldeans, who destroyed Jerusalem, and carried the Jews into captivity, was overthrown by the Persians, and never recovered itself. The empires of the Persians and Egyptians were destroyed by Alexander. The Grecian. or Syro-Macedonian kingdom, which, especially under Antiochus Epiphanes, cruelly persecuted them, was destroyed by the Romans. And the Roman empire, powerful as it was, after being made the instrument of bringing greater calamities on the Jewish nation than they had ever suffered from any other power, was broken to pieces by the incursions of the northern nations on the one hand, and by the Saracens and Turks on the other. But the Jewish people, who have repeatedly appeared to be almost destroyed and annihilated in their dispersions, have reappeared, and sprung up again, as it were, from their ashes, and become as numerous and powerful as before. Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying , This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. Jeremiah 30:18 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. Jeremiah 30:18-22 . Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents — The expression alludes to the ancient custom of dwelling in tents. This promise was, in some degree, fulfilled under Zerubbabel. And the city shall be builded upon her own heap — Upon her ruins, which were cleared away, that new houses might be built. And the palace shall remain — Rather, the palace shall be inhabited; after the manner thereof — By ????? , here rendered palace, Dr. Waterland and some others understand the temple, and render the clause, The temple shall stand, or, abide after the manner thereof. Their children also, and their congregation, &c. — Their church and commonwealth shall be restored to their former state. Or rather, His children and his congregation, as Blaney translates it; that is, Jacob’s children and congregation, the pronouns both in this and the following verse being in the singular number. And their nobles shall be of themselves — Hebrew, ????? ???? , literally, his prince, or, his mighty one, shall be of him. And his governor shall proceed from the midst of him — Some understand this of Zerubbabel, who, by the permission of Cyrus, had the government over the Jews whom he led into Judea to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Others interpret it of the Messiah, who, they think, is plainly marked out by the two names of Prince, or Mighty One, and Governor, in this verse. Thus the Targum understands it. I will cause him to draw near, &c. — Says the Lord; that is, “he shall have a near attendance upon me; for I will make him a priest as well as a king,” according to the prophecy in Psalm 110:4 . For who is this that engaged his heart, &c. — Who is there so entirely devoted to my service as the Messiah? The words in the original, ?? ?? ??? ?? , who is this, &c., have the emphasis which cannot be expressed in another language, and are spoken by way of admiration. See Lowth. Blaney translates the verse, “And his prince shall be of his own race, and his governor shall go forth out of the midst of him; and I will draw him that he may come near unto me; for who is he that hath set his heart to draw near unto me? saith Jehovah.” Ye shall be my people, &c. — You shall continually adhere to my religion and worship, and I will take you into my favour, and under my protection. Jeremiah 30:19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Jeremiah 30:20 Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. Jeremiah 30:21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. Jeremiah 30:22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Jeremiah 30:23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. Jeremiah 30:23-24 . Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury — Rather, with anger, the word fury being manifestly improper when applied to God. These two verses occur with some slight variations, Jeremiah 23:19-20 , where see the notes. In the latter days ye shall consider it — The latter days here may signify the time to come; but they commonly imply the times of the gospel, that being the last dispensation, and what should continue till the end of the world. Thus understood, the words import, “When all these evils are come upon you, which God has threatened for your disobedience, and particularly for your heinous crime of rejecting the Messiah, and you have found the denunciations verified in the several captivities you have undergone, then you will understand the import of this and several other prophecies, and the event will perfectly instruct you in their meaning.” — Lowth. Jeremiah 30:24 The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it , and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, CHAPTER XXXI RESTORATION II THE NEW ISRAEL Jeremiah 23:3-8 ; Jeremiah 24:6-7 ; Jeremiah 30:1-24 ; Jeremiah 31:1-40 ; Jeremiah 33:1-26 "In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name whereby she shall be called."- Jeremiah 33:16 THE Divine utterances in chapter 33, were given to Jeremiah when he was shut up in the "court of the guard" during the last days of the siege. They may, however, have been committed to writing at a later date, possibly in connection with Chapters 30 and 31, when the destruction of Jerusalem was already past. It is in accordance with all analogy that the final record of a "word of Jehovah" should include any further light which had come to the prophet through his inspired meditations on the original message. Chapters 30, 31, and 33 mostly expound and enforce leading ideas contained in Jeremiah 32:37-44 and in earlier utterances of Jeremiah. They have much in common with 2 Isaiah. The ruin of Judah and the captivity of the people were accomplished facts to both writers, and they were both looking forward to the return of the exiles and the restoration of the kingdom of Jehovah. We shall have occasion to notice individual points of resemblance later on. In Jeremiah 30:2 Jeremiah is commanded to write in a book all that Jehovah has spoken to him; and according to the present context the "all," in this case, refers merely to the following four chapters. These prophecies of restoration would be specially precious to the exiles; and now that the Jews were scattered through many distant lands, they could only be transmitted and preserved in writing. After the command "to write in a book" there follows, by way of title, a repetition of the statement that Jehovah would bring back His people to their fatherland. Here, in the very forefront of the Book of Promise, Israel and Judah are named as being recalled together from exile. As we read twice { Jeremiah 16:14-15 ; Jeremiah 23:7-8 } elsewhere in Jeremiah, the promised deliverance from Assyria and Babylon was to surpass all other manifestations of the Divine power and mercy. The Exodus would not be named in the same breath with it: "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the Israelites out of the land of Egypt: but, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the Israelites from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither He had driven them." This prediction has waited for fulfilment to our own times: hitherto the Exodus has occupied men’s minds much more than the Return; we are now coming to estimate the supreme religious importance of the latter event. Elsewhere again Jeremiah connects his promise with the clause in his original commission "to build and to plant": { Jeremiah 1:10 } "I will set My eyes upon them" (the captives) "for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up." { Jeremiah 24:7 } As in Jeremiah 32:28-35 , the picture of restoration is rendered more vivid by contrast with Judah’s present state of wretchedness; the marvellousness of Jehovah’s mercy is made apparent by reminding Israel of the multitude of its iniquities. The agony of Jacob is like that of a woman in travail. But travail shall be followed by deliverance and triumph. In the second Psalm the subject nations took counsel against Jehovah and against His Anointed:- "Let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us"; but now this is the counsel of Jehovah concerning His people and their Babylonian conqueror:- "I will break his yoke from off thy neck, And break thy bands asunder." Judah’s lovers, her foreign allies, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and all the other states with whom she had intrigued, had betrayed her; they had cruelly chastised her, so that her wounds were grievous and her bruises incurable. She was left without a champion to plead her cause, without a friend to bind up her wounds, without balm to allay the pain of her bruises. "Because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee, saith Jehovah." Jerusalem was an outcast, of whom men said contemptuously: "This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." But man’s extremity is God’s opportunity; because Judah was helpless and despised, therefore Jehovah said, "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds." While Jeremiah was still watching from his prison the progress of the siege, he had seen the houses and palaces beyond the walls destroyed by the Chaldeans to be used for their mounds; and had known that every sally of the besieged was but another opportunity for the enemy to satiate themselves with slaughter, as they executed Jehovah’s judgments upon the guilty city. Even at this extremity He announced solemnly and emphatically the restoration and pardon of His people. "Thus saith Jehovah, who established the earth, when He made and fashioned it-Jehovah is His name: Call upon Me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great mysteries, which thou knowest not." "I will bring to this city healing and cure, and will cause them to know all the fulness of steadfast peace . . . I will cleanse them from all their iniquities, and will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned and transgressed against Me." The healing of Zion naturally involved the punishment of her cruel and treacherous lovers. The Return, like other revolutions, was not wrought by rose water; the yokes were broken and the bands rent asunder by main force. Jehovah would make a full end of all the nations whither He had scattered them. Their devourers should be devoured, all their adversaries should go into captivity, those who had spoiled and preyed upon them should become a spoil and a prey. Jeremiah had been commissioned from the beginning to pull down foreign nations and kingdoms as well as his native Judah. { Jeremiah 1:10 } Judah was only one of Israel’s evil neighbours who were to be plucked up out of their land. And at the Return, as at the Exodus, the waves at one and the same time opened a path of safety for Israel and overwhelmed her oppressors. Israel, pardoned and restored, would again be governed by legitimate kings of the House of David. In the dying days of the monarchy Israel and Judah had received their rulers from the hands of foreigners. Menahem and Hoshea bought the confirmation of their usurped authority from Assyria. Jehoiakim was appointed by Pharaoh Necho, and Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar. We cannot doubt that the kings of Egypt and Babylon were also careful to surround their nominees with ministers who were devoted to the interests of their suzerains. But now "their nobles were to be of themselves, and their ruler was to proceed out of their midst," { Jeremiah 30:21 } i.e., nobles and rulers were to hold their offices according to national custom and tradition. Jeremiah was fond of speaking of the leaders of Judah as shepherds. We have had occasion already (Cf. chapter 8) to consider his controversy with the "shepherds" of his own time. In his picture of the New Israel he uses the same figure. In denouncing the evil shepherds he predicts that, when the remnant of Jehovah’s flock is brought again to their folds, He will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them, { Jeremiah 23:3-4 } shepherds. according to Jehovah’s own heart, who should feed them with knowledge and understanding. { Jeremiah 3:15 } Over them Jehovah would establish as Chief Shepherd a Prince of the House of David. Isaiah had already included in his picture of Messianic times the fertility of Palestine; its vegetation, by the blessing of Jehovah, should be beautiful and glorious: he had also described the Messianic King as a fruitful Branch out of the root of Jesse. Jeremiah takes the idea of the latter passage, but uses the language of the former. For him the King of the New Israel is, as it were, a Growth ( cemah ) out of the sacred soil, or perhaps more definitely from the roots of the House of David, that ancient tree whose trunk had been hewn down and burnt. Both the Growth ( cemah ) and the Branch ( necer ) had the same vital connection with the soil of Palestine and the root of David. Our English versions exercised a wise discretion when they sacrificed literal accuracy and indicated the identity of idea by translating both "cemah" and "necer" by "Branch." "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch; and He shall be a wise and prudent King, and He shall execute justice and maintain the right. In His days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell securely, and his name shall be Jehovah ‘Cidqenu ,’ Jehovah is our righteousness." Jehovah Cidqenu might very well be the personal name of a Jewish king, though the form would be unusual; but what is chiefly intended is that His character shall be such as the "name" describes. The "name" is a brief and pointed censure upon a king whose character was the opposite of that described in these verses, yet who bore a name of almost identical meaning-Zedekiah, Jehovah is my righteousness. The name of the last reigning Prince of the House of David had been a standing condemnation of his unworthy life, but the King of the New Israel, Jehovah’s true Messiah, would realise in His administration all that such a name promised. Sovereigns delight to accumulate sonorous epithets in their official designations-Highness, High and Mighty, Majesty, Serene, Gracious. The glaring contrast between character and titles often only serves to advertise the worthlessness of those who are labelled with such epithets: the Majesty of James I, the Graciousness of Richard III. Yet these titles point to a standard of true royalty, whether the sovereign be an individual or a class or the people; they describe that Divine Sovereignty which will be realised in the Kingdom of God. The material prosperity of the restored community is set forth with wealth of glowing imagery. Cities and palaces are to be rebuilt on their former sites with more than their ancient splendour. "Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. And the children of Jacob shall be as of old, and their assembly shall be established before Me." { Jeremiah 30:18-20 } The figure often used of the utter desolation of the deserted country is now used to illustrate its complete restoration: "Yet again shall there be heard in this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride." Throughout all the land "which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof," shepherds shall dwell and pasture and fold their flocks; and in the cities of all the districts of the Southern Kingdom enumerated as exhaustively as in Jeremiah 32:44 shall the flocks again pass under the shepherd’s hands to be told. { Jeremiah 33:10-13 } Jehovah’s own peculiar flock, His Chosen People, shall be fruitful and multiply according to the primeval blessing; under their new shepherds they shall no more fear nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking. { Jeremiah 23:3-4 } Jeremiah recurs again and again to the quiet, the restfulness, the freedom from fear and dismay of the restored Israel. In this, as in all else, the New Dispensation was to be an entire contrast to those long weary years of alternate suspense and panic, when men’s hearts were shaken by the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war. { Jeremiah 4:19 } Israel is to dwell securely at rest from fear of harm. { Jeremiah 23:6 } When Jacob returns he "shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid." { Jeremiah 30:10 } Egyptian, Assyrian, and Chaldean shall all cease from troubling; the memory of past misery shall become dim and shadowy. The finest expansion of this idea is a passage which always fills the soul with a sense of utter rest. "He shall dwell on high: his refuge shall be the inaccessible rocks: his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a far-stretching land. Thine heart shall muse on the terror: where is he that counted, where is he that weighed the tribute? where is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that thou canst not perceive; of a strange tongue that thou canst not understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. There Jehovah will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby." ( Isaiah 33:16-21 ; Isaiah 32:15-18 .) For Jeremiah too the presence of Jehovah in majesty was the only possible guarantee of the peace and prosperity of Israel. The voices of joy and gladness in the New Jerusalem were not only those of bride and bridegroom, but also of those that said, "Give thanks to Jehovah Sabaoth, for Jehovah is good, for His mercy endureth forever," and of those that "came to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving in the house of Jehovah." { Jeremiah 33:11 } This new David, as the Messianic King is called, { Jeremiah 30:9 } is to have the priestly right of immediate access to God: "I will cause Him to draw near, and He shall approach unto Me: for else who would risk his life by daring to approach Me?" { Jeremiah 30:21 , as Kautzsch.} Israel is liberated from foreign conquerors to serve Jehovah their God and David their King; and the Lord Himself rejoices in His restored and ransomed people. The city that was once a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse among all nations shall now be to Jehovah "a name of joy, a praise and a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them, and shall tremble with fear for all the good and all the peace that I procure unto it." { Jeremiah 33:9 } CHAPTER XXXIV RESTORATION V REVIEW Jeremiah 30:1-24 ; Jeremiah 31:1-40 ; Jeremiah 32:1-44 ; Jeremiah 33:1-26 IN reviewing these chapters we must be careful not to suppose that Jeremiah knew all that would ultimately result from his teaching. When he declared that the conditions of the New Covenant would be written, not in a few parchments, but on every heart, he laid down a principle which involved the most characteristic teaching of the New Testament and the Reformers, and which might seem to justify extreme mysticism. When we read these prophecies in the light of history, they seem to lead by a short and direct path to the Pauline doctrines of Faith and Grace. Constraining grace is described in the words: "I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me." { Jeremiah 32:40 } Justification by faith instead of works substitutes the response of the soul to the Spirit of God for conformity to a set of external regulations-the writing on the heart for the carving of ordinances on stone. Yet, as Newton’s discovery of the law of gravitation did not make him aware of all that later astronomers have discovered, so Jeremiah did not anticipate Paul and Augustine, Luther and Calvin: he was only their forerunner. Still less did he intend to affirm all that has been taught by the Brothers of the Common Life or the Society of Friends. We have followed the Epistle to the Hebrews in interpreting his prophecy of the New Covenant as abrogating the Mosaic code and inaugurating a new departure upon entirely different lines. This view is supported by his attitude towards the Temple, and especially the Ark. At the same time we must not suppose that Jeremiah contemplated the summary and entire abolition of the previous dispensation. He simply delivers his latest message from Jehovah, without bringing its contents into relation with earlier truth, without indeed waiting to ascertain for himself how the old and the new were to be combined. But we may be sure that the Divine writing on the heart would have included much that was already written in Deuteronomy, and that both books and teachers would have had their place in helping men to recognise and interpret the inner leadings of the Spirit. In rising from the perusal of these chapters the reader is tempted to use the prophet’s words with a somewhat different meaning: "I awaked and looked about me, and felt that I had had a pleasant dream." { Jeremiah 31:26 } Renan, with cynical frankness, heads a chapter on such prophecies with the title "Pious Dreams." While Jeremiah’s glowing utterances rivet our attention, the gracious words fall like balm upon our aching hearts, and we seem, like the Apostle, caught up into Paradise. But as soon as we try to connect our visions with any realities, past, present, or in prospect, there comes a rude awakening. The restored community attained to no New Covenant, but was only found worthy of a fresh edition of the written code. Instead of being committed to the guidance of the ever-present Spirit of Jehovah, they were placed under a rigid and elaborate system of externals-"carnal ordinances, concerned with meats and drinks and divers washings, imposed until a time of reformation." { Hebrews 9:10 } They still remained under the covenant "from Mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children." { Galatians 4:24-25 } For these bondservants of the letter, there arose no David, no glorious Scion of the ancient stock. For a moment the hopes of Zechariah rested on Zerubbabel, but this Branch quickly withered away and was forgotten. We need not underrate the merits and services of Ezra and Nehemiah, of Simon the Just and Judas Maccabaeus; and yet we cannot find any one of them who answers to the Priestly King of Jeremiah’s visions. The new growth of Jewish royalty came to an ignominious end in Aristobulus, Hyrcanus, and the Herods, Antichrists rather than Messiahs. The Reunion of long-divided Israel is for the most part a misnomer; there was no healing of the wound, and the offending member was cut off. Even now, when the leaven of the Kingdom has been working in the lump of humanity for nearly two thousand years, any suggestion that these chapters are realised in Modern Christianity would seem cruel irony. Renan accuses Christianity of having quickly forgotten the programme which its Founder borrowed from the prophets, and of having become a religion like other religions, a religion of priests and sacrifices, of external observances and superstitions. It is sometimes asserted that "Protestants lack faith and courage to trust to any law written on the heart, and cling to a printed book, as if there were no Holy Spirit-as if the Branch of David had borne fruit once for all, and Christ were dead. The movement for Christian Reunion seems thus far chiefly to emphasise the feuds that make the Church a kingdom divided against itself." But we must not allow the obvious shortcomings of Christendom to blind us to brighter aspects of truth. Both in the Jews of the Restoration and in the Church of Christ we have a real fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecies. The fulfilment is no less real because it is utterly inadequate. Prophecy is a guide post and not a milestone; it shows the way to be trodden, not the duration of the journey. Jews and Christians have fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecies because they have advanced by the road along which he pointed towards the spiritual city of his vision. The "pious dreams" of a little group of enthusiasts have become the ideals and hopes of humanity. Even Renan ranks himself among the disciples of Jeremiah: "The seed sown in religious tradition by inspired Israelites will not perish; all of us who seek a God without priests, a revelation without prophets, a covenant written in the heart are in many respects the disciples of these ancient fanatics" ( ces vieux egares ). The Judaism of the Return, with all its faults and shortcomings, was still an advance in the direction Jeremiah had indicated. However ritualistic the Pentateuch may seem to us, it was far removed from exclusive trust in ritual. Where the ancient Israelite had relied upon correct observance of the forms of his sanctuary, the Torah of Ezra introduced a large moral and spiritual element, which served to bring the soul into direct fellowship with Jehovah. "Pity and humanity are pushed to their utmost limits, always of course in the bosom of the family of Israel." The Torah moreover included the great commands to love God and man, which once for all placed the religion of Israel on a spiritual basis. If the Jews often attached more importance to the letter and form of Revelation than to its substance, and were more careful for ritual and external observances than for inner righteousness, we have no right to cast a stone at them. It is a curious phenomenon that after the time of Ezra the further developments of the Torah were written no longer on parchment, but, in a certain sense on the heart. The decisions of the rabbis interpreting the Pentateuch, "the fence which they made round the law," were not committed to writing, but learnt by heart and handed down by oral tradition. Possibly this custom was partly due to Jeremiah’s prophecy. It is a strange illustration of the way in which theology sometimes wrests the Scriptures to its own destruction, that the very prophecy of the triumph of the spirit over the letter was made of none effect by a literal interpretation. Nevertheless, though Judaism moved only a very little way towards Jeremiah’s ideal, yet it did move, its religion was distinctly more spiritual than that of ancient Israel. Although Judaism claimed finality and did its best to secure that no future generation should make further progress, yet in spite of, nay, even by means of, Pharisee and Sadducee, the Jews were prepared to receive and transmit that great resurrection of prophetic teaching which came through Christ. If even Judaism did not altogether fail to conform itself to Jeremiah’s picture of the New Israel, clearly Christianity must have shaped itself still more fully according to his pattern. In the Old Testament both the idea and the name of a "New Covenant," superseding that of Moses, are peculiar to Jeremiah, and the New Testament consistently represents the Christian dispensation as a fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Besides the express and detailed application in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper as the Sacrament of His New Covenant-"This cup is the New Covenant in My Blood"; and St. Paul speaks of himself as "a minister of the New Covenant." { 2 Corinthians 3:6 } Christianity has not been unworthy of the claim made on its behalf by its Founder, but has realised, at any rate in some measure, the visible peace, prosperity, and unity of Jeremiah’s New Israel, as well as the spirituality of his New Covenant. Christendom has its hideous blots of misery and sin, but, on the whole, the standard of material comfort and intellectual culture has been raised to a high average throughout the bulk of a vast population. Internal order and international concord have made enormous strides since the time of Jeremiah. If an ancient Israelite could witness the happy security, of a large proportion of English workmen and French peasants, he would think that many of the predictions of his prophets had been fulfilled. But the advance of large classes to a prosperity once beyond the dreams of the most sanguine only brings out in darker relief the wretchedness of their less fortunate brethren. In view of the growing knowledge and enormous resources of modern society, any toleration of its cruel wrongs is an unpardonable sin. Social problems are doubtless urgent because a large minority are miserable, but they are rendered still more urgent by the luxury of many and the comfort of most. The high average of prosperity shows that we fail to right our social evils, not for want of power, but for want of devotion. Our civilisation is a Dives, at whose gate Lazarus often finds no crumbs. Again Christ’s Kingdom of the New Covenant has brought about a larger unity. We have said enough elsewhere on the divisions of the Church. Doubtless we are still far from realising the ideals of chapter 31, but, at any rate, they have been recognised as supreme, and have worked for harmony and fellowship in the world. Ephraim and Judah are forgotten, but the New Covenant has united into brotherhood a worldwide array of races and nations. There are still divisions in the Church, and a common religion will not always do away with national enmities; but in spite of all, the influence of our common Christianity has done much to knit the nations together and promote mutual amity and goodwill. The vanguard of the modern world has accepted Christ as its standard and ideal, and has thus attained an essential unity, which is not destroyed by minor differences and external divisions. And, finally, the promise that the New Covenant should be written on the heart is far on the way towards fulfilment. If Roman and Greek orthodoxy interposes the Church between the soul and Christ, yet the inspiration claimed for the Church today is, at any rate in some measure, that of the living Spirit of Christ speaking to the souls of living men. On the other hand, a predilection for Rabbinical methods of exegesis sometimes interferes with the influence and authority of the Bible. Yet in reality there is no serious attempt to take away the key of knowledge or to forbid the individual soul to receive the direct teaching of the Holy Ghost. The Reformers established the right of private judgment in the interpretation of the Scriptures; and the interpretation of the Library of Sacred Literature, the spiritual harvest of a thousand years, affords ample scope for reverent development of our knowledge of God. One group of Jeremiah’s prophecies has indeed been entirely fulfilled. In Christ God has raised up a Branch of Righteousness unto David, and through Him judgment and righteousness are wrought in the earth. { Jeremiah 33:15 } The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.