Bible Commentary

Expositor's Bible Commentary Jeremiah 49:1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? CHAPTER XX AMMON Jeremiah 49:1-6 "Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Moloch possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?"- Jeremiah 49:1 THE relations of Israel with Ammon were similar but less intimate than they were with his twin brother Moab. Hence this prophecy is, mutatis mutandis , an abridgment of that concerning Moab. As Moab was charged with magnifying himself against Jehovah, and was found to be occupying cities which Reuben claimed as its inheritance, so Ammon had presumed to take possession of the Gadite cities, whose inhabitants had been carried away captive by the Assyrians. Here again the prophet enumerates Heshbon, Ai, Rabbah, and the dependent towns, "the daughters of Rabbah." Only in the territory of this half-nomadic people the cities are naturally not so numerous as in Moab; and Jeremiah mentions also the fertile valleys wherein the Ammonites gloried. The familiar doom of ruin and captivity is pronounced against city and country and all the treasures of Ammon; Moloch, like Chemosh, must go into captivity with his priests and princes. This prophecy also concludes with a promise of restoration:- "Afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon-it is the utterance of Jehovah." Jeremiah 49:23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. CHAPTER XXII DAMASCUS Jeremiah 49:23-27 "I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Benhadad."- Jeremiah 49:27 WE are a little surprised to meet with a prophecy of Jeremiah concerning Damascus and the palaces of Benhadad. The names carry our minds back for more than a couple of centuries. During Elisha’s ministry Damascus and Samaria were engaged in their long, fierce duel for the supremacy over Syria and Palestine. In the reign of Ahaz these ancient rivals combined to attack Judah, so that Isaiah is keenly interested in Damascus and its fortunes. But about B.C. 745, about a hundred and fifty years before Jeremiah’s time, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser { 2 Kings 16:9 } overthrew the Syrian kingdom and carried its people into captivity. We know from Ezekiel, { Ezekiel 28:18 } what we might have surmised from the position and later history of Damascus, that this ancient city continued a wealthy commercial centre; but Ezekiel has no oracle concerning Damascus, and the other documents of the period and of later times do not mention the capital of Benhadad. Its name does not even occur in Jeremiah’s exhaustive list of the countries of his world in Jeremiah 25:15-26 . Religious interest in alien races depended on their political relations with Israel; when the latter ceased, the prophets had no word from Jehovah concerning foreign nations. Such considerations have suggested doubts as to the authenticity of this section, and it has been supposed that it may be a late echo of Isaiah’s utterances concerning Damascus. We know, however, too little of the history of the period to warrant such a conclusion. Damascus would continue to exist as a tributary state, and might furnish auxiliary forces to the enemies of Judah or join with her to conspire against Babylon, and would in either case attract Jeremiah’s attention. Moreover, in ancient as in modern times, commerce played its part in international politics. Doubtless slaves were part of the merchandise of Damascus, just as they were among the wares of the Apocalyptic Babylon. Joel { Joel 3:4 } denounces Tyre and Zidon for selling Jews to the Greeks, and the Damascenes may have served as slave agents to Nebuchadnezzar and his captains, and thus provoked the resentment of patriot Jews. So many picturesque and romantic associations cluster around Damascus, that this section of Jeremiah almost strikes a jarring note. We love to think of this fairest of Oriental cities, "half as old as time," as the "Eye of the East" which Mohammed refused to enter-because "Man," he said, "can have but one paradise, and my paradise is fixed above"-and as the capital of Noureddin and his still more famous successor Saladin. And so we regret that, when it emerges from the obscurity of centuries into the light of Biblical narrative, the brief reference should suggest a disaster such as it endured in later days at the hands of the treacherous and ruthless Tamerlane. "Damascus hath grown feeble: She turneth herself to flee: Trembling hath seized on her. How is the city of praise forsaken, The city of joy! Her young men shall fall in the streets All the warriors shall be put to silence in that day." We are moved to sympathy with the feelings of Hamath and Arpad, when they heard the evil tidings, and were filled with sorrow, "like the sea that cannot rest." Yet even here this most uncompromising of prophets may teach us, after his fashion, wholesome though perhaps unwelcome truths. We are reminded how often the mystic glamour of romance has served to veil cruelty and corruption, and how little picturesque scenery and interesting associations can do of themselves to promote a noble life. Feudal castles, with their massive grandeur, were the strongholds of avarice and cruelty; and ancient abbeys which, even in decay, are like a dream of fairyland, were sometimes the home of abominable corruption. Jeremiah 49:28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. CHAPTER XXIII KEDAR AND HAZOR Jeremiah 49:28-33 "Concerning Kedar, and the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote."- Jeremiah 49:28 FROM an immemorial seat of human culture, an "eternal city" which antedates Rome by centuries, if not millenniums, we turn to those Arab tribes whose national life and habits were as ancient and have been as persistent as the streets of Damascus. While Damascus has almost always been in the forefront of history, the Arab tribes-except in the time of Mohammed and the early Caliphs-have seldom played a more important part than that of frontier marauders. Hence, apart from a few casual references, the only other passage in the Old Testament which deals, at any length, with Kedar is the parallel prophecy of Isaiah. And yet Kedar was the great northern tribe, which ranged the deserts between Palestine and the Euphrates, and which must have had closer relations with Judah than most Arab peoples. "The kingdoms of Hazor" are still more unknown to history. There were several "Hazors" in Palestine, besides sundry towns whose names are also derived from Hacer , a village; and some of these are on or beyond the southern frontier of Judah, in the wilderness of the Exodus, where we might expect to find nomad Arabs. But even these latter cities can scarcely be the "Hazor" of Jeremiah, and the more northern are quite out of the question. It is generally supposed that Hazor here is either some Arabian town, or, more probably, a collective term used for the district inhabited by Arabs, who lived not in tents, but in Hacerim , or villages. This district would be in Arabia itself, and more distant from Palestine than the deserts over which Kedar roamed. Possibly Isaiah’s "villages ( Hacerim ) that Kedar doth inhabit" were to be found in the Hazor of Jeremiah, and the same people were called Kedar and Hazor respectively according as they lived a nomad life or settled in more permanent dwellings. The great warlike enterprises of Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea during the last centuries of the Jewish monarchy would bring these desert horsemen into special prominence. They could either further or hinder the advance of armies marching westward from Mesopotamia, and could command their lines of communication. Kedar, and possibly Hazor too, would not be slack to use the opportunities of plunder presented by the calamities of the Palestinian states. Hence their conspicuous position in the pages of Isaiah and Jeremiah. As the Assyrians, when their power was at its height, had chastised the aggressions of the Arabs, so now Nebuchadnezzar "smote Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor." Even the wandering nomads and dwellers by distant oases in trackless deserts could not escape the sweeping activity of this scourge of God. Doubtless the ravages of Chaldean armies might serve to punish many sins besides the wrongs they were sent to revenge. The Bedouin always had their virtues, but the wild liberty of the desert easily degenerated into unbridled license. Judah and every state bordering on the wilderness knew by painful experience how large a measure of rapine and cruelty might coexist with primitive customs. and the Jewish prophet gives Nebuchadnezzar a Divine commission as for a holy war:- "Arise, go up to Kedar; Spoil the men of the east. They (the Chaldeans) shall take away their tents and flocks; They shall take for themselves their tent coverings, And all their gear and their camels: Men shall cry concerning them, Terror on every side." Then the prophet turns to the more distant Hazor with words of warning:- "Flee, get you far off, dwell in hidden recesses of the land, O inhabitants of Hazor-It is the utterance of Jehovah- For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath counseled a counsel and purposed a purpose against you." But then, as if this warning were a mere taunt, he renews his address to the Chaldeans and directs their attack against Hazor:- "Arise, go up against a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without fear- it is the utterance of Jehovah- Which abide alone, without gates or bars"- like the people of Laish before the Danites came, and like Sparta before the days of Epaminondas. Possibly we are to combine these successive "utterances," and to understand that it was alike Jehovah’s will that the Chaldeans should invade and lay waste Hazor, and that the unfortunate inhabitants should escape-but escape plundered and impoverished: for "Their camels shall become a spoil, The multitude of their cattle a prey: I will scatter to every wind them that have the corners of their hair polled; I will bring their calamity upon them from all sides. Hazor shall be a haunt of jackals, a desolation forever: No one shall dwell there, No soul shall sojourn therein." Jeremiah 49:34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, CHAPTER XXIV ELAM Jeremiah 49:34-39 "I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might."- Jeremiah 49:35 WE do not know what principle or absence of principle determined the arrangement of these prophecies; but, in any case, these studies in ancient geography and politics present a series of dramatic contrasts. From two ancient and enduring types of Eastern life, the city of Damascus and the Bedouin of the desert, we pass to a state of an entirely different order, only slightly connected with the international system of Western Asia. Elam contended for the palm of supremacy with Assyria and Babylon in the farther east, as Egypt did to the southwest. Before the time of Abraham Elamite kings ruled over Chaldea, and Genesis 14:1-24 tells us how Chedorlaomer with his subject allies collected his tribute in Palestine. Many centuries later, the Assyrian king Ashur-bani-pal (B.C. 668-626) conquered Elam, sacked the capital Shushan, and carried away many of the inhabitants into captivity. According to Ezra 4:9-10 , Elamites were among the mingled population whom "the great and noble Asnapper" (probably Ashurbanipal) settled in Samaria. When we begin to recall even a few of the striking facts concerning Elam discovered in the last fifty years, and remember that for millenniums Elam had played the part of a first class Asiatic power, we are tempted to wonder that Jeremiah only devotes a few conventional sentences to this great nation. But the prophet’s interest was simply determined by the relations of Elam with Judah; and, from this point of view, an opposite difficulty arises. How came the Jews in Palestine in the time of Jeremiah to have any concern with a people dwelling beyond the Euphrates and Tigris, on the farther side of the Chaldean dominions? One answer to this question has already been suggested: the Jews may have learnt from the Elamite colonists in Samaria something concerning their native country; it is also probable that Elamite auxiliaries served in the Chaldean armies that invaded Judah. Accordingly the prophet sets forth, in terms already familiar to us, how Elamite fugitives should be scattered to the four quarters of the earth and be found in every nation under heaven, how the sword should follow them into their distant places of refuge and utterly consume them. "I will set My throne in Elam; I will destroy out of it both king and princes- It is the utterance of Jehovah"; In the prophecy concerning Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar was to set his throne at Tahpanhes to decide the fate of the captives; but here Jehovah Himself is pictured as the triumphant and inexorable conqueror, holding His court as the arbiter of life and death. The vision of the "great white throne" was not first accorded to John in his Apocalypse. Jeremiah’s eyes were opened to see beside the tribunals of heathen conquerors the judgment seat of a mightier Potentate; and his respired utterances remind the believer that every battle may be an Armageddon, and that at every congress there is set a mystic throne from which the Eternal King overrules the decisions of plenipotentiaries. But this sentence of condemnation was not to be the final "utterance of Jehovah" with regard to Elam. A day of renewed prosperity was to dawn for Elam, as well as for Moab, Ammon, Egypt, and Judah:- "In the latter days I will bring again the captivity of Ealm-It is the utterance of Jehovah." The Apostle Peter { 1 Peter 1:10-11 } tells us that the prophets "sought and searched diligently" concerning the application of their words, "searching what time and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto." We gather from these verses that, as Newton could not have foreseen all that was contained in the law of gravitation, so the prophets often understood little of what was involved in their own inspiration. We could scarcely have a better example than this prophecy affords of the knowledge of the principles of God’s future action combined with ignorance of its circumstances and details. If we may credit the current theory, Cyrus, the servant of Jehovah, the deliverer of Judah, was a king of Elam. If Jeremiah had foreseen how his prophecies of the restoration of Elam and of Judah would be fulfilled, we may be sure that this utterance would not have been so brief, its hostile tone would have been mitigated, and the concluding sentence would not have been so cold and conventional. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan. Jeremiah 49:8 Dwell deep, O Dedan We do not quite know who these inhabitants of Dedan were, but in all probability they were some Arabian tribe or tribes. The text intends one of two things — either to inform these inhabitants of Dedan, that however deep in the cavernous rocks they should hide themselves, they would certainly be destroyed; or else it was a gracious warning to remove from Edom, strike their tents, and retreat into the depths of the wilderness, and so escape from the invaders. I. Let us take it SARCASTICALLY. It is as though the prophet said to these Edomites, and those that dwelt with them, "You think you never can be destroyed, for your city is situated in a rocky defile, where a handful of men can hold the pass. You suppose that the mightiest armies will fail to conquer you, and therefore you are very proud; but your pride is vain." "Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill:" though thou shouldest, make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord." That word has been terribly fulfilled, for the ancient rock-city stands as a wonder to all travellers, and when they ride through it, which is not often, for it is with great difficulty that you reach the place at all, they find the city standing, but the houses desolate, and without inhabitants. Edom is a perpetual desolation, because of her sins: 1. From the text I hear a cry, like the stern voice of Elias, to every profane stoner who thinks that he will ultimately escape the wrath of God. Thou mayest dwell deep, O transgressor, but God shall find thee out. Thou sayest, "How shall He reach me?" The hand of death has only to be stretched out, and thou art HIS captive at once: and a little thing will do it — the wind has but to pass over thee, and thou art gone. A drop of blood may go the wrong way, a valve may refuse to open, a vessel may burst, a band may snap, and there thou liest, beneath God's avenging hand, like a stag smitten by the hunter. Thou art dust, and a breath wilt scatter thee to the four winds. Thy spirit will be equally unable to escape from God. When it leaves this body, whither will it fly? 2. The same solemn warning may be applied to those who are self-righteous, and who think that they are forming a hiding-place for themselves You think that you will save yourselves by your works Ah! labour mightily; for hard must be your toil if you think to finish a righteousness of your own. In the very fire must you labour. You would make a dwelling for yourself as secure as the Rock of Ages? You had need build anxiously. I do not wonder that you are ill at ease. I wonder you have any peace, for the labours which you propose are more stupendous than those of Hercules! You would work miracles without the God of miracles! Vanity of vanities, all is vanity! 3. The same text, in the same way, might be applied to those who are hypocrites, and are practising secret sins while they yet wear the name of Christ, and are numbered amongst His people. Where are the deep places which can afford refuge to religious pretenders? Where shall liars conceal themselves? O hypocrite! it may be you have planned your sin so cleverly that the wife of your bosom does not know it: your scheme is so admirably cunning that you carry two faces, and yet no Christian sees other than that Christian mask of yours. Ah, sir! but you are a greater fool than I take you for, if you think you can deceive your God. Cast off your double-mindedness. "Cease to do evil, learn to do well," for it is time to seek the Lord, and may God grant you His effectual grace that you may do so at once, ere He condemn you to the lowest hell. II. But now we will use the text INSTRUCTIVELY, in which view, the first and natural sense would be, that the prophet warns the tribe of Dedan, who had come to live among the Edomites, to go away from them, and dwell in the depths of the wilderness; so that when the destroyer came, they might not participate in Edom's doom. It was the warning voice of mercy, separating its chosen from among the multitude of the condemned. 1. The people of God, like the tribes of Dedan, to some extent, dwell in Edom. Your business, your duty, is to come out from among them. "Be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing." Better go to heaven alone, than to hell in company. Better be true to God, with Abdiel, "faithful among the faithless found," than win the applause of the crowd by great liberality and equal inconsistency. More important still, however, is the separation of every Christian from worldly habits, customs, and ways. Wherever you are, dear friend, though you must be in the world, take care that you be not of it. Dwelt deep in the solitudes where Jesus dwelt — in the lonely holiness which was fostered on the cold mountain's side, and then shone resplendent amid temptation and persecution! Commit yourself unto no man; call no man master; lean on no arm of flesh; walk before the Lord in the land of the living, and so dwell deep, as did your Lord. 2. My earnest desire is that every saved soul among you may dwell deep, that is to say, that none of you may be superficial Christians, but that; you may be deep believers, well rooted plants of grace, thorough, downright, out-and-out Christians — that you may not only dwell in the Rock of Ages, but dwell deep in it. To this let me call your attention.(1) It is highly important, beloved, that every one of us should have a deep sense of sin, and a profound horror of it. Oh, to loathe iniquity and see with self-abhorrence its heinous character; for so shall we prize the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love which thought it, the blood which bought it, and the grace which wrought it out!(2) Should your convictions of sin be already deep, then seek to dwell deep as to your faith in Jesus Christ. The nearer to Jesus the more perfect our peace. The innermost place of the sanctuary is the most Divine.(3) So would I have you dwell deep an the matter of Christian study. An instructed Christian is a more useful vessel of honour for the Master, than an ignorant believer.(4) Above all things, and beyond all things, would I earnestly impress upon my beloved friends the need of deep living unto God. There is such a thing as flimsy living, in which you pray, and pray, — yes, but it is a superficial, routine exercise. Those who live only upon outward ordinances, and do not practise private devotion, and are not abundantly with God in secret communion — these do not dwell deep. Get to the roots of things. The gold mines of Scripture are not in the top soil, you must open a shaft; the precious diamonds of experience are not picked up in the roadway, their secret places are far down. Get down into the vitality, the solidity, the veracity, the divinity of the Word of God, and seek to possess with it all the inward work of the blessed Spirit. 3. If any inquire what are our reasons for bringing forward at this time such an exhortation as this, I will briefly answer them.(1) It is well for us to dwell deep, because trials will surely come.(2) Again, there is a necessity that you should dwell deep, for in these days many errors have gone abroad in the world, and many teachers of heresy and infidelity; and if you do not dwell deep, they will shake you terribly.(3) Dwell deep, for there are seasons coming when all your grace will be wanted. I have never heard of a man coming to mischief through having too much grace. Presumption brings a thousand evils, but holy carefulness brings very few, if any.(4) Dwell deep, because those who live near to God, and are substantial in godliness, are the happiest of people. The top of the cup of religion may be bitter, but it grows sweeter the deeper down you drink.(5) While this deep living gives a man more happiness, it also endows him with more strength.(6) Dwell deep, for you will glorify God most. The nearer you get to the sun, the brighter you will be. The nearer you live to Christ, the more like Him you will be. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Dwell deep F. B. Meyer, B. A. I. DWELL DEEP IN THE PEACE OF GOD. God's peace is so deep and blessed that it cannot be fathomed or explained; the fugitive into its sacred secrets cannot be followed or dragged forth to perish by the merciless pack of the wolves of care. Men of the world cannot understand that mystery of peace; but the believer knows the way into it, and makes it his hiding-place and pavilion. II. DWELL DEEP IN COMMUNION WITH GOD. Get away from the rush and strife around, and go alone into the clear, still depths of His nature. The Rhone loses all its silt in the deep, clear waters of Geneva's lake. A few hasty words of prayer will not avail for this. A day's climb is often necessary before one can reach the heart of the mountains. III. DWELL DEEP IN STILLNESS OF SOUL. Get within. God awaits thee there. Centre thyself. When the world is full of alarm and harassments, study to be quiet. The soul's health cannot be maintained apart from the observance of times of waiting on God in solitude. The great importance of perseverance in the exercise of prayer and inward retirement may be sufficiently learnt, says one, next to the experience of it, merely from the tempter's artifices and endeavours to allure us from it, and make us neglect it. ( F. B. Meyer, B. A. ) Deep dwellers H. O. Mackey. The plants which grow in the Alps are, as a rule, firmly and largely rooted. An authority on this topic says: "The roots of some plants enter so far into the gritty soil as to defy the tourist to bring them out, while others simply search farther into the heart of the flaky rock, so that they are safer from any want of moisture than if in the best and richest soil." So in many lives, the very strength and beauty of Christian character are a proof that the roots of the soul have struck deep into the everlasting truth and love, the granite truths of the Divine Being and attributes. "Dwell deep! O Dedan!" ( H. O. Mackey. ) Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in Me. Jeremiah 49:11 The compassion and beneficence of the Deity Hugh Blair, D. D. No subject is more open to general observation, or more confirmed by manifold experience, than the goodness of God. In Scripture it is most frequently presented to us in the light of compassion to the distresses of mankind ( Psalm 102:17 ; Psalm 10:17 ; Psalm 58:5 ; Psalm 69:33 ; Psalm 146:7 ; Psalm 22:24 , &c.). I. THE DISCOVERIES OF DIVINE COMPASSION WERE PURPOSELY INTENDED TO FURNISH TO US PARTICULAR GROUND FOR TRUST IN GOD AMID ALL THE VICISSITUDES OF HUMAN LIFE. Compassion is a principle which we all feel and know. We know that it is the strongest of all benevolent instincts in our nature, and that it tends directly to interest us in behalf of those who need our aid. We are taught to believe that a similar attribute belongs to the Divine nature; in order that, from that species of goodness which we are best acquainted with, and which we can most rely upon, we may be trained both to love our Almighty Benefactor, and, as long as we are in the practice of our duty, to trust to His protection amid every distress. Compassion to the unfortunate, as it is exerted among men, is indeed accompanied with certain disturbed and painful feelings, arising from sympathy with those whom we pity. But every such feeling we must remove from our thoughts when we ascribe an affection of this nature to the Deity. His compassion is such a regard as suits the perfection of the great Governor of the universe, whose benignity, undisturbed by any violent emotion, ever maintains the same tranquil tenor, like the unruffled and uninterrupted serenity of the highest heavens. II. SUCH DISCOVERIES OF THE DIVINE NATURE WERE DESIGNED, NOT ONLY TO ADMINISTER ENCOURAGEMENT AND CONSOLATION, BUT ALSO TO EXHIBIT THE PATTERN OF THAT DISPOSITION WHICH WE ARE BOUND, IN OUR MEASURE, TO IMITATE AND FOLLOW. That hardness of heart which renders men insensible to the distresses of their brethren, that insolence of prosperity which inspires them with contempt of those who are fallen below them, are always represented in Scripture as dispositions most opposite to the nature of God, and most hateful in His sight. In order to make this appear in the strongest light, He has turned His goodness chiefly into the channel of compassionate regard to those whom the selfish and proud despise ( Psalm 12:5 ; Psalm 10:17, 18 ). III. IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN LIFE INNUMERABLE OCCASIONS PRESENT THEMSELVES FOR ALL THE EXERCISES OF THAT HUMANITY AND BENIGNITY TO WHICH WE ARE SO POWERFULLY PROMPTED. The diversities of rank among men, the changes of fortune to which all, in every rank, are liable, the necessities of the poor, the wants of helpless youth, the infirmities of declining age, are always giving opportunities for the display of humane affections. ( Hugh Blair, D. D. ) The God of orphans and widows The Rev. J. Brown of Haddington, said that his epitaph might appropriately be: "Here lies one of the cares of providence, who early wanted both father and mother, and yet never missed them." Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart Jeremiah 49:16 On the deceitfulness of the heart, in the abuse of prosperity J. Jamieson, M. A. The words afford us the following doctrine, That worldly prosperity is often abused by the heart, as the occasion of self-deceit; or, that the heart often discovers its deceit in the abuse of prosperity. All that is intended here is to illustrate the actions of this corrupt principle in abusing prosperity. 1. By ingratitude.(1) Sinners receive all God's mercies with an unthankful heart. They sit down to their table and rise from it, they eat and drink like the brutes that perish; without considering, that whether they eat or drink, or whatsoever they do, they should do all to the glory of God. Many are the spiritual mercies which the unregenerate receive from God. He gives them His Word and ordinances, wherein the Bread of Life is exhibited. He warns them by His servants. He strives with them by His Spirit. They reject and despise the heavenly manna. Their souls loathe this light food.(2) Ingratitude is a sin eminently chargeable even against the children of God. When they are anxious for any mercy, they resolve, and perhaps solemnly vow, that if God will be pleased to bestow it, they will ever retain a grateful sense of His kindness. He condescends to grant their request. But often they remember not the multitude of His mercies, but provoke Him, like His ancient people, at the sea, even at the Red Sea. This conduct towards our gracious Benefactor is productive of bitter consequences. Our ingratitude for mercies received often provokes Him to deny us others which He would otherwise bestow, sometimes to recall those already given, and frequently, to blast them in the enjoyment. 2. By disposing us to make a God of our mercies. The deceitfulness of the heart, so violent is its opposition to the living God, works by contraries, and often by extremes. If it do not tempt us to despise His mercies altogether, it will excite us to put them out of their proper place. By either of these methods, although directly opposite, it gains its wicked purpose, in making us forget the God of our mercy. He will suffer no rival in thy heart, O Christian, for it all belongs to Him; and when thy love to worldly comforts ceases to be secondary and subordinate, it is an encroachment on His prerogative. Therefore must the usurper of the throne of God be cast down, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence. When precious comforts are thus converted into severe crosses, how great is the trial! There is a double bitterness attending it; not only that of the distress presently felt, but the painful recollection of the happiness formerly enjoyed. 3. By consuming Divine mercies on lust. The wicked ask that they may consume it on their lusts. They neither desire mercies, nor improve those which are bestowed, for the glory of God; but only as making provision for their inordinate or unlawful affections. 4. By ascribing their prosperity to some other cause than God. Even the Lord's people, from the prevalence of deceit, are in great danger of ascribing their mercies to some other cause than God, or to something besides Him. They will not wholly deny the praise to the God of their salvation; but they do not ascribe it entirely to Him. When they receive signal mercies from Him, they are apt to imagine that these are in some degree deserved by their holiness and integrity of conversation; that He could not justly deny them such tokens of His favour, when they are so faithful and diligent in His service. 5. By denying God the use of those mercies which He hath Himself bestowed. When, in the course of His providence, He confers on one a greater portion of common blessings than on another; it is for this end, that he may use them for His glory, and in the manner of laying them out, return them to the Lord. No talent is to be laid up in a napkin. According to the measure of temporal benefits received from God, we are stewards for Him. 6. By unsatisfied desires and immoderate longings for a greater degree of temporal prosperity. When the heart hath tasted of mercies of this nature, it is not satisfied; it craves more. If its desires be fulfilled, instead of being content with these, it flatters itself, that if such another mercy were bestowed, it would ask nothing further. But this only argues its deceit; for even though this be granted, it is still as importunate as ever. The more it receives, its desires are enlivened and enlarged the more. 7. By hardening itself under prosperity. No mercy whatsoever can leave us as it finds us. It must either prove a blessing or a curse. It will either have a mollifying, or a hardening influence on our hearts. ( J. Jamieson, M. A. ) Deceitfulness of pride Bishop Hall. How nimbly does that little lark mount up, singing towards heaven in a right line, whereas the hawk, which is stronger of body and swifter of wing, towers up by many gradual compasses to its highest pitch. That bulk of body and length of wing hinder a direct ascent, and require the help both of air and scope to advance his flight; while the small bird cuts the air without resistance, and needs no outward furtherance of her motion. It is no otherwise with the souls of men. Some are hindered by those powers which would seem helps to their soaring: great wit, deep judgment, quick apprehension, send about men, with no small labour, for the recovery of their own incumbrance, while the good affections of plain and simple souls raise them up immediately to the fruition of God. Why should we be proud of that which may slacken our way to glory? ( Bishop Hall. ) There is sorrow (as) on the sea; it cannot be quiet. Jeremiah 49:23 Life on the ocean W. H. Burton. That which was true of the cities spoken of in our text, is also true, though in a different sense, of every voyager on the sea of life. "There is sorrow (as) on the sea." I. SORROW AS ON THE SEA IS DIVINELY PREDICTED. Voyagers you all must be. Out on that wide mysterious ocean which is swept by storms untold, and which teems with dangers innumerable, you must sail. Many of you axe as yet but as landsmen lying in the docks. You are admiring your vessel, and putting on nautical airs, and wondering when you will be freed from the trammels of the shore. Some of you are just dropping down the stream, your breasts big with hope, and your imagination painting glowing pictures of the ocean life beyond. 'Mid the songs of the sailors, and the music of the passengers, bright visions are rising of sunny seas and blue skies, of mirth and boundless happiness. With all my heart I wish you God-speed. I would not unnecessarily becloud that fair prospect. May the sunbeams which begild the waves around you follow you abundantly. And yet, though at the risk of being charged with unkindness, I must warn you that "there is sorrow on the sea." I would not, I could not, prevent your sailing; but I must remind you of that which should not be always forgotten, that in life's voyage troubles will come. II. SORROW AS ON THE SEA IS UNIVERSALLY EXPERIENCED. 1. From the mutability of life. I have no wish to play the misanthrope, to paint you a leaden landscape under a lowering sky, where no break of sunshine ever comes to chase the shadows from an ebon sea. There is sunshine! Though all life has its clouds, life is not all sorrow. But while life's joys may be many and real, it will have its sorrows by reason of its changes. To-day the sea may he calm, and the sky may be without a cloud, but even while we speak the glass is falling, and the calm sea will soon be lashed into foaming fury, and the cloudless sky will soon be overcast with messengers of coming woe. 2. From the uncertainties of life. Which way to steer — what to do — whether to enter into this speculation or to avoid that transaction — how to meet this engagement, or how to be relieved of that responsibility — often drives men to their wits' end. Business goes wrong, markets are unsteady, panics are abroad, and fogs and thick darkness so enshroud the mercantile world, that with dangers and uncertainty everywhere around, the perplexed tradesmen often just throws up the helm in despair, and allows the vessel to drift whithersoever the current will take her. And in his spiritual voyage the Christian is not always free from similar sorrow. With the Psalmist, we have sometimes to lament that "we see not our signs." 3. The disappointments of life.(1) Think of life's friendships! Where we anticipated most consolation, there, in the day of our need, we were most bitterly deceived.(2) Look at life's prospects! You remember how hard you toiled to secure that position which you thought would consummate your joys, and be the very climax of your every earthly ambition. You remember how bright your prospects seemed to be. You know that towards the end everything was so apparently propitious that you never for a moment entertained a doubt of success. But you were disappointed l III. SORROW AS ON THE SEA MAY BE GREATLY MITIGATED. 1. A good ship. Let a sailor be persuaded of the soundness of the ship in which he sails, and "it may blow big guns" — he is comparatively at ease. We want similar faith in the grand old Gospel ship. We want the unswerving confidence which will inspire us ever to say, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation." Classed A1 for ever in the heavenly register, this "everlasting Gospel" can never fail. In this good ship millions have reached the "desired haven" in peace; on her deck millions are sailing thither now; and there is room for millions yet unborn. 2. A reliable chart. Without this a man may well be anxious. By what chart are you steering? Is it the Bible, or is it the "Age of Reason"? Blessed be God, we know whom and we know what we believe. 3. Sufficient provision. Lacking provision, what can the sailor do? There is often such "sorrow on the sea." Want often stares men in the face when they are far from port, and when they can by no possible means obtain supplies. This can never happen on board the ship of the Gospel. This vessel is stored abundantly with the choicest provisions of free eternal grace. ( W. H. Burton. ) The sea, a parable of human life W. R. Huntington, D. D. The ocean is, and always will be, so long as man keeps the faculty of imagination, a mournfully suggestive parable of human life. The restlessness of the sea, its constant alternations of storm and calm, its treachery, for ever deceiving us by false appearances, the atmosphere of mystery that broods over it, all these contribute to make it the natural symbol of man's condition here in this world. Take only one of those characteristics — mysteriousness. David had been visited by this thought also. "Thy judgments," he says, while pondering the strange confusion of good and evil in the world, "are like the great deep." The sea does suggest, with wonderful power, the mysteriousness of God's providence in the affairs of men. "Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known." The human mind is by nature prone to the misgiving that fate rather than providence orders the procession of our life. Events, so the temptation whispers, fall out according to an iron law of necessity. There is no loving Father who notes the sparrow's fall, and gives His children their daily bread; neither is there any blessed consummation, any final victory of the good over the evil towards which history may be supposed to move. These hopes are delusive; they rest on no foundation. The only thing of which we are certain is that effect follows upon cause in uniform succession, any given human life being as powerless to quicken, or retard, or alter the movement of this endless chain, as if it were only a tiny bubble molten in the fibre of the iron of one single link. This is what we understand by such words as "destiny," "fate." "necessity," and this is the idea which the sea, looked at as a parable, most easily suggests. You sit upon some rocky promontory and watch the incoming tide. You note how wave after wave dashes itself against the hard face of the cliff, and perishes in the act. You observe that every now and then a larger wave comes in, and seems to make a braver effort; but that also, like its predecessor, falls back and is gone. Meanwhile the general level of the water rises and rises, until a predetermined point is reached, and then, as gradually, the tide recedes, sure to return again as soon as a few hours have past, and to make its mark a little higher, or a little lower, according to rules which the astronomers wrote out long ago, which you might have found all calculated for you in their books before you started on the walk. Surely, if there be anywhere in nature a vivid emblem of the idea of destiny, it is here. And, if anything were needed to heighten the impression which the eye has already carried to the mind, the ear might find it in the monotonous, melancholy music of the breaking waves, a sound which possibly suggested to the mourner among the prophets his pathetic cry, "There is sorrow on the sea." What is the relief for a mind oppressed, weighted down with thoughts like this? "The sea is His, and He made it." "Have faith in God," said our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, when they found themselves in perplexity. Have faith in God. He who made the sea is greater than the sea. He who ordained the strangely tangled scheme of providence, is greater than His scheme. He who is responsible for the mystery of human life, holds the key of that mystery in. His hands. Do you ask for proof of this? There is no proof. If there were proof, Christ need not have said, "Have faith in God." Where knowledge leaves off, there faith begins. At the outer boundary of demonstration, belief lifts up her voice and sings. Do you say, Convince me that the idea of destiny is false, and that the idea of providence is true? No, I cannot convince, I can only, by God's help, persuade you; and yet, when once persuaded, you will be as certain as if you had been convinced; for what a man believes with all his heart, he holds as firmly as he does that which he knows with all his mind. "We know," says St. Paul, grandly asserting his faith in a doctrine the opposite of destiny, "that all things work together for good to them that love God." How did he know this? Had it been proved to him by strict processes of reasoning in which his keen intellect had been able to detect no flaw? Was that the ground of the confidence with which he spoke? Far from it. The foundation of his certainty was what he elsewhere calls the "assurance of faith." And who is the teacher of this glad faith? To whom shall we go that we may learn to believe that God is love? I know not, if not to Him who, standing once upon the deck of a tempest-tossed ship, rebuked the wind, and said unto this same sea, "Peace, be still." Did not He, the Redeemer, come into this world, and take our nature upon Him, and suffer death upon the Cross, for the very purpose of freeing men from the bondage of their fears, for the very purpose of breaking up this evil dream of destiny and enfranchising us with the liberty of the sons of God? Has He not made for us, as for Israel of old, a pathway through the dreaded sea, and having overcome the sharpness of death, has He not opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers? Well may He ask, Where is your faith? One who has done so much for us has at least the right to expect that we shall trust Him; having at so great a cost purchased us this freedom, He has at least the right to expect that we shall be thankful for it, and use it as His gift. ( W. R. Huntington, D. D. ) Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 49:30, 31 Dangers to the Church J. K. Campbell, D. D. What is called "Underground Jerusalem" is largely the space from which the stones were taken for the building of Solomon's temple. That space, according to Josephus , was afterwards honeycombed with passages, canals, and secret galleries, not for sanitary purposes, but as places of refuge for women and children in times of war. These passages were all connected with the forts and towers of the city, and were a secret means of escape when the city was besieged. When Jerusalem was surrounded by the Romans under Titus large numbers of the Jews fled for refuge to these underground hiding-places. Before the Romans knew of these hiding-places, they were often astonished, and sometimes startled, by seeing persons rising as from the ground and making their escape by the towers, when at length they entered the city, and had passed from Moriah to Mount Zion, they thought that their work of destruction was ended; but they only then learned that thousands of the Jews were living beneath the ground. It is alleged that more than a hundred battles were fought underneath the city, and that more than two thousand dead bodies were taken out of the tunnels and secret chambers of what is now called Underground Jerusalem. when the prophet enjoined the inhabitants of Hazor to flee, and dwell deep, he may have had some such invisible cities of refuge in view. But even in such hiding-places they were only comparatively safe. Their enemies often sought them, and found them, and put them to death. I. One of the dangers to which the Church is exposed in modern times is SHALLOWNESS OF THOUGHT. Many seem to be satisfied with as little of Christianity as possible. Shallowness of thought means want of heart, want of understanding, want of principle, moral purpose, and power. The Church can outlive pagan conspiracies, tyrannical laws, and cruel persecutions; but she cannot outlive thoughtlessness. "Dwell deep" may be regarded as synonymous with Solomon's injunction, "With all thy getting, get understanding." It means that we should get beneath the surface and find out the true meaning of things. We are to know things not as they may have been perverted, or as they seem, but as they are. who that is wise would estimate the value of a chronometer by its cases, or of a picture by its frame, or of a book by its binding? We would sooner expect a man to tell us all about the growth and development of a tree without reference to sunshine and showers, or the soil in which the tree was planted and in which it grew, than we should expect him to understand all about salvation without any reference to sin, or all about God without any reference to Jesus Christ. Things can only be known thoroughly and satisfactorily as they are studied in their proper connections. Take the letters of the most precious word you know, and transpose them, and they cease to convey thought to your thought. Separate the Old Testament from the New, or the first Adam, in his federal relationships, from the second Adam, and you will fail to understand one of the deepest doctrines of the Bible. But unite these as Paul does in his Epistle to the Romans, and you have the key to understand much of the great mystery of godliness. II. Another source of danger to the Church in these days IS SUPERFICIALITY OF CHARACTER. In the course of our voyage to America, some years ago, the motion of the ship was on some days very disagreeable to the passengers. She pitched and lurched and rolled Among the waves so constantly as to render it impossible for us to rest or be at peace

49:1-6. Might often prevails against right among men, yet that might shall be controlled by the Almighty, who judges aright; and those will find themselves mistaken, who, like the Ammonites, think every thing their own on which they can lay their hands. The Lord will call men to account for every instance of dishonesty, especially to the destitute. 49:7-22 The Edomites were old enemies to the Israel of God. But their day is now at hand; it is foretold, not only to warn them, but for the sake of the Israel of God, whose afflictions were aggravated by them. Thus Divine judgments go round from nation to nation; the earth is full of commotion, and nothing can escape the ministers of Divine vengeance. The righteousness of God is to be observed amidst the violence of men. 49:23-27 How easily God can dispirit those nations that have been most celebrated for valour! Damascus waxes feeble. It was a city of joy, having all the delights of the sons of men. But those deceive themselves who place their happiness in carnal joys. 49:28-33 Nebuchadnezzar would make desolation among the people of Kedar, who dwelt in the deserts of Arabia. He who conquered many strong cities, will not leave those unconquered that dwell in tents. He will do this to gratify his own covetousness and ambition; but God orders it for correcting an unthankful people, and for warning a careless world to expect trouble when they seem most safe. They shall flee, get far off, and dwell deep in the deserts; they shall be dispersed. But privacy and obscurity are not always protection and security. 49:34-39 The Elamites were the Persians; they acted against God's Israel, and must be reckoned with. Evil pursues sinners. God will make them know that he reigns. Yet the destruction of Elam shall not be for ever. But this promise was to have its full accomplishment in the days of the Messiah. In reading the Divine assurance of the destruction of all the enemies of the church, the believer sees that the issue of the holy war is not doubtful. It is blessed to recollect, that He who is for us, is more than all against us. And he will subdue the enemies of our souls.