Hear, and give ear. Don’t be proud, for Yahweh has spoken.
Parallel Translations
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Hear, and give ear. Don’t be proud, for Yahweh has spoken.
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Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
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Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud; for the LORD hath spoken.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 13:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 28:14-22 Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, you scoffers, that rule this people in Jerusalem: “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and we are in agreement with Sheol. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it won’t come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves under falsehood.’ ” Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily. I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message.” For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in. For Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim. He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his unusual work, and bring to pass his act, his extraordinary act. Now therefore don’t be scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, on the whole earth.
- Revelation 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Isaiah 42:23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
- Jeremiah 26:15 Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for in truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”
- Joel 1:2 Hear this, you elders, And listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
- Amos 7:15 and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
- Acts 4:19-20 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves, for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
- James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet shews here more fully what we have…
The Prophet shews here more fully what we have stated, — that so refractory was the temper of those with whom he had to do, that it was necessary to use various means to subdue them. And it was not in vain that he added this exhortation, which manifests indignation; nor was it without displeasure that he required a hearing, Hear ye, and give ear; be not lifted up, for the Lord is he who speaks Then we may hence gather, either that Jeremiah was derided, or that his words were disregarded by the Jews; for this is intimated by the words, For Jehovah has spoken; for were they of themselves persuaded, that he announced what God had commanded him, these words would have been used to no purpose. But we shall elsewhere see, that he was deemed an impostor, and that he was assailed by many reproofs and curses.
He therefore defends here his calling from their calumnies and reproaches, when he says, that God had spoken; for by these words he affirms that he brought nothing of his own, but spoke as it were from the mouth of God, or, which is the same thing, that he was the instrument of the Holy Spirit; and he said this, in order that they might know that they in vain contended with him, as the contest was between them and God. And on this account he says, Hear ye, and give ear; for he saw that they were deaf and torpid, and had need of many stimulants. He at the same time points out the cause and the source of evil by saying, Be ye not lifted up The cause then of their contumacy was pride, for they dared to quarrel with God. So also the main principle of obedience is humility, that is, when men acknowledge that they are nothing and ascribe to God what is due to him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 13:15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not…
Jer 13:15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
Ver. 15. Hear, and give ear.] Or, Hear and hearken, be not naughty. Here the prophet calleth upon them again to repent, and to that end to listen diligently, and to lay aside the highness of their hearts and the stoutness of their stomachs, since it is the Lord that speaketh. "The lion roareth; who can but fear?" {Amo 3:8} Repentance is the Removens prohibens, as being founded in humility, and wrought by the word preached. {Jon 3:4-10 Act 2:37-41}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God ordinarily subjoineth exhortation and counsel to his reproof,…
God ordinarily subjoineth exhortation and counsel to his reproof, if peradventure people will change their hearts and ways. Having threatened them, therefore the prophet speaketh to them, that they would yet hear, and that not formally, but
give ear; not exalting themselves against God, and nourishing a vain confidence or presumptuous hopes, and going on in their rebellious courses, despising him and others, who were but the Lord’s prophets and his messengers unto them. The word which we bring is not ours, it is the Lord that hath spoken by us.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Give glory to the Lord your God,.... By confessing…
Give glory to the Lord your God,.... By confessing sin unto him; by humiliation for it before him; by believing what he says, hearkening to his word, and obeying his commands, and living to his honour and glory; see Jos 7:19, especially by believing in Christ, the true God, and true Messiah, embracing his Gospel, and his ordinances:
before he cause darkness; before the Lord brings on the dark dispensation threatened, the calamity before spoken of; repent while space is given, before it is too late; so the Targum,
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"before tribulation comes upon you, and ye be like to those that walk in darkness.''
The Babylonish captivity may be meant, which was a dark day with the Jews, as is their present case, and which may be included; and it is applicable to any dark state of the church of God, such as may be now apprehended as near, through the spread of Popery, the growth of errors and heresies, the persecution of the saints, the slaying of the witnesses, the cessation of the Gospel ministry and ordinances for a while; which is that day of darkness and gloominess, that hour of temptation that shall come upon all the earth, to try its inhabitants; happy those that give glory to God by their faith in him, and by keeping the word of his patience:
and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains; or, "of twilight"; or, "of the evening"; or rather, "upon the mountains in the evening" (y); at eventide; at which time it is troublesome and dangerous travelling on mountains. These may design either the mountains to which they would flee for shelter, Mat 24:16, or those which lay in the way to Babylon, over which they should travel when carried captive; or rather the kingdoms of Babylon and Media, whither they should be carried, and where they should endure much affliction and hardship; it being usual to signify kingdoms by mountains; so Babylon itself is, Jer 51:25, perhaps there may be some allusion, as Sanctus thinks, to Babylon itself, which being situated in a marshy place, might be generally covered with a cloud or mist, and, together with the smoke of the city, might look like a dark mountain; and especially the hanging gardens in it looked at a distance like (z) mountains with forests on them. It may be applied to the eventide of the latter day, when many shall stumble and fall through mountains of difficulties and discouragements in the way of religion; of professing the pure Gospel and ordinances of it, through the prevailing darkness of the age, and the persecution of men; and to the evening of life, and the dark mountains of death and eternity, on which men may be said to stumble and fall when they die; and when their everlasting state will appear to be fixed as immovable as mountains; and there will be no more means of grace, of faith, repentance, and conversion, but blackness of darkness for evermore, outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth; wherefore, before this time comes, it behooves persons to be concerned for the glory of God, and the everlasting welfare of their souls:
and while ye look for light; prosperity and happiness, as the false prophets gave out they should have; or for help and assistance from the Egyptians, to whom they sent:
he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness; that is, the Lord, who would disappoint them, and, instead of having that relief and comfort they were promised, would bring upon them such shocking calamities, which would be as terrible as death itself, or at least as the shadow of death, and be like gross darkness, even such as was in Egypt, which might be felt; see Isa 49:9.
(y) "in montibus crepusculi", Montanus, Piscator; "montibus caecioribus intempesta nocte", Junius & Tremellius. (z) See Berosus apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 1. &; Contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 19. & Curtius, Hist. l. 5. c. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jer 13:15-17. Hear ye, &c. — The prophet proceeds…
Jer 13:15-17. Hear ye, &c. — The prophet proceeds to give them good counsel, which, if it had been taken, the desolation and destruction threatened would have been prevented. Be not proud — Pride was one of the sins for which God had a controversy with them, Jer 13:9. Let them mortify and forsake this and their other sins, and God will let fall his controversy with them. Give glory to the Lord your God — Glorify God by an humble confession of your sins, by submitting yourselves to him, humbling yourselves under his word, and under his mighty hand; before he cause darkness — Before he bring upon you the night of affliction, even his great and heavy judgments. Light is the emblem of joy, and happy times are expressed by bright and pleasant days. On the contrary, calamities and troubles are represented by night and darkness, when every thing looks melancholy and dismal. And before your feet stumble, &c. — Before the time come when ye shall be forced to flee by night unto the mountains for fear of your enemies. Or, more generally, before you find yourselves overtaken by the pursuing judgments of God, notwithstanding all your endeavours to outrun and escape from them. And while ye look for light — That is, for relief and comfort; he turn it into the shadow of death — Involve you in most dismal and terrible calamities, out of which you shall be utterly unable to extricate yourselves. But if ye will not hear — Will not submit to and obey the word, but continue to be refractory; my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride — Your haughtiness, stubbornness, and vain confidence; and mine eye shall weep sore, &c. — Not chiefly, nor so much, because my relations, friends, and neighbours are involved in trouble and distress, but because the Lord’s flock — His people, and the sheep of his pasture; are carried away captive — Observe, reader, that should always grieve us most by which God’s honour suffers, and the interest of his kingdom is weakened.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Be not proud - Both the symbols were of…
Be not proud - Both the symbols were of a nature very humiliating to the national self-respect.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain be not proud--Pride was the cause of their contumacy,…
be not proud--Pride was the cause of their contumacy, as humility is the first step to obedience (Jer 13:17; Psa 10:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 15. Hear ye, etc. — The earnest words of…
15. Hear ye, etc. — The earnest words of the prophet entreating attention.
Be not proud — Because pride would keep them from profiting by the humbling lessons he had given.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. be not proud] Do not refuse through self-sufficiency…
15. be not proud] Do not refuse through self-sufficiency to listen.
15–17. Let Judah beware while there is time
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The prophet bids them acknowledge Jehovah, by submission and obedience, before they are overtaken by the blackness of national overthrow. Otherwise (says Jeremiah) I will in silent grief witness your ruin.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) Be not proud.—With special reference to the besetting…
(15) Be not proud.—With special reference to the besetting sin of Judah, as described in Jer_13:9; perhaps also to the character of the symbols applied—the marred girdle and the broken jar—as being in themselves humiliating, and therefore a trial to their pride.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 15-19. An admonition to seize upon the only…
Vers. 15-19. An admonition to seize upon the only means of escape.
"Be not proud.
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It is difficult to see what those whom the prophet was addressing had to proud of; but it is certain that they were proud, and that thereby they were, more than by aught else, hindered from receiving the word of God. The inflated shape, the mean material, and the easily destroyed nature of those" bottles" to which he had likened them, as well as the arrogant boastful talk of the drunkard, whose doings theirs he predicted should resemble; both these comparisons show how vividly the prophet discerned in them this besetting sin of pride, and the ruin it would be sure to work them. Let us, therefore, note
I SOME OF THE REASONS FOR THIS EXHORTATION, "Be not proud.
1. The main reason which the prophet here urges is its antagonism to the Word of God. Now, such antagonism cannot but be, for:
(1) The Word of God despises what men most esteem.
(a) Their own moral worth. How high men"s estimate of this! how low that of the Word of God!
(b) Their own capacities. Man deems himself capable of self-support, self-deliverance, and self-salvation. The Word of God tells him he is utterly dependent on God for all things, be he who he may.
(c) The world its maxims, honors, wealth, etc.
(2) It esteems what men most despise.
(a) Such qualities of mind as meekness, forgiveness of injuries, humility, indifference to the world, great regard to the unseen and the spiritual.
(b) Persons who have nothing but moral excellence to recommend them, be they poor, obscure, and despicable in the world"s esteem.
(c) Courses of life which may involve "the loss of all things," so only as we "may be accepted of him.
2. Its other terrible fruits. Some of these are given in the verses following. It will not suffer men to give glory to God; it leads men into deadly peril (Ver. 16). It causes deep distress to those who care for their souls; it will end in their utter ruin (Ver. 17).
II How OBEDIENCE MAY BE RENDERED TO IT. Probably there is nothing but that threefold work of the Holy Spirit of which our Lord speaks which will ensure such obedience. Pride is too deeply rooted in the hearts of men to yield to any lesser force but:
1. The conviction of sin destroying all man"s self-complacency.
2. Of righteousness filling him at the same time with admiration of the righteousness of Christ, with despair of attainment of it, but with joy that, though he cannot have it in himself, he yet has it by virtue of his faith in Christ.
3. Of judgment destroying the supremacy of the world over his mind, and so delivering him from the temptation to its pride. This work of the Holy Spirit lays the axe at the root of the tree, and ere long hews it down. Let, then, this Holy Spirit be sought in all sincerity, and let his guidance be ever followed; so shall "the mind of Christ" be increasingly formed in us, and we shall learn of him who was "meek and lowly in heart," and so find rest in our Souls. C.
Vers. 15, 16. A demand for the timely giving of what is due to Jehovah.
It will be observed that the previous verses of this chapter set forth the doom of Jehovah"s apostate people by two very expressive figures. There is the figure of the girdle, marred and become good for nothing by lying so long in the damp recess of the rock. There is also the figure of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from those high in station down to the common people, every one of them become as it were a living wine-skin, filled with drunken fury, destroying one another and being destroyed. This figure, bordering on the grotesque, presents as impending a very terrible scene. But with the verses now to be considered there returns what we may call an evangelical interval. Though in these prophecies of Jeremiah gloom of necessity predominates, yet there are equally necessary intervals of light, intervals where the mercy of Jehovah is clearly revealed, and his never-falling desire that his people should return to him. There is, of course, practically, no hope for these people so far as their present social state is concerned. They will go on their own way; but to the last God will also make his appeal. Notice now the things which God asks for here.
I ATTENTION. "Hear ye, and give ear." These people have never really attended to the import of the prophetic messages. Either they have been totally indifferent or they have been irritated by some word they did not like, and so the complete message has fallen uncomprehended upon their ears. For instance, the why and wherefore of the prophet"s extraordinary journey to the Euphrates, they did not trouble themselves to consider. And it is plain from Ver. 12 how entirely they missed the meaning of the prophet"s saying respecting the bottles being filled with wine. The parabolic sentence was to them nothing more than mere commonplace. And of course, so long as attention was lacking, truth was of no use. There is an analogy between the receiving of truth and the receiving of bodily food. As food must be properly introduced into the physical system, so truth must be properly introduced into the mind, brought before the understanding of the individual, firmly grasped by him in its reality, so that it may become a real and beneficial element in the life.
II HUMILITY. There must be submission to the prophet as a proved messenger from God. Pride is going to be the ruin of these people. The prophet himself was humbly obedient to all commandments of God; why, then, should his audience be proud? The grandees of Jerusalem do not like to be talked to by the comparative rustic from Anathoth. The elders resent remonstrances from a man comparatively young. Those whose boast it perhaps was that they had never been in bondage to any man, do not like to hear of conquest and captivity. There is no getting at truth and right without humility. Because truth means, not only the reception of that which is true, but the casting out of the old and the loved and the often boasted of. It is very hard for a man to cut himself off from the past and show by a very different future how he feels the errors and follies of which he has been guilty. It is hard for the didaskalov like Nicodemus to go down from his chair and become a mayhthv , stumbling among the rudimentary principles of the kingdom of heaven.
III THE GIVING OF GLORY TO JEHOVAH. "Give glory to Jehovah your God." These people had been giving elsewhere what they reckoned to be glory, but which, so far from being glory, was indeed their own deepest shame. Glory of a certain sort they had plenty of, but they came short of the glory of God. They did not, in the conduct of their life, show a proper response to the wisdom by which God had created them as men and separated them as a people. By their present doings they were exposing the Name of Jehovah to insult and scorn from all round about. This asking for glory to be given was a request reasonable in itself. If a master is a good master, it is not right that his servant should act so as to make the master"s reputation suffer. If a father is a good father, it is not right for his child to act as if he had been deprived of all beneficial influences in the way of teaching and training. What is thought of a man who basely forgets his nationality and laughs at the feelings that gather around the idea of fatherland? And hence the Name of Jehovah was a name to be magnified in word and deed and every outcome of life on the part of his people. We ourselves must labor to praise God with our whole hearts. And more than that, we must live as those who show the power of God, saving us and lifting us into an altogether higher life.
IV THE GIVING OF THIS GLORY PROMPTLY ON ACCOUNT OF PERIL TO THOSE WHO REFUSE TO GIVE. The figure employed is that of a traveler on a journey. He gets into the wrong road, gets indeed altogether out of any proper road; but he persists in mere wandering, refuses to be warned, will not accept guidance back to the proper.path. He sees dangers, many dangers; but because it is daylight he manages to escape them. And now, as the darkness momentarily increases, the warnings also increase in urgency. When the darkness is fully come, where will he be. On the mountains, not able to take one confident step in any direction, lest it be over the precipice. Furthermore, in the case of a traveler, he has always this resort, that if darkness comes amid such dangers he can stand still till the return of the dawn. But here is the contrast in that the expected dawn will never come. This rebellious, God-dishonoring generation is virtually walking into captivity of its own accord. As far as it is concerned, it will look in vain for restoration. The restoration will belong, not to it, nor even to its children, but rather to its children"s children. Those who wander from God wander into a state where they are self destroyed, because the resources of which they boasted themselves have come to nothing. Glorify God, willingly, in the light, or you will end by glorifying him unwillingly, in the darkness. Think of what came to Herod because he did not give the glory to God. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for…
Jer_13:15-17
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
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Jehovah hath spoken: will ye not hear?
I. There is a revelation. For the Lord hath spoken.
1. The voice which we are bidden to hear is a Divine voice, it is the voice of Him that made the heavens and the earth, whose creatures we are.
2. It is a word most clear and plain, for Jehovah hath spoken. He might have taught us only by the works of His hands, in which the invisible things of God, even His eternal power and Godhead are clearly seen. What is all creation but a hieroglyphic scroll, in which the Lord has written out His character as Creator and Provider? But since He knew that we were dim of sight and dull of comprehension, the Lord has gone beyond the symbols and hieroglyphs, and used articulate speech such as a man useth with his fellow: Jehovah hath spoken!
3. Moreover, I gather from the expression in the text that the revelation made to us by the Lord is an unchangeable and abiding word. It is not today that Jehovah is speaking, but Jehovah hath spoken: His voice by the prophets and apostles is silent now, for He hath revealed all truth which is needful for salvation.
4. This revelation is preeminently a condescending and cheering word. The very fact that the great God speaks to us by His Son indicates that mercy, tenderness, love, hope, grace, are the burden of His utterance.
II. Since there is a revelation, it should be suitably received.
1. If Jehovah hath spoken, then all attention should be given; yea, double attention, even as the text hath it, Hear ye, and give ear. Hear, and hear again: incline your ear, hearken diligently, surrender your soul to the teaching of the Lord God; and be not satisfied till yea have heard His teaching, have heard it with your whole being, and have felt the force of its every truth. Hear ye, because the word comes with power, and give ear, because you willingly receive it.
2. Then it is added, as if by way of directing us how suitably to hear this revelation--Give glory to Jehovah your God.
(1) Glorify the Lord by accepting whatsoever He saith unto thee as being infallibly true. In all its length and breadth, whatsoever the Lord saith we believe; and we desire to know neither less nor more than He has spoken.
(2) We must receive the word, however, in a hearty and honest manner so as to act upon it. We must therefore repent of the sin which the Lord condemns, and turn from the way which He abhors; we must loathe the vice which He forbids us, and seek after the virtue which He commands.
(3) But we must go further than repentance and the acceptance of the truth as truth, we must further reverence the gracious voice of God when He bids us believe on Christ and live. He has couched that message of love in so blessed a form that he who does not accept it must be wantonly malicious against God and against his own soul.
III. Pride in the human heart prevents such a reception.
1. In some it is the pride of intellect. They do not wish to be treated like children. Things that are despised, hath God chosen, and things that are not, to bring to naught the things that are: that no flesh may glory in His presence. Oh, let none of us be so proud as to lift up ourselves in opposition to that which Jehovah hath spoken!
2. In some others it is the pride of self-esteem. It is a dreadful thing that men should think it better to go to hell in a dignified way than to go to heaven by the narrow road of a childlike faith in the Redeemer. Those who will not stoop even to receive Christ Himself and the blessings of eternal life deserve to perish. God save us from such folly!
3. Some have a pride of self-righteousness. They say we see, and therefore their eyes are not opened: they cry we are clean, and therefore they are not washed from their iniquity.
4. In some, too, it is the pride of self-love. They cannot deny their lusts.
5. The pride of self-will also works its share of ruin among men. The unrenewed heart virtually says--I shall not mind these commands. Why should I be tied hand and foot, and ruled, and governed? I intend to be a free thinker and a free liver, and I will not submit myself.
IV. Hence there comes an earnest warning. Give glory to the Lord your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains. Listen, thou who hast rejected God and His Christ till now. Thou art already out of the way, among the dark mountains. There is a Kings highway of faith, and thou hast refused it; thou hast turned aside to the right hand or to the left, according to thine own imagination. Being out of the way of safety, thou art in the path of danger even now. Though the sunlight shines about thee, and the flowers spring up profusely under thy feet, yet thou art in danger, for there is no safety out of the Kings road. If thou wilt still pursue thy headlong career, and choose a path for thyself, I pray thee remember that darkness is lowering around thee. The day is far spent! Around thy soul there are hanging mists and glooms already, and these will thicken into the night-damps of bewilderment. Thinking but not believing, thou wilt soon think thyself into a horror of great darkness. Refusing to hear what Jehovah has spoken, thou wilt follow other voices, which shall allure thee into an Egyptian night of confusion. Upon whom wilt thou call in the day of thy calamity, and who will succour thee? Then thy thoughts will dissolve into vanity, and thy spirit shall melt into dismay. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends. Thou shalt grope after comfort as blind men grope for the wall, and because thou hast rejected the Lord and His truth, He also will reject thee and leave thee to thine own devices. Meanwhile, there shall overcloud thee a darkness bred of thine own sin and wilfulness. Thou shalt lose the brightness of thine intellect, the sharp clearness of thy thought shall depart from thee, professing thyself to be wise thou shalt become a fool. Thou shalt be in an all-surrounding, penetrating blackness. Hence comes the solemnity of this warning, Give glory to the Lord your God, before He cause darkness. For after that darkness there comes a stumbling, as saith the text, before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains. There must be difficulties in every mans way, even if it be a way of his own devising; but to the man that will not accept the light of God, these difficulties must necessarily be dark mountains with sheer abysses, pathless crags, and impenetrable ravines. He has refused the path which wisdom has cast up, and he is justly doomed to stumble where there is no way. Beware of encountering mysteries without guidance and faith, for you will stumble either into folly or superstition, and only rise to stumble again. Those who stumble at Christs Cross are like to stumble into hell. There are also dark mountains of another kind which will block the way of the wanderer mountains of dismay, of remorse, of despair.
V. there remains for the friends of the impenitent but one resort. Like our Lord in later times, the prophet beheld the city and wept over it: he could do no less, he could do no more. Alas, his sorrow would be unavailing, his grief was hopeless. Observe that the prophet did not expect to obtain sympathy in this sorrow of his. He says, My soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. He would get quite alone, hide himself away, and become a recluse. Alas, that so few even now care for the souls of men! This also puts a pungent salt into the tears of the godly, that the weeping can do no good, since the people refuse the one and only remedy. Jehovah has spoken, and if they will not hear Him they must die in their sins. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Attention to Gods Word
I. How should we attend to it?
1. With reverence.
2. In faith.
3. Diligently, earnestly.
4. Intelligently.
5. Intending to be governed by it.
6. Prayerfully.
II. There is here an implied neglect.
1. Men are filled with other things.
2. They do not know its worth.
3. They do not apprehend the bearing it may have on their well-being.
4. They are not willing to submit to its teachings.
III. Why should we attend?
1. The dignity and glory of the Lord.
2. His wisdom and knowledge.
3. His beneficence, interest, and love.
4. He speaks to us of matters in which we have the deepest interest.
Learn--
1. To read the Bible regularly.
2. To treasure it in the heart.
3. To honour it in your life. (E. Jerman.)
Be not proud.--
Pride
I. Different kinds of pride.
1. Race pride--pride in ancestors.
2. Face pride--pride in outward appearance.
3. Place pride--pride in social position.
4. Grace pride--pride in godliness.
II. The warning. Be not proud--
1. Because we have nothing to be proud of.
2. Because it is abhorrent to God.
3. Because it is unlike Christ.
4. Because it is ruinous.
Apply--
(1) Some are very proud.
(2) Some occasionally.
(3) Some are bravely struggling against pride. (J. Bolton.)
The warning against pride
Many of the inhabitants of the valleys that lie between the Alps in Switzerland have large swellings, called goitres, which hang down from the sides of their necks, like great bags. They are horrible things to look at. And yet, strange as it may seem, the Swiss get to be proud even of these dreadful deformities. They look down with contempt on their neighbours who do not have these terrible swellings, and call them the goose-necked people. And so we see that pride is a sin into which we are all in danger of falling. And here we have Gods warning against pride.
I. Pride brings with it unhappiness. The fable says, that there was a tortoise once, that was very unhappy because he could not fly. He used to look up and see the eagles and other birds spreading out their wings and floating through the air. He said to himself, Oh, if I only had wings, as those birds have, so that I could rise up into the air, and sail about there as they do, how happy I should be! One day, he called to an eagle, and offered him a great reward if he would only teach him how to fly. The eagle said--Well, Ill try what I can do. You get on my back, and Ill carry you up into the air, and well see what can be done. So the tortoise got on the back of the eagle. Then the eagle spread out his wings and began to soar aloft. He went up, and up, and up, till he had reached a great height. Then he said to the tortoise: Now, get ready. Im going to throw you off, and you must try your hand at flying. So the eagle threw him off; and he went down, down, down, till at last he fell upon a hard rock and was dashed to pieces. Now here you see, it was the pride of the tortoise which made him so unhappy, because he couldnt fly. And it was trying to gratify his pride which cost him his life.
II. Pride brings with it trouble. We never can set ourselves against any of Gods laws without getting into trouble. Two masons were engaged in building a brick wall in front of a high house. One of them was older and more experienced than his companion. The younger one, whose name was Ben, placed a brick in the wall which was thicker at one end than at the other. His companion noticed it, and said--Ben, if I were you I wouldnt leave that brick there. Its not straight, and will be likely to injure the wall by making it untrue. Pooh! said Ben, what difference will such a trifle as that make? You are too particular. My mother used to teach me, said his friend, that truth is truth; and that ever so little an untruth is a lie, and that a lie is no trifle. Now Bens pride was offended by what his friend had said to him. So he straightened himself up, and said in an angry tone--Well, I guess I understand my business as well as you do. I am sure that brick wont do any harm. His friend said nothing more to him. They both went quietly on with their work, laying one brick after another, and carrying the wall up higher, till the close of the day. Next morning they went back to go on with their work again. But when they got there they found the wall all in ruins. The explanation of it was this: that uneven brick had given it a little slant. As the wall got up higher, the slant increased, till at last, in the middle of the night, it tumbled over and fell down to the ground. And here we see the trouble which this young man brought on himself by his pride. If he had only learned to mind this Bible warning against it, that wall would not have fallen down, and he would have been saved the trouble of building it up again.
III. Pride brings with it loss. The apostle tells us that God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. So if we give way to pride, we are in a position in which God is resisting us, and then it is certain, that we can expect nothing but loss in everything that we do. When we begin to love and serve God, He says to each of us, from this day will I bless thee. And are told that the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow. The way in which Gods blessing makes His people rich is in the peace, joy, happiness He gives them; the sense of His favour and protection which they have in this world, and the hope of sharing His presence and glory forever in heaven. But if we give way to pride we cannot love and serve God; and then we must lose His blessing--the greatest loss we can ever meet with in this world. (R. Newton, D. D.)
God glorified in the fall of pride
I. What is it which stops people from hearing the voice of God?
1. One form of pride is shame. Many kept from Christ because ashamed to come and give themselves up to Him. For fear of the paltry scorn, the momentary ridicule, the soul will risk eternity!
2. There is the pride of respectability and social position. Hold apart from religion, because in the one way all must go without distinction. Yet what can justify in a lost sinner any high and vain thoughts of self?
3. There is the pride that conceals a wound. Gods Word has stricken the heart; healing and joy could be had if we humbly go to God, yet hide the grief and unrest within, from man and Heaven.
4. There is the pride of self-righteousness. What say when before the Throne--that you were too good to accept the Gospel?
II. Human pride must effectually be broken down.
1. When pride humbled and man crushed, God speaks. What say? Give glory to the Lord your God. Your God still, though turned back on Him and grieved Him.
2. The contrite soul cannot realise its inability to glorify God. Broken down, powerless, self-despairing, cast yourself on His salvation.
3. There is a desperate alternative: that you will not hear. By and by your feet will stumble on the dark mountains. The day of disease will come; life will grow dim; the thin grandeur of a fading world will begin to pass away; all around the gloom will thicken, and on a dying world gross darkness of unrelieved despair will cover you. Then the last moment arrives; one terrified look for light, but in vain; the soul is carried away into captivity. (W. H. M. H. Aitken, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 falsely believing oneself to be important
arrogant
falsely believing oneself to be important
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he brings darkness
"he causes darkness to come." Here trouble and despair are spoken of as if they were "darkness." AT: "he brings trouble and despair" or "he cause great troubles to come"
before he causes your feet to stumble
Here a person is referred to by his "feet" to emphasize that he is walking. AT: "before he causes you to trip and fall as you walk" (See: Synecdoche)
twilight
early morning or evening when it is partially dark, when the sun is beginning to rise or when the sun is almost set
For you are hoping for light, but he will turn the place into a deep darkness, into a dark cloud
This speaks of goodness and blessings as "light" and of trouble and despair as "darkness." AT: "For you were hoping for light and blessings, but Yahweh will give you darkness and great despair--you will feel like you are surrounded by a dark cloud" (See: Metaphor)
for Yahweh's flock has been taken captive
This can be stated in active form. AT: "for enemies have captured Yahweh's flock" (See: Active or Passive)
for Yahweh's flock has been taken captive
Here Jeremiah speaks of Yahweh's people as Yahweh's "flock" because he cares for them like a shepherd cares for his sheep. This event has not happened yet, but it is written here as if it already has. This can be written in future tense. AT: "for you who are Yahweh's flock, your enemies will soon capture you" (See: Metaphor and Predictive Past)
translationWords
darkness
light
flocks
captive
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:15-16 Jeremiah pled with the people to listen and…
13:15-16 Jeremiah pled with the people to listen and not be arrogant, but to change their attitude. If they refused to acknowledge the Lord as the one true God of Israel, a terrible darkness would fall upon the nation.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.