19Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
20Should a man make to himself gods which yet are no gods?”
21“Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once I will cause them to know my hand and my might. Then they will know that my name is Yahweh.”
19 Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
20 Should a man make to himself gods which yet are no gods?”
21 “Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once I will cause them to know my hand and my might. Then they will know that my name is Yahweh.”
KJVKing James Version
19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
19 O LORD, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge, in the day of affliction, unto Thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: 'Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit.'
20 Shall a man make unto himself gods, and they are no gods?
21 Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is the LORD.
Isaiah 25:4(v19)For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when…
Psalms 9:16(v21)Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands.
Nahum 1:7(v19)Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
Psalms 83:18(v21)that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalms 115:4-8(v20)Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. They…
Show all 61 cross-references
Isaiah 2:2-3(v19)It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be…
Isaiah 37:19(v20)and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed…
Jeremiah 17:17(v19)Don’t be a terror to me. You are my refuge in the day of evil.
Jeremiah 33:2(v21)“Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it—Yahweh is his name, says:
Jeremiah 2:11(vv19–20)Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit.
Psalms 18:1-2(v19)I love you, Yahweh, my strength. Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and…
Psalms 86:9(v19)All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
Psalms 91:1-2(v19)He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my…
Isaiah 44:10(v19)Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?
Jeremiah 10:5(v19)They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for…
Jeremiah 10:14-15(v19)Every man has become brutish and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his engraved image; for his molten image is…
Amos 5:8(v21)seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for…
Micah 4:1-2(v19)But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be…
Habakkuk 2:18-19(v19)“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions…
Zechariah 8:20-23(v19)Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another,…
Galatians 4:8(v20)However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.
1 Peter 1:18(v19)knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your…
Exodus 15:3(v21)Yahweh is a man of war. Yahweh is his name.
Psalms 22:27-30(v19)All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you. For the kingdom is…
Psalms 62:2(v19)He alone is my rock, my salvation, and my fortress. I will never be greatly shaken.
Psalms 135:14-18(v20)For Yahweh will judge his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s…
Isaiah 36:19(v20)Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
Isaiah 43:3(v21)For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Isaiah 49:6(v19)Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
Isaiah 60:1-3(v19)“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness…
Jeremiah 3:16-17(v19)It will come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘the ark of…
Ezekiel 11:16(v19)“Therefore say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the…
Hosea 8:4-6(v20)They have set up kings, but not by me. They have made princes, and I didn’t approve. Of their silver and their gold they have made…
Habakkuk 3:19(v19)Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my…
Zechariah 2:11(v19)Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that…
Malachi 1:11(v19)For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my…
Acts 19:26(v20)You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying…
Exodus 9:14-18(v21)For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there…
Exodus 14:4(v21)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians…
Psalms 19:14(v19)Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer.
Psalms 27:5(v19)For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift…
Psalms 46:1(v19)God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 46:7(v19)Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalms 46:11(v19)Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalms 62:7(v19)My salvation and my honor is with God. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Psalms 67:2-7(v19)That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations, let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.…
Psalms 68:31(v19)Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
Psalms 72:8-12(v19)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before…
Proverbs 18:10(v19)Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.
Isaiah 11:9-10(v19)They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.…
Isaiah 32:2(v19)A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a large…
Isaiah 62:2(v19)The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name, which Yahweh’s mouth will name.
Jeremiah 3:23(v19)Truly help from the hills, the tumult on the mountains, is in vain. Truly the salvation of Israel is in Yahweh our God.
Ezekiel 6:7(v21)The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.
Ezekiel 24:24(v21)Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord…
Ezekiel 24:27(v21)In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak, and be no more mute. So you will be a sign to them. Then…
Ezekiel 25:14(v21)I will lay my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath. Then…
Galatians 1:8(v20)But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be…
Revelation 7:9-11(v19)After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and…
Psalms 144:1-2(v19)Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle: my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my…
Revelation 11:15(v19)The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and…
61 distinct cross-references across this passage (62 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv19–21What the Prophet has said hitherto might appear contrary…
What the Prophet has said hitherto might appear contrary to the promises of God, and wholly subversive of the covenant which he had made with Abraham. God had chosen to himself one people from the whole world, now when this people were trodden under foot what could the most perfect of the faithful suppose but that that covenant was rendered void, since God had resolved to destroy the Jews and to obliterate their name? This was then a most grievous trial, and sufficient, to shake the strongest minds. The Prophet therefore now returns to the subject, and obviates this temptation; and seeing men in despair he turns to God, and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, which was sufficient wholly to remove that stumbling — block, which I have mentioned respecting the apostasy and ruin of the chosen people. We now perceive the Prophet’s meaning.
When any one reads the whole chapter, he may think that Jeremiah abruptly turns to address God; but what I have stated ought to be borne in mind, for his purpose was to fortify himself and the faithful against the thought I have mentioned, which would have otherwise shaken the faith of them all. And he shews what is best to be done in a troubled and dark state of things, for Satan hunts for nothing more than to involve us in various and intricate disputes, and he is an acute disputant, yea, and a sophist; we are also very ready to receive what he may suggest, and thus it happens that the thoughts which we either attain ourselves or too readily receive when offered by the artifice of Satan, often overwhelm us. There is then no better remedy than to break off such disputes and to turn our eyes and all our thoughts to God. This the Prophet did when he said, O Jehovah, to thee shall the Gentiles come
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We now see that Jeremiah sets the conversion of the Gentiles in opposition to the destruction which he had before denounced; for the truth of God and his mercy were so connected with the salvation of the chosen people, that their destruction seemed to obliterate them. Therefore the Prophet sets forth in opposition to this the conversion of the Gentiles, as though he had said, “Though the race of Abraham perishes, yet God’s covenant fails not, nor is there any diminution of his grace, for he will convert all the Gentiles to himself.” If any one objects and says, that though the Gentiles be converted, yet the covenant of God could not have been valid and perpetual, except the posterity of Abraham were heirs of that grace which God had promised to him. To this there is a ready answer, for when God turned the Gentiles to himself he was mindful of his promise, so as to gather a Church to himself both from the Jews and the Gentiles, as we also know that Christ came to proclaim peace to those afar off and to them who were nigh, according to what Paul teaches. (Ephesians 2:17) Jeremiah then includes in the calling of the Gentiles what is said elsewhere,
“A remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 9:5)
It is an argument from the greater to the less; “God will not retain a few men only, but will gather to himself those who now seem dispersed through the whole world; much more then shall all those of the race of Abraham, who are chosen by God, be saved; and though the great body of the people perish, yet the Lord, who knows his own people, will not suffer them to perish even in the worst state of things.”
But as the struggle was difficult, he calls God his strength, and fortress, and refuge. He says עזי ומעזי ozi vemozi, ma force et forteresse, for the two words come from the same root, and we cannot in Latin thus fitly translate them. He then calls God his strength and his fortress, but both words are derived from a verb which means to be strong. He then adds, my refuge in the day of affliction We here see that God according to circumstances is adorned with names, such as are fit to give us confidence, and as it were to arm us for the purpose of sustaining all the assaults of temptations, for there was not sufficient force and power in that plain declaration, “O Jehovah, the Gentiles shall come to thee,” but as the Prophet was reduced to the greatest straits, and, as I have said, his faith nmst have been greatly tried, he calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the day of affliction; as though he had said, “Now is the time when I find how necessary is thy protection, thy strength, thy power; for though my present miseries, and the approaching ruin dishearten me, yet thou wilt be to me a refuge.”
But he says, that the Gentiles would come from the ends of the earth A contrast is to be observed here also; for the Jews at first worshipped God, as it were in an obscure corner; but he says, “When that land shall cast out its inhabitants, all nations shall come, not only from neighboring countries, but also from the extremities of the earth.” He adds, that the Gentiles would say, surely falsehood leave our fathers possessed; it was vanity, there was nothing profitable in them To possess, here means the same as to inherit; for we know that one’s own inheritance is valuable to him; and men are as it were fixed in their farms and fields. As then the Gentiles, before they were enlightened, thought their chief happiness to be in their superstitions, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they possessed falsehood, as though it was said, “Our fathers thought themselves blessed and happy when they worshipped idols and their own inventions.” It was therefore their heritage, that is, they thought nothing better or more to be desired than to embrace their idols and their errors; but it was falsehood, he says, that is, when they thought that they had a glorious inheritance it was only a foolish imagination; it was, in short, vanity, and there was nothing useful or profitable in them. This confession proves the conversion of the Gentiles by external evidences. When we offend God, not only secretly, but also by bad examples, repentance requires confession. Hence the Prophet shews a change in the Gentiles, for they would of themselves acknowledge that their fathers had been deceived by superstitions; for while they thought that they were acting rightly, they were only under the influence of inusions and fascinations.
But it is not to be doubted but that the Prophet here indirectly condemns the Jews, because they had not departed from the sins of their fathers, though they had been often admonished. The Gentiles then shall come, and the ignorance of their fathers shall not prevent them from confessing that they and their fathers were guilty before God. Since then the hinderance which from deliberate wickedness held fast the Jews, would not prevail with the Gentiles, it appeared evident how great was the contumacy of the people, who could not be persuaded to forsake the bad examples of their fathers. We now understand what the Prophet means, and for what purpose he introduced this prayer. It follows —
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.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv19, 21He wondereth at the great mercy of God in…
He wondereth at the great mercy of God in this deliverance, which shall not only extend to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.
Our fathers were most vile idolaters, therefore it cometh only of God’s mercy, that he performeth his promise, and hath not utterly cast us off.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress,…
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.
Ver. 19. My refuge.] Better than those of the fugitive Jews, out of which they were hunted and murdered.
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The Gentiles shall come to thee.] By faith and repentance.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv19–21The prophet hearing God’s resolution, before he showed this…
The prophet hearing God’s resolution, before he showed this people any mercy, to be avenged on them for their sins, leaves off speaking to him upon that argument; but applieth himself to God for mercy for himself, and, to confirm his faith in him, gives him names suited to his hopes in him, and which might declare his faith in him for the obtaining favour from him in an evil day; and comforteth himself with the thoughts of those good days that were coming, when not only the Jews should be again restored to their country, but the
Gentiles also from all parts of the world (whom also many of the Jews should accompany) should apply themselves to God, confessing that both they and their fathers, in their worshipping dumb idols, had but inherited lies and vanity, and things that were unprofitable.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv19–20Shall a man make gods unto himself,.... Can a…
Shall a man make gods unto himself,.... Can a man make his own gods? a poor, weak, mortal man? can he make gods of gold, silver, brass, wood, or stone? can he put deity into them? and when he has made images of these, can he be so stupid as to account them gods, and worship them? can he be so sottish, and void of understanding, as to imagine that anything that is made by himself or any other, can be God?
and they are no gods; that are made by men; he only is the true God, that is the Maker and Creator of all things; or they are no gods themselves that pretend to make them, and therefore how should they make gods? can they give that which they have not? or impart deity to others which they have not themselves? These words are a continuation of the speech of the Gentiles, and contain their reasonings, exposing the folly of their idolatrous ancestors: though some take them to be the words of God, or of the prophet, inveighing against the Jews for their stupidity in worshipping idols; when the Gentiles were convinced of the folly and vanity of such practices, and acknowledged it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v21Therefore - Because all the mercy I have shewed…
Therefore - Because all the mercy I have shewed them, will not learn them to know my might, I will once for all make them to understand it, by the dreadful strokes of my vengeance. And - They shall know that my name is Jehovah; that I am not such a one as their idols, but one who have my being from myself, and give life and being to all other things, and have all might and power in my hand, and can do whatsoever I please.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Verse 19. The Gentiles shall come] Even the days…
Verse 19. The Gentiles shall come] Even the days shall come when the Gentiles themselves, ashamed of their confidence, shall renounce their idols, and acknowledge that their fathers had believed lies, and worshipped vanities. This may be a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles by the Gospel of Christ; if so, it is a light amidst much darkness. In such dismal accounts there is need of some gracious promise relative to an amended state of the world.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv19, 21Jer 16:19-20. O Lord, my strength — To support…
Jer 16:19-20. O Lord, my strength — To support and comfort me; my fortress — To protect and shelter me; and my refuge in the day of affliction — To whom I may flee for deliverance and consolation; the Gentiles, the nations, shall come to thee from the ends of the earth — The prophet, shocked at the apostacy of Israel, and concerned for God’s honour, here comforts himself by looking forward to the time when even the Gentiles themselves should become sensible of the absurdity of their hereditary idolatry, and be converted to the acknowledgment of the one living and true God: and this remarkable and desirable event he predicts, the more emphatically to demonstrate the unreasonableness and folly of forsaking him for idols. And shall say — That is, the Gentiles shall say, Surely our fathers, our ancestors, have inherited lies, vanity, &c. — And did not receive the satisfaction they promised themselves and their children; we are now sensible of the folly and deception of their idolatrous worship, by which they were cheated to their ruin, and therefore we will entirely and for ever renounce it, and in all our wants address ourselves to the true God as our only refuge and protection. Shall a man make gods unto himself? — Thus the prophet represents the Gentiles, when enlightened by the truth, as reasoning with themselves. Shall a man be so ignorant and foolish; so perfectly void of reason and discernment, as to make gods to himself, the creatures of his own fancy, the work of his own hands, which are really no gods? Can a man be so infatuated, so entirely lost to human understanding, as to expect any divine blessing or favour from that which pretends to no divinity but what it first received from him? Observe, reader, that reformation is likely to be sincere and durable which results from a rational conviction of the gross absurdity which there is in sin, and the service of Satan.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v21This once - Whether we consider the greatness of…
This once - Whether we consider the greatness of the national disgrace and suffering caused by it, or its effect upon the mind of the Jews, the burning of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, followed by the captivity of the people at Babylon, stands out as the greatest manifestation of God’s “hand” in all His dealings with them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Them. After the captivity many were converted, Esther viii.,…
Them. After the captivity many were converted, Esther viii., and 1 Esdras vi. 21. Edom was forced to receive circumcision. But this was nothing in comparison with the crowds which embraced the gospel.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv19–21The result of God's judgments on the Jews will…
The result of God's judgments on the Jews will be that both the Jews when restored, and the Gentiles who have witnessed those judgments, shall renounce idolatry for the worship of Jehovah. Fulfilled partly at the return from Babylon, after which the Jews entirely renounced idols, and many proselytes were gathered in from the Gentiles, but not to be realized in its fulness till the final restoration of Israel (Isa. 2:1-17).
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv19, 2119. Lord, my strength… fortress… refuge — Mark the…
19. Lord, my strength… fortress… refuge — Mark the expressiveness of these epithets for a lone, weak, unprotected man. Out of the prophet’s own need comes a more vivid realization of God. In this concluding portion of the chapter we have Jeremiah’s prophetical prayer for the heathen, and God’s answer thereto. So vain and so corrupt is idolatry that even the heathen themselves shall repudiate their foul inheritance.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv19, 2119. my strength, and my strong hold] The two…
19. my strength, and my strong hold] The two Hebrew substantives are derivatives of the same root.
vanity … no profit] See on Jer_2:5; Jer_2:8.
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19–21. See introd. summary to section. For the thought in Jer_16:19 cp. Jer_12:15 f. and for the interest felt by Jeremiah in the religious life of the heathen, Jer_2:11 a. Hence Co. with Gi. accepts the v. as genuine.
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv19, 21(19) O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.—The words…
(19) O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.—The words speak of a returning confidence in the prophet’s mind, and find utterance in what is practically (though the Hebrew words are not the same) an echo of Psa_18:2, or more closely of Psa_28:1; Psa_28:8; Psa_59:17; 2Sa_22:3.
The Gentiles shall come unto thee.—The sin and folly of Israel are painted in contrast with the prophet’s vision of the future. Then, in that far-off time of which other prophets had spoken (Mic_4:1; Isa_2:2), the Gentiles should come to Jerusalem, turning from the “vanities” they had inherited; and yet Israel, who had inherited a truer faith, was now abasing herself even to their level or below it. Israel had answered in the affirmative the question which seemed to admit only of an answer in the negative: “Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv19–21O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, etc. Jeremiah…
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, etc. Jeremiah falls into the tone of the psalmists. (Psa_18:2 Psa_28:8 Psa_59:17) All that is choicest and most permanent in Old Testament religion finds its adequate lyric expression in the Book of Psalms. The Gentiles shall some unto thee. The article, however, is not expressed. "Nations." i.e. a crowd of peoples, hither to ignorant of the true God, shall hasten to the scene of Jehovah"s great interposition; they have been convinced by Israel"s unlooked-for restoration of the unique divinity of Jehovah.
Vers. 19-21. God revealed to the heathen by his judgment on his people.
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I GOD IS REVEALED IN JUDGMENT. Blessings reveal God"s love; judgments, his righteous power. They who ignore the perennial tokens of God"s loving-kindness may be roused by startling manifestations of his justice. The judgments which fall on the professed people of God are the most striking proofs of his unflinching and impartial justice.
II THE HEATHEN MAY LEARN THE LESSONS WHICH ARE LOST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. The heathen seem to be here described as returning to God before the Jews. Nothing is so blinding as sin against light. The publican repents before the Pharisee. Worldly men are more ready to receive religious impressions than people who were once religious and have fallen away.
III THE REVELATION OF GOD VOUCHSAFED TO THE SPIRITUAL-MINDED IS HIGHER THAN THE REVELATION MADE TO THE HEATHEN IN JUDGMENT. The latter is grand and striking, but it does not open up the choicer stores of the knowledge of God. Jeremiah prizes these. To him God is a Strength, Fortress, and Refuge. God is not a mere Judge. He is a gracious Father, and this is his chief character. He is a strength actively saving and inspiring energy; a Fortress protecting us when attacked in the hard battle of life; and a Refuge in the clay of affliction, affording solace to his sorrowing children. God"s people enjoy personal relations with him very different from those of men who simply recognize the terrible presence of God in judgment. Thus Jeremiah says, "My Strength," etc.
Vers. 19-21. The heathen turning to the true God.
The prophet, disappointed and broken-hearted, is driven to Jehovah for his own comfort and support. We see here how much it cost him to speak the words he had to utter. Every true minister of Christ must feel in the same manner when he has to deal with hardened sinners, and to become the mouthpiece of Divine warnings and threats. The soul that stands up for righteousness will often find itself without sympathy and alone amongst unbelieving men. Prayer is the refuge that is ever open in such hours. An extremity like this is of all others God"s opportunity. Like Elijah in the wilderness, he will receive unexpected succor. He will live, not on bread, but on words and revelations of God. To Jeremiah was given this vision.
I WHILST JEHOVAH IS DESERTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE THE HEATHEN WILL SEEK HIM. There is a law of displacement visible in God"s dealings with his Church from age to age. Like the man in the parable, who prepared the feast and bade many, he is determined that his house shall be filled.
1. In this way God shows his people that he does not specially need them. His favor depends upon their faithfulness; if they fail he has others to supply, their place. His election is no blind favoritism or arbitrary distinction, but proceeds upon spiritual conditions.
2. Apostasy from God is due to imperfectly understanding him; but the heathen who turn to him do so with full experience of the effects of their idolatry. The vanity and nothingness of idols drives them in despair to the true God. Henceforth for them idolatry can have no power. It has been, as the Law was to Saul, a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. Lessons acquired in so stern a school are not soon forgotten; and the half-hearted disciple, led away of his own lusts and enticed, is supplanted by a steadfast and faithful convert. So every day is the Church of Christ being recruited from the ranks of those who have been the "chief of sinners." We cannot tell in what depths of degradation those may now be sunk who are to shine as stars in the eternal firmament. Let the individual Christian strive, therefore, to make his calling and his election sure. Let the Church see that iris candlestick be not removed.
II IDOLATRY IS A SYSTEM WHICH REFUTES ITSELF.
1. It disappoints the expectations which it has awakened.
2. The conscience at last revolts against the excesses to which it leads.
3. By-and-by the evident truism, that what man makes cannot be his god, is realized and acted upon. This process is going on today in the great seats of idolatrous worship, and the fiercest iconoclasts are to be found amongst those who have been brought up in heathenism. A similar process to this goes on in the lives of good men as they are gradually freed from the illusions of life and the ensnaring influences of worldly ideas and aims. The disappointments of life are so many waves casting us upon the shore of a heavenly life, and the general drift of earthly experience is in many and many an instance bringing men surely to God.
III FAILING A BETTER REVELATION, THE JUDGMENTS OF JEHOVAH UPON HIS OWN PEOPLE WILL SHOW THE HEATHEN THAT HE IS THE ONLY REAL GOD. This is not the way in which God would prefer to show men his glory and his power. It is by his saving grace he would commend himself to them. And the saints are the appointed teachers of the world. They could tell of his power and his grace, of their own deliverance. They could exhibit the blessings of a people whose trust is Jehovah. But, failing this, they would be made examples. The justice of God will take the place of his mercy, which has been abused. In its exceptional severity, its evident connection with and suggestion of supernatural agency, etc., it will attract attention and arouse curiosity. Israel, therefore, even in its calamity and suffering, will serve God. A vicarious virtue will lurk in its captivity, its desolation, and its persecution. God is dealing thus with the unfaithful branches of his Church today. The perplexities, entanglements, and griefs that are due to worldly alliance and secular ambitions and desires are well enough understood even by worldly men. Not from Eden, but from the wilderness to which she has banished herself, will the bride, the Lamb"s wife, be brought for her new espousals, and with her shall come, as virgins in her train, many who have been taught by her judgments and disciplines. M.
Ver. 19 Jer_17:3. The accusers of the ungodly.
The prophet appeals to
I THE ANTICIPATED CONVERSION OF THE HEATHEN. Ver. 19, "The Gentiles shall come," etc. These heathen peoples will declare the vanity of those idols in which Judah is now trusting. (cf. Mat_11:20-24)
II CONSCIENCE. Their sin was "written as with," etc., "on the table of their heart,". (Jer_17:1) Nothing could erase the memories they all had of their own grievous sin. It was written as if in rock, and as with a pen of iron and a point of diamond (allusion, probably, to the inscriptions on rocks, so frequent in the East,). What a witness is conscience! It cannot be silenced nor sophisticated. It keeps a man"s sins "ever before" him. "My sin is ever before me," said David. The writing of our sin on the heart"s tablets is so deep, so incisive, so clear, that nothing can destroy it. No storms will wash them out; no lapse of time obliterate and decay; no rush of business and occupation will fill up and conceal those deep engravings; no rough contact with the events of life will break them. There they stand, clearly legible, written on the tablets of our hearts our conscience as letters written by an iron or diamond pen on rock. To this evidence the prophet appeals (cf. our Savior"s appeal to conscience in the case of the accusers of the woman taken in adultery, Joh 8)
III THEIR WORSHIP. Not alone their conscience, but the horns of their altars, testified against them. These horns, smeared with the blood of their idolatrous sacrifices, blackened with the smoke of their altar fires, reeking continually with the fumes and smoke of their offered victims, these also were witnesses whose testimony could not be set aside. And what a witness against a man will the worship he offers the horns of his altar often be: its coldness, its carelessness, its infrequency, its insincerity, its formality, and sometimes its hypocrisy! Yes; the horns of the altar will prove swift witnesses against all who worship God otherwise than "in spirit and in truth.
IV THEIR CHILDREN. (Ver. 2) "They would never lose the impression of that horrible idolatry which had snatched so many from their midst. So deep was this impression that the mere sight of green trees and high hills was sufficient to refresh the hideous memory continually." Or it may mean that their children, retaining and practicing the idolatry of their fathers, are witnesses against those fathers such as none can set aside. Children may become the means of their fathers" condemnation. They cannot held testifying against them. In their memories, their habits, their very bodies, their sins, they will declare what their fathers were. Thank God, they can and do testify for the godly and righteous parents, as Timothy did of hits mother and hers. But how awful to think of having one"s own children brought forward as witnesses against us! Let ungodly parents ponder this.
CONCLUSION. With such weight of evidence against Judah, what wonder that her punishment was so severe! The sin of Judah, however, too much resembles, in its aggravation and in the evidence brought against it, sin of which we may be all too conscious. What can we do but turn to him who has said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit," etc.; and whose blood "cleanseth from all sin?" Blessed be God that we may do this; but "how shall we escape if we neglect," etc.? C.
Vers. 19-21. The confession of the idolatrous Gentiles.
I THE PROPHET"S DESCRIPTION OF JEHOVAH. God, he says, is his Strength, his Fortress, and his Refuge.
1. The way in which the deserter individualizes himself. To the prophet individually Jehovah has a satisfactory relation. So far as external sufferings and losses are concerned, the prophet cannot escape some share; but so far as concerns his most important interests, he is effectually separated from his fellow-countrymen. When the invader comes they lose everything; but just then the prophet will be able to say more than ever that Jehovah is his Strength, Fortress, and Refuge. What he has learned to value most cannot be spoiled by any human hand whatever, and so it is seen that each one of us may be in the midst of a perishing multitude and yet not of them. These people had long boasted of their resources, their securities, and their satisfaction in life. They had virtually said to the prophet, "What better are you than us? Though you speak differently and live differently, your end will be the same." But the end was not the same. The invaders took from the people all that was precious to them, and then it was made evident that what was most precious to the prophet remained secure and uninjured with him.
2. The necessity that the prophet should be able to say this. Strength, defense, and security for the individual even in the midst of a nation having none of these things was not only possible but necessary. In the last resort, no amount of strength in the community in which we live will do us any good. There may be strength of a certain kind all around, but that may only emphasize our own weakness. Suppose the position of Jeremiah reversed. Actually he was living almost a solitary believer amid a nation of unbelievers; and yet this was far better than to have been an unbeliever amid a nation of believers. There is no way to make God our Strength, Fortress, and Refuge, save by personal trust and obedience.
3. The sufficiency of that in which the prophet here expresses his confident. It is when we really address Jehovah, thinking of what we need and of what he is, that the feeling of an inexhaustible sufficiency will come to us. And this is the way one may come to speak who knows history, who has had somewhat in personal experience both of need and supply, and, above all, who looks heavenward, assured by a feeling of the heart which rises above all reasoning, that he is connected with One able to do exceeding abundantly beyond any conceivable need of man.
II THE ANTICIPATED CONFESSION OF THE GENTILES. The words here are words of strong contrast. The Gentile is openly mentioned, but the children of Israel are thought of at the same time.
1. The Gentiles are represented as coming to Jehovah. They have groped their way out of darkness and disentangled themselves from superstitions, while the very people whom Jehovah had brought to himself with so much power and patience, making their way clear and safe, would not inwardly come, even though they were outwardly brought. Their hearts were not changed with their changed circumstances. And it is a thing which cannot be too much remarked, that the Gentiles have long had an understanding, not only of the New Testament, but equally of the Old, which the children of Israel have been utterly unable to reach. And not only are these Gentiles to come; they are to come from the ends of the earth. God"s drawing power is felt everywhere. Jerusalem is the center from which light and truth in their great historical manifestations nave gone out. But God can make his center of spiritual light anywhere, according to the necessities of the individual and of the time.
2. When these Gentiles come they have a confession to make. They have to confess the utter emptiness and falsehood of their idolatries. They have, indeed, been taught all these things; sucked them in with their mothers" milk; but this makes their own turning from them all the more remarkable, for what a man is taught he too often clings to, just because he has been taught. It is to be further noticed that these idolatries have always had the same character. The conception is not of gods who once were strong and true, but who have at last come into dotage and are unable to help their worshippers. The lies that tend to deceive and ruin the present generation have actually deceived and ruined many generations before. And yet those things which the Gentiles show signs of forsaking Israel clings to with a mad persistency. Israel has chosen lying, vanity, and loss, and forsaken that great Jehovah whom their fathers inherited. The lesson is, not to value tradition for its own sake, seeing it may only hand down lies. A tradition is nothing unless it is something more than a tradition. There must be the personal experience of God, the personal reception of truth. Every man must come out of Egypt, cross the flood, and come to Sinai for himself. To every such one tradition will become invaluable; for of the things handed down he will know which to receive and transmit, and which to reject. Each of us who comes to reject intelligently and decidedly, courageously and openly a lying and empty tradition, at the same time weakens the force of that tradition just as far as our individual influence may extend. 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 Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v19O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.
Jer_16:19-21
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.
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What God is to His people
One of the Puritans was accustomed to describe prayer as the flight of the lonely man to the only God. There is such prayer here. This man is very lonely. He is like a speckled bird, set on by all the birds of the flock. He looks right and left, but there is no man to care for his soul; then he addresses himself to God in these touching words:
I. My strength. The Psalmist spoke of God as the strength of his life. The Apostle of love said that little children could overcome the world, because He that was in them was greater and stronger than he that was in the world. God is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
II. My stronghold. A stronghold is what holds strongly. A keep is that which keeps. We keep Gods deposit, which is His Gospel: God keeps our deposit, which is ourselves. And none, man nor devil, can snatch us away.
III. My refuge in the day of affliction. The night darkening the sky drives the chicks to the hens wings; so affliction drives us to God. In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. Do you wish to know Him thus? See that you do not burden yourself by your endeavours. Be still and know. Enter into the still and peaceful land of inward spiritual fellowship. Commune with your own heart. Be a child before Him, innocent, unaffected, unrestrained. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Safe from trouble
Travellers tell us that they who are at the top of the Alps can see great showers of rain fall under them, but not one drop of it falls upon them. They who have God for their portion are in a high tower, and thereby safe from all troubles and showers. (G. Swinnock.)
The Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth.--
Heathenism and its prospects
I. The confession which the Gentile nations are here prophetically described to make. Surely our fathers have inherited lies, etc. Need I say, that the produce of lies must be vanity and things wherein there is no profit? It may be granted, that if we only esteem things by the partial and short-sighted standard of this present world, falsehood may sometimes bring its gain; there are pleasures of falsehood and gains of falsehood. But then the pleasures of sin are but for a moment; the day is shortly coming, when falsehood shall be found as a rope of sand, as a quicksand on which any structure may have been based; and therefore if it be true that the heritage of the heathen is a heritage of lies, it follow that it is a heritage of vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
II. The purposes of God respecting these idolaters. You have here the repetition of Gods purpose. He is not satisfied with stating once, I will cause them to know, but He adds a second time, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that I am the Lord. There is a distinctness and a certainty upon this matter which is most refreshing to a humane and considerate mind. The intimation of this design is here presented to us as the distinct purpose of God. Therefore--since man admits that he has inherited lies, since he sees that he is destitute of any resources in himself, and since the allotment which father has given to son during many an elapsing century, since all the property that could descend from sire to son as ages rolled away was only falsehood, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit--since all that this accumulated mass of human skill and industry bestowed, was based on falsehood--now that the confession is made,--I will cause this people to know My hand and My might. And how was the hand of God to be known? Was it to be the hand of power, crushing to perdition the sinner whose heart was disaffected and his intellect degraded? No; He was to stretch out His hand to heal and to save. There is no power so great, and no power so beautiful in nature, as this hand of God, when it is stretched out to heal. There are needful accompaniments of this wonderful accomplishment of Divine mercy and love to man. There are the ministers of His Gospel. By the instrumentality of these human communications, does the Spirit of God act; and when therefore God says, And they shall know that I am Jehovah, it is meant that to these nations shall be sent the records of the Scriptures; that to them shall go the heralds of peace; that among them shall the voice of mercy be heard; that amidst their thronged population shall the accents of salvation come forth, from lips which He has touched with a coal from the altar, and made to be the bearers of kind sayings to their poor suffering and degraded sinners. This is Gods declaration.
III. The generous consolation which the mind of the prophet derives from this knowledge of Gods gracious design in favour of these Gentiles. O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction. When beat down by sorrow, when prostrate in calamity, when standing amidst the decay of national comforts, and amidst the manifestation of Gods righteous judgments, he turned for rest to God; God was his strength, God was his fortress God opened to him an asylum whither the wicked could not follow him, whither Satan could not follow him. (G. T. Noel, M. A.)
Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?--
God-making
Is not that impossible? From a certain point of view it is utterly impossible, and yet from another point of view it is the very thing men are doing every day in the week. Questions cannot always be answered literally. There may be a moral explanation under the literary definition. Who does not make himself gods as he needs them?--not visible god, otherwise they might bring down upon themselves the contempt of observers, and the contempt of their very makers; but ambitions, purposes, policies, programmes, methods of procedure,--all these may be looked upon as refuges and defences and hidden sanctuaries into which the soul would go for defence and protection when the tempest rages loudly, and fiercely. A subtle thing is this god-making. Every man is at times a polytheist--that is, a possessor or a worshipper of many gods. The Lord could never bring the mind of His people directly and lovingly to the reception of the One Deity. It would seem to be the last thought of man that there can be, by metaphysical necessity, only one God. There cannot be a divided Deity. Yet it is this very miracle that the imagination of man has performed. He has set all round the household innumerable idols which he takes down according to the necessity of the hour. He knows he is intellectually foolish, morally the victim of self-delusion, practically an utterly unwise and impracticable man; yet somehow, by force not to be put into equivalent words, he will do this again and again, yea he takes to himself power to fill up vacancies, so that if any clay god or imagined idol has failed him he puts another in the place of the one that did not fulfil his prayer. (J. Parker, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v21The Lord
The Lord
Or, JEHOVAH. Psa 83:18.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v19Yahweh, you are my stronghold
Yahweh, you are my stronghold
Here Jeremiah begins speaking to Yahweh.
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my stronghold and my refuge, my place of safety
Jeremiah speaks of Yahweh as a place where enemies cannot attack him. He repeats the same idea three times. (See: Metaphor and Doublet)
The nations will go to you
Here the word "nations" represents the people from the nations. AT: "The people from the nations will go to you" or "The people of the nations will come to you" (See: Metonymy and Go and Come)
the ends of the earth
This is an idiom that means the farthest places on the earth. By referencing both ends, it refers to everywhere in between. AT: "the farthest places on the earth" or "everywhere on earth" (See: Idiom and Merism)
our ancestors inherited deceit
Here the word "deceit" refers to false gods. AT: "our ancestors inherited nothing but false gods" (See: Metonymy)
They are empty; there is no profit in them
Here the words "They" and "them" refer to the false gods that the ancestors taught them to believe in. The two phrases mean basically the same thing, with the second explaining how they "are empty." (See: Parallelism)
Do people make gods for themselves? But they are not gods
The people ask this rhetorical question to emphasize that people cannot make gods for themselves. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "People cannot make gods for themselves. The things that they make are not gods" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Therefore see
"Therefore, indeed." Here Yahweh begins speaking. The word "see" adds emphasis to what follows.
I will cause them to know
Here the word "them" refers to the people from the nations. Yahweh repeats this phrase for emphasis.
my hand and my power
Here the word "hand" refers to power and authority. The two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize Yahweh's great power. AT: "my great power" (See: Metonymy and Doublet)
they will know that Yahweh is my name
Here the word "name" refers to Yahweh's entire person. AT: "they will know that I am Yahweh, the true God" (See: Metonymy)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv19, 2116:19-20 Jeremiah responded by worshiping the Lord for his…
16:19-20 Jeremiah responded by worshiping the Lord for his protection in times of trouble and his provision of salvation for people from around the world.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv19–21 What the Prophet has said hitherto might appear contrary…
What the Prophet has said hitherto might appear contrary to the promises of God, and wholly subversive of the covenant which he had made with Abraham. God had chosen to himself one people from the whole world, now when this people were trodden under foot what could the most perfect of the faithful suppose but that that covenant was rendered void, since God had resolved to destroy the Jews and to obliterate their name? This was then a most grievous trial, and sufficient, to shake the strongest minds. The Prophet therefore now returns to the subject, and obviates this temptation; and seeing men in despair he turns to God, and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, which was sufficient wholly to remove that stumbling — block, which I have mentioned respecting the apostasy and ruin of the chosen people. We now perceive the Prophet’s meaning.
When any one reads the whole chapter, he may think that Jeremiah abruptly turns to address God; but what I have stated ought to be borne in mind, for his purpose was to fortify himself and the faithful against the thought I have mentioned, which would have otherwise shaken the faith of them all. And he shews what is best to be done in a troubled and dark state of things, for Satan hunts for nothing more than to involve us in various and intricate disputes, and he is an acute disputant, yea, and a sophist; we are also very ready to receive what he may suggest, and thus it happens that the thoughts which we either attain ourselves or too readily receive when offered by the artifice of Satan, often overwhelm us. There is then no better remedy than to break off such disputes and to turn our eyes and all our thoughts to God. This the Prophet did when he said, O Jehovah, to thee shall the Gentiles come
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We now see that Jeremiah sets the conversion of the Gentiles in opposition to the destruction which he had before denounced; for the truth of God and his mercy were so connected with the salvation of the chosen people, that their destruction seemed to obliterate them. Therefore the Prophet sets forth in opposition to this the conversion of the Gentiles, as though he had said, “Though the race of Abraham perishes, yet God’s covenant fails not, nor is there any diminution of his grace, for he will convert all the Gentiles to himself.” If any one objects and says, that though the Gentiles be converted, yet the covenant of God could not have been valid and perpetual, except the posterity of Abraham were heirs of that grace which God had promised to him. To this there is a ready answer, for when God turned the Gentiles to himself he was mindful of his promise, so as to gather a Church to himself both from the Jews and the Gentiles, as we also know that Christ came to proclaim peace to those afar off and to them who were nigh, according to what Paul teaches. (Ephesians 2:17) Jeremiah then includes in the calling of the Gentiles what is said elsewhere,
“A remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 9:5)
It is an argument from the greater to the less; “God will not retain a few men only, but will gather to himself those who now seem dispersed through the whole world; much more then shall all those of the race of Abraham, who are chosen by God, be saved; and though the great body of the people perish, yet the Lord, who knows his own people, will not suffer them to perish even in the worst state of things.”
But as the struggle was difficult, he calls God his strength, and fortress, and refuge. He says עזי ומעזי ozi vemozi, ma force et forteresse, for the two words come from the same root, and we cannot in Latin thus fitly translate them. He then calls God his strength and his fortress, but both words are derived from a verb which means to be strong. He then adds, my refuge in the day of affliction We here see that God according to circumstances is adorned with names, such as are fit to give us confidence, and as it were to arm us for the purpose of sustaining all the assaults of temptations, for there was not sufficient force and power in that plain declaration, “O Jehovah, the Gentiles shall come to thee,” but as the Prophet was reduced to the greatest straits, and, as I have said, his faith nmst have been greatly tried, he calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the day of affliction; as though he had said, “Now is the time when I find how necessary is thy protection, thy strength, thy power; for though my present miseries, and the approaching ruin dishearten me, yet thou wilt be to me a refuge.”
But he says, that the Gentiles would come from the ends of the earth A contrast is to be observed here also; for the Jews at first worshipped God, as it were in an obscure corner; but he says, “When that land shall cast out its inhabitants, all nations shall come, not only from neighboring countries, but also from the extremities of the earth.” He adds, that the Gentiles would say, surely falsehood leave our fathers possessed; it was vanity, there was nothing profitable in them To possess, here means the same as to inherit; for we know that one’s own inheritance is valuable to him; and men are as it were fixed in their farms and fields. As then the Gentiles, before they were enlightened, thought their chief happiness to be in their superstitions, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they possessed falsehood, as though it was said, “Our fathers thought themselves blessed and happy when they worshipped idols and their own inventions.” It was therefore their heritage, that is, they thought nothing better or more to be desired than to embrace their idols and their errors; but it was falsehood, he says, that is, when they thought that they had a glorious inheritance it was only a foolish imagination; it was, in short, vanity, and there was nothing useful or profitable in them. This confession proves the conversion of the Gentiles by external evidences. When we offend God, not only secretly, but also by bad examples, repentance requires confession. Hence the Prophet shews a change in the Gentiles, for they would of themselves acknowledge that their fathers had been deceived by superstitions; for while they thought that they were acting rightly, they were only under the influence of inusions and fascinations.
But it is not to be doubted but that the Prophet here indirectly condemns the Jews, because they had not departed from the sins of their fathers, though they had been often admonished. The Gentiles then shall come, and the ignorance of their fathers shall not prevent them from confessing that they and their fathers were guilty before God. Since then the hinderance which from deliberate wickedness held fast the Jews, would not prevail with the Gentiles, it appeared evident how great was the contumacy of the people, who could not be persuaded to forsake the bad examples of their fathers. We now understand what the Prophet means, and for what purpose he introduced this prayer. It follows —
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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 He wondereth at the great mercy of God in…
He wondereth at the great mercy of God in this deliverance, which shall not only extend to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.
Our fathers were most vile idolaters, therefore it cometh only of God’s mercy, that he performeth his promise, and hath not utterly cast us off.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress,…
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.
Ver. 19. My refuge.] Better than those of the fugitive Jews, out of which they were hunted and murdered.
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The Gentiles shall come to thee.] By faith and repentance.
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 On vv19–21 The prophet hearing God’s resolution, before he showed this…
The prophet hearing God’s resolution, before he showed this people any mercy, to be avenged on them for their sins, leaves off speaking to him upon that argument; but applieth himself to God for mercy for himself, and, to confirm his faith in him, gives him names suited to his hopes in him, and which might declare his faith in him for the obtaining favour from him in an evil day; and comforteth himself with the thoughts of those good days that were coming, when not only the Jews should be again restored to their country, but the
Gentiles also from all parts of the world (whom also many of the Jews should accompany) should apply themselves to God, confessing that both they and their fathers, in their worshipping dumb idols, had but inherited lies and vanity, and things that were unprofitable.
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 On vv19–20 Shall a man make gods unto himself,.... Can a…
Shall a man make gods unto himself,.... Can a man make his own gods? a poor, weak, mortal man? can he make gods of gold, silver, brass, wood, or stone? can he put deity into them? and when he has made images of these, can he be so stupid as to account them gods, and worship them? can he be so sottish, and void of understanding, as to imagine that anything that is made by himself or any other, can be God?
and they are no gods; that are made by men; he only is the true God, that is the Maker and Creator of all things; or they are no gods themselves that pretend to make them, and therefore how should they make gods? can they give that which they have not? or impart deity to others which they have not themselves? These words are a continuation of the speech of the Gentiles, and contain their reasonings, exposing the folly of their idolatrous ancestors: though some take them to be the words of God, or of the prophet, inveighing against the Jews for their stupidity in worshipping idols; when the Gentiles were convinced of the folly and vanity of such practices, and acknowledged it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v21 Therefore - Because all the mercy I have shewed…
Therefore - Because all the mercy I have shewed them, will not learn them to know my might, I will once for all make them to understand it, by the dreadful strokes of my vengeance. And - They shall know that my name is Jehovah; that I am not such a one as their idols, but one who have my being from myself, and give life and being to all other things, and have all might and power in my hand, and can do whatsoever I please.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Verse 19. The Gentiles shall come] Even the days…
Verse 19. The Gentiles shall come] Even the days shall come when the Gentiles themselves, ashamed of their confidence, shall renounce their idols, and acknowledge that their fathers had believed lies, and worshipped vanities. This may be a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles by the Gospel of Christ; if so, it is a light amidst much darkness. In such dismal accounts there is need of some gracious promise relative to an amended state of the world.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 Jer 16:19-20. O Lord, my strength — To support…
Jer 16:19-20. O Lord, my strength — To support and comfort me; my fortress — To protect and shelter me; and my refuge in the day of affliction — To whom I may flee for deliverance and consolation; the Gentiles, the nations, shall come to thee from the ends of the earth — The prophet, shocked at the apostacy of Israel, and concerned for God’s honour, here comforts himself by looking forward to the time when even the Gentiles themselves should become sensible of the absurdity of their hereditary idolatry, and be converted to the acknowledgment of the one living and true God: and this remarkable and desirable event he predicts, the more emphatically to demonstrate the unreasonableness and folly of forsaking him for idols. And shall say — That is, the Gentiles shall say, Surely our fathers, our ancestors, have inherited lies, vanity, &c. — And did not receive the satisfaction they promised themselves and their children; we are now sensible of the folly and deception of their idolatrous worship, by which they were cheated to their ruin, and therefore we will entirely and for ever renounce it, and in all our wants address ourselves to the true God as our only refuge and protection. Shall a man make gods unto himself? — Thus the prophet represents the Gentiles, when enlightened by the truth, as reasoning with themselves. Shall a man be so ignorant and foolish; so perfectly void of reason and discernment, as to make gods to himself, the creatures of his own fancy, the work of his own hands, which are really no gods? Can a man be so infatuated, so entirely lost to human understanding, as to expect any divine blessing or favour from that which pretends to no divinity but what it first received from him? Observe, reader, that reformation is likely to be sincere and durable which results from a rational conviction of the gross absurdity which there is in sin, and the service of Satan.
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 On v21 This once - Whether we consider the greatness of…
This once - Whether we consider the greatness of the national disgrace and suffering caused by it, or its effect upon the mind of the Jews, the burning of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, followed by the captivity of the people at Babylon, stands out as the greatest manifestation of God’s “hand” in all His dealings with them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Them. After the captivity many were converted, Esther viii.,…
Them. After the captivity many were converted, Esther viii., and 1 Esdras vi. 21. Edom was forced to receive circumcision. But this was nothing in comparison with the crowds which embraced the gospel.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv19–21 The result of God's judgments on the Jews will…
The result of God's judgments on the Jews will be that both the Jews when restored, and the Gentiles who have witnessed those judgments, shall renounce idolatry for the worship of Jehovah. Fulfilled partly at the return from Babylon, after which the Jews entirely renounced idols, and many proselytes were gathered in from the Gentiles, but not to be realized in its fulness till the final restoration of Israel (Isa. 2:1-17).
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 On vv19, 21 19. Lord, my strength… fortress… refuge — Mark the…
19. Lord, my strength… fortress… refuge — Mark the expressiveness of these epithets for a lone, weak, unprotected man. Out of the prophet’s own need comes a more vivid realization of God. In this concluding portion of the chapter we have Jeremiah’s prophetical prayer for the heathen, and God’s answer thereto. So vain and so corrupt is idolatry that even the heathen themselves shall repudiate their foul inheritance.
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 On vv19, 21 19. my strength, and my strong hold] The two…
19. my strength, and my strong hold] The two Hebrew substantives are derivatives of the same root.
vanity … no profit] See on Jer_2:5; Jer_2:8.
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19–21. See introd. summary to section. For the thought in Jer_16:19 cp. Jer_12:15 f. and for the interest felt by Jeremiah in the religious life of the heathen, Jer_2:11 a. Hence Co. with Gi. accepts the v. as genuine.
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 On vv19, 21 (19) O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.—The words…
(19) O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.—The words speak of a returning confidence in the prophet’s mind, and find utterance in what is practically (though the Hebrew words are not the same) an echo of Psa_18:2, or more closely of Psa_28:1; Psa_28:8; Psa_59:17; 2Sa_22:3.
The Gentiles shall come unto thee.—The sin and folly of Israel are painted in contrast with the prophet’s vision of the future. Then, in that far-off time of which other prophets had spoken (Mic_4:1; Isa_2:2), the Gentiles should come to Jerusalem, turning from the “vanities” they had inherited; and yet Israel, who had inherited a truer faith, was now abasing herself even to their level or below it. Israel had answered in the affirmative the question which seemed to admit only of an answer in the negative: “Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?”
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 On vv19–21 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, etc. Jeremiah…
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, etc. Jeremiah falls into the tone of the psalmists. (Psa_18:2 Psa_28:8 Psa_59:17) All that is choicest and most permanent in Old Testament religion finds its adequate lyric expression in the Book of Psalms. The Gentiles shall some unto thee. The article, however, is not expressed. "Nations." i.e. a crowd of peoples, hither to ignorant of the true God, shall hasten to the scene of Jehovah"s great interposition; they have been convinced by Israel"s unlooked-for restoration of the unique divinity of Jehovah.
Vers. 19-21. God revealed to the heathen by his judgment on his people.
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I GOD IS REVEALED IN JUDGMENT. Blessings reveal God"s love; judgments, his righteous power. They who ignore the perennial tokens of God"s loving-kindness may be roused by startling manifestations of his justice. The judgments which fall on the professed people of God are the most striking proofs of his unflinching and impartial justice.
II THE HEATHEN MAY LEARN THE LESSONS WHICH ARE LOST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. The heathen seem to be here described as returning to God before the Jews. Nothing is so blinding as sin against light. The publican repents before the Pharisee. Worldly men are more ready to receive religious impressions than people who were once religious and have fallen away.
III THE REVELATION OF GOD VOUCHSAFED TO THE SPIRITUAL-MINDED IS HIGHER THAN THE REVELATION MADE TO THE HEATHEN IN JUDGMENT. The latter is grand and striking, but it does not open up the choicer stores of the knowledge of God. Jeremiah prizes these. To him God is a Strength, Fortress, and Refuge. God is not a mere Judge. He is a gracious Father, and this is his chief character. He is a strength actively saving and inspiring energy; a Fortress protecting us when attacked in the hard battle of life; and a Refuge in the clay of affliction, affording solace to his sorrowing children. God"s people enjoy personal relations with him very different from those of men who simply recognize the terrible presence of God in judgment. Thus Jeremiah says, "My Strength," etc.
Vers. 19-21. The heathen turning to the true God.
The prophet, disappointed and broken-hearted, is driven to Jehovah for his own comfort and support. We see here how much it cost him to speak the words he had to utter. Every true minister of Christ must feel in the same manner when he has to deal with hardened sinners, and to become the mouthpiece of Divine warnings and threats. The soul that stands up for righteousness will often find itself without sympathy and alone amongst unbelieving men. Prayer is the refuge that is ever open in such hours. An extremity like this is of all others God"s opportunity. Like Elijah in the wilderness, he will receive unexpected succor. He will live, not on bread, but on words and revelations of God. To Jeremiah was given this vision.
I WHILST JEHOVAH IS DESERTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE THE HEATHEN WILL SEEK HIM. There is a law of displacement visible in God"s dealings with his Church from age to age. Like the man in the parable, who prepared the feast and bade many, he is determined that his house shall be filled.
1. In this way God shows his people that he does not specially need them. His favor depends upon their faithfulness; if they fail he has others to supply, their place. His election is no blind favoritism or arbitrary distinction, but proceeds upon spiritual conditions.
2. Apostasy from God is due to imperfectly understanding him; but the heathen who turn to him do so with full experience of the effects of their idolatry. The vanity and nothingness of idols drives them in despair to the true God. Henceforth for them idolatry can have no power. It has been, as the Law was to Saul, a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. Lessons acquired in so stern a school are not soon forgotten; and the half-hearted disciple, led away of his own lusts and enticed, is supplanted by a steadfast and faithful convert. So every day is the Church of Christ being recruited from the ranks of those who have been the "chief of sinners." We cannot tell in what depths of degradation those may now be sunk who are to shine as stars in the eternal firmament. Let the individual Christian strive, therefore, to make his calling and his election sure. Let the Church see that iris candlestick be not removed.
II IDOLATRY IS A SYSTEM WHICH REFUTES ITSELF.
1. It disappoints the expectations which it has awakened.
2. The conscience at last revolts against the excesses to which it leads.
3. By-and-by the evident truism, that what man makes cannot be his god, is realized and acted upon. This process is going on today in the great seats of idolatrous worship, and the fiercest iconoclasts are to be found amongst those who have been brought up in heathenism. A similar process to this goes on in the lives of good men as they are gradually freed from the illusions of life and the ensnaring influences of worldly ideas and aims. The disappointments of life are so many waves casting us upon the shore of a heavenly life, and the general drift of earthly experience is in many and many an instance bringing men surely to God.
III FAILING A BETTER REVELATION, THE JUDGMENTS OF JEHOVAH UPON HIS OWN PEOPLE WILL SHOW THE HEATHEN THAT HE IS THE ONLY REAL GOD. This is not the way in which God would prefer to show men his glory and his power. It is by his saving grace he would commend himself to them. And the saints are the appointed teachers of the world. They could tell of his power and his grace, of their own deliverance. They could exhibit the blessings of a people whose trust is Jehovah. But, failing this, they would be made examples. The justice of God will take the place of his mercy, which has been abused. In its exceptional severity, its evident connection with and suggestion of supernatural agency, etc., it will attract attention and arouse curiosity. Israel, therefore, even in its calamity and suffering, will serve God. A vicarious virtue will lurk in its captivity, its desolation, and its persecution. God is dealing thus with the unfaithful branches of his Church today. The perplexities, entanglements, and griefs that are due to worldly alliance and secular ambitions and desires are well enough understood even by worldly men. Not from Eden, but from the wilderness to which she has banished herself, will the bride, the Lamb"s wife, be brought for her new espousals, and with her shall come, as virgins in her train, many who have been taught by her judgments and disciplines. M.
Ver. 19 Jer_17:3. The accusers of the ungodly.
The prophet appeals to
I THE ANTICIPATED CONVERSION OF THE HEATHEN. Ver. 19, "The Gentiles shall come," etc. These heathen peoples will declare the vanity of those idols in which Judah is now trusting. (cf. Mat_11:20-24)
II CONSCIENCE. Their sin was "written as with," etc., "on the table of their heart,". (Jer_17:1) Nothing could erase the memories they all had of their own grievous sin. It was written as if in rock, and as with a pen of iron and a point of diamond (allusion, probably, to the inscriptions on rocks, so frequent in the East,). What a witness is conscience! It cannot be silenced nor sophisticated. It keeps a man"s sins "ever before" him. "My sin is ever before me," said David. The writing of our sin on the heart"s tablets is so deep, so incisive, so clear, that nothing can destroy it. No storms will wash them out; no lapse of time obliterate and decay; no rush of business and occupation will fill up and conceal those deep engravings; no rough contact with the events of life will break them. There they stand, clearly legible, written on the tablets of our hearts our conscience as letters written by an iron or diamond pen on rock. To this evidence the prophet appeals (cf. our Savior"s appeal to conscience in the case of the accusers of the woman taken in adultery, Joh 8)
III THEIR WORSHIP. Not alone their conscience, but the horns of their altars, testified against them. These horns, smeared with the blood of their idolatrous sacrifices, blackened with the smoke of their altar fires, reeking continually with the fumes and smoke of their offered victims, these also were witnesses whose testimony could not be set aside. And what a witness against a man will the worship he offers the horns of his altar often be: its coldness, its carelessness, its infrequency, its insincerity, its formality, and sometimes its hypocrisy! Yes; the horns of the altar will prove swift witnesses against all who worship God otherwise than "in spirit and in truth.
IV THEIR CHILDREN. (Ver. 2) "They would never lose the impression of that horrible idolatry which had snatched so many from their midst. So deep was this impression that the mere sight of green trees and high hills was sufficient to refresh the hideous memory continually." Or it may mean that their children, retaining and practicing the idolatry of their fathers, are witnesses against those fathers such as none can set aside. Children may become the means of their fathers" condemnation. They cannot held testifying against them. In their memories, their habits, their very bodies, their sins, they will declare what their fathers were. Thank God, they can and do testify for the godly and righteous parents, as Timothy did of hits mother and hers. But how awful to think of having one"s own children brought forward as witnesses against us! Let ungodly parents ponder this.
CONCLUSION. With such weight of evidence against Judah, what wonder that her punishment was so severe! The sin of Judah, however, too much resembles, in its aggravation and in the evidence brought against it, sin of which we may be all too conscious. What can we do but turn to him who has said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit," etc.; and whose blood "cleanseth from all sin?" Blessed be God that we may do this; but "how shall we escape if we neglect," etc.? C.
Vers. 19-21. The confession of the idolatrous Gentiles.
I THE PROPHET"S DESCRIPTION OF JEHOVAH. God, he says, is his Strength, his Fortress, and his Refuge.
1. The way in which the deserter individualizes himself. To the prophet individually Jehovah has a satisfactory relation. So far as external sufferings and losses are concerned, the prophet cannot escape some share; but so far as concerns his most important interests, he is effectually separated from his fellow-countrymen. When the invader comes they lose everything; but just then the prophet will be able to say more than ever that Jehovah is his Strength, Fortress, and Refuge. What he has learned to value most cannot be spoiled by any human hand whatever, and so it is seen that each one of us may be in the midst of a perishing multitude and yet not of them. These people had long boasted of their resources, their securities, and their satisfaction in life. They had virtually said to the prophet, "What better are you than us? Though you speak differently and live differently, your end will be the same." But the end was not the same. The invaders took from the people all that was precious to them, and then it was made evident that what was most precious to the prophet remained secure and uninjured with him.
2. The necessity that the prophet should be able to say this. Strength, defense, and security for the individual even in the midst of a nation having none of these things was not only possible but necessary. In the last resort, no amount of strength in the community in which we live will do us any good. There may be strength of a certain kind all around, but that may only emphasize our own weakness. Suppose the position of Jeremiah reversed. Actually he was living almost a solitary believer amid a nation of unbelievers; and yet this was far better than to have been an unbeliever amid a nation of believers. There is no way to make God our Strength, Fortress, and Refuge, save by personal trust and obedience.
3. The sufficiency of that in which the prophet here expresses his confident. It is when we really address Jehovah, thinking of what we need and of what he is, that the feeling of an inexhaustible sufficiency will come to us. And this is the way one may come to speak who knows history, who has had somewhat in personal experience both of need and supply, and, above all, who looks heavenward, assured by a feeling of the heart which rises above all reasoning, that he is connected with One able to do exceeding abundantly beyond any conceivable need of man.
II THE ANTICIPATED CONFESSION OF THE GENTILES. The words here are words of strong contrast. The Gentile is openly mentioned, but the children of Israel are thought of at the same time.
1. The Gentiles are represented as coming to Jehovah. They have groped their way out of darkness and disentangled themselves from superstitions, while the very people whom Jehovah had brought to himself with so much power and patience, making their way clear and safe, would not inwardly come, even though they were outwardly brought. Their hearts were not changed with their changed circumstances. And it is a thing which cannot be too much remarked, that the Gentiles have long had an understanding, not only of the New Testament, but equally of the Old, which the children of Israel have been utterly unable to reach. And not only are these Gentiles to come; they are to come from the ends of the earth. God"s drawing power is felt everywhere. Jerusalem is the center from which light and truth in their great historical manifestations nave gone out. But God can make his center of spiritual light anywhere, according to the necessities of the individual and of the time.
2. When these Gentiles come they have a confession to make. They have to confess the utter emptiness and falsehood of their idolatries. They have, indeed, been taught all these things; sucked them in with their mothers" milk; but this makes their own turning from them all the more remarkable, for what a man is taught he too often clings to, just because he has been taught. It is to be further noticed that these idolatries have always had the same character. The conception is not of gods who once were strong and true, but who have at last come into dotage and are unable to help their worshippers. The lies that tend to deceive and ruin the present generation have actually deceived and ruined many generations before. And yet those things which the Gentiles show signs of forsaking Israel clings to with a mad persistency. Israel has chosen lying, vanity, and loss, and forsaken that great Jehovah whom their fathers inherited. The lesson is, not to value tradition for its own sake, seeing it may only hand down lies. A tradition is nothing unless it is something more than a tradition. There must be the personal experience of God, the personal reception of truth. Every man must come out of Egypt, cross the flood, and come to Sinai for himself. To every such one tradition will become invaluable; for of the things handed down he will know which to receive and transmit, and which to reject. Each of us who comes to reject intelligently and decidedly, courageously and openly a lying and empty tradition, at the same time weakens the force of that tradition just as far as our individual influence may extend. 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 On v19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.
Jer_16:19-21
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.
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What God is to His people
One of the Puritans was accustomed to describe prayer as the flight of the lonely man to the only God. There is such prayer here. This man is very lonely. He is like a speckled bird, set on by all the birds of the flock. He looks right and left, but there is no man to care for his soul; then he addresses himself to God in these touching words:
I. My strength. The Psalmist spoke of God as the strength of his life. The Apostle of love said that little children could overcome the world, because He that was in them was greater and stronger than he that was in the world. God is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
II. My stronghold. A stronghold is what holds strongly. A keep is that which keeps. We keep Gods deposit, which is His Gospel: God keeps our deposit, which is ourselves. And none, man nor devil, can snatch us away.
III. My refuge in the day of affliction. The night darkening the sky drives the chicks to the hens wings; so affliction drives us to God. In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. Do you wish to know Him thus? See that you do not burden yourself by your endeavours. Be still and know. Enter into the still and peaceful land of inward spiritual fellowship. Commune with your own heart. Be a child before Him, innocent, unaffected, unrestrained. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Safe from trouble
Travellers tell us that they who are at the top of the Alps can see great showers of rain fall under them, but not one drop of it falls upon them. They who have God for their portion are in a high tower, and thereby safe from all troubles and showers. (G. Swinnock.)
The Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth.--
Heathenism and its prospects
I. The confession which the Gentile nations are here prophetically described to make. Surely our fathers have inherited lies, etc. Need I say, that the produce of lies must be vanity and things wherein there is no profit? It may be granted, that if we only esteem things by the partial and short-sighted standard of this present world, falsehood may sometimes bring its gain; there are pleasures of falsehood and gains of falsehood. But then the pleasures of sin are but for a moment; the day is shortly coming, when falsehood shall be found as a rope of sand, as a quicksand on which any structure may have been based; and therefore if it be true that the heritage of the heathen is a heritage of lies, it follow that it is a heritage of vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
II. The purposes of God respecting these idolaters. You have here the repetition of Gods purpose. He is not satisfied with stating once, I will cause them to know, but He adds a second time, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that I am the Lord. There is a distinctness and a certainty upon this matter which is most refreshing to a humane and considerate mind. The intimation of this design is here presented to us as the distinct purpose of God. Therefore--since man admits that he has inherited lies, since he sees that he is destitute of any resources in himself, and since the allotment which father has given to son during many an elapsing century, since all the property that could descend from sire to son as ages rolled away was only falsehood, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit--since all that this accumulated mass of human skill and industry bestowed, was based on falsehood--now that the confession is made,--I will cause this people to know My hand and My might. And how was the hand of God to be known? Was it to be the hand of power, crushing to perdition the sinner whose heart was disaffected and his intellect degraded? No; He was to stretch out His hand to heal and to save. There is no power so great, and no power so beautiful in nature, as this hand of God, when it is stretched out to heal. There are needful accompaniments of this wonderful accomplishment of Divine mercy and love to man. There are the ministers of His Gospel. By the instrumentality of these human communications, does the Spirit of God act; and when therefore God says, And they shall know that I am Jehovah, it is meant that to these nations shall be sent the records of the Scriptures; that to them shall go the heralds of peace; that among them shall the voice of mercy be heard; that amidst their thronged population shall the accents of salvation come forth, from lips which He has touched with a coal from the altar, and made to be the bearers of kind sayings to their poor suffering and degraded sinners. This is Gods declaration.
III. The generous consolation which the mind of the prophet derives from this knowledge of Gods gracious design in favour of these Gentiles. O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction. When beat down by sorrow, when prostrate in calamity, when standing amidst the decay of national comforts, and amidst the manifestation of Gods righteous judgments, he turned for rest to God; God was his strength, God was his fortress God opened to him an asylum whither the wicked could not follow him, whither Satan could not follow him. (G. T. Noel, M. A.)
Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?--
God-making
Is not that impossible? From a certain point of view it is utterly impossible, and yet from another point of view it is the very thing men are doing every day in the week. Questions cannot always be answered literally. There may be a moral explanation under the literary definition. Who does not make himself gods as he needs them?--not visible god, otherwise they might bring down upon themselves the contempt of observers, and the contempt of their very makers; but ambitions, purposes, policies, programmes, methods of procedure,--all these may be looked upon as refuges and defences and hidden sanctuaries into which the soul would go for defence and protection when the tempest rages loudly, and fiercely. A subtle thing is this god-making. Every man is at times a polytheist--that is, a possessor or a worshipper of many gods. The Lord could never bring the mind of His people directly and lovingly to the reception of the One Deity. It would seem to be the last thought of man that there can be, by metaphysical necessity, only one God. There cannot be a divided Deity. Yet it is this very miracle that the imagination of man has performed. He has set all round the household innumerable idols which he takes down according to the necessity of the hour. He knows he is intellectually foolish, morally the victim of self-delusion, practically an utterly unwise and impracticable man; yet somehow, by force not to be put into equivalent words, he will do this again and again, yea he takes to himself power to fill up vacancies, so that if any clay god or imagined idol has failed him he puts another in the place of the one that did not fulfil his prayer. (J. Parker, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v21 The Lord
The Lord
Or, JEHOVAH. Psa 83:18.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 Yahweh, you are my stronghold
Yahweh, you are my stronghold
Here Jeremiah begins speaking to Yahweh.
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my stronghold and my refuge, my place of safety
Jeremiah speaks of Yahweh as a place where enemies cannot attack him. He repeats the same idea three times. (See: Metaphor and Doublet)
The nations will go to you
Here the word "nations" represents the people from the nations. AT: "The people from the nations will go to you" or "The people of the nations will come to you" (See: Metonymy and Go and Come)
the ends of the earth
This is an idiom that means the farthest places on the earth. By referencing both ends, it refers to everywhere in between. AT: "the farthest places on the earth" or "everywhere on earth" (See: Idiom and Merism)
our ancestors inherited deceit
Here the word "deceit" refers to false gods. AT: "our ancestors inherited nothing but false gods" (See: Metonymy)
They are empty; there is no profit in them
Here the words "They" and "them" refer to the false gods that the ancestors taught them to believe in. The two phrases mean basically the same thing, with the second explaining how they "are empty." (See: Parallelism)
Do people make gods for themselves? But they are not gods
The people ask this rhetorical question to emphasize that people cannot make gods for themselves. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "People cannot make gods for themselves. The things that they make are not gods" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Therefore see
"Therefore, indeed." Here Yahweh begins speaking. The word "see" adds emphasis to what follows.
I will cause them to know
Here the word "them" refers to the people from the nations. Yahweh repeats this phrase for emphasis.
my hand and my power
Here the word "hand" refers to power and authority. The two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize Yahweh's great power. AT: "my great power" (See: Metonymy and Doublet)
they will know that Yahweh is my name
Here the word "name" refers to Yahweh's entire person. AT: "they will know that I am Yahweh, the true God" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
stronghold
refuge
save
nation
earth
deceive
profit
false god
know
hand
power
name
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 On vv19, 21 16:19-20 Jeremiah responded by worshiping the Lord for his…
16:19-20 Jeremiah responded by worshiping the Lord for his protection in times of trouble and his provision of salvation for people from around the world.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.