18Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
19Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: “Isn’t Yahweh in Zion? Isn’t her King in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign idols?”
20“The harvest is past. The summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
21For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt. I mourn. Dismay has taken hold of me.
18 Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
19 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: “Isn’t Yahweh in Zion? Isn’t her King in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past. The summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt. I mourn. Dismay has taken hold of me.
KJVKing James Version
18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
18 Though I would take comfort against sorrow, my heart is faint within me.
19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far off: 'Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?' — 'Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, and with strange vanities?' —
20 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I seized with anguish; I am black, appalment hath taken hold on me.
Proverbs 10:5(v20)He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.
Jeremiah 14:17(v21)“You shall say this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my…
Matthew 25:1-12(v20)“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish,…
Luke 13:25(v20)When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying,…
Isaiah 39:3(v19)Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and asked him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said,…
Show all 44 cross-references
Joel 2:6(v21)At their presence the peoples are in anguish. All faces have grown pale.
Nahum 2:10(v21)She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.
Psalms 137:3-6(v21)For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”…
Song of Solomon 1:5-6(v21)I am dark, but lovely, you daughters of Jerusalem, like Kedar’s tents, like Solomon’s curtains. Don’t stare at me because I am dark,…
Isaiah 13:5(v19)They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Isaiah 22:4(v18)Therefore I said, “Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Jeremiah 6:24(v18)We have heard its report. Our hands become feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, and pains as of a woman in labor.
Lamentations 1:16-17(v18)“For these things I weep. My eye, my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children…
Lamentations 5:17(v18)For this our heart is faint. For these things our eyes are dim.
Luke 19:44(v20)and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the…
Revelation 2:1(v19)“To the angel of the assembly in Ephesus write: “He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks among the seven golden lamp…
Deuteronomy 32:16-21(v19)They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations. They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods…
Job 7:13-14(v18)When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me. My couch will ease my complaint;’ then you scare me with dreams, and terrify me through visions:
Psalms 135:21(v19)Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
Psalms 146:10(v19)Yahweh will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise Yah!
Psalms 149:2(v19)Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Isaiah 1:4(v19)Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have…
Isaiah 12:6(v19)Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
Isaiah 33:22(v19)For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.
Isaiah 52:1(v19)Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and…
Jeremiah 4:16-17(v19)“Tell the nations, behold, publish against Jerusalem, ‘Watchers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah.…
Jeremiah 4:19(v21)My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my…
Jeremiah 4:30-31(v19)You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck yourself with ornaments of…
Jeremiah 8:5-6(v19)Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit. They refuse to return. I listened and…
Jeremiah 9:1(v21)Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 10:19-22(v18)Woe is me because of my injury! My wound is serious; but I said, “Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it.” My tent has been destroyed,…
Jeremiah 14:19(v19)Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace,…
Jeremiah 31:6(v19)For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’ ”
Daniel 10:16-17(v18)Behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “My…
Joel 2:32(v19)It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape,…
Joel 3:21(v19)I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”
Obadiah 1:17(v19)But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
Habakkuk 3:16(v18)I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must…
Luke 19:41(v21)When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
Romans 9:1-3(v21)I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain…
Hebrews 3:7-15(v20)Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the…
Nehemiah 2:3(v21)I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why shouldn’t my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste,…
Jeremiah 9:16(v19)I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. I will send the sword after them, until I have…
Jeremiah 17:16(v21)As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you. I haven’t desired the woeful day. You know. That which came out of my lips…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv18–21Interpreters explain differently the word מבלגיתי, mebelgiti. Some take…
Interpreters explain differently the word מבלגיתי, mebelgiti. Some take מ, mem, in the sense of ב, beth; but others, with whom I agree, regard it as a servile, deriving the word from בלג, belag; and this letter is prefixed to it to shew that it is a noun. The ת, tau, also at the end, is a servile.
The Prophet then means, that he sought strength in his sorrow, but that his heart was weak He no doubt, I think, sets forth in this verse the perverse character of the people, — that they sought through their obstinacy to drive away every punishment. This could not indeed be referred to himself, or to those who were like him, as we know how fearful are God’s servants with regard to his wrath; for as the fear of God prevails in their hearts, so they are easily terrified by his judgment; but hypocrites and wicked men ever harden themselves as far as they can. They then strengthened themselves against God, and thought in this way to be conquerors. Since they thus perversely contended with God, the Prophet sets forth here the great hardness of the people: I would, he says, strengthen myself in my sorrow; but my heart is within me weak; that is, “In vain are these remedies tried; in vain have ye hitherto endeavored to strengthen yourselves, and have sought fortresses and strongholds against God; for sorrow will at length prevail, as the Lord will add troubles to troubles, so that ye must at length succumb under them.”
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He means the same when he says, his heart was within him weak: “I have, “he says, “been oppressed with sorrow, when I thought I had strength enough to resist.” For thus the ungodly think manfully to act, when they madly resist God; but at length they find by the event that they in vain seek thus to strengthen themselves; for our heart, he says, will become within us weak, and debility itself will at last oppress and overwhelm us.
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 vv18–21Read Jer. 4:19.
Read Jer. 4:19.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv18–21Jer 8:18 [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow,…
Jer 8:18 [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.
Ver. 18. When I would comfort myself, &c.] Or, as some render it, O my comfort against sorrow, i.e., O my God; others, My recreation is joined with sorrow.
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 vv18–21The language of the people, being long shut up…
The language of the people, being long shut up in their cities, and finding no relief, at last faint, Lam 4:17. But more probably the prophet now seems to speak his own resentments, how greatly the calamity of his people did affect him; the like Isa 22:4; when he would sometimes refresh himself with the comfortable refreshments of nature, the thoughts of his people’s misery do so afflict him, that his heart is ready to faint, to sink within him.
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 vv18–21Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter…
Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people,.... This was what made his heart faint, such was his sympathy with his countrymen, his people in distress, whom he affectionately calls the daughter of his people, whose cry was loud, and whose voice he heard lamenting their case:
because of them that dwell in a far country; because of the Chaldeans, who came from a far country; see Jer 5:15 who were come into their land, and devoured it; through fear of them, and because of the devastation they made; hence the voice of their cry: or this is to be understood of the Jews in a far country, carried captive into Babylon, and the voice of their cry there, because of their captivity and oppression. So Abarbinel and the Targum,
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"lo, the voice of the cry of the congregation of my people from a far country;''
and so read the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions.
Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? these are the words of the people, complaining of the Lord, calling in question whether he was in Zion, and whether he was King there; and if he was, how came it to pass that he did not protect it; that he suffered the city to be taken, and the inhabitants to be carried captive?
Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their strange vanities? that is, with their idols, and their idolatrous worship; this is the Lord's answer to them, giving a reason why he suffered the enemy to come in among them, and prevail over them, namely, their idolatry. It may be rendered, "with the vanities of a stranger" (n); of a strange people, or of a strange god.
(n) "in vanitatibus alienigenae", Montanus; "sub. populi", Vatablus; "dei alieni", Pagninus So Ben Melech.
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 vv18, 19, 21Sorrow - The prophet now seems to speak, how…
Sorrow - The prophet now seems to speak, how greatly the calamity of this people affected him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v20Verse 20. The harvest is past] The siege of…
Verse 20. The harvest is past] The siege of Jerusalem lasted two years; for Nebuchadnezzar came against it in the ninth year of Zedekiah, and the city was taken in the eleventh; see 2Kg 25:1-3. This seems to have been a proverb: "We expected deliverance the first year - none came. We hoped for it the second year - we are disappointed; we are not saved - no deliverance is come."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv18, 20, 21Jer 8:18-19. When I would comfort myself, &c. —…
Jer 8:18-19. When I would comfort myself, &c. — “When I would apply comfort to myself, my heart misgives me: I find great reason for my fears, and none for my hopes.” Blaney translates the verse, sorrow is upon me past my remedying; my heart within me is faint. They seem to be the words of the prophet, who had endeavoured to comfort himself in his trouble by acquiescing in the will of God; but the miseries coming on his countrymen continually occurring to his mind in all their horrors and aggravations, deprived him of all comfort, and rendered him inconsolable. Behold the voice of the cry — The bitter cries and lamentations, which methinks I hear; of the daughter of my people — To whose welfare I cannot be indifferent; because of them that dwell in a far country — Namely, their enemies the Chaldeans, who were coming against them. But the words may be rendered more agreeably to the Hebrew thus, The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off. Compare Isa 33:17, where the phrase in the original, ארצ מרחקים, is the same. Thus interpreted, the words express the doleful complaints of the Jews in their state of captivity, as if God had quite forsaken and disowned them. In this light many commentators understand the prophet. He “anticipates,” says Blaney, “in his imagination, the captivity of his countrymen in Babylon, a far country; and represents them there as asking, with a mixture of grief and astonishment, if there was no such being as JEHOVAH, who presided in Zion, that he so neglected his people, and suffered them to continue in such a wretched plight. Upon this complaint of theirs, God justly breaks in with a question on his part, and demands why, if they acknowledged such a protector as himself, they had deserted his service, and by going over to idols, with which they had no natural connection, had forfeited all title to his favour.” Why have they provoked me to anger? — Some translators, to render the sense more evident, supply here the words, saith God; for it is evident that it is God, and not the prophet, who speaks here, telling them that their sins were the cause of his forsaking them; and that as they provoked him to anger by their idolatries, so he would no longer defend them.
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 vv18–21Rather, “O my comfort in sorrow: my heart faints…
Rather, “O my comfort in sorrow: my heart faints for me.” The word translated “comfort” is by some supposed to be corrupt. With these mournful ejaculations a new strophe begins, ending with Jer 9:1, in which the prophet mourns over the miserable fate of his countrymen, among whom he had been earnestly laboring, but all in vain.
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 vv18–21Me. God, Jeremias, the people, or rather Jerusalem bewails…
Me. God, Jeremias, the people, or rather Jerusalem bewails her children. (Calmet)
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 vv18–21(Isa 22:4). The lamentation of the prophet for the…
(Isa 22:4). The lamentation of the prophet for the impending calamity of his country.
against sorrow--or, with respect to sorrow. MAURER translates, "Oh, my exhilaration as to sorrow!" that is, "Oh, that exhilaration ('comfort', from an Arabic root, to shine as the rising sun) would shine upon me as to my sorrow!"
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in me--within me.
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 vv18–21CAPTIVITY AND SORROW, Jer_8:18-22.
CAPTIVITY AND SORROW, Jer_8:18-22.
18. When I would comfort, etc. — The original for “comfort” is a noun used vocatively, and occurs only here. Hence, the rendering should be, O my comfort in sorrow, my heart grows sick in me.
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 vv18–2118. Oh that I could comfort myself] lit. brighten…
18. Oh that I could comfort myself] lit. brighten myself. The Hebrew verb occurs here only, but is found in Arabic in this sense. See further in Dr., p. 352.
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 vv18–21(18) When I would comfort myself . . .—The…
(18) When I would comfort myself . . .—The word translated comfort is not found elsewhere, and has been very differently understood. Taking the words as spoken after a pause, they come as a cry of sorrow following the proclamation of the judgment of Jehovah, Ah, my comfort against sorrow! (mourning for it as dead and gone); my heart is sick within me. The latter phrase is the same as in Isa_1:5.
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 vv18–21Ver. 18-Jer 9:50 The captivity of Judah and the…
Ver. 18-Jer 9:50 The captivity of Judah and the deep sorrow of Jeremiah.
When I would comfort myself, etc. The text is here extremely difficult, and if there is corruption anywhere it is in the opening of this verse. Ewald and Graf suppose an ellipsis, and render, "(Oh for) my enlivening i.e. an enlivening for me in trouble!" Hitzig more naturally renders in the vocative, "My enlivener in trouble" which he supposes to be in apposition to my heart. Do Dieu (1648) wavers between this and the view that it is an address to his wife, "Quae marito solatio est." (See, however, Jer_16:2)
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Ver. 18 -Jer_9:1) Ver. 18, "When I would comfort myself," etc. All hope dies down, is crushed beneath the overwhelming evidence of the hopelessness of his people"s condition. Ver. 21: he is as if wounded, his heart is clad in the garb of deepest woe, the black raiment of the mourner. Jer_9:1: he has exhausted his power of telling forth his deep grief, his eyes refuse to weep more, though his heart be sore pierced, and the troubles of his people are unrelieved. Therefore he desires that he might weep continually.
II ITS GROUNDS.
1. They were still trusting in lying words (ver, 19), reckoning that, because the temple of Jehovah and the throne of David belonged, to them, therefore they should have been secure. Though in distant lands, in actual captivity for there the prophet contemplates them they were still imagining that the possession of the temple and David"s throne should have been their sure safeguard. It is terrible to see God"s judgments coming upon guilty men, but when these judgments themselves seem to fail in teaching the needed lesson, that is a greater sorrow still.
2. The time of redemption was over. (Ver. 20) The long harvest days, the bright summer weather symbols of all days of opportunity these were gone, The days when they might have turned to God and found deliverance, "the wrath of God had arisen against them, and there was no remedy." But what a retrospect is his who has to say as did Post Israel, The harvest is past," etc.! For:
(1) Such seasons remind us of our privileges and obligations.
(a) It is a time of fruitfulness, of great privilege, grace, and goodness. God makes man"s cup to overflow. Youth and days of gospel privilege. Sundays, sacred services, etc.
(b) It should be a time of great activity. The natural harvest and summertime is so. For:
(c) It is a season of such limited duration.
(2) But men often let these times pass away unimproved.
(a) The world hinders them.
(b) Perversion of Scripture truths.
(c) Belief that they are well enough as they are.
(d) Procrastination.
(3) But once gone, the fruits of that summer and that harvest can never be saved. Such facts as these open the floodgates of grief in hearts like that of Jeremiah.
3. He could see no means of restoration or recovery whatsoever (Ver. 22), no balm and no physician anywhere.
III ITS WORD TO ALL WHO SHOULD KNOW OR ARE THE CAUSES OF SUCH GRIEF NOW.
1. Christ"s servants should be in sympathy with the prophet"s lament. It is because we are so indifferent the world is so. "Si vis me flere flendum est," it is ever saying, but in vain, to the professing Church. Oh for the compassion of Jeremiah and yet more of Christ! If we sowed in tears we should reap in joy. If so we went forth "bearing precious seed, we shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing," etc.
2. But you who cause such grief, think you not that if such be the result of anticipating God"s judgments upon sin, the enduring of them must be far worse? And that is your part in them. Christ himself assured the weeping women who followed him to Calvary that the woes of them who crucified him would be worse than his own. "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
CONCLUSION. Then, instead of causing sorrow to the faithful servants of God by resisting their appeals, yield to them, and so gladden these servants, and the angels of God, and the heart of God, and the Son of God. So you yourself shall enter into the joy of your Lord. C.
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 vv19–20Is not the Lord in Zion?
Jer_8:19-20
Is not the Lord in Zion?
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A discourse for a revival season
These words, as they stand in the Book of Jeremiah, were probably meant to set forth the sin of Israel. The prophets heart is very full of sadness; he can hear the cries of the people in the streets of Jerusalem. They are moaning for sorrow, because of the oppression of the Chaldeans--the nation that dwelt afar off; and in the midst of their bitterness they remember the God whom they had forgotten in their prosperity: but this remembrance is not a gracious one; they do not remember Him to humble themselves, but to bring accusations against Him. They inquire, Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? As if they felt, The people of the Lord, the people of the Lord are we, and therefore He is bound to send us a deliverance. They accuse the faithfulness of Jehovah, because He greatly suitors them to be downtrodden for their sins. Then the Lord, speaking by the prophet, tells them the reason why, although present among them, he did not help them: Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? If they believed Him to be present, why did they set up false gods?
I. We have in the text a cry.
1. Observe the word Behold. The behold here is the mark of astonishment. We are to Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people as an unusual thing. So seldom does Israel cry unto the Lord, she is so negligent of prayer, she is so silent when she ought to be incessant in her petitions, that when at last she does cry, her voice is a wonder in Gods ears. And yet it ought not to be a wonder, it ought not to be a strange thing for Gods people to be in earnest, or for sinners to feel brokenness of heart. If prayer be the Christians breath, why then, to see a multitude breathing, should never be a spectacle. If to pray unto God be the Christians daffy privilege, then to approach the throne of God with prevalent earnestness, should never be looked upon with astonishment.
2. Notice how this prayer is described. It is a cry: Behold the cry. A cry is the most natural form of utterance. It is a natural expression made up of pain and desire for relief. When a brother merely prays what we call prayer, he stands up and utters very proper words, very edifying, very suitable, no doubt, and then he has done. Another brother comes forward; he wants a blessing, he tells the Lord what he desires; he takes the promises, he wrestles with God, and then he seems to say, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me. He cannot be satisfied till, with the cry of Abba, Father, he has come before the throne and really obtained an audience with the Most High.
3. Note again, for every word of our text is suggestive, it is Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people. It is not enough to be earnest, you must know what you are earnest about; the cry must have a voice which is as far as possible understood by yourself, and a voice which has a meaning in it before God. I must direct my prayer unto God, as David says, pull my bow, direct the arrow, take aim at the centre of the target, and then when the arrow flies it is likely to reach its place.
4. Further, study the matter of the voice--it was for them that dwell in a far country. In what a far country does every sinner dwell! Now, the prayers, I hope, of Gods people, have been going up for all the far-off ones, that infinite mercy would make them nigh by the blood of Christ.
5. Remark another word in the text--for those that dwell in a far country: there are some of you who make a long abode in a far country. The fact is, you have taken up your dwellings; you have made a settlement in one of the parishes of the city of destruction; you are making out a claim to be enrolled in the devils register; you dwell in the far-off land. If you were uneasy and felt yourselves to be strangers and foreigners in the land of destruction, how would I clap my hands for joy; for you would soon be rid of your old master if you once felt sick of him.
6. The cry is The cry of the daughter of My people. Oh, it is so sweet to think that our prayers, poor as they are, are the prayers of Gods own people, and therefore they must be heard. You are the Lords children, therefore He will hear you. Would you let your child constantly cry to you and not answer Him?
II. We will now turn to the question: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? I will answer that question at once in the affirmative. The Lord is in Zion: her King is in the midst of her. Having answered this question, it suggests many more.
1. If the Lord be indeed in Zion, and the King he in the midst of her, why do we pray as if He were not? He is with you, ready to answer by fire, if, like Elias, you have but faith with which to challenge His promise and His power.
2. Why do you despond because of your own weakness? We have not a sufficient number of ministers; we have little wealth; we have few places of public worship; we have few gifted members, and so on. So some unbelievingly talk. Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? What more do you want? Oh! we would like to be strong. Why would you be strong? That you must be disqualified to be used by God? Why, any fool can kill the enemy with a cannon, but it takes a Samson to smite them with the jawbone of an ass. And so, when God has the choice of weapons, and He always has, He chooses the weaker weapon, that He may get to Himself the greater renown.
3. If God be with us, why these great fears about the prosperity of the Church? The God of Zion is here, the King of Zion is here. I grant you, we do not sufficiently recognise His presence; we are not, as we should be, obedient to His commands but I charge you, O ye soldiers of the Cross, believe in the presence of your Captain, and press where ye see His helmet amidst the din of war. His Cross is the great emblazoned banner which leads you on to glory. Press forward! to suffer, to deny yourselves, to bear witness for Christ; for the battle is the Lords, and the King Himself fights in the van.
III. Another question. Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities?
1. Here is a question for the Lords people. It becomes a very solemn thing when God is in His Church how that Church behaves herself. Suppose that Church to set up false principles: if her King were not there she might take the kings of the earth to be her head. But dare she do that when her King Himself is there?
2. This text has a particular voice to sinners. You have been saying, God is in the midst of His people--how is it I have not had a blessing? I will ask you this question, Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities? Do not ask why the Word is not blessed to you; do not ask why you do not enjoy the prayer meeting: answer my question first. Why hast thou provoked Me to anger with thy tricks in trade, with thy Sabbathbreaking, with thy lying, with thy loose songs, with thy miring up with worldly company, with thy profanity?
IV. Another cry. I wish I might hear this cry this morning, for then I should not hear it in the world to come, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Manifestations of the presence of God
The ancient polity of the Jewish nation was a pure and splendid theocracy. Jehovah was their King. He gave them their laws, selected their judges, appointed their prophets, and He reigned the Lord supreme, having chosen them to be His peculiar people, and special possession.
I. It is possible for the members of a professing Church to be deceived concerning the presence of God, and conclude that he is with them, when in reality he is far from them.
1. Deceived on this important point are those who conclude God is with them because they have imposing forms and splendid places of worship. If pompous forms of worship and gorgeous temples marked the presence of God with men, the evidence would go to show that God was more with the ancient heathen than with the ancient Jews. It would exalt Mahomet and Mohammedanism over Christ and Christianity.
2. Deceived on this important point are those professing churches who conclude God is with them, because they have creeds and councils in their favour. Were, however, this conclusion correct, it would prove that the presence of God might be found with the mere letter of truth, or even error.
3. Deceived on this important point are those professing churches who conclude God is with them because they have extensive knowledge and numerous gifts. In danger of this error were many who were members of the Church of God at Corinth. An error St. Paul fully exposed, showing that those things which they so highly valued were worthless in comparison with sacred charity, true love to God, and pure love to man.
4. Deceived also on this important point are those churches and individuals who conclude God is with them because He was once with them. Who will question the truth, that He was with the Jews as a people, when Moses sang (Exo_15:13)? But is He with them now as a nation, as the rod of His inheritance, the Zion wherein He delighteth to dwell? Has not the evil He warned them against come upon them (Jer_6:8)? Then in reference unto individuals, having once been with them, is no certainty that He abides with them. Was He not with Saul when chosen of God to be the King of Israel (1Sa_10:7)? Was He not with Solomon when he devoutly dedicated the temple to the Lord, and prayed (2Ch_6:41)? Was He not with Judas when called to the apostleship? Now to say nothing concerning the hour of death, was His presence perpetually with these through life? Then let us net, neither as churches nor as individual members, depend on the past, nor be satisfied with anything short of having God indisputably with us now; bearing in remembrance that His presence is conditional (2Ch_15:2).
II. It is possible for the members of a professing Church to be fully assured of the presence of God among them--King in Zion.
1. God is where the Word of truth is faithfully preached and believingly received.
2. God is where the ministry of the Gospel is effectual to accomplish the purposes for which it is proclaimed.
3. God is where the members of the Church grow in sacred knowledge, and increase in holiness of heart and life.
4. God is where the discipline of Christ is scripturally observed and maintained.
5. God is where a professing people dwell together in the bonds of Christian charity. To this Christians are called by their name, their profession, and hope of eternal life.
III. It behoves the members of a professing Christian Church frequently and faithfully to press on themselves the solemn, weighty inquiry, is the Lord in our Zion, is her King with us? Have we the marks of the Divine presence already stated? Let us examine ourselves as a Christian community on this subject, and that with the sincerity of those who would not be deceived.
1. Is the Word of truth faithfully preached by us as ministers?
2. Is the ministry of the Gospel among us successful to accomplish its gracious designs?
3. Are we as people wise in sacred knowledge and intent on full conformity of the will and image of God?
4. Have we a wholesome scriptural discipline?
5. Are we as a professing Church united in the bonds of Christian charity?
IV. It becomes a Christian Church, sensible of the Divine presence but desirous of a more special manifestation of God with them and to them, to employ those means which are calculated to promote His more glorious abode in Zion.
1. This they should do by a full and constant acknowledgment of the sovereign authority and rule of Christ (Eph_1:22). His kingship in Zion is not a supposed character, but a positive possessed office; and weighty must be the guilt and condemnation of these who deny His claim, and reject His rule.
2. This they should do by diligently seeking an increase of personal holiness (Psa_132:14; Psa_132:16).
3. The more glorious presence of God should also be sought by the members of the Church, in the exercise of fervent, persevering prayer. (W. Naylor.)
The royal presence
The great thing is to ascertain the fact of the Lords presence with His people. Now, where the Lords presence is, there are tokens special, peculiar, and infallible, by which it is evidenced. Where the Lord is, everything will go well: the Gospel will triumph, and the righteous will be glad. On the contrary, the Lords absence is marked by wickedness, carnality, darkness, and dissolution.
1. An indispensable evidence that God is in the churches, we think to be a united, loving people. The Spirit is the source of love; and it is His first fruit.
2. Where this love is present, and in powerful operation, it will produce another evidence--a consistent, holy deportment. Love and purity are inseparable; but purity of heart will be indicated by purity of life.
3. The Lords presence is always accompanied by special zeal for His glory: a desire to promote His honour, and to extend His kingdom.
4. An invariable accompaniment of the Kings presence is liberality in the disposition of worldly substance. His people realise the fact that they are not proprietors, but stewards, to whom is committed treasure, which is exclusively His own.
5. The spirit of humble wailing at His footstool, for the lessons of His wisdom, is another indication of His presence. The churches will be teachable, devout, and obedient in all things.
6. A further evidence of the royal presence is, the possession of high attainments in spiritual things: the citizens of Zion will largely enjoy the comfort of love, the patience of hope, and every blessing provided for them.
7. As a rule, another token of the Lords presence will be, that while His people walk in His fear, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they will be multiplied. The message of love, spoken in love, will operate with melting power on the hearts of men. (The Christian Witness.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv18, 20General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah and Yahweh have a conversation about the people of Judah.
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My sorrow has no end
The word "my" refers to Jeremiah. The original text is unclear and is interpreted here in different ways by modern versions.
has no end
These words are an exaggeration that express the great extent of Jeremiah's sorrow. AT: "is very great" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
my heart is sick
Here "heart" represents Jeremiah, emphasizing his feelings and emotions. AT: "I feel sick deep down inside me" (See: Synecdoche)
Behold!
This alerts the reader to pay attention to what follows. "Pay attention!"
the daughter of my people
Jeremiah is speaking about the people of Judah in a way that shows his affection for them, as if for a daughter. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 4:11. AT: "my dear people" (See: Metaphor)
from a land far away
Possible meanings are 1) From exile. AT: "from exile in a distant land" or 2) From throughout the land of Judah. AT: "throughout our land"
Is Yahweh not in Zion? Is her king no longer there?
These two questions are similar in meaning. They imply that the people of Judah are wondering why Yahweh is not saving them. AT: "Why does Yahweh not save us if he is the king in Zion?" (See: Parallelism and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Rhetorical Question)
Why then do they provoke me to anger with their carved figures and their worthless foreign idols?
The word "me" refers to Yahweh. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "If they want me to save them, then they must not offend me with their carved figures." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv18, 20, 218:18–9:26 The priests in the Temple expertly memorized and…
8:18–9:26 The priests in the Temple expertly memorized and repeated carefully crafted prayers as rituals in the Temple worship. Repeating the precise wording of the prayers was thought to be very important; failure to do so drained the prayers of their perceived magical power. The character of the priests who uttered the prayers was considered of minor importance. The same was true of lamentations. In contrast, Jeremiah’s prayers and lamentations were spontaneous and occupied him to the depths of his being.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv18–21 Interpreters explain differently the word מבלגיתי, mebelgiti. Some take…
Interpreters explain differently the word מבלגיתי, mebelgiti. Some take מ, mem, in the sense of ב, beth; but others, with whom I agree, regard it as a servile, deriving the word from בלג, belag; and this letter is prefixed to it to shew that it is a noun. The ת, tau, also at the end, is a servile.
The Prophet then means, that he sought strength in his sorrow, but that his heart was weak He no doubt, I think, sets forth in this verse the perverse character of the people, — that they sought through their obstinacy to drive away every punishment. This could not indeed be referred to himself, or to those who were like him, as we know how fearful are God’s servants with regard to his wrath; for as the fear of God prevails in their hearts, so they are easily terrified by his judgment; but hypocrites and wicked men ever harden themselves as far as they can. They then strengthened themselves against God, and thought in this way to be conquerors. Since they thus perversely contended with God, the Prophet sets forth here the great hardness of the people: I would, he says, strengthen myself in my sorrow; but my heart is within me weak; that is, “In vain are these remedies tried; in vain have ye hitherto endeavored to strengthen yourselves, and have sought fortresses and strongholds against God; for sorrow will at length prevail, as the Lord will add troubles to troubles, so that ye must at length succumb under them.”
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He means the same when he says, his heart was within him weak: “I have, “he says, “been oppressed with sorrow, when I thought I had strength enough to resist.” For thus the ungodly think manfully to act, when they madly resist God; but at length they find by the event that they in vain seek thus to strengthen themselves; for our heart, he says, will become within us weak, and debility itself will at last oppress and overwhelm us.
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 vv18–21 Read Jer. 4:19.
Read Jer. 4:19.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–21 Jer 8:18 [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow,…
Jer 8:18 [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.
Ver. 18. When I would comfort myself, &c.] Or, as some render it, O my comfort against sorrow, i.e., O my God; others, My recreation is joined with sorrow.
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 vv18–21 The language of the people, being long shut up…
The language of the people, being long shut up in their cities, and finding no relief, at last faint, Lam 4:17. But more probably the prophet now seems to speak his own resentments, how greatly the calamity of his people did affect him; the like Isa 22:4; when he would sometimes refresh himself with the comfortable refreshments of nature, the thoughts of his people’s misery do so afflict him, that his heart is ready to faint, to sink within him.
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 vv18–21 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter…
Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people,.... This was what made his heart faint, such was his sympathy with his countrymen, his people in distress, whom he affectionately calls the daughter of his people, whose cry was loud, and whose voice he heard lamenting their case:
because of them that dwell in a far country; because of the Chaldeans, who came from a far country; see Jer 5:15 who were come into their land, and devoured it; through fear of them, and because of the devastation they made; hence the voice of their cry: or this is to be understood of the Jews in a far country, carried captive into Babylon, and the voice of their cry there, because of their captivity and oppression. So Abarbinel and the Targum,
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"lo, the voice of the cry of the congregation of my people from a far country;''
and so read the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions.
Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? these are the words of the people, complaining of the Lord, calling in question whether he was in Zion, and whether he was King there; and if he was, how came it to pass that he did not protect it; that he suffered the city to be taken, and the inhabitants to be carried captive?
Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their strange vanities? that is, with their idols, and their idolatrous worship; this is the Lord's answer to them, giving a reason why he suffered the enemy to come in among them, and prevail over them, namely, their idolatry. It may be rendered, "with the vanities of a stranger" (n); of a strange people, or of a strange god.
(n) "in vanitatibus alienigenae", Montanus; "sub. populi", Vatablus; "dei alieni", Pagninus So Ben Melech.
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 vv18, 19, 21 Sorrow - The prophet now seems to speak, how…
Sorrow - The prophet now seems to speak, how greatly the calamity of this people affected him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v20 Verse 20. The harvest is past] The siege of…
Verse 20. The harvest is past] The siege of Jerusalem lasted two years; for Nebuchadnezzar came against it in the ninth year of Zedekiah, and the city was taken in the eleventh; see 2Kg 25:1-3. This seems to have been a proverb: "We expected deliverance the first year - none came. We hoped for it the second year - we are disappointed; we are not saved - no deliverance is come."
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 vv18, 20, 21 Jer 8:18-19. When I would comfort myself, &c. —…
Jer 8:18-19. When I would comfort myself, &c. — “When I would apply comfort to myself, my heart misgives me: I find great reason for my fears, and none for my hopes.” Blaney translates the verse, sorrow is upon me past my remedying; my heart within me is faint. They seem to be the words of the prophet, who had endeavoured to comfort himself in his trouble by acquiescing in the will of God; but the miseries coming on his countrymen continually occurring to his mind in all their horrors and aggravations, deprived him of all comfort, and rendered him inconsolable. Behold the voice of the cry — The bitter cries and lamentations, which methinks I hear; of the daughter of my people — To whose welfare I cannot be indifferent; because of them that dwell in a far country — Namely, their enemies the Chaldeans, who were coming against them. But the words may be rendered more agreeably to the Hebrew thus, The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off. Compare Isa 33:17, where the phrase in the original, ארצ מרחקים, is the same. Thus interpreted, the words express the doleful complaints of the Jews in their state of captivity, as if God had quite forsaken and disowned them. In this light many commentators understand the prophet. He “anticipates,” says Blaney, “in his imagination, the captivity of his countrymen in Babylon, a far country; and represents them there as asking, with a mixture of grief and astonishment, if there was no such being as JEHOVAH, who presided in Zion, that he so neglected his people, and suffered them to continue in such a wretched plight. Upon this complaint of theirs, God justly breaks in with a question on his part, and demands why, if they acknowledged such a protector as himself, they had deserted his service, and by going over to idols, with which they had no natural connection, had forfeited all title to his favour.” Why have they provoked me to anger? — Some translators, to render the sense more evident, supply here the words, saith God; for it is evident that it is God, and not the prophet, who speaks here, telling them that their sins were the cause of his forsaking them; and that as they provoked him to anger by their idolatries, so he would no longer defend them.
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 vv18–21 Rather, “O my comfort in sorrow: my heart faints…
Rather, “O my comfort in sorrow: my heart faints for me.” The word translated “comfort” is by some supposed to be corrupt. With these mournful ejaculations a new strophe begins, ending with Jer 9:1, in which the prophet mourns over the miserable fate of his countrymen, among whom he had been earnestly laboring, but all in vain.
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 vv18–21 Me. God, Jeremias, the people, or rather Jerusalem bewails…
Me. God, Jeremias, the people, or rather Jerusalem bewails her children. (Calmet)
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 vv18–21 (Isa 22:4). The lamentation of the prophet for the…
(Isa 22:4). The lamentation of the prophet for the impending calamity of his country.
against sorrow--or, with respect to sorrow. MAURER translates, "Oh, my exhilaration as to sorrow!" that is, "Oh, that exhilaration ('comfort', from an Arabic root, to shine as the rising sun) would shine upon me as to my sorrow!"
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in me--within me.
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 vv18–21 CAPTIVITY AND SORROW, Jer_8:18-22.
CAPTIVITY AND SORROW, Jer_8:18-22.
18. When I would comfort, etc. — The original for “comfort” is a noun used vocatively, and occurs only here. Hence, the rendering should be, O my comfort in sorrow, my heart grows sick in me.
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 vv18–21 18. Oh that I could comfort myself] lit. brighten…
18. Oh that I could comfort myself] lit. brighten myself. The Hebrew verb occurs here only, but is found in Arabic in this sense. See further in Dr., p. 352.
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 vv18–21 (18) When I would comfort myself . . .—The…
(18) When I would comfort myself . . .—The word translated comfort is not found elsewhere, and has been very differently understood. Taking the words as spoken after a pause, they come as a cry of sorrow following the proclamation of the judgment of Jehovah, Ah, my comfort against sorrow! (mourning for it as dead and gone); my heart is sick within me. The latter phrase is the same as in Isa_1:5.
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 vv18–21 Ver. 18-Jer 9:50 The captivity of Judah and the…
Ver. 18-Jer 9:50 The captivity of Judah and the deep sorrow of Jeremiah.
When I would comfort myself, etc. The text is here extremely difficult, and if there is corruption anywhere it is in the opening of this verse. Ewald and Graf suppose an ellipsis, and render, "(Oh for) my enlivening i.e. an enlivening for me in trouble!" Hitzig more naturally renders in the vocative, "My enlivener in trouble" which he supposes to be in apposition to my heart. Do Dieu (1648) wavers between this and the view that it is an address to his wife, "Quae marito solatio est." (See, however, Jer_16:2)
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Ver. 18 -Jer_9:1) Ver. 18, "When I would comfort myself," etc. All hope dies down, is crushed beneath the overwhelming evidence of the hopelessness of his people"s condition. Ver. 21: he is as if wounded, his heart is clad in the garb of deepest woe, the black raiment of the mourner. Jer_9:1: he has exhausted his power of telling forth his deep grief, his eyes refuse to weep more, though his heart be sore pierced, and the troubles of his people are unrelieved. Therefore he desires that he might weep continually.
II ITS GROUNDS.
1. They were still trusting in lying words (ver, 19), reckoning that, because the temple of Jehovah and the throne of David belonged, to them, therefore they should have been secure. Though in distant lands, in actual captivity for there the prophet contemplates them they were still imagining that the possession of the temple and David"s throne should have been their sure safeguard. It is terrible to see God"s judgments coming upon guilty men, but when these judgments themselves seem to fail in teaching the needed lesson, that is a greater sorrow still.
2. The time of redemption was over. (Ver. 20) The long harvest days, the bright summer weather symbols of all days of opportunity these were gone, The days when they might have turned to God and found deliverance, "the wrath of God had arisen against them, and there was no remedy." But what a retrospect is his who has to say as did Post Israel, The harvest is past," etc.! For:
(1) Such seasons remind us of our privileges and obligations.
(a) It is a time of fruitfulness, of great privilege, grace, and goodness. God makes man"s cup to overflow. Youth and days of gospel privilege. Sundays, sacred services, etc.
(b) It should be a time of great activity. The natural harvest and summertime is so. For:
(c) It is a season of such limited duration.
(2) But men often let these times pass away unimproved.
(a) The world hinders them.
(b) Perversion of Scripture truths.
(c) Belief that they are well enough as they are.
(d) Procrastination.
(3) But once gone, the fruits of that summer and that harvest can never be saved. Such facts as these open the floodgates of grief in hearts like that of Jeremiah.
3. He could see no means of restoration or recovery whatsoever (Ver. 22), no balm and no physician anywhere.
III ITS WORD TO ALL WHO SHOULD KNOW OR ARE THE CAUSES OF SUCH GRIEF NOW.
1. Christ"s servants should be in sympathy with the prophet"s lament. It is because we are so indifferent the world is so. "Si vis me flere flendum est," it is ever saying, but in vain, to the professing Church. Oh for the compassion of Jeremiah and yet more of Christ! If we sowed in tears we should reap in joy. If so we went forth "bearing precious seed, we shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing," etc.
2. But you who cause such grief, think you not that if such be the result of anticipating God"s judgments upon sin, the enduring of them must be far worse? And that is your part in them. Christ himself assured the weeping women who followed him to Calvary that the woes of them who crucified him would be worse than his own. "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
CONCLUSION. Then, instead of causing sorrow to the faithful servants of God by resisting their appeals, yield to them, and so gladden these servants, and the angels of God, and the heart of God, and the Son of God. So you yourself shall enter into the joy of your Lord. C.
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 vv19–20 Is not the Lord in Zion?
Jer_8:19-20
Is not the Lord in Zion?
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A discourse for a revival season
These words, as they stand in the Book of Jeremiah, were probably meant to set forth the sin of Israel. The prophets heart is very full of sadness; he can hear the cries of the people in the streets of Jerusalem. They are moaning for sorrow, because of the oppression of the Chaldeans--the nation that dwelt afar off; and in the midst of their bitterness they remember the God whom they had forgotten in their prosperity: but this remembrance is not a gracious one; they do not remember Him to humble themselves, but to bring accusations against Him. They inquire, Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? As if they felt, The people of the Lord, the people of the Lord are we, and therefore He is bound to send us a deliverance. They accuse the faithfulness of Jehovah, because He greatly suitors them to be downtrodden for their sins. Then the Lord, speaking by the prophet, tells them the reason why, although present among them, he did not help them: Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? If they believed Him to be present, why did they set up false gods?
I. We have in the text a cry.
1. Observe the word Behold. The behold here is the mark of astonishment. We are to Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people as an unusual thing. So seldom does Israel cry unto the Lord, she is so negligent of prayer, she is so silent when she ought to be incessant in her petitions, that when at last she does cry, her voice is a wonder in Gods ears. And yet it ought not to be a wonder, it ought not to be a strange thing for Gods people to be in earnest, or for sinners to feel brokenness of heart. If prayer be the Christians breath, why then, to see a multitude breathing, should never be a spectacle. If to pray unto God be the Christians daffy privilege, then to approach the throne of God with prevalent earnestness, should never be looked upon with astonishment.
2. Notice how this prayer is described. It is a cry: Behold the cry. A cry is the most natural form of utterance. It is a natural expression made up of pain and desire for relief. When a brother merely prays what we call prayer, he stands up and utters very proper words, very edifying, very suitable, no doubt, and then he has done. Another brother comes forward; he wants a blessing, he tells the Lord what he desires; he takes the promises, he wrestles with God, and then he seems to say, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me. He cannot be satisfied till, with the cry of Abba, Father, he has come before the throne and really obtained an audience with the Most High.
3. Note again, for every word of our text is suggestive, it is Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people. It is not enough to be earnest, you must know what you are earnest about; the cry must have a voice which is as far as possible understood by yourself, and a voice which has a meaning in it before God. I must direct my prayer unto God, as David says, pull my bow, direct the arrow, take aim at the centre of the target, and then when the arrow flies it is likely to reach its place.
4. Further, study the matter of the voice--it was for them that dwell in a far country. In what a far country does every sinner dwell! Now, the prayers, I hope, of Gods people, have been going up for all the far-off ones, that infinite mercy would make them nigh by the blood of Christ.
5. Remark another word in the text--for those that dwell in a far country: there are some of you who make a long abode in a far country. The fact is, you have taken up your dwellings; you have made a settlement in one of the parishes of the city of destruction; you are making out a claim to be enrolled in the devils register; you dwell in the far-off land. If you were uneasy and felt yourselves to be strangers and foreigners in the land of destruction, how would I clap my hands for joy; for you would soon be rid of your old master if you once felt sick of him.
6. The cry is The cry of the daughter of My people. Oh, it is so sweet to think that our prayers, poor as they are, are the prayers of Gods own people, and therefore they must be heard. You are the Lords children, therefore He will hear you. Would you let your child constantly cry to you and not answer Him?
II. We will now turn to the question: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? I will answer that question at once in the affirmative. The Lord is in Zion: her King is in the midst of her. Having answered this question, it suggests many more.
1. If the Lord be indeed in Zion, and the King he in the midst of her, why do we pray as if He were not? He is with you, ready to answer by fire, if, like Elias, you have but faith with which to challenge His promise and His power.
2. Why do you despond because of your own weakness? We have not a sufficient number of ministers; we have little wealth; we have few places of public worship; we have few gifted members, and so on. So some unbelievingly talk. Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? What more do you want? Oh! we would like to be strong. Why would you be strong? That you must be disqualified to be used by God? Why, any fool can kill the enemy with a cannon, but it takes a Samson to smite them with the jawbone of an ass. And so, when God has the choice of weapons, and He always has, He chooses the weaker weapon, that He may get to Himself the greater renown.
3. If God be with us, why these great fears about the prosperity of the Church? The God of Zion is here, the King of Zion is here. I grant you, we do not sufficiently recognise His presence; we are not, as we should be, obedient to His commands but I charge you, O ye soldiers of the Cross, believe in the presence of your Captain, and press where ye see His helmet amidst the din of war. His Cross is the great emblazoned banner which leads you on to glory. Press forward! to suffer, to deny yourselves, to bear witness for Christ; for the battle is the Lords, and the King Himself fights in the van.
III. Another question. Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities?
1. Here is a question for the Lords people. It becomes a very solemn thing when God is in His Church how that Church behaves herself. Suppose that Church to set up false principles: if her King were not there she might take the kings of the earth to be her head. But dare she do that when her King Himself is there?
2. This text has a particular voice to sinners. You have been saying, God is in the midst of His people--how is it I have not had a blessing? I will ask you this question, Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities? Do not ask why the Word is not blessed to you; do not ask why you do not enjoy the prayer meeting: answer my question first. Why hast thou provoked Me to anger with thy tricks in trade, with thy Sabbathbreaking, with thy lying, with thy loose songs, with thy miring up with worldly company, with thy profanity?
IV. Another cry. I wish I might hear this cry this morning, for then I should not hear it in the world to come, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Manifestations of the presence of God
The ancient polity of the Jewish nation was a pure and splendid theocracy. Jehovah was their King. He gave them their laws, selected their judges, appointed their prophets, and He reigned the Lord supreme, having chosen them to be His peculiar people, and special possession.
I. It is possible for the members of a professing Church to be deceived concerning the presence of God, and conclude that he is with them, when in reality he is far from them.
1. Deceived on this important point are those who conclude God is with them because they have imposing forms and splendid places of worship. If pompous forms of worship and gorgeous temples marked the presence of God with men, the evidence would go to show that God was more with the ancient heathen than with the ancient Jews. It would exalt Mahomet and Mohammedanism over Christ and Christianity.
2. Deceived on this important point are those professing churches who conclude God is with them, because they have creeds and councils in their favour. Were, however, this conclusion correct, it would prove that the presence of God might be found with the mere letter of truth, or even error.
3. Deceived on this important point are those professing churches who conclude God is with them because they have extensive knowledge and numerous gifts. In danger of this error were many who were members of the Church of God at Corinth. An error St. Paul fully exposed, showing that those things which they so highly valued were worthless in comparison with sacred charity, true love to God, and pure love to man.
4. Deceived also on this important point are those churches and individuals who conclude God is with them because He was once with them. Who will question the truth, that He was with the Jews as a people, when Moses sang (Exo_15:13)? But is He with them now as a nation, as the rod of His inheritance, the Zion wherein He delighteth to dwell? Has not the evil He warned them against come upon them (Jer_6:8)? Then in reference unto individuals, having once been with them, is no certainty that He abides with them. Was He not with Saul when chosen of God to be the King of Israel (1Sa_10:7)? Was He not with Solomon when he devoutly dedicated the temple to the Lord, and prayed (2Ch_6:41)? Was He not with Judas when called to the apostleship? Now to say nothing concerning the hour of death, was His presence perpetually with these through life? Then let us net, neither as churches nor as individual members, depend on the past, nor be satisfied with anything short of having God indisputably with us now; bearing in remembrance that His presence is conditional (2Ch_15:2).
II. It is possible for the members of a professing Church to be fully assured of the presence of God among them--King in Zion.
1. God is where the Word of truth is faithfully preached and believingly received.
2. God is where the ministry of the Gospel is effectual to accomplish the purposes for which it is proclaimed.
3. God is where the members of the Church grow in sacred knowledge, and increase in holiness of heart and life.
4. God is where the discipline of Christ is scripturally observed and maintained.
5. God is where a professing people dwell together in the bonds of Christian charity. To this Christians are called by their name, their profession, and hope of eternal life.
III. It behoves the members of a professing Christian Church frequently and faithfully to press on themselves the solemn, weighty inquiry, is the Lord in our Zion, is her King with us? Have we the marks of the Divine presence already stated? Let us examine ourselves as a Christian community on this subject, and that with the sincerity of those who would not be deceived.
1. Is the Word of truth faithfully preached by us as ministers?
2. Is the ministry of the Gospel among us successful to accomplish its gracious designs?
3. Are we as people wise in sacred knowledge and intent on full conformity of the will and image of God?
4. Have we a wholesome scriptural discipline?
5. Are we as a professing Church united in the bonds of Christian charity?
IV. It becomes a Christian Church, sensible of the Divine presence but desirous of a more special manifestation of God with them and to them, to employ those means which are calculated to promote His more glorious abode in Zion.
1. This they should do by a full and constant acknowledgment of the sovereign authority and rule of Christ (Eph_1:22). His kingship in Zion is not a supposed character, but a positive possessed office; and weighty must be the guilt and condemnation of these who deny His claim, and reject His rule.
2. This they should do by diligently seeking an increase of personal holiness (Psa_132:14; Psa_132:16).
3. The more glorious presence of God should also be sought by the members of the Church, in the exercise of fervent, persevering prayer. (W. Naylor.)
The royal presence
The great thing is to ascertain the fact of the Lords presence with His people. Now, where the Lords presence is, there are tokens special, peculiar, and infallible, by which it is evidenced. Where the Lord is, everything will go well: the Gospel will triumph, and the righteous will be glad. On the contrary, the Lords absence is marked by wickedness, carnality, darkness, and dissolution.
1. An indispensable evidence that God is in the churches, we think to be a united, loving people. The Spirit is the source of love; and it is His first fruit.
2. Where this love is present, and in powerful operation, it will produce another evidence--a consistent, holy deportment. Love and purity are inseparable; but purity of heart will be indicated by purity of life.
3. The Lords presence is always accompanied by special zeal for His glory: a desire to promote His honour, and to extend His kingdom.
4. An invariable accompaniment of the Kings presence is liberality in the disposition of worldly substance. His people realise the fact that they are not proprietors, but stewards, to whom is committed treasure, which is exclusively His own.
5. The spirit of humble wailing at His footstool, for the lessons of His wisdom, is another indication of His presence. The churches will be teachable, devout, and obedient in all things.
6. A further evidence of the royal presence is, the possession of high attainments in spiritual things: the citizens of Zion will largely enjoy the comfort of love, the patience of hope, and every blessing provided for them.
7. As a rule, another token of the Lords presence will be, that while His people walk in His fear, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they will be multiplied. The message of love, spoken in love, will operate with melting power on the hearts of men. (The Christian Witness.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 20 General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah and Yahweh have a conversation about the people of Judah.
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My sorrow has no end
The word "my" refers to Jeremiah. The original text is unclear and is interpreted here in different ways by modern versions.
has no end
These words are an exaggeration that express the great extent of Jeremiah's sorrow. AT: "is very great" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
my heart is sick
Here "heart" represents Jeremiah, emphasizing his feelings and emotions. AT: "I feel sick deep down inside me" (See: Synecdoche)
Behold!
This alerts the reader to pay attention to what follows. "Pay attention!"
the daughter of my people
Jeremiah is speaking about the people of Judah in a way that shows his affection for them, as if for a daughter. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 4:11. AT: "my dear people" (See: Metaphor)
from a land far away
Possible meanings are 1) From exile. AT: "from exile in a distant land" or 2) From throughout the land of Judah. AT: "throughout our land"
Is Yahweh not in Zion? Is her king no longer there?
These two questions are similar in meaning. They imply that the people of Judah are wondering why Yahweh is not saving them. AT: "Why does Yahweh not save us if he is the king in Zion?" (See: Parallelism and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Rhetorical Question)
Why then do they provoke me to anger with their carved figures and their worthless foreign idols?
The word "me" refers to Yahweh. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "If they want me to save them, then they must not offend me with their carved figures." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
heart
voice
Zion
king
image
worthy
alien
false god
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 vv18, 20, 21 8:18–9:26 The priests in the Temple expertly memorized and…
8:18–9:26 The priests in the Temple expertly memorized and repeated carefully crafted prayers as rituals in the Temple worship. Repeating the precise wording of the prayers was thought to be very important; failure to do so drained the prayers of their perceived magical power. The character of the priests who uttered the prayers was considered of minor importance. The same was true of lamentations. In contrast, Jeremiah’s prayers and lamentations were spontaneous and occupied him to the depths of his being.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.