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Jeremiah
Chapter Forty-nine
Jeremiah 49
Chapter Contents
Prophecies relative to the Ammonites. (1-6) The Edomites.
(7-22) The Syrians. (23-27) The Kedarenes. (28-33) The Elamites. (34-39)
Commentary on Jeremiah 49:1-6.
(Read Jeremiah 49:1-6.)
Might often prevails against right among men, yet that
might shall be controlled by the Almighty, who judges aright; and those will
find themselves mistaken, who, like the Ammonites, think every thing their own
on which they can lay their hands. The Lord will call men to account for every
instance of dishonesty, especially to the destitute.
Commentary on Jeremiah 49:7-22
(Read Jeremiah 49:7-22)
The Edomites were old enemies to the Israel of God. But
their day is now at hand; it is foretold, not only to warn them, but for the
sake of the Israel of God, whose afflictions were aggravated by them. Thus
Divine judgments go round from nation to nation; the earth is full of
commotion, and nothing can escape the ministers of Divine vengeance. The
righteousness of God is to be observed amidst the violence of men.
Commentary on Jeremiah 49:23-27
(Read Jeremiah 49:23-27)
How easily God can dispirit those nations that have been
most celebrated for valour! Damascus waxes feeble. It was a city of joy, having
all the delights of the sons of men. But those deceive themselves who place
their happiness in carnal joys.
Commentary on Jeremiah 49:28-33
(Read Jeremiah 49:28-33)
Nebuchadnezzar would make desolation among the people of
Kedar, who dwelt in the deserts of Arabia. He who conquered many strong cities,
will not leave those unconquered that dwell in tents. He will do this to
gratify his own covetousness and ambition; but God orders it for correcting an
unthankful people, and for warning a careless world to expect trouble when they
seem most safe. They shall flee, get far off, and dwell deep in the deserts;
they shall be dispersed. But privacy and obscurity are not always protection
and security.
Commentary on Jeremiah 49:34-39
(Read Jeremiah 49:34-39)
The Elamites were the Persians; they acted against God's
Israel, and must be reckoned with. Evil pursues sinners. God will make them
know that he reigns. Yet the destruction of Elam shall not be for ever. But
this promise was to have its full accomplishment in the days of the Messiah. In
reading the Divine assurance of the destruction of all the enemies of the
church, the believer sees that the issue of the holy war is not doubtful. It is
blessed to recollect, that He who is for us, is more than all against us. And
he will subdue the enemies of our souls.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Jeremiah》
Jeremiah 49
Verse 1
[1]
Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no
heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
No heir —
During the long tract of time that there were wars between the Jews and
Ammonites, the land of Gad and Reuben which lay beyond Jordan, fell into the
hands of the Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites. Hence it is that the prophet
saith, Hath Israel no sons? God had given that country of Gilead to Manasseh,
Reuben, and Gad; and as mens estates ought to descend to their heirs, so this
land should have descended to their posterity, but the Ammonites had taken and
possessed it.
Verse 3
[3] Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you
with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall
go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Ai — A city of the
Ammonites, not the same mentioned, Joshua 7:2, for that was on the other side
Jordan.
By the hedges —
Where they might be hidden, and not so easily seen.
Verse 4
[4]
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding
daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
Flowing —
Either flowing with water, or plenty of corn and grass.
Verse 5
[5]
Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all
those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and
none shall gather up him that wandereth.
Right forth — So
that you shall be glad to flee, and never look back.
Gather up —
None will receive or entertain you.
Verse 6
[6] And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon,
saith the LORD.
I will bring —
Probably this refers to the conversion of the Ammonites, as well as other
Heathens, to Christ.
Verse 7
[7]
Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is
counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
Edom —
The Edomites were the posterity of Esau the eldest son of Isaac, but
disinherited; the blessing being given to his younger brother Jacob, who was
head of the twelve tribes of Israel. God promised him that he should have a
fat, and plentiful country, tho' his brother should be his lord; and foretold,
that he should break his brother's yoke from off his neck: the land of Seir was
his country. The Edomites coasted southward upon Canaan, the Israelites passed
by their coasts to go into Canaan, their way lay thro' Edom, but their king
refusing to suffer them to go through, God ordered them to go another way.
Balaam prophesied their ruin. They were enemies to the Israelites in the time
of Saul, 1 Samuel 14:47, and David, 2 Samuel 8:14, and Amaziah, 2 Kings 14:17, who slew of them ten thousand,
and took Selah, calling it Jokteel. Many of the prophets foretold their ruin,
Jeremiah in this place, Ezekiel 25:12-14; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:11,12, and others.
Teman —
Was a city of Edom.
Verse 8
[8] Flee
ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the
calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
Dedan —
Was a city of Arabia joining to Idumea, Isaiah 21:13, they being neighbours to the
Edomites are called to flee, and to get into caves, where they might dwell deep
in the earth and be in some security.
Verse 9
[9] If
grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if
thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
If — Edom shall be totally
destroyed; their destruction should not be like the gleaning of grapes, where
the gatherers content themselves with taking the principal clusters: nor yet
like the robbings of thieves, who take for their hunger, and when they have got
enough leave the rest.
Verse 12
[12] For
thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup
have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished?
thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
They —
The Jews, who in comparison with others did not deserve to drink of the cup,
yet have drank of it, and can you think to escape? When an Israelite hath not
escaped the justice of God, an Edomite must not expect it.
Verse 13
[13] For
I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation,
a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual
wastes.
Bozrah —
Edom is expressed under the name of Bozrah, (a part for the whole) Bozrah being
its principal city.
Verse 14
[14] I
have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen,
saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
An ambassador — He
speaks after the manner of earthly princes, who use to send their ambassadors
to other princes to declare their minds to them. God hath inclined them to come
against Edom.
Verse 19
[19]
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the
habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and
who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who
will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
Behold —
The Edomites shall come up fiercely against Nebuchadrezzar, but will suddenly
flee, yea even from their own country.
Appoint —
Into whose hands shall I give that country.
For who —
For I can do whatsoever I please.
Will appoint —
And who will appoint me a time to plead with men? Who is - Where is that king
or potentate that will stand before me?
Verse 20
[20]
Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and
his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely
the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their
habitations desolate with them.
Teman —
Edom and Teman signify the same thing.
The least —
The least of Nebuchadrezzar's forces shall drag them out of their lurking
places.
Verse 23
[23]
Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil
tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
Damascus —
Being the head of this country, is put for the whole country.
Hamath —
Hamath and Arpad were two cities also of Syria.
On the sea —
Their inhabitants that live near the sea shall be troubled.
Verse 25
[25] How
is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
Of my joy — A
city of great renown. The king of Syria is here supposed to speak.
Verse 27
[27] And
I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces
of Benhadad.
Ben-hadad —
Was the common name of the kings of Syria.
Verse 28
[28]
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and
spoil the men of the east.
Kedar —
Was one of the sons of Ishmael, whose posterity inhabited part of Arabia
Petraea. Hazor was the head city to several kingdoms in Joshua's time.
Verse 29
[29] Their
tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves
their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry
unto them, Fear is on every side.
They —
The Chaldeans.
Verse 30
[30]
Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD;
for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath
conceived a purpose against you.
Flee —
These seem to be the prophet's words.
Verse 31
[31]
Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith
the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
Arise —
The result of Nebuchadrezzar's counsels, giving charge to his armies to march
against the Kedarens, who lived at ease and took no care, nor had any neighbours
that could assist them.
Verse 34
[34] The
word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the
beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Against Elam —
Probably the Persians.
Verse 38
[38] And
I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the
princes, saith the LORD.
My throne —
God calls the throne of Cyrus or Alexander his throne; because he gave it the
conqueror.
Verse 39
[39] But
it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity
of Elam, saith the LORD.
But — We
had the like promise as to Moab, chap. 48:47, and as to Ammon, verse 49:6, the same latter days either signify after
many days, or in the time of the Messiah. In the former sense it may refer to
Cyrus, who conquered Persia. In the latter sense it refers to the spiritual
liberty which some of these poor Heathens were brought into by the gospel. We
read Acts 2:9, that some of the Elamites were at
Jerusalem at pentecost, and were some of those converted to Christ.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Jeremiah》
49 Chapter 49
Verses 1-6
Verse 8
Dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan.
Dwell deep, O Dedan
We do not quite know who these inhabitants of Dedan were, but in
all probability they were some Arabian tribe or tribes. The text intends one of
two things--either to inform these inhabitants of Dedan, that however deep in
the cavernous rocks they should hide themselves, they would certainly be
destroyed; or else it was a gracious warning to remove from Edom, strike their
tents, and retreat into the depths of the wilderness, and so escape from the
invaders.
I. Let us take it
sarcastically. It is as though the prophet said to these Edomites, and those
that dwelt with them, “You think you never can be destroyed, for your city is
situated in a rocky defile, where a handful of men can hold the pass. You
suppose that the mightiest armies will fail to conquer you, and therefore you
are very proud; but your pride is vain.” “Thy terribleness hath deceived thee,
and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock,
that holdest the height of the hill:” though thou shouldest, make thy nest as
high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.” That
word has been terribly fulfilled, for the ancient rock-city stands as a wonder
to all travellers, and when they ride through it, which is not often, for it is
with great difficulty that you reach the place at all, they find the city
standing, but the houses desolate, and without inhabitants. Edom is a perpetual
desolation, because of her sins:
1. From the text I hear a cry, like the stern voice of Elias, to
every profane stoner who thinks that he will ultimately escape the wrath of
God. Thou mayest dwell deep, O transgressor, but God shall find thee out. Thou
sayest, “How shall He reach me?” The hand of death has only to be stretched
out, and thou art HIS captive at once: and a little thing will do it--the wind
has but to pass over thee, and thou art gone. A drop of blood may go the wrong
way, a valve may refuse to open, a vessel may burst, a band may snap, and there
thou liest, beneath God’s avenging hand, like a stag smitten by the hunter.
Thou art dust, and a breath wilt scatter thee to the four winds. Thy spirit
will be equally unable to escape from God. When it leaves this body, whither
will it fly?
2. The same solemn warning may be applied to those who are
self-righteous, and who think that they are forming a hiding-place for
themselves You think that you will save yourselves by your works Ah! labour
mightily; for hard must be your toil if you think to finish a righteousness of
your own. In the very fire must you labour. You would make a dwelling for
yourself as secure as the Rock of Ages? You had need build anxiously. I do not
wonder that you are ill at ease. I wonder you have any peace, for the labours
which you propose are more stupendous than those of Hercules! You would work
miracles without the God of miracles! Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!
3. The same text, in the same way, might be applied to those who are
hypocrites, and are practising secret sins while they yet wear the name of
Christ, and are numbered amongst His people. Where are the deep places which
can afford refuge to religious pretenders? Where shall liars conceal
themselves? O hypocrite! it may be you have planned your sin so cleverly that
the wife of your bosom does not know it: your scheme is so admirably cunning
that you carry two faces, and yet no Christian sees other than that Christian
mask of yours. Ah, sir! but you are a greater fool than I take you for, if you
think you can deceive your God. Cast off your double-mindedness. “Cease to do
evil, learn to do well,” for it is time to seek the Lord, and may God grant you
His effectual grace that you may do so at once, ere He condemn you to the
lowest hell.
II. But now we will
use the text instructively, in which view, the first and natural sense
would be, that the prophet warns the tribe of Dedan, who had come to live among
the Edomites, to go away from them, and dwell in the depths of the wilderness;
so that when the destroyer came, they might not participate in Edom’s doom. It
was the warning voice of mercy, separating its chosen from among the multitude
of the condemned.
1. The people of God, like the tribes of Dedan, to some extent, dwell
in Edom. Your business, your duty, is to come out from among them. “Be ye
separate, and touch not the unclean thing.” Better go to heaven alone, than to
hell in company. Better be true to God, with Abdiel, “faithful among the
faithless found,” than win the applause of the crowd by great liberality and
equal inconsistency. More important still, however, is the separation of every
Christian from worldly habits, customs, and ways. Wherever you are, dear
friend, though you must be in the world, take care that you be not of it. Dwelt
deep in the solitudes where Jesus dwelt--in the lonely holiness which was
fostered on the cold mountain’s side, and then shone resplendent amid
temptation and persecution! Commit yourself unto no man; call no man master;
lean on no arm of flesh; walk before the Lord in the land of the living, and so
dwell deep, as did your Lord.
2. My earnest desire is that every saved soul among you may dwell
deep, that is to say, that none of you may be superficial Christians, but that;
you may be deep
believers, well rooted plants of grace, thorough, downright, out-and-out
Christians--that you may not only dwell in the Rock of Ages, but dwell deep in
it. To this let me call your attention.
3. If any inquire what are our reasons for bringing forward at this
time such an exhortation as this, I will briefly answer them.
Dwell deep
I. Dwell deep in
the peace of god. God’s peace is so deep and blessed that it cannot be fathomed
or explained; the fugitive into its sacred secrets cannot be followed or
dragged forth to perish by the merciless pack of the wolves of care. Men of the
world cannot understand that mystery of peace; but the believer knows the way into it, and makes
it his hiding-place and pavilion.
II. Dwell deep in
communion with God. Get away from the rush and strife around, and go alone into
the clear, still depths of His nature. The Rhone loses all its silt in the
deep, clear waters of Geneva’s lake. A few hasty words of prayer will not avail
for this. A day’s climb is often necessary before one can reach the heart of
the mountains.
III. Dwell deep in
stillness of soul. Get within. God awaits thee there. Centre thyself. When the
world is full of alarm and harassments, study to be quiet. The soul’s health
cannot be maintained apart from the observance of times of waiting on God in
solitude. The great importance of perseverance in the exercise of prayer and
inward retirement may be sufficiently learnt, says one, next to the experience
of it, merely from the tempter’s artifices and endeavours to allure us from it,
and make us neglect it. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Deep dwellers
The plants which grow in the Alps are, as a rule, firmly and
largely rooted. An authority on this topic says: “The roots of some plants
enter so far into the gritty soil as to defy the tourist to bring them out,
while others simply search farther into the heart of the flaky rock, so that
they are safer from any want of moisture than if in the best and richest soil.”
So in many lives, the very
strength and beauty of Christian character are a proof that the roots of the soul have struck deep
into the everlasting truth and love, the granite truths of the Divine Being and
attributes. “Dwell deep! O Dedan!” (H. O. Mackey.)
Verse 11
Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let
thy widows trust in Me.
The compassion and beneficence of the Deity
No subject is more open to general observation, or more confirmed
by manifold experience, than the goodness of God. In Scripture it is most
frequently presented to us in the light of compassion to the distresses of
mankind (Psalms 102:17; Psalms 10:17; Psalms 58:5; Psalms 69:33; Psalms 146:7; Psalms 22:24, &c.).
I. The discoveries
of Divine compassion were purposely intended to furnish to us particular ground
for trust in God amid all the vicissitudes of human life. Compassion is a
principle which we all feel and know. We know that it is the strongest of all
benevolent instincts in our nature, and that it tends directly to interest us
in behalf of those who need our aid. We are taught to believe that a similar
attribute belongs to the Divine nature; in order that, from that species of
goodness which we are best acquainted with, and which we can most rely upon, we
may be trained both to love our Almighty Benefactor, and, as long as we are in
the practice of our duty, to trust to His protection amid every distress.
Compassion to the unfortunate,
as it is exerted among men, is indeed accompanied with certain disturbed and
painful feelings, arising from sympathy with those whom we pity. But every such
feeling we must remove from our thoughts when we ascribe an affection of this
nature to the Deity. His compassion is such a regard as suits the perfection of
the great Governor of the universe, whose benignity, undisturbed by any violent
emotion, ever maintains the same tranquil tenor, like the unruffled and
uninterrupted serenity of the highest heavens.
II. Such
discoveries of the Divine nature were designed, not only to administer
encouragement and consolation, but also to exhibit the pattern of that
disposition which we are bound, in our measure, to imitate and follow. That
hardness of heart which renders men insensible to the distresses of their
brethren, that insolence
of prosperity which inspires them with contempt of those who are fallen below
them, are always represented in Scripture as dispositions most opposite to the
nature of God, and most hateful in His sight. In order to make this appear in
the strongest light, He has turned His goodness chiefly into the channel of
compassionate regard to those whom the selfish and proud despise (Psalms 12:5; Psalms 10:17-18).
III. In the course
of human life innumerable occasions present themselves for all the exercises of
that humanity and benignity to which we are so powerfully prompted. The
diversities of rank among men, the changes of fortune to which all, in every
rank, are liable, the necessities of the poor, the wants of helpless youth, the
infirmities of declining age, are always giving opportunities for the display
of humane affections. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)
The God of orphans and widows
The Rev. J. Brown of Haddington, said that his epitaph might
appropriately be: “Here lies one of the cares of providence, who early wanted
both father and mother, and yet never missed them.”
Verse 16
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart
On the deceitfulness of the heart, in the abuse of prosperity
The words afford us the following doctrine, That worldly
prosperity is often abused by the heart, as the occasion of self-deceit; or,
that the heart often discovers its deceit in the abuse of prosperity.
All that is intended here is to illustrate the actions of this corrupt
principle in abusing prosperity.
1. By ingratitude.
2. By disposing us to make a God of our mercies. The deceitfulness of
the heart, so violent is its opposition to the living God, works by contraries,
and often by extremes. If it do not tempt us to despise His mercies altogether,
it will excite us to put them out of their proper place. By either of these
methods, although directly opposite, it gains its wicked purpose, in making us
forget the God of our mercy. He will suffer no rival in thy heart, O Christian,
for it all belongs to Him; and when thy love to worldly comforts ceases to be
secondary and subordinate, it is an encroachment on His prerogative. Therefore
must the usurper of the throne of God be cast down, that in all things He may
have the pre-eminence. When precious comforts are thus converted into severe
crosses, how great is the trial! There is a double bitterness attending it; not
only that of the distress presently felt, but the painful recollection of the
happiness formerly enjoyed.
3. By consuming Divine mercies on lust. The wicked ask that they may
consume it on
their lusts. They neither desire mercies, nor improve those which are bestowed,
for the glory of God; but only as making provision for their inordinate or unlawful affections.
4. By ascribing their prosperity to some other cause than God. Even
the Lord’s people, from the prevalence of deceit, are in great danger of
ascribing their mercies to some other cause than God, or to something besides Him. They will not
wholly deny the praise to the God of their salvation; but they do not ascribe
it entirely to Him. When they receive signal mercies from Him, they are apt to
imagine that these are in some degree deserved by their holiness and integrity
of conversation; that He could not justly deny them such tokens of His favour,
when they are so faithful and diligent in His service.
5. By denying God the use of those mercies which He hath Himself
bestowed. When, in the course of His providence, He confers on one a greater
portion of common blessings than on another; it is for this end, that he may
use them for His glory, and in the manner of laying them out, return them to
the Lord. No talent is to be laid up in a napkin. According to the measure of
temporal benefits received from God, we are stewards for Him.
6. By unsatisfied desires and immoderate longings for a greater
degree of temporal prosperity. When the heart hath tasted of mercies of this
nature, it is not satisfied; it craves more. If its desires be fulfilled,
instead of being content with these, it flatters itself, that if such another
mercy were bestowed,
it would ask nothing further. But this only argues its deceit; for even though this be
granted, it is still as importunate as ever. The more it receives, its desires
are enlivened and enlarged the more.
7. By hardening itself under prosperity. No mercy whatsoever can leave us
as it finds us. It must either prove a blessing or a curse. It will either have
a mollifying, or a hardening influence on our hearts. (J. Jamieson, M. A.)
Deceitfulness of pride
How nimbly does that little lark mount up, singing towards heaven
in a right line, whereas the hawk, which is stronger of body and swifter of
wing, towers up by many gradual compasses to its highest pitch. That bulk of
body and length of wing hinder a direct ascent, and require the help both of
air and scope to advance his flight; while the small bird cuts the air without
resistance, and needs no outward furtherance of her motion. It is no otherwise
with the souls of men. Some are hindered by those powers which would seem helps
to their soaring: great wit, deep judgment, quick apprehension, send about men,
with no small labour, for the recovery of their own incumbrance, while the good
affections of plain and simple souls raise them up immediately to the fruition
of God. Why should we be proud of that which may slacken our way to glory? (Bishop
Hall.)
Verse 23
There is sorrow (as) on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
Life on the ocean
That which was true of the cities spoken of in our text, is also
true, though in a different sense, of every voyager on the sea of life. “There
is sorrow (as) on the sea.”
I. Sorrow as on
the sea is divinely predicted. Voyagers you all must be. Out on that wide mysterious
ocean which is swept by storms untold, and which teems with dangers
innumerable, you must sail. Many of you axe as yet but as landsmen lying in the
docks. You are admiring your vessel, and putting on nautical airs, and
wondering when you will be freed from the trammels of the shore. Some of you
are just dropping down the stream, your breasts big with hope, and your
imagination painting glowing pictures of the ocean life beyond. ‘Mid the songs
of the sailors, and the music of the passengers, bright visions are rising of
sunny seas and blue skies, of mirth and boundless happiness. With all my heart
I wish you God-speed. I would not unnecessarily becloud that fair prospect. May
the sunbeams which begild the waves around you follow you abundantly. And yet,
though at the risk of being charged with unkindness, I must warn you that
“there is sorrow on the sea.” I would not, I could not, prevent your sailing;
but I must remind you of that which should not be always forgotten, that in
life’s voyage troubles will come.
II. Sorrow as on
the sea is universally experienced.
1. From the mutability of life. I have no wish to play the
misanthrope, to paint you a leaden landscape under a lowering sky, where no
break of sunshine ever comes to chase the shadows from an ebon sea. There is
sunshine! Though all life has its clouds, life is not all sorrow. But while
life’s joys may be many and real, it will have its sorrows by reason of its
changes. To-day the sea may he calm, and the sky may be without a cloud, but
even while we speak the glass is falling, and the calm sea will soon be lashed
into foaming fury, and the cloudless sky will soon be overcast with messengers
of coming woe.
2. From the uncertainties of life. Which way to steer--what to
do--whether to enter into this speculation or to avoid that transaction--how to
meet this engagement, or how to be relieved of that responsibility--often
drives men to their wits’ end. Business goes wrong, markets are unsteady,
panics are abroad, and fogs and thick darkness so enshroud the mercantile
world, that with dangers and uncertainty everywhere around, the perplexed
tradesmen often just throws up the helm in despair, and allows the vessel to
drift whithersoever the current will take her. And in his spiritual voyage the
Christian is not always free from similar sorrow. With the Psalmist, we have
sometimes to lament that “we see not our signs.”
3. The disappointments of life.
III. Sorrow as on
the sea may be greatly mitigated.
1. A good ship. Let a sailor be persuaded of the soundness of the
ship in which he sails, and “it may blow big guns”--he is comparatively at
ease. We want similar faith in the grand old Gospel ship. We want the
unswerving confidence which will inspire us ever to say, “I am not ashamed of
the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” Classed A1
for ever in the heavenly register, this “everlasting Gospel” can never fail. In
this good ship millions have reached the “desired haven” in peace; on her deck
millions are sailing thither now; and there is room for millions yet unborn.
2. A reliable chart. Without this a man may well be anxious. By what
chart are you steering? Is it the Bible, or is it the “Age of Reason”? Blessed
be God, we know whom and we know what we believe.
3. Sufficient provision. Lacking provision, what can the sailor do?
There is often such “sorrow on the sea.” Want often stares men in the face when
they are far from port, and when they can by no possible means obtain supplies.
This can never happen on board the ship of the Gospel. This vessel is stored
abundantly with the choicest provisions of free eternal grace. (W. H. Burton.)
The sea, a parable of human life
The ocean is, and always will be, so long as man keeps the faculty
of imagination, a mournfully suggestive parable of human life. The restlessness
of the sea, its constant alternations of storm and calm, its treachery, for
ever deceiving us by false appearances, the atmosphere of mystery that broods
over it, all these contribute to make it the natural symbol of man’s condition
here in this world. Take only one of those characteristics--mysteriousness.
David had been visited by this thought also. “Thy judgments,” he says, while
pondering the strange confusion of good and evil in the world, “are like the
great deep.” The sea does suggest, with wonderful power, the mysteriousness of
God’s providence in the affairs of men. “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in
the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known.” The human mind is by nature
prone to the misgiving that fate rather than providence orders the procession
of our life. Events, so the temptation whispers, fall out according to an iron
law of necessity. There is no loving Father who notes the sparrow’s fall, and
gives His children their daily bread; neither is there any blessed
consummation, any final victory of the good over the evil towards which history
may be supposed to move. These hopes are delusive; they rest on no foundation.
The only thing of which we are certain is that effect follows upon cause in
uniform succession, any given human life being as powerless to quicken, or
retard, or alter the movement of this endless chain, as if it were only a tiny
bubble molten in the fibre of the iron of one single link. This is what we
understand by such words as “destiny,” “fate.” “necessity,” and this is the
idea which the sea, looked at as a parable, most easily suggests. You sit upon
some rocky promontory and watch the incoming tide. You note how wave after wave
dashes itself against the hard face of the cliff, and perishes in the act. You observe
that every now and then a larger wave comes in, and seems to make a braver
effort; but that also, like its predecessor, falls back and is gone. Meanwhile
the general level of the water rises and rises, until a predetermined point is
reached, and then, as gradually, the tide recedes, sure to return again as soon
as a few hours have past, and to make its mark a little higher, or a little
lower, according to rules which the astronomers wrote out long ago, which you
might have found all calculated for you in their books before you started on
the walk. Surely, if there be anywhere in nature a vivid emblem of the idea of
destiny, it is here. And, if anything were needed to heighten the impression
which the eye has already carried to the mind, the ear might find it in the monotonous,
melancholy music of the breaking waves, a sound which possibly suggested to the
mourner among the prophets his pathetic cry, “There is sorrow on the sea.” What
is the relief for a mind oppressed, weighted down with thoughts like this? “The
sea is His, and He made it.” “Have faith in God,” said our Lord Jesus Christ to
His disciples, when they found themselves in perplexity. Have faith in God. He
who made the sea is greater than the sea. He who ordained the strangely tangled
scheme of providence, is greater than His scheme. He who is responsible for the
mystery of human life, holds the key of that mystery in. His hands. Do you ask
for proof of this? There is no proof. If there were proof, Christ need not have
said, “Have faith in God.” Where knowledge leaves off, there faith begins. At
the outer boundary of demonstration, belief lifts up her voice and sings. Do
you say, Convince me that the idea of destiny is false, and that the idea of
providence is true? No, I cannot convince, I can only, by God’s help, persuade
you; and yet, when once persuaded, you will be as certain as if you had been
convinced; for what a man believes with all his heart, he holds as firmly as he does
that which he knows with all his mind. “We know,” says St. Paul, grandly
asserting his faith in a doctrine the opposite of destiny, “that all things
work together for good to them that love God.” How did he know this? Had it
been proved to him by strict processes of reasoning in which his keen intellect
had been able to detect no flaw? Was that the ground of the confidence with
which he spoke? Far from it. The foundation of his certainty was what he
elsewhere calls the “assurance of faith.” And who is the teacher of this glad
faith? To whom shall we go that we may learn to believe that God is love? I know not, if not
to Him who, standing once upon the deck of a tempest-tossed ship, rebuked the
wind, and said unto this same sea, “Peace, be still.” Did not He, the Redeemer,
come into this world, and take our nature upon Him, and suffer death upon the
Cross, for the very purpose of freeing men from the bondage of their fears, for
the very purpose of breaking up this evil dream of destiny and enfranchising us
with the liberty of the sons of God? Has He not made for us, as for Israel of
old, a pathway through the dreaded sea, and having overcome the sharpness of
death, has He not opened the kingdom
of heaven to all believers? Well may He ask, Where is your faith? One who has
done so much for us has at least the right to expect that we shall trust Him;
having at so great a cost purchased us this freedom, He has at least the right
to expect that we shall be thankful for it, and use it as His gift. (W. R.
Huntington, D. D.)
Verse 30-31
Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor,
saith the Lord.
Dangers to the Church
What is called “Underground Jerusalem” is largely the space
from which the stones were taken for the building of Solomon’s temple. That
space, according to Josephus, was afterwards honeycombed with passages, canals,
and secret galleries, not for sanitary purposes, but as places of refuge for
women and children in times of war. These passages were all connected with the
forts and towers of the city, and were a secret means of escape when the city
was besieged. When Jerusalem was surrounded by the Romans under Titus large numbers of the Jews
fled for refuge to these underground hiding-places. Before the Romans knew of
these hiding-places, they were often astonished, and sometimes startled, by
seeing persons rising as from the ground and making their escape by the towers,
when at length they entered the city, and had passed from Moriah to Mount Zion,
they thought that their work of destruction was ended; but they only then
learned that thousands of the Jews were living beneath the ground. It is
alleged that more than a hundred battles were fought underneath the city, and
that more than two thousand dead bodies were taken out of the tunnels and
secret chambers of what is now called Underground Jerusalem when the prophet
enjoined the inhabitants of Hazor to flee, and dwell deep, he may have had some
such invisible cities of refuge in view. But even in such hiding-places they
were only comparatively safe. Their enemies often sought them, and found them,
and put them to death.
I. One of the
dangers to which the Church is exposed in modern times is shallowness of
thought. Many seem to be satisfied with as little of Christianity as possible.
Shallowness of thought means want of heart, want of understanding, want of
principle, moral purpose, and power. The Church can outlive pagan conspiracies,
tyrannical laws, and cruel persecutions; but she cannot outlive
thoughtlessness. “Dwell deep” may be regarded as synonymous with Solomon’s
injunction, “With all thy getting, get understanding.” It means that we should
get beneath the surface and find out the true meaning of things. We are to know
things not as they may have been perverted, or as they seem, but as they are
who that is wise would estimate the value of a chronometer by its cases, or of
a picture by its frame, or of a book by its binding? We would sooner expect a
man to tell us all about the growth and development of a tree without reference
to sunshine and showers, or the soil in which the tree was planted and in which
it grew, than we should expect him to understand all about salvation without
any reference to sin, or all about God without any reference to Jesus Christ.
Things can only be known thoroughly and satisfactorily as they are studied in
their proper connections. Take the letters of the most precious word you know,
and transpose them, and they cease to convey thought to your thought. Separate
the Old Testament from the New, or the first Adam, in his federal
relationships, from the second Adam, and you will fail to understand one of the
deepest doctrines of the Bible. But unite these as Paul does in his Epistle to
the Romans, and you have the key to understand much of the great mystery of
godliness.
II. Another source
of danger to the Church in these days is superficiality of character. In the course
of our voyage to America, some years ago, the motion of the ship was on some
days very disagreeable to the passengers. She pitched and lurched and rolled
Among the waves so constantly as to render it impossible for us to rest or be
at peace in any position. The sea on the surface being comparatively calm, some
of us wondered why the vessel was so unsteady, and on making inquiry were
informed that it was owing to her light cargo. The ship had no grip of the
water, and the water had no grip of her, and hence her unsteady movement. Men
of superficial character are somewhat like this ship, not very steady.
Superficial Christians remind you of those shopkeepers who make the most of
their limited stock by putting it all or nearly all in the windows. In all
substantial buildings there is much invisible mason work. The foundation of
every palatial edifice is not only deep and solid, but it has been laid with a
view to sustain the structure that rests upon it. It is also well known that
there is a fair proportion between the roots of a tree in the ground and its
height and breadth above it. It is even so with respect to human character.
Those who grow up to Christ in all things cannot be strangers either to the
depths from which the Psalmist cried, “Out of the depths have I cried unto
Thee, O Lord!” or to the secret place of the Most High, when the soul resides under the
shadow of the Almighty.
III. Another source
of danger to the Church in modem times is her apparent acquiescence in pious
frauds. “The greatest obstacle,” says Archbishop Whately, “to the following of
truth is the tendency to look in the first instance to the expedient. Pious
frauds,” he says,
“fall naturally into two classes--positive and negative: the one refers to the
introduction and propagation of what is false; the other refers to the
toleration of it. A plant may be in a garden from two causes, either from being
planted designedly or being found there and left there. In either case some
degree of approbation is implied. He who propagates a delusion, and he who
connives at it when already existing--both alike tamper with truth.” (J. K.
Campbell, D. D.)
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──《The Biblical Illustrator》