Jeremiah 18:23

18:18-23 When the prophet called to repentance, instead of obeying the call, the people devised devices against him. Thus do sinners deal with the great Intercessor, crucifying him afresh, and speaking against him on earth, while his blood is speaking for them in heaven. But the prophet had done his duty to them; and the same will be our rejoicing in a day of evil.

However deep they had laid them; and however unknown they were to him; or however private and secret they might be thought to be by them; God is an omniscient God, and knows and sees all things; the thoughts of men's hearts, and all their secret designs in the dark against his ministers, people, and interest: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight; they had sinned the unpardonable sin; or, however, a sin unto death; for which prayer for the forgiveness of it was not to be made, 1 John 5:16; this the prophet knew: what he here imprecates, and both before and after, must be considered, not as flowing from a private spirit, or from a spirit of malice and revenge; but what he delivered out under a spirit of prophecy, as foretelling what would be the sad estate and condition of these persons; for, otherwise, the temper and disposition of the prophet were the reverse; and he was inclined to sue for mercy for these people, as he often did; wherefore this is not to be drawn into a precedent and example for any to follow: but let them be overthrown before thee; by the sword, famine, and pestilence: or, "let them be made to stumble before thee" (i); and fall into perdition; they having made others to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths of truth and goodness; so that it was but a righteous thing that they should be punished after this manner; see Jeremiah 18:15; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger; the set time for his wrath to come upo

Verse 23. - Let them be overthrown before thee ; i.e. count them as those who have been brought to ruin. This explanation seems required by the parallelism, the companion clause meaning " do not regard their sin as cancelled." The ruin may be either spiritual or temporal; the parallelism favors the former (comp. ver. 14; Hosea 14 :10, where "fall" should be "stumble"). Deal thus with them . "Thus" is interpolated by the Authorized Version; "deal" should rather be deal terribly ("deal" is constantly used in a pregnant sense; see on Jeremiah 14:7). Jeremiah 18:23

(23) Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel . . . —Secret as their plots had been, they were not hidden from Jehovah, nor, indeed, as the words show, from the prophet himself. The words might seem, at first, to refer specially to the conspiracy of the men of Anathoth ( Jeremiah 11:21 ), but by this time, as Jeremiah 18:18 shows, the hatred provoked by the warnings of the prophet had spread further, and united the priests and false prophets of Jerusalem in a common hostility against him. So afterwards, in the Gospel history, the conspiracies that began at Capernaum ( Mark 3:6 ) were developed in Jerusalem ( Matthew 27:1 ). Deal thus with them.—The interpolated word “thus,” intended to emphasise the prayer, really weakens it: in the. time of Thine anger deal with them, as implying that the day of grace was past, that nothing now remained but retribution. The prayer was the utterance of an indignation, not unrighteous in itself, yet showing all too plainly, as has been said above, like the language of the so-called imprecatory Psalms, the contrast between the Jewish and the Christian and Christ-like way of meeting wrong and hatred. For us such prayers are among the things that have passed away, and we have learnt to admire and imitate the nobler temper of the proto-martyr, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). The New Testament utterances of St. Peter against Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:20), of St.

Yet, Lord - Better, But, Lord. They conceal their plots, but God knows, and therefore must punish. Neither blot out ... - Or, "blot not out their sin from before Thy face that they may be made to stumble before Thee." Thus - Omit this word. Since there is an acceptable time and a day of salvation, so there is a time of anger, and Jeremiah's prayer is that God would deal with his enemies at such a time, and when therefore no mercy would be shown. On imprecations such as these, see Psalm 109 introductory note. Though they did not flow from personal vengeance, but from a pure zeal for God's honor, yet they belong to the legal spirit of the Jewish covenant. We must not, because we have been shown a "more excellent way," condemn too harshly that sterner spirit of justice which animated so many of the saints of the earlier dispensation.

Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; Lord, thou knowest I do not charge them falsely, though their counsels have been secret against my life. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight . Object. Will some say, Doth Jeremiah here pray for the eternal damnation of his adversaries? Is this lawful? Solut. I do not think this is to be granted lawful, being so highly against charity; nor that Jeremiah in this is to be excused as a prophet, for even prophets had no such revelations; but I take these phrases to be expounded by the next words, let them be overthrown before thee; and that all which the prophet prayeth for is God’s showing some temporal displeasure and vengeance against them. For forgiving , and not forgiving sin , doth not always in holy writ signify the discharging or not discharging the persons, from the obligation to eternal death, under which sin layeth them; but sometimes the discharging or not discharging of them from the punishments in this life, to which sin doth expose the sinner; and all Jeremiah’s meaning is, that however it should please God to deal with these wicked men as to their eternal state, yet he would so far not forgive, not blot out, their sins, as that he would set some mark of his vengeance on them in this life for their treachery and ingratitude to him.

Whether we in it consider Jeremiah as an ordinary suppliant in this cause, praying in faith, or as a prophet, foreknowing what God would do, it ought to lay a law upon, all to take heed of being mischievous and treacherous to others. It is seldom but God, before they die, repays such men into their own bosom, especially if it be against any who are God’s ministers or people; and that for their speaking to or doing before them the will of God: it is a sin seldom escapes without a temporal vengeance; and if such men be saved at last, it will be as through fire. God will mind them that he hath said, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm , 1 Chronicles 16:22 Psalm 105:15 .

23. forgive not—(Ps 109:9, 10, 14). blot out—image from an account-book (Re 20:12). before thee—Hypocrites suppose God is not near, so long as they escape punishment; but when He punishes, they are said to stand before Him, because they can no longer flatter themselves they can escape His eye (compare Ps 90:8). deal thus—exert Thy power against them [Maurer]. time of thine anger—Though He seems to tarry, His time shall come at last (Ec 8:11, 12; 2Pe 3:9, 10).