Jeremiah 8:31

There is a gradation in the three last lines, — It shall not be thought of, much less mentioned or named, as given by the Septuagint, — still less be visited, — and much less still, be made. This gradation is destroyed by Blayney by rendering the first line, Nor shall it be the delight of their heart; literally it is, "And it shall not ascend on the heart." The "heart" means often in Hebrew the mind; and "to come to mind" is the idea; it would not be thought of. The phrase occurs in this book in two other places, Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 44:21; and, not to think, or, not to come to mind, is the most suitable meaning, as it is given in our version. The purpose of this kind of gradation is to render the thing more certain and indisputable, so that there might be no room for doubt. — Ed. This seems to be the best rendering. Blayney leaves out the word "Jerusalem;" but for no sufficient reason. The whole verse is as follows: — In that day call shall they Jerusalem, "The throne of Jehovah;" And gathered into it shall be all the nations, For the name of Jehovah, even to Jerusalem; And they shall no more walk after the resolutions of their wicked heart. — Ed. "Evil" is connected with "hardness;" but it belongs properly to "their heart." The word rendered "hardness" is srrvt a plural noun, found eight times in Jeremiah; here, and in Jeremiah 7:24; Jeremiah 9:14; Jeremiah 11:8; Jeremiah 13:10; Jeremiah 16:12; Jeremiah 18:12; Jeremiah 23:17; and twice elsewhere, Deuteronomy 29:19; Psalms 81:12.

And he calls them the "remnant of grace," because they are in no other way saved than through the free and gratuitous goodness of God. And this doctrine may also be justly applied to our time. For we are by no means to expect that God will so restore his Church in the world, that all shall be renewed by his Spirit, and unite in true religion; but he gathers his Church on all sides, and yet in such a way, that his gratuitous mercy ever appears, because there shall be remnants only. It follows, -- Jeremiah 31:8 8. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the wom

(2.) This new creation is accompanied with a new law and a new covenant, or the law of faith and the covenant of grace, Romans 3:27, 8:2–4; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–13. (3.) Unto this law and covenant a day of holy rest unto the Lord doth belong; which cannot be the same day with the former, no more than it is the same law or the same covenant which were originally given unto us, Hebrews 4:9; Revelation 1:10. (4.) That this day was limited and determined to the first day of the week by our Lord Jesus Christ, is that which shall now further be confirmed. Only I must desire the reader to consider, that whereas the topical arguments whereby this truth is confirmed have been pleaded, improved, and vindicated, by many of late, I shall but briefly mention them, and insist principally on the declaration of the proper grounds and foundations of it. 8. As our Lord Jesus Christ, as the eternal Son and Wisdom of the Father, was the immediate cause and author of the old creation, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2, 10, so as Mediator he was the author of this new creation, Hebrews 3:3, 4. He built the house of God; he built all these things, and is God.

He did not put forth or exercise an effectual work of inward grace during their enjoyment of the outward means before mentioned. And therefore, when God promiseth to make the covenant of grace under the gospel effectual unto the elect, by writing his law in their hearts, and putting his fear into their inward parts, he says expressly and emphatically that he will not make it as he made that with the people in the wilderness; and that for this reason, because they (that is, the generality of them) had only the outward administration of it, and did not enjoy this effectual communication of saving grace, which is there called a writing of the law in our hearts, and putting of the fear of God in our inward parts, Hebrews 8:8–12, from Jeremiah 31:31–34. In like manner, when our Lord Jesus Christ preached the gospel unto all, yet it was to some only to whom it was given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, Matthew 13:11–16. I know some are displeased at this; but for the most part they are such as will be pleased with nothing that God either doeth or saith, or can do or say, unless he would give them a law or a gospel to save them in and with their sins. They are ready to dispute that God is unjust if he give not grace to every man, to use or abuse at his pleasure, whilst themselves hate grace and despise it, and think it not worth acceptance if laid at their doors.

And hence the intenseness of his love, the immutability of his counsel, the holiness of his nature, his righteousness and faithfulness, his infinite wisdom, do all shine forth in the mediation and sufferings of Christ, Romans 3:25, 26, 5:8; 1 John 4:9; Hebrews 6:17, 18; Titus 1:2. Rather than his love should not be satisfied and his counsel accomplished, he spared not his own Son, but gave him unto death for us. (3.) He signally gave out the first promise, that great foundation of the covenant of grace; and afterwards declared, confirmed, and ratified by his oath, that covenant wherein all the means of bringing the elect unto glory are contained, Genesis 3:15; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–12. The person of the Father is considered as the principal author of the covenant, as the person covenanting and taking us into covenant with himself; the Son, as the Messiah, being considered as the surety and mediator of it, Hebrews 7:22, 9:15, and the purchaser of the promises of it. (4.) He gave and sent his Son to be a Saviour and Redeemer for them and unto them; so that in his whole work, in all that he did and suffered, he obeyed the command and fulfilled the will of the Father. Him did God the Father "send," and "seal," and "give," and "set forth," as the Scripture everywhere expresseth it. And our Lord Jesus Christ everywhere remits us to the consideration of the love, will, and authority of his Father, in all that he did, taught, or suffered; so seeking the glory of God that sent him.

The Lord God hath sworn by His holiness - They had sinned to profane His "Holy Name" (see the note at Amos 2:7 ). God swears by that holiness which they had profaned in themselves on whom it was called, and which they had caused to be profaned by others. He pledges His own holiness, that He will avenge their unholiness. : "In swearing "by His holiness," God sware by Himself. For He is the supreme uncreated justice and Holiness. This justice each, in his degree, should imitate and maintain on earth, and these had sacrilegiously violated and overthrown." Days shall come (literally, are among) upon you - God's Day and eternity are ever coming. He reminds them of their continual approach. He says not only that they will certainly come, but they are ever coming. They are holding on their steady course. Each day which passes, they advance a day closer upon the sinner. People put out of their minds what "will come;" they "put far the evil day." Therefore, God so often in His notices of woe to come, (1 Samuel 2:31; Isaiah 39:6; Jeremiah 7:32; Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 17:14; Jeremiah 19:6; Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 23:7; Jeremiah 30:3; Jeremiah 31:27-31, Jeremiah 31:38; Jeremiah 33:14; Jeremiah 48:12; Jeremiah 49:2; Jeremiah 51:47, Jeremiah 51:52. (Ges.); Amos 8:11), brings to mind, that those "days are" ever "coming" ; they are not a thing which shall be only; in God's purpose, they already "are;" and with one uniform steady noiseless tread "are coming upon" the sinner.

(2) And the prophets. —That is, the numerous members of the prophetic order, who at this time formed a distinct class, repeatedly mentioned in the writings of Jeremiah ( e.g ., Jeremiah 2:8 ; Jeremiah 5:31 ; Jeremiah 6:13 ), as well as of older prophets. The Targum has the scribes , the γραμματεύς of the New Testament, a class which hardly existed so early. Chron. and some MSS. reads the Levites . (See Note on 2Chronicles 34:30 .) All the men of Judah . . . inhabitants of Jerusalem . . . the people.—A natural hyperbole, Of course the Temple court would not contain the entire population. And he read.—Perhaps the king himself; but not necessarily. (Comp., e.g., 2Kings 22:10; 2Kings 22:16.) Qui facit per alium facit per se. The priests were charged to read the Law to the people (Deuteronomy 31:9, seq.) at the end of every seven years. Small and great—i.e., high and low. (Comp. Psalm 49:2.)

See, for example, with virgin , Jeremiah 18:13 ; Jeremiah 31:4 ; Jeremiah 31:21 ; with virgin daughter , Isaiah 37:22 (“the virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head after thee”), Isaiah 47:1 , Jeremiah 14:17 ; Jeremiah 46:11 ; with daughter (alone) Isaiah 1:8 ; Isaiah 10:30 ; Isaiah 10:32 ; Isaiah 22:4 ; Isaiah 47:5 , Jeremiah 6:26 ; Jeremiah 9:1 , Micah 4:10 ; Micah 4:13 , Zephaniah 3:14 , Zechariah 9:9 (“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem”); and with the feminine indicated (in the Hebrew) by the termination, Isaiah 12:6 (see R.V. marg .), Isaiah 49:17 f., Isaiah 51:17-20 , Jeremiah 10:17 (see R.V. marg .), Jeremiah 22:23 (see ib. ). is fallen ] The tense is the prophetic past, describing the future as the prophet in imagination sees it, already accomplished. Cf. Amos 8:14 . is forsaken ] Rather, is cast down (R.V.), or lieth forsaken (R.V. marg. ), i.e. is abandoned , left to die where she had fallen: cf. Ezekiel 29:5 (R.V. “leave thee (thrown) into the wilderness”), Ezekiel 32:4 (“And I will leave thee forsaken upon the land, I will throw thee forth upon the face of the field”). Such an announcement as this, made in the height of the prosperity secured by Jeroboam II, would naturally be a startling one to those who heard it.

(13) That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself. —It must be carefully observed that this is the aspect of the covenant which makes Jehovah responsible for the fulfilment of the whole. “He takes all this trouble for the sake of establishing thee in His presence for a people” (Rashi). The people’s part, as described in this verse, is only to accept the position. And thus the covenant of Deuteronomy 29 is brought into the closest similarity with that which is called the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31 , Hebrews 8:8 ; the form of which is “I will” be to them a God, and “they shall” be to me a people. God undertakes for the people’s part of the covenant as well as His own. In Deuteronomy the first half of the New Covenant appears here in Deuteronomy 29, “that He may be unto thee a God.” The second part appears in Deuteronomy 30:6-8 , “The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart . . . to love the Lord thy God.”

ely put Jeremiah into this miserable place, but yet the noise of it came to Ebed-melech’s ear, who was attending in the court. The gates of the city were places where princes were wont to sit to execute justice, and to receive petitions, and give answers, 2Sa xix, 8 Proverbs 31:23 , &c. Jeremiah 38:8 No text from Poole on this verse. Jeremiah 38:9 The courage of this good eunuch was very remarkable; he did not stay till the king came in, but went to the king, as he was sitting in the gate of Benjamin, administering justice, or receiving and answering petitions, where doubtless he was not alone, and probably was at