12 And, O Jehovah of Hosts, trier of the righteous, Beholder of reins and heart, I do see Thy vengeance out of them, For unto Thee I have revealed my cause.
And O Jehovah of Hosts, judging righteousness, Trying reins and heart, I do see Thy vengeance against them, For unto Thee I have revealed my cause.'
Trust in Him at all times, O people, Pour forth before Him your heart, God `is' a refuge for us. Selah.
I Jehovah do search the heart, try the reins, Even to give to each according to his way, According to the fruit of his doings.
God doth go before me, He causeth me to look on mine enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts,
Try me, O Jehovah, and prove me, Purified `are' my reins and my heart. For Thy kindness `is' before mine eyes, And I have walked habitually in Thy truth.
Jehovah the righteous doth try. And the wicked and the lover of violence, Hath His soul hated,
and they were crying with a great voice, saying, `Till when, O Master, the Holy and the True, dost Thou not judge and take vengeance of our blood from those dwelling upon the land?'
because true and righteous `are' His judgments, because He did judge the great whore who did corrupt the earth in her whoredom, and He did avenge the blood of His servants at her hand;' and a second time they said, `Alleluia;' and her smoke doth come up -- to the ages of the ages!
`Be glad over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, because God did judge your judgment of her!'
And Hannah answereth and saith, `No, my lord, A woman sharply pained in spirit I `am', and wine and strong drink I have not drunk, and I pour out my soul before Jehovah;
so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
who being reviled -- was not reviling again, suffering -- was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously,
Give attention, O Jehovah, unto me, And hearken to the voice of those contending with me. Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from them. Therefore, give up their sons to famine, And cause them to run on the sides of the sword, And their wives are bereaved and widows, And their men are slain by death, Their young men smitten by sword in battle, A cry is heard from their houses, For Thou bringest against them suddenly a troop, For they dug a pit to capture me, And snares they have hidden for my feet. And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me `is' for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!
Let my pursuers be ashamed, and let not me be ashamed -- me! Let them be affrighted, and let not me be affrighted -- me! Bring in on them a day of evil, And a second time `with' destruction destroy them.
Mine inheritance hath been to Me as a lion in a forest, She gave forth against Me with her voice, Therefore I have hated her.
And Hezekiah taketh the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and readeth them, and Hezekiah goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spreadeth it before Jehovah.
Appoint Thou over him the wicked, And an adversary standeth at his right hand. In his being judged, he goeth forth wicked, And his prayer is for sin. His days are few, his oversight another taketh, His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow. And wander continually do his sons, Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places. An exactor layeth a snare for all that he hath, And strangers spoil his labour. He hath none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favour to his orphans. His posterity is for cutting off, In another generation is their name blotted out. The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out. They are before Jehovah continually, And He cutteth off from earth their memorial. Because that he hath not remembered to do kindness, And pursueth the poor man and needy, And the smitten of heart -- to slay, And he loveth reviling, and it meeteth him, And he hath not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him. And he putteth on reviling as his robe, And it cometh in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones. It is to him as apparel -- he covereth himself, And for a continual girdle he girdeth it on. This `is' the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 20
Commentary on Jeremiah 20 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 20
Such plain dealing as Jeremiah used in the foregoing chapter, one might easily foresee, if it did not convince and humble men, would provoke and exasperate them; and so it did; for here we find,
Jer 20:1-6
Here is,
Jer 20:7-13
Pashur's doom was to be a terror to himself; Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here, through the infirmity of the flesh, strangely agitated within himself. Good men are but men at the best. God is not extreme to mark what they say and do amiss, and therefore we must not be so, but make the best of it. In these verses it appears that, upon occasion of the great indignation and injury that Pashur did to Jeremiah, there was a struggle in his breast between his graces and his corruptions. His discourse with himself and with his God, upon this occasion, was somewhat perplexed; let us try to methodize it.
Jer 20:14-18
What is the meaning of this? Does there proceed out of the same mouth blessing and cursing? Could he that said so cheerfully (v. 13), Sing unto the Lord, praise you the Lord, say so passionately (v. 14), Cursed be the day wherein I was born? How shall we reconcile these? What we have in these verses the prophet records, I suppose, to his own shame, as he had recorded that in the foregoing verses to God's glory. It seems to be a relation of the ferment he had been in while he was in the stocks, out of which by faith and hope he had recovered himself, rather than a new temptation which he afterwards fell into, and it should come in like that of David (Ps. 31:22), I said in my haste, I am cut off; this is also implied, Ps. 77:7. When grace has got the victory it is good to remember the struggles of corruption, that we may be ashamed of ourselves and our own folly, may admire the goodness of God in not taking us at our word, and may be warned by it to double our guard upon our spirits another time. See here how strong the temptation was which the prophet, by divine assistance, got the victory over, and how far he yielded to it, that we may not despair if we through the weakness of the flesh be at any time thus tempted. Let us see here,