Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Jeremiah
Book: Jeremiah
Chapter: 17
Overview:
The fatal consequences of the
Idolatry of the Jews.
(1-4) The
happiness of the
Man that trusts in
God; the
End of the opposite
character.
(5-11) The malice of the
Prophet's enemies.
(12-18)
The observance of the
Sabbath.
(19-27)
1-4 The sins which men commit make little impression
On their
minds, yet every
Sin is marked in the
Book of
God; they are all
So graven upon the table of the
Heart, that they will all be
remembered
By the
Conscience. That which is graven in the
Heart
will become
Plain in the
Life; men's actions show the desires
and purposes of their hearts. What need we have to humble
ourselves before
God, who are
So vile in his sight! How should
we depend
On his
Mercy and
Grace, begging of
God to search and
prove us; not to suffer us to be deceived
By our own hearts, but
to create in us a
Clean and holy nature
By his
Spirit!
5-11 He who puts confidence in
Man, shall be like the
Heath in
a
Desert, a
Naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of
Barren
ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own
Righteousness and strength, and think they can do without
Christ, make
Flesh their
Arm, and their souls cannot prosper in
graces or comforts. Those who make
God their
Hope, shall
flourish like a tree always green, whose
Leaf does not wither.
They shall be fixed in peace and satisfaction of mind; they
shall not be anxious in a
Year of
Drought. Those who make
God
their
Hope, have enough in him to make up the want of all
Creature-comforts. They shall not cease from yielding
Fruit in
Holiness and good
Works. The
Heart, the
Conscience of
Man, in
his corrupt and fallen state, is deceitful above all things. It
calls evil good, and good evil; and cries peace to those to whom
it does not belong. Herein the
Heart is desperately wicked; it
is deadly, it is desperate. The case is bad indeed, if the
Conscience, which should set right the errors of other
faculties, is a leader in the delusion. We cannot know our own
hearts, nor what they will do in an
Hour of
Temptation. Who can
understand his errors? Much less can we know the hearts of
others, or depend upon them. He that believes
God's
Testimony in
this matter, and learns to watch his own
Heart, will find this
is a correct, though a sad picture, and learns many lessons to
direct his conduct. But much in our own hearts and in the hearts
of others, will remain unknown. Yet whatever wickedness there is
in the
Heart,
God sees it. Men may be imposed upon, but
God
cannot be deceived. He that gets riches, and not
By right,
though he may make them his
Hope, never shall have joy of them.
This shows what vexation it is to a worldly
Man at
Death, that
he must leave his riches behind; but though the wealth will not
follow to another world, guilt will, and
Everlasting Torment.
The rich
Man takes pains to get an estate, and sits brooding
upon it, but never has any satisfaction in it;
By sinful
Courses
it comes to nothing. Let us be
Wise in time; what we get, let us
get it honestly; and what we have, use it charitably, that we
may be
Wise for eternity.
12-18 The
Prophet acknowledges the favour of
God in setting up
religion. There is
Fulness of comfort in
God, overflowing,
ever-flowing
Fulness, like a
Fountain. It is always fresh and
clear, like
Spring-water, while the pleasures of
Sin are
puddle-waters. He prays to
God for healing, saving
Mercy. He
appeals to
God concerning his
Faithful discharge of the office
to which he was called. He humbly begs that
God would own and
protect him in the work to which he had plainly called him.
Whatever wounds or diseases we find to be in our hearts and
consciences, let us apply to the
Lord to heal us, to save us,
that our souls may praise his name. His hands can bind up the
troubled
Conscience, and heal the broken
Heart; he can cure the
worst diseases of our nature.
19-27 The
Prophet was to lay before the rulers and the people
of
Judah, the command to keep holy the
Sabbath Day. Let them
strictly observe the fourth command. If they obeyed this
Word,
their prosperity should be restored. It is a
Day of
Rest, and
must not be made a
Day of labour, unless in cases of necessity.
Take heed, watch against the profanation of the
Sabbath. Let not
the soul be burdened with the cares of this world
On Sabbath
days. The streams of religion run
Deep or shallow, according as
the banks of the
Sabbath are kept up or neglected. The degree of
strictness with which this ordinance is observed, or the neglect
shown towards it, is a good test to find the state of spiritual
religion in any land. Let all,
By their own
Example,
By
attention to their families, strive to check this evil, that
national prosperity may be preserved, and, above all, that souls
may be saved.