JEREMIAH 12 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Jeremiahs Complaint1You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you.Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

BARNES, "Yet let me talk ... - Rather, yet will I speak with thee on a matter of right. This sense is well given in the margin. The prophet acknowledges the general righteousness of Gods dealings, but cannot reconcile with it the properity of the conspirators of Anathoth This difficulty was often present to the minds of the saints of the Old Testament, see Job_21:7 ff; Ps. 37; Ps. 73.

Happy - Rather, secure, tranquil.

CLARKE, "Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee - The prophet was grieved at the prosperity of the wicked; and he wonders how, consistently with Gods righteousness, vice should often be in affluence, and piety in suffering and poverty. He knows that God is righteous, that every thing is done well; but he wishes to inquire how these apparently unequal and undeserved lots take place. On this subject he wishes to reason with God, that he may receive instruction.

GILL, "Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee,.... The six first verses of this chapter properly belong to the preceding, being of the same argument, and in strict connection with the latter part of it. Jeremiah appears to be under the same temptation, on account of the prosperity of the wicked, as Asaph was, Psa_73:1 only he seems to have been more upon his guard, and less liable to fall by it; he sets out: with this as a first principle, an undoubted truth, that God was righteous, and could do

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nothing wrong and amiss, however unaccountable his providences might be to men: he did not mean, by entering the list with him, or by litigating this point, to charge him with any unrighteousness this he took for granted, and was well satisfied of, that the Lord was righteous, "though", says he, "I plead with thee" (t); so some read the words. De Dieu renders them interrogatively, "shall I plead with thee?" shall I dare to do it? shall I take that boldness and use that freedom with thee? I will. The Targum is the reverse, "thou art more just, O Lord, than that I should contend before thy word:'' yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments; not of his laws, statutes, word, and ordinances, sometimes so called; but rather of his providences, which are always dispensed with equity and justice, though not always manifest; they are sometimes unsearchable and past finding out, and will bear a sober and modest inquiry into them, and debate concerning them; the people of God may take the liberty of asking questions concerning them, when they are at a loss to account for them. So the Targum, "but I will ask a question of judgments before thee.'' The words may be rendered, "but I will speak judgments with thee" (u); things that are right; that are agreeable to the word of God and sound reason; things that are consistent with the perfections of God, particularly his justice and holiness; which are founded upon equity and truth; I will produce such reasons and arguments as seem to be reasonable and just. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? or they prosper in all their ways? whatever they take in hand succeeds; they enjoy a large share of health of body; their families increase, their trade flourishes, their flocks and herds grow large and numerous, and they have great plenty of all outward blessings; and yet they are wicked men, without the fear of God, regard not him, nor his worship and ways; but walk in their own ways which they have chosen, and delight in their abominations. Some understand this, as Jarchi, of Nebuchadnezzar, to whom God had given greatness and prosperity, to destroy the house of God; but by what follows, in the latter part of the next verse, it appears that God's professing people, the Jews, are meant, and most likely the priests at Anathoth. Wherefore are all they happy; easy, quiet, secure, live in peace and plenty: that deal very treacherously? with God and men, in religions and civil affairs.

HENRY, "The prophet doubts not but it would be of use to others to know what had passed between God and his soul, what temptations he had been assaulted with and how he had got over them; and therefore he here tells us,

I. What liberty he humbly took, and was graciously allowed him, to reason with God concerning his judgments, Jer_12:1. He is about to plead with God, not to quarrel with him, or find fault with his proceedings, but to enquire into the meaning of them, that he might more and more see reason to be satisfied in them, and might have wherewith to answer both his own and others' objections against them. The works of the Lord, and the reasons of them, are sought out even of those that have pleasure therein. Psa_111:2. We may not strive with our Maker, but we may reason with him. The prophet lays down a 2

truth of unquestionable certainty, which he resolves to abide by in managing this argument: Righteous art thou, O Lord! when I plead with thee. Thus he arms himself against the temptation wherewith he was assaulted, to envy the prosperity of the wicked, before he entered into a parley with it. Note, When we are most in the dark concerning the meaning of God's dispensations we must still resolve to keep up right thoughts of God, and must be confident of this, that he never did, nor ever will do, the least wrong to any of his creatures; even when his judgments are unsearchable as a great deep, and altogether unaccountable, yet his righteousness is as conspicuous and immovable as the great mountains, Psa_36:6. Though sometimes clouds and darkness are round about him, yet justice and judgment are always the habitation of his throne, Psa_97:2. When we find it hard to understand particular providences we must have recourse to general truths as our first principles, and abide by them; however dark the providence may be, the Lord is righteous; see Psa_73:1. And we must acknowledge it to him, as the prophet here, even when we plead with him, as those that have no thoughts of contending but of learning, being fully assured that he will be justified when he speaks. Note, However we may see cause for our own information to plead with God, yet it becomes us to own that, whatever he says or does, he is in the right.II. What it was in the dispensations of divine Providence that he stumbled at and that he thought would bear a debate. It was that which has been a temptation to many wise and good men, and such a one as they have with difficulty got over. They see the designs and projects of wicked people successful: The way of the wicked prospers; they compass their malicious designs and gain their point. They see their affairs and concerns in a good posture: They are happy, happy as the world can make them, though they dealtreacherously, very treacherously, both with God and man.

JAMISON, "Jer_12:1-17. Continuation of the subject at the close of the eleventh chapter.

He ventures to expostulate with Jehovah as to the prosperity of the wicked, who had plotted against his life (Jer_12:1-4); in reply he is told that he will have worse to endure, and that from his own relatives (Jer_12:5, Jer_12:6). The heaviest judgments, however, would be inflicted on the faithless people (Jer_12:7-13); and then on the nations co-operating with the Chaldeans against Judah, with, however, a promise of mercy on repentance (Jer_12:14-17).(Psa_51:4).let me talk, etc. only let me reason the case with Thee: inquire of Thee the causes why such wicked men as these plotters against my life prosper (compare Job_12:6; Job_21:7; Psa_37:1, Psa_37:35; Psa_73:3; Mal_3:15). It is right, when hard thoughts of Gods providence suggest themselves, to fortify our minds by justifying God beforehand(as did Jeremiah), even before we hear the reasons of His dealings.

K&D, "The prophet's displeasure at the prosperity of the wicked. - The enmityexperienced by Jeremiah at the hands of his countrymen at Anathoth excites his displeasure at the prosperity of the wicked, who thrive and live with immunity. He therefore beings to expostulate with God, and demands from God's righteousness that they be cut off out of the land (Jer_12:1-4); whereupon the Lord reproves him for this outburst of ill-nature and impatience by telling him that he must patiently endure still worse. - This section, the connection of which with the preceding is unmistakeable,

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shows by a concrete instance the utter corruptness of the people; and it has been included in the prophecies because it sets before us the greatness of God's long-suffering towards a people ripe for destruction.Jer_12:1

"Righteous art Thou, Jahveh, if I contend with Thee; yet will I plead with Thee in words. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper, are all secure that deal faithlessly? Jer_12:2. Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; grow, yea, bring forth fruit. Near art Thou in their mouth, yet far from their reins. Jer_12:3. But Thou, Jahveh, knowest me, seest me, and triest mine heart toward Thee. Tear them away like sheep to the slaughter, and devote them for a day of slaughter. Jer_12:4.How long is the earth to mourn and the herb of the field to wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, gone are cattle and fowl; for they say: He sees not our end. Jer_12:5. If with the footmen thou didst run and they wearied thee, how couldst thou contend with the horses? and if thou trustest in the land of peace, how wilt thou do in the glory of Jordan? Jer_12:6. For even thy brethren and they father's house, even they are faithless towards thee, yea, they call after thee with full voice. Believe them not, though they speak friendly to thee."The prophet's complaint begins by acknowledging: Thou art righteous, Lord, if I would dispute with Thee, i.e., would accuse Thee of injustice. I could convict Thee of no wrong; Thou wouldst appear righteous and prove Thyself in the right. Psa_51:6; Job_

9:2. With comes in a limitation: only he will speak pleas of right, maintain a suit with Jahveh, will set before Him something that seems incompatible with God's justice, namely the question: Why the way of the wicked prospers, why they that act faithlessly are in ease and comfort? On this cf. Job_21:7., where Job sets forth at length the contradiction between the prosperity of the wicked and the justice of God's providence. The way of the wicked is the course of their life, their conduct. God has planted them, i.e., has placed them in their circumstances of life; like a tree they have struck root into the ground; they go on, i.e., grow, and bear fruit, i.e., their undertakings succeed, although they have God in their mouth only, not in their heart.CALVIN, "The minds of the faithful, we know, have often been greatly tried and even shaken, on seeing all things happening successfully and prosperously to the despisers of God. We find this complaint expressed at large in Psalms 73:0. The Prophet there confesses that he had well nigh fallen, as he had been treading in a slippery place; he saw that God favored the wicked; at least, from the appearance of things, he could form no other judgment, but that they were loved and cherished by God. We know also that the ungodly become thus hardened, according to what is related of Dionysius, who said that God favored the sacrilegious; for he had sailed in safety after having plundered temples, and committed robberies in many places; thus he laughed to scorn the forbearance of God. And hence Solomon says, That when all things are in a state of confusion in the world, mens minds are led to despise God, as they think that all things happen on the earth by chance, and that God has no care for mankind. (Ecclesiastes 9:0) But with regard to the faithful, as I have already said, when they see the ungodly proceeding in all wickedness and evil deeds with impunity, and claiming the world to themselves, while God is, as it were, conniving at them, their minds cannot be otherwise than grievously distressed. And

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this is the view which interpreters take of this passage; that is, that he was disturbed with the prosperous condition of the wicked, and expostulated with God, as Habakkuk seems to have done at the beginning of the first chapter; but he appears to me to have something higher in view.We have said elsewhere, that when the Prophets saw that they spent their labor in vain on the deaf and the intractable, they turned their addresses to God as in despair. I hence doubt not but that it was a sign of indignation when the Prophet addressed God, having as it were given up men, inasmuch as he saw that he spoke to the deaf without any benefit. Here then he rouses the minds of the people, that they might know at length that he could not convince them that they were doomed to ruin by God. For when Jeremiah spoke to them, all his threatenlugs were scorned and laughed at; hence he now addresses God himself, as though he had said, that he would have nothing more to do with them, as he had labored wholly in vain. This then seems to have been the object of the Prophet.But lest the ungodly should have an occasion for calumniating, he intended so to regulate his discourse as to give them no ground for cavining. Hence he makes this preface, that God is, or would be just, though he contended with him This order ought to be carefully observed; for when we give way in the least to our passions, we are immediately carried away, and we cannot restrain ourselves within proper limits and continue in a right course. As soon then as those thoughts, which may draw us away frc, in the fear of God, and lessen the reverence due to him, creep in, we ought to fortify our minds and to set up mounds, lest the devil should draw us on farther than we wish to go. For instance, when any one in the present day sees things in disorder in the world, he begins to reason thus freely with himself, What does this mean? How is it that God suffers licentiousness to prevail so long? Why is it thathe thus conceals himself? As soon then as these thoughts creep in, if we possess the true principle of religion, we shall try to restrain these wanderings, and to bring ourselves to the right way; but this will be no easy matter; for as soon as we pass over the boundaries, there is no restraint, no limitation. Hence the Prophet wisely begins by saying, Thou art just, though I contend with thee It is not only for the sake of others he speaks thus, but also to restrain in time his own feelings and not to allow himself more than what is right. We must still remember what I have said, that the Prophet here directs his words to God, in order that the Jews might know that they were left as it were without hope, and were unworthy that he should spend any more labor on them.He says, And yet I will speak judgments with thee; that is, I will dispute according to the limits of what is right and just. Some indeed take judgments for punishments, as though the Prophet wished the people to be punished; but of this I do not approve, for it is a strained view. To speak judgments, means nothing else than to discuss a point in law, to plead according to law, as it is commonly said. By saying, I will legally contend, he does not throw off the restraint which he has before put on himself, but asks it as a matter of indulgence to set before God what might seem just and right to all. David, or the Prophet who was the author of that psalm which

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we have already quoted, (Psalms 73:0) even when he expressed his own feelings and ingenuously confessed his own infirmity, yet made a preface similar to what is found here. But he there speaks as it were abruptly, Yet thou art just; he uses the same word , ak, as Jeremiah does; but here it is put in the last clause, and there at the beginning of the sentence, Yet good is God to Israel, even to those who are upright in heart. The Prophet no doubt was agitated and distracted in various ways, but he afterwards restrained himself. But it was otherwise with Jeremiah; for he does not confess here that he was tried, as almost all the faithful are wont to be; but as I have already said, he advisedly, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, addressed his words to God; for he intended to rouse the Jews, that they might understand that they were rejected, and rejected as unworthy of having their salvation cared for any longer.By saying then, Yet will I plead with thee, he doubtless intended to touch the Jews to the quick, as they were so extremely stupid. Behold, he says, I will yet contend with God, whether he will forgive you? We now see the real meaning of the Prophet; for the Jews in vain brought forward their own prosperity as a proof that God was propitious to them; for this was nothing else than to abuse his forbearance. Jeremiah intended in short to shew, that though God might pass by them for a time, yet the wicked ought not on this account to flatter themselves, for his indulgence is no proof of his love; but, on the contrary, as we shall see, a heavier vengeance is accumulated, when the ungodly increasingly harden themselves while God is treating them with indulgence. This then is the reason why the Prophet says, that he would plead with God; he had regard more to men than to God. He yet does not set up the judgments of men against the absolute power of God, as the sophists under the Papacy do, who ascribe such absolute power to God as perverts all judgment and all order; this is nothing less than sacrilege.Now the Prophet does not call God to an account, as though there was no rule by which he regulated his works and governed the world. But by judgments he means, as I have said, what God had declared in his law; for it is written,Cursed is every one who continueth not, etc.,(Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10)Now then as the Jews were transgressors of the law, nay, as they ceased not to provoke God to wrath by their vices, they ought surely, according to the ordinary course of justice, to have been immediately destroyed. Hence the Prophet says here, I will plead with thee; that is, Hadstthou dealt with this people as they deserved, they must have been often reduced to nothing. At the same time he had no doubt, as we have said, respecting the rectitude of the divine judgment; only he had regard to those men who flattered themselves, and securely indulged themselves in their vices, because God diid not immediately execute those punishments with which he threatens the transgressors of his law. (52)Hence he says, How long shall the way of the wicked prosper? for secure are all they

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who by transgression transgress; that is, who are not only tainted with small vices, but who are extremely wicked. They then who openly rejected all religion and all care for righteousness, how was it that they were secure and that their way prospered? We now then more clearly understand what I have stated, that the Prophet turned his words to God, that he might more effectually rouse the stupid, so that they might know that they were in a manner summoned by this expostulation before the celestial tribunal. It now follows, I would render the verse thus, Righteous art thou, Jehovah; Though I should dispute with thee; Yet of judgments will I speak to thee, How is it.? the way of the wicked, it prospers; Secure are all the dissemblers of dissimulation.Perhaps the fourth line might be rendered thus, Why; the way of the wicked, it prospers.The order of the words will not admit it to be rendered otherwise. Blayney renders the last line as follows: At ease are all they who deal very perfidiously.The last words literally are, all the cloakers of cloaking, or, all the coverers of covering. But according to the secondary meaning of the word the phrase would be, all the dissemblers of dissimulation. The version of the Septuagint is, all who prevaricate prevarications. What is meant evidently is, that they were hypocrites, and that by hypocrisy they covered their hypocrisy, a true and a striking representation. Ed WHEDON, "Verses 1-6COMPLAINT AT THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED, Jeremiah 12:1-6.The opening verses of this chapter connect closely with the preceding. The language represents the attitude of Jeremiahs mind when confronted with persecution and personal danger. Deserted and persecuted by those who Should be his friends, in that loneliness of spirit which is the necessary experience of every reformer, he betakes himself to God. His trial and complaint are such as speak forth in Psalm xxxiv, xlix, lxxiii, and in the book of Job. When we consider that the sanctions of the Mosaic law were largely, though not entirely, limited to this world, we can well understand how that temptation which has always been a severe and bitter one to good men should have been peculiarly so to him whose only reward seemed to be abandonment and temporal ruin. So completely was the heart of the prophet in sympathy with the divine indignation against the impiety of the wicked, that he is amazed at the slowness of Gods judgments.

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ELLICOTT, " (1) Yet let me talk with thee.The soul of the prophet is vexed, as had been the soul of Job (Jeremiah 21:7), of Asaph (Psalms 73), and others, by the apparent anomalies of the divine government. He owns as a general truth that God is righteous, yet, he adds, I will speak (or argue) my cause (literally, causes) with Thee. He will question the divine Judge till his doubt is removed. And the question is the ever-recurring one, Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? (Comp. Psalms 37:1; Psalms 73:3.) The treacherous dealing implies a reference to the conspirators of the previous chapter.Wherefore are all they happy . . .Better, at rest, or secure.COFFMAN, "JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINTThere are three divisions in this chapter: (Jeremiah 12:1-6) which register's Jeremiah's complaint, (Jeremiah 12:7-13) which recounts God's judgment upon Judah and her enemies, and (Jeremiah 12:14-17) that promises the return of Israel from captivity and the conversion of Gentiles, both of which events are conditional.Jeremiah 12:1-4"Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are they all at ease that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their heart. But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end.""Wherefore... doth the wicked prosper ..." (Jeremiah 12:1)? Jeremiah got to the point at once; and the problem here presented before the Lord in faith and humility was indeed an old one. Habakkuk had struggled with it; the patriarch Job (Job 21:7) was perplexed by it; and the Book of Psalms devotes at least two chapters to a discussion of it (Psalms 37 and Psalms 73).Men of every generation, even the most devoted and faithful of Christians, have found this same question to be a perplexing and difficult problem. As Dummelow noted, however, "It was a question that especially exercised men of the pre-Christian dispensations; because they had no clear understanding of the eternal and spiritual rewards promised to Christians, thinking principally of physical and material rewards to be received in the service of God."[1]The Christian religion does indeed give complete and satisfactory answers to this question; and the reason that many in the current era have difficulty with the

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problem derives from a failure to study the Scriptures. We shall explore the answer a little later; but, first, we shall note the answer that God made available to Jeremiah."Wherefore are they at ease who deal treacherously ..." (Jeremiah 12:1)? Evidently, Jeremiah here had in mind the treacherous plans of his fellow-countrymen to murder him. On the other hand, Jeremiah, as God certainly knew, was an honorable and faithful believer."Thou hast planted them ..." (Jeremiah 12:2). A complicating factor in the problem for Jeremiah was the fact that God's blessings were evidently being enjoyed by those evil men. They were flourishing and prospering, as the Psalmist put it, "like the green bay tree!""Pull them out ..." (Jeremiah 12:3). Pleading their wickedness and his own faithfulness, as reasons for his request, Jeremiah pleaded with God to "Pull them out ..." "The original here is very strong; it is, literally, `tear them out.'"[2] Smith paraphrased Jeremiah's words thus, "Lord, drag these fat scoundrels out of the flock and sacrifice them, and make examples of them."[3]The indignation of Jeremiah is evident in his words here. Green has a paraphrase, thus: "Why do the wicked prosper? Why is crookedness a prime prerequisite for success in this world? Lord, you plant these scoundrels, and they grow. Why? They are pious frauds who mouth words of religion but have no real love for you in their hearts."[4]"He shall not see our latter end ..." (Jeremiah 12:4). This is a disputed text, but we believe it refers to the attitude of wicked men who were flaunting their rebellion against God in the boast that God would have nothing to do with their end, or taunting Jeremiah with the brag that they would last longer than Jeremiah would, or that Jeremiah would die before they did.COKE, "Jeremiah 12:1. Righteous art thou, O Lord Righteous, &c. therefore will I plead with thee: but I will speak nothing but what is just with thee. Wherefore, &c. Jeremiah speaks this concerning those same wicked persons who consulted to take him off by poison; and he seems to wonder that all things succeeded well with them. But he expresses his wonder by an interrogation, that he may thence take an opportunity to prophesy that their prosperity would not be of long continuance. See Psalms 73 and Houbigant. TRAPP, " Righteous [art] thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of [thy] judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? [wherefore] are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

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Ver. 1. Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee.] Or, Though I should contend with thee. This the prophet fitly sets forth the ensuing disceptation, that he might not be mistaken. Thy judgments, saith he, are sometimes secret, always just; this I am well assured of, though I thus argue. (a)Yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments.] Let me take the humble boldness so to do, that I may be further cleared and instructed by thee.Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?] viz., While better men suffer; as now the wicked Anathothites do, while I go in danger of my life by them. This is that noble question which hath exercised the wits and molested the minds of many wise men, both within and without the Church. See Job 21:7-13, Psalms 37:1; Psalms 73:1-12, Habakkuk 1:4-5; Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, Claudian against Ruffin, &c.Wherefore are all they happy?] Heb., At ease. Not all either; for some wicked have their payment here, their hell aforehand. To this question the Lord, who knoweth our frame, [Psalms 103:14] being content to condescend where he might have judged, calmly maketh answer, [Jeremiah 12:5] like as Christ in like case did to Peter. [John 21:21-22] EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "The sentence was pronounced, but the cloud of dejection was not at once lifted from the soul of the seer. He knew that justice must in the end overtake the guilty; but, in the meantime, "his enemies lived and were mighty," and their criminal designs against himself remained unnoticed and unpunished. The more he brooded over it, the more difficult it seemed to reconcile their prosperous immunity with the justice of God. He has given us the course of his reflections upon this painful question, ever suggested anew by the facts of life, never sufficiently answered by toiling reason. "Too righteous art Thou, Iahvah, for me to contend with Thee: I will but lay arguments before Thee" (i.e., argue the case forensically). "Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are they undisturbed, all that deal very treacherously? Thou plantest them, yea, they take root; they grow ever, yea, they bear fruit: Thou art nigh in their mouth, and far from their reins. And Thou, Iahvah, knowest me; Thou seest me, and triest mine heart in Thy mind. Separate them like sheep for the slaughter, and consecrate them for the day of killing! How long shall the land mourn, and the herbage of all the country wither? From the evil of the dwellers therein, beasts and birds perish: for they have said (or, thought), "He cannot see our end". [Jeremiah 12:1-4] It is not merely that his would be murderers thrive; it is that they take the holy Name upon their unclean lips; it is that they are hypocrites combining a pretended respect for God, with an inward and thorough indifference to God. He is nigh in their mouth and far from their reins. They "honour Him with their lips, but have removed their heart far from Him; and their worship of Him is a mere human commandment, learned by rote". [Isaiah 29:13] They swear by His Name, when they are bent on deception. [Jeremiah 5:2] It is all this which especially rouses the prophets indignation; and contrasting therewith his own conscious integrity and

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faithfulness to the Divine law, he calls upon Divine justice to judge between himself and them: "Pull them out like sheep for slaughter, and consecrate them" (set them apart from the rest of the flock) "for the day of killing!" It has been said that Jeremiah throughout this whole paragraph speaks not as a prophet, but as a private individual; and that in this verse especially he "gives way to the natural man, and asks the life of his enemies". [1 Kings 3:11, Job 31:30] This is perhaps a tenable opinion. We have to bear in mind the difference of standpoint between the writers of the Old Covenant and those of the New. Not much is said by the former about the forgiveness of injuries, about withholding the hand from vengeance. The most ancient law, indeed, contained a noble precept, which pointed in this direction: "If thou meet thine enemys ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." [Exodus 23:4-5] And in the Book of Proverbs we read: "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thine heart be glad when he is overthrown." But the impression of magnanimity thus produced is somewhat diminished by the reason which is added immediately: "Lest the Lord see it and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him": a motive of which the best that can be said is that it is characteristic of the imperfect morality of the time. {Proverbs 24:17 sq.} The same objection may be taken to that other famous passage of the same book: "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat: And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, And the Lord shall reward thee". {Proverbs 25:21 sq.} The reflection that the relief of his necessities will mortify and humiliate an enemy to the utmost, which is what seems to have been originally meant by "heaping coals of fire upon his head," however practically useful in checking the wild impulses of a hot-blooded and vindictive race, such as the Hebrews were, and such as their kindred the Bedawi Arabs have remained to this day under a system of faith which has not said, "Love your enemies"; and however capable of a new application in the more enlightened spirit of Christianity; {Romans 12:19 sqq.} is undoubtedly a motive marked by the limitations of Old Testament ethical thought. And edifying as they may prove to be, when understood in that purely spiritual and universal sense, to which the Church has lent her authority, how many of the psalms were, in their primary intention, agonising cries for vengeance: prayers that the human victim of oppression and wrong might "see his desire upon his enemies"? All this must be borne in mind; but there are other considerations also which must not be omitted, if we would get at the exact sense of our prophet in the passage before us.We must remember that he is laying a case before God. He has admitted at the outset that God is absolutely just, in spite of and in view of the fact that his murderous enemies are prosperous and unpunished. When he pleads his own sincerity and purity of heart, in contrast with the lip service of his adversaries, it is perhaps that God may grant, not so much their perdition, as the salvation of the country from the evils they have brought and are bringing upon it. Ascribing the troubles already present and those which are yet to come, the desolations which he sees and those which he foresees, to their steady persistence in wickedness, he asks,

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How long must this continue? Would it not be better, would it not be more consonant with Divine wisdom and righteousness to purify the land of its fatal taint by the sudden destruction of those heinous and hardened offenders, who scoff at the very idea of a true forecast of their "end" (Jeremiah 12:4)? But this is not all. There would be more apparent force in the allegation we are discussing if it were. The cry to heaven for an immediate act of retributive justice is not the last thing recorded of the prophets experience on this occasion. He goes on to relate, for our satisfaction, the Divine answer to his questionings, which seems to have satisfied his own troubled mind. "If thou hast run with but footracers, and they have wearied thee, how then wilt thou compete with the coursers? And if thy confidence be in a land of peace" (or, "a quiet land"), "how then wilt thou do in the thickets" (jungles) "of Jordan? For even thine own brethren and thy fathers house, even they will deal treacherously with thee; even they will cry aloud after thee: trust thou not in them, though they speak thee fair!" [Jeremiah 12:5-6] The metaphors convey a rebuke of impatience and premature discouragement. Hitzig aptly quotes Demosthenes: "If they cannot face the candle, what will they do when they see the sun?" (Plut. de vitioso pudore, c. 5) It is "the voice of the prophets better feeling, and of victorious self possession," adds the critic; and we, who earnestly believe that, of the two voices which plead against each other in the heart of man, the voice that whispers good is the voice of God, find it not hard to accept this statement in that sense. The prophet is giving us the upshot of his reflection upon the terrible danger from which he had been mercifully preserved; and we see that his thoughts were guided to the conclusion that, having once accepted the Divine Call, it would be unworthy to abdicate his mission on the first signal of danger. Great as that danger had been, he now, in his calmer hour, perceives that, if he is to fulfil his high vocation, he must be prepared to face even worse things. With serious irony he asks himself if a runner who is overcome with a footrace can hope to outstrip horses? or how a man, who is only bold where no danger is, will face the perils that lurk in the jungles of the Jordan? He remembers that he has to fight a more arduous battle and on a greater scene. Jerusalem is more than Anathoth; and "the kings of Judah and the princes thereof" are mightier adversaries than the conspirators of a country town. And his present escape is an earnest of deliverance on the wider field: "They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, said Iahvah, to deliver thee". {see Jeremiah 1:17-19} But to a deeply affectionate and sensitive nature like Jeremiahs, the thought of being forsaken by his own kindred might well appear as a trial worse than death. This is the "contending with horses," the struggle that is almost beyond the powers of man to endure; this is the deadly peril, like that of venturing into the lion-haunted thickets of Jordan, which he clearly foresees as awaiting him: "For even thine own brethren and thy fathers house, even they will deal treacherously with thee." It would seem that the prophet, with whose "timidity" some critics have not hesitated to find fault, had to renounce all that man holds dear, as a condition of faithfulness to his call. Again we are reminded of One, of whom it is recorded that "Neither did His brethren believe in Him," {St. John 7:5} and that "His friends went out to lay hold on Him, for they said, He is beside Himself". [Mark 3:21] The closeness of the parallel between type and antitype, between the sorrowful prophet and the Man of Sorrows, is seen yet further in the

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words, "Even they will cry aloud after thee" (lit. "with full cry"). The meaning may be: They will join in the hue and cry of thy pursuers, the mad shouts of "Stop him!" or "Strike him down!" such as may perhaps have rung in the prophets ears as he fled from Anathoth. But we may also understand a metaphorical description of the efforts of his family to recall him from the unpopular path on which he had entered; and this perhaps agrees better with the warning: "Trust them not, though they speak thee fair." And understood in this sense, the words coincide with what is told us in the Gospel of the attempt of our Lords nearest kin to arrest the progress of His Divine mission, when His mother and His brethren "standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him". {St. Mark 3:31}The lesson for ourselves is plain. The man who listens to the Divine call, and makes God his portion, must be prepared to surrender everything else. He must be prepared, not only to renounce much which the world accounts good; he must be prepared for all kinds of opposition passive and active, tacit and avowed; he may even find, like Jeremiah, that his foes are the members of his own household. {St. Matthew 10:36} And, like the prophet, his acceptance of the Divine call binds him to close his ears against entreaties and flatteries, against mockery and menace; and to act upon his Masters word: "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospels shall save it". {St. Mark 8:34 sq.} "If any man come unto Me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also he cannot be My disciple." {St. Luke 14:26} A great prize is worth a great risk; and eternal life is a prize infinitely great. It is therefore worth the hazard and the sacrifice of all. {St. Luke 18:29 sq.}The section which follows (Jeremiah 12:7-17) has been supposed to belong to the time of Jehoiakim, and consequently to be out of place here, having been transposed from its original context, because the peculiar Hebrew term which is rendered "dearly beloved" (Jeremiah 12:7), is akin to the term rendered "My beloved," Jeremiah 11:15. But this supposition depends on the assumption that the "historical basis of the section" is to be found in the passage 2 Kings 24:2, which relates briefly that in Jehoiakims time plundering bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites overran the country. The prophecy concerning Iahvahs "evil neighbours" is understood to refer to these marauding inroads, and is accordingly supposed to have been uttered between the eighth and eleventh years of Jehoiakim (Hitzig). It has, however, been pointed out (Naegelsbach) that the prophet does not once name the Chaldeans in the present discourse; which "he invariably does in all discourses subsequent to the decisive battle of Carchemish in the fourth year of Jehoiakim," which gave the Chaldeans the sovereignty of Western Asia. This discourse must, therefore, be of earlier date, and belong either to the first years of Jehoiakim, or to the time immediately subsequent to the eighteenth of Josiah. The history as preserved in Kings and Chronicles is so incomplete that we are not bound to connect the reference to "evil neighbours" with what is so summarily told in 2 Kings 24:2. There may have been other occasions when Judahs jealous and

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watchful enemies profited by her internal weakness and dissensions to invade and ravage the land; and throughout the whole period the country was exposed to the danger of plundering raids by the wild nomads of the eastern and southern borders. It is possible, however, that Jeremiah 12:14-17 are a later postscript, added by the prophet when he wrote his book in the fifth or sixth year of Jehoiakim. [Jeremiah 36:9; Jeremiah 36:32]There is, in reality, a close connection of thought between Jeremiah 12:7 sqq. and what precedes. The relations of the prophet to his own family are made to symbolise the relations of Iahvah to His rebellious people; just as a former prophet finds in his own merciful treatment of a faithless wife a parable of Iahvahs dealings with faithless Israel. "I have forsaken My house, I have cast away My domain; I have given My souls love into the grasp of her foes. My domain hath become to Me like the lion in the wood; she hath given utterance with her voice against Me; therefore I hate her." It is Iahvah who still speaks, as in Jeremiah 12:6; the "house" is His holy house, the temple; the land is His domain, the land of Judah; His "souls love," is the Jewish people. Yet the expressions, "my house," "my domain," "my souls love," equally suit the prophets own family and their estate; the mention of the "lion in the wood" and its threatening roar, and the enmity provoked thereby, recalls what was said about the "wilds of the Jordan" in Jeremiah 12:5, and the full outcry of his kindred after the prophet in Jeremiah 12:6 : and the solemn words "I have forsaken Mine house, I have cast away My domain I hate her," clearly correspond with the sentence of destruction upon Anathoth, Jeremiah 11:21 sqq. The double reference of the language becomes intelligible when we remember that in rejecting His messengers, Israel, nay mankind, rejects God, and that words and deeds done and uttered by Divine authority may be ascribed directly to God Himself. And regarded in the light of the prophets commission "to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" nations and kingdoms, [Jeremiah 1:10] all that is here said may be taken to be the prophets own deliverance concerning his country. This, at all events, is the case with Jeremiah 12:12-13."What! do I see my domain (all) vultures (and) hyenas? Are the vultures all around her? Go ye, assemble all the beasts of the field! Bring them to devour" (Jeremiah 12:9). The questions express astonishment at an unlooked for and unwelcome spectacle. The loss of Divine favour has exposed Judah to the active hostility of man; and her neighbours eagerly fall upon her, like birds and beasts of prey, swarming over a helpless quarry. It is-so the prophet puts it-it is as if a proclamation had gone forth to the wolves and jackals of the desert, bidding them come and devour the fallen carcase. In another oracle he speaks of the heathen as "devouring Jacob." [Jeremiah 10:25] The people of Iahvah are their natural prey Psalms 14:4 : "who eat up My people as they eat bread"; but they are not suffered to devour them, until they have forfeited His protection.The image is now exchanged for another, which approximates more nearly to the fact portrayed. "Many shepherds have marred My vineyard; they have trodden

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down My portion; they have turned My pleasant portion into a desolate wilderness. He" (the foe, the instrument of this ruin) "hath made it a desolation; it mourneth against Me, being desolate; desolated is all the land, for there is no man that giveth heed" (Jeremiah 12:10-11). As in an earlier discourse, Jeremiah 6:3, the invaders are now compared to hordes of nomad shepherds, who enter the land with their flocks and herds, and make havoc of the crops and pastures. From time immemorial the wandering Bedawis have been a terror to the settled peasantry of the East, whose way of life they despise as ignoble and unworthy of free men. Of this traditional enmity we perhaps hear a far-off echo in the story of Cain the tiller of the ground and Abel the keeper of sheep; and certainly in the statement that "every shepherd was an abomination unto the Egyptians". [Genesis 46:34] The picture of utter desolateness, which the prophet suggests by a four-fold repetition, is probably sketched from a scene which he had himself witnessed; if it be not rather a representation of the actual condition of the country at the time of his writing. That the latter is the case might naturally be inferred from a consideration of the whole passage; and the twelfth verse seems to lend much support to this view: "Over all bare hills in the wilderness have come ravagers; for Iahvah hath a devouring sword: from lands end to lands end no flesh hath peace." The language indeed recalls that of Jeremiah 4:10-11; and the entire description might be taken as an ideal picture of the ruin that must ensue upon Iahvahs rejection of the land and people, especially if the closing verses (Jeremiah 12:14-17) be considered as a later addition to the prophecy, made in the light of accomplished facts. But, upon the whole, it would seem to be more probable that the prophet is here reading the moral of present or recent experience. He affirms (Jeremiah 12:11) that the affliction of the country is really a punishment for the religious blindness of the nation: "there is no man that layeth to heart" the Divine teaching of events as interpreted by himself (cf. Jeremiah 12:4). The fact that we are unable, in the scantiness of the records of the time, to specify the particular troubles to which allusion is made, is no great objection to this view, which is at least effectively illustrated by the brief statement of 2 Kings 24:2. The reflection appended in Jeremiah 12:13 points in the same direction: "They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain" (or, "exhausted themselves") "without profit," (or, "made themselves sick with unprofitable toil"); "and they are ashamed of their produce" (ingatherings), "through the heat of the wrath of Iahyah." When the enemy had ravaged the crops, thorns would naturally spring up on the wasted lands; and "the heat of the wrath of Iahvah" appears to have been further manifested in a parching drought, which ruined what the enemy had left untouched (Jeremiah 12:4, chapter 14).Thus, then, Jeremiah receives the answer to his doubts in a painfully visible demonstration of what the wrath of Iahvah means. It means drought and famine; it means the exposure of the country, naked and defenceless, to the will of rapacious and vindictive enemies. For Iahvahs wrongs are far deeper and more bitter than the prophets. The misdeeds of individuals are lighter in the balance than the sins of a nation; the treachery of a few persons on a particular occasion is as nothing beside the faithlessness of many generations. The partial evils, therefore, under which the country groans, can only be taken as indications of a far more complete and terrible

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destruction reserved for final impenitence. The perception of this truth, we may suppose, sufficed for the time to silence the prophets complaints; and in the revulsion of feeling inspired by the awful vision of the unimpeded outbreak of Divine wrath, he utters an oracle concerning his countrys destroyers, in which retributive justice is tempered by compassion and mercy. "Thus hath Jehovah said, Upon all Mine evil neighbours, who touch the heritage which I caused My people Israel to inherit: Lo I am about to uproot" [Jeremiah 1:10] "them from off their own land, and the house of Judah will I uproot from their midst. And after I have uprooted them, I will have compassion on them again, and will restore them each to their own heritage and their own land. And if they truly learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, as Iahvah liveth! even as they taught My people to swear by the Baal; they shall be rebuilt in the midst of My people. And if they will not hear, I will uproot that nation, utterly and fatally; it is an oracle of Iahvah" (Jeremiah 12:14-17). The preceding section (Jeremiah 12:7-14), as we have seen, rapidly yet vividly sketches the calamities which have ensued and must further ensue upon the Divine desertion of the country. Iahvah has forsaken the land, left her naked to her enemies, for her causeless, capricious, thankless revolt against her Divine Lord. In this forlorn, defenceless condition, all manner of evils befall her; the vineyards and cornfields are ravaged, the goodly land is desolated, by hordes of savage freebooters pouring in from the eastern deserts. These invaders are called Iahvahs "evil neighbours": an expression which implies, not individuals banded together for purposes of brigandage, but hostile nations. Upon these nations also will the justice of God be vindicated; for that justice is universal in its operation, and cannot therefore be restricted to Israel. Judgment must "begin at the house of God"; but it will not end there. The "evil neighbours," the surrounding heathen kingdoms, have been Iahvahs instruments for the chastisement of His rebellious people; but they are not on that account exempted from recompense. They too must reap what they have sown. They have insulted Iahvah, by violating His territory; they have indulged their malice and treachery and rapacity, in utter disregard of the rights of neighbours, and the moral claims of kindred peoples. As they have done, so shall it be done unto them. They have laid hands on the possessions of their neighbour, and their own shall be taken from them; "I am about to uproot them from off their own land." {cf. Amos 1:3-15; Amos 2:1-3} And not only so, but "the house of Judah will I pluck up from their midst." The Lords people shall be no more exposed to their unneighbourly ill will; the butt of their ridicule, the victim of their malice will be removed to a foreign soil as well as they; but oppressed and oppressors will no longer be together; their new settlements will lie far apart; under the altered state of things, under the shadow of the great conqueror of the future, there will be no opportunity for the old injurious dealings. All alike, Judah and the enemies of Judah, will be subject to the will of the foreign lord. But that is not the end. The Judge of all the earth is merciful as well as just. He is loath to blot whole peoples out of existence, even though they have merited destruction by grievous and prolonged transgression of His laws. Therefore banishment will be followed by restoration, not in the case of Judah only, but of all the expatriated peoples. After enduring the Divine probation of adversity, they will be brought again, by the Divine compassion, "each to their own heritage and their own land." And then, if

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they will profit by the teaching of Iahvahs prophets, and "learn the ways," that is, the religion of His people, making their supreme appeal to Iahvah, as the fountain of all truth and the sovran vindicator of right and justice, as hitherto they have appealed to the Baal, and misled Israel into the same profane and futile course; then "they shall be built up," or rebuilt, or brought to great and evergrowing prosperity, "in the midst of My people." Such is to be the blessing of the Gentiles: they shall share in the glorious future that awaits repentant Israel. The present condition of things is to be completely reversed: now Judah sojourns in their midst; then they will be surrounded on every side by the emancipated and triumphant people of God; now they beset Judah with jealousies, suspicions, enmities; then Judah will embrace them all with the arms of an unselfish and protecting love. A last word of warning is added. The doom of the nation that will not accept the Divine teaching will be utter and absolute extermination.The forecast is plainly of a Messianic nature; it recognises in Iahvah the Saviour, not of a nation, but of the world. It perceives that the disunion and mutual hatred of peoples, as of individuals, is a breach of Divine law; and it proclaims a general return to God, and submission to His guidance in all political as well as private affairs, as the sole cure for the numberless evils that flow from that hatred and disunion. It is only when men have learnt that God is their common Father and Lord that they come to see with the clearness and force of practical conviction that they themselves are all members of one family, bound as such to mutual offices of kindness and charity; it is only when there is a conscious identity of interest with all our fellows, based upon the recognition that all alike are children of God and heirs of eternal life, that true freedom and universal brotherhood become possible for man.PETT, "Jeremiah 12:1You are righteous, O YHWH, when I contend with you,Yet would I reason the cause with you.Why does the way of the wicked prosper?Why are all they at ease who deal very treacherously?Jeremiahs response was to accept the justice of YHWHs decision in the face of his plea, but to demonstrate his dissatisfaction at the delay in the judgment. By this time he had been under constant threat of death, and had endured many trials. He comes before YHWH to reason the cause with Him. He is faced with the age-old problem as to why the wicked are allowed to continue flourishing. Why is it that those who are most treacherous still find themselves at ease. For other treatments of the same question compare Job 21:7 ff.; Psalms 73:3-18.PULPIT, "Painfully exercised by the mysteries of the Divine government, the

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prophet opens his grief to Jehovah. Righteous art thou, etc.; rather, Righteous wouldest thou be, O Jehovah, if I should plead with thee; i.e. if I were to bring a charge against thee, I should be unable to convict thee of injustice (comp. Psalms 51:4; Job 9:2). The prophet, however, cannot refrain from laying before Jehovah a point which seems to him irreconcilable with the Divine righteousness. The rendering, indeed, must be modified. Let me talk with thee of thy judgments should rather be, yet will I debate questions of right with thee. The questions remind us of those of Job in Job 21:1-34; Job 24:1-25. Thus to have been the recipient of special Divine revelations, and to be in close communion with God, gives no security against the occasional ingress of doubting thoughts and spiritual distress. Wherefore are all they happy, etc.? rather, secure. The statement must be qualified by what follows. In the general calamity the wicked still fare the best.BI, "Righteous art Thou, O Lord, when I plead with Thee.Communion with God in afflictionI. Why God sees fit to afflict His children by the dispensations of His providence.

1. God sometimes afflicts His children to reclaim them from their delusions in religion. They are naturally bent to backsliding.2. God sometimes afflicts His children to try their sincerity, and give them an opportunity of knowing their own hearts.3. God sometimes afflicts His children for the purpose of displaying the beauty and excellence of true religion before the eyes of the world. In some cases, at least, we can hardly discover any other important end to be answered by afflicting His peculiar friends, than this, of displaying their superior virtue and piety.

II. Why they are disposed to converse with Him under His afflicting hand.1. Because they want to know why He afflicts them.2. They wish to know how they should feel and conduct themselves in their afflicted state.3. They desire to obtain Divine support and consolation.

III. What methods they take to converse with God in time of trouble.1. By meditating upon the history of His providence.2. By reviewing the course of His conduct towards themselves through all the past scenes and stages of their lives.3. By prayer, while they are suffering His fatherly chastisements. For this they are greatly prepared, by musing on His past and present dispensations towards themselves and others. These fill their mouths with arguments, and constrain them to draw near to God, and make known their wants and desires, their hopes and fears. This subject may teach the children of God

(1) to restrain their unreasonable expectations of outward prosperity in the present life.(2) That adversity may be much more beneficial to them than prosperity.

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(3) This subject exhibits a peculiar and distinguishing mark of grace, by which everyone may determine whether he is or is not a real child of God. It is the habitual disposition of the true children of God to converse with Him from day to day, under all the various dispensations of His providence. (N. Emmons, D. D.)

Let me talk with Thee of Thy judgments.The judgments of God a lawful subject of human study and consideration

1. It is lawful for the saints to enter into the mystery of Divine providence. Providence is the work of God. In its movement we may discern the actings of the Almighty, and if we are properly attentive to it, we may trace the marks of His power, wisdom, faithfulness, goodness, and holiness.2. The saints are permitted to use familiarity with God in these inquiries. He permits them to state their objections, and to make replies to His answers, to plead with Him, in the language of our text. Let us plead together, says He, put Me in remembrance, state your objections to any part of My conduct, declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. Wonderful condescension!3. It is of the first importance in the inquiries into the dispensations of Providence, that we retain on our spirits an abiding sense of the essential moral attributes of the Disposer of events. (T. MCrie, D. D.)

Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?The reasons why the wicked are permitted to prosperI. It discovers the ingratitude of the human heart, and shows the monstrous abuse which men often make of the Divine goodness. Wealth and influence, power and dominion, are the gifts of God, and if suitably improved, are valuable talents. They give individuals many opportunities of being extensively useful, and of doing much good. But, when influence and power are made subservient to gratify the pride, the vanity, and ambition of the sons of men, they are to be accounted the greatest evil. Yet, it will not be denied, that these are sometimes the sad effects which they have produced upon particular individuals. Have not some been guilty of oppression and tyranny, of plunder and robbery, of cruelty and murder? I acknowledge that it is natural enough to wish for prosperity and affluence, power and influence; but, if these blessings were to have the same effect upon us which they have produced in others, would we not account them the greatest curse with which we could be visited? But, though prosperity may not have so shocking an influence upon us as upon some others, if it should minister to covetousness, is it not to be dreaded? Are not these the dispositions which it sometimes excites? Instead of enlarging the heart, and making it more liberal, does it not render men sometimes narrow and contracted? Is not this defeating the end of providence, and perverting its gifts?II. To be the means of chastising the rest of mankind. They are allowed to gratify their own bad passions, that they may inflict that punishment upon their fellow creatures which their irreligion and wickedness deserve. Though we may flatter ourselves that we do not merit correction at the hands of men, none will maintain that we do not deserve it

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at the hand of God. Have we not been froward and undutiful children? God hath told us, in His Word, that He doth not willingly grieve the children of men; but, when correction becomes necessary, a principle of affection leads Him to inflict it. He hath often made wicked men the instruments of His vengeance, to bring His people back to their duty, and to make them learn righteousness.III. To aggravate their guilt and to heighten their condemnation. God often setteth the wicked on high and slippery places, that He may bring them down suddenly, and make their fall the greater. They may move heaven and earth with their ambition, and think that their mountain standeth strong; when, lo! their feet are made to stumble upon the dark mountains, and they go down to the silent grave, where there is neither work, wisdom, knowledge, nor device.IV. That we may hold higher in esteem those good men who make their wealth and influence subservient to the glory of God and to the happiness of mankind. Blessed be God, there are not a few, who, instead of abusing their prosperity, employ it for the benefit of their fellow creatures! So far from gratifying their pride, and indulging in luxury, they exert themselves to promote works of industry and charity. They are ready to deny themselves particular enjoyments, that they may contribute to the comfort of those around them. Instead of being selfish and worldly, they are humane and generous. What a blessing is prosperity, when it is the means of doing good! Our goodness, it is true, cannot extend to God, and He can receive no benefit from it; but it may be exercised towards His necessitous creatures, and He considers a kind office done to them as done to Himself.V. That those in inferior circumstances may be thankful and contented with the situation in which God hath placed them. Perhaps you are apt to envy those who live in ease and plenty. But are you aware of the temptations to which prosperous and rich men are exposed, and into which they are too apt to fall? What if affluence should lead you to indulge in pride and vanity, and make you think of yourselves above what you ought to think? What if it should attach you so much to the world, as in a great measure to overlook eternity altogether? Oh, never appear dissatisfied with your condition, or give way to discontent. The very meanest have cause for gratitude, because they have still more than they deserve. Let all of us aspire after being poor in spirit and heirs of the kingdom of God! This is the true riches, of which none can possibly deprive us. (D. Johnston, D. D.)

The prosperity of bad men and adversity of good men accounted forI. Wicked men, how prosperous soever their outward condition in this life, are not in reality so happy as we are apt to imagine. The reason why those wicked men that prosper in the world are reckoned happy is, because the generality of men entertain a wrong notion of happiness. They fancy it consists in having abundance of riches. Whatever real satisfaction or comfort riches can afford, we are bound by the frame of our nature to seek after that satisfaction. But in reality do we not often see health of body, tranquillity of mind, dwelling in a cottage, whilst bodily pains and restless anxieties fly daily about the palaces of kings? Which shows that happiness is something distinct from riches, something which riches alone can never give us.II. Supposing the wicked men are more happy, and meet with less trouble than other men, let us inquire upon what accounts God almighty may permit this, consistently with

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the character of a wise, just, and good Governor of the world. Besides the moral enjoyment which springs from virtue only, there are other delights accruing to us from the possession of riches, honour, and secular power. Of these, many wicked men have a greater portion than the virtuous.1. And the reason is, because some good men are weak in their judgments, and imprudent or indolent in managing their secular affairs; which exposes them to many inconveniences, and hinders their rising in the world. Now, if we ask why the Almighty permits this to the disadvantage of good men, it is the same as if we should ask why He made men free agents. The disadvantages virtuous men labour under at present, will doubtless be recompensed, one day or other, by the just and merciful Governor of the world. In the meantime, the solid pleasure they enjoy as the immediate consequence of their goodness, is surely preferable to any external advantages the wicked may procure themselves by their superior cunning and sagacity.2. Another reason why God may permit wicked men to prosper in the world seems to be the natural effect of His overflowing goodness. He would give them more time for repentance.3. Perhaps another reason why the Supreme Being withholds some temporal benefits from good men, which the wicked possess, may be, because He foresees they will prove hurtful to them. Alteration of circumstances often creates a change of manners. And there are some tempers which, I believe, would keep steady to virtue in a scene of adversity, and yet run into open and extreme degrees of vice in a scene of prosperity.

II. The objection in the text should not in reason make us entertain any dishonourable thought of the Divine dispensations, but rather teach us to infer the reasonableness and necessity of a future state. To know the justness of any scheme, it is necessary to be acquainted with all its parts, and all their mutual relations. How, then, can we determine every particular in the scheme of Providence, of which we must confess ourselves utterly ignorant? Should a man take upon him to condemn a well wrought tragedy by only reading one of its scenes, without considering how it was interwoven with the main plot and contrivance of the work, would he not be justly blamed for his partiality! And is not he more inexcusably partial, who censures the beautiful drama of the Divine government, without knowing the secret contrivance by which it is carried on? I shall only add one observation more to justify Providence against the objection in the text, which is, that we are frequently mistaken who are really good, and who otherwise; and, consequently, are very incompetent judges when men are equitably dealt by. (N. Ball.)

The prosperity of the wickedI. When you are repining at the prosperity of the wicked, and feel a consequent inclination to relax from your faith in Christ, remember that, in the revelation through Jesus Christ, we are nowhere led to expect that the wicked shall not be prosperous here. Ye will not come to Me that ye may have life, was the remonstrance of our Saviour. This do, and thou shalt live, the injunction everywhere implied:live,not amidst the joys of this transitory scene, but at the right hand of God forever! The treasures of earth were never mentioned by Him to the faithful, but to guard them against their danger, and remind them of a treasure in heaven. Christ knew the natural opposition of

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worldly prosperity to the lowly virtues of the Gospel; and, earnest for the everlasting interests of men, guarded them against the desire of things, the possession of which might be fatal:and, if men would, by ways unwarranted by God, seek what God had forbidden, it was at the double peril of disobeying His commands, and disregarding His counsels.II. The Gospel has not only forbidden us to be surprised, or envious, at the prosperity of the wicked, but has positively shown us that a life of tribulation for Jesus sake is the proper passport to heaven. Nothing can be so glorious as the scenes which the Gospel has opened to our faith; but nothing so solemn as those through which we must pass to reach them. We are, in this life, in a state of dangerous apostasy from God: and the glare of prosperity is a light but very ill suited for us to behold. The sufferings of our Lord are held out to our view, that, looking unto Jesus, who left us an example, that we should follow His steps, we might take up our cross to do it. Why, then, do you ask, does the way of the wicked prosper? Why, rather ought ye to ask, should the believer in Christ repine at it? Why should he sigh for a state the very opposite to that in which His Saviour walked, and, if gained by sin, gained by means which brought that Saviour to the Cross, and would now open His wounds afresh?III. Another argument which I would use, to check repining at the outward prosperity of sin, is, that it is, at best, extremely overrated, and its nature very ill understood. It is by no means true that prosperity is confined to the treacherous dealer and the wicked. God has indeed told us, that, to enter into His kingdom, we must meet with opposition, wrestle with contending evils, and pass the time of our sojourning here in fear. But the path, even to temporal blessings, is open to the believer in Christ, though He commands us not to make them the object of our ambition, nor expect them as the consequences of our faith. But, even were this not so, were prosperity confined to sin alone, we surely mistake its nature if its attractions dazzle us, and think but imperfectly of God if we mistrust His goodness. He has not so balanced the good and evil, of this life as to make every attraction and every joy lie on the side of sin. There is no peace to the wicked. They may live in affluence,but it is not peace. They may live in indolence,but it is not peace. They may live in thoughtlessness,but it is not peace. It is not that peace which a God of everlasting mercy can bestow, of which the soul of man, that was made for God, is capable, and for which it unceasingly longs. In talking of that peace of God, we talk of what it is impossible for those who have not experienced it to conceive.IV. But the comprehensive argument, which closes at once all discussion and all doubts, is the disclosure and adjustment of all the ways of God in the great day of general retribution. If there be a subject of contemplation sublimer than another, or completely interesting to the soul of reasonable man, it is surely the thought of being led hereafter to behold all the glorious works of the great and eternal God:to see how, through all the amazing vicissitudes of time, He has conducted the affairs of worlds on worlds; and kept distinct, through all the crossings and confusions of myriads of foes, the strait and narrow path to heaven:how from the jarring elements He reared the goodly frame of nature, and settled it in peace; and, uniting the still more jarring passions and infidel contentions of mankind, made all conspire to His eternal glory, and cooperate for the universal good! (G. Mathew, M. A.)

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2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

BARNES, "Their veins - i. e., their heart. The reins were regarded by the Jews as the seat of the affections.

CLARKE, "Thou art near in their mouth - They have no sincerity: they have something of the form of religion, but nothing of its power.

GILL, "Thou hast planted them,.... In the land of Canaan, fixed the bounds of their habitation, given them a firm and comfortable settlement; for all the good things, even of the wicked, come from God: yea, they have taken root; as everything that is planted does not; but these did, though it was downwards in the earth, on which their hearts were set, and so were strengthened and established in their worldly circumstances: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; but to themselves, not to God; not fruits of righteousness or good works; they grow, not in grace and holiness, but in their worldly substance; and they brought forth fruit, not such as were meet for repentance, but they had great riches, and numerous families; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "they produce children, and bring forth fruit." The Targum is, "they become rich, yea, they possess substance.'' Thou art near in their mouth; they often made use of the name of God, either in swearing by it, or praying to him in an external manner; they called themselves the Lord's people, and boasted of being his priests, and employed in his service; they took his covenant, and the words of his law, into their mouths, and taught them the people, and yet had no sincere regard for these things: and far from their reins; from the affections of their hearts, and the desires of their souls; they had no true love for God, nor fear of him, nor faith in him. The Targum is,

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"near are the words of thy law in their mouth, and far is thy fear from their reins.''HENRY, " What it was in the dispensations of divine Providence that he stumbled at

and that he thought would bear a debate. It was that which has been a temptation to many wise and good men, and such a one as they have with difficulty got over. They see the designs and projects of wicked people successful: The way of the wicked prospers;they compass their malicious designs and gain their point. They see their affairs and concerns in a good posture: They are happy, happy as the world can make them, though they deal treacherously, very treacherously, both with God and man. Hypocrites are chiefly meant (as appears, Jer_12:2), who dissemble in their good professions, and depart from their good beginnings and good promises, and in both they deal treacherously, very treacherously. It has been said that men cannot expect to prosper who are unjust and dishonest in their dealings; but these deal treacherously, and yet they are happy. The prophet shows (Jer_12:2) both their prosperity and their abuse of their prosperity. 1. God had been very indulgent to them and they were got beforehand in the world: They are planted in a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and thou hast planted them! nay, thou didst cast out the heathen to plant them, Psa_44:2, Psa_80:8. Many a tree is planted that yet never grows nor comes to any thing; but they have taken root; their prosperity seems to be confirmed and settled. They take root in the earth, for there they fix themselves, and thence they draw the sap of all their satisfaction. Many trees however take root which yet never come on; but these grow, yea they bring forth fruit; their families are built up, they live high, and spend at a great rate; and all this was owing to the benignity of the divine Providence, which smiled upon them, Psa_73:7. 2. Thus God had favoured them, though they had dealt treacherously with him: Thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. This was no uncharitable censure, for he spoke by the Spirit of prophecy, without which it is not safe to charge men with hypocrisy whose appearances are plausible. Observe, (1.) Thought they cared not for thinking of God, nor had any sincere affection to him, yet they could easily persuade themselves to speak of him frequently and with an air of seriousness. Piety from the teeth outward is no difficult thing. Many speak the language of Israel that are not Israelites indeed. (2.) Though they had on all occasions the name of God ready in their mouth, and accustomed themselves to those forms of speech that savoured of piety, yet they could not persuade themselves to keep up the fear of God in their hearts. The form of godliness should engage us to keep up the power of it; but with them it did not do so.JAMISON, "grow literally, go on, progress. Thou givest them sure dwellings

and increasing prosperity.near in ... mouth ... far from ... reins (Isa_29:13; Mat_15:8). Hypocrites.

CALVIN, "When the happiness of the wicked disturbs our minds, two false thoughts occur to us, either that this world is ruled by chance and not governed by Gods providence, or that God does not perform the office of a good and righteous judge when he suffers light to be so blended with darkness. But the Prophet here takes it as granted, that the world is governed by Gods providence; he therefore does not touch the false notion, which yet harasses pious minds, that fortune governs the world. Well known are these words, I am disposed to think

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that there are no gods. (53) It was thought there were no gods who ruled the world, because he died who deserved a longer life. And the wisest heathens have thus spoken, I see fortune, which yet no reason governs; I see fortune, which prevails more than reason in these matters. (54) But the Prophet, who was far removed from these profane notions, held this truth, that the world is governed by God; and he now asks, How it was that God exercised so long a forbearance? The ungodly, the thoughtless, and inconsiderate might have said that this forbearance was far too scanty. But the Prophet, as I have said, clearly describes what the Jews deserved.Then he says, that they had been planted by God; for they could not have prospered had not God blessed them. The metaphor of planting, as we have before seen, often occurs, but in a different sense. When the celestial life is the subject, God is said to have planted his own elect, because their salvation is sure. He is said also to have planted his people in the land which he had given to them as an heritage. Now, when he speaks of the reprobate, the Prophet says that they had been planted by God, and for these reasons, because they flourished, because they produced leaves, and because they brought forth some fruit. In short, as Scripture, for various reasons, compares men to trees, so it employs the word planting in a corresponding sense. The Prophet indeed says that the ungodly are supported by God, and this is certain; for were not God to deal kindly with them for a time, they could not but instantly perish. Hence their prosperity is a proof of Gods indulgence. But the Prophet expresses his wonder at this, not so much through his own private feeling, as for the purpose of shewing to the Jews that it was a strange thing that they were tolerated so long by God, as they had a hundred times deserved to be wholly destroyed.Yea, he says, they have taken root By this metaphor he means their continued happiness. He says also, that they had advanced aloft; that is, were raised high and increased. (55) He then adds, that they had brought forth fruit The fruit of which he speaks was nothing else than their offspring; as though he had said, that the ungodly were not only prosperous to the end of life, but that they also propagated their kind, so that they had children surviving them, so that their families became celebrated. But the import of the whole is this, that God not only endured the ungodly for a time, but extended his indulgence to many ages, so that their descendants continued in the same wealth, dignity, and power, with their dead fathers.He afterwards adds, Thou indeed art nigh in their mouth, but thou art far from their reins Jeremiah no doubt intended to anticipate them; for he knew that the Jews would have objections in readiness, What art thou, who summonest us here before Gods tribunal, and who pleadest with God that he may not too patiently bear with us? Are not we his servants? Do we not daily offer sacrifices in the Temple? Are we not circumcised? Do we not bear in our bodies the sign of our adoption? Do we not possess a kingdom and a priesthood? Now, these are pledges of Gods paternal love towards us, But thou wouldest have thyself to be more just than God himself. Can God deny himself? He has bound his faithfulness to us by the sign of circumcision, by the Temple, by the kingdom, by the priesthood, and by the

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sacrifices; and when we do anything amiss, then our sins are expiated by sacrifices and washings, and other rites.As then the Prophet knew that the Jews were wont thus loquaciously and perversely to defend their own cause, he says, O, I see what they will say to me, even that which they are wont to say; for the common burden of their song is, that they are the children of Abraham, that they sacrifice, and have other ways of pacifying God, and then that they possess a priesthood and a kingdom. These things, he says, are well known to me: but, O Lord, thou knowest that they are mere words; thou knowest that they act fallaciously, and that they do nothing but declare what is false when they pretend these vain shifts and evasions; for thou knowest the heart, ( ;) thou therefore understandest that there is nothing right or sincere in their mouth; for their reins are far from thee, and thou also art far from their reins. We hence also perceive with more certainty the truth of what I have stated, that the Prophet here pleads with God, in order that the Jews might know that they could in no way be absolved when they came before Gods tribunal. It, follows Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; They thrive, yea, they have produced fruit: Nigh art thou to their mouth, But far from their reins.They thrive, is literally they go on, that is, after having rooted, or taken root. The reins stand for the affections fear, reverence, love,etc. Ed.ELLICOTT, "(2) Thou hast planted them.The words express, of course, the questioning distrust of the prophet. The wicked flourish, so that one would think God had indeed planted them. Yet all the while they were mocking Him with hypocritical worship (here we have an echo of Isaiah 29:13), uttering His name with their lips while He was far from that innermost being which the Hebrew symbolised by the reins.TRAPP, "Jeremiah 12:2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou [art] near in their mouth, and far from their reins.Ver. 2. Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root.] All goes well with them; they have more than heart can wish. [Psalms 73:7] And in lieu of Gods goodness to them, they profess largely, and pretend to great devotion; but that is all.Thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.] That is, From their affections. [Titus 1:16] Hypocrites are like that heap of heads [2 Kings 10:8] that had never a heart among them; they have vocem in choro, mentem in foro; virtutem non colunt sed colorant. Voices in the choir, minds in the market place, they do not worship in strength but in deception. That Persian ambassador - of whom before -when conversing with Christians, he had so oft in his mouth, Soli Deo gloria, made believe that he gave glory to the only true God, whenas he meant the sun, whom he

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worshipped as his god. The king of Bohemia, when beaten out of Prague, was encouraged by some great commanders about him that he had many princes his friends and allies that would readily assist him; to which he made no answer, but wrote the word Deus God, in large letters. But some thought he meant Denmark in D, England in E, Hungary in U, and the Swedes in S. God knows what his meaning was; but he will make "all the Churches to know that he searcheth the hearts and reins," and that he will "kill with death" all such as had rather seem to be good, than seek to be so. If Jeremiah had been one of those, he dared never to have said,PETT, "Jeremiah 12:2You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;They grow, yes, they bring forth fruit;You are near in their mouth,And far from their heart.He describes their flourishing in the terms used earlier of the flourishing of the olive tree which had represented Israel in their earlier days (Jeremiah 11:16-17). They were YHWHs planting (compare Jeremiah 11:17), they took root and grew, they produced fruit, (they looked indeed like a green olive tree still flourishing), but all the while, whilst they honoured YHWH with their lips, their hearts were far from Him (compare Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8-9). Their worship was not genuine.

3 Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you.Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

BARNES, "Thou hast seen me ... - Rather, Thou seest me and triest mine heart at all times, and knowest the sincerity of its devotion toward Thee.

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Pull them out - The original is used Jer_10:20 of the rending asunder of the cords of the tent, and Eze_17:9 of the tearing up of roots. Jeremiah does not doubt Gods justice, or the ultimate punishment of the wicked, but he wants it administered in a summary way.Prepare - literally, sanctify, i. e., devote.

CLARKE, "But thou, O Lord, knowest me - I know that the very secrets of my heart are known to thee; and I am glad of it, for thou knowest that my heart is towards thee - is upright and sincere.

GILL, "But thou, O Lord, knowest me,.... The Lord knew him before he was born, Jer_1:5, he knew what he designed him for, and what use he would make of him; and he knew him now, and loved him, and cared for him, as his prophet; he knew his sincerity and faithfulness, and took notice of it, with what integrity he performed his office, and discharged his duty; and he knew that all his enemies said of him were scandal and reproach, lies and calumnies. Thou hast seen me; his inside, his heart, and all in it; for all things are naked and open to the eyes of an omniscient God: and tried mine heart towards thee; he had tried him by various afflictive providences, and his heart was found towards God; the affections and desires of his soul were towards him, and he remained faithful and upright before him, and not like the wicked before mentioned. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter; either out of the fold, or from a fat pasture; so fat sheep are plucked from the rest, in order to be killed: this shows that their riches, affluence, and plenty, served but to ripen them for ruin and destruction, and were like the fattening of sheep for slaughter; which the prophet, by this imprecation, suggests and foretells would be their case, as a righteous judgment upon them; see Jam_5:5. Prepare them for the day of slaughter; or, "sanctify them" (w); set them apart for it: this, doubtless, refers to the time of Jerusalem's destruction by the Chaldeans.

HENRY, "What comfort he had in appealing to God concerning his own integrity (Jer_12:3): But thou, O Lord! knowest me. Probably the wicked men he complains of were forward to reproach and censure him (Jer_18:18), in reference to which this was his comfort, that God was a witness of his integrity. God knew he was not such a one as they were (who had God near in their mouths, but far from their reins), nor such a one as they took him to be, and represented him, a deceiver and a false prophet; those that thus abused him did not know him, 1Co_2:8. But thou, O Lord! knowest me, though they think me not worth their notice. 1. Observe what the matter is concerning which he appeals to God: Thou knowest my heart towards thee. Note, We are as our hearts are, and our hearts are good or bad according as they are, or are not, towards God; and this is

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that therefore concerning which we should examine ourselves, that we may approve ourselves to God. 2. The cognizance to which he appeals: Thou knowest me better than I know myself, not by hearsay or report, for thou hast seen me, not with a transient glance, but thou hast tried my heart. God's knowledge of us is as clear and exact and certain as if he had made the most strict scrutiny. Note, The God with whom we have to do perfectly knows how our hearts are towards him. He knows both the guile of the hypocrite and the sincerity of the upright.JAMISON, "knowest me (Psa_139:1).tried ... heart (Jer_11:20).toward thee rather, with Thee, that is, entirely devoted to Thee; contrasted with the hypocrites (Jer_12:2), near in ... mouth, and far from ... reins. This being so, how is it that I fare so ill, they so well?pull ... out containing the metaphor, from a rooted tree (Jer_12:2).prepare literally, separate, or set apart as devoted.day of slaughter (Jam_5:5).

K&D, "Jer_12:3To show that he has cause for his question, Jeremiah appeals to the omniscience of the Searcher of hearts. God knows him, tries his heart, and therefore knows how it is

disposed towards Himself ( belongs to , and indicating the relation - here, viz., fidelity - in which the heart stands to God; cf. 2Sa_16:17). Thus God knows that in his heart there is no unfaithfulness, and that he maintains to God an attitude altogether other than that of those hypocrites who have God on their lips only; and knows too the enmity which, without having provoked it, he experiences. How then comes it about that with the prophet it goes ill, while with those faithless ones it goes well? God, as the righteous God, must remove this contradiction. And so his request concludes: Tear them out ( of the tearing out of roots, Eze_17:9); here Hiph. with the same force (pointing back to the metaphor of their being rooted, Jer_12:2), implying total destruction. Hence also the illustration: as sheep, that are dragged away out of the flock to be slaughtered. Devote them for the day of slaughter, like animals devoted to sacrifice.CALVIN, "The Prophet is not here solicitous about himself, but, on the contrary, undertakes the defense of his own office, as though he had said that, he faithfully discharged the