Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 17:13

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 17:13. Written in the earth — They shall never come to true honour. Their names shall be written in the dust; and the first wind that blows over it shall mar every letter, and render it illegible.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Wrong attitudes and their outcome (17:1-13)

Baal worship has become so much a part of the people’s everyday lives that God sees it as engraved on their hearts. It is so widely practised in Judah that it cannot be removed from the land unless the people themselves are removed (17:1-4). Those who ignore God and trust in themselves are likened to a useless stunted bush that tries to grow in barren ground. Those who trust in God are likened to a healthy green tree that flourishes in well-watered fertile soil (5-8).
Because of the deceitfulness of the human heart, people may not understand their own actions and motives. Only God knows the hidden attitudes of their hearts, and he treats people accordingly (9-10). Those who gain riches by dishonest methods are also deceiving themselves. They will one day lose their riches, just as a bird that hatches eggs stolen from another bird’s nest will lose the young birds when they grow and fly away (11). The only security in life is with the eternal God, whose presence is symbolized in the temple. But even the temple will not save those who turn away from him. The nation’s hope is in a person, not a building (12-13).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE SALVATION OF GOD

"A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be put to shame. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters."

"A glorious throne" These verses are an expression of Jeremiah's trustful faith in Jehovah and of his confidence that God's justice will be vindicated by the overthrow of the wicked and the reward of the righteous. This mention of `the glorious throne' "Apostrophizes the Jewish temple as the seat of God's glory in Zion;" but in this context it is equivalent to God who is enthroned in glory."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 418.

"They that depart… shall be written in the earth" "Unlike those graven in the rock forever (Job 19:24), the names written in the earth shall quickly disappear."Barnes' Notes, p. 193. This interpretation was given earlier by Payne Smith; but John Bright, quoting Dahood's work in 1959, suggests that, "Based upon Ugaritic evidence, `earth' indicates the underworld, with the meaning that, `those written in the earth are those listed for death.' "Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), p. 118.

Several have quoted Origen's remark that, "All men are written somewhere, the saints in heaven, but sinners on earth." All men should so live that they may hope, at the last day, to find their names inscribed in "The Book of Life" (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 21:27, etc.).

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

In the rest of the prophecy Jeremiah dwells upon the moral faults which had led to Judah’s ruin.

Jeremiah 17:6

Like the heath - Or, “like a destitute man” Psalms 102:17. The verbs “he shall see” (or fear) and “shall inhabit” plainly show that a man is here meant and not a plant.

Jeremiah 17:8

The river - Or, “water-course” Isaiah 30:25, made for purposes of irrigation.

Shall not see - Or, “shall not fear Jeremiah 17:6.” God’s people feel trouble as much as other people, but they do not fear it because they know

(1) that it is for their good, and

(2) that God will give them strength to bear it.

Jeremiah 17:9

The train of thought is apparently this: If the man is so blessed Jeremiah 17:7-8 who trusts in Yahweh, what is the reason why men so generally “make flesh their arm”? And the answer is: Because man’s heart is incapable of seeing things in a straightforward manner, but is full of shrewd guile, and ever seeking to overreach others.

Desperately wicked - Rather, mortally sick.

Jeremiah 17:10

The answer to the question, “who can know it?” To himself a man’s heart is an inscrutable mystery: God alone can fathom it.

Ways - Rather, way, his course of life. The “and” must be omitted, for the last clause explains what is meant “by man’s way,” when he comes before God for judgment. It is “the fruit,” the final result “of his doings, i. e., his real character as formed by the acts and habits of his life.

Jeremiah 17:11

Rather, “As the partridge hath gathered eggs which it laid not, so ...” The general sense is: the covetous man is as sure to reap finally disappointment only as is the partridge which piles up eggs not of her own laying, and is unable to hatch them.

A fool - A Nabal. See 1 Samuel 25:25.

Jeremiah 17:12, Jeremiah 17:13

Or, “Thou throne ... thou place ... thou hope ... Yahweh! All that forsake Thee etc.” The prophet concludes his prediction with the expression of his own trust in Yahweh, and confidence that the divine justice will finally be vindicated by the punishment of the wicked. The “throne of glory” is equivalent to Him who is enthroned in glory.

Jeremiah 17:13

Shall be written in the earth - i. e., their names shall quickly disappear, unlike those graven in the rock forever Job 19:24. A board covered with sand is used in the East to this day in schools for giving lessons in writing: but writing inscribed on such materials is intended to be immediately obliterated. Equally fleeting is the existence of those who forsake God. “All men are written somewhere, the saints in heaven, but sinners upon earth” (Origen).

Jeremiah 17:15

This taunt shows that this prophecy was written before any very signal fulfillment of Jeremiah’s words had taken place, and prior therefore to the capture of Jerusalem at the close of Jehoiakim’s life. “Now” means “I pray,” and is ironical.

Jeremiah 17:16

I have not hastened from - i. e., I have not sought to escape from.

A pastor to follow thee - Rather, “a shepherd after Thee.” “Shepherd” means “ruler, magistrate” (Jeremiah 2:8 note), and belongs to the prophet not as a teacher, but as one invested with authority by God to guide and direct the political course of the nation. So Yahweh guides His people Psalms 23:1-2, and the prophet does so “after Him,” following obediently His instructions.

The woeful day - literally, “the day of mortal sickness:” the day on which Jerusalem was to be destroyed, and the temple burned.

Right - Omit the word. What Jeremiah asserts is that he spake as in God’s presence. They were no words of his own, but had the authority of Him before whom he stood. Compare Jeremiah 15:19.

Jeremiah 17:17

A terror - Rather, “a cause of dismay,” or consternation Jeremiah 1:17. By not fulfilling Jeremiah’s prediction God Himself seemed to put him to shame.

Jeremiah 17:18

Confounded - Put to shame.

Destroy them ... - Rather, break them with a double breaking: a twofold punishment, the first their general share in the miseries attendant upon their country’s fall; the second, a special punishment for their sin in persecuting and mocking God’s prophet.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

It appears more clear from this verse why the Prophet had commended before the excellency of his own nation, even that by the comparison their impiety might appear less excusable; for the more bountiful God had dealt with them, the more atrocious was their sin of ingratitude. As then the Jews had been raised high, so that their elevation appeared eminent through the whole world, the more detestable became their contumacy against God, and also their ingratitude in rejecting and despising a favor so remarkable, when they forsook him and followed idols, vain hopes, and their own false counsels. It is the same as though the Prophet had said, — “What does it avail you, that God dwells among you, and that the Temple is as it were his earthly habitation, where he converses familiarly with you? what benefit is this to you? for no one accepts of this favor; nay, we wilfully, and as it were designedly cast away from us this kindness which is freely offered to us.”

We hence see that all this ought to be read together, — that the throne of God was in Judea, but that the people in the meantime malignantly and wickedly rejected the favor offered them.

But the Prophet turns to God, that he might rouse the Jews, for such was their perverseness that he in vain taught them. And he says, Jehovah, the expectation of Israel! whosoever forsake thee shall be made ashamed; as though he had said, — “The ungodly multitude which accepts not the dignity by which our race excels all other nations, receives no benefit. God indeed dwells in the midst of us, but hardly one in a hundred cleaves to him; nay, almost all treacherously forsake him; but notwithstanding all their glory, they shall be made ashamed who thus reject the kindness of God.” The Prophet, in short, reminds the Jews how vainly and presumptuously they gloried, because God had adopted their race; for a reciprocity was required, so that they were to respond to God and receive his benefits. But when they perversely his favor, what could have remained for them?

Hence he says, Ashamed shall all they be made who forsake thee. By the word forsake, he intimates that the Jews had been favored by God; for this could not have been said in the same sense, and in an equal degree of the heafilens, as the heathens had never been gathered by God into one body; but the Jews alone had enjoyed this favor. When therefore he had manifested himself to them, and testified that he would be their Father, he was forsaken by them. This defection, of which the Jews alone were guilty, is noticed, because God had sought them for himself; he had also come to them, and made with them a covenant. As then they were thus brought nigh to God, this defection was the more execrable. This is what the Prophet means.

He now adds, And they who depart shall be written in the earth. Literally it is, “Who depart from me;” but the י, iod, at the end, as many think, is a servile letter. And some think that the word is a verb, and that the י, iod, at the beginning denotes the future tense, and they regard the י, iod, at the end to be for ו, vau, יסודו isuru, “Who depart.” Others suppose it to be a noun, and read יסורי isuri, for וסורים vasurim ⁽¹⁸⁰⁾ As to the meaning, it is evident that the Prophet designed here to shake off from the Jews the vain glory with which they were inflated, when they boasted that they were the people of God, the holy race of Abraham, the royal priesthood; all these things he ridicules as vain, as though he had said, — “Away with all these boastings, which are all false; ye are apostates, therefore your name shall be written in the earth.” No doubt, the earth here is set in opposition to heaven; and Scripture sometimes says, that the name of the wicked shall be a reproach on earth. But as they often acquire a celebrated and honorable name on earth, the Prophet makes a concession and says, “Be it so; let the world regard you as the holy race of Abraham, the blessed seed and the chosen people; let, in short, every one of you claim for himself whatever he pleases, but your name shall be on earth, and shall be blotted out from heaven; there will be no inheritance above for you, no portion in the kingdom of God.” He in short intimates, that the Jews would have no place before God and his angels, for they were unworthy that God shouhi regard them as his children, since they had wickedly denied him. He then grants them a name on earth; but it is the, same as though he had said, that they wickedly lied in boasting that they were a chosen people, since they themselves, as far as they could, obliterated the election of God.

He afterwards adds, Because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. The Prophet confirms what he had said, lest the Jews should think that they were too severely rebuked, when he said that their name was blotted out from heaven: Ye have forsaken, he says, the fountain of living waters. “What does this mean? God (according to what is said in Jeremiah 2:0) manifested himself to you; is there not in him a full and sufficient happiness for you? What more can be sought for by a mortal man than to enjoy his God, in whom there is the fullness of all blessings? God has offered himself to you, and his bounty has ever been extended to you, as though he were a fountain from which you might draw enough to satisfy you; but ye have forsaken this fountain. You must therefore perish through thirst, and justly so, for your ingratitude has been so great as to despise these remarkable and invaluable favors of God.” It now follows —

(180) The reading of the Keri and of many MSS. is no doubt to be adopted, and the final ם as is sometimes the case, is dropped. It would then be, according to the Septuagint, וסורים Our version is the Vulgate. I would connect “earth” or land with this word, —

And apostates in the land shall they be recorded.

This would be their designation; they were to be handed down to posterity as apostates in the very land which God gave them. The reason why the ם is dropped is the connection of the word with “land,” though preceded by ב —Ed

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 17 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond ( Jeremiah 17:1 ):

Interesting that they were using diamonds for pens in those days, isn't it? Diamonds set in iron.

it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever. Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD ( Jeremiah 17:1-5 ).

And so God pronounces the curse upon those that would trust in an alliance in Egypt to deliver them from this Babylonian invasion. "Cursed be the man who puts his trust in man, and makes the flesh his arm, who has departed from the Lord." That is, from trusting in the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited ( Jeremiah 17:6 ).

In contrast to the, "Cursed be the man."

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is ( Jeremiah 17:7 ).

Or is the Lord.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not worry in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit ( Jeremiah 17:8 ).

So the cursing upon those that would trust in man, in the arm of flesh and not the Lord, but the blessing upon those that would trust in the Lord. Those who trust in man and the arm of flesh will be dried, withered, dead, uninhabited. Those that trust in the Lord will be like a tree planted by the waters that doesn't even know when summer comes because of the freshness that it draws out from that water.

Now verse Jeremiah 17:9 :

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? ( Jeremiah 17:9 )

God's talking about your heart and my heart. Socrates cried, "Man, know thyself." But who really does know himself? The scripture says, "Thou, O Lord, searches the heart and the reins." God knows my heart better than I know it. God knows what deception is there. And it is easy for us to become deceived. It's easy for us to follow a vain philosophy. It's easy for us to take that adage, "The end justifies the means." And so our means become perverse, crooked.

Paul the apostle talks about those who say, "Well, our lies bring glory to God so God shouldn't judge us for lying." Or those who would say, "Well, if I sin I'm only proving that God is telling the truth when He said all have sinned. So how can God judge me for proving Him to be speaking the truth? I'm only helping prove the truth of God's Word so God really can't judge me because I'm only proving what He said is true." And Paul speaks out against the perversity of such kind of logic and how God will judge all.

Now there are those who in the name of the Lord are doing crooked and perverse things. And if you talk to them about it, challenge them, they would be shocked. They would be disturbed. "My, brother! You know, you're judging me." The Bible says judge righteous judgment. I think that we've been put off a long time because we are afraid of people saying, "Well, you're judging, you know." The Bible says, "By their fruits ye shall know them" ( Matthew 7:16 ). And it is wrong to use deceit and lies and gimmicks to try to extract funds from the people of God in order to support your program. I don't care how righteous or good your program may be.

My wife told me not to get into this tonight. It's right here in the scripture. It just came along. I just... I cannot understand men advertising their fasting and prayer when Jesus said, "When you fast, anoint your face. Wash yourself that you might look cheerful and all. That you don't appear unto men to fast. And your Father which sees in secret, He'll reward you. And when you pray, don't go out on the street corner, but go into your closet and shut the door." And when some guy sends letters out all over the country saying, "I'm going to spend some time fasting and praying, send me your requests with your fifty dollar check because I want to pray for you, too," something's wrong. Desperately wrong.

"The heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" But God declares, "I the Lord search the heart. I try the reins." That is, the motivations. "Even to give every man according to his ways." Now Jesus tells us that we are to be careful that we don't do our righteousness before men to be seen of men because we have our reward. Now Jesus plainly warns us about that. There is a way that I can do my righteousness so that people see me and they say, "Oh my, isn't he spiritual?" And we've got to watch out for this, because it is such a deceiving, terrible thing. My old pride and my old flesh wants people to think that I am a spiritual man of God. I like people when I walk by to whisper, "Oh, isn't he spiritual? Oh." My flesh just really enjoys that. And so it's easy for me to get little spiritual affectations that my mind isn't really necessarily upon God. As I stand there, you lift your head upward and close your eyes because that looks more spiritual. I wonder if people are seeing me now. Surely they'll know I'm very spiritual. I hope they're watching. And then if you go up on your tiptoes it even looks a little more, you know, spiritual. But my mind, what am I thinking? Am I thinking, "I hope they're watching. I hope they see. I hope they notice. I hope they realize how spiritual I am." God said, "Look, I'm searching the heart. I'm trying the motives."

Now the Bible tells us that one day all of our works are going to be judged by fire. And much of what we have done is going to go poof! It's going to go up in smoke. "Wait a minute, Lord, did I not prophesy in Thy name? Didn't I work miracles in Your name? Didn't I heal the sick in Your name? Lord!"

I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins ( Jeremiah 17:10 ),

All of your works are wood, hay and stubble. They were done to be seen of men. They were done for your own glory and to spread abroad your own name. You named your chapels and your universities and all after your own name. Sad. Sad. What a day of awakening it's going to be.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Now David realizing this, realizing that he didn't even know his own heart because of the deceitfulness of the heart, said, "Thou O Lord hast searched me and You know me. You know my thoughts in their origin. Such knowledge," he said, "is too great for me. I cannot attain it" ( Psalms 139:1 , Psalms 139:6 ). I cannot really attain the true knowledge of myself. But then he said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be some way of wickedness in me, and lead me in Your way eternal" ( Psalms 139:23-24 ).

Now the man who understands and knows that his heart is deceitful and desperately wicked is the man who will join David's prayer and say, "O God, You search my heart. You know. You try me. And God, if there's something there that is wrong, is displeasing to You, reveal it to me, Lord." I don't want to be deceived. I don't want to be deceiving myself. I don't want to stand before God and suddenly find all that I've done wiped out in a puff of smoke as the fire consumes all of that work of wood, hay and stubble. Jesus said, "You've not chosen Me, but I've chosen you, and ordained you, that you should be My disciples, that you should bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain" ( John 15:16 ). That's what I want, remaining fruit. So God help us. He's searching our hearts. He tries the rein. And He's going

to give to every man according to his ways ( Jeremiah 17:10 )

What's in my heart? Why did I do it? That's what's going to be judged. God is going to give to him

according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge sits on eggs, and doesn't hatch them; so is he that gets riches, and not by right ( Jeremiah 17:10-11 ),

But by wrong means. He is accumulating wealth.

he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end he shall be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary ( Jeremiah 17:11-12 ).

That place of our sanctuary is God's glorious high throne.

O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters ( Jeremiah 17:13 ).

Takes us back to the first cry of God against Israel in that they have committed two evils: "They have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed out for themselves cisterns that can hold no water" ( Jeremiah 2:13 ).

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee ( Jeremiah 17:14-16 ).

He's not rejoicing in the things that he is saying.

Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction ( Jeremiah 17:17-18 ).

Now the Lord spoke to him concerning the gates where the king went in and went out, and He said, "Now go down to the gate and when the king comes in give him this message."

Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I have commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear ( Jeremiah 17:19-23 ),

Now that is, their fathers obeyed not. "I told your fathers not to do this," God is saying, "but they didn't obey Me. Neither did they incline their ear."

but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever ( Jeremiah 17:23-25 ).

God is still holding out the opportunity of salvation and hope to them. Even at this late stage of their backsliding. Even when the judgment is hanging over their head. Even when Babylon is marching to destroy this place. God is still holding out to them a hope. "Just turn to Me, just obey Me, and the gates here, the kings and the princes will be passing through forever. You'll never be destroyed or put out of the land." God's mercies just are so extensive. They're right up until the moment a person dies. God extends His mercy. Oh, how merciful is our God!

And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD ( Jeremiah 17:26 ).

It can happen. It can happen to you. Just turn back to Me. Just obey My commandments.

But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched ( Jeremiah 17:27 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Judah’s indelible sin and sin’s deceitfulness 17:1-18

The next five sections (Jeremiah 17:1-18) continue the theme of Judah’s guilt from the previous chapter. These pericopes have obvious connections with one another, but they were evidently originally separate prophecies. Jeremiah 17:1-4 are particularly ironic.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

This had been true because Yahweh Himself was the hope of His people (cf. Jeremiah 14:8; Jeremiah 50:7). Consequently all who break covenant and forsake Him, the Fountain of Living Water (Jeremiah 2:13), will suffer humiliation and will become the objects of His judgment. The Lord keeps a record of those who turn away from Him (cf. Jeremiah 17:1).

Jeremiah 17:14-18 are another of Jeremiah’s "confessions." The guilt of Judah is prominent in the first part of this chapter, but now the innocence of Jeremiah presents a contrast.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

O Lord, the Hope of Israel,.... Of all true Israelites; such as are regenerate persons, and true believers in him; Christ is the author and giver of that hope that is in them; the door of it unto them; the object on which it is exercised; the ground and foundation of it, or what gives encouragement to it; and the person they are hoping for; Old Testament saints hoped, waited for, and expected his first coming; and New Testament saints are hoping for his second coming, and to be for ever with him w:

all that forsake thee shall be ashamed; who forsake him as the Hope of Israel, and place their hope elsewhere; in the creature, in themselves, in their riches, in their righteousness, and profession of religion; such shall be ashamed of their vain hope; whereas a true hope, a hope upon the right object, on Christ the Hope of Israel, makes not ashamed; nor shall the man that has it be ashamed of that. The Targum paraphrases it,

"all who forsake thy worship shall be ashamed;''

for they forsake their own mercies, who forsake the house and ordinances of God, and the assembling of themselves together:

and they that depart from me; the prophet; refusing to hear the word of the Lord by him, which was all one as departing from the Lord. Some render it, "from thee", as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; and so the Targum,

"and the ungodly that transgress thy word;''

whose heart departed from the Lord, as in Jer 17:1 notwithstanding their show of devotion and religion. Some render the words, "that are chastised by me"; but repent not, and are not reformed thereby; reading not וסורי, as the Masorites direct, and we, and many others, follow; but according to the letters, and retaining them, יסורי x:

shall be written in the earth; have a name among earthly and carnal men, and be called so, being sensual and carnal, and minding nothing but earth and earthly things; and shall not be written among the living in Jerusalem, or have a name and a place among spiritual men: or they shall be of a short continuance; their memory shall rot; their names be put out for ever; and their memorial perish with them; for things written in the dust do not continue, but are presently destroyed by a puff of wind, or by the treading of the foot upon them; or they shall die, and return to the earth, and be laid in the grave, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; or shall perish eternally, die the second death, being not written in the Lamb's book of life. The Targum is,

"into hell shall they fall.''

The phrase is opposed to a being written, or having names written in heaven, Luke 10:20; which is the same as to be written in the book of life, or to be ordained unto eternal life, Philippians 4:3; and what is the case of such who are not written in heaven, but in earth, may be seen in Revelation 20:15;

because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters;

Revelation 20:15- :.

w מקוה, the word here used, sometimes signifies a confluence or collection of waters, as in Genesis 1:10 and elsewhere, a place to bathe in; hence Fortunatus Scacchus, in Sacror. Eleaochr. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 23. col. 159. renders it here, "the bath of Israel", the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood is a fountain opened, in which sinners wash, and are cleansed from their sins, Zech. xiii. 1. and this agrees with the latter part of the verse, where the Lord is called "the fountain of living water"; so De Dieu, on ch. xiv. 8, observes, the word is so used in Exod. vii. 21. and so R. Akiba interprets the words, saying,

"what is "the meaning of מקוה? it is that which cleanses the unclean; even so God cleanses Israel;''

and it is, adds De Dieu, as if you were to call God the pool of Israel, or a confluence of waters where Israel may be washed from his filth. x "Castigati a me", Schmidt; so Stockius, p. 455, 725, Junius & Tremellius follow the same reading, only they render the words, not so properly, "castigationes meae".

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.   13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.   14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.   15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.   16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.   17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.   18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

      Here, as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone with God. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method and coherence.

      I. He acknowledges the great favour of God to his people in setting up a revealed religion among them, and dignifying them with divine institutions (Jeremiah 17:12; Jeremiah 17:12): A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. The temple at Jerusalem, where God manifested his special presence, where the lively oracles were lodged, where the people paid their homage to their Sovereign, and whither they fled for refuge in distress, was the place of their sanctuary. That was a glorious high throne. It was a throne of holiness, which made it truly glorious; it was God's throne, which made it truly high. Jerusalem is called the city of the great King, not only Israel's King, but the King of the whole earth, so that it might justly be deemed the metropolis, or royal city, of the world. It was from the beginning, so, from the first projecting of it by David and building of it by Solomon, 2 Chronicles 2:9. It was the honour of Israel that God set up such a glorious throne among them. As the glorious and high throne (that is, heaven) is the place of our sanctuary; so some read it. Note, All good men have a high value and veneration for the ordinances of God, and reckon the place of the sanctuary a glorious high throne. Jeremiah here mentions this either as a plea with God for mercy to their land, in honour of the throne of his glory (Jeremiah 14:21; Jeremiah 14:21), or as an aggravation of the sin of his people in forsaking God though his throne was among them, and so profaning his crown and the place of his sanctuary.

      II. He acknowledges the righteousness of God in abandoning those to ruin that forsook him and revolted from their allegiance to him, Jeremiah 17:13; Jeremiah 17:13. He speaks it to God, as subscribing both to the certainty and to the equity of it: O Lord! the hope of those in Israel that adhere to thee, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed. They must of necessity be so, for they forsake thee for lying vanities, which will deceive them and make them ashamed. They will be ashamed, for they shame themselves. They will justly be put to shame, for they have forsaken him who alone can keep them in countenance when troubles come. Let them be ashamed (so some read it); and so it is a pious imprecation of the wrath of God upon them, or a petition for his grace, to make them penitently ashamed. "Those that depart from me, from the word of God which I have preached, do in effect depart from God;" as those that return to God are said to return to the prophet, Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 15:19. Those that depart from thee (so some read it) shall be written in the earth. They shall soon be blotted out, as that is which is written in the dust. They shall be trampled upon and exposed to contempt. They belong to the earth, and shall be numbered among earthly people, who lay up their treasure on earth and whose names are not written in heaven. And they deserve to be thus written with the fools in Israel, that their folly may be made manifest unto all, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters (that is, spring waters), and that for broken cisterns. Note, God is to all that are his a fountain of living waters. There is a fulness of comfort in him, an over-flowing ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is always fresh, and clear, and clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of sin are puddle-waters. They are free to it; it is not a fountain sealed. They deserve therefore to be condemned, as Adam, to red earth, to which by the corruption of their nature they are allied, because they have forsaken the garden of the Lord, which is so well-watered. Those that depart from God are written in the earth.

      III. He prays to God for healing saving mercy for himself. "If the case of those that depart from God be so miserable, let me always draw nigh to him (Psalms 73:27; Psalms 73:28), and, in order to do that, Lord, heal me, and save me,Jeremiah 17:14; Jeremiah 17:14. Heal my backslidings, my bent to backslide, and save me from being carried away by the strength of the stream to forsake thee." He was wounded in spirit with grief upon many accounts. "Lord, heal me with thy comforts, and make me easy." He was continually exposed to the malice of unreasonable men. "Lord, save me from them, and let me not fall into their wicked hands. Heal me, that is, sanctify me by thy grace; save me, that is, bring me to thy glory." All that shall be saved hereafter are sanctified now; unless the disease of sin be purged out the soul cannot live. To enforce this petition he pleads, 1. The firm belief he had of God's power: Heal thou me, and then I shall be healed; the cure will certainly be wrought if thou undertake it; it will be a thorough cure and not a palliative one. Those that come to God to be healed ought to be abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their physician. Save me, and then I shall certainly be saved, be my dangers and enemies ever so threatening. If God hold us up, we shall live; if he protect us, we shall be safe. 2. The sincere regard he had to God's glory: "For thou art my praise, and for that reason I desire to be healed and saved, that I may live and praise thee,Psalms 119:175. Thou art he whom I praise, and the praise due to thee I never gave to another. Thou art he whom I glory in, and boast of, for on thee do I depend. Thou art he that furnishes me with continual matter for praise, and I have given thee the praise of the favours already bestowed upon me. Thou shalt be my praise" (so some read it); "heal me, and save me, and thou shalt have the glory of it. My praise shall be continually of thee," Psalms 71:6; Psalms 79:13.

      IV. He complains of the infidelity and daring impiety of the people to whom he preached. It greatly troubled him, and he shows before God this trouble, as the servant that had slights put upon him by the guests he was sent to invite came and showed his Lord these things. He had faithfully delivered God's message to them; and what answer has he to return to him that sent him? Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now,Jeremiah 17:15; Isaiah 5:19. They bantered the prophet, and made a jest of that which he delivered with the greatest seriousness. 1. They denied the truth of what he said: "If that be the word of the Lord which thou speakest to us, where is it? Why is it not fulfilled?" Thus the patience of God was impudently abused as a ground to question his veracity. 2. They defied the terror of what he said. "Let God Almighty do his worst; let all he has said come to pass; we shall do well enough; the lion is not so fierce as he is painted," Amos 5:18. "Lord, to what purpose is it to speak to men that will neither believe nor fear?"

      V. He appeals to God concerning his faithful discharge of the duty to which he was called, Jeremiah 17:16; Jeremiah 17:16. The people did all they could to make him weary of his work, to exasperate him and make him uneasy, and to tempt him to prevaricate and alter his message for fear of displeasing them; but, "Lord," says he, "thou knowest I have not yielded to them." 1. He continued constant to his work. His office, instead of being his credit and protection, exposed him to reproach, contempt, and injury. "Yet," says he, "I have not hastened from being a pastor after thee; I have not left my work, nor sued for a discharge or a quietus." Prophets were pastors to the people, to feed them with the good word of God; but they were to be pastors after God, and all ministers must be so, according to his heart (Jeremiah 3:15; Jeremiah 3:15), to follow him and the directions and instructions he gives. Such a pastor Jeremiah was; and, though he met with as much difficulty and discouragement as ever any man did, yet he did not fly off as Jonah did, nor desire to be excused from going any more on God's errands. Note, Those that are employed for God, though their success answer nor their expectations, must not therefore throw up their commission. but continue to follow God, though the storm be in their faces. 2. He kept up his affection to the people. Though they were very abusive to him, he was compassionate to them: I have not desired the woeful day. The day of the accomplishment of his prophecies would be a woeful day indeed to Jerusalem, and therefore he deprecated it, and wished it might never come, though, as to himself, it would be the avenging of him upon his persecutors and the proving of him a true prophet (which they had questioned, Jeremiah 17:15; Jeremiah 17:15), and upon those accounts he might be tempted to desire it. Note, God does not, and therefore ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn and live. Though we warn of the woeful day, we must not wish for it, but rather weep because of it, as Jeremiah did. 3. He kept closely to his instructions. Though he might have curried favour with the people, or at least have avoided their displeasure, if he had not been so sharp in his reproofs and severe in his threatenings, yet he would deliver his message faithfully; and that he had done so was a comfort to him. "Lord, thou knowest that that which came out of my lips was right before thee; it exactly agreed with what I received from thee, and therefore thou art reflected upon in their quarrelling with me." Note, If what we say and do be right before God, we may easily despise the reproaches and censures of men. It is a small thing to be judged of their judgment.

      VI. He humbly begs of God that he would own him, and protect him, and carry him on cheerfully in that work to which God had so plainly called him and to which he had so sincerely devoted himself. Two things he here desires:-- 1. That he might have comfort in serving the God that sent him (Jeremiah 17:17; Jeremiah 17:17): Be not thou a terror to me. Surely more is implied than is expressed. "Be thou a comfort to me, and let thy favour rejoice my heart and encourage me, when my enemies do all they can to terrify me and either to drive me from my work or to make me drive on heavily in it." Note, The best have that in them which might justly make God a terror to them, as he was for some time to Job (Job 6:4; Job 6:4), to Asaph (Psalms 77:3), to Heman, Psalms 88:15. And this is that which good men, knowing the terrors of the Lord, dread and deprecate more than any thing; nay, whatever frightful accidents may befal them, or how formidable soever their enemies may appear to them, they can do well enough so long as God is not a terror to them. He pleads, "Thou art my hope; and then nothing else is my fear, no, not in the day of evil, when it is most threatening, most pressing. My dependence is upon thee; and therefore be not a terror to me." Note, Those that by faith make God their confidence shall have him for their comfort in the worst of times, if it be not their own fault: if we make him our trust, we shall not find him our terror. 2. That he might have courage in dealing with the people to whom he was sent, Jeremiah 17:18; Jeremiah 17:18. Those persecuted him who should have entertained and encouraged him. "Lord," says he, "let them be confounded (let them be overpowered by the convictions of the word and made ashamed of their obstinacy, or else let the judgments threatened be at length executed upon them), but let not me confounded, let not me be terrified by their menaces, so as to betray my trust." Note, God's ministers have work to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in, but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it without shame or fear. Jeremiah had not desired the woeful day upon his country in general; but as to his persecutors, in a just and holy indignation at their malice, he prays, Bring upon them the day of evil, in hope that the bringing of it upon them might prevent the bringing of it upon the country; if they were taken away, the people would be better; "therefore destroy them with a double destruction; let them be utterly destroyed, root and branch, and let the prospect of that destruction be their present confusion." This the prophet prays, not at all that he might be avenged, nor so much that he might be eased, but that the Lord may be known by the judgments which he executes.