Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 4:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 4:6. I will bring evil from the north — From the land of Chaldea.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The coming invasion (4:5-31)

Jeremiah now pictures the terrible judgment that will fall on Judah if it does not repent. With the enemy army sweeping down upon Judah from the north, a trumpeter sounds the alarm and the people of Judah flee to their walled cities for safety (5-6). Like an enraged lion the enemy prepares to pounce upon its victim. God is about to pour out his anger on the unfaithful people (7-8).
Judah’s leaders, both civil and religious, are shocked at the sudden catastrophe that overtakes them. They now realize that by believing the false prophets, they have deceived themselves. They mistakenly thought that God would never allow a heathen nation to destroy them (9-10).
God’s judgment burns up his people like a scorching desert wind (11-12). As Jeremiah pictures the enemy’s horses and chariots sweeping across the northern frontier, he makes a last desperate plea to the Jerusalemites to repent (13-14). He sees the invasion forces moving down from Dan, crossing Ephraim’s mountains, spreading over the country and besieging cities as they head for their main prize, Jerusalem. The people of Judah have brought this disaster upon themselves because of the way they have lived. They are about to reap the fruits of their ungodliness and idolatry (15-18).
Jeremiah can scarcely bear to look at the scene of destruction, and cries out in his distress (19-21). God assures him that the judgment is just. In their stupidity the people have rejected God and devoted themselves to wrongdoing. Now they are suffering the consequences (22).
To the prophet it seems that, with the fall of Judah, the earth has become barren, waste, dark and silent (23-26). God’s judgment is so devastating that, were it not for his mercy, the people would be wiped out (27-28). In country towns people flee before the enemy and look for hiding places in forests and caves (29). Jerusalem tries to win favour with the enemy, as a prostitute tries to win the favour of lovers, but the enemy is not fooled. Jerusalem’s end is as horrible as that of a brutally murdered prostitute; her screams are as piercing as those of a woman in agonizing childbirth (30-31).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he has gone forth from his place, to make the land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder."

These verses are a prophecy of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Judah. That terrible judgment against Judah, like many other judgments of God throughout history against cities and/or nations whose wickedness had reached a point of no return, is also typical of the ultimate overthrow of Adam's rebellious race in the Final Judgment. This is indicated by the words "at that day" in Jeremiah 4:9.

"Blow ye the trumpet in the land" This was an all-out war alarm, a signal for Judah and Jerusalem to brace themselves for the conflict.

"Set up a standard toward Zion" This meant that road signs should be set up pointing the way to the nearest fortified cities to which the people might flee for safety. It should not be thought, however, that any true safety was available. Of course, there was yet time, IF, only IF Judah repented and turned to the Lord, "There would then have been hope, that protected by their fortified cities, they might have waited till the tide of war had passed; but as long as their sins remained unrepented of, their punishment would continue."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 350.

"I will bring evil from the north, and a great devastation" Quite a few of the scholars whose writings on this chapter we have consulted still believe they find the Scythians indicated here; but, as in our introduction, we cannot agree with that interpretation.

Taking all into consideration, we see that referring this prophecy to the Scythians is founded neither on exegetical results, nor upon historical evidence; but such a reference relies solely upon rationalistic prejudice that the prophecies of the Biblical prophets are nothing more than either disguised descriptions of historical events, or threatenings based upon forthcoming events that astute political observations could predict.C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 109.

That the prophecy here refers to the Babylonians is a certainty, as proved by the next verse.

"A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations" This lion was no ordinary beast, but a destroyer of nations. While true enough that a lion "could represent either Assyria or Babylon," after the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.) the metaphor could have applied only to Babylon.

Jamieson identified the lion as, "Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans… his `thicket' was Babylon."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 511. Of course, the emphasis in Babylon upon the lion as their symbol is proved by the lion's den into which Daniel was cast, and also, as Harrison noted: "Archaeological discoveries have uncovered beautiful representations of lions in enamel from the Processional Street of ancient Babylon."R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 70.

"Gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail" There is nothing left for Judah except to weep and wail as the penalty of their sins is ruthlessly executed upon them by the savage lion of the Babylonians. Also note that the expression "at that day" also points forward to that day when "the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" shall mark the final punishment of our rebellious race of the sons of Adam.

This thought is developed more fully a little later in the chapter. "Jehovah's judgment of his people here is similar to that of Isaiah 24, where the judgment of the enemies of Israel is interwoven with the judgment upon the earth."T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 81.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The standard - A flag or signal, to which the people were to rally.Retire, stay not - Rather, gather your goods together: linger not; “for I” (emphatic, Yahweh) am bringing at this very time etc.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

The words אל-תעמדו, al-tomedu, may be explained in two ways, — “Stand not,” that is, “Hasten quickly,” as it is the case with those in extreme fear; or, “Ye shall not stand,” that is, “Though ye may seek a firm position on Mount Sion, ye shall not yet be able to continue there.” The first exposition appears to me the best, as it is more suitable to the context. ⁽¹⁰²⁾

(102) These two verses contain a very spirited address, in a style truly poetical, —

5.Announce ye in Judah, And in Jerusalem publish, and say, — Yea, sound the trumpet in the land, Proclaim, do it fully, and say, — “Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities;

6.Raise a banner towards Sion; Hasten ye, stay not:“ For an evil am I bringing from the north, And a great destruction.

The people of Judah were summoned to enter into fortified cities, and Mount Sion was to be the resort of the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “Hasten ye,“ σπεύσατε — hasten, Septuagint. This is the meaning of עז in Hiphil. See Exodus 9:19; Isaiah 10:31. In Jeremiah 6:1, it is translated “Gather yourselves to flee;” but “hasten,” or remove vigorously or quickly, would be the best rendering. — Ed

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 4

But if you will return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if you will put away thine abominations out of my sight, then you will no longer be [moved or] removed. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth ( Jeremiah 4:1-2 ),

It won't just be saying it as a phrase. And the people were still saying, "Oh, the Lord lives. Praise the Lord, the Lord lives!" But it was meaningless. Just like a lot of people today who go around saying, "Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!" It's meaningless. It's just mouthing words. But you'll say in truth; it will be from your heart.

in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns ( Jeremiah 4:2-3 ).

That fallow ground, break it up in order that God might bring His reign and plant it and bring forth fruit.

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and cut away the foreskins of your heart ( Jeremiah 4:4 ),

The fleshly heart, the heart that is after the flesh. Paul refers to this in Romans. The true circumcision is of the heart, not of the flesh.

ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings ( Jeremiah 4:4 ).

Cut away a heart that is after your flesh and after things of the flesh. Cut that away that you might be dedicated totally to God and the things of the Spirit.

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defensed cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way [Babylon is moving toward you]; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! ( Jeremiah 4:5-10 )

Jeremiah's responding when God said all these things. The judgment is coming. These men are all going to be silent. Then I said, Oh, Lord God!

surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword is reaching to their soul ( Jeremiah 4:10 ).

Because the prophets were going around saying, "Peace, peace, peace and safety. Babylon shall not come to this place. Babylon shall never cast a trench around this place."

At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, he shall come up as the clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we have been spoiled [destroyed]. O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you mayest be saved. How long shall your vain thoughts remain in your minds? For a voice declares from Dan, and publish affliction from mount Ephraim. Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee ( Jeremiah 4:11-18 );

You've brought it upon yourself.

this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches into your hearts. My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge ( Jeremiah 4:18-22 ).

Paul said we ought to be simple concerning evil things. A lot of people like to dabble into the evil things. "Oh, I just want to understand about the evil. Let's go down to the nude shows so that we'll know what to preach against." The Bible says be simple concerning evil. Better that you be dumb about evil things. Of course, it's good that you pick up the lingo so that you won't be using some of the corrupted words that they use. But it's good to just be simple about evil. And Jeremiah says much the same thing here. The people were wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Now the Lord speaks. There are some who think that Jeremiah is here going back. But contextually it's hard to really see it that way. But he uses the same phraseology that is used in Genesis 1:1-31 . And therefore, those who adhere to the Gap Theory, and that is, that between verses Jeremiah 4:1 , and Jeremiah 4:2 of Genesis there is a gap of indeterminate time. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" ( Genesis 1:1 ). When that was, we don't know. Billions, trillions of years ago, we don't know. Verse Jeremiah 4:2 , "And the earth was without form and void," can also be translated, "but the earth became wasted and desolate." So they see the possibility of a great gap of time, indeterminate, existing between verses Jeremiah 4:1 , and Jeremiah 4:2 of Genesis. And they see the earth that was originally created by God as being destroyed by God's fierce anger in a rebellion that preceded man's existence upon this planet. And one of the scriptures that they use as a proof for the Gap Theory is this particular passage that we come to here in Jeremiah where he makes a reference.

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void ( Jeremiah 4:23 );

The same terminology that you find in verse Jeremiah 4:2 of Genesis 1:1-31 .

and the heavens, they had no light ( Jeremiah 4:23 ).

You remember the first thing God said was, "Let there be light" ( Genesis 1:3 ).

I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all of the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was as a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end ( Jeremiah 4:24-27 ).

And so those who subscribe to the Gap Theory see this as a proof of the Gap Theory, as Jeremiah, they say, is looking back and he sees the earth prior to God's reconstruction of the earth for placing man upon it, and sees earth in perhaps the state it was before God began to reconstruct the earth, to put man upon it. Sees it in the last ice age when there was no light shining down upon the earth. When the earth was enshrouded in darkness and the birds, the life that had existed was gone. The cities that were once here were destroyed. And so they explain the fossils, prehistoric man, and so forth through this Gap Theory. There is much that can be said for the Gap Theory. There are problems also with the Gap Theory, but it is one of the common theories of creation and especially of Genesis, that Gap Theory. And as I say, there is merit to it. There are problems, but there is merit to it. "For thus hath the Lord said, 'The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.'"

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and will not change, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you rentest your face with painting, in vain you will make yourself beautiful; for your lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that is bringing forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that is wailing, she is spreading forth her hands, she is saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers ( Jeremiah 4:28-31 ).

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Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The sounding of the alarm that invasion was coming 4:5-10

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The people were to lift up a flag or light a signal fire (Heb. nes) in Jerusalem as a sign of coming attack (cf. Isaiah 13:2; Isaiah 18:3). They should seek refuge quickly because the Lord was bringing an evil destroying force against them from the north (cf. 2 Kings 16:5-6; Hosea 5:8: Joel 2:1; Amos 3:6). This was not just a twist of political fate; Yahweh was sending this enemy against His people.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Set up the standard toward Zion,.... Not on the tower of Zion, as Kimchi interprets it; but on some high place, pointing to Zion, and directing the country people to flee thither for safety; for the setting up of the standard here is not for enlisting of soldiers in order to fight, but as a sign of danger, and a direction where to flee from it:

retire; gather yourselves together in order to flee, as the word p is rendered in Isaiah 10:31, though some render it, "be ye strengthened" q; take heart, and play the man; but this does not seem so agreeable to the context:

stay not; or, "stand not"; stand not in the place ye are in, but move from it in all haste, because of present danger:

for I will bring evil from the north; from Babylon, as Kimchi interprets it; which lay north to the land of Israel; and so designs the captivity Judah should be brought into there:

and a great destruction or, "breach" r; which the Babylonians should make on the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem.

p העיזו "congregate vos, [sub.] ad fugiendum", Vatablus; "confirmate vos [ad fugiendum]", Piscator. q "Confortamini", V. L. "corroboramiui", Castalio; "agite viriliter", Munster. r שבר "contritionem", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "confractionem", Cocceius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.   6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.   7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.   8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.   9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.   10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.   11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,   12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.   13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.   14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?   15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.   16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.   17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.   18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

      God's usual method is to warn before he wounds. In these verses, accordingly, God gives notice to the Jews of the general desolation that would shortly be brought upon them by a foreign invasion. This must be declared and published in all the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, that all might hear and fear, and by this loud alarm be either brought to repentance or left inexcusable. The prediction of this calamity is here given very largely, and in lively expressions, which one would think should have awakened and affected the most stupid. Observe,

      I. The war proclaimed, and general notice given of the advance of the enemy. It is published now, some years before, by the prophet; but, since this will be slighted, it shall be published after another manner when the judgment is actually breaking in, Jeremiah 4:5; Jeremiah 4:6. The trumpet must be blown, the standard must be set up, a summons must be issued out to the people to gather together and to draw towards Zion, either to guard it or expecting to be guarded by it. There must be a general rendezvous. The militia must be raised and all the forces mustered. Those that are able men, and fit for service, must go into the defenced cities, to garrison them; those that are weak, and would lessen their provisions, but not increase their strength, must retire, and not stay.

      II. An express arrived with intelligence of the approach of the king of Babylon and his army. It is an evil that God will bring from the north (as he had said, Jeremiah 1:15; Jeremiah 1:15), even a great destruction, beyond all that had yet come upon the nation of the Jews. The enemy is here compared, 1. To a lion that comes up from his thicket, when he is hungry, to seek his prey, Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 4:7. The helpless beasts are so terrified with his roaring (as some report) that they cannot flee from him, and so become an easy prey to him. Nebuchadnezzar is this roaring tearing lion, the destroyer of the nations, that has laid many countries waste, and now is on his way in full speed towards the land of Judah. The destroyer of the Gentiles shall be the destroyer of the Jews too, when they have by their idolatry made themselves like the Gentiles. "He has gone forth from his place, from Babylon, or the place of the rendezvous of his army, on purpose against this land; that is the prey he has now his eye upon, not to plunder it only, but to make it desolate, and herein he shall succeed to such a degree that the cities shall be laid waste, without inhabitants, shall be overgrown with grass as a field;" so some read it. 2. To a drying blasting wind (Jeremiah 4:11; Jeremiah 4:11), a parching scorching wind, which spoils the fruits of the earth and withers them, not a wind which brings rain, but such as comes out of the north, which drives away rain (Proverbs 25:23), but brings something worse instead of it; such shall this evil out of the north be to this people, a black freezing wind, which they can neither fence against nor flee from, but, wherever they go, it shall surround and pursue them; and they cannot see it before it comes, but, when it comes, they shall feel it. It is a wind of the high places in the wilderness, or plain, that beats upon the tops of the hills or that carries all before it in the plain, where there is no shelter, but the ground is all champaign. It shall come in its full force towards the daughters of my people, that have been brought up so tenderly and delicately that they could not endure to have the wind blow upon them. Now this fierce wind shall come against them, not to fan, nor cleanse them, not such a gentle wind as is used in winnowing corn, but a full wind (Jeremiah 4:12; Jeremiah 4:12), a strong and violent wind, blowing full upon them. This shall come to me, or rather for me; it shall come with commission from God and shall accomplish that for which he sends it; for this, as other stormy winds, fulfills his word. 3. To clouds and whirlwinds for swiftness, Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 4:13. The Chaldean army shall come up as clouds driven with the wind, so thick shall they stand, so fast shall they march, and it shall be to no purpose to offer to stop them or make head against them, any more than to arrest a cloud or give check to a whirlwind. The horses are swifter than eagles when they fly upon their prey; it is in vain to think either of opposing them or of outrunning them. 4. To watchers and the keepers of a field, Jeremiah 4:15-17; Jeremiah 4:15-17. The voice declares from Dan, a city which lay furthest north of all the cities of Canaan, and therefore received the first tidings of this evil from the north and hastened it to Mount Ephraim, that part of the land of Israel which lay next to Judea; they received the news of the affliction and transmitted it to Jerusalem. Ill news flies apace; and an impenitent people, that hates to be reformed, can expect no other that ill news. Now, what is the news? "Tell the nations, those mixed nations that now inhabit the cities of the ten tribes, mention it to them, that they may provide for their own safety; but publish it against Jerusalem, that is the place aimed at, the game shot at, let them know that watchers have come from a far country, that is, soldiers, that will watch all opportunities to do mischief." Private soldiers we call private sentinels, or watchmen. "They are coming in full career, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah; they design to invest them, to make themselves masters of them, and to attack them with loud shouts, as sure of victory. As keepers of a field surround it, to keep all out from it, so shall they surround the cities of Judah, to keep all in them, till they be constrained to surrender at discretion; they are against her round about, compassing her in on every side." See Luke 19:43. As formerly the good angels, those watchers, and holy ones, were like keepers of a field to Jerusalem, watching about it, that nothing might go in to its prejudice, so now their enemies were as watchers and keepers of a field, surrounding it that nothing might go in to its relief and succour.

      III. The lamentable cause of this judgment. How is it that Judah and Jerusalem come to be thus abandoned to ruin? See how it came to this. 1. They sinned against God; it was all owing to themselves: She has been rebellious against me, saith the Lord,Jeremiah 4:17; Jeremiah 4:17. Their enemies surrounded them as keepers of a field, because they had taken up arms against their rightful Lord and sovereign, and were to be seized as rebels. The Chaldeans were breaking in upon them, and it was sin that opened the gap at which they entered: Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee (Jeremiah 4:18; Jeremiah 4:18), thy evil way and thy doings that have not been good. It was not a false step or two that did them this mischief, but their way and course of living were bad. Note, Sin is the procuring cause of all our troubles. Those that go on in sin while they are endeavouring to ward off mischiefs with one hand are at the same time pulling them upon their own heads with the other. 2. God was angry with them for their sin. It is the fierce anger of the Lord that makes the army of the Chaldeans thus fierce, thus furious; that is kindled against us, and is not turned back from us,Jeremiah 4:8; Jeremiah 4:8. Note, In men's anger against us, and the violence of that, we must see and own God's anger and the power of that. If that were turned back from us, our enemies could not come forward against us. 3. In his just and holy anger he condemned them to this dreadful punishment: Now also will I give sentence against them,Jeremiah 4:12; Jeremiah 4:12. The execution was done, not in a heat, but in pursuance of a sentence solemnly passed, according to equity, and upon mature deliberation. Some read it, Now will I do execution upon them, according to the doom formerly passed; and we are sure that the judgment of God is according to the truth, and the execution of that judgment.

      IV. The lamentable effects of this judgment, upon the first alarm given of it. 1. The people that should fight shall quite despair and shall not have a heart to make the least stand against the enemy (Jeremiah 4:8; Jeremiah 4:8): "For this gird yourself with sackcloth, lament and howl," that is, "you will do so. When the cry is made through the kingdom, Arm, arm! all will be seized with a consternation, and all put into confusion. Instead of girding on the sword, they will gird on the sackcloth; instead of animating one another to a vigorous resistance, they will lament and howl, and so dishearten one another. While the enemy is yet at a distance they will give up all for gone, and cry, Woe unto us! for we are spoiled,Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 4:13. We are all undone, the spoilers will certainly carry the day, and it is in vain to make head against them." Judah and Jerusalem had been famed for valiant men; but see what is the effect of sin: by depriving men of their confidence towards God, it deprives them of their courage towards men. 2. Their great men, who should contrive for the public safety, shall be at their wits' end (Jeremiah 4:9; Jeremiah 4:9): At that day the heart of the king shall perish, both his wisdom and his courage. Despairing of success, he shall have no spirit to do any thing, and, if he had, he will not know what to do. His princes and privy-counselors, who should animate and advise him, shall be as much at a loss and as much in despair as he. See how easily, how effectually, God can bring ruin upon a people that are doomed to it, merely by dispiriting them, taking away the heart of the chief of them (Job 12:20; Job 12:24), cutting off the spirit of princes,Psalms 76:12. The business of the priests was to encourage the people in the time of war; they were to say to the people, Fear not, and let not your hearts faint,Deuteronomy 20:2; Deuteronomy 20:3. They were to blow the trumpets, for an assurance to them that in the day of battle they should be remembered before the Lord their God,Numbers 10:9. But now the priests themselves shall be astonished, and shall have no heart themselves to do their office, and therefore shall not be likely to put spirit into the people. The prophets too, the false prophets, who had cried peace to them, shall be put into the greatest amazement imaginable, seeing their own guilty blood ready to be shed by that sword which they had often told the people there was no danger of. Note, God's judgments come with the greatest terror upon those that have been most secure. Our Saviour foretels that at the last destruction of Jerusalem men's hearts should fail them for fear,Luke 21:26. And it is common for those who have cheated and flattered people into a carnal security not only to fail them, but to discourage them, when the trouble comes.

      V. The prophet's complaint of the people's being deceived, Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 4:10. It is expressed strangely, as we read it: Ah! Lord God, surely thou hast greatly deceived this people, saying, You shall have peace. We are sure that God deceives none. Let no man say, when he is tempted or deluded, that God has tempted or deluded him. But, 1. The people deceived themselves with the promises that God had made in general of his favour to that nation, and the many peculiar privileges with which they were dignified, building upon them, though they took no care to perform the conditions on which the accomplishment of those promises and the continuance of those privileges did depend; and they had no regard to the threatenings which in the law were set over-against those promises. Thus they cheated themselves and then wickedly complained that God had cheated them. 2. The false prophets deceived them with promises of peace, which they made them in God's name. Jeremiah 23:17; Jeremiah 27:9. If God had sent them, he had indeed greatly deceived the people, but he had not. It was the people's fault that they gave them credit; and here also they deceived themselves. 3. God had permitted the false prophets to deceive, and the people to be deceived by them, giving both up to strong delusions, to punish them for not receiving the truth in the love of it. Herein the Lord was righteous; but the prophet complains of it as the sorest judgment of all, for by this means they had been hardened in their sins. 4. It may be read with an interrogation, "Hast thou indeed thus deceived this people? It is plain that they are greatly deceived, for they expect peace, whereas the sword reaches unto the soul; that is, it is a killing sword, abundance of lives are lost, and more likely to be." Now, was it God that deceived them? No, he had often given them warning of judgments in general and of this in particular; but their own prophets deceive them, and cry peace to those to whom the God of heaven does not speak peace. It is a pitiable thing, and that which every good man greatly laments, to see people flattered into their own ruin, and promising themselves peace when war is at the door; and this we should complain of to God, who alone can prevent such a fatal delusion.

      VI. The prophet's endeavour to undeceive them. When the prophets they loved and caressed dealt falsely with them, he whom they hated and persecuted dealt faithfully. 1. He shows them their wound. They were loth to see it, very loth to have it searched into; but, if they will allow themselves the liberty of a free thought, they might discover their punishment in their sin (Jeremiah 4:18; Jeremiah 4:18): "This is thy wickedness because it is bitter. Now thou seest that it is a bitter thing to depart from God, and will certainly be bitterness in the latter end,Jeremiah 2:19; Jeremiah 2:19. It produces bitter effects, and grief that reaches unto the heart, touches to the quick, and in the most tender part; the sword reaches to the soul," Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 4:10. God can make trouble reach the heart even of those that would lay nothing to heart. "And by this thou mayest see what is thy wickedness, that it is a bitter thing, a root of bitterness, that bears gall and wormwood, and that it has reached to the heart; it is the corruption of the soul, of the imagination of the thought of the heart." If the heart were not polluted with sin, it would not be disturbed and disquieted as it is with trouble. 2. He shows them the cure, Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 4:14. "Since thy wickedness reaches to the heart, there the application must be made. O Jerusalem! wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved." By Jerusalem he means each one of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; for every man has a heart of his own to take care of, and it is personal reformation that must help the public. Every one must return from his own evil way, and, in order to that, cleanse his own evil heart. "And let the heart of the city too be purified, not the suburbs only, the outskirts of it." The vitals of a state must be amended by the reformation of those that have the commanding influence upon it. Note, (1.) Reformation is absolutely necessary to salvation. There is no other way of preventing judgments, or turning them away when we are threatened with them, but taking away the sin by which we have procured them to ourselves. (2.) No reformation is saving but that which reaches the heart. There is heart-wickedness that is defiling to the soul, from which we must wash ourselves. By repentance and faith we must wash our hearts from the guilt we have contracted by spiritual wickedness, by those sins which begin and end in the heart and go no further; and by mortification and watchfulness we must suppress and prevent this heart-wickedness for the future. The tree must be made good, else the fruit will not. Jerusalem was all overspread with the leprosy of sin. Now as the physicians agree with respect to the body when afflicted with leprosy that external applications will do no good, unless physic be taken inwardly to carry off the humours that lurk there and to change the mass of the blood, so it is with the soul, so it is with the state: there will be no effectual reformation of the manners without a reformation of the mind; the mistakes there must be rectified, the corruptions there must be mortified, and the evil dispositions there changed. "Though thou art Jerusalem, called a holy city, that will not save thee, unless thou wash thy heart from wickedness." In the latter part of the verse he reasons with them: How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? He complains here [1.] Of the delays of their reformation: "How long shall that filthy heart of thine continue unwashed? When shall it once be?" Note, The God of heaven thinks the time long that his room is usurped, and his interest opposed, in our souls, Jeremiah 13:27; Jeremiah 13:27. [2.] Of the root of their corruption, the vain thoughts that lodged within them and defiled their hearts, from which they must wash their hearts. Thoughts of iniquity or mischief, these are the evil thoughts that are the spawn of the evil heart, from which all other wickedness is produced, Matthew 15:19. These are our own, the conceptions of our own lusts (James 1:15), and they are the most dangerous when they lodge within us, when they are admitted and entertained as guests, and are suffered to continue. Some read it thoughts of affliction, such thoughts as will bring nothing but affliction and misery. Some by the vain thoughts here understand all those frivolous pleas and excuses with which they turned off the reproofs and calls of the word and rendered them ineffectual, and bolstered themselves up in their wickedness. Wash thy heart from wickedness, and think not to say, We are not polluted (Jeremiah 2:23; Jeremiah 2:23), or, "We are Jerusalem; we have Abraham to our father," Matthew 3:8; Matthew 3:9.