17:9 {i} The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?(i) Because the wicked always have some excuse to defend their doings he shows that their own lewd imaginations deceive them and bring them to these hardships: but God will examine their deeds by the malice of their hearts, 1 Samuel 16:7,1 Chronicles 28:9,Psalms 7:10,Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 10:12,Revelation 2:13 . read more
“ IN THE SWELLING OF JORDAN ” God told the prophet worse was to come. The Swelling of Jordan would be experienced later, and in the present lesson, especially towards the close, we have an illustration of it. There are things of interest to look at in the meantime, for example, an illustration of that symbolic teaching mentioned earlier. In chapter 13 we have what two symbols? See Jeremiah 13:1-11 for the first and Jeremiah 13:12-14 for the second. The prophet acted these out before the... read more
Had we no other authority than what these verses furnish, here is enough to prove, that after all our knowledge of ourselves, we have not arrived to the perfect apprehension to what a state of sin and self-deception man is reduced by the fall. But however ignorant we are of ourselves to the Lord, the most secret thoughts of our heart are open. What an argument ariseth from hence, to beg the Lord to cleanse us from our secret faults, and to bring us to the fountain opened for sin and for... read more
Perverse. Septuagint, "deep." --- Unsearchable. Septuagint, "man, who shall know him?" (Haydock) --- God alone can search the heart by his own power. He enables saints to do it by the light of glory, or of prophecy; as Eliseus and St. Peter knew secret transactions. (Worthington) read more
5-11 He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not wither. They shall be fixed in peace and satisfaction of mind; they shall not be... read more
The Depth of the Nation's Corruption v. 5. Thus saith the Lord, in rebuking the tendency of Judah to rely upon various heathen allies, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, as the Jews did in relying upon Egypt, and maketh flesh his arm, in depending upon the strength of men, and whose heart departeth from the Lord, this fact explaining the reason for such foolish trust in man. v. 6. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, literally, "like a naked one in the wilderness," one... read more
Jeremiah 17:04. Refutation of the objection (Jeremiah 16:10) that the people had not generally served idolsJeremiah 17:1-41 The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus,1Graven with a diamond point on the tablet of their heart,On the horns of their altars;2 As their children remember their altars,And their images of Baal2 by3 the green trees, by the high hills.3 My mountain together with4 the fields,Thy substance and all thy treasures will I give up to spoil,Thy heights!—for... read more
Human and Divine Help Contrasted Jeremiah 17:1-14 The Jews were always seeking alliance either with Egypt or Babylon. What was true of them applies to us all; but we cannot depend upon human aid, without departing from the Lord. The heath is probably the juniper, a lonely tree, dwelling in arid wastes, unvisited by dew. The soul that rests on God is watered from His throne. The roots of such are fed from the hidden springs of Eternity. The heart is deceitful; it tends constantly to... read more
Once again Jehovah declared His determination to deal with the people in judgment, because of the defiant definiteness of their sin. That sin was "written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond." This declaration is followed by a contrast between the man who trusts in man and the "man who trusteth in Jehovah." The first dwells in the midst of desert desolation. The second is rooted by the springs of fruitfulness. This is true notwithstanding contrary appearances. Jehovah is the... read more
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Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Jeremiah 17:1-27
CHAPTER 17 1. Judah’s sin (Jeremiah 17:1-4 ) 2. The curse and the blessing (Jeremiah 17:5-11 ) 3. The worship of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:12-18 ) 4. Concerning the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:19-27 ) Jeremiah 17:1-4 . The sin of Judah was idolatry, engraven with a pen of iron, the point of a diamond, upon their heart (from whence it proceeded) and upon the horns of their altars. They had destroyed but a few years before the asherim (translated groves, a kind of sacred post), and now their... read more