Jeremiah:2

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* Verse 1-8 - Those who begin well , but do not persevere , will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising beginnings . Those who desert religion , commonly oppose it more than those who never knew it . For this they could have no excuse . God 's spiritual Israel must own their obligations to him for safe conduct through the wilderness of this world , so dangerous to the soul . Alas , that many , who once appeared devoted to the Lord , so live that their professions aggravate their crimes ! Let us be careful that we do not lose in zeal and fervency , as we gain knowledge . * Verse 9-13 - Before God punishes sinners , he pleads with them , to bring them to repentance . He pleads with us , what we should plead with ourselves . Be afraid to think of the wrath and curse which will be the portion of those who throw themselves out of God 's grace and favour . Grace in Christ is compared to water from a fountain , it being cooling and refreshing , cleansing and making fruitful : to living water , because it quickens dead sinners , revives drooping saints , supports and maintains spiritual life , and issues in eternal life , and is ever-flowing . To forsake this Fountain is the first evil ; this is done when the people of God neglect his word and ordinances . They hewed them out broken cisterns , that could hold no water . Such are the world , and the things in it ; such are the inventions of men when followed and depended on . Let us , with purpose of heart , cleave to the Lord only ; whither else shall we go ? How prone are we to forego the consolations of the Holy Spirit , for the worthless joys of the enthusiast and hypocrite ! * Verse 14-19 - Is Israel a servant ? No , they are the seed of Abraham . We may apply this spiritually : Is the soul of man a slave ? No , it is not ; but has sold its own liberty , and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions . The Assyrian princes , like lions , prevailed against Israel . People from Egypt destroyed their glory and strength . They brought these calamities on themselves by departing from the Lord . The use and application of this is , Repent of thy sin , that thy correction may not be thy ruin . What has a Christian to do in the ways of forbidden pleasure or vain sinful mirth , or with the pursuits of covetousness and ambition ? * Verse 20-28 - Notwithstanding all their advantages , Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit . Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts , as the brute beasts . But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery . As we must not despair of the mercy of God , but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins , so neither must we despair of the grace of God , but believe that it is able to subdue our corruptions , though ever so strong . * Verse 29-37 - The nation had not been wrought upon by the judgements of God , but sought to justify themselves . The world is , to those who make it their home and their portion , a wilderness and a land of darkness ; but those who dwell in God , have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places . Here is the language of presumptuous sinners . The Jews had long thrown off serious thoughts of God . How many days of our lives pass without suitable remembrance of him ! The Lord was displeased with their confidences , and would not prosper them therein . Men employ all their ingenuity , but cannot find happiness in the way of sin , or excuse for it . They may shift from one sin to another , but none ever hardened himself against God , or turned from him , and prospered . **** Matthew Henry 's Commentary ****

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