Jeremiah 9 · The Lantern

Oh that my head were waters, and mine eye a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

What should we do? Let us allow a spring of tears to flow every day, day and night. Let us, too, say with the weeping Jeremiah, the great prophet, "Who will give some water to my head, and a spring of tears to my eyes? I would weep for my sins day and night." Let us first of all confess our sins before this.… which is full of terror and trembling tears.

(Chapter IX — Verse 1) Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes, so that I may weep day and night for the slain daughters of my people? If I could only be turned into weeping, and tears were to flow abundantly like a river, still I would not be able to weep worthy tears for the slain daughters of my people.

You exclaim, "How fitting it was for Jeremiah, with the chorus of the prophets and all the saints, to cry out, 'Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes,' that he might bewail the sins of the foolish people, because the church of Christ expelled the teachers of the Pelagian error." If you wish to weep wholesomely, weep for this, that you are involved i…

Oh that I had in the wilderness a traveller's lodging-place, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood, and not for fidelity are they valiant in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.

Take ye heed every one of his friend, and confide not in any brother; for every brother only supplanteth, and every friend goeth about with slander.

And they act deceitfully every one with his neighbour, and speak not the truth: they teach their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves with perverse dealing.

What are we to do with such a useful member? From it we pray to God, we confess our sins, we give praise, we sing to God with one voice in harmony, and in our daily lives, we either show mercy when we converse with others, or we give counsel. What are we to do now? Our very tongue offers you service. What are we to do so that we do not sin with our tongue?

Everyone is so inflamed by the love of sin and desire to carry out what they like, that they look out with watchful care for an opportunity to commit wickedness. They are afraid of being too slow to enjoy their lusts, even glorying in their shame and the great number of their crimes, as the apostle says in censure. They seek credit for themselves out of their own confusion.

The insincere are to be admonished to learn how heavy is the labor of deception. They endure it with guilt. They are afraid of being found out. They are ever seeking dishonest defenses. They are agitated by fearful suspicions. But there is nothing safer to defend than sincerity, nothing easier to say than truth.

Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else could I do for the daughter of my people?

Their tongue is a murderous arrow; it speaketh deceit. [A man] speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his ambush.

Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

For the mountains will I take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness, a lamentation; for they are burnt up, so that none passeth through them; and the voice of the cattle is not heard. Both the fowl of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone.

And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

Who is a wise man, that he may understand this? and he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land perished, burnt up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?

And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not hearkened unto my voice, nor walked in it,

but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them;

therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, theGod of Israel, Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink,

and will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come;

and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids pour forth waters.

For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled, sorely put to shame! For we have forsaken the land, for they have cast down our dwellings.

Hear then the word of Jehovah, ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and each one her companion lamentation.

For death is come up through our windows, is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the broadways.

One window is one sense: through this the bridegroom looks. Another window is another sense: and through this too the bridegroom carefully gazes. For through what senses does the word of God not look? But what it is to look through the windows, and how the bridegroom gazes through them, the following example will teach.

The prophet says, "Death is come up through the windows." Surely he does not mean actual windows—otherwise we could shut our windows and never die. But the bodily senses—sight, hearing, and so on—are windows to us and death enters us through them if we sin with them.

By "windows" he refers to the error of their thinking: through them they gave entrance to the error and the blow inflicted by it. You would not be wide of the mark to call the body's senses "windows"—sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. Both life and death can enter through these.

Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Yea, the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the reaper, and there shall be none to gather.

Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might; let not the rich glory in his riches:

Let us therefore, brethren, be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness, and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings; and let us act according to that which is written (for the Holy Spirit saith, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in the Lo…

No sensible person, then, will be proud of his wisdom or of possessing the other goods I have mentioned but will follow the excellent advice of blessed Anna and of the prophet Jeremiah: "Let not the wise person glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong person glory in his strength, and let not the rich person glory in his riches." But what is true glory, and what makes a pers…

If you glory in wisdom, by that very fact you lose wisdom. "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength." And the cause of this is given in Ezekiel, where it is said: "You, full of wisdom and beauty, were in the delights of the paradise of God: you lost your wisdom on account of your beauty."

but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

Forasmuch then as our turning away from God is our own act, and this is evil will; but our turning to God is not possible, except He rouses and helps us, and this is good will,—what have we that we have not received? But if we received, why do we glory as if we had not received?

Behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when I will visit all [them that are] circumcised with the uncircumcised;

Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners [of their beard] cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

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