Chapter commentary
Jeremiah Chapter 33
서론
Untitled
日本語
English original
The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the foregoing chapter—to confirm the promise of the restoration of the Jews, notwithstanding the present desolations of their country and dispersions of their people. And these promises have, both in type and tendency, a reference as far forward as to the gospel church, to which this second edition of the Jewish church was at length to resign its dignities and privileges. It is here promised, I. That the city shall be rebuilt and re-established "in statu quo—in its former state," Jer 33:1-6. II. That the captives, having their sins pardoned, shall be restored, Jer 33:7,8. III. That this shall redound very much to the glory of God, Jer 33:9. IV. That the country shall have both joy and plenty, Jer 33:10-14. V. That way shall be made for the coming of the Messiah, Jer 33:15,16. VI. That the house of David, the house of Levi, and the house of Israel, shall flourish again, and be established, and all three in the kingdom of Christ; a gospel ministry and the gospel church shall continue while the world stands, Jer 33:17-26.
1-9
Encouraging Prospects (589 BC)
日本語
励みとなる展望（紀元前589年）
¹ エレミヤがなお監禁の庭に閉じ込められていたとき、主のことばが二度目に彼に臨んだ。 ² これを造られた主、これを形造って確立される主はこう仰せられる。主がその名である。 ³ わたしに呼ばわりなさい。わたしはあなたに答え、あなたの知らない大いなる隠れた事をあなたに示す。 ⁴ イスラエルの神、主は、もろもろの盛り土と剣によって打ち倒されたこの町の家々と、ユダの王たちの家々について、こう仰せられる。 ⁵ 彼らはカルデヤ人と戦うために来るが、それは彼らを人の死体で満たすためである。わたしが怒りと憤りで殺した者たち、そのすべての悪のゆえに、わたしがこの町から顔を隠した者たちの死体で。 ⁶ 見よ、わたしはそれにいやしを施し、彼らをいやす。そして豊かな平和とまこととを彼らに示す。 ⁷ わたしはユダの捕囚とイスラエルの捕囚を帰らせ、彼らを初めのように建て直す。 ⁸ わたしは彼らを、彼らがわたしに対して犯したすべての不義からきよめ、彼らが犯し、わたしにそむいて犯したすべての不義を赦す。 ⁹ これはわたしにとって喜びの名、すべての国々の民の前での誉れと賛美となる。彼らはわたしが彼らに行うすべての良いことを聞き、わたしがそれにもたらすすべてのいつくしみとすべての繁栄のゆえに恐れおののく。
ここで次のことを観察せよ。 一、神がエレミヤに託されたこの慰めの預言の時代。時は正確ではない。ただ前の章の事のあと、事がなお悪化の一途をたどっていたときである。「二度目」であった。「神は一度、いや二度語られる」。ご自身の民を励ますために。私たちは義務に導かれるために「戒めに戒めを加える」必要があるほど不従順であるだけでなく、慰めに導かれるために「約束に約束を加える」必要があるほど不信仰である。このみことばは、前のものと同じく、エレミヤが牢にいたときに「彼に臨んだ」。注意せよ。いかなる監禁も神の民から神の臨在を奪うことはできない。どんたくさつも神の恵みのみ訪れを締め出すことはできない。いや、しばしば「彼らの患難が増し加わるのに応じて、彼らの慰めはさらに増し加わる」。そして彼らは世界が彼らにしかめつらをするとき、神の恵みの最も生気を与える交わりを持つ。パウロの最も甘い手紙は、牢から出された日付けを持つものであった。
二、預言そのもの。捕囚の民の救いのために多くの慰めがそれに包まれており、彼らが絶望に沈むのを防ぐ。観察せよ。
- この慰めを彼らに確保するのはだれか（エレミヤ 33:2）。それは「主、これを造られた者、これを形造られた主」である。彼は天と地の造り主であり、形成者であり、それゆえすべての力をその手に持つ。そうしてそれはエレミヤの祈りを指す（エレミヤ 32:17）。彼はエルサレムの、シオンの造り主であり、形成者であり、初めにそれらを建て、それゆえ再び建てることができ――ご自身の誉れのために建て、それゆえ「建てる」。彼は「それを確立するためにそれを形造られた」。それゆえそれは揺り動かされないものが導入され、永遠に留まるものが導入されるまで、確立される。彼はこの約束の造り主であり、形成者である。彼はエルサレムの回復の計画を立てられ、それを形造られた者がそれを確立し、約束を造られた者がそれを果たされる。主がその名である。約束の成就によって約束に存在を与える神であり、これを行うときその名によって知られる（出エジプト 6:3）。完成させる神である。天と地が完成したとき、そのとき初めて造り主は「主」と呼ばれた（創世記 2:4）。
- この慰めがどのように得られ、もたらされるか――祈りによって（エレミヤ 33:3）。「わたしに呼ばわりなさい。わたしはあなたに答える」。預言者はこの種の示唆を受けたので、神の親切なご計画のさらなる啓示を求めて、へりくだって熱心に祈らなければならない。彼は祈った（エレミヤ 32:16）が、再び祈らなければならない。注意せよ。神から慰めを受けることを期待する者は、祈りにおいて絶えずしなければならない。私たちは彼に呼ばわり、そうして彼は私たちに答えられる。キリストご自身、「求めよ、そうすれば与えられる」（詩篇 2:8）。彼が「大いなる隠れた事を示そう」（それらの明確で十分な展望をあなたに与えよう）。一部はすでに示されたが、あなたは知らない、理解できない、信じられない隠れた事を。あるいはこれは、エレミヤが望むならあずかる、これらの事の予告だけでなく、この予告に励まされた神の民が祈らなければならない事々の成就を指すかもしれない。注意せよ。約束は祈りに取って代わるためではなく、祈りを活気づけ励ますために与えられる。エゼキエル 36:37を見よ。
- このような慰めがエルサレムのために備えられることを必要とし、にもかかわらずその回復が時いたって成し遂げられるような、エルサレムの状態がどれほど嘆かわしいものであったか（エレミヤ 33:4,5）。「この町の家々」、ユダの王たちの家々さえも、「盛り土」、攻城の兵器、あるいは「剣」、斧、槌によって「打ち倒された」。エゼキエル 26:9 で用いられる同じ言葉である。「彼はその斧であなたのやぐらを打ち倒す」。最も堅固で最も荘厳な家々、最も良い家具を備えた家々が地ならしされた。エレミヤ 33:5 は括弧に入り、エルサレムの現在の悲惨な状態のさらなる例を与える。「カルデヤ人と戦うために来た」者たち、包囲から彼らを撃退するために来た者たちは、害よりも益を多く行った。敵を挑発して攻撃をさらに激しくさせた。それゆえエルサレムの家々は、包囲する者たちに出撃したときに受けた傷で死んだ「人の死体で満たされた」。神は彼らが「怒りで殺した」者たちだと言われる。敵の剣は神の剣、彼らの怒りは神の怒りであったからである。しかし殺された人々は、一般的に、彼らの悪によって際立っていた者たちであったようである。彼らはまさに「その悪のゆえに」神が今「この町から顔を隠した」者たちであった。それゆえ神が彼らにもたらしたすべてにおいて正しかった。
- 神がユダとエルサレムのために蓄えておられる祝福とは何か。彼らのすべての不平を正すようなもの。 (1) 彼らの状態は病んでいるか。傷ついているか。神はそのいやしのために有効に備えられる。たとえその病が死に至り、いやしがたいと考えられていても（エレミヤ 7:22参照）。「頭はことごとく病み、心はことごとく衰え」（イザヤ 1:5）。しかし（エレミヤ 33:6）「わたしはそれにいやしを施す」。死を防ぎ、病を取り除き、すべてを再び正しくする（エレミヤ 30:17）。注意せよ。事がどれほど絶望的であっても、神がいやしを引き受ければ、神はそれを成し遂げられる。エルサレムの罪がその病であった（イザヤ 1:6）。それゆえその改革がその回復である。そして次の言葉がそれがどのようにしてもたらされるかを告げる。「わたしは彼らに豊かな平和とまことを示す。定まった時にそれを彼らに与え、その間彼らに励みとなる展望を与える」。「平和」はここですべての良いものを表す。「平和とまこと」は約束にしたがい、それを追求する平和である。あるいは「平和とまこと」は平和とまことの宗教、平和とまことの神礼拝であって、彼らを神から遠ざけた多くの偽りと欺きに対立するものである。これをより一般的に適用して、観察せよ。 [1.] 平和とまことは神の啓示の大きな主題である。これらの約束はここでキリストの福音へと私たちを導く。そしてその中で神は私たちに「平和とまこと」を啓示された。まことの平和の方法――私たちを導くまこと、私たちを安らかにする平和。「恵みとまこと」、そしてその両方の豊かさが「イエス・キリストによって来た」。平和とまことは魂のいのちであり、キリストは私たちがその「いのちを持ち、それをもっと豊かに持つ」ために来られた。キリストはまことの力によって（ヨハネ 18:37）、またそれによって豊かな平和を与えられる（詩篇 72:7、85:10）。 [2.] 平和とまことの啓示は、信仰によってそれを受け入れるすべての者に健康といやしをもたらす。それはきよめの手段として、魂が犯した病をいやす（ヨハネ 17:17）。「彼はみことばを送って彼らをいやされた」（詩篇 107:20）。そして魂を良い秩序に置き、霊的で神聖ないのちの働きと楽しみにふさわしい状態に保つ。 (2) 彼らは散らされ、奴隷とされ、彼らの国は廃墟とされているか。「わたしは彼らの捕囚を帰らせる」（エレミヤ 33:7）。イスラエルの捕囚もユダの捕囚も（ゼルバベルの下で帰還した者たちは主にユダ、ベニヤミン、レビであったが、のちに他のすべての部族の多くが帰還したからである）。「わたしは彼らを、初めに建てたように建て直す」。彼らが悔い改めて初めのわざを行うとき、神は彼らの回復によって初めのわざを行われる。 (3) 罪が彼らのすべての悩みの原因か。それは赦され、征服されるであろう。そうしてさばきの根が絶たれる（エレミヤ 33:8）。 [1.] 罪によって彼らは汚れ、神のきよさに憎むべきものとなった。しかし神は彼らをきよめ、「彼らの不義」から彼らをきよめられる。儀式的に汚れ、それゆえ幕屋から締め出されていた者たちが、「きよめの水」を注がれたとき、再びそこに入る自由を得たように。神が「彼らの不義から彼らをきよめられた」とき、彼らは自分たちの地とその特権に戻った。その注ぎに言及して、ダビデは祈る。「ヒソプで私をきよめてください」。 [2.] 罪によって彼らは有罪となり、神の正義に服すものとなった。しかし彼は「彼らのすべての不義を赦す」。罪のゆえに彼らが縛られた罰を取り除かれる。きよめの恵みによって罪の汚れからきよめられるすべての者は、赦しのあわれみによってその罪過から解放される。 (4) 彼らの罪も彼らの苦しみも、共に神の不名誉となったか。彼らの改革と回復は同じほど神の誉れに帰するであろう（エレミヤ 33:9）。このように再建されたエルサレム、このように再び民を満たされたユダは、「わたしにとって喜びの名」、かつて彼らが神を怒らせたのと同じく神を喜ばせ、「すべての国々の前での誉れと賛美」となる。このように回復された彼らは、神への従順によって神を栄光とし、神は彼らへの恵みによってご自身を栄光とされる。この新たな国は、かつて宗教への恥であったのと同じく、宗教への評判となるであろう。国々は神が恵みによって彼らのうちに行われたすべての良いこと、そして神が摂理によって彼らのために行われたすべての良いことを聞くであろう。バビロンからの帰還の不思議は、かつてエジプトからの救出の不思議がそうであったのと同じく、世界に大きな騒ぎを起こすであろう。そして「彼らはすべてのこのいつくしみのゆえに恐れおののく」。 [1.] 神の民自身が恐れおののく。彼らはそれに大いに驚き、これほど良い神に背き、その恵みを失うことを恐れるであろう。ホセア 3:5、「彼らは主と主のいつくしみを恐れる」。 [2.] 周辺の国々はエルサレムの繁栄のゆえに恐れる。ユダ国民の成長する偉大さを真に恐るべきものと見なし、彼らを敵に回すことを恐れる。教会が「月のように美しく」、「太陽のように明らか」なとき、彼女は「旗を掲げた軍勢のように恐ろしい」。
English original
Encouraging Prospects (589 BC)
¹ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
² Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
³ Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
⁴ For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;
⁵ They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.
⁶ Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
⁷ And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
⁸ And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
⁹ And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
Observe here, I. The date of this comfortable prophecy which God entrusted Jeremiah with. It is not exact in the time, only that it was after that in the foregoing chapter, when things were still growing worse and worse; it was the second time. God speaketh once, yea, twice, for the encouragement of his people. We are not only so disobedient that we have need of precept upon precept to bring us to our duty, but so distrustful that we have need of promise upon promise to bring us to our comfort. This word, as the former, came to Jeremiah when he was in prison. Note, No confinement can deprive God's people of his presence; no locks nor bars can shut out his gracious visits; nay, oftentimes as their afflictions abound their consolations much more abound, and they have the most reviving communications of his favour when the world frowns upon them. Paul's sweetest epistles were those that bore date out of a prison.
II. The prophecy itself. A great deal of comfort is wrapped up in it for the relief of the captives, to keep them from sinking into despair. Observe,
1. Who it is that secures this comfort to them (Jer 33:2): It is the Lord, the maker thereof, the Lord that framed it, He is the maker and former of heaven and earth, and therefore has all power in his hands; so it refers to Jeremiah's prayer, Jer 32:17. He is the maker and former of Jerusalem, of Zion, built them at first, and therefore can rebuild them—built them for his own praise, and therefore will. He formed it, to establish it, and therefore it shall be established till those things be introduced which cannot be shaken, but shall remain for ever. He is the maker and former of this promise; he has laid the scheme for Jerusalem's restoration, and he that has formed it will establish it, he that has made the promise will make it good; for Jehovah is his name, a God giving being to his promises by the performance of them, and when he does this he is known by that name (Ex 6:3), a perfecting God. When the heavens and the earth were finished, then, and not till then, the creator is called Jehovah, Ge 2:4.
2. How this comfort must be obtained and fetched in—by prayer (Jer 33:3): Call upon me, and I will answer them. The prophet, having received some intimations of this kind, must be humbly earnest with God for further discoveries of his kind intentions. He had prayed (Jer 32:16), but he must pray again. Note, Those that expect to receive comforts from God must continue instant in prayer. We must call upon him, and then he will answer us. Christ himself must ask, and it shall be given him, Ps 2:8. I will show thee great and mighty things (give thee a clear and full prospect of them), hidden things, which, though in part discovered already, yet thou knowest not, thou canst not understand or give credit to. Or this may refer not only to the prediction of these things which Jeremiah, if he desire it, shall be favoured with, but to the performance of the things themselves which the people of God, encouraged by this prediction, must pray for. Note, Promises are given, not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage prayer. See Eze 36:37.
3. How deplorable the condition of Jerusalem was which made it necessary that such comforts as these should be provided for it, and notwithstanding which its restoration should be brought about in due time (Jer 33:4,5): The houses of this city, not excepting those of the kings of Judah, are thrown down by the mounts, or engines of battery, and by the sword, or axes, or hammers. It is the same word that is used Eze 26:9, With his axes he shall break down thy towers. The strongest stateliest houses, and those that were best furnished, were levelled with the ground. The Jer 33:5 comes in in a parenthesis, giving a further instance of the present calamitous state of Jerusalem. Those that came to fight with the Chaldeans, to beat them off from the siege, did more hurt than good, provoked the enemy to be more fierce and furious in their assaults, so that the houses in Jerusalem were filled with the dead bodies of men, who died of the wounds they received in sallying out upon the besiegers. God says that they were such as he had slain in his anger, for the enemies' sword was his sword and their anger his anger. But, it seems, the men that were slain were generally such as had distinguished themselves by their wickedness, for they were the very men for whose wickedness God did now hide himself from this city, so that he was just in all he brought upon them.
4. What the blessings are which God has in store for Judah and Jerusalem, such as will redress all their grievances.
(1.) Is their state diseased? Is it wounded? God will provide effectually for the healing of it, though the disease was thought mortal and incurable, Jer 7:22. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint (Isa 1:5); but (Jer 33:6) I will bring it health and cure; I will prevent the death, remove the sickness, and set all to rights again," Jer 30:17. Note, Be the case ever so desperate, if God undertake the cure, he will effect it. The sin of Jerusalem was the sickness of it (Isa 1:6); its reformation therefore will be its recovery. And the following words tell us how that is wrought: "I will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth; I will give it to them in due time, and give them an encouraging prospect of it in the mean time." Peace stands here for all good; peace and truth are peace according to the promise and in pursuance of that: or peace and truth are peace and the true religion, peace and the true worship of God, in opposition to the many falsehoods and deceits by which they had been led away from God. We may apply it more generally, and observe, [1.] That peace and truth are the great subject-matter of divine revelation. These promises here lead us to the gospel of Christ, and in that God has revealed to us peace and truth, the method of true peace—truth to direct us, peace to make us easy. Grace and truth, and abundance of both, come by Jesus Christ. Peace and truth are the life of the soul, and Christ came that we might have that life, and might have it more abundantly. Christ rules by the power of truth (Joh 18:37) and by it he gives abundance of peace, Ps 72:7,85:10. [2.] That the divine revelation of peace and truth brings health and cure to all those that by faith receive it: it heals the soul of the diseases it has contracted, as it is a means of sanctification, Joh 17:17. He sent his word and healed them, Ps 107:20. And it puts the soul into good order, and keeps it in a good frame and fit for the employments and enjoyments of the spiritual and divine life.
(2.) Are they scattered and enslaved, and is their nation laid in ruins? "I will cause their captivity to return (Jer 33:7), both that of Israel and that of Judah" (for though those who returned under Zerubbabel were chiefly of Judah, and Benjamin, and Levi, yet afterwards many of all the other tribes returned), "and I will rebuild them, as I built them at first." When they by repentance do their first works God will by their restoration do his first works.
(3.) Is sin the procuring cause of all their troubles? That shall be pardoned and subdued, and so the root of the judgments shall be killed, Jer 33:8. [1.] By sin they have become filthy, and odious to God's holiness, but God will cleanse them, and purify them from their iniquity. As those that were ceremonially unclean, and were therefore shut out from the tabernacle, when they were sprinkled with the water of purification had liberty of access to it again, so had they to their own land, and the privileges of it, when God had cleansed them from their iniquities. In allusion to that sprinkling, David prays, Purge me with hyssop. [2.] By sin they have become guilty, and obnoxious to his justice; but he will pardon all their iniquities, will remove the punishment to which for sin they were bound over. All who by sanctifying grace are cleansed from the filth of sin, by pardoning mercy are freed from the guilt of it.
(4.) Have both their sins and their sufferings turned to the dishonour of God? Their reformation and restoration shall redound as much to his praise, Jer 33:9. Jerusalem thus rebuilt, Judah thus repeopled, shall be to me a name of joy, as pleasing to God as ever they have been provoking, and a praise and an honour before all the nations. They, being thus restored, shall glorify God by their obedience to him, and he shall glorify himself by his favours to them. This renewed nation shall be as much a reputation to religion as formerly it has been a reproach to it. The nations shall hear of all the good that God has wrought in them by his grace and of all the good he has wrought for them by his providence. The wonders of their return out of Babylon shall make as great a noise in the world as ever the wonders of their deliverance out of Egypt did. And they shall fear and tremble for all this goodness. [1.] The people of God themselves shall fear and tremble; they shall be much surprised at it, shall be afraid of offending so good a God and of forfeiting his favour. Ho 3:5, They shall fear the Lord and his goodness. [2.] The neighbouring nations shall fear because of the prosperity of Jerusalem, shall look upon the growing greatness of the Jewish nation as really formidable, and shall be afraid of making them their enemies. When the church is fair as the moon, and clear as the sun, she is terrible as an army with banners.
10-16
Encouraging Prospects (589 BC)
日本語
励みとなる展望（紀元前589年）
¹⁰ 主はこう仰せられる。あなたがたが、人も獣もなく荒れ果てると言うこの場所、すなわちユダの町々と、エルサレムの通りで、人も住む者も獣もなく荒れ果てた所で、再び聞かれるであろう。
¹¹ 喜びの声、楽しみの声、花婿の声、花嫁の声、主を賛美せよと言う者たちの声。主は善である。その恵みはとこしえまで。感謝のいけにえを主の宮に携えて来る者たちの声が。わたしはこの地の捕囚を、初めのように帰らせるからである、と主は仰せられる。
¹² 万軍の主はこう仰せられる。この場所、人都獣もなく荒れ果てた所、およびそのすべての町で、再び羊の群れを伏させる牧者たちの住処がある。
¹³ 山の町々、谷の町々、ネゲブの町々、ベニヤミンの地、エルサレムの回り、およびユダの町々で、羊の群れは再び数える者のの手の下を過ぎる、と主は仰せられる。
¹⁴ 見よ、その日が来る、と主は仰せられる。わたしがイスラエルの家とユダの家に約束したあの良いことを、わたしは行う。
¹⁵ その日々、その時に、わたしはダビデのために義の若枝を芽生えさせる。彼はその地に公正と義を行う。
¹⁶ その日々、ユダは救われ、エルサレムは安らかに住む。これが彼女と呼ばれる名である。主は私たちの義。
ここには、捕囚からの栄光の帰還の後の、ユダとエルサレムの幸福な状態のさらに詳しい予告があり、ついにはメシアの王国において栄光のうちに終わる。
一. 長く悲しみの中にあった民が再び喜びに満たされることが約束される。誰もが今、この国は永遠に荒れ果てたままであろうと結論した。ユダの地に獣は見いだされず、エルサレムの通りには住む者がおらず、それゆえ普遍的で永遠の憂鬱以外には何もないであろうと（エレ 33:10）。しかし、泣くことは一時続いても、喜びは帰る。喜びと楽しみの声がそこでやむと脅かされたが（エレ 7:34、16:9）、ここでそれらが再び生き返り、喜びと楽しみの声がそこで聞かれることが約束される。捕囚が帰るからである。そのとき彼らの口は笑いに満ちた（詩 126:1,2）。1. そこには共通の喜びがある。花婿の声、花嫁の声。結婚は再び、以前のように歌をもって祝われる。バビロンでは彼らはそれをやめていた。その琴は柳の木に掛けられていたからである。2. そこには宗教的な喜びがある。宮の歌が再び生き返る。主の歌。彼らが異国の地で歌うことのできなかった歌。彼らの個人の家に、ユダの町々に、宮と同様に、主を賛美せよと言う者たちの声が聞かれる。注意せよ。民の誉れと栄光は、神をその栄光とすること以上のものはない。それをもたらす力と善さの両方の栄光。彼らは万軍の主として、また善でありその恵みがとこしえまである神として、神を賛美する。これは古い歌であるが、この新しい機会に歌われることで新しい歌となる。私たちはこれがバビロンからの帰還において文字通りに成就したのを見いだす（エズ 3:11）。彼らは主を賛美して共に歌った。主は善であるから、その恵みはとこしえまで。神の公の礼拝が勤勉に絶えず出席される。彼らは感謝のいけにえを主の宮に携えて来る。すべてのいけにえは神の賛美のために意図されたが、これはへりくだった崇拝と喜びの感謝の霊的ないけにえ、私たちの唇の果実（ホセ 14:2）を指すようである。それは主により雄牛や子牛よりも喜ばれる。ユダヤ人はメシアの日々にはすべてのいけにえは感謝のいけにえ以外はやむと言う。そしてこの約束はさらにそれらの日々に言及する。
二. 長く人口を失っていた国が再び満たされ、家畜で満たされることが約束される。それは今、人も獣もなく荒れ果てている。しかし彼らの帰還の後、牧草地は再び羊の群れで覆われる（詩 65:13）。ユダとベニヤミンのすべての町に牧者たちの住処がある（エレ 33:12,13）。これは次のことを示唆する。1. 帰還後の国の富。それは物乞いたちの住処ではなく、牧者と農夫たちの、良い家畜をその戻った地に持つ資産家の住処である。2. 国の平和。それは兵士たちの住処ではなく、彼らを宿営させる天幕や兵舎が立てられるのではなく、牧者たちの天幕がある。戦争の警鐘をもはや聞かず、牧者たちでさえ恐れさせる者がないからである。詩 144:13,14を見よ。3. 国の勤勉、および彼らのもとの素朴さと単純さへの帰還。彼らは腐敗した時代に悲しく退廃していた。ヤコブの子孫はその初めに、彼らが牧者であることを誇った（創 47:3）。そして今再びそうなる。その無邪気な仕事に完全に身を委ね、羊の群れを伏させ（エレ 33:12）、数える者のの手の下を過ぎさせる（エレ 33:13）。彼らの羊の群れは数多くても数えきれないわけではなく、もし欠けている者があれば知り、それを捜すために、数えることを怠らない。注意せよ。世の中をどれほど持っていても、自分の持つものの勘定を保つことは賢明である。ある人々は彼らが数える者のの手の下を過ぎるのは、十分の一とされるためだと考える（レビ 27:32）。そのとき私たちは自分の持つものの慰めを取る。神がそれから神の分を取られた後に。さて、今のように減らされた民がこの程度の平和と豊かさを回復することは信じがたいと思われたので、ここにこれらの約束の一般的な批准が付加される（エレ 33:14）。わたしは約束したあの良いことを行う。約束は時に成就に向けてゆっくりと働くが、確実に働く。その日々は来る。長く来なくても。
三. 神が彼らのために蓄えておられるこれらの祝福すべてに冠を置くため、ここにメシアの約束と、彼がもたらすべき永遠の義がある（エレ 33:15,16）。そしておそらくこれはあの良いこと、後の日々に、まだ来るべき日々に、神がユダとイスラエルに約束されたとおりに行うその大いなる良いことであろう。彼らの捕囚からの帰還と自分たちの地への再定住はその準備であった。捕囚からキリストまでは有名な時期の一つである（マタ 1:17）。このメシアの約束を私たちは以前に持った（エレ 23:5）。そこでは神が彼らの上に立てる牧者たちの約束の確認として来た。それはここでそれを導入する牧者たちとその羊の群れに関する約束が比喩的に理解されるべきことを思わせる。キリストはここで次のように預言される。1. 正当な王として。彼は義の若枝であり、簒奪者ではない。彼はダビデのために芽生え、ダビデの腰から出た。ダビデと王権の契約が結ばれ、その契約が確立されるべきその子孫である。それゆえその資格は異議の余地がない。2. 義なる王として。律法を制定し、戦争をなし、さばきを下すにおいて義なる。不正に苦しむ者を弁護し、不正を行う者を罰するにおいて義なる。彼はその地に公正と義を行う。これは型におけるゼルバベルを指すかもしれない。彼は公平に治めた。エホヤキムがしたようでなく（エレ 22:17）。しかしそれはすべてのさばきが委ねられ、世界を義をもってさばく方へのさらに遠い言及を持つ。3. その臣民をすべての傷害から守る王として。彼によってユダは怒りとのろいから救われ、そのように救われて、エルサレムは安らかに住む。悪の恐れから静まって、この平和の君、この彼らの平和の君の導きに依存して、聖なる安全と心の穏やかさを楽しむ。4. その臣民によって賛美される王として。「これが彼らが彼を呼ぶ名である」（カルデヤ訳、シリア語訳、ウルガタ訳はそう読む）。「この彼の名を彼らは祝し、その中に勝利し、この名によって彼らは彼を呼び求める」。より原典に沿って読むなら、これが彼女を、主は私たちの義と呼ぶ方である。モーセの祭壇がエホバ・ニシと呼ばれ（出 17:15）、エルサレムがエホバ・シャンマと呼ばれるように（エゼ 48:35）。エホバが共におられ、彼らの旗であることを誇ることを示唆する。ここでもその都は主は私たちの義と呼ばれる。彼らがエホバをその義として誇るからである。キリストの名について前に言われたことが（ガタケル氏が言うように）、ここでメシアの都、キリストの教会であるエルサレムの名とされる。彼こそが彼女に義を分かち与える方である。彼は神によって私たちの義とされ、彼女はその名を帯びることで、そのすべての義が自分からではなく、彼からであると告白する。主にあって私は義と力を持つ（イザ 45:24）。そして私たちは彼において神の義とされる。エルサレムの住民はメシアのこの名を口にすることが多く、自分たち自身がそれで呼ばれるであろう。
English original
Encouraging Prospects (589 BC)
¹⁰ Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,
¹¹ The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
¹² Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
¹³ In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD.
¹⁴ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
¹⁵ In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
¹⁶ In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
Here is a further prediction of the happy state of Judah and Jerusalem after their glorious return out of captivity, issuing gloriously at length in the kingdom of the Messiah.
I. It is promised that the people who were long in sorrow shall again be filled with joy. Every one concluded now that the country would lie for ever desolate, that no beasts would be found in the land of Judah, no inhabitant in the streets of Jerusalem, and consequently there would be nothing but universal and perpetual melancholy (Jer 33:10); but, though weeping may endure for a time, joy will return. It was threatened (Jer 7:34,16:9) that the voice of joy and gladness should cease there; but here it is promised that they shall revive again, that the voice of joy and gladness shall be heard there, because the captivity shall be returned; for then was their mouth filled with laughter, Ps 126:1,2. 1. There shall be common joy there, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; marriages shall again be celebrated, as formerly, with songs, which in Babylon they had laid aside, for their harps were hung on the willow-trees. 2. There shall be religious joy there; temple-songs shall be revived, the Lord's songs, which they could not sing in a strange land. There shall be heard in their private houses, and in the cities of Judah, as well as in the temple, the voice of those that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts. Note, Nothing is more the praise and honour of a people than to have God the glory of it, the glory both of the power and of the goodness by which it is effected; they shall praise him both as the Lord of hosts and as the God who is good and whose mercy endures for ever. This, though a song of old, yet, being sung upon this fresh occasion, will be a new song. We find this literally fulfilled at their return out of Babylon, Ezr 3:11. They sang together in praising the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. The public worship of God shall be diligently and constantly attended upon: They shall bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. All the sacrifices were intended for the praise of God, but this seems to be meant of the spiritual sacrifices of humble adorations and joyful thanksgivings, the calves of our lips (Ho 14:2), which shall please the Lord better than an ox of bullock. The Jews say that in the days of the Messiah all sacrifices shall cease but the sacrifice of praise, and to those days this promise has a further reference.
II. It is promised that the country, which had lain long depopulated, shall be replenished and stocked again. It was now desolate, without man and without beast; but, after their return, the pastures shall again be clothed with flocks, Ps 65:13. In all the cities of Judah and Benjamin there shall be a habitation of shepherds, Jer 33:12,13. This intimates, 1. The wealth of the country, after their return. It shall not be a habitation of beggars, who have nothing, but of shepherds and husbandmen, men of substance, with good stocks upon the ground they have returned to. 2. The peace of the country. It shall not be a habitation of soldiers, not shall there be tents and barracks set up to lodge them, but there shall be shepherds; tents; for they shall hear no more the alarms of war, nor shall there be any to make even the shepherds afraid. See Ps 144:13,14. 3. The industry of the country, and their return to their original plainness and simplicity, from which, in the corrupt ages, they had sadly degenerated. The seed of Jacob, in their beginning, gloried in this, that they were shepherds (Ge 47:3), and so they shall now be again, giving themselves wholly to that innocent employment, causing their flocks to lie down (Jer 33:12) and to pass under the hands of him that telleth them (Jer 33:13); for, though their flocks are numerous, they are not numberless, nor shall they omit to number them, that they may know if any be missing and may seek after it. Note, It is the prudence of those who have ever so much of the world to keep an account of what they have. Some think that they pass under the hand of him that telleth them that they may be tithed, Le 27:32. Then we may take the comfort of what we have when God has had his dues out of it. Now because it seemed incredible that a people, reduced as now they were, should ever recover such a degree of peace and plenty as this, here is subjoined a general ratification of these promises (Jer 33:14): I will perform that good thing which I have promised. Though the promise may sometimes work slowly towards an accomplishment, it works surely. The days will come, though they are long in coming.
III. To crown all these blessings which God has in store for them, here is a promise of the Messiah, and of that everlasting righteousness which he should bring in (Jer 33:15,16), and probably this is that good thing, that great good thing, which in the latter days, days that were yet to come, God would perform, as he had promised to Judah and Israel, and to which their return out of captivity and their settlement again in their own land was preparatory. From the captivity to Christ is one of the famous periods, Mt 1:17. This promise of the Messiah we had before (Jer 23:5), and there it came in as a confirmation of the promise of the shepherds whom God would set over them, which would make one think that the promise here concerning the shepherds and their flocks, which introduces it, is to be understood figuratively. Christ is here prophesied of, 1. As a rightful King. He is a branch of righteousness, not a usurper, for he grows up unto David, descends from his loins, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and is that seed with whom that covenant should be established, so that his title is unexceptionable. 2. As a righteous king, righteous in enacting laws, waging wars, and giving judgment, righteous in vindicating those that suffer wrong and punishing those that do wrong: He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. This may point at Zerubbabel, in the type, who governed with equity, not as Jehoiakim had done (Jer 22:17); but it has a further reference to him to whom all judgment is committed and who shall judge the world in righteousness. 3. As a king that shall protect his subjects from all injury. By him Judah shall be saved from wrath and the curse, and, being so saved, Jerusalem shall dwell safely, quiet from the fear of evil, and enjoying a holy security and serenity of mind, in a dependence upon the conduct of this prince of peace, this prince of their peace. 4. As a king that shall be praised by his subjects: "This is the name whereby they shall call him" (so the Chaldee reads it, the Syriac, and vulgar Latin); "this name of his they shall celebrate and triumph in, and by this name they shall call upon him." It may be read, more agreeably to the original, This is he who shall call her, The Lord our righteousness. As Moses's altar is called Jehovah-nissi (Ex 17:15), and Jerusalem Jehovah-shammah (Eze 48:35), intimating that they glory in Jehovah as present with them and their banner, so here the city is called The Lord our righteousness, because they glory in Jehovah as their righteousness. That which was before said to be the name of Christ (says Mr. Gataker) is here made the name of Jerusalem, the city of the Messiah, the church of Christ. He it is that imparts righteousness to her, for he is made of God to us righteousness, and she, by bearing that name, professes to have her whole righteousness, not from herself, but from him. In the Lord have I righteousness and strength, Isa 45:24. And we are made the righteousness of God in him. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall have this name of the Messiah so much in their mouths that they shall themselves be called by it.
17-26
Security of God's Covenants; The Covenant of Priesthood (589 BC)
日本語
神の契約の堅さ、祭司の契約（紀元前589年）
¹⁷ 主はこう仰せられる。ダビデには、イスラエルの家の王座にすわる者が絶えることはない。 ¹⁸ レビ人である祭司たちにも、わたしの前に全焼のいけにえをささげ、穀物のささげ物をたき、絶えずいけにえをささげる者が絶えることはない。 ¹⁹ 主のことばがエレミヤに臨んだ。 ²⁰ 主はこう仰せられる。もしあなたがたがわたしの昼の契約、わたしの夜の契約を破り、昼と夜がその時を得ないようにすることができるなら、 ²¹ そのときには、わたしのしもべダビデとのわたしの契約も破られて、彼にその王座に治める子がいなくなり、わたしに仕える祭司レビ人との契約も破られよう。 ²² 天の万象が数えられず、海の砂が量れないように、わたしはわたしのしもべダビデの胤と、わたしに仕えるレビ人を増し加える。 ²³ さらに主のことばがエレミヤに臨んだ。 ²⁴ あなたはこの民が語っていることに気づかないのか。主が選ばれた二つの家族を、主は退けられた、と。このように彼らはわたしの民を軽んじ、彼らの前にもはや国であってはならないとしている。 ²⁵ 主はこう仰せられる。もしわたしの昼と夜との契約がなく、わたしが天と地のおきてを定めなかったのなら、 ²⁶ そのときには、わたしはヤコブの胤とわたしのしもべダビデを退け、彼の胤のうちから、アブラハム、イサク、ヤコブの胤の上に治める者を取らないであろう。わたしは彼らの捕囚を帰らせ、彼らをあわれむからである。
神の三つの契約——ダビデとその胤との王権の契約、アロンとその胤との祭司職の契約、アブラハムとその胤との特別性の契約——は、捕囚の間すべて破られ、失われたかに見えた。しかしここでは、その一時的な中断と断絶にもかかわらず、三つとも再び成り立ち、そのすべての真の意図と意味が、捕囚からの帰還ののちユダヤ人に与えられた祝福に型として示された、新約の祝福において豊かに応えられることが約束される。
一、王権の契約は確保され、その約束はダビデの子キリストの御国において完全な成就を持つ（エレ 33:17）。イスラエルの王座は捕囚において覆され、王冠は彼らの頭から落ちた。帰還ののちダビデの家は再び姿を現した。しかしこの約束——ダビデにはイスラエルの王座にすわる者が絶えることはない、ダビデには常にその王座に治める子がある——が果たされるのはメシアにおいてである。人キリスト・イエスが神の王座の右にすわり、世界を治め、教会のためにそれを治められる限り、ダビデに後継者が欠けることはない。これの確認のために、1. ダビデとの契約は天のもてなしごとと同じように堅いことが約束される（エレ 33:20,25）。2. ダビデの胤は天の万象のように数多くなることが約束される（エレ 33:22）。それはメシアの霊的な胤、彼の福音とそれと共に働く御霊の効力によって彼に生まれる者たちである。
二、祭司職の契約も確保され、その約束も完全な成就を持つ。これは捕囚の間、祭司が仕える祭壇も神殿の奉仕もないとき、同様に忘れられたかに見えた。しかしこれも生き返る。しかしその祭司職は間もなく腐敗した。それゆえわれわれは、レビ人である祭司、神のしもべたちとの契約が昼と夜との契約と同じように堅く、同じように長く続く、というこのみことばの成就を他に求めなければならない。それは、1. アロンのものに取って代わるキリストの祭司職において、2. 確立された福音の務めにおいて、3. 聖なる祭司、王である祭司であるすべての真の信者において（ペテ 2:5,9）、豊かに果たされる。
三、特別性の契約も同様に確保され、その契約の約束は福音のイスラエルにおいて完全な成就を持つ。1. この契約が捕囚の間に破られたと見なされた様子を観察せよ（エレ 33:24）。2. それにもかかわらず契約がいかに堅く立つかを観察せよ。ヤコブの胤を退けられるより先に、神は昼と夜をやませられる。これは肉によるヤコブの胤を指すのではない。彼らは退けられたからである。キリストの教会を指すのである。
English original
Security of God's Covenants; The Covenant of Priesthood (589 BC)
¹⁷ For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
¹⁸ Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
¹⁹ And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
²⁰ Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
²¹ Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
²² As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
²³ Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
²⁴ Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
²⁵ Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
²⁶ Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
Three of God's covenants, that of royalty with David and his seed, that of the priesthood with Aaron and his seed, and that of Peculiarity with Abraham and his seed, seemed to be all broken and lost while the captivity lasted; but it is here promised that, notwithstanding that interruption and discontinuance for a time, they shall all three take place again, and the true intents and meaning of them all shall be abundantly answered in the New Testament blessings, typified by those conferred on the Jews after their return out of captivity.
I. The covenant of royalty shall be secured and the promises of it shall have their full accomplishment in the kingdom of Christ, the Son of David, Jer 33:17. The throne of Israel was overturned in the captivity; the crown had fallen from their head; there was not a man to sit on the throne of Israel; Jeconiah was written childless. After their return the house of David made a figure again; but it in the Messiah that this promise is performed that David shall never want a man to sit on the throne of Israel, and that David shall have always a son to reign upon his throne. For as long as the man Christ Jesus sits on the right hand of the throne of God, rules the world, and rules it for the good of the church, to which he is a quickening head, and glorified head over all things, as long as he is King upon the holy hill of Zion, David does not want a successor, nor is the covenant with him broken. When the first-begotten was brought into the world it was declared concerning him, The Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, Lu 1:32,33. For the confirmation of this it is promised, 1. That the covenant with David shall be as firm as the ordinances of heaven, to the stability of which that of God's promise is compared, Jer 31:35. There is a covenant of nature, by which the common course of providence is settled and on which it is founded, here called a covenant of the day and the night (Jer 33:20,25), because this is one of the articles of it, That there shall be day and night in their season, according to the distinction put between them in the creation, when God divided between the light and the darkness, and established their mutual succession, and a government to each, that the sun should rule by day and the moon and stars by night (Ge 1:4,5,16), which establishment was renewed after the flood (Ge 8:22), and has continued ever since, Ps 19:2. The morning and the evening have both of them their regular outgoings (Ps 65:8); the day-spring knows its place, knows its time, and keeps both, so do the shadows of the evening; and, while the world stands, this course shall not be altered, this covenant shall not be broken. The ordinances of heaven and earth (of this communication between heaven and earth, the dominion of these ordinances of heaven upon the earth), which God has appointed (Jer 33:25, Job 38:33), shall never be disappointed. Thus firm shall the covenant of redemption be with the Redeemer—God's servant, but David our King, Jer 33:21. This intimates that Christ shall have a church on earth to the world's end; he shall see a seed in which he shall prolong his days till time and day shall be no more. Christ's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and when the end cometh, and not till then, it shall be delivered up to God, even the Father. But it intimates that the condition of it in this world shall be intermixed and counterchanged, prosperity and adversity succeeding each other, as light and darkness, day and night. But this is plainly taught us, that, as sure as we may be that, though the sun will set tonight, it will rise again tomorrow morning, whether we live to see it or no, so sure we may be that, though the kingdom of the Redeemer in the world may for a time be clouded and eclipsed by corruptions and persecutions, yet it will shine forth again, and recover its lustre, in the time appointed. 2. That the seed of David shall be as numerous as the host of heaven, that is, the spiritual seed of the Messiah, that shall be born to him by the efficacy of his gospel and his Spirit working with it. From the womb of the morning he shall have the dew of their youth, to be his willing people, Ps 110:3. Christ's seed are not, as David's were, his successors, but his subjects; yet the day is coming when they also shall reign with him (Jer 33:22): As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, so will I multiply the seed of David, so that there shall be no danger of the kingdom's being extinct, or extirpated, for want of heirs. The children are numerous; and, if children, then heirs.
II. The covenant of priesthood shall be secured, and the promises of that also shall have their full accomplishment. This seemed likewise to be forgotten during the captivity, when there was no altar, no temple service, for the priests to attend upon; but this also shall revive. It did so; immediately upon their coming back to Jerusalem there were priests and Levites ready to offer burnt-offerings and to do sacrifice continually (Ezr 3:2,3), as is here promised, Jer 33:18. But that priesthood soon grew corrupt; the covenant of Levi was profaned (as appears Mal 2:8), and in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans it came to a final period. We must therefore look elsewhere for the performance of this word, that the covenant with the Levites, the priests, God's ministers, shall be as firm, and last as long, as the covenant with the day and the night. And we find it abundantly performed, 1. In the priesthood of Christ, which supersedes that of Aaron, and is the substance of that shadow. While that great high priest of our profession is always appearing in the presence of God for us, presenting the virtue of his blood by which he made atonement in the incense of his intercession, it may truly be said that the Levites do not want a man before God to offer continually, Heb 7:3,17. He is a priest for ever. The covenant of the priesthood is called a covenant of peace (Nu 25:12), of life and peace, Mal 2:5. Now we are sure that this covenant is not broken, nor in the least weakened, while Jesus Christ is himself our life and our peace. This covenant of priesthood is here again and again joined with that of royalty, for Christ is a priest upon his throne, as Melchizedek. 2. In a settled gospel ministry. While there are faithful ministers to preside in religious assemblies, and to offer up the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, the priests, the Levites, do not want successors, and such as have obtained a more excellent ministry. The apostle makes those that preach the gospel to come in the room of those that served at the altar, 1Co 9:13,14. 3. In all true believers, who are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood (1Pe 2:5,9), who are made to our God kings and priests (Re 1:6); they offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, and themselves, in the first place, living sacrifices. Of these Levites this promise must be understood (Jer 33:22), that they shall be as numerous as the sand of the sea, the same that is promised concerning Israel in general (Ge 22:17); for all God's spiritual Israel are spiritual priests, Re 5:9,10,7:9,15.
III. The covenant of peculiarity likewise shall be secured and the promises of that covenant shall have their full accomplishment in the gospel Israel. Observe, 1. How this covenant was looked upon as broken during the captivity, Jer 33:24. God asks the prophet, "Hast though not heard, and dost thou not consider, what this people have spoken?" either the enemies of Israel, who triumphed in the extirpation of a people that had made such a noise in the world, or the unbelieving Israelites themselves, "this people among whom thou dwellest;" they have broken covenant with God, and then quarrel with him as if he had not dealt faithfully with them. The two families which the Lord hath chosen, Israel and Judah, whereas they were but one when he chose them, he hath even cast them off. "Thus have they despised my people, that is, despised the privilege of being my people as if it were a privilege of no value at all." The neighbouring nations despised them as now no more a nation, but the ruins of a nation, and looked upon all their honour as laid in the dust; but, 2. See how firm the covenant stands notwithstanding, as firm as that with day and night; sooner will God suffer day and night to cease then he will cast away the seed of Jacob. This cannot refer to the seed of Jacob according to the flesh, for they are cast away, but to the Christian church, in which all these promises were to be lodged, as appears by the apostle's discourse, Ro 11:1, etc. Christ is that seed of David that is to be perpetual dictator to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, as this people shall never want such a king, so this king shall never want such a people. Christianity shall continue in the dominion of Christ, and the subjection of Christians to him, till day and night come to an end. And, as a pledge of this, that promise is again repeated, I will cause their captivity to return; and, having brought them back, I will have mercy on them. To whom this promise refers appears Ga 6:16, where all that walk according to the gospel rule are made to be the Israel of God, on whom peace and mercy shall be.
この章の趣旨は前の章とほぼ同じであり、彼らの国の現在の荒廃と民の離散にもかかわらず、ユダヤ人の回復の約束を確証することである。そしてこれらの約束は、型と傾向の両面において、はるか先の福音教会にまで及んでおり、ユダヤ人の教会のこの第二版は、ついにその尊厳と特権を福音教会に譲り渡すことになる。ここで約束されるのは次のとおりである。一、都が「元の状態に」再建され、回復されること（エレミヤ書33:1-6）。二、捕囚の民が罪の赦しを受けて回復されること（エレミヤ書33:7,8）。三、これが大いに神の栄光となること（エレミヤ書33:9）。四、国が喜びと豊かさを共に享受すること（エレミヤ書33:10-14）。五、メシアの来臨のための道が備えられること（エレミヤ書33:15,16）。六、ダビデの家、レビの家、イスラエルの家が再び栄え、堅く立てられ、その三つともキリストの御国にあること。福音の奉仕と福音の教会は、世の終わりまで続く（エレミヤ書33:17-26）。