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英文原文
We may conjecture that the prophecy of this chapter was delivered after the first captivity, in the time of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, when many were carried away to Babylon; for it has a double reference:—I. To those that were carried away into the land of the Chaldeans, a country notorious above any other for idolatry and superstition; and they are here cautioned against the infection of the place, not to learn the way of the heathen (Jer 10:1,2), for their astrology and idolatry are both foolish things (Jer 10:3-5), and the worshippers of idols brutish, Jer 10:8,9. So it will appear in the day of their visitation, Jer 10:14,15. They are likewise exhorted to adhere firmly to the God of Israel, for there is none like him, Jer 10:6,7. He is the true God, lives for ever, and has the government of the world (Jer 10:10-13), and his people are happy in him, Jer 10:16. II. To those that yet remained in their own land. They are cautioned against security, and told to expect distress (Jer 10:17,18) and that by a foreign enemy, which God would bring upon them for their sin, Jer 10:20-22. This calamity the prophet laments (Jer 10:19) and prays for the mitigation of it, Jer 10:23-25.
1-16
Solemn Charge to Israel; The Folly of Idolatry (606 BC)
對以色列的莊嚴吩咐；拜偶像的愚妄（主前 606 年）
¹ 以色列家啊，要聽耶和華對你們所說的話。
² 耶和華如此說：你們不要效法列國的行為，也不要為天上的兆頭驚惶，因為列國為這些兆頭驚惶。
³ 因為眾民的風俗是虛空的；因為人從樹林中砍一棵樹，是匠人用斧子造成的手工。
⁴ 他們用金銀妝飾它，用釘子和錘子釘穩，使它不動搖。
⁵ 他們如棕樹一樣直立，卻不能說話；它們必須被抬起，因為不能行走。你們不要怕它們；因為它們不能降禍，也不能降福。
⁶ 耶和華啊，沒有人能與你相比；你本為大，你大能的名也大。
⁷ 萬國的王啊，誰能不敬畏你？這本是理所當然的；因為在列國的智慧人中，以及在他們的一切國度中，沒有人能與你相比。
⁸ 他們全都如同畜類，成了愚昧人；木頭不過是虛妄的教訓。
⁹ 有銀子打成片從他施帶來，並有金子從烏法帶來，是匠人和金匠的手工，又有藍色紫色料作他們的衣服；這一切都是巧匠的工作。
¹⁰ 惟耶和華是真神，是活神，是永遠的王。他一發怒，地就震動；列國不能忍受他的惱怒。
¹¹ 你們要對他們如此說：那不是創造天地的神，必從地上、從天下被滅絕。
¹² 他用自己的能力造了大地，用自己的智慧建立世界，用自己的聰明鋪張穹蒼。
¹³ 他一發聲，天上就有眾水澎湃；他使雲霧從地極上騰；他造電隨雨而閃，又使風從他的府庫中吹出。
¹⁴ 各人都成了畜類，毫無知識；各匠人都因他所雕刻的偶像羞愧；因為他所鑄的偶像是虛假的，其中並無氣息。
¹⁵ 它們是虛無的，是迷惑人的工作；到懲罰的時候，它們必滅亡。
¹⁶ 雅各的份不像這些；因他是造萬有的主；以色列是他產業的杖。萬軍之耶和華是他的名。
先知以賽亞在預言被擄巴比倫時，曾加上反對拜偶像的警告，並大大揭露了拜偶像者的愚頑——這不僅是因為巴比倫的試探會有把當地的猶太人引誘去拜偶像的危險，也是因為巴比倫的苦難本是要醫治他們拜偶像的病。照樣，先知耶利米在這裏為百姓預備抵擋外邦人拜偶像之習俗和風俗的兵器，不僅為那些已去了巴比倫的人，也為那些留下的人——好叫他們因神的話被說服、被挽回，那刑罰的杖就可被阻止；這也是寫給我們學習的。在此請觀察：
一. 一項莊嚴的吩咐，賜給神的百姓，不可效法外邦人的道路和風俗。讓以色列家聽見並領受這從以色列的神而來的話：「不要效法列國的行為，不可贊同它，不，連不以為然地看待也不可，更不可效法或習慣於它。不可讓他們任何的風俗偷潛入你們中間（這是它們容易在不知不覺中作的），也不可讓它們與你們的信仰混雜。」注意，那些受了神教導的人去效法列國的行為，又想用外邦人在敬拜假神時所用的禮儀和規矩來敬拜真神，實在不相稱。見申 12:29-31。外邦人的道路是敬拜天上的萬象——日、月、星辰；他們把神聖的尊榮歸給它們，又從它們那裏期望神聖的恩惠；因此按照天上的兆頭如何，不論是吉兆還是凶兆，他們就認為自己蒙了它們神明的青睞或被棄，這就使他們以極大的焦慮和戰兢來觀察那些兆頭——日月的蝕、行星的合與衝，以及天體一切不尋常的現象。若有任何被認為預兆不祥的事發生，生意就停頓；若左手邊響雷，他們幾乎如同被雷擊中一般。如今神不要祂的百姓為天上的兆頭驚惶，不要把星辰當作神明來敬畏，也不要因建立在它們之上的任何預兆而驚嚇自己。讓他們敬畏天上的神，保持對祂護理之工的敬畏，這樣他們就不必為天上的兆頭驚惶了；因為星宿從其軌道並不與任何與神和好的人爭戰。外邦人因這些兆頭而驚惶，因為他們不知道更好的事；但受過神教導的以色列家卻不可如此。
二. 為強制執行這項吩咐而提出的多項理由。
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外邦人的道路實在荒謬可笑，連正確理性的判斷也定它為有罪（耶 10:3）。外邦人的律例和典章本身就是虛空，經不起理性探討的考驗。這一點在此被反覆強調，正如以賽亞所作的。迦勒底人以自己的智慧自誇，自以為超越一切鄰國；但先知在此指出，他們和一切敬拜偶像、指望從偶像得幫助解救的人，都是如同畜類、愚頑不堪，連起碼的常識都沒有。（1.）想想所敬拜的偶像是甚麼。它原不過是從樹林中砍下的一棵樹。它被匠人的手加工——鋸成、刨成、削成形狀；見賽 44:12 等。但歸根究柢，它不過是一根樹幹，比起別的，更適合做一根門柱。但為要遮掩木頭，他們用金銀妝飾它，給它鍍金或上漆，或用金銀花邊、或織錦妝飾。他們用釘子和錘子釘穩它在自己所指定的地方，使它不致跌倒、被推倒、或被偷走（耶 10:4）。這像造得足夠端正，也不能否認匠人盡了自己的本分，因為它如棕樹一樣直立（耶 10:5）；它看來莊嚴，挺立如要對你說話，卻不能說話；它是可憐的啞巴受造物；它也不能向你的解救邁出一步。若有任何場合需要它更換位置，它必須被人抬著遊行，因為它不能行走。在這裏極為恰當地插入這告誡：「不要怕它們，更不要怕天上的兆頭；不要怕惹它們發怒，因為它們不能降禍；不要怕失去它們的恩寵，因為它們也不能降福。你們若想用更好的材料來製造偶像以改善局面，那是自欺。金銀的偶像並不比木頭的神明更配受敬拜。木頭不過是虛妄的教訓（耶 10:8）。它教導謊言，教導關乎神的謊言。它是虛妄的教訓；它是木頭。」很可能金銀的偶像底下有木頭作基底，於是有銀子打成片從他施帶來，從海外進口，並有金子從烏法帶來，或作法斯，有時譯作精或純金（詩 21:3）。其中用了許多藝術和心力。被雇來做這些的，不像做木頭神明那樣的普通工匠（耶 10:3）。這些是巧匠；這是匠人的工作；當它經過金匠的手之後，雕刻師也要盡他的一份。那些只是這裏那裏點綴些金銀；這些則通體是金銀。為使這些神明如君王般受人敬畏，又有藍色紫色料作他們的衣服，是王袍的顏色（耶 10:9），這使無知的敬拜者眼花繚亂，卻不能使情形好轉。因為偶像被造成、並盡力做到最好之後，又是甚麼呢？他告訴我們（耶 10:14）：它們是虛假的；它們不是它們所自稱的，而是加給世人的一個大騙局。它們被當作賜我們氣息、生命和知覺的神來敬拜，其實它們自己卻是無生命、無知覺的東西，其中並無氣息；原文是其中沒有靈；它們並不如人所設想的那樣，被任何神聖的靈或神性所賦予生命或居住。它們不僅算不得神，甚至不如那向下走的獸的靈。它們是虛無的，是迷惑人的工作（耶 10:15）。查究它們的用途，你就會發現它們是虛空的；它們毫無用處；不能指望從它們得到任何幫助，也不能對它們寄予任何信心。它們是欺騙人的工作，迷惑人的作為，或純粹的戲弄；有人如此讀下面的子句。它們迷惑那些倚靠它們的人，愚弄他們，更準確地說，是它們自己愚弄自己。查究它們的用途，你就會發現它們是迷惑人的工作，建立在自稱有理性之人所曾犯過的最粗鄙的錯誤之上。它們是受迷惑之幻想的產物；而產生它們的錯誤，又被它們傳播給敬拜者。（2.）由此推論，敬拜這些偶像的拜偶像者又如何呢（耶 10:8）：他們全都如同畜類，成了愚昧人。造它們的人與它們相似，沒有知覺、遲鈍，其中沒有靈——沒有理性的運用，否則他們絕不會向它們屈膝（耶 10:14）。各人無論是製造或敬拜偶像的，都成了在自己知識中如畜類，就是說，因缺乏知識而如畜類，或在那件他以為自己本該完全熟悉的事上如畜類；比較猶 10：他們本性所知道的，就是他們藉著天然之光不能不知道的事，在那一切事上竟如畜類般敗壞了自己。雖然在創造之工中，他們不能不看见造物主永恆的權能和神性，卻在自己的思念中變為虛妄，不願意保留神在他們的知識裏。見羅 1:21,28。不，他們以為這樣增添神明是一種智慧，其實這乃是他們所能犯的最大的愚妄。世人憑自己的智慧不認識神（林前 1:21，羅 1:22）。各匠人自己也因他所雕刻的偶像而蒙羞；他因錯誤而造了它，又因它而越發深陷於自己的錯誤；他陷入迷惘，被迷惑，不能從網羅中自拔；或者這是他遲早會引以為恥的事。
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以色列的神是惟一又真又活的神，凡以祂為神的，不必向任何別神求助；不，在競爭中樹立任何別神，乃是對祂最大的冒犯和傷害。讓以色列家緊緊倚靠以色列的神，單單事奉敬拜祂，因為：
（1.）祂是無可比擬的。無論人把甚麼拿來與祂競爭，沒有一樣能與祂相比。先知從用最深的輕蔑論到外邦人的偶像（他理當如此），轉到用最深切、最可畏的敬畏論到以色列的神（耶 10:6,7）：「耶和華啊，沒有人能與你相比！不是外邦人所神化、如此大驚小怪的任何英雄」——他們為死人造了死的像，又敬拜他們。「有的因智慧被神化、受敬拜；但在列國的智慧人中，最大的哲學家或政治家，如亞波羅或赫密士，也沒有人能與你相比。另有的因統治權被神化、受敬拜；但在他們的一切王權中（也可如此讀），在他們一切的王中，如撒頓和朱庇特，也沒有人能與你相比。」一個發明了有用技藝、或建立了一個繁榮國度之人的榮耀（這在萬國中足以使一個人有資格被奉為神），與那位創造世界、在人裏面造靈者的榮耀相比，算得了甚麼？最大的君王或統治者的榮耀，與那位祂的國統管萬有者的榮耀相比，又算得了甚麼？他承認（耶 10:6）：耶和華啊，你本為大，無限而廣大，你大能的名也大；你擁有一切權能，並被人知道為擁有權能。人的名常超過他們的實力；他們被以為比自己實際更大；但神的名為大，卻不比自己實際更大。因此萬國的王啊，誰能不敬畏你呢？誰不選擇敬拜這樣一位凡事都能的神，而敬拜外邦人所拜的那些甚麼都不能的死的偶像呢？誰不怕冒犯或離棄一位其名大有能力的神呢？列國之中，若能正確明白自己的利益，哪一國會不敬畏這位萬國的王呢？注意，惟獨敬拜神，其中有一種可佩的得體與相稱。惟有祂是獨一的神，就理當惟獨被事奉；祂是萬有的主，就理當被萬有所事奉；祂是至大的，就理當大大地被敬畏、被讚美。
（2.）祂的真實正如偶像的虛空一樣顯而易見（耶 10:10）。偶像是人手所作的，因此再明顯不過，敬拜它們簡直是笑話——若這可稱為笑話，因為這對那造我們的主是極大的侮辱：惟耶和華是真神，是真理的神；祂在真理中是神。神耶和華就是真理；祂不像它們那樣是冒牌和假冒者，而是如祂所啟示的那樣真實；祂是我們可以倚靠的那一位，在祂裏面並藉著祂，我們不致受欺。〔一.〕從祂自身看祂，祂是活神。祂自己是生命，在祂自己有生命，是一切受造物生命的泉源。外邦人的神是死的東西，毫無價值、毫無用處，但我們的神是又活又真的神，並有不朽壞性。〔二.〕從祂與受造物的關係看祂，祂是王，是絕對的君王，統管他們一切，是他們的所有者和統治者，對他們有無可爭辯的權利，無論是命令他們或處置他們。作為王，祂保護受造物，為他們的福祉預備，並在他們中間維持平安。祂是永遠的王。祂國的計謀從亙古就有，其延續也直到永遠。祂是永恆之王。他們稱為王的偶像不過是昨日的，不久就要被廢除；而樹立偶像來敬拜的地上的王，自己不久也要歸於塵土；但耶和華必作王，直到永遠；錫安的神啊，直到萬代。
（3.）無人知道祂怒氣的權能。讓我們存敬畏的心，不敢因把當單單歸給祂的榮耀歸給別神而惹動祂；因為祂一發怒，地就震動，連地上最強、最剛勇的王也戰抖；不，那固定的大地，當祂喜悅時，也使它震動，使磐石戰抖（詩 104:32，哈 3:6,10）。萬國縱然聯合起來與祂爭競，合力一致，也必發現自己不僅不能抵抗，甚至不能忍受祂的惱怒。他們不僅不能抵擋它前進，因它必勝過他們；他們也不能在它之下支撐，因它必把他們壓垮（詩 76:7,8，鴻 1:6）。
（4.）祂是自然之神，是一切存在的源頭；自然界一切的能力都在祂的命令和支配之下（耶 10:12,13）。我們所敬拜的神，是創造天地、對二者擁有至高主權的那一位；因此祂的不可見之事在所見之物中得以彰顯和證明。〔一.〕回溯過去，我們發現整個世界都因祂這第一因而有起源。這在希臘人中也是一句常話——那要自命為別的神的，當先另造一個世界。當外邦人敬拜他們所造的神時，我們敬拜那造我們和萬物的神。第一，地是個龐大無比的身體，其內臟有寶貴的寶藏，其表面有更寶貴的果實。地和其中的一切是祂用自己的能力造的；而它懸在虛空之中（正如它所是的那樣，伯 26:7），是用不小於無限的大能成就的——以自己的重量保持平衡。第二，世界，即可居住之地，奇妙地適合人的使用和事奉，是祂用自己的智慧所建立的，使它在持續的變化中仍保持服務性，並且從一代到一代保持持續的穩定。因此地和世界都是祂的（詩 24:1）。第三，天奇妙地鋪張到難以置信的範圍，而祂用自己的聰明如此成就，又使天體的運行為這下層世界的利益而調度。這些述說祂的榮耀（詩 19:1），並要求我們述說這榮耀，而不可把當歸給那造天者的榮耀歸給天。〔二.〕舉目向上，我們看見祂的護理是持續的創造（耶 10:13）：祂一發聲（發出命令），天上就有眾水傾注在地上，或是為審判，或是為憐憫，全照祂的意思。當祂在雷中發聲，隨即就有雷陣雨，其中有眾多的水；那水帶著響聲而來（如旁註所讀）；我們也讀到多雨的響聲（王上 18:41）。不，在自然的國度中每日有奇事悄然成就：祂使雲霧從地極上騰，從地的各處，甚至最遙遠之處上騰，而主要是那些鄰近海洋的地方。全地都獻上雲霧的貢物，因為全地都領受雨的祝福。宇宙中的水分，正如國中的貨幣、身體中的血液一樣，不斷循環，為全體的益處效力。那些雲霧產生奇事，因為由它們形成隨雨而閃的電，以及神按時從祂的府庫中吹出的風，全照祂看為合適的分量和用途來引導，正如從國庫中支付款項一樣。一切氣象都如此樂意地為神的旨意效力，以致祂似乎擁有用之不竭、隨時可取的氣象寶庫（詩 135:7）。神以自己擁有這些寶庫為榮（伯 38:22,23）。這是神所能作的；但外邦人的偶像中，哪一個能作這樣的事呢？注意，無論何種天氣，都為我們提供偉大造物主之智慧和大能的證明和實例。
（5.）這位神是以色列在聖約中的神，也是每一個真以色列人的福分。因此讓以色列家緊緊倚靠祂，不可離棄祂去擁抱偶像；因為他們若如此行，無疑是越變越糟，因為（耶 10:16）雅各的份不像這些；他們的磐石不如我們的磐石（申 32:31），我們的也不如他們的那些土堆。注意，〔一.〕那些以耶和華為神的人，在祂裏面有完全而滿足的幸福。雅各的神就是雅各的份；祂是他的一切，在祂裏面他有充足，在今世或來世都不再需要別的。在祂裏面我們有可羨慕的份（詩 16:5）。〔二.〕我們若以神為我們的份，而在祂裏面有完全的滿足和喜悅，祂也必以我們為祂的百姓，以恩典喜悅我們，承認我們為祂產業的杖，祂的產業和寶藏，祂與之同住、並藉之被事奉和尊榮的百姓。〔三.〕這是主一切百姓說不出來的安慰：那作他們神的是造萬有的主，因此能為他們作一切、賜他們一切他們所需要的。他們的幫助在乎那造天地之耶和華的名。祂是萬軍之耶和華，天上地上一切軍隊的主，全部在祂命令之下，並在需要時為祂百姓的緣故受命效力。這是百姓認識祂的名，他們先是將榮耀歸給祂，然後再從其中得安慰。〔四.〕神的百姓在此比一切別的百姓更有福，是真有福的——只要他們知道自己的福分。外邦人所自誇、自滿、並以此為份的，是虛空和謊言；但雅各的份不像這些。
- 先知既已將外邦人的神與以色列的神作了比較（二者之間根本無可比擬），便宣讀了一切冒充者的判決——那必然的判決，並指示猶太人奉神的名向拜偶像者宣讀，雖然他們是猶太人的主人和主人（耶 10:11）：你們要對他們如此說（你們所事奉的神必支持你們如此說），那不是創造天地的神（因此算不得神，不過是篡奪了惟獨那造天地者當得的尊榮）必滅亡——因它們是虛空而必然滅亡，又因它們與祂競爭而按祂公義的判決滅亡。作為神，它們必從地上（甚至從他們所造為神的地上一切之物）並從天下——甚至從穹蒼中、最高天之下一切被神化的東西——滅絕，正如第二條誡命中所分配的那樣。這話在原文中不像其餘的，不是希伯來文，而是用迦勒底（亞蘭）方言寫的，好叫被擄的猶太人在迦勒底人引誘他們拜偶像時，能用他們自己的語言隨時對迦勒底人說：「你們要勉強我們敬拜你們的神嗎？我們絕不如此行；因為」（1.）「它們是冒牌的神明；它們算不得神，因為它們沒有創造天地，因此不配受我們的敬意，我們也不欠它們任何東西——不欠地上的出產，也不欠天上的影響——這些我們都欠以色列的神。」早期基督徒在被勉強敬拜這樣的神時會說：讓他造一個世界，他就作我的神。我們既有那創造天地的可敬拜，敬拜別的任何神就極其荒謬。（2.）「它們是被定罪的神明。它們必滅亡；時候將到，它們不再如現今這樣受人尊重，而要被埋葬於遺忘之中，它們與它們的敬拜者要一同沉淪。地必不再負荷它們；天必不再遮蓋它們；二者都要撇棄它們。」這又重複一次（耶 10:15）：到懲罰的時候，它們必滅亡。當神來與拜偶像者算帳時，祂要使他們對自己的偶像生厭，樂於擺脫它們。他們要把偶像拋給田鼠和蝙蝠（賽 2:20）。凡違背神和信仰的，至終必被推翻。
英文原文
Solemn Charge to Israel; The Folly of Idolatry (606 BC)
¹ Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
² Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
⁴ They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
⁵ They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
⁶ Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
⁷ Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
⁸ But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
⁹ Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
¹¹ Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
¹² He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
¹³ When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
¹⁴ Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
¹⁵ They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
¹⁶ The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
The prophet Isaiah, when he prophesied of the captivity in Babylon, added warnings against idolatry and largely exposed the sottishness of idolaters, not only because the temptations in Babylon would be in danger of drawing the Jews there to idolatry, but because the afflictions in Babylon were designed to cure them of their idolatry. Thus the prophet Jeremiah here arms people against the idolatrous usages and customs of the heathen, not only for the use of those that had gone to Babylon, but of those also that staid behind, that being convinced and reclaimed, by the word of God, the rod might be prevented; and it is written for our learning. Observe here,
I. A solemn charge given to the people of God not to conform themselves to the ways and customs of the heathen. Let the house of Israel hear and receive this word from the God of Israel: "Learn not the way of the heathen, do not approve of it, no, nor think indifferently concerning it, much less imitate it or accustom yourselves to it. Let not any of their customs steal in among you (as they are apt to do insensibly) nor mingle themselves with your religion." Note, It ill becomes those that are taught of God to learn the way of the heathen, and to think of worshipping the true God with such rites and ceremonies as they used in the worship of their false gods. See De 12:29-31. It was the way of the heathen to worship the host of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; to them they gave divine honours, and from them they expected divine favours, and therefore, according as the signs of heaven were, whether they were auspicious or ominous, they thought themselves countenanced or discountenanced by their deities, which made them observe those signs, the eclipses of the sun and moon, the conjunctions and oppositions of the planets, and all the unusual phenomena of the celestial globe, with a great deal of anxiety and trembling. Business was stopped if any thing occurred that was thought to bode ill; if it did but thunder on their left hand, they were almost as if they had been thunderstruck. Now God would not have his people to be dismayed at the signs of heaven, to reverence the stars as deities, nor to frighten themselves with any prognostications grounded upon them. Let them fear the God of heaven, and keep up a reverence of his providence, and then they need not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the stars in their courses fight not against any that are at peace with God. The heathen are dismayed at these signs, for they know no better; but let not the house of Israel, that are taught of God, be so.
II. Divers good reasons given to enforce this charge.
1. The way of the heathen is very ridiculous and absurd, and is condemned even by the dictates of right reason, Jer 10:3. The statutes and ordinances of the heathen are vanity itself; they cannot stand the test of a rational disquisition. This is again and again insisted upon here, as it was by Isaiah. The Chaldeans valued themselves upon their wisdom, in which they thought that they excelled all their neighbours; but the prophet here shows that they, and all others that worshipped idols and expected help and relief from them, were brutish and sottish, and had not common sense. (1.) Consider what the idol is that is worshipped. It was a tree cut out of the forest originally. It was fitted up by the hands of the workman, squared, and sawed, and worked into shape; see Isa 44:12, etc. But, after all, it was but the stock of a tree, fitter to make a gate-post of than any thing else. But, to hide the wood, they deck it with silver and gold, they gild or lacquer it, or they deck it with gold and silver lace, or cloth of tissue. They fasten it to its place, which they themselves have assigned it, with nails and hammers, that it fall not, nor be thrown down, nor stolen away, Jer 10:4. The image is made straight enough, and it cannot be denied but that the workman did his part, for it is upright as the palm-tree (Jer 10:5); it looks stately, and stands up as if it were going to speak to you, but it cannot speak; it is a poor dumb creature; nor can it take one step towards your relief. If there be any occasion for it to shift its place, it must be carried in procession, for it cannot go. Very fitly does the admonition come in here, "Be not afraid of them, any more than of the signs of heaven; be not afraid of incurring their displeasure, for they can do no evil; be not afraid of forfeiting their favour, for neither is it in them to do good. If you think to mend the matter by mending the materials of which the idol is made, you deceive yourselves. Idols of gold and silver are an unworthy to be worshipped as wooden gods. The stock is a doctrine of vanities, Jer 10:8. It teaches lies, teaches lies concerning God. It is an instruction of vanities; it is wood." It is probable that the idols of gold and silver had wood underneath for the substratum, and then silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, imported from beyond sea, and gold from Uphaz, or Phaz, which is sometimes rendered the fine or pure gold, Ps 21:3. A great deal of art is used, and pains taken, about it. They are not such ordinary mechanics that are employed about these as about the wooden gods, Jer 10:3. These are cunning men; it is the work of the workman; the graver must do his part when it has passed through the hands of the founder. Those were but decked here and there with silver and gold; these are silver and gold all over. And, that these gods might be reverenced as kings, blue and purple are their clothing, the colour of royal robes (Jer 10:9), which amuses ignorant worshippers, but makes the matter no better. For what is the idol when it is made and when they have made the best they can of it? He tells us (Jer 10:14): They are falsehood; they are not what they pretend to be, but a great cheat put upon the world. They are worshipped as the gods that give us breath and life and sense, whereas they are lifeless senseless things themselves, and there is no breath in them; there is no spirit in them (so the word is); they are not animated, or inhabited, as they are supposed to be, by any divine spirit or numen—divinity. They are so far from being gods that they have not so much as the spirit of a beast that goes downward. They are vanity, and the work of errors, Jer 10:15. Enquire into the use of them and you will find they are vanity; they are good for nothing; no help is to be expected from them nor any confidence put in them. They are a deceitful work, works of illusions, or mere mockeries; so some read the following clause. They delude those that put their trust in them, make fools of them, or, rather, they make fools of themselves. Enquire into the use of them and you will find they are the work of errors, grounded upon the grossest mistakes that ever men who pretended to reason were guilty of. They are the creatures of a deluded fancy; and the errors by which they were produced they propagate among their worshippers. (2.) Infer hence what the idolaters are that worship these idols. (Jer 10:8): They are altogether brutish and foolish. Those that make them are like unto them, senseless and stupid, and there is no spirit in them—no use of reason, else they would never stoop to them, Jer 10:14. Every man that makes or worships idols has become brutish in his knowledge, that is, brutish for want of knowledge, or brutish in that very thing which one would think they should be fully acquainted with; compare Jude 1:10, What they know naturally, what they cannot but know by the light of nature, in those things as brute beasts they corrupt themselves. Though in the works of creation they cannot but see the eternal power and godhead of the Creator, yet they have become vain in their imaginations, not liking to retain God in their knowledge. See Ro 1:21,28. Nay, whereas they thought it a piece of wisdom thus to multiply gods, it really was the greatest folly they could be guilty of. The world by wisdom knew not God, 1Co 1:21, Ro 1:22. Every founder is himself confounded by the graven image; when he has made it by a mistake he is more and more confirmed in his mistake by it; he is bewildered, bewitched, and cannot disentangle himself from the snare; or it is what he will one time or other be ashamed of.
2. The God of Israel is the one only living and true God, and those that have him for their God need not make their application to any other; nay, to set up any other in competition with him is the greatest affront and injury that can be done him. Let the house of Israel cleave to the God of Israel and serve and worship him only, for,
(1.) He is a non-such. Whatever men may set in competition with him, there is none to be compared with him. The prophet turns from speaking with the utmost disdain of the idols of the heathen (as well he might) to speak with the most profound and awful reverence of the God of Israel (Jer 10:6,7): "Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord! none of all the heroes which the heathen have deified and make such ado about," the dead men of whom they made dead images, and whom they worshipped. "Some were deified and adored for their wisdom; but, among all the wise men of the nations, the greatest philosophers or statesmen, as Apollo or Hermes, there is none like thee. Others were deified and adored for their dominion; but, in all their royalty" (so it may be read), "among all their kings, as Saturn and Jupiter, there is none like unto thee." What is the glory of a man that invented a useful art or founded a flourishing kingdom (and these were grounds sufficient among the heathen to entitle a man to an apotheosis) compared with the glory of him that is the Creator of the world and that forms the spirit of man within him? What is the glory of the greatest prince or potentate, compared with the glory of him whose kingdom rules over all? He acknowledges (Jer 10:6), O Lord! thou art great, infinite and immense, and thy name is great in might; thou hast all power, and art known to have it. Men's name is often beyond their might; they are thought to be greater than they are; but God's name is great, and no greater than he really is. And therefore who would not fear thee, O King of nations? Who would not choose to worship such a God as this, that can do every thing, rather than such dead idols as the heathen worship, that can do nothing? Who would not be afraid of offending or forsaking a God whose name is so great in might? Which of all the nations, if they understood their interests aright, would not fear him who is the King of nations? Note, There is an admirable decency and congruity in the worshipping of God only. It is fit that he who is God alone should alone be served, that he who is Lord of all should be served by all, that he who is great should be greatly feared and greatly praised.
(2.) His verity is as evident as the idol's vanity, Jer 10:10. They are the work of men's hands, and therefore nothing is more plain than that it is a jest to worship them, if that may be called a jest which is so great an indignity to him that made us: But the Lord is the true God, the God of truth; he is God in truth. God Jehovah is truth; he is not a counterfeit and pretender, as they are, but is really what he has revealed himself to be; he is one we may depend upon, in whom and by whom we cannot be deceived. [1.] Look upon him as he is in himself, and he is the living God. He is life itself, has life in himself, and is the fountain of life to all the creatures. The gods of the heathen are dead things, worthless and useless, but ours is a living God, and hath immortality. [2.] Look upon him with relation to his creatures, he is a King, and absolute monarch, over them all, is their owner and ruler, has an incontestable right both to command them and dispose of them. As a king, he protects the creatures, provides for their welfare, and preserves peace among them. He is an everlasting king. The counsels of his kingdom were from everlasting and the continuance of it will be to everlasting. He is a King of eternity. The idols whom they call their kings are but of yesterday, and will soon be abolished; and the kings of the earth, that set them up to be worshipped, will themselves be in the dust shortly; but the Lord shall reign for ever, thy God, O Zion! unto all generations.
(3.) None knows the power of his anger. Let us stand in awe, and not dare to provoke him by giving that glory to another which is due to him alone; for at his wrath the earth shall tremble, even the strongest and stoutest of the kings of the earth; nay, the earth, firmly as it is fixed, when he pleases is made to quake and the rocks to tremble, Ps 104:32, Hab 3:6,10. Though the nations should join together to contend with him, and unite their force, yet they would be found utterly unable not only to resist, but even to abide his indignation. Not only can they not make head against it, for it would overcome them, but they cannot bear up under it, for it would overload them, Ps 76:7,8, Na 1:6.
(4.) He is the God of nature, the fountain of all being; and all the powers of nature are at his command and disposal, Jer 10:12,13. The God we worship is he that made the heavens and the earth, and has a sovereign dominion over both; so that his invisible things are manifested and proved in the things that are seen. [1.] If we look back, we find that the whole world owed its origin to him as its first cause. It was a common saying even among the Greeks—He that sets up to be another god ought first to make another world. While the heathen worship gods that they made, we worship the God that made us and all things. First, The earth is a body of vast bulk, has valuable treasures in its bowels and more valuable fruit on its surface. It and them he has made by his power; and it is by no less than an infinite power that it hangs upon nothing, as it does (Job 26:7)— ponderibus librata suis—poised by its own weight. Secondly, The world, the habitable part of the earth, is admirably fitted for the use and service of man, and he hath established it so by his wisdom, so that it continues serviceable in constant changes and yet a continual stability from one generation to another. Therefore both the earth and the world are his, Ps 24:1. Thirdly, The heavens are wonderfully stretched out to an incredible extent, and it is by his discretion that they are so, and that the motions of the heavenly bodies are directed for the benefit of this lower world. These declare his glory (Ps 19:1), and oblige us to declare it, and not give that glory to the heavens which is due to him that made them. [2.] If we look up, we see his providence to be a continued creation (Jer 10:13): When he uttereth his voice (gives the word of command) there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, which are poured out on the earth, whether for judgment or mercy, as he intends them. When he utters his voice in the thunder, immediately there follow thunder-showers, in which there are a multitude of waters; and those come with a noise, as the margin reads it; and we read of the noise of abundance of rain, 1Ki 18:41. Nay, there are wonders done daily in the kingdom of nature without noise: He causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth, from all parts of the earth, even the most remote, and chiefly those that lie next the sea. All the earth pays the tribute of vapours, because all the earth receives the blessing of rain. And thus the moisture in the universe, like the money in a kingdom and the blood in the body, is continually circulating for the good of the whole. Those vapours produce wonders, for of them are formed lightnings for the rain, and the winds which God from time to time brings forth out of his treasures, as there is occasion for them, directing them all in such measure and for such use as he thinks fit, as payments are made out of the treasury. All the meteors are so ready to serve God's purposes that he seems to have treasures of them, that cannot be exhausted and may at any time be drawn from, Ps 135:7. God glories in the treasures he has of these, Job 38:22,23. This God can do; but which of the idols of the heathen can do the like? Note, There is no sort of weather but what furnishes us with a proof and instance of the wisdom and power of the great Creator.
(5.) This God is Israel's God in covenant, and the felicity of every Israelite indeed. Therefore let the house of Israel cleave to him, and not forsake him to embrace idols; for, if they do, they certainly change for the worse, for (Jer 10:16) the portion of Jacob is not like them; their rock is not as our rock (De 32:31), nor ours like their mole-hills. Note, [1.] Those that have the Lord for their God have a full and complete happiness in him. The God of Jacob is the portion of Jacob; he is his all, and in him he has enough and needs no more in this world nor the other. In him we have a worthy portion, Ps 16:5. [2.] If we have entire satisfaction and complacency in God as our portion, he will have a gracious delight in us as his people, whom he owns as the rod of his inheritance, his possession and treasure, with whom he dwells and by whom he is served and honoured. [3.] It is the unspeakable comfort of all the Lord's people that he who is their God is the former of all things, and therefore is able to do all that for them, and give all that to them, which they stand in need of. Their help stands in his name who made heaven and earth. And he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts in heaven and earth, has them all at his command, and will command them into the service of his people when there is occasion. This is the name by which they know him, which they first give him the glory of and then take to themselves the comfort of. [4.] Herein God's people are happy above all other people, happy indeed, bona si sua norint—did they but know their blessedness. The gods which the heathen pride, and please, and so portion themselves in, are vanity and a lie; but the portion of Jacob is not like them.
3. The prophet, having thus compared the gods of the heathen with the God of Israel (between whom there is no comparison), reads the doom, the certain doom, of all those pretenders, and directs the Jews, in God's name, to read it to the worshippers of idols, though they were their lords and masters (Jer 10:11): Thus shall you say unto them (and the God you serve will bear you out in saying it), The gods which have not made the heavens and the earth (and therefore are no gods, but usurpers of the honour due to him only who did make heaven and earth) shall perish, perish of course, because they are vanity—perish by his righteous sentence, because they are rivals with him. As gods they shall perish from off the earth (even all those things on earth beneath which they make gods of) and from under these heavens, even all those things in the firmament of heaven, under the highest heavens, which are deified, according to the distribution in the second commandment. These words in the original are not in the Hebrew, like all the rest, but in the Chaldee dialect, that the Jews in captivity might have this ready to say to the Chaldeans in their own language when they tempted them to idolatry: "Do you press us to worship your gods? We will never do that; for," (1.) "They are counterfeit deities; they are no gods, for they have not made the heavens and the earth, and therefore are not entitled to our homage, nor are we indebted to them either for the products of the earth or the influences of heaven, as we are to the God of Israel." The primitive Christians would say, when they were urged to worship such a god, Let him make a world and he shall be my god. While we have him to worship who made heaven and earth, it is very absurd to worship any other. (2.) "They are condemned deities. They shall perish; the time shall come when they shall be no more respected as they are now, but shall be buried in oblivion, and they and their worshippers shall sink together. The earth shall no longer bear them; the heavens shall no longer cover them; but both shall abandon them." It is repeated (Jer 10:15), In the time of their visitation they shall perish. When God comes to reckon with idolaters he will make them weary of their idols, and glad to be rid of them. They shall cast them to the moles and to the bats, Isa 2:20. Whatever runs against God and religion will be run down at last.
17-25
Lamentation of Judah; Sovereignty of Divine Providence; Prophetic Imprecations (606 BC)
猶大的哀歌；神護理的主權；先知的咒詛禱告（主前 606 年）
¹⁷ 住在堡壘中的居民哪，從地上收拾你的物件吧。
¹⁸ 因為耶和華如此說：看哪，我這一次必將這地的居民如石頭從機弦甩出去，並使他們遇禍患，使他們覺得如此。
¹⁹ 我的損傷我有禍了！我的傷痕無法醫治；但我說：這真是我的痛苦，我必須忍受。
²⁰ 我的帳棚毀壞，我的繩索折斷；我的兒女離我出去，沒有了；無人再為我支搭帳棚，豎起幔子。
²¹ 因為牧人成了畜類，沒有尋求耶和華；所以他們不得亨通，他們所有的羊群也都分散。
²² 有風聲傳來，從北方之地有大擾亂，要使猶大城邑荒涼，成為野狗的住處。
²³ 耶和華啊，我知道人的道路不由自己；行路的人不能定自己的腳步。
²⁴ 耶和華啊，求你從寬懲治我，不要在你的怒中懲治我，恐怕我歸於無有。
²⁵ 願你將憤怒傾倒在不認識你的列國，和不求告你名的各族身上；因為他們吞吃了雅各，把他吞滅並滅盡，使他的住處荒涼。
在這些經文中：
一. 先知奉神的名警告猶大和耶路撒冷即將來到的毀滅（Jer 10:17,18）。那些留在本地、在被擄之後仍十分安逸的猶太人，自以為是堡壘的居民；他們的國家是他們的堅固營壘，在他們自己的構想中固若金湯；但他們在此被告知要考慮離開它：他們要預備跟隨他們的弟兄去，收拾家當以備遷移：「從地上收拾你的物件吧」；縮小你們的事務，盡量使之精簡。起來走吧，這不是你們安息之所（彌 2:10）。不要讓你們所有的東西散落各處，因為迦勒底人還要再來，作為神對你們所宣判之判決的執行者（Jer 10:18）：「看哪，我這一次必將這地的居民甩出去」；他們迄今雖零零星星地被擄，但再一次被擄就要徹底清除了，他們必如石頭從機弦甩出一般被甩出去——如此輕易、如此徹底地被趕出；一無存留。他們必被暴力趕出，被趕到極遠之處，在極短時間之內。見此比方用以表示徹底毀滅（撒上 25:29）。神要再一次震動他們的地，把惡人從其中震出去（來 12:26）。祂又加上：我並使他們遇禍患，使他們覺得如此。祂不僅把他們從這裏趕出去——祂可以如此作而他們在別處仍可得安寧；而是他們無論往何處去，患難都必追隨；他們必不斷地困惑窘迫、茫然失措：而神所要困擾的——使他們覺得如此，使他們感受到他們所不肯相信的——誰或甚麼能使他們安逸呢？他們屢次被告知神烈怒的沉重以及他們完全無力抵抗或承受。他們被告知他們的罪必成為他們的毀滅，他們卻不理會也不信；但如今他們必覺得如此；正因如此神要追討他們，使他們覺得如此，並被迫承認。注意，罪人遲早必發現事情正如神的話所告訴他們的那樣，不會更好，而那些威脅並非虛張聲勢。
二. 祂引入百姓悲慘地哀嘆他們的災難（Jer 10:19）：我的損傷我有禍了！有人把這看作先知自己的哀歌——不是為自己，而是為他國家的災難和荒涼。他為那些不肯被勸去為自己哀哭的人哀哭；既然沒有如此有見識的人願意與他一同哀哭，他就在隱密處哭泣，喊著說：我有禍了！在悲哀的時期，我們理當存悲哀的心。但這也可理解為百姓的話語——百姓被視為一個整體，因此如同一個人那樣說話。先知把那些他們應當說的話放在他們口中；無論他們願意不願意說，他們都必有理由說。他們中間必有人如此自嘆，而他們所有人最終都必被迫如此。1. 他們哀嘆這災難極大，難以承受——尤其難是因為他們不習慣患難、如今也不期望它：「我的損傷我有禍了」——不是為我所懼怕的，而是為我所感受的；因為他們不像有些人那樣被嚇得更厲害。這也不是輕微的損傷，而是傷痕——無法醫治的傷痕——極其痛苦、極其危險。2. 除了忍耐別無他法。他們不能自救，只能坐著忍受：但我說——當我正要抱怨我的傷痕時——抱怨有何用處？這真是我的痛苦，我只好盡力忍受。這更像是倔強的順服，而不是出於恩典的順服；是出於無奈的忍耐，而不是出於原則的忍耐。當我在患難中時，我應當說：「這是災禍，我必承受它，因為這是神的旨意要我如此，因為祂的智慧為我定了這事，祂的恩典必使它為我成就益處。」這才是從神手中受禍（伯 2:10）。但若說*「這是災禍，我不得不忍受它，因為我無能為力」，不過是獸性的忍耐，表明缺乏我們即使在患難中也當存有的對神的善念——不僅說神能作且要作祂所喜悅的事，更要說任憑祂作祂所喜悅的事*。3. 那國已徹底毀滅荒廢（Jer 10:20）：我的帳棚毀壞了。耶路撒冷雖是堅固之城，如今卻如同拆毀的帳棚一樣軟弱、可移動，而一切本該維持它的繩索都折斷了。此處的帳棚或許指聖殿——聖所——它起初不過是帳幕，如今被稱為帳幕，正如從前帳幕有時被稱為殿。他們的教會毀壞了，一切支持都失效。這是教會和國家、城市和鄉村全面的毀壞，無人修復這些荒涼。「我的兒女離我出去」——有的逃亡，有的被殺，有的被擄，以致就我而言，他們沒有了；我必被放逐，因缺乏庇護而滅亡；因為無人再為我支搭帳棚——無人像從前我的兒女那樣為我作這事——無人豎起幔子——無人為我作任何事奉。錫安的一切兒子中無一人引導她（賽 51:18）。4. 官長毫不關心，也不採取任何適當措施來補救他們的苦情、重建他們荒廢的國家（Jer 10:21）：牧人成了畜類。當帳棚——牧人的帳棚——被毀時（Jer 10:20），理當關心帳棚的牧人卻是愚昧的牧人。他們的君王和首領毫不顧念公眾福祉，似乎對地的荒涼毫無感覺，完全昏昧糊塗。那些作神帳幕牧者的祭司，在毀壞宗教上大有貢獻，在修復宗教上卻一無作為。他們確實畜類，因為他們沒有尋求耶和華；他們既沒有與祂和好，也沒有向祂禱告；他們在一切事務的處理中全不看祂和祂的護理；他們既不承認審判來自祂的手，也不期望拯救來自祂的手。注意，那些不尋求耶和華的人是畜類的人——他們活著不禱告，在世上沒有神。每個人若不是聖徒就是畜類。但當一個百姓的牧者——本當以知識和聰明牧養他們的——自己也如此畜類時，那百姓的處境實在悲哀。結果如何？因此他們不得亨通；他們為公眾安全所作的一切努力都不成功。注意，那些不以信心和禱告在一切道路上帶上神的人，不能期望亨通。而當牧人成了畜類，除了所有的羊群分散之外還能期望甚麼呢？若是瞎子領瞎子，兩個都要掉在坑裏。一個百姓的毀滅往往歸因於其牧者的畜類。5. 仇敵逼近的消息十分可怕（Jer 10:22）：風聲傳來了——起初只是低語、只是傳聞、尚待證實的消息。如今證實為真：從北方之地有大擾亂興起，威脅要使猶大諸城全部荒涼，成為野狗的住處；因為它們都必被獻給迦勒底軍隊的貪婪和狂暴。一個因罪使自己成為賊窩的地方，除了成為野狗的住處之外還能期望甚麼呢？
三. 祂轉向神、向祂懇求——發現對百姓說話收效甚微。可憐的牧者有一點安慰：人若不肯聽他們，神卻聽；他們隨時可以自由進到祂面前。讓他們如先知那樣以禱告結束講道，那時他們就沒有理由說自己白費了功夫。
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先知在此承認神護理的主權和統治——列國和個人的事務都是藉著護理而非自己的意志和智慧來引導和決定的（Jer 10:23）。這是我們信仰的一條信條，在恩典的寶座前 complain 患難或求恩惠時特別適宜宣告：「耶和華啊，我知道」並相信「人的道路不由自己」；尼布甲尼撒不是自己來攻擊我們的地，而是受神護理的指引。我們靠自己不能為自己的救濟作甚麼，除非神與我們同工、為我們命令拯救；因為行路的人不能定自己的腳步——雖然他在行走時似乎完全自由、選擇自己的道路。那些應許自己長久享受產業的人，當他們被迦勒底人趕出時，從悲慘的經歷中知道了人的道路不由自己；人所定的深謀遠慮、以為周密的計劃，在一瞬間被打碎。我們都當把這話應用在自己身上，以信心與之調和——我們不在自己手中，而在神的引導之下；事情的結果往往被引導得與我們的意圖和期望完全相反。我們不是自己道路的主人，也不能以為凡事都必照我們的心意；因此我們必須把自己交託給神、順服祂的旨意。有人認為先知在此提及此事，是要作出一個安慰的應用：既然迦勒底軍隊的道路不在他們自己手中，他們就不能超過神所容許的去作；祂能為這些驕傲的波浪設立界限，說你只可到這裏，不可越過。而這確是一個令人平靜的考量——最可怕的仇敵對我們沒有權柄，除非是從上頭賜給他們的。
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祂求神使烈怒不致臨到神的以色列（Jer 10:24）。祂不是單為自己說話，而是代表祂的百姓：「耶和華啊，求你從寬懲治我」——即適度而有節制，滿有智慧，不多於趕出我們心中所存之愚昧所必需的——「不要在你的怒中」——無論管教多麼嚴厲，讓它出於你的愛，為我們的益處而設、使之為善——不要使我們歸於無有，而是使我們歸回你自己。不要照我們罪的應得，而要照你恩典的計劃。注意，（1.）當我們自覺需要管教且應得管教、又知道神所愛的祂必管教時，我們不能憑信心求永不受管教。（2.）我們在患難中最當懼怕的是神的烈怒。不要說：主啊，不要管教我；而要說：主啊，不要在你的怒中管教我；因為那必把苦膽和茵蔯注入患難之中，使之成為使我們歸於無有的災禍。我們能忍受祂杖的責打，卻不能忍受祂烈怒的重壓。
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祂咒詛神的烈怒臨到那些欺壓和逼迫以色列的人（Jer 10:25）：願你將憤怒傾倒在不認識你的列國。這個禱告不是出於惡意或報復的靈，也不是要指揮神當審判誰、以何次序；而是：（1.）向祂的公義 appeal。如同說：「主啊，我們是惹你發怒的百姓；但難道沒有別國更加如此嗎？難道只有我們受罰嗎？我們是你的兒女，可期望父親的管教；但他們是你的仇敵，我們有理由認為你的憤怒當針對他們，而不是針對我們。」這是神常用的方法。放在神百姓手中的杯是滿了調和之物的——憐憫的調和；但杯的渣滓是為地上的惡人保留的——讓他們喝盡（詩 75:8）。（2.）是神對教會和祂國度一切不悔改之仇敵的審判的預言。審判若從神的家起首，那不信從神福音的人將有何等的結局呢（彼前 4:17）？請看那些神憤怒要傾倒在其上的外邦人是如何描述的。[一.] 他們與神生疏，且甘於如此。他們不認識祂，也不渴慕認識祂。他們是那些活著不禱告、中間毫無宗教的家族；他們不求告祂的名。那些禁戒禱告的人證明他們不認識神；因為認識祂的人必尋求祂、懇求祂的恩惠。[二.] 他們是神百姓的逼迫者，且決意如此。他們吞吃了雅各——如同飢餓的人貪婪地吃必要的食物；不，更加如此——他們把他吞滅、滅盡，使他的住處荒涼——就是他所住之地，或神在他們中間的聖殿。注意，外邦人在他們的狂怒和惡意中對神百姓所作的，雖然神在其中使用他們作管教的工具，祂卻要為此使他們成為祂憤怒的對象。這個禱告取自詩 79:6,7。
英文原文
Lamentation of Judah; Sovereignty of Divine Providence; Prophetic Imprecations (606 BC)
¹⁷ Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
¹⁸ For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
¹⁹ Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
²⁰ My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
²¹ For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
²² Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
²³ O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
²⁴ O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
²⁵ Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
In these verses,
I. The prophet threatens, in God's name, the approaching ruin of Judah and Jerusalem, Jer 10:17,18. The Jews that continued in their own land, after some were carried into captivity, were very secure; they thought themselves inhabitants of a fortress; their country was their strong hold, and, in their own conceit, impregnable; but they are here told to think of leaving it: they must prepare to go after their brethren, and pack up their effects in expectation of it: "Gather up thy wares out of the land; contract your affairs, and bring them into as small a compass as you can. Arise, depart, this is not your rest," Mic 2:10. Let not what you have lie scattered, for the Chaldeans will be upon you again, to be the executioners of the sentence God has passed upon you (Jer 10:18): "Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once; they have hitherto dropped out, by a few at a time, but one captivity more shall make a thorough riddance, and they shall be slung out as a stone out of a sling, so easily, so thoroughly shall they be cast out; nothing of them shall remain. They shall be thrown out with violence, and driven to a place at a great distance off, in a little time." See this comparison used to signify an utter destruction, 1Sa 25:29. Yet once more God will shake their land, and shake the wicked out of it, Heb 12:26. He adds, And I will distress them, that they may find it so. He will not only throw them out hence (that he may do and yet they may be easy elsewhere); but, whithersoever they go, trouble shall follow them; they shall be continually perplexed and straitened, and at a loss within themselves: and who or what can make those easy whom God will distress, whom he will distress that they may find it so, that they may feel that which they would not believe? They were often told of the weight of God's wrath and their utter inability to make head against it, or bear up under it. They were told that their sin would be their ruin, and they would not regard nor credit what was told them; but now they shall find it so; and therefore God will pursue them with his judgments, that they may find it so, and be forced to acknowledge it. Note, sooner or later sinners will find it just as the word of God has represented things to them, and no better, and that the threatenings were not bugbears.
II. He brings in the people sadly lamenting their calamities (Jer 10:19): Woe is me for my hurt! Some make this the prophet's own lamentation, not for himself, but for the calamities and desolations of his country. He mourned for those that would not be persuaded to mourn for themselves; and, since there were none that had so much sense as to join with them, he weeps in secret, and cries out, Woe is me! In mournful times it becomes us to be of a mournful spirit. But it may be taken as the language of the people, considered as a body, and therefore speaking as a single person. The prophet puts into their mouths the words they should say; whether they would say them or no, they should have cause to say them. Some among them would thus bemoan themselves, and all of them, at last, would be forced to do it. 1. They lament that the affliction is very great, and it is very hard to them to bear it, the more hard because they had not been used to trouble and now did not expect it: "Woe is me for my hurt, not for what I fear, but for what I feel;" for they are not, as some are, worse frightened than hurt. Nor is it a slight hurt, but a wound, a wound that is grievous, very painful, and very threatening. 2. That there is no remedy but patience. They cannot help themselves, but must sit still, and abide it: But I said, when I was about to complain of my wound, To what purpose is it to complain? This is a grief, and I must bear it as well as I can. This is the language rather of a sullen than of a gracious submission, of a patience per force, not a patience by principle. When I am in affliction I should say, "This is an evil, and I will bear it, because it is the will of God that I should, because his wisdom has appointed this for me and his grace will make it work for good to me." This is receiving evil at the hand of God, Job 2:10. But to say, "This is an evil, and I must bear it, because I cannot help it," is but a brutal patience, and argues a want of those good thoughts of God which we should always have, even under our afflictions, saying, not only, God can and will do what he pleases, but, Let him do what he pleases. 3. That the country was quite ruined and wasted (Jer 10:20): My tabernacle is spoiled. Jerusalem, though a strong city, now proves as weak and moveable as a tabernacle or tent, when it is taken down, and all its cords, that should keep it together, are broken. Or by the tabernacle here may be meant the temple, the sanctuary, which at first was but a tabernacle, and is now called so, as then it was sometimes called a temple. Their church is ruined, and all the supports of it fail. It was a general destruction of church and state, city and country, and there were none to repair these desolations. "My children have gone forth of me; some have fled, others are slain, others carried into captivity, so that as to me, they are not; I am likely to be an outcast, and to perish for want of shelter; for there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, none of my children that used to do it for me, none to set up my curtains, none to do me any service." Jerusalem has none to guide her of all her sons, Isa 51:18. 4. That the rulers took no care, nor any proper measures, for the redress of their grievances and the re-establishing of heir ruined state (Jer 10:21): The pastors have become brutish. When the tents, the shepherds' tents, were spoiled (Jer 10:20), it concerned the shepherds to look after them; but they were foolish shepherds. Their kings and princes had no regard at all for the public welfare, seemed to have no sense of the desolations of the land, but were quite besotted and infatuated. The priests, the pastors of God's tabernacle, did a great deal towards the ruin of religion, but nothing towards the repair of it. They are brutish indeed, for they have not sought the Lord; they have neither made their peace with him nor their prayer to him; they had no eye to him and his providence, in their management of affairs; they neither acknowledged the judgment, nor expected the deliverance, to come from his hand. Note, Those are brutish people that do not seek the Lord, that live without prayer, and live without God in the world. Every man is either a saint or a brute. But it is sad indeed with a people when their pastors, that should feed them with knowledge and understanding, are themselves thus brutish. And what comes of it? Therefore they shall not prosper; none of their attempts for the public safety shall succeed. Note, Those cannot expect to prosper who do not by faith and prayer take God along with them in all their ways. And, when the pastors are brutish, what else can be expected but that all their flocks should be scattered? For, if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. The ruin of a people is often owing to the brutishness of their pastors. 5. That the report of the enemy's approach was very dreadful (Jer 10:22): The noise of the bruit has come, of the report which at first was but whispered and bruited abroad, as wanting confirmation. It now proves too true: A great commotion arises out of the north country, which threatens to make all the cities of Judah desolate and a den of dragons; for they must all expect to be sacrificed to the avarice and fury of the Chaldean army. And what else can that place expect but to be made a den of dragons which has by sin made itself a den of thieves?
III. He turns to God, and addresses himself to him, finding it to little purpose to speak to the people. It is some comfort to poor ministers that, if men will not hear them, God will; and to him they have liberty of access at all times. Let them close their preaching with prayer, as the prophet, and then they shall have no reason to say that they have laboured in vain.
1. The prophet here acknowledges the sovereignty and dominion of the divine Providence, that by it, and not by their own will and wisdom, the affairs both of nations and particular persons are directed and determined, Jer 10:23. This is an article of our faith which it is very proper for us to make confession of at the throne of grace when we are complaining of an affliction or suing for a mercy: "O Lord, I know, and believe, that the way of man is not in himself; Nebuchadnezzar did not come of himself against our land, but by the direction of a divine Providence." We cannot of ourselves do any thing for our own relief, unless God work with us and command deliverance for us; for it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps, though he seem in his walking to be perfectly at liberty and to choose his own way. Those that had promised themselves a long enjoyment of their estates and possessions were made to know, by sad experience, when they were thrown out by the Chaldeans, that the way of man is not in himself; he designs which men lay deep, and think well-formed, are dashed to pieces in a moment. We must all apply this to ourselves, and mix faith with it, that we are not at our own disposal, but under a divine direction; the event is often overruled so as to be quite contrary to our intention and expectation. We are not masters of our own way, nor can we think that every thing should be according to our mind; we must therefore refer ourselves to God and acquiesce in his will. Some think that the prophet here mentions this with a design to make this comfortable use of it, that, the way of the Chaldean army being not in themselves, they can do no more than God permits them; he can set bounds to these proud waves, and say, Hitherto they shall come, and no further. And a quieting consideration it is that the most formidable enemies have no power against us but what is given them from above.
2. He deprecates the divine wrath, that it might not fall upon God's Israel, Jer 10:24. He speaks not for himself only, but on the behalf of his people: O Lord, correct me, but with judgment (in measure and with moderation, and in wisdom, no more than is necessary for driving out of the foolishness that is bound up in our hearts), not in thy anger (how severe soever the correction be, let it come from thy love, and be designed for our good and made to work for good), not to bring us to nothing, but to bring us home to thyself. Let it not be according to the desert of our sins, but according to the design of thy grace. Note, (1.) We cannot pray in faith that we may never be corrected, while we are conscious to ourselves that we need correction and deserve it, and know that as many as God loves he chastens. (2.) The great thing we should dread in affliction is the wrath of God. Say not, Lord, do not correct me, but, Lord, do not correct me in anger; for that will infuse wormwood and gall into the affliction and misery that will bring us to nothing. We may bear the smart of his rod, but we cannot bear the weight of his wrath.
3. He imprecates the divine wrath against the oppressors and persecutors of Israel (Jer 10:25): Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not. This prayer does not come from a spirit of malice or revenge, nor is it intended to prescribe to God whom he should execute his judgments upon, or in what order; but, (1.) It is an appeal to his justice. As if he had said, "Lord, we are a provoking people; but are there not other nations that are more so? And shall we only be punished? We are thy children, and may expect a fatherly correction; but they are thy enemies, and against them we have reason to think thy indignation should be, not against us." This is God's usual method. The cup put into the hands of God's people is full of mixtures, mixtures of mercy; but the dregs of the cup are reserved for the wicked of the earth, let them wring them out, Ps 75:8. (2.) It is a prediction of God's judgments upon all the impenitent enemies of his church and kingdom. If judgment begin thus at the house of God, what shall be the end of those that obey not his gospel? 1Pe 4:17. See how the heathen are described, on whom God's fury shall be poured out. [1.] They are strangers to God, and are content to be so. They know him not, nor desire to know him. They are families that live without prayer, that have nothing of religion among them; they call not on God's name. Those that restrain prayer prove that they know not God; for those that know him will seek to him and entreat his favour. [2.] They are persecutors of the people of God and are resolved to be so. They have eaten up Jacob with as much greediness as those that are hungry eat their necessary food; nay, with more, they have devoured him, and consumed him, and made his habitation desolate, that is, the land in which he lives, or the temple of God, which is his habitation among them. Note, What the heathen, in their rage and malice, do against the people of God, though therein he makes use of them as the instruments of his correction, yet he will, for that, make them the objects of his indignation. This prayer is taken from Ps 79:6,7.
我們可以推測，本章的預言是在第一次被擄之後傳出的，即在約雅斤（耶哥尼雅）的年間，那時許多人已被擄到巴比倫；因為這段預言有雙重的指向：一、指向那些被擄到迦勒底之地的人——那地比別處更以拜偶像與迷信著稱；他們在此受警戒，要防備那地的風氣感染，不可效法外邦人的行徑（耶10:1,2），因為他們的星象之術與偶像崇拜同為愚妄之事（耶10:3-5），而拜偶像的人也如同畜類一般，耶10:8,9。到了追討之日，這一切都要顯明出來，耶10:14,15。他們同樣受勸勉要堅定倚靠以色列的神，因為無一能與他相比，耶10:6,7。他是真神，永遠活著，掌管全世界（耶10:10-13），他的百姓在他裏面也是有福的，耶10:16。二、指向那些仍留在本國的人。他們受警戒不可安逸懈怠，並被告知必將遭遇災禍（耶10:17,18），而且這災禍要藉著外邦的仇敵而來，這是神因他們的罪所要降下的，耶10:20-22。先知為這場災禍哀傷（耶10:19），並祈求減輕這苦難，耶10:23-25。