Jeremiah 6:16-17 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The old paths. I. CONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATION TO FOLLOW THE OLD PATHS . 1. The course of life should be determined after thoughtful deliberation . Jeremiah is to "stand in the ways and see." It is foolish to go with the multitude without individual convictions of what is right, or to follow our own private impulses blindly and aimlessly. 2. The choice should fall on a good way . Other ways may be smooth, pleasant, flowery at the starting, only to lose... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The old paths. Men are surrounded from their earliest years with various religious systems, the claims of which conflict. To a conscientious mind, intellectual disquietude is the first result of this; in those less in earnest it produces and justifies indifference. All religious tend, under these circumstances, to assume the aspect of speculative questions, and the moral life is increasingly detached from religious sanctions. Morality must thereby be impaired, if it do not ultimately... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The good old paths. It is noticeable in the order of nature how God has secured the true adjustment and hence the highest well-being of his universe by means of the action of contrasted and opposite forces . By means of that power which the mighty mass of the sun has to draw everything to itself—if this were left alone to operate, the whole of those innumerable orbs that now circle round the sun as their center would be drawn in upon it and perish. But this is prevented by the action... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

At the meeting of the ways. "Stand ye in the ways," etc. I. THIS IS WHERE VERY MANY ARE . The young especially. Paths stretch out on either hand, some of them inviting, some repelling. But for the young, and for many others beside who have not yet fully chosen their path, the present is a time when a decided choice must be made. If the matter were to be settled according to the inviting or other aspect of the beginning of the ways, the one we should choose would soon be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The good way. The prophet here employs the memory of the past as a motive to repentance. He would fain persuade the people to return to the better ways in which their fathers walked. The calamities that were falling so heavily upon them were the result of their having forsaken those good old ways. Let them consider how they have fallen, search out the real causes of the trouble and sorrow they endure, retrace their wandering steps, and the old prosperity shall come back to them again. Note... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The ancient paths to be sought and walked in. I. THE ADDRESS IS TO THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY WALKING IN A CERTAIN WAY . There is activity of the whole life, a conscious and chosen activity. We are sometimes spoken of as being asleep and needing to be awakened out of sleep, and even as being dead and needing to be renewed to life; but here there is rather an approach to the other extreme in the aspect of sinful man that is presented. One kind of movement in human life... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16-21

Without hearty repentance, there is no hope of escape. But hitherto Judah has rejected all admonitions. What availeth mere ceremonial punctuality? read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:17

Also I set ; rather, and I kept raising up (the frequentative perfect). Watchmen ; i . e . prophets ( Ezekiel 3:17 , and part of Isaiah 52:8 ; Isaiah 56:10 ). Hearken , etc. probably the words of Jehovah. Standing on their high watch-tower ( Habakkuk 2:1 ), the prophets scrutinize the horizon for the first appearance of danger, and give warning of it by (metaphorically) blowing a trumpet (so Amos 3:6 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:17

Watchmen. I. THE MISSION OF THE WATCHMEN . 1. They are appointed by God . God raises up prophets, preachers, teachers of righteousness. Unless they have a Divine call they are usurping a position to which they have no right ( Galatians 1:1 , Galatians 1:15 ). Hence see 2. They are to observe what goes on around them . The prophets are seers of spiritual truths, observers of events of history in the light of those truths, and thus, as watchmen, able to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 6:16

The sense is: God’s prophet has declared that a great national calamity is at hand. “Make inquiries; stand in the ways; ask the passers by. Your country was once prosperous and blessed. Try to learn what were the paths trodden in those days which led your ancestors to happiness. Choose them, and walk earnestly therein, and find thereby rest for your souls.” The Christian fathers often contrast Christ the one goodway with the old tracks, many in number and narrow to walk in, which are the Law... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:16-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 6:17

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 6:16

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