Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Not in the days of Jehoiakim, but in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, Jeremiah 1:2 . The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read, "unto him". read more
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee ,.... Not merely by his omniscience, so he knows all men before their conception and birth; but with such a knowledge as had special love and affection joined with it; in which sense the Lord knows them that are his, as he does not others, and predestinates them unto eternal life; and which is not only before their formation in the womb, but before the foundation of the world, even from all eternity. The forming of the human foetus is God's act,... read more
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! .... The word אהה , "Ah", or "Ahah", is used in distress and grief, as Kimchi observes; and is expressive of mourning and complaint, as Jarchi notes; and shows that the prophet was troubled and uneasy at his call, and would gladly have been excused on the following account: behold, I cannot speak ; or, "I know not how to speak" F18 לא ידעתי דבר "uescio loqui", V. L. Munster, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius; "non novi loqui", Pagninus, Montanus. ... read more
But the Lord said unto me, say not, I am a child ,.... This excuse will not be admitted: for thou shall go to all that I shall send thee ; either to "every place", as the Targum paraphrases; or "to all persons to whom" he should be sent, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render the words; or "to all things for which" he should send him, as the Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions. The sense is, that he should go everywhere, and to every person, and on every errand and message he should... read more
Be not afraid of their faces ,.... Their stern looks, their frowning brows, and angry countenances, which would threaten him with destruction and death: for I am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord ; out of their hands, when in the most imminent danger. The Targum paraphrases the words thus, "my Word shall be thine help to deliver thee:' which is true of Christ, the essential Word of God. read more
Then the Lord put forth his hand ,.... Who, according to Kimchi, was the Angel that appeared to the prophet, and spoke in the name of the Lord to him, and is called by his name; but rather it was the Son of God, the true Jehovah, who appeared in a human form he assumed for the present, and put forth his hand: and touched my mouth ; just as one of the seraphim touched the mouth and lips of the Prophet Isaiah with a live coal from the altar, Isaiah 6:6 , by this symbol the prophet was... read more
The word of the Lord came unto me - Then I first felt the inspiring influence of the Divine Spirit, not only revealing to me the subjects which he would have me to declare to the people, but also the words which I should use in these declarations. read more
Before I formed thee - I had destined thee to the prophetic office before thou wert born: I had formed my plan, and appointed thee to be my envoy to his people. St. Paul speaks of his own call to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles in similar terms, Galatians 1:15 , Galatians 1:16 . read more
I cannot speak - Being very young, and wholly inexperienced, I am utterly incapable of conceiving aright, or of clothing these Divine subjects in suitable language. Those who are really called of God to the sacred ministry are such as have been brought to a deep acquaintance with themselves, feel their own ignorance, and know their own weakness. They know also the awful responsibility that attaches to the work; and nothing but the authority of God can induce such to undertake it. They whom... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 1:4-10
Here is, I. Jeremiah's early designation to the work and office of a prophet, which God gives him notice of as a reason for his early application to that business (Jer. 1:4, 5): The word of the Lord came to him, with a satisfying assurance to himself that it was the word of the Lord and not a delusion; and God told him, 1. That he had ordained him a prophet to the nations, or against the nations, the nation of the Jews in the first place, who are now reckoned among the nations because they had... read more