Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 33:9
And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor 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.
9. shall fear and tremble ] inferring that He who so honours those who seek Him will punish with equal emphasis those who disregard Him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
It – The city, Jerusalem.
They shall fear and tremble – With terror, because of the eternal opposition between right and wrong, truth and error. The nations of the earth as opposed to Israel represent the world as opposed to the Church.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 33:9
They shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
Chastened happiness
Our text suggests at the outset the remark that all the good things which make up prosperity are to be traced unto the Lord. These benefits are not from beneath, but from above; let them not be passed by in ungrateful silence, but let us send upward humble and warm acknowledgments. He who forgets mercy deserves that mercy should forget him. Remark next, that temporal mercies are always best when they come in their proper order. Blessed be God if He has given to us first the fruits of the sun of grace, and then the fruits put forth by the moon of providence. The main thing is to be able to sing, Bless the Lord, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, and after that it is most pleasant to add, Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things. What shall I say of the happiness of those persons who have spiritual and temporal blessings united, to whom God has given both the upper and the nether springs, so that they possess all things needful for this life in fair proportion, and then, far above all, enjoy the blessings of the life to come? Such are first blessed in their spirits and then blessed in their basket and in their store. In their case double favour calls for double praise, double service, double delight in God. And yet, and yet, and yet, if we are very happy to-day, and though that happiness be lawful and proper, because it arises both out of spiritual and temporal things in due order, yet in all human happiness there lurks a danger. There is a wealth which hath a sorrow necessarily connected with it, and I ween that even when God maketh rich and addeth no sorrow therewith, yet He makes provision against an ill which else would surely come. The text speaks of goodness and prosperity procured for us, and then tells us that all danger which might arise out of it is averted by a gracious work upon the heart. The Lord sends a chastened joy. They shall fear and tremble. I Let us think a little about the toning down of our great joys.
1. In the cup of salvation there are drops of bitterness, and so must it be, for unmixed delight in this world would be dangerous. When the sea is smooth the ship makes poor sailing. Men are bird-limed by their rest and ease, and have small care to fly heavenward. We are apt to lose our God among our goods, Is it not so? If the worlds roses had no thorns should we not think it paradise, and forego all desire for the gardens above?
2. Unmixed joy would be fallacious, because there is no such thing here below. If a man should become perfectly contented with the things of this world, it would be the result of a false view of things. This is an error against which we should pray; for this world cannot fill the soul, and if a man thinks he has filled his soul with it, he must be under a gross delusion. As to spiritual joy, I say that in no mans experience can it be long without admixture and yet be true. Never at any moment can a Christian be in such a position that he has not some cause either for dissatisfaction with himself, or fear of the tempter, or anxiety to he faithful in service.
3. Unmixed delight on earth would be unnatural. When the Dutch had the trade of the East in their hands they were accustomed to sell birds of paradise to the untravelled people of these realms. These specimen birds had no feet, for they had craftily removed them, and the merchants declared that the species lived on the wing and never alighted. There was so much of truth in the fable that had they been really and veritably birds of paradise they would not have found a place for their feet upon this globe. Truly, birds of paradise do come and go, and flit from heaven to earth, but we see them not, neither can we build tabernacles to detain them. While you are here expect reminders of the fact that this is not your rest.
II. The feelings by which this sobering effect is produced. They fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it. Why fear and tremble?
1. Is not this in part a holy awe of Gods presence? Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The argument for fear and trembling is the work of God in the soul. Because God is working m you there must be no trifling. If the eternal Deity deigns to make a workshop of my nature, I too must work, but it must be with fear and trembling.
2. But next to that there arises up in the mind of every favoured Christian a deep repentance for past sin. Have you not felt as if you could never open Four mouth any more because of all your unkindness to your heavenly Friend? Such penitent, reflections keep the Lords people right, by creating a fear and trembling m the presence of His overflowing goodness.
3. Has not your deepest sense of unworthiness come upon you when you have been conscious of superlative mercy? We tremble and are afraid, because of the unutterable grace which has met our utter unworthiness, and rivalled it, until grace has gotten unto itself the victory.
4. Have you never noticed how the Lord brings His people to their bearings, and keeps them steady, under a sense of great love, by suggesting to their hearts the question, How can I live as becometh one who has been favoured like this? Did you ever feel that the glory of the palace of love made you afraid to dwell in it?
5. And have you never felt a fear lest Gods goodness should be abused by you? He who has never questioned his own condition had better make an immediate inquiry. He who has never felt great searchings of heart needs to be searched with candles. No mans hell shall be more terrible than that of the self-confident one who made so sure of heaven that he would not take the ordinary precaution to ask whether his title-deeds were genuine or no.
6. One more thought may also occur to the most joyous believer. He will say, What if after rejoicing in all this blessedness I should lose it? What, cries one, do you not believe in the final perseverance of the saints? Assuredly I do, but are we saints! Theres the question. Moreover, many a believer who has not lost his soul has, nevertheless, lost his present joy and prosperity, and why may not we?
III. The measure in which you and I can enter into this experience. We have hundreds of us perceived the benefits of the dark lines and shadings of lifes picture, and we see how fit and proper it is that trembling should mingle with transport. As the fruit of experience I have learned to look for a hurricane soon after an unusually delightful calm. When the wind blows hard, and the tempest lowers, I hope that before long there will be s lull; but when the sea-birds sit on the wave, and the sail hangs idly, I wonder when a gale will come. To my mind there is no temptation so bad as not being tempted at all. The worst devil in the world is when you cannot see the devil at all, because the villain has hidden himself away within the heart, and is preparing to give you a fatal stab. Since there is an everlasting arm that never can he palsied, since there is a brow that knows no wrinkle, and a Divine mind that is never perplexed, we go forward in hope, and cast ourselves upon our eternal Helper once again. You have heard of the ancient giant Antaeus, who could not be overcome, because as often as Hercules threw him to the ground, he touched his mother earth, and rose renewed. Such be your lot and mine, often to be cast down, and as often to rise by that downcasting. When I am weak then am I strong. Let us glory in infirmity, because the power of Christ doth rest upon us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. They shall fear and tremble] The surrounding nations shall be persuaded that it is the hand of the Almighty that has wrought this change in your behalf; and shall fear to molest you, and tremble lest they should incur the displeasure of your God by doing you any kind of evil.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will do so well by this people, that other nations shall honour and praise me for my goodness to them; and not only so, but shall fear to engage against a nation so beloved and favoured by me, Exo 15:14,16; Others interpret it of a religious fear and trembling, to which Gods mercy to the Israelites should invite those people that should see and hear of it; but I think the former is the most probable sense of the prophet here.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. itthe city.
a name . . . a praise(Jer 13:11; Isa 62:7).
themthe inhabitants ofJerusalem.
they shall fear . . . for allthe goodness (Ps 130:4).The Gentiles shall be led to “fear” God by the proofs ofHis power displayed in behalf of the Jews; the ungodly among themshall “tremble” for fear of God’s judgments on them; thepenitent shall reverentially fear and be converted to Him (Psa 102:15;Isa 60:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise, and an honour,…. That is, the church and people of God, being redeemed and rebuilt by Christ, and being cleansed from their sins in his blood, and all their iniquities forgiven for his sake, would be a cause of joy to themselves and others, and bring joy, praise, and honour unto God: so the church, in the latter day, will be an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations, and a praise in the earth, Isa 60:15; and here they are said to be so,
before all the nations, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them; in redeeming them by the Messiah; calling them by his Spirit and grace; justifying them by the righteousness of Christ; pardoning their sins through his blood; making them meet for, and giving them a title to, eternal glory and happiness; all which would be made known, as it has been to the Gentiles, through the preaching of the Gospel; and which has occasioned joy and gladness among them, and praise and thanksgiving unto God, and which has redounded to his honour and glory:
and they shall fear and tremble, for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it; that is, they shall fear the Lord, and tremble at his word; not with a slavish, but filial fear, which is consistent with joy and gladness; and which fear will be influenced not by the terrors of the law, but by the goodness of God; being of the same nature with the fear of the converted Jews at the latter day, who will fear the Lord, and his goodness, Ho 3:5; so the Gentiles, seeing and hearing of the goodness of God bestowed upon the believing Jews, will be solicitous for the same, and be encouraged to seek after it; and finding it, shall be engaged to fear the Lord, and worship him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In consequence of the renovation of Israel externally and internally, Jerusalem will become to the Lord a name of delight, i.e., a name which affords joy, delight. here signifies, not fame, but a name. But the name, as always in Scripture, is the expression of the essential nature; the meaning therefore is, “she will develope into a city over which men will rejoice, whenever her name is mentioned.” On the following words, “for praise and for glory,” i.e., for a subject of praise, etc., cf. Jer 13:11. , “to all,” or “among all nations.” How far Jerusalem becomes such is shown by the succeeding clauses: “who shall hear…and tremble and quake because of the good,” i.e., not from fear “because they are seized with terror through these proofs of the wonderful power of God in contrast with the helplessness of their idols, and through the feeling of their miserable and destitute condition as contrasted with the happiness and prosperity of the people of Israel” (Graf). Against this usual view of the words, it has already been remarked in the Berleburger Bible, that it does not agree with what precedes, viz., with the statement that Jerusalem shall become a name of joy to all nations. Moreover, and , in the sense of fear and terror, are construed with or ; here, they signify to shake and tremble for joy, like in Isa 60:5, cf. Hos 3:5, i.e., as it is expressed in the Berleburger Bible, “not with a slavish fear, but with the filial fear of penitents, which will also draw and drive them to the reconciled God in Christ, with holy fear and trembling.” Calvin had previously recognised this Messianic idea, and fitly elucidated the words thus: haec duo inter se conjuncta, nempe pavor et tremor, qui nos humiliet coram Deo, et fiducia quae nos erigat, ut audeamus familiariter ad ipsum accedere . may be for , cf. Jer 1:16; but probably is construed with a double accusative, as in Isa 42:16.
The prosperity which the Lord designs to procure for His people, is, Jer 33:10-13, further described in two strophes (Jer 33:10-11 and Jer 33:12-13); in Jer 33:10, Jer 33:11, the joyous life of men. In the land now laid waste, gladness and joy shall once more prevail, and God will be praised for this. The description, “it is desolate,” etc., does not imply the burning of Jerusalem, Jer 52:12., but only the desolation which began about the end of the siege. “In this place” means “in this land;” this is apparent from the more detailed statement, “in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.” “The voice of gladness,” etc., forms the subject of the verb . On the expression see Jer 7:34; Jer 16:9; Jer 25:10. There is here added: “the voice of those who say, ‘Praise the Lord,’ ” etc. – the usual liturgic formula in thanksgiving to God; cf. 2Ch 5:13; 2Ch 7:3; Ezr 3:11; Psa 106:1. , praise and thanks in word and deed; see Jer 17:26. On see Jer 32:44. The rendering, “I shall bring back the captives of the land” (here as in Jer 33:7), is both grammatically indefensible, and further, unsuitable: ( a) inappropriate, on account of , for no previous restoration of captives had taken place; the leading of the people out of Egypt is never represented as a bringing back from captivity. And ( b) it is grammatically untenable, because restoration to Canaan is expressed either by , after Deu 30:5; or by , with the mention of the place (); cf. Jer 16:15; Jer 24:6; Jer 32:37, etc.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here God testifies that his favor would be such as to deserve praise in all the world, or, which is the same thing, that his bounty would be worthy of being remembered. Hence he says, that it would be to him for a name among all nations; but as he designed to extol the greatness of his glory, he adds, a praise and an honor, or a glory; and it is emphatically added, among all nations And this passage shews to us that the Prophet did not speak only of the people’s return, and that this prophecy ought not to be confined to the state of the city, such as it was before the coming of Christ; for though the favor of God was known among the Chaldeans and some other nations, it was not yet known through the whole world, for he says, among all the nations of the earth; and God no doubt included all parts of the world. We hence then conclude that the favor of which the Prophet speaks refers to the kingdom of Christ, for God did not then attain a name to himself among all nations, but, as it is well known, only in some portions of the east. When, therefore, he says that the favor he would shew to his people, would be to him a name, he promises no doubt that deliverance which was at length brought by Christ.
And in the same sense must be taken what follows, Because they shall hear, etc.; for the relative אשר asher, is here a causative, as the Prophet expresses here the way and manner in which glory and honor would come to God on account of the deliverance of his people, even because the nations would hear of this; and this has been done by the preaching of the Gospel, because then only was God’s goodness towards the Jews everywhere made known, when the knowledge of the Law and of prophetic truth came to aliens who had previously heard nothing of the true doctrine of religion. We now then understand the design of the holy Spirit.
Further, by these words God exhorts all to gratitude; for whenever the fountain of God’s blessings is pointed out to us, we ought not to be indifferent, but to be stimulated to give thanks to him. When therefore God declares that the redemption of his people would be a name to him among all nations, he thus shews to the godly that they ought not to be torpid, but to proclaim his goodness. And at the same time it serves for a confirmation, when God intimates that he would be the Redeemer of his people, in order that he might acquire to himself a name, for there is to be understood a contrast, that in this kindness, he would not regard what the Jews deserved, but would seek for a cause in himself, as it is expressed more fully elsewhere,
“
Not on your account will I do this, O house of Israel,” (Eze 36:22)
and the faithful sing in their turn,
“
Not on our account, O Lord, but on account of thy name.” (Psa 79:9; Psa 115:1)
We then see that God brings forward his own name, that the Jews might continue to entertain hope, however guilty they may have been, and own themselves worthy of eternal destruction.
If we read, “It shall be to me for a name of joy,” the sense would be, “for a name in which I delight.” If we read the words apart, “For a name and joy,” the sense would be still the same; nor ought it to be deemed unreasonable that God testifies that it would be to him for joy. For though he is not moved and influenced as we are, yet this mode of speaking is elsewhere adopted, as in Psa 104:31,
“
The Lord shall rejoice in his works.”
God then is said to take delight in doing good, because he is in his nature inclined to goodness and mercy.
He afterwards adds, they, shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, etc. The word כל cal, “all,” denotes greatness, and is to be taken emphatically. The words, however, may at first sight appear singular, “they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness,” etc.; for it seems not reasonable that men should fear, when they acknowledge God’s goodness, for this, on the contrary, is a reason for joy and confidence. This clause is sometimes applied to the ungodly, for they have no taste for God’s favor so as to be cheered by it, but on the contrary they fret and gnash their teeth when God appears kind to his people; for they are vexed, when they see that they are excluded from the enjoyment of those blessings, which are laid up, as it is said elsewhere, for them who fear God. But I have not the least doubt but the Prophet means the conversion of the Gentiles when he says, they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, etc.; as though he had said, that not only the name of God would be known among the nations, so that they would proclaim that he had been merciful to his people, but that it would at the same time be the effect and influence of his grace, that the nations would become obedient to God. Moreover, it is a usual thing to designate the worship and fear of God by the words fear, dread, and trembling. For though the faithful do not dread the presence of God, but cheerfully present themselves to him whenever he invites them, and in full confidence call on him, there is yet no reason why they should not tremble when they think of his majesty. For these two things are connected together, even the fear and trembling which humble us before God, and the confidence which raises us up so as to dare familiarly to approach him. Here then is pointed out the conversion of the Gentiles; as though the Prophet had said, that the favor of deliverance to the Church would not only avail for this end, to make the Gentiles to proclaim God’s goodness, but would also have the effect of bringing them under his authority, that they might reverence and fear him as the only true God. He again adds the word peace, but in the same sense as before: he mentions goodness, the cause of prosperity, and then he adds peace or prosperity as its effect. It afterwards follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) It shall be to me a name of joy . . .The thought presents two aspects in its bearing on the outlying nations. On the one hand, they shall sing the praises of the restored city; on the other, they shall fear and tremble before its greatness, as showing that it was under the protection of the Lord of Israel. The word for fear is used in Isa. 60:5; Hos. 3:5, for the quivering, trembling emotion that accompanies great joy, and is, perhaps, used here to convey the thought that the fear would not be a mere slavish terror.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. It The city.
Shall fear and tremble Because of the overwhelming revelation of that God “who doeth his pleasure in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joy After Desolation
Jer 33:9-13
We are called upon to realise the fullest meaning of desolation “desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast.” We must realise the circumstances before we approach the miracle. We lose much by slipping over whole spaces of history, without attending to the pregnant and instructive detail. Think of a forsaken city, think of being afraid of the sound of your own footfall! Even in that desolation there comes an overpowering sense of society, as if the air were full of sprites, spectres, ghostly presences. What a singular sense there is too of trespass, encroachment, of being where you have no right to be as if you were intruding upon the sanctuary of the dead as if you were cutting to the life some spiritual ministry, conducting itself mysteriously but not without some beneficent purpose. You have broken in upon those invisible ones who are watching their dead; you want to escape from the solitude in one sense it is too sacred for you, wholly too solemn; you would seek the society of your kind, for other society is uncongenial, unknown, and is felt to be a criticism intolerable, a judgment overwhelming. Yet if you do not fasten your attention upon the possibilities of desolation, darkness, forsakenness, loneliness, how can you appreciate what is to follow? May we not then hasten to inquire what is to follow? Is there not a voice which first says, What can follow? Can any mystery of love be wrought upon a field so lost, so desolate a field that is but a gigantic sepulchre? Can God work miracles here? It is just here that he works his grandest miracles; it is when all light dies out that he comes forth in his glory; it is when we say, There is no more road, the rock shuts us out, our progress is stayed, it is then that a path suddenly opens in rocky places, and footprints disclose themselves for the comfort and inspiration of the lone traveller.
Notice how exactly God’s miracles fit human circumstances. They overflow them, but they first fill all their cavities and all the opportunities which they create and present. What is it then that is to follow upon this blackness, desolation, and oppressive silence? If a poet has made the promise, he has made it well; the words fit the necessity. See if this be not so. The picture of desolation having been painted, and the reader having been made to feel the terribleness and coldness of that desolation, he is told that there in that place shall be heard
“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” ( Jer 33:11 ).
Thus God displaces darkness by light; thus God does not drive away the silence with noise but with music: it is no battering of rude violence that brings back human intercourse into plains that have been swept with human desolation; it is a festival, a banquet, a wedding scene, and already the forsaken valley vibrates as if under the clash of wedding bells. It is thus that God works. The miracle is not something alongside the necessity; it is something clearly within it, filling it, overflowing it, and causing it to be lost in a redundance of power and grace. When the multitude was an hungred, Christ gave them bread: thus the miracle and the necessity were one; the bread matched the occasion, was the only thing that could be equal to the necessity of the case. So every miracle vindicates itself, not by something metaphysical, highly argumentative, and only to be comprehended by subtle or virile intellects; but the miracle condescends to experience, to common observation, so that it is not an intrusion upon society, but a natural revelation of God’s presence and care. The healed men had no need that the miracle should be explained to them, for they themselves embodied the miracle; the rejoicing mother who received her son back again needed not to ask metaphysical questions about the action of law, and the suspension of continuity, and the upbreaking of regularity: there was the living, glowing, rejoicing son of her womb; let her be glad with the result of the miracle, and not vex herself by cross-examination of the incomprehensible details. When you want to understand a miracle, understand the circumstances under which it was wrought, and the circumstances will be the best exposition.
What was the quality of the joy that was wrought? It was profoundly religious. The voices that were uplifted were to say, “Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” That was the joy: it was religious, not sensuous; it was experimental, not speculative; it was the testimony of men who had handled the word of life, who had received release from captivity, and who had seen the city streets lost and desolate revived, refilled; and under the pressure gracious and loving of that revelation of divine power there were exercises profoundly religious. There are times when men must praise the Lord. Sometimes the atheist has been at the very door of the sanctuary, and if some friendly hand had thrown it open the atheist might have gone in and left his atheism outside. There are times when men only need a word of encouragement, a gentle hint, and all the dark past will go away, and in its place will be found festival, sanctuary, altar, and long, sweet song. The heart settles many difficulties. The heart leads the judgment; the uppermost feeling, elevated and sanctified, tells the whole man what to do, uses the understanding as one might use some inferior creature to help him in carrying out the purposes of life. What is this highest faculty, what is this mysterious power, that takes to itself understanding, imagination, conscience, will, and all elements of energy? It is religious emotion; not sentimentalised and frittered away into mere vapour, but high, intelligent, noble feeling, glowing, passionate enthusiasm, a consecration without break or flaw or self-questioning, a wholeness of consent and devotion to the supreme purpose of life. We cannot understand God’s providence when we are cold-hearted. We can only see some distances by rising to great heights; then the mountains become stairways up which we travel, and when we reach the top we see the land beyond, and rejoice in the illuminated and glorious landscape. So it is religiously: we see nothing from the little hillock of criticism; we cannot feel much whilst we are merely analysing words and sentences: all this may be needful, it may be part of a process, but not until we have climbed the Nebo of real feeling, highest sentiment, divinest, tenderest emotion, can we see what lies beyond, of hill and dale, and shaggy forest, and blooming garden, and pouring, fluent, redundant river. Never consult a cold-hearted man about anything, especially about anything that is religious. We cannot work without fire. God himself, be it reverently spoken, finds it necessary to work through the medium of fire. They who have various ways of tracing the genesis of the universe have never omitted the element of fire. At the first it was a fire-cloud, a tuft of fire-mist; there was, however, fire, and without that we can make no progress in the understanding of profoundest truths and divinest mysteries.
When this desolation is banished, when this wedding feast is held, by what picture is the safety of the people represented? By a very tender one:
“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” ( Jer 33:13 ).
Sometimes this passage has been mistakenly interpreted as pointing to discipline and punishment: shall pass under the hands of him that telleth them: shall be chastised, or rebuked, or chastened, or punished, or otherwise attended to with a view to ultimate perfectness. That is not the meaning of the passage. We had in England shepherds who long ago spoke of taking care of their flocks under the idiom of “telling their tale” counting the flock one by one. There shall be no hurrying, crowding into the fold, but one shall follow another, and each shall be looked at in its singularity; there shall be nothing tumultuous, indiscriminate, promiscuous; every process of providence is conducted critically, individually, minutely: so there is no hope for a man getting into the fold without the Shepherd seeing him; every sheep of the flock has to pass under the hand of him that telleth his tale. We spend our days as a tale that is told, not as a story, an anecdote, a narrative, but as a number that is counted; the tale is counted one by one, and so the days are ticked off and off, until the last day falls, and all eternity begins. Let no man imagine that God conducts his processes promiscuously, under some general policy that allows a margin to indifference and criminality. Strive to enter in at the strait gate; strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life everlasting; we go in one by one. It is thus the world dies; it is thus the world lives; in units, in singular acts, in special personal dispensations. Until we realise the personality of the divine supervision we shall flounder in darkness and our prayers will be mere evaporations, bringing back no answer, no blessing, no pledge from Heaven. This is the picture presented by the prophet. Not one tittle of this providential order has been changed; the whole mystery of human life is to be found within its few lines.
Consider what desolation good men have been called upon to realise. Never let us shut our eyes to the suffering aspect of human life. On the contrary, let us dwell upon it with attentive solicitude, that we may wonder, and learn to pray and trust. It is the mystery of the ages that good men should not always be strong, successful, triumphant. This mystery has bewildered the saints of all time. They have seen what they did not expect to behold, the wicked prospering on every hand, and they have said, Surely the Lord hath forgotten his own, and the saints are no longer of any account with Heaven, for they have no bread, they are in great darkness and stress and fear; whilst evil men are opening the door and entering in, the poor abandoned saints are but appealing for admission, and no voice from within answers their lost appeal. There are good men in the sick-chamber who will never leave it until they go to heaven; there are saintly men who have lost every possession they had in the world, and have sat down, as it were, in ashes, being themselves clothed in sackcloth. Looking at them narrowly and exclusively, who could believe that “Our Father which art in heaven” is not a mocking prayer, a lie which men tell to themselves, when they are in deepest sorrow? There are good men and women who have lost their last child, and who listen for voices they will never, never hear again on all the earth. Yet they are good men, men of prayer, spirits that trust the Cross, and say they have no other plea than the blood that was shed for the remission of sins. Realise this, and when the infidel mocks you with it acknowledge it; within given limits it is so; do not attempt to apologise for it or explain it away; accept the stern history, the naked, chilling, desperate fact. But in the darkness grope for the temple. God’s church is open at night as well as at day. Say nought to the mocker, for he is not worth heeding, but say to the poor suffering heart itself, Wait: joy cometh in the morning: it is very sore now; the wind is very high, the darkness is very dense; our best plan, poor heart! is to sit down and simply wait for God: he will come we cannot tell when, in the early part of the night, or not until the crowing of the cock, but come he will; it hath pleased him to keep the times and seasons wholly to himself, without revelation to narrow human intellects; let us then wait, and there is a way of waiting that amounts to prayer: poor heart! we have no words, we could not pray in terms, because we should be mocked by the echo of our own voice, but there is a way of sitting still that by its heroic patience wins the battle.
Consider what changes have been wrought in human experience. You thought you could never sing again when that last tremendous blow was dealt upon your life, yet you are singing more cheerfully now than you ever sung in any day of your history; you thought when you lost commercial position that you never really could look up again, for your heart was overpowered, and behold, whilst you were talking such folly, a light struck upon your path, and a voice called you to still more strenuous endeavour, and today you who saw nothing before you but the asylum of poverty are adding field to field and house to house. Job cursed the day of his birth: we must not close the Book of Job after reading the chapter of malediction; we must read on, for at the end of the book there is wedding and birth and feast, and a song of those who gather harvests with both hands, the shouting of triumph, the music of victory. Hold on; be steadfast; hope constantly unto the end; what time you are afraid, pray more; what time the enemy mocks you and says, Where is now thy God? answer him without defiance, with the calmness which is better than violence. If then you can say “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” you may win more by your patience than ever you could win by your excitement; you can do more by suffering well borne than ever was done by speech well spoken. You have been raised again from the very dead, you have forgotten your desolation, and you are now sitting like guests invited by heaven’s own King at heaven’s great banqueting table. Hold on; the end will judge all things. Yet be patient and tender-hearted to men who are but men, who are where you once were. It is not a sign of strength to mock a man who is down,
What is the joy that is depicted in this text? It is religious joy. The joy created by religion is intelligent. It is not a bubble on the stream, it has reason behind it; it is strengthened and uplifted, supported and dignified, by logic, fact, reality. Religious joy is healthy. It is not spurious gladness, it is the natural expression of the highest emotions. Religious joy is permanent. It does not come for a moment, and vanish away as if it were afraid of life and afraid of living in this cold earth-clime; it abides with men. It does not always assume forms such as commend themselves to the vulgar and the uncritical: there is a silence that is ecstatic, there is an appearance of gloom upon the face that but veils the wedding feast that is proceeding in the soul. The vulgar would have us in one continual grin, in one never-broken smile of folly; they know not what it is to keep house in the heart, to have banqueting within; they cannot tell what it is to see at once the mystery of sorrow which shrouds the face, and the mystery of joy which gladdens the heart. We must not take our judgment from them. We consult them on nothing else it would be superlative madness to consult them regarding religious education and progress.
Let us know by way of application that there is only one real deliverance from desolateness. That is a divine deliverance. We cannot release ourselves from captivity; we are inside the prison-door, and the key is outside. It is in vain to patter against God’s granite; we do but hurt our poor fingers in trying to break down God’s masonry. There is no deliverance to the soul of man but by processes known only to him who made that soul the mystery that it is. Let us flee then to the living God; lot us be forced to prayer. God has to take in men under every variety of condition and feeling; some reluctantly go, but if they go they are received; they have not gone along the line of argument, but they have been driven along the valleys of desolation. Some men would never have prayed if they had had banquets at home; they learned to pray by the altar of their own empty table. Some would never have gone to Christ if they could have kept a fire in their own grate at home, but when the cold struck them, chilled them, when the cold lay upon them like a burden of ice, then they began to wonder if there was no way upward, if surely there was none on the right hand or on the left. Remember that there is only one fountain of real joy. The fool can have no gladness; his life is an empty attempt to make himself glad. There is nothing in folly that can satisfy the soul, and the soul can never really eat and drink to its own nutrition and satisfaction except at the table of the Lord. We have taken our pitcher to many wells, and we have drawn from their depths nothing but crystal poison. We have accepted many an invitation to the feast spread by reason and by natural hospitality and by cunning invention, and the more we have eaten the less satisfied we have become.
It is in vain to seek joy except in one direction. There is a fool’s laugh that can be had cheaply enough, there are jests that will writhe the faces of ignorance into smiles that have in them no gladness; but if you would be really restored, if you would really be delivered from desolation and sadness, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Once this was a speech eloquent, pointed, but only a speech: now it is a fact; men millions strong crowd around the witness to testify that they themselves have seen God’s Son and are satisfied with an ineffable contentment. Not to have seen Christ is to have seen only darkness.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Jer 33:9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an 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.
Ver. 9. And it shall be to me a name a of joy,] i.e., An honour, that I shall take singular delight in.
And they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness.
a In nomen laetum, i.e., laeificum.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
them. The Severus Codex (App-34) reads “it”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a name: Jer 13:11, Jer 31:4, Psa 126:2, Psa 126:3, Isa 62:2, Isa 62:3, Isa 62:7, Isa 62:12, Zep 3:17-20, Zec 8:20-23
before: Jer 26:6, Jer 29:1, Jer 44:8
fear: Exo 15:14-16, 2Ch 20:29, Neh 6:16, Est 8:17, Psa 40:3, Isa 60:5, Hos 3:5, Mic 7:16, Mic 7:17, Zec 12:2
Reciprocal: Exo 18:1 – heard Deu 2:25 – General Deu 26:19 – high above Deu 28:10 – and they shall Deu 30:9 – rejoice over thee Job 37:24 – fear Psa 130:4 – that thou mayest Isa 40:2 – that her iniquity Isa 46:13 – Israel Isa 55:13 – for a Isa 64:2 – that the nations Jer 30:19 – I will Jer 31:12 – Therefore Jer 31:14 – my people Jer 49:25 – General Eze 36:35 – they shall Eze 39:13 – a renown Hos 11:10 – shall tremble Zep 3:19 – and I will Mal 3:12 – all Luk 5:26 – and were Luk 7:16 – a fear Joh 15:11 – my Act 2:43 – fear Act 3:26 – in Rom 4:7 – General Eph 1:6 – praise Eph 5:27 – glorious 2Th 1:10 – to be glorified Rev 7:12 – thanksgiving Rev 11:11 – great
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 33:9. The restoration of Israel to national greatness made an impression on the other nations, This can be seen by a careful reading of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Fear and tremble means the nations will have respect for the Jewish nation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 33:9. And it shall be to me a praise and an honour Jerusalem thus rebuilt, and Judah thus re-established, shall be to my glory before all the nations. In other words, it is foretold here that Gods especial providence over the Jews, in restoring their city and temple, and re-establishing them in their own land, should be taken notice of by the heathen world, and should cause them to give glory to that God whom the Jews worshipped: see Ezr 1:2; Ezr 6:12. Or, as the words may imply, This renewed nation shall be as much a reputation to religion as formerly they were a reproach to it. This promise, however, has been much more signally fulfilled in the Christian Church, to which the heathen resorted, as to the seat and temple of truth, than it has yet been in the Jewish. And they shall fear and tremble for the goodness that I do unto it These surprising effects of my goodness shall produce an astonishment like that which arises from fear. Or, the meaning is, They shall fear to engage against a nation so beloved and favoured by me, Exo 15:14-16.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
33:9 And it shall be to me a name of {h} joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure to it.
(h) By which he shows that the Church in which is remission of sins, is God’s honour and glory, so that whoever is enemy to it, labours to dishonour God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jerusalem would become a city associated with joy, praise, and glory in the thinking of all the world when people heard of all the good things that Yahweh had done for her. The nations would fear and tremble because of all the good and the peace that He would make for her.