with thy hands upon thy head, betokening the deepest shame and disappointment. See 2 Sam. 13: 19, where Tamar, in the depth of her grief, puts ashes on her head, rends her beautiful garments, and "lays her hand on her head and goes on crying." The Lord had spurned all the vain confidences of Judah in these foreign nations, and would not let any of them avail for her relief.

CHAPTER III.

In this chapter, vs. 1-5 are connected with chap. 2-with its last two verses very closely, and in general with the strain of the chapter. At v. 6 commences another message, definitely dated in the reign of Josiah. This is supposed by many critics to continue to the end of chap. 6. Perhaps the utmost that can be said is that we find no distinct intimation of a new date or of the commencement of another message, till we reach the seventh chapter. But it is possible to rely too much on expressed dates and formal beginnings and endings, as data for determining the length of each separate message. Why should not some regard be had to the known state of the nation, and the adaptation of the things said to this known state?The arrangement of the matter composing this entire book of Jeremiah corresponds well with the circumstances of its original production and compilation, especially with these points, viz., that at first the messages were oral only, and not committed to writing; that in process of time (chap. 36: 1, 2) the Lord directed him to write them out, which, with the aid of Baruch, he did; that this first copy, so far as then written, was burned by King Jehoiakim (chap. 36: 21-23); and that then the prophet wrote the substance of it over again, "adding, besides, unto them many like words" (36: 32). Now, in this ultimate copy, the same, we must suppose, which we now have, he would naturally aim to group together the leading points of his various messages, without much careful regard to dates. The date became relatively less important with the lapse of time after the events. The mind rested more on the ideas as of chief consequence. Hence I incline strongly to the view that these early chapters were written out the second time, with the leading purpose of grouping together the important truths and points embraced in the original writing, the prophet not deeming it important so long after their first announcement to give the dates precisely, or to indicate the commencement and close of each original message. We shall see reason to conclude that this entire portion, beginning chap. 3: 6, and closing at the end of chap. 6, can not belong entire to the reign of Josiah. Yet the critics who are governed exclusively by the dates, and by other notices of the beginning and closing of a particular message, do and must adopt that conclusion.- -The passage, vs. 6-18, puts the sins of Israel and of Judah in antithesis

with each other; promises good to Israel in future days, apparently for the sake of pressing the people of Judah to repent, and thus secure the same blessings. Vs. 19-25 follow in the strain of rebuke, expostulation, and exhortation to repentance.

1. They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

The first word is literally rendered, as in our margin, "saying," and is connected closely with the last verses of the previous chapter, thus: "The Lord rejects thy confidences, saying, If a man put away his wife by divorce, and she become the wife of another man, shall he return to her as his wife again? Would not the land be greatly polluted," i. e., by such things? See the law here referred to, Deut. 24: 1-4, "Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord; and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."- -But, wonderfully, God's mercy toward his treacherous, ungrateful bride is so great that he still invites her to return, even though she has gone away and played the harlot with many lovers. The reference to the Hebrew law and the current sentiments of men, is designed to set forth, in a more striking light, the greatness of God's forgiving love toward his apostate people.

2. Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms, and with thy wickedness.

This verse is in the same strain as the passage 2: 23-25, comparing Judah, in the heat of her passion for idol-worship, to the wild animals of the Arabian desert, of whom neither modesty or self-control is expected.

3. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

It was among the conditions of God's covenant with his people, that if they apostatized into idolatry and broke their covenant in this extreme and outrageous form, he would withhold rain from their land. Thus, Lev. 26: 19: "I will make your heaven [sky] as iron, and your earth as brass." And Deut. 28: 23, 24:."And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth

that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust." Also in this prophet, 9: 12-14, and 14: 1-12, 22. The usual effect of lewdness appears in Judah, the loss of all modesty and sense of shame. What can be more horrible than this moral obduracy, which has seared the conscience and paralyzed the moral sense, so that the most flagrant sin awakens no compunctions of guilt, and the most tender. entreaties touch no answering sensibility?

4. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

5. Will he reserve his anger forever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

The word rendered "guide" means a very dear friend-in this case a husband to the young bride, the special protector of her youth. (See Mic. 7: 5.)- -Our translators took this verse to be an earnest exhortation to the people to return to God as the husband of their youth. But the Hebrew tenses, in both vs. 4 and 5, seem to forbid that construction. Guided by the tenses and the entire course of thought, I render thus: "Didst thou not just now cry unto me, My father, thou art the husband of my youth?" Also, "Will he (God) retain his anger forever? Will he keep it (burning) to the end? Behold, so thou didst say, and then thou didst do the same wicked things, and didst them with thy might."

-This would seem to refer to the professions of repentance made by the people in the great reform under Josiah's labors, and to the speedy relapse of the people into the same and even worse sins immediately after his death. -The two questions respecting God's keeping anger forever, probably assume that God is so merciful that he may be expected to forgive, and not keep his anger forever against themselves, now that they are professing repentance. The object in this passage is to rebuke the people for relapsing so soon and so utterly after such fair professions of repentance, made withal in words so just and suitable.- -Hengstenberg renders the passage: "Hast thou not but lately called me, Friend of my youth art thou? Will he reserve his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end? Behold, so spakest thou, and soon thou didst evil; thou didst accomplish it."- -The tenses throughout are those of past time, "thou didst call," "thou didst speak" (so), "and thou didst do the evil things," etc.

6. The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

7. And I said, after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

The passage, v. 6-11, brings the case of Israel, the ten tribes, to the notice of Judah, that the latter may observe the sins of her sister and her consequent punishment, and learn hence her own greater sin and sorer doom. It should be observed that, throughout, Israel is said to be "backsliding," while Judah is called "treacherous." The great sin of Israel had been a relapse-a falling away from the God of their fathers-yet under a less amount of light; and hence with less guilt and less of real treason against God than existed in the case of Judah. For in Judah God had made himself far more fully known. Repeatedly had pious kings and faithful prophets called the people back to God, and repeatedly had they professed repentance and solemnly renewed their covenant with the Lord. But as often they had turned back again to their loved idols, worse than ever, so that treachery had signally marked their national character. This was their damning sin. They would not keep faith with their God. It is for the sake of making this strong feature of their guilt specially prominent, that this comparative view of the two nations is taken here.Israel had played the harlot in the sense of idolatry. The Lord had warned her to repent and return to herself: she had not done it. There is no record of any general reformation or public renewal of their covenant with God throughout the entire period between the revolt under Jeroboam and the final ruin of the kingdom; i. e., from B. C. 975 to B. C. 722.

8. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a pill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

9. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

10. And yet for all this, her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

The meaning of these verses might be given thus: "I saw that although I had divorced backsliding Israel solely for her adultery (idolatry), yet her treacherous sister did not fear for herself, but went and played the harlot also; and though Israel, by her well-known whoredom, had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and wood, yet her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to me with her whole heart, but only with a lie-falsely, treacherouslysaith the Lord."- -In v. 9, "through the lightness of her whoredom" (idolatry) is not through the trivial nature of it, but through its inconsiderate recklessness-the noun coming from a verb which means to make of no account; to make light of.

11. And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

In the comparison between the two, Israel was the less guilty. She justified herself rather than Judah-came nearer to being just and acceptable before God. (Compare Ezek. 16: 51, 52.) This can by no means imply that she was absolutely just before God, but only that she was relatively more so than Judah.-The case shows forcibly that God estimates guilt in view of the light sinned against, and that he is most deeply grieved and offended by those who, ofttimes reclaimed and as oft relapsing again, exhaust his patience and seem proof against all his efforts to hold them to his love and service. His judgments upon such sinners will be ter

rible.

12. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger forever.

13. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

"Toward the north" means toward the northern kingdom-that of the ten tribes. But this is essentially ideal, by supposition only, for that kingdom had long since been broken up and the people taken away into captivity to Assyria. Or perhaps we may suppose some reference to the then existing remnant of the ten tribes in their remote dispersions, as if the Lord would say, The sins of the ten tribes were so very much less than the sins of Judah that I can heartily invite them to return for special mercies.

14. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

15. And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

The address here is properly to Israel of the ten tribes, "backsliding" having been her distinctive epithet throughout this entire passage. (See vs. 6, 8, 11, 12.) At the same time the spirit of the promise makes it equally good for the people of Judah, the Jews. V. 18 declares that Judah shall come with Israel to the enjoyment of these great gospel blessings. Israel is put foremost (as in this antithesis throughout) because her guilt had really been relatively less than that of Judah, and the Lord would fain move Judah to jealousy by the force of this contrast in both guilt and promised blessings.- "I am married to you," means I cheerfully recognize my relation of husband to you, and, in the true spirit of this relation, I come now to solicit your returning love and the reconsecration of your heart to me.- -While the word means, generally,