Jeremiah 31:18-21 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke… I. THE PICTURE OF A TRUE PENITENT. The piteous lamentations, — the bitter self-accusations, — the tears and prayers of the broken-hearted are delineated with a force and accuracy which transport us to the scenes described. 1. His position is solitary, "bemoaning himself." It is not an easy, but it is an indispensable process, that all sources of relief should be forsaken but those which are in God Himself, when man is seeking the pardon of sin and the salvation of the soul. 2. Self-reproach. Shame at having acted so unworthy a part, — so contrary to one s own best interests, — so ungrateful to the Heavenly Benefactor, so derogatory to His glory, — so injurious to the welfare of others, — so morally bad in its defilement, — so insufficient in its motives, — so degrading in its results. 3. The true penitent refers his state to God. If the events of life are in our esteem only the outcome of fixed laws, altogether detached from an intelligent and personal control, they yield us no profit. If, on the other hand, we trace them to God, they become luminous in the instruction which they furnish, and the whole discipline of life resolves itself into a system in which goodness and mercy, wisdom and power, are most effectively taught. 4. It is a favourable sign of this true penitent that he mingles with his self-reproaches the language of childlike interest in God. "For Thou art the Lord my God." II. THE PROCESS OF RESTORATION. In the case of Israel it was as it is often now; by means of affliction God awakened him to spiritual things. The discipline of affliction is not, however, limited to that part of the Christian life which precedes conversion. They have a most important office to perform in the training and perfecting of the sons of God. 1. They are employed as preventive. The condition of life may be very limited, but its limitation is to a godly man a source of security. The suffering in which he is involved may be very acute, but it makes prayer exceeding real, the Bible very sweet, and the consolations of Christ abound as the sufferings of Christ abound (2 Corinthians 1:6). "It is better," says an old divine, "to be preserved in brine than to rot in honey." 2. The treatment which God adopted with Ephraim He still employs with His people, inasmuch as He makes their sorrows and trials restorative in their character. The scalpel may cause the patient to wince, but it will cut away incipient corruption and death. The sharpest winters are followed by the most fruitful summers. 3. All the trials of the present world are employed by Divine wisdom as preparatives for the future of the Christian. (W. G. Lewis.) Parallel Verses KJV: I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. |
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