Jeremiah 13:27
Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields--I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?"
Sermons
A Hopeful QuestionJ. Parker, D. D.Jeremiah 13:27
God is Desirous of Saving MenTheological SketchbookJeremiah 13:27
God's Desire to Bless the SinnerH. Bonar, D. D.Jeremiah 13:27
Soul CleansingW. Whale.Jeremiah 13:27
The Necessity of HolinessB. Beddome, M. A.Jeremiah 13:27
The One Thing NeedfulS. Conway Jeremiah 13:27














Wilt thou not be made clean? When, etc.?

I. MEN ARE SPIRITUALLY UNCLEAN. Like as the Lord looked down upon the occupants of the porches at Bethesda, and saw but a multitude of impotent folk (John 5.); so now, as "his eyes behold the children of men," he sees a similar though a far more terrible sight - the mass of mankind spiritually diseased. This is manifestly true of the heathen world. The abominations and the cruelties that are practiced there show the virulence of the soul's malady amongst them. And if we look at the mass of those who profess and call themselves Christians, in how many of these is the profession only, a veneer of religious customs covering a corrupt and sin-loving heart. And if it be so with the professing Church, what must it be with those who reject all the means of grace which the Christian Church enjoys?

II. BUT GOD GREATLY DESIRES THAT MEN SHOULD BE DELIVERED FROM THIS UNCLEANNESS. "He will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." He desires this:

1. From his very nature. He himself is the most holy God. But all moral qualities ever strive to reproduce themselves in those around them. Let a man be characterized by orderliness, truthfulness, sobriety, purity, and in proportion as he is so the contact of those of opposite character will be painful to him, and he will endeavor to make them like himself. And so, because "good and upright is the Lord, therefore will he teach sinners in the way."

2. His righteousness also. The sense of outrage and wrong which sin must produce in the heart of God makes him angry with the wicked every day.

3. His compassion. Sin is sorrow. We wonder at the priests of Baal persisting in cutting and wounding themselves. But is not every sinner just such a one? And with this added sorrow - that their wounds are for eternity, and not for the short lira here alone. On the other hand, to be "made whole" spiritually is to be made blessed forever.

III. YET MEN WILL NOT. The tone of the question, the woe which precedes it, the comparison of the sinner with the Ethiopian and the leopard, etc. (Ver. 23), the half-despairing cry, "When shall it once be?" (Ver. 27), - all this shows the prophet's conviction of man's persistent clinging to his sin. Were the question concerning bodily disease, it would be unnecessary. Who would not be delivered from that? But when it is spiritual healing, men will not. From the consequences of their sin they are willing to be delivered - the punishment, the remorse, the shame, etc. - but not from the sin itself. True, at times, in the first keen pangs of remorse, and under the vivid sense of shame, they would be willing then to be rid of the sin itself. But their return to their sin shows how momentary and superficial this feeling was. And men would be willing, perhaps, if by some one act the whole cure could be effected; if the being made whole was not so slow, so difficult, so self-denying a process. And, in fact, they do hope that by some one act - a death-bed repentance - the whole process will be accomplished.

IV. BUT WITHOUT MAN'S OWN CONSENT HE CANNOT BE MADE WHOLE. God does not by a mere act of power make a man spiritually whole, as he makes one tree an oak, another an elm. The will must consent. We have this awful power of compelling Christ to "stand at the door and knock;" for the door of our hearts is opened from the inside. We must undo the bolts and remove the bars. No view of the Holy Sprat's influence which contradicts this can be a true view. We can, and alas! do, say "No" to God. But also we can, and he is ever pleading with us to, say "Yes" to his call.

V. BUT ONE DAY IT SHALL BE GIVEN. "My people shall be willing in the day of my power." Christ wept over Jerusalem, but yet he told them that when next he came they should say, "Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord; el. also the predicted repentance of the Jews, "They also which pierced him," etc. (Zechariah 14.). But oh, what "everlasting burnings," what awful scourgings, has Jerusalem had to go through before, like the prodigal, she came to herself! Let none abuse this doctrine. If we will say "Yes" to God now, and come to Christ in loving self-surrender, we shall find his yoke easy and his burden light; but if we will say "No," then we shall have to come to ourselves; and what may not that involve? Truly, "now is the accepted time," etc. - C.

O Jerusalem I wilt thou not he made clean?
I. THE QUESTION.

1. It is of great importance to be cleansed from the filth of sin, and is what should be sought after with the utmost seriousness (Ezekiel 36:25).

2. Cleansing the heart from sin is the work of God. He that cleanses from guilt, must also cleanse us from corruption; and Christ is made unto us sanctification, as well as righteousness and redemption (Titus 3:4-6).

3. God has much at heart the sanctification of His people (Isaiah 48:18).

4. Our own unwillingness is the great hindrance to our sanctification. When the will is gained, the man is gained; and those who will be made clean are in part made so already.

5. Yet the obstinacy of the will shall not prevent the purposes of grace: God's design shall be accomplished, notwithstanding all.

II. THE VARIOUS ANSWERS WHICH WILL BE MADE.

1. Some are willing to be delivered from the punishment of sin, but not from its power. Those who would have the former without the latter, are likely to have neither.

2. Others would be cleansed outwardly, but not inwardly. No prayers, lastings, pilgrimages, penances, nor any other external performances, can supply the want of internal holiness. The sepulchre, however painted and adorned, is but a sepulchre still.

3. Some would be made partly clean, but not wholly so.

4. Some would be made clean, but they do not like God's way of doing it, or the means He uses for this purpose.

5. There are some who would be made clean, but it must be hereafter. Like Saint Austin, who prayed to be delivered from his easily besetting sin, but added, "Not yet, Lord!"

6. More awful still: some speak out and say, they will not be cleansed at all. They prefer sin and hell to holiness and heaven.

7. Put this question to the real Christian, or the truly awakened sinner, whose conscience has been filled with remorse for his past transgressions, and who has found a compliance with the call of every lust to be the severest bondage Wilt thou be made clean? "Yea, Lord," says he, with all my heart! "When shall it once be?" This very instant, if I might have my wish. It is what I pray for, wait for, and strive after; nor can I have a moment's rest till I obtain it.

(B. Beddome, M. A.)

Theological Sketchbook.
I. THE WOES WHICH IMPENITENT SINNERS HAVE REASON TO EXPECT. The punishment that awaits sinners is most tremendous. The loss of heaven is one part of it: and who shall declare how great a loss this is?

II. HOW UNWILLING GOD IS TO INFLICT THEM. He complains of men's obstinacy in rejecting the overtures of His mercy. Long has He waited to no purpose: yet still "He waiteth to be gracious unto us." "He stands at the door of our hearts, and knocks." Address —

1. Those who imagine that they have no need of cleansing. Let none entertain such proud conceits. The best amongst us, no less than the worst, need to be washed in the blood of Christ and be renewed by His Spirit; and without this cleansing, must inevitably perish.

2. Those who are unwilling to be cleansed.

3. Those who desire the cleansing of their souls. It is the blood of Christ alone that can cleanse from the guilt of sin; and the Spirit of Christ alone that can cleanse from the power and pollution of sin. To apply these effectually, we must embrace the promises, and rest upon them, trusting in God to accomplish them to our souls.

(Theological Sketchbook.)

1. The great need of the soul.

2. The great helplessness of the soul.

3. The great grace of God.

4. The great drawback on our part.

5. The great work of the ministry.

(1)To bring home the feeling of guilt.

(2)To ask the question of the text.

(3)To direct to the cleansing fount.

(4)To urge the importance of immediate application.

(W. Whale.)

I. MAN'S UNCLEANNESS —

1. In heart;

2. In life;

3. In religion.

II. GOD'S DESIRE THAT HE SHOULD BE CLEAN.

III. HIS EXPOSTULATION WITH S.

IV. OUR REFUSAL.

V. GOD'S CONDEMNATION.

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

It would seem as if the prophet were speaking the language of despair; but a little rearrangement of the translation will show that the prophet is really not giving up all hope: Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? Shall there not at the very end be a vital change in thee? When the day is drawing to a close shalt thou not feel the power of the Holy One, and respond to it? Shalt thou not be born as a child at eventide? So the spirit of the Bible is a spirit of hopefulness. It will not lose any man so long as it can keep hold of him. It is a mother-like book, it is a most shepherdly book, it will not let men die if they can be kept alive. Here is the Gospel appeal: "Wilt thou not be made clean?" Here is no urging upon Jerusalem to clean herself, to work out her own regeneration, to throw off her own skin, and to cleanse her own characteristic spots and taints and stains. These words convey an offer, point to a process, preach a Gospel. Hear the answer from the leper: "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." There is a river the streams whereof receive all our diseases, and still the river flows like crystal from the throne of God. We know what the great kind sea is. It receives all the nations, gives all the empires a tonic, and yet rolls round the world an untainted blessing. The question addressed to each heart is, "Wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?" Shall it not be at once? Shall it not be at the very end? Shall not the angels have yet to report even concerning the worst, last of men, the festers of moral creation, "Behold, he prayeth!" The intelligence would vibrate throughout heaven, and give a new joy to eternity.

(J. Parker, D. D.).

People
Jeremiah
Places
Euphrates River, Jerusalem, Negeb
Topics
Abominations, Acts, Adulteries, Behaviour, Clean, Cleansed, Cries, Desire, Detestable, Disgusting, Enormity, Field, Fields, Fornication, Harlotries, Harlotry, Heights, Hills, Jerusalem, Lewd, Lewdness, Loose, Lustful, Neighing, Neighings, O, Prostitution, Shameless, Turning, Unclean, Unhappy, Whoredom, Wickedness, Wilt, Wo, Woe, Yet
Outline
1. By the type of a linen belt, hidden at Euphrates,
9. God prefigures the destruction of his people.
12. By the parable of bottles filled with wine he foretells their drunkenness in misery.
15. He exhorts to prevent their future judgments.
22. He shows their abominations are the cause thereof.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 13:27

     4245   hills
     8771   idolatry, objections

Jeremiah 13:23-27

     8705   apostasy, in OT

Jeremiah 13:26-27

     6189   immorality, examples

Library
An Impossibility Made Possible
'Can the Ethiopian change his skin?'--JER. xiii. 23. 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.'--2 COR. v. 17. 'Behold, I make all things new.'--REV. xxi. 5. Put these three texts together. The first is a despairing question to which experience gives only too sad and decisive a negative answer. It is the answer of many people who tell us that character must be eternal, and of many a baffled man who says, 'It is of no use--I have tried and can do nothing.' The second text is the grand Christian
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Notion of Inability.
PROPER METHOD OF ACCOUNTING FOR IT. I have represented ability, or the freedom of the will, as a first-truth of consciousness, a truth necessarily known to all moral agents. The inquiry may naturally arise, How then is it to be accounted for, that so many men have denied the liberty of the will, or ability to obey God? A recent writer thinks this denial a sufficient refutation of the affirmation, that ability is a first-truth of consciousness. It is important that this denial should be accounted
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

On Earthly Things
The earth is man himself; in the gospel: another has fallen into the good earth. The same in a bad part about the sinner: you devour the earth all the days of your life. [Mark 4:18; Genesis 3:14] The dry lands are the flesh of a fruitless man; in Ecclesiastes, to work in a dry land with evil and sorrow. [Ecclesiastes 37:3] The dust is a sinner or the vanity of the flesh; in the psalm: like the dust, which the wind blows about. [Ps. 1:4 Vulgate] The mud is the gluttony of sinners; in the psalm: tear
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows. '
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

On the Animals
The birds are the saints, because they fly to the higher heart; in the gospel: and he made great branches that the birds of the air might live in their shade. [Mark 4:32] Flying is the death of the saints in God or the knowledge of the Scriptures; in the psalm: I shall fly and I shall be at rest. [Ps. 54(55):7 Vulgate] The wings are the two testaments; in Ezekiel: your body will fly with two wings of its own. [Ez. 1:23] The feathers are the Scriptures; in the psalm: the wings of the silver dove.
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

Covenanting Confers Obligation.
As it has been shown that all duty, and that alone, ought to be vowed to God in covenant, it is manifest that what is lawfully engaged to in swearing by the name of God is enjoined in the moral law, and, because of the authority of that law, ought to be performed as a duty. But it is now to be proved that what is promised to God by vow or oath, ought to be performed also because of the act of Covenanting. The performance of that exercise is commanded, and the same law which enjoins that the duties
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the Practice of Piety.
Those hindrances are chiefly seven:-- I. An ignorant mistaking of the true meaning of certain places of the holy Scriptures, and some other chief grounds of Christian religion. The Scriptures mistaken are these: 1. Ezek. xxxiii. 14, 16, "At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sin, I will blot out all," &c. Hence the carnal Christian gathers, that he may repent when he will. It is true, whensoever a sinner does repent, God will forgive; but the text saith not, that a sinner may repent whensoever
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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