Homilist Jeremiah 22:21 I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, I will not hear. This has been your manner from your youth… I. THE DIVINE CONDESCENSION. "I spake unto thee." What is man that God should notice him at all? It is not so much that man is fallen, but he is rebellious, wilfully ignorant, deliberately sinful, and infinitely beneath God in capacity, duration, power. II. THE HARDNESS OF MAN. "Thou wouldst not hear." Surely, one would think that when the great God comes down to commune with man, man, out of mere reverence, would stay to listen. On the contrary, he turns away with disdain. The worm turns upon its Maker and King. This hardness is astonishing — 1. On account of the disrespect it manifests. So great, so good, so merciful a Being demands our attention, our love, our all. 2. On account of the pain it gives. Could you spurn a loving friend, and not cause him grief? 3. On account of the loss it entails. Why does God speak to man? (1) In order that He may save him from evil — from the evil of sin, of death, of eternal loss. (2) In order that He may do him good — that He may raise his intellect body and soul, and exalt him to eternal life and glory. It is, then, an astonishing fact that man refuses to hear. III. THE UNNATURAL REASON IMPLIED. "I spake unto thee in thy prosperity." 1. This is a strange assertion. It is strange because — (1) All prosperity comes from God. The natural thought respecting it, then, would be that it would excite greater reverence and love towards Him who so mercifully bestowed it. (2) All prosperity gives greater prosperity and enjoyment, and demands a greater return in thanksgiving and sacrifice. 2. It is a true assertion, as history and experience infallibly prove. (1) When men have prosperity, they get engrossed with their possessions. (2) When men have prosperity, they get satisfied with what they possess. This makes them refuse the invitations and solicitations of God. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. |
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