Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 30:22

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 30:22. Ye shall be my people — The old covenant shall be renewed.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Disease, suffering and healing (30:1-24)

Although he has been prophesying the captivity of Judah, Jeremiah knows also that after seventy years the people will return to their homeland. A theme of hope and encouragement runs through the next few chapters (30:1-3).
The suffering of God’s people will almost be more than they can bear, but God assures them that it will not last indefinitely (4-7). He will release them from bondage and give them independence and peace under the rule of the Davidic dynasty again (8-9). Nations who have oppressed Judah will be destroyed, but God will not destroy Judah. He will discipline Judah because of its sins, but when the people repent he will re-establish them as a nation (10-11).
Nothing can save Judah from either the present distress or the greater distress to follow. The nation is like a person who has an incurable disease (12-13). As an immoral woman tries to win the favour of lovers, so Judah has tried to gain the help of other nations. But those she thought were allies will prove useless to her (14-15). The covenant God, Yahweh, is the only one who can restore his people. By his own power he will destroy Judah’s oppressors and heal her incurable disease (16-17).
Jerusalem will be rebuilt and its former power and prosperity will be restored. The population will increase to compensate for those slaughtered in the Babylonian destruction, and the streets of the city will be full of rejoicing again (18-20). The people will have their own kings to rule over them and they will worship God sincerely, as befitting those who belong to God (21-22). But before these glorious days come, God must punish the nation Judah for its wickedness (23-24).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will turn again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I shall also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all that oppress them, And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

“I will turn again the captivity of Jacob’s tents” The mention of tents here does not mean that most of the people were still nomads, dwelling in tents, because the parallelism stresses dwelling-places in the next line. These verses look to the time when Israel’s punishment has been completed and a marvelous prosperity will return to them. “The prophet speaks of Judah here as a type of the Church, with Immanuel as her king.”Scribner’s Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898), p. 472. The title of all four of the chapters here is “The New Covenant”; and the racial Israel hardly enters the picture at all.

“And the city shall be builded upon its own hill” “The Hebrew word here for `hill’ means mound (of a ruined city) and corresponds to the Arabic `tell.’ Notice how many place-names have this word: Tel Aviv (Ezekiel 3:15), Tel el-Amarna (in Egypt), Tel Assar (2 Kings 19:12), Tel Melah and Tel Harsha (Ezra 2:59).”Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 564. For ages, in the East, it was customary to build cities upon the ruins (the tels) of cities that had been destroyed in order to decrease the chance of floods and to strengthen fortifications.

“Their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them” It is the great prophecy of the Christ given by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 that explains these clauses. The Anchor Bible renders this whole verses thus:

“Their prince shall be one of their own,
Their ruler shall come from their midst;
And Him I’ll permit to approach me.
For who otherwise would be so bold
As thus to approach me? Yahweh’s word.”

Keil tells us that the very words of this verse were used in Exodus 19:6 to denote the approach of Moses to Jehovah on Mount Sinai,C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch’s Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 12. thus indicating the priesthood of the prince or ruler mentioned here. It would be difficult to frame a verse more specifically identifying the character of these verses as “Like unto Moses” than what is given here. Moses was priest and king, so is Jesus Christ. Moses was “from the midst of the brethren” even as he prophesied that Christ also would be from the midst of the brethren.

This picture of a ruler-priest finds its Old Testament type also in the example of Melchizedek in Psalms 110.

For these and other reasons we find here a clear prophecy of the Messiah. As Keil expressed it, “Herein is contained the truth, that the sovereignty of Israel, as restored, culminates in the kingdom of the Messiah.”Ibid., p. 11.

As Thompson noted, “The passage has a peculiarly Messianic ring to it.”J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 562. One such evidence was pointed out by Henderson who wrote of the question asked by God Himself “Who would be so bold as to approach me? … Such an approach had never been made before; the question is put as something altogether unique.”E. Henderson, The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1851), p. 166.

Furthermore, both Henderson and Albert Barnes translate Jeremiah 30:21 thus, “And his Glorious One shall spring from himself.”Barnes’ Notes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 222. Such terminology is exclusively applicable to the Messiah. Matthew Henry also concurred in this rendition.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The prophet speaks of Judah as the type of the Church, with Immanuel as her king.

Jeremiah 30:18

tents - The word suggests that a considerable portion of the people were still nomads.

The city ... the palace - Or, each city ... each palace. The heap means an artificial mount to keep the city out of the reach of inundations, and to increase the strength of the fortifications.

Shall remain after the manner thereof - Rather, shall be inhabited according to its rights, i. e., suitably.

Jeremiah 30:19

Them - i. e., the city and palace. Render the last words, become few become mean, i. e., despised, lightly esteemed.

Jeremiah 30:21

Translate, And his glorious one shall spring from himself, and his ruler shall go forth from his midst ... who is this that hath pledged his heart, i. e., hath staked his life, to dealt near unto Me? i. e., “Messiah shall be revealed to them out of their own midst.” He can draw near unto God without fear of death, because being in the form of God, and Himself God, He can claim equality with God Philippians 2:6.

Jeremiah 30:22

This is the effect of Messiah’s ministry. Men cannot become God’s people, until there has been revealed one of themselves, a man, who can approach unto God, as being also God, and so can bridge over the gulf which separates the finite from the Infinite.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

As this verse and what occurs in the first verse of the next chapter are materially the same, they shall be both explained here. God then says that the Jews would become a people to him, and that he would become a God to them. This mode of speaking is what we meet with everywhere in the Prophets; and it is very expressive, and includes the whole of true happiness. For when have we life, except when we become the people of God? We ought also to bear in mind that saying of the Psalmist,

“Blessed are the people whose God is Jehovah.”
(Psalms 144:15)

It confirms what I have just said, that a happy life is complete in all its parts, when God promises to be a God to us and takes us as his people. The Prophets, therefore, do not without reason so often inculcate this truth; for though nothing else might be wanting to us that could be expected, yet until we feel assured that God is a Father to us, and that we are his people, whatever happiness we may have, it will only end in misery.

But the Prophet expresses himself more fully, when he says, At that time, that is, when God restored his Church, will I be a God to all the families of Israel They had been so scattered, that they were not one body; but God promises the gathering of that Church, from which the ten tribes had fallen off, when they revolted from the family of David. I cannot proceed farther now.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 30

Now as we get into chapter 30, we enter into the future in these next four chapters. And this is now writing of the Great Tribulation period which is yet future. This is writing about this period of time, the final seven years in which God is going to be dealing with the nation Israel. For seventy sevens were determined upon the nation Israel, of which sixty-nine were fulfilled when Christ the Messiah came, leaving one seven-year cycle yet to be fulfilled which is yet future, which Jesus spoke to His disciples as being fulfilled during the time when the antichrist will be upon the earth. Now here in Jeremiah he speaks of this final seven-year period of God's dealing when He draws the Jews back into the land and He begins to deal with them. And thus, we are in this in yet future events of this final seven years. It is called here in Jeremiah the time of Jacob's trouble.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it ( Jeremiah 30:1-3 ).

And he's talking about the present re-gathering that you see in the nation of Israel, not the re-gathering from the Babylonian captivity. And if you notice the very last verse of chapter 30, in the very end of the verse it said, "In the latter days you will understand it or you'll consider it." You'll be able to understand this in the last days. So write it in the book. In the last days this will be understood. So as we see the nation Israel being re-gathered into the land, we can begin to understand now the words of this particular prophecy.

And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace ( Jeremiah 30:4-5 ).

Of course, the land hasn't really experienced peace since they've been re-gathered. And the people are beginning to live in fear. Quite an article in the paper the other day concerning the children from Kiryat Shemonah and the fear that they have of these Russian Katyusha rockets that are raining down upon them.

Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? ( Jeremiah 30:6 )

Does a man travail? Does a man go through labor?

why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in travail, and all of their faces are turned into paleness? ( Jeremiah 30:6 )

And so he sees, really, the anguish that is upon the men of Israel.

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it ( Jeremiah 30:7 ).

So God promises that He is going to save the people out of it.

For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them ( Jeremiah 30:8-9 ).

So God is going to break up the yoke of the antichrist and of the oppression as Jesus comes again. And they will serve the Lord their God, and David. Christ, after the seed of David, Branch out of the stem of Jesse, will be the king out of the "throne of David, to order it, and to establish it in righteousness and in judgment" ( Isaiah 9:7 ). "Whom I will raise up," God said, "unto them."

Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid ( Jeremiah 30:10 ).

This is when Jesus comes again. "Then shall He gather together His elect from the four corners of the world" ( Isaiah 11:12 ). And Israel would be brought back and recognize Jesus and acknowledge Him and serve Him.

For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee ( Jeremiah 30:11 ):

For all of Israel shall be saved, as saith the scripture, for a deliverer shall come out of Zion to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers when Jesus comes again.

though I make a full end of all of the nations where I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished ( Jeremiah 30:11 ).

You're going to be punished, but you're not going to be destroyed.

For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that you may be bound up: you have no healing medicines. All of your lovers have forgotten thee; they do not seek you; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Why do you cry for your affliction? your sorrow is incurable for the multitude of your iniquity: because your sins were increased, I have done this unto you. Therefore all of they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all of your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and all of they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all they that prey upon thee will I give for a prey ( Jeremiah 30:12-16 ).

You remember Jesus said in Matthew's gospel when He returns again, when the Son of man comes in His kingdom, then shall He gather together the nations for judgment. And He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will say to those on His right hand, "Come, ye blessed of the Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared from the foundations of the earth. Enter into the joy of your Lord. For I was hungry and you fed Me; thirsty and you gave Me to drink; naked and you clothed Me; in prison, and sick, and you visited Me." And to those on His left He'll say, "Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity into everlasting judgment or into Gehenna which was prepared for Satan and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not feed Me; thirsty and you did not give Me to drink; naked you did not clothe Me." "Lord, when did we see You hungry? When did we see You naked? When did we see You in these conditions?" And He said, "Inasmuch as you did it not unto My brethren, the least of My brethren, you did it not to Me" ( Matthew 25:31-36 , Matthew 25:41-45 ).

And Jesus is talking about the Jews and the treatment of the nations of the Jews. And the nations will be brought in judgment before God for their treatment of the Jewish race. That is why it is so important for us to maintain a strong pro-Israel position as a nation. God is going to judge the nations for their treatment of His brothers, Jesus' brothers, that is the Jewish nation. So here God is saying the same thing through Jeremiah that He will bring... "Those that devour you will be devoured. All of your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity, and those that spoiled you will be spoiled."

For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be built upon her own heap ( Jeremiah 30:17-18 ),

And the city of Jerusalem has been built over the heaps of the past ruins.

and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as they were before, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them ( Jeremiah 30:18-20 ).

The glorious restoration of the nation Israel. Now there are Bible teachers today who deny this aspect of biblical truth. It is unfortunate, but there are many ministers who have been deceived into an anti-Semitic position. And I get tracts and all, letters from people with these tracts on anti-Semitism because they know my pro-Israel position. And they say, "God is through with the nation Israel. The church is now spiritual Israel. All of the promises that God gave to Israel now apply to the church and the church is now spiritual Israel, and God is through and forever finished with the nation Israel. As a people they are over. They had their chance. They ruined their chance. God has cast them out forever. They're gone, that's the end of it and all." Not so. These people are not scholars of the Old Testament. If they will read the Old Testament they would realize that God is making these promises to the nation Israel, to the seed of Jacob, and they do not and cannot apply to the church even in a spiritual way.

Now because these people misinterpret the scriptures and have such a lack of understanding of the Old Testament prophecies, they then make the second error and say that the church is going to go through the Great Tribulation. Because in the Great Tribulation God speaks of the saints. God speaks of the elect. And thus, if there are saints and elect in the Great Tribulation, they must be the church, because God is through with Israel and those promises, and all that apply to Israel are now all applicable to the church. Therefore, the other things that were applicable to Israel would also be applicable to the church, and thus, they see the church in the Great Tribulation. But it's only because of the spiritualizing of the church to become spiritual Israel and declaring that God is through once and forever with the nation Israel, the seed of Jacob. That is contrary to all of the prophecies.

As Peter spoke how that God spoke in all of the scriptures, he said, of the final restitution. Peter makes reference to how God in all of the scriptures spoke of that day when the final restitution of the nation Israel, of all things to the nation Israel. But these men either willfully or ignorantly overlook this fact and thus they fall into that tragic error of saying, "Well, the church is in the Great Tribulation because, look, here it speaks about the saints." What does it say about the saints? It says, "And the beast will make war against the saints, and overcome them" ( Revelation 11:7 ). Good luck, saints. You're going to be overcome by the antichrist. Doesn't that encourage you? In Daniel it speaks about the little horn, the antichrist, who makes war against the saints and prevails against them. Congratulations, saints, the antichrist is going to wipe you out. No, no, no, don't you believe that. Jesus said, "I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" ( Matthew 16:18 ). Then who are the saints who the antichrist prevails against? Israel.

In this final seven-year period the time of Jacob's trouble, and that's why Jacob is in trouble, because he has made a covenant with the antichrist. So anxious are they to rebuild their temple, that when the European leader comes along and says, "Look, we'll help you to rebuild your temple. After all, you've eliminated Russia and given us now this great rise to power, and so we like to show you a favor and we'll just put a wall along here and we'll separate the Dome of the Rock mosque from this area here and go ahead and build your temple right here." And they will begin to worship this man as the Messiah. But after three-and-a-half years he'll come to this temple and he's going to stand in the holy of holies and he's going to say, "All right, that's enough. Stop the prayers, the sacrifices. I am God; you must now worship me as God." And the people are going to flee down to the area of Jordan, Trans-Jordan, into the area of Petra where God is going to preserve them. The antichrist is going to send out an army after them. The earth is going to open up and swallow the army of the antichrist. And then he is going to just make war against the remnant of the Jews that is still in the land, eradicating them. Time of Jacob's trouble. But then deliverance is coming.

For as the antichrist then begins to move with his European forces to conquer Africa, and he passes through Egypt, comes to the borders of Ethiopia, and he's moving down in a conquest of Africa, he'll hear the news that the forces of China and Russia have combined together and are moving across the Euphrates in a mass invasion of Europe. And he will return from his invasion of Africa, and he'll meet these combined forces of China and Russia in the valley of Megiddo there in Israel. And there the final great conflict will be fought. And while these armies of the world, the vast millions of people pour into this area where this holocaust and the blood is running to the horses' bridle through the space of the whole valley, then the Deliverer shall come out of Zion. Behold, He comes with ten thousands of His saints and He sets His foot upon the Mount of Olives which perpetrates an earthquake that splits the Mount of Olives in two. One part towards the north, one part towards the south, forming a new valley down to the Dead Sea area. And underground springs will be opened up and a river will come gushing out from Jerusalem and flow on down towards the Dead Sea. A part of it will branch off and go to the Mediterranean and when the waters come in to the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea will no longer become a Dead Sea, but will become alive and active. And they'll begin to have a fishing industry in the area of the Dead Sea and Engedi will be a place of drying fishers' nets.

And all of this God has predicted and told in advance. And when Jesus returns, by the brightness of His coming and by the word that goes forth out of His mouth, He's going to destroy this man of sin, the antichrist, this false Messiah. And He is going to sit upon the throne of David. He's going to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth and He will rule over the nation with the rod of iron. And He has said to those who overcome that they shall rule and reign with Him over the nations. And we shall reign with Him as kings and priests as He establishes God's kingdom here on the earth. And our prayer, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" will be consummated as we see the glorious day of God's kingdom here on earth. "And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: and they will study war no more" ( Isaiah 2:4 ). "And the lion will eat grass with the oxen and the wolf and the lamb will lie down together and a little child will lead a lion around by its mane" ( Isaiah 11:6-7 ). For there will be no more wars. There will be no more violence in God's kingdom. It will be a kingdom of righteousness and joy and peace. And that's the kingdom where we share because of God's grace and love to us through Jesus Christ.

So Jeremiah is now moving ahead to this Kingdom Age in his prophecy. He's going out beyond the darkness. There's going to be a period of darkness, period of captivity. But then, there will come foRuth (in verse Jeremiah 30:19 ) the "thanksgivings and the voices of those that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they will not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before Me, and I will punish all that oppress them."

And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days [you'll see it come to pass] ye shall consider it ( Jeremiah 30:21-24 ).

You'll understand it. As in this tribulation like a whirlwind from God until it has accomplished God's purposes. And then the kingdom shall be established. The book of Revelation closes with the words, "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let him who is athirst come. And drink of the water of life freely" ( Revelation 22:17 ). And Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly." And John responded, "Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus" ( Revelation 22:20 ).

Oh, how I long for that day when Jesus shall come and establish His righteous reign over the earth. How I long for that day when we will see the world that God intended and God wanted from the beginning. A world that is cleaned up of its pollution, physical and spiritual. Where we live together in His love, in His righteousness, in His peace, in His glory. I'm so thankful that God has ordained that I should have a place and a part in that kingdom. Even if it is just picking up coconut on the beaches in Hawaii to keep them clean. Great! Love it. Keep my section of the beach clean.

May the Lord cause His Word to be established in each of your hearts and lives. And may you grow in grace and in knowledge of Him. And may He with His cords of loving-kindness just draw you unto Himself that you may ever experience a richer, fuller, deeper comprehension of that love that God has for you, His child. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The restoration of Jacob 30:18-22

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Israel and Yahweh would again be in a covenant relationship as people and God (cf. Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 11:4; Jeremiah 31:33; Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12; Deuteronomy 7:2-6; Isaiah 35; Ezekiel 36:28).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And ye shall be my people,.... For many hundred years the people of the Jews have been called "Loammi" or, "ye are not my people", Hosea 1:9; but now being converted, the covenant of God's grace shall be renewed, and a fresh manifestation and application of it made unto them; and they partaking of the grace of it, shall appear to be, and shall be, called the people of God, and shall behave as such, and fear and worship the Lord:

and I will be your God; will manifest his love to them, bestow his favours upon them, and take them under his care and protection. This is a summary of the covenant of grace, which will visibly take place when those people shall turn to the Lord, Romans 11:26.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      18 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.   19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.   20 Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.   21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.   22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.   23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.   24 The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

      We have here further intimations of the favour God had in reserve for them after the days of their calamity were over. It is promised,

      I. That the city and temple should be rebuilt, Jeremiah 30:18; Jeremiah 30:18. Jacob's tents, and his dwelling places, felt the effects of the captivity, for they lay in ruins when the inhabitants were carried away captives; but, when they have returned, the habitations shall be repaired, and raised up out of their ruins, and therein God will have mercy upon their dwelling places, that had been monuments of his justice. Then the city of Jerusalem shall be built upon her own heap, her own hill, though now it be no better than a ruinous heap. The situation was unexceptionable, and therefore it shall be rebuilt upon the same spot of ground. He that can make of a city a heap (Isaiah 25:2) can when he pleases make of a heap a city again. The palace (the temple, God's palace) shall remain after the manner thereof; it shall be built after the old model; and the service of God shall be constantly kept up there and attended as formerly.

      II. That the sacred feasts should again be solemnized (Jeremiah 30:19; Jeremiah 30:19): Out of the city, and the temple, and all the dwelling-places of Jacob, shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those that make merry. They shall go with expressions of joy to the temple service, and with the like shall return from it. Observe, The voice of thanksgiving is the same with the voice of those that make merry; for whatever is the matter of our joy should be the matter of our praise. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. What makes us cheerful should make us thankful. Serve the Lord with gladness.

      III. That the people should be multiplied, and increased, and made considerable: They shall not be few, they shall not be small, but shall become numerous and illustrious, and make a figure among the nations; for I will multiply them and I will glorify them. It is for the honour of the church to have many added to it that shall be saved. This would make them be of some weight among their neighbours. Let a people be ever so much diminished and despised, God can multiply and glorify them. They shall be restored to their former honour: Their children shall be as aforetime, playing in the streets (Zechariah 8:5); they shall inherit their parents' estates and honours as formerly; and their congregation shall, both in civil and sacred things, be established before me. There shall be a constant succession of faithful magistrates in the congregation of the elders, to establish that, and of faithful worshippers in the congregation of the saints. As one generation passes away another shall be raised up, and so the congregation shall be established before God.

      IV. That they shall be blessed with a good government (Jeremiah 30:21; Jeremiah 30:21): Their nobles and judges shall be of themselves, of their own nation, and they shall no longer be ruled by strangers and enemies; their governor shall proceed from the midst of them, shall be one that has been a sharer with them in the afflictions of their captive state; and this has reference to Christ our governor, David our King (Jeremiah 30:9; Jeremiah 30:9); he is of ourselves, in all things made like unto his brethren. And I will cause him to draw near; this may be understood either, 1. Of the people, Jacob and Israel: "I will cause them to draw near to me in the temple service, as formerly, to come in to covenant with me, as my people (Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 30:22), to approach to me in communion; for who hath engaged his heart, made a covenant with it, and brought it into bonds, to approach unto me?" How few are there that do so! None can do it but by the special grace of God causing them to draw near. Note, Whenever we approach to God in any holy ordinance we must engage our hearts to do it; the heart must be prepared for the duty, employed in it, and kept closely to it. The heart is the main thing that God looks at and requires; but it is deceitful, and will start aside of a great deal of care and pains be not taken to engage it, to bind this sacrifice with cords. Or, 2. It may be understood of the governor; for it is a single person that is spoken of: Their governor shall be duly called to his office, shall draw near to God to consult him upon all occasions. God will cause him to approach to him, for, otherwise, who would engage to take care of so weak a people, and let this ruin come under their hand? But when God has work to do, though attended with many discouragements, he will raise up instruments to do it. But it looks further, to Christ, to him as Mediator. Note, (1.) The proper work and office of Christ, as Mediator, is to draw near and approach unto God, not for himself only, but for us, and in our name and stead, as the high priest of our profession. The priests are said to draw nigh to God, Leviticus 10:3; Leviticus 21:17. Moses drew near,Exodus 20:21. (2.) God the Father did cause Jesus Christ thus to draw near and approach to him as Mediator. He commanded and appointed him to do it; he sanctified and sealed him, anointed him for this purpose, accepted him, and declared himself well pleased in him. (3.) Jesus Christ, being caused by the Father to approach unto him as Mediator, did engage his heart to do it, that is, he bound and obliged himself to it, undertook for his heart (so some read it), for his soul, that, in the fullness of time, it should be made an offering for sin. His own voluntary undertaking, in compliance with his Father's will and in compassion to fallen man, engaged him, and then his own honour kept him to it. It also intimates that he was hearty and resolute, free and cheerful, in it, and made nothing of the difficulties that lay in his way, Isaiah 63:3-5. (4.) Jesus Christ was, in all this, truly wonderful. We may well ask, with admiration, Who is this that thus engages his heart to such an undertaking?

      V. That they shall be taken again into covenant with God, according to the covenant made with their fathers (Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 30:22): You shall be my people; and it is God's good work in us that makes us to him a people, a people for his name,Acts 15:14. I will be your God. It is his good-will to us that is the summary of that part of the covenant.

      VI. That their enemies shall be reckoned with and brought down (Jeremiah 30:20; Jeremiah 30:20): I will punish all those that oppress them, so that it shall appear to all a dangerous thing to touch God's anointed,Psalms 105:15. The Jeremiah 30:23; Jeremiah 30:24 come under this head: The whirlwind of the Lord shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. These two verses we had before (Jeremiah 23:19; Jeremiah 23:20); there they were a denunciation of God's wrath against the wicked hypocrites in Israel; here against the wicked oppressors of Israel. The expressions, exactly agreeing, speak the same with that (Isaiah 51:22; Isaiah 51:23), I will take the cup of trembling out of thy hand and put it into the hand of those that afflict thee. The wrath of God against the wicked is here represented to be. 1. Very terrible, like a whirlwind, surprising and irresistible. 2. Very grievous. It shall fall with pain upon their heads; they shall be as much hurt as frightened. 3. It shall pursue them. Whirlwinds are usually short, but this shall be a continuing whirlwind. 4. It shall accomplish that for which it is sent: The anger of the Lord shall not return till he have done it. The purposes of his wrath, as well as the purposes of his love, will all be fulfilled; he will perform the intents of his heart. 5. Those that will not lay this to heart now will then be unable to put off the thoughts of it: In the latter days you shall consider it, when it will be too late to prevent it.