121 Righteous are You, O Lord , that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered ? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease ? 2 You have planted them, they have also taken root ; They grow , they have even produced fruit . You are near to their lips But far from their mind . 3 But You know me, O Lord ; You see me; And You examine my heart's attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter And set them apart for a day of carnage ! 4 How long e is the land to mourn And the vegetation of the countryside e to wither ? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away , Because men have said , "He will not see our latter ending ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 12:1-4
Commentary on Jeremiah 12:1-6
(Read Jeremiah 12:1-6)
When we are most in the dark concerning God's dispensations, we must keep up right thoughts of God, believing that he never did the least wrong to any of his creatures. When we find it hard to understand any of his dealings with us, or others, we must look to general truths as our first principles, and abide by them: the Lord is righteous. The God with whom we have to do, knows how our hearts are toward him. He knows both the guile of the hypocrite and the sincerity of the upright. Divine judgments would pull the wicked out of their pasture as sheep for the slaughter. This fruitful land was turned into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwelt therein. The Lord reproved the prophet. The opposition of the men of Anathoth was not so formidable as what he must expect from the rulers of Judah. Our grief that there should be so much evil is often mixed with peevishness on account of the trials it occasions us. And in this our favoured day, and under our trifling difficulties, let us consider how we should behave, if called to sufferings like those of saints in former ages.