Jeremiah 20:7-18
Jeremiah's Lament
7 O Lord , You have deceived me and I was deceived ; You have overcome me and prevailed . I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. 8 For each time I speak , I cry aloud ; I proclaim violence and destruction , Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. 9 But if I say , "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name ," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones ; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it. 10 For I have heard the whispering of many , " Terror on every side ! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!" All my trusted friends e , Watching for my fall , say: "Perhaps he will be deceived , so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him." 11 But the Lord is with me like a dread champion ; Therefore e my persecutors will stumble and not prevail . They will be utterly ashamed , because they have failed , With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten . 12 Yet, O Lord of hosts , You who test the righteous , Who see the mind and the heart ; Let me see Your vengeance on them; For to You I have set forth my cause . 13 Sing to the Lord , praise the Lord ! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers .
14 Cursed be the day when I was born ; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me! 15 Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father , saying , "A baby boy has been born to you!" And made him very happy . 16 But let that man be like the cities Which the Lord overthrew without relenting , And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon ; 17 Because he did not kill me before birth , So that my mother would have been my grave , And her womb ever pregnant . 18 Why did I ever come forth from the womb To look on trouble and sorrow , So that my days have been spent in shame ?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-18
Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13
(Read Jeremiah 20:7-13)
The prophet complains of the insult and injury he experienced. But verse 7 may be read, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou wast stronger than I; and didst overpower me by the influence of thy Spirit upon me. So long as we see ourselves in the way of God, and of duty, it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties and discouragements, to wish we had never set out in it. The prophet found the grace of God mighty in him to keep him to his business, notwithstanding the temptation he was in to throw it up. Whatever injuries are done to us, we must leave them to that God to whom vengeance belongs, and who has said, I will repay. So full was he of the comfort of God's presence, the Divine protection he was under, and the Divine promise he had to depend upon, that he stirred up himself and others to give God the glory. Let the people of God open their cause before Him, and he will enable them to see deliverance.
Commentary on Jeremiah 20:14-18
(Read Jeremiah 20:14-18)
When grace has the victory, it is good to be ashamed of our folly, to admire the goodness of God, and be warned to guard our spirits another time. See how strong the temptation was, over which the prophet got the victory by Divine assistance! He is angry that his first breath was not his last. While we remember that these wishes are not recorded for us to utter the like, we may learn good lessons from them. See how much those who think they stand, ought to take heed lest they fall, and to pray daily, Lead us not into temptation. How frail, changeable, and sinful is man! How foolish and unnatural are the thoughts and wishes of our hearts, when we yield to discontent! Let us consider Him who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we should be at any time weary and faint in our minds under our lesser trials.