But Jehovah is with me as a mighty terrible one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble and shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed, for they have not prospered it shall be an everlasting confusion that shall not be forgotten.
Jeremiah's complaint in this chapter is raw: he tells the Lord that He enticed him, and that people mock him all day. This verse is the turn — the man who wanted to stop speaking now says his attackers are the ones who will fall.
Jeremiah collapses, then recovers, again and again. This verse is one of the recoveries:
He might curse the day he was born, and tell the Lord that He had 'enticed' him (Jer. 20:7), and that people mocked him every day; but his faith becomes strong again, and he says, "The Lord is with me" (Jer. 20:11)! Tossed and tried, opposed and persecuted, he still laboured on to the end of his long, exhausting journey.
Older translations say "a mighty terrible One" where the ESV has "a dread warrior." The point is sharp: what his enemies waited to see happen to him happens to them instead.
The word of the Lord became a reproach to him and something people mocked daily. He said he would speak no more in His name; but he could not keep quiet, for it was like a burning fire within him. His persecutors slandered him and watched for him to stumble. But the Lord was with him as a mighty and terrible One. They would stumble and be ashamed. Their confusion would last forever, and no one would ever forget it (vv. 8-11).
His confidence rested on a word spoken to him when he was first called:
But suddenly faith is victorious. He must have remembered the words of the Lord about his commission, "For I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you" (chapter 1). And so he cries out, "The LORD is with me."
What happened to Jeremiah has a practical edge for anyone whose service has dried up under attack:
He would try every trick — through our sins or otherwise — to persuade us that God is not for us. If he succeeds, our confidence is gone. In conflict we have no energy left. In service, our hands hang down and our knees grow weak. Look at the case of Jeremiah… The spring of service was gone. Not so afterwards. Then he could go on through all opposition, because he knew he was "strong in the Lord." "The LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me."
Two verses later Jeremiah asks God to let him see vengeance on his enemies. One writer explains what that request really is:
Still, with all this fear he also knew that Jehovah was with him. So he again asks for vengeance. That vengeance is, in fact, deliverance — the only deliverance for those who hold the testimony of Christ in such a position. Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But verses 14-18 show how far personal grief can drive those who go through a trial like this.
Wanting his own vindication is where Jeremiah differs from the Lord:
Jeremiah stands in remarkable contrast with the blessed Lord. When the Lord was most rejected, He was in a certain sense most happy. The reason was that He did not seek His own interests… He was here simply to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God most, He was ready to receive it.
The chapter does not end on this high note:
The rest of this section is of deep interest. Here the prophet laments his sad testimony. He shows how the treasure was in a clay jar, so that the greatness of the power might come from God and not from men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in Jehovah… Even then, the chapter closes with him cursing the day of his birth (vv. 14-18).
- Pressure. Slander and mockery drained Jeremiah's energy for service. The enemy's aim was to persuade him that God was not for him.
- Memory. Faith revived when he recalled the promise given at his calling — "I am with you to deliver you."
- Presence. "The LORD is with me" was his whole answer. Knowing he was strong in the Lord, he could go on through all opposition.
- Reversal. The men who watched for him to stumble are the ones who will stumble, be ashamed, and never live it down.
- Deliverance. Verse 13 celebrates his deliverance, yet the chapter still ends in despair. The treasure sat in a clay jar, so the power was plainly God's.
And thou, Jehovah of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
A priest has just beaten Jeremiah and locked him in the stocks. In this verse the prophet stops arguing with his pain and hands his whole case to the God who sees inside people.
The verse closes a long inward struggle. One writer reads the passage as proof that God's power works through weak people.
The rest of this section is of deep interest. In it the prophet mourns his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen jar. That was so the excellence of the power might be from God and not from men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in Jehovah.
Jeremiah addresses God as the One who tests the righteous — and the testing is not a sign of God's displeasure.
But He also tests the righteous. He tests the very people He loves, and He tests them because He loves them. He does it for the sake of what the trial produces — in them, and through them for His glory. The wicked are the instruments of this trial. This may make them forget or ignore that God "hates the wicked and the one who loves violence." The day when the whole truth comes out has not arrived yet. But anyone who is willing may know this now. Conscience alone, if we really listen to it, is able to declare it.
The ESV says "the heart and the mind." Older translations read "the reins and the heart." That older word points to the hidden self:
The kidneys, used symbolically for the inward thoughts and feelings.
To be known that far could feel terrifying. One writer says the opposite, once you know the One who is looking.
This searching of the heart is very solemn... Has it ever been a comfort to you that Christ searches the heart and the inward parts? that there is not a single thing that God does not see? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it? I the LORD," and so on. The inward parts are the seat of intelligence. If I have been looking into my own heart, I have found it beyond my understanding... But whatever comes out, it is the greatest comfort to know that He knew what was inside beforehand. What comes out must have been inside first. You cannot bear God's searchings until you know that He is love. You cannot bear them until you know that His love is eternal and complete.
"To you have I committed my cause" is a courtroom picture. Jeremiah files his case with God instead of settling it himself. One writer traces the same step in the Lord Jesus and makes it the pattern for anyone insulted or wronged.
If we keep silent when insults come, it does not mean there is no answer to evil and malice. It means we leave the answer with God. We must never try to take vengeance on the wrongdoer. God keeps all vengeance in His own hands. He has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people" (Hebrews 10:30). Our part is to follow in the steps of the Lord Jesus. When insults come, we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously.
The cry to see God's vengeance troubles many readers. One writer explains that for a man in Jeremiah's place, judgment on his persecutors was his own rescue.
Still, with all this fear, he also knew that Jehovah was with him. So he again asks for vengeance. Asking for vengeance is, in fact, asking for deliverance — the only deliverance for people who hold the testimony of Christ in such a position.
The next verse breaks into praise. One writer ties that outburst straight to the prayer of verse 12.
Jeremiah knew he was right before God, who tests the righteous and sees the very inward parts and the heart. So he casts his cause into the Lord's hands. He asks to see His vengeance on his enemies (v. 12). Then, as if prayer had freed his soul from a crushing burden, he bursts out: SING TO THE LORD!
- Tested — God tests the very people He loves. The trial does its work in them, and through them for His glory.
- Seen — He sees your inward thoughts and feelings. Nothing escapes Him. Once you know He is love, His searching becomes a comfort, not a threat.
- Surrendered — "To you have I committed my cause." Leave the answer to malice with God. Vengeance is His, and He keeps it in His own hands.
- Sustained — His cry for vengeance was, for him, a cry for rescue. The treasure stayed in an earthen jar, so the power on show was God's.
- Singing — Prayer lifted the burden, and the man in the stocks broke into praise.
Sing ye unto Jehovah, praise Jehovah, for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Pashur, a priest and chief officer of the temple, has just had Jeremiah beaten and left overnight in the stocks. Out of that place comes a call to sing. One verse earlier he begs God to take vengeance on his enemies. One verse later he curses the day of his birth. How can praise and despair stand so close together?
The call to sing is not a new subject. It is what prayer released. Jeremiah hands his case to God, and the song follows at once.
Jeremiah knew he was right before God. God tests the righteous and sees the very heart and mind. So he puts his cause into the Lord's hands. He asks to see His vengeance on his enemies (v. 12), and then, as if prayer had freed his soul from a crushing weight, he bursts out: SING TO THE LORD!
What produces such a cry is not information about God but dealings with Him.
This is always the way with someone who has real, conscious dealings with the blessed God. Mere theology never produces this. The prophet continues his glad strain: HALLELUJAH! he cries; and he gives a very good reason for such glad praise. "He has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers"!
The turn from complaint to singing has a cause behind it.
But suddenly faith is victorious. He must have remembered the Lord's words when He commissioned him: "I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD" (chapter 1). And so he cries out, "The LORD is with me." He prays to see His vengeance on his enemies, for he had opened his cause to Him. And then the singing!
The prayer of verse 12 and the praise of verse 13 are not two different moods.
Still, with all this fear, he also knew that the Lord was with him. So again he asks for vengeance. That vengeance is in fact deliverance. It is the only deliverance for those who carry the testimony of Christ in such a position. Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But in verses 14-18 we see how far personal grief can drive those who go through such a trial.
Gaebelein reads the same experience forward. He sees in it the pattern of a godly remnant of Israel, "troubled on all sides, fleeing to the LORD, till the singing times come, when He appears for their deliverance and the hallelujahs will sweep the earth and the heavens."
The verse does not end the chapter. What comes next shows that the man who sang was still a weak vessel.
The rest of this section is full of interest. The prophet grieves over his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen vessel, so that the surpassing power might belong to God and not to men. After all his inward conflicts, the outcome is his own fresh confidence in the Lord… Even so, the chapter closes (vv. 14-18) with him cursing the day of his birth. He curses the messenger too, the one who congratulated his father on such a child — the prophet of woe for Israel.
Jeremiah is not the only man tried this way, and one Man met such trial perfectly.
See the same thing in Job — a picture of the same condition: a soul tried by all the malice of Satan… Christ is the model of perfection in circumstances of trial like these. He fully experienced and felt how real they were, when He had yet to undergo for others what laid the foundation of grace for them.
For the believer, deliverance is now settled and eternal. So the singing here points to something steadier than one burst of joy.
Today it should not be simply an outburst. The sacrifice of praise should be "continually" upon the lips of the believer now (Heb. 13:15). The knowledge of deliverance and eternal redemption should produce this. True, the note may be sweeter at one time than another, and the song may be louder. But praise and thanksgiving to God through our Lord Jesus Christ should rise from the believer with steady constancy. He makes melody in his heart to the One who loves him with an unchanging love.
- Prayer first. Jeremiah hands his cause to God, and the weight lifts — the song is what prayer released, not what replaced it.
- Promise underneath. The praise rests on God's word at his call: "I am with you to deliver you." A remembered promise makes faith victorious.
- Vengeance is rescue. For a servant in the hands of evildoers, God's judgment on the oppressor is the deliverance. That is what the song celebrates.
- Earthen vessel. The same mouth curses the day of his birth a verse later. The treasure is real, the vessel is frail, and the power belongs to God. Only Christ met such a trial perfectly.
- Continual song. In Jeremiah it was a burst. In the believer it should be steady, because the deliverance now known is eternal redemption.