JEREMIAH 45 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

A Message to Baruch1 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch:

BARNES, "These words - i. e., the words of Jehoiakim’s scroll.

CLARKE, "The word that Jeremiah - spake unto Baruch - This is another instance of shameless transposition. This discourse was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, several years before Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans. It is a simple appendage to chap. 36, and there it should have been inserted.

GILL, "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah,.... Who was his amanuensis or scribe; and this word he spake not to him of himself, but in the name of the Lord, as coming from him; so the Targum calls it, "the word of prophecy which Jeremiah the prophet prophesied concerning Baruch the son of Neriah:'' when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah; not what immediately precede, concerning the destruction of the Jews in Egypt; which were delivered out many years after the writing of the roll by Baruch here referred to; and which was done, as here said, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; which was eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem; so that this prophecy does not stand in order, which would more properly have followed the thirty sixth chapter; where we

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have an account of what Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah in a roll, and read to the people, and after that to the princes; which exposed him to danger, and caused the grief expressed by him in this chapter; but it being written to a private person, is postponed to this place: saying; as follows:

HENRY, "How Baruch was employed in writing Jeremiah's prophecies, and reading them, we had an account ch. 36, and how he was threatened for it by the king, warrants being out for him and he forced to abscond, and how narrowly he escaped under a divine protection, to which story this chapter should have been subjoined, but that, having reference to a private person, it is here thrown into the latter end of the book, as St. Paul's epistle to Philemon is put after his other epistles. Observe,

JAMISON, "Jer_45:1-5. Jeremiah comforts Baruch.After the completion of the prophecies and histories appertaining to the Jewish people and kings, Jeremiah subjoins one referring to an individual, Baruch; even as there are subjoined to the epistles of Paul addressed to churches, epistles to individuals, some of which were prior in date to the former. Afterwards follow the prophecies referring to other nations, closing the book [Grotius]. The date of the events here told is eighteen years before the taking of the city; this chapter in point of time follows the thirty-sixth chapter. Baruch seems to have been regularly employed by Jeremiah to commit his prophecies to writing (Jer_36:1, Jer_36:4, Jer_36:32).these words — his prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim.

K&D, ""The word which Jeremiah the prophet spake to Baruch the son of Neriah,when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Jer_45:2. Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to thee, O Baruch: V. 3. Thou saidst, Woe to me now! for Jahveh hath added sorrow to my pain: I am weary with sighing, and no rest do I find. V. 4. Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, what I have built I will destroy, and what I have planted I will pluck up, and that is the whole earth. V. 5. And thouseekest great things for thyself: seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil on all flesh, saith Jahveh; but I will give thy life unto thee for booty in all places whither thou shalt go."

From the superscription in Jer_45:1, it appears that this word of God came to Baruch through Jeremiah the prophet, in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, when Baruch was writing out, or had written out, in a book-roll the prophecies that had been uttered by Jeremiah up till that time. It is not necessarily implied in the infin. ְּבָכְתבthat the word of God came during the transcription, while he was still engaged in writing: it may also mean, "when he was ready with the writing," had got done with it; and Hitzig is wrong when he rejects as "misleading" the view which Movers takes -"when he had written." The writing down of the addresses of Jeremiah in the year mentioned is related in Jer 36; thus the substance of this chapter and that of Jer 36 agree. "These words" can only be the addresses (words) of Jeremiah which Baruch was

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then writing down. From this, Hitzig, Graf, Nägelsbach, and others, infer that this small piece was the last in the copy of Jeremiah's prophecies originally prepared under Jehoiakim, - if not of the first one which was intended to be read in the temple, at least of the second copy which was made after the former one had been destroyed; and that it was only after the collection had been enlarged to the extent of the collection handed down to us, that this portion was affixed as an appendix to the end of the prophecies of Jeremiah which relate to his own country. But this inference is not a valid one. "These words" are the addresses of the prophet in general, which Baruch wrote down; and that only those which were uttered up to the fourth year of Jehoiakim are intended, is implied, not in the demonstrative "these," but in the date given afterwards, by which "these" is further specified. In Jer_45:1 it is merely stated that at that time the word of God, given below, came to Jeremiah, and through Him to Baruch, but not that Baruch wrote down this also on that occasion, and appended it to the roll of Jeremiah's prophecies which had been prepared at his dictation. It may have been written down much later, possibly not till the whole of Jeremiah's prophecies were collected and arranged in Egypt. Moreover, the position occupied by this chapter in the collection shows that this message of comfort to Baruch was added as an appendix to those predictions of Jeremiah which concern Judah and Israel.CALVIN, "We have said that prophetic books were not written by their authors in the order in which they are now read. But when a Prophet had preached, and committed to writing a summary of his doctrine, he fixed it to the doors of the Temple. And there were scribes who collected the summaries, and the volumes now extant were made from these. I now repeat the same thing, because some one may wonder that the order of time was not observed by Jeremiah: for hereafter he will prophesy of heathen nations; and it is certain, that these prophecies were announced, in part, before the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, some during his reign, and some in the time of Zedekiah. But the reason I have stated ought to be borne in mind, that this book we have now in our hands was not written by Jeremiah himself, but that it contains collected summaries, afterwards formed into one volume.Here is told us a special prophecy concerning Baruch, who, as we know, was the Prophet’s scribe, and not only his scribe or amanuensis, but also his disciple. And here Jeremiah relates, that he was gravely and severely reproved, because he shewed not a mind sufficiently firm, when the book mentioned in chapter thirty-six was to be written. Some think that there was a just reason for his grief, because Jeremiah declared that the ruin of the city and the people was nigh at hand. They then think that Baruch was anxious, nay, oppressed with sorrow when he heard that so dreadful a judgment of God was near; for there is no doubt but that he regarded his country with becoming devotion, and that he was solicitous concerning the worship of God, and for the safety of the people whom God had chosen out of all nations, and adopted. But as we shall hereafter see, he looked rather to himself, and was led to grief and sorrow on his own account; and for this he was severely reproved by the Prophet. Others bring forward an explanation by no means satisfactory, that he coveted the gift of prophecy, when he saw that Jeremiah pronounced, as from on high, words so weighty, and was the instrument of the Holy

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Spirit, as though he exercised a celestial judgment. They hence think that Baruch was stimulated by a vain desire for the prophetic office, and that he was reproved because he assumed more than what was right. But this fiction, as I have already said, has nothing to support it.I do not doubt, therefore, but that he apprehended danger to himself, because the message which the Prophet had committed to him was greatly disliked. For we see in the chapter to which I have referred, that the Prophet did not go to the king, but dictated the contents of the book, and gave it to Baruch. When, therefore, he saw that he could not discharge his duty without danger, he began to complain and to murmur; and it was on this account that the Prophet, by God’s command, reproved his weakness. The meaning then is, that Baruch, as he feared for his life, was affected with too much grief, so that he wished to be freed from all trouble, and that God was offended with this extreme fear, and gave a command to his Prophet to reprove Baruch, as he deserved. Let us now come to the words.The word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah. We must notice, that the holy man did not spare his own disciple, whom yet he no doubt loved; for he had employed him, and Baruch had acted faithfully, not only as his scribe, but also as his fellow-helper. As then Jeremiah had proved the fidelity, care, and diligence of Baruch in many things, he wished, no doubt, to treat him with kindness; but as God would have this fault in Baruch to be corrected, the Prophet performed this duty that belonged to his office. We hence see that he forgot flesh and blood, when he had to do his work for God. The circumstance as to time is added: and hence we may infer what I have already stated, that Baruch, when in danger of his life, was anxious, and complained of his own case, as though God had laid on him a burden too heavy and hard to be borne; for the Prophet says that he received this command when Baruch wrote the words in the book, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim.We have briefly related how this happened; but it must be added, that Baruch did not fear without reason, because the king was already displeased with Jeremiah. He was not indeed altogether cruel, but he had bad counselors, who were like fans, ready to kindle up his rage; and the issue proved, that this fear was not without cause; for the king took a penknife and cut the book in pieces, and then threw it into the fire: and if Jeremiah could then have been found, no doubt all would have been over with him, as to his life. But Baruch had been warned by kind men to conceal himself together with the Prophet. We hence see that Baruch was frightened, because his message was so disagreeable, and calculated to drive the king to extremities, as it happened. At the same time, he was too much given to care for himself, for he ought to have presented his life as a sacrifice to God. For all who are called to such an office, are in duty bound to undergo all dangers with courage, so as to disregard life when necessary, or at least to commit it to the care of God; and when they see dangers nigh, they ought still to proceed in the course of their office. Though, then, Baruch wished faithfully to serve God, yet in the conflict he was overcome by temptation, so that he was more anxious for his life than animated to

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proceed in his course. It is to this that the time mentioned by the Prophet refers, when he says, that Baruch was reproved when he wrote the words in a book COFFMAN, "Verse 1GOD'S PROMISE TO BARUCHThis small chapter has a personal message from the Lord to Baruch. Its appearance in the Book of Jeremiah at this place could be either by design or by accident, as the chapters in this wonderful prophecy do not appear to be organized, in any consistent pattern. Keil stated that, chronologically, it belongs after Jeremiah 36;[1] and Green located it a little more exactly as coming between Jeremiah 36:8 and Jeremiah 36:9.[2] Neither the question of exactly when Jeremiah wrote these words, nor how they came to be placed where they appear is of any special importance.In any case, it forms an excellent appendix to the portion of Jeremiah dealing with Jeremiah's relationship to Judah, being also a good introduction to the prophecies against the nations which appear immediately afterward.Several writers whom we have consulted make statements about Baruch which we cannot accept. One writer said that, "He was noted for the influence which he had upon Jeremiah"; but the only evidence of anything like that came from the lips of those consummate liars who led that expedition to Egypt, and we find ourselves unable to believe a single word which they said. Still others seem to believe that Baruch himself may have composed sections of the prophecy. We do not believe that is correct, for every account we have of Baruch's writing states that he did so "at the mouth of Jeremiah." Baruch was not the prophet; that honor belonged to Jeremiah.Jeremiah 45:1-5THE PROMISE TO BARUCH"The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiachim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch: Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for Jehovah hath added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself?, seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.""In the fourth year of Jehoiachim ..." (Jeremiah 45:1). "This prophecy is dated 604 B.C. when the first roll (`these words') was written (Jeremiah 36:ff)."[3]

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TRAPP, "Jeremiah 45:1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,Ver. 1. The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch.] It is thought that Jeremiah preached his last when he prophesied in the foregoing chapter the destruction of Pharaohhophra, and together with him of the Jews that were found in Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. Lapides loquitur. He seemed to them to speaking stones, as the proverb hath it; and therefore they stoned him to death, as Epiphanius and others report. This word that he spoke to Baruch belongeth to Jeremiah 36:32, and should have been annexed unto it in a natural order, as appeareth both by the date and by the matter. Baruch had, with much pains and patience, first written out Jeremiah’s prophecies, and then read them to the people, and afterwards to the princes. For this piece of work he expected belike some good piece of preferment, as the apostles also did for their forsaking all and following Christ. {Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 19:27-30; Matthew 20:21-29, &c.} Thus flesh will show itself in the best, and in many things we offend all. But instead of any such thing, Baruch, together with his master, Jeremiah, was sought for to be slaughtered; and besides, he meets with here a contrary prophecy, whereby, before he is comforted, he is sharply reproved, 1. For a dastardly despondency of mind, because his rising expectation, it seems, was frustrated; 2. For a vain, ambitious self-seeking, which was not hid from God.WHEDON, " THE TIME AND OCCASION, Jeremiah 45:1.1. Unto Baruch — As Paul and John wrote letters to individuals concerning their personal relations and experiences, so Jeremiah receives the message for his bosom friend and amanuensis. And yet the message suited to him is fitly recorded as calculated to admonish and help many others of like trials and like faith.Had written — Rather, wrote, or was writing.These words — The messages of Jeremiah which Baruch wrote down.Fourth year of Jehoiakim — This is one of the time limits of these prophecies. There is no reason to doubt that the other is the beginning of Jeremiah’s work as a prophet. The time of writing down these addresses is the same as that of the writing related in chapter 36. Chronologically they both belong to the same period.EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "BARUCHJeremiah 45:1-5"Thy life will I give unto thee for a prey."- Jeremiah 45:5THE editors of the versions and of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament have

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assigned a separate chapter to this short utterance concerning Baruch; thus paying an unconscious tribute to the worth and importance of Jeremiah’s disciple and secretary, who was the first to bear the familiar Jewish name, which in its Latinised form of Benedict has been a favourite with saints and popes. Probably few who read of these great ascetics and ecclesiastics give a thought to the earliest recorded Baruch, nor can we suppose that Christian Benedicts have been named after him. One thing they may all have in common: either their own faith or that of their parents ventured to bestow upon a "man born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward" the epithet "Blessed." We can scarcely suppose that the life of any Baruch or Benedict has run so smoothly as to prevent him or his friends from feeling that such faith has not been outwardly justified and that the name suggested an unkind satire. Certainly Jeremiah’s disciple, like his namesake Baruch Spinoza, had to recognise his blessings disguised as distress and persecution.Baruch ben Neriah is said by Josephus to have belonged to a most distinguished family, and to have been exceedingly well educated in his native language. These statements are perhaps legitimate deductions from the information supplied by our book. His title "scribe" [Jeremiah 36:26; Jeremiah 36:32] and his position as Jeremiah’s secretary imply that he possessed the best culture of his time; and we are told in Jeremiah 51:59 that Seraiah ben Neriah, who must be Baruch’s brother, was chief chamberlain (R.V.) to Zedekiah. According to the Old Latin Version of the Apocryphal Book of Baruch (1:1) he was of the tribe of Simeon, a statement by no means improbable in view of the close connection between Judah and Simeon, but needing the support of some better authority.Baruch’s relation to Jeremiah is not expressly defined, but it is clearly indicated in the various narratives in which he is referred to. We find him in constant attendance upon the prophet, acting both as his "scribe," or secretary, and as his mouthpiece. The relation was that of Joshua to Moses, of Elisha to Elijah, of Gehazi to Elisha, of Mark to Paul and Barnabas, and of Timothy to Paul. It is described in the case of Joshua and Mark by the term "minister," while Elisha is characterised as having "poured water on the hands of Elijah." The "minister" was at once personal attendant, disciple, representative, and possible successor of the prophet. The potion has its analogue in the service of the squire to the mediaeval knight, and in that of an unpaid private secretary to a modern cabinet minister. Squires expected to become knights, and private secretaries hope for a seat in future cabinets. Another less perfect parallel is the relation of the members of a German theological "seminar" to their professor.Baruch is first (in order of time, chapter 36) introduced to us in the narrative concerning the roll. He appears as Jeremiah’s amanuensis and representative, and is entrusted with the dangerous and honourable task of publishing his prophecies to the people in the Temple. Not long before, similar utterances had almost cost the master his life, so that the disciple showed high courage and devotion in undertaking such a commission. He was called to share with his master at once the same cup of persecution-and the same Divine protection.

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We next hear of Baruch in connection with the symbolic purchase of the field at Anathoth. (chapter 32) He seems to have been attending on Jeremiah during his imprisonment in the court of the guard, and the documents containing the evidence of the purchase were entrusted to his care. Baruch’s presence in the court of the guard does not necessarily imply that he was himself a prisoner. The whole incident shows that Jeremiah’s friends had free access to him; and Baruch probably not only attended to his master’s wants in prison, but also was his channel of communication with the outside world.We are nowhere told that Baruch himself was either beaten or imprisoned, but it is not improbable that he shared Jeremiah’s fortunes even to these extremities. We next hear of him as carried down to Egypt (chapter 43) with Jeremiah, when the Jewish refugees fled thither after the murder of Gedaliah. Apparently he had remained with Jeremiah throughout the whole interval, had continued to minister to him during his imprisonment, and had been among the crowd of Jewish captives whom Nebuchadnezzar found at Ramah. Josephus probably makes a similar conjecture in telling us that, when Jeremiah was released and placed under the protection of Gedaliah at Mizpah, he asked and obtained from Nebuzaradan the liberty of his disciple Baruch. At any rate Baruch shared with his master the transient hope and bitter disappointment of this period; he supported him in dissuading the remnant of Jews from fleeing into Egypt, and was also compelled to share their flight. According to a tradition recorded by Jerome, Baruch and Jeremiah died in Egypt. But the Apocryphal Book of Baruch places him at Babylon, whither another tradition takes him after the death of Jeremiah in Egypt. These legends are probably mere attempts of wistful imagination to supply unwelcome blanks in history.It has often been supposed that our present Book of Jeremiah, in some stage of its formation, was edited or compiled by Baruch, and that this book may be ranked with biographies-like Stanley’s Life of Arnold-of great teachers by their old disciples. He was certainly the amanuensis of the roll, which must have been the most valuable authority for any editor of Jeremiah’s prophecies. And the amanuensis might very easily become the editor. If an edition of the book was compiled in Jeremiah’s lifetime, we should naturally expect him to use Baruch’s assistance; if it first took shape after the prophet’s death, and if Baruch survived, no one would be better able to compile the "Life and Works of Jeremiah" than his favourite and faithful disciple. The personal prophecy about Baruch does not occur in its proper place in connection with the episode of the roll, but is appended at the end of the prophecies, possibly as a kind of subscription on the part of the editor. These data do not constitute absolute proof, but they afford strong probability that Baruch compiled a book, which was substantially our Jeremiah. The evidence is similar in character to, but much more conclusive than, that adduced for the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews by Apollos.Almost the final reference to Baruch suggests another aspect of his relation to

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Jeremiah. The Jewish captains accused him of unduly influencing his master against Egypt and in favour of Chaldea. Whatever truth there may have been in this particular charge, we gather that popular opinion credited Baruch with considerable influence over Jeremiah, and probably popular opinion was not far wrong. Nothing said about Baruch suggests any vein of weakness in his character, such as Paul evidently recognised in Timothy. His few appearances upon the scene rather leave the impression of strength and self-reliance, perhaps even self-assertion. If we knew more about him, possibly indeed if any one else had compiled these "Memorabilia," we might discover that much in Jeremiah’s policy and teaching was due to Baruch, and that the master leaned somewhat heavily upon the sympathy of the disciple. The qualities that make a successful man of action do not always exempt their possessor from being directed or even controlled by his followers. It would be interesting to discover how much of Luther is Melanchthon. Of many a great minister, his secretaries and subordinates might say safely, in private, Cujus pars magna fuimus.The short prophecy which has furnished a text for this chapter shows that Jeremiah was not unaware of Baruch’s tendency to self-assertion, and even felt that sometimes it required a check. Apparently chapter 45 once formed the immediate continuation of chapter 36, the narrative of the incident of the roll. It was "the word spoken by Jeremiah the prophet to Baruch ben Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim." The reference evidently is to Jeremiah 36:32, where we are told that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the book that had been burnt, and many like words.Clearly Baruch had not received Jeremiah’s message as to the sin and ruin of Judah without strong protest. It was as distasteful to him as to all patriotic Jews and even to Jeremiah himself. Baruch had not yet been able to accept this heavy burden or to look beyond to the brighter promise of the future. He broke out into bitter complaint: "Woe is me now! for Jehovah hath added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and find no rest." Strong as these words are, they are surpassed by many of Jeremiah’s complaints to Jehovah, and doubtless even now they found an echo in the prophet’s heart. Human impatience of suffering revolts desperately against the conviction that calamity is inevitable; hope whispers that some unforeseen Providence will yet disperse the storm clouds, and the portents of ruin will dissolve like some evil dream. Jeremiah had, now as always, the harsh, unwelcome task of compelling himself and his fellows to face the sad and appalling reality. "Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I am breaking down that which I built, I am plucking up that which I planted." This was his familiar message concerning Judah, but he had also a special word for Baruch: "And as for thee, dost thou seek great things for thyself?" What "great things" could a devout and patriotic Jew, a disciple of Jeremiah, seek for himself in those disastrous times? The answer is at once suggested by the renewed prediction of doom. Baruch, in spite of his master’s teaching, had still ventured to look for better things, and had perhaps fancied that he might succeed where Jeremiah had failed and might become the mediator who

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should reconcile Israel to Jehovah. He may have thought that Jeremiah’s threats and entreaties had prepared the way for some message of reconcilation. Gemariah ben Shaphan and other princes had been greatly moved when Baruch read the roll. Might not their emotion be an earnest of the repentance of the people? If he could carry on his master’s work to a more blessed issue than the master himself had dared to hope, would not this be a "great thing" indeed? We gather from the tone of the chapter that Baruch’s aspirations were unduly tinged with personal ambition. While kings, priests, and prophets were sinking into a common ruin from which even the most devoted servants of Jehovah would not escape, Baruch was indulging himself in visions of the honour to be obtained from a glorious mission, successfully accomplished. Jeremiah reminds him that he will have to take his share in the common misery. Instead of setting his heart upon "great things" which are not according to the Divine purpose, he must be prepared to endure with resignation the evil which Jehovah "is bringing upon all flesh." Yet there is a word of comfort and promise: "I will give thee thy life for a prey in all places whither thou goest." Baruch was to be protected from violent or premature death.According to Renan, this boon was flung to Baruch half-contemptuously, in order to silence his unworthy and unseasonable importunity:-"Dans une catastrophe qui va englober l’humanite tout entiere, il est beau de venir reclamer de petites faveurs d’exception! Baruch aura la vie sauve partout ou il ira; qu’il s’en contente!"We prefer a more generous interpretation. To a selfish man, unless indeed he clung to bare life in craven terror or mere animal tenacity, such an existence as Baruch was promised would have seemed no boon at all. Imprisonment in a besieged and starving city, captivity and exile, his fellow countrymen’s ill will and resentment from first to last-these experiences would be hard to recognise as privileges bestowed by Jehovah. Had Baruch been wholly self-centred, he might well have craved death instead, like Job, nay, like Jeremiah himself. But life meant for him continued ministry to his master, the high privilege of supporting him in his witness to Jehovah. If, as seems almost certain, we owe to Baruch the preservation of Jeremiah’s prophecies, then indeed the life that was given him for a prey must have been precious to him as the devoted servant of God. Humanly speaking, the future of revealed religion and of Christianity depended on the survival of Jeremiah’s teaching, and this hung upon the frail thread of Baruch’s life. After all, Baruch was destined to achieve "great things," even though not those which he sought after; and as no editor’s name is prefixed to our book, he cannot be accused of self-seeking. So too for every faithful disciple, his life, even if given for a prey, even if spent in sorrow, poverty, and pain, is still a Divine gift, because nothing can spoil its opportunity of ministering to men and glorifying God, even if only by patient endurance of suffering.We may venture on a wider application of the promise, "Thy life shall be given thee for a prey." Life is not merely continued existence in the body: life has come to

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mean spirit and character, so that Christ could say, "He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." In this sense the loyal servant of God wins as his prey, out of all painful experiences, a fuller and nobler life. Other rewards may come in due season, but this is the most certain and the most sufficient. For Baruch, constant devotion to a hated and persecuted master, uncompromising utterance of unpopular truth, had their chief issue in the redemption of his own inward life.PETT, "Verses 1-5YHWH’s Assurance Given To The Faithful Baruch In The Days Of Jehoiakim That He Would Be With Him, Come What May, And Would Preserve Him To The End (Jeremiah 45:1-5).This section of Jeremiah’s work, which commenced at Jeremiah 26:1, now closes with a reference to YHWH’s watch over the faithful Baruch. We can compare the earlier reference to His watch over Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 39:16-18). This prophecy occurred in the days of Jehoiakim, and is thus ‘out of place’ chronologically. But Jeremiah’s prophecy is not wholly chronological and it may well have been intended as a postscript bringing out what happened to those who faithfully served under Jeremiah, in contrast to the awful end of Judah as a whole. It emphasised that in all His judgments YHWH did not overlook those who faithfully served Him.In this regard it will be noted that it refers to the plucking up of Judah (Jeremiah 45:4), and was thus given in the light of Judah’s final end, and that its purport was to assure Baruch that whatever the future held, YHWH would preserve him to the end. In that sense it does tie in chronologically, for it is Judah’s final end that had just been dealt with.Baruch was Jeremiah’s helper and Scribe. He came from an important family. He was the grandson of Mahseiah (Jeremiah 32:12) who had been governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:8). Baruch’s brother Seraiah was an officer at Zedekiah’s court (Jeremiah 51:59). But Baruch had bravely publicly identified himself with Jeremiah at great risk to himself, had written down his prophecies, and had bravely read some of them publicly in the Temple at Jeremiah’s request (Jeremiah 36:4-10).Jeremiah 45:1‘The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these word in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,’This short chapter gives us words spoken by Jeremiah to Baruch in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim (and thus four years after the death of Josiah), which Baruch wrote down at his request. It prophesies the plucking up of Judah from the

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land, and the preservation of Baruch throughout all that would occur. Whilst therefore, from the point of view of when the prophecy was given, it is not in order chronologically, it will be apparent that it is very much in order chronologically in its thought for it is a guarantee of preservation to the end.

2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

GILL, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch. Whom he knew by name, had a great regard for, and honours with this prophecy; and, being an Israelite, both in a literal and spiritual sense, he addresses him as the God of Israel, and as being his covenant God; in whom he should put his trust, and from whom he might expect safety and protection in the worst of times; and to whose sovereign will, in all the dispensations of his providence, he ought to have humbly and patiently submitted.TRAPP, "Jeremiah 45:2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;Ver. 2. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch.] Whom he knoweth by name, and for whom he hath in store an ample recompense of reward; for never yet did any one do or suffer aught for God’s sake, that complained of a hard bargain.WHEDON, " THE MESSAGE, Jeremiah 45:2-5.3. Grief to my sorrow — Better, sorrow to my pain; pain at the sin and obduracy of the people; sorrow for their calamities.I fainted in my sighing — I am weary with sighing. An expression similar to that of Psalms 6:7. It is one of numerous illustrations in the Old Testament showing how thoroughly interwoven were these psalms with the common thought and experience of the people.PETT, "Jeremiah 45:2“Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch.”

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The prophecy is stated to be a personal word from YHWH to Baruch, and an indication therefore of YHWH’s personal interest in and concern for Baruch. It is a reminder that God does not overlook the needs of his second-string servants.

3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’

BARNES, "Grief to my sorrow - Baruch’s sorrow is caused by the sinfulness of the Jewish nation, to which God adds grief by showing how severely it will be punished.

I fainted in - Or, “am weary with” Psa_6:6.

CLARKE, "Thou didst say, Wo is me now! - All that were the enemies of Jeremiah became his enemies too; and he needed these promises of support.

The Lord hath added grief to my sorrow - He had mourned for the desolations that were coming on his country, and now he mourns for the dangers to which he feels his own life exposed; for we find, from Jer_36:26, that the king had given commandment to take both Baruch and Jeremiah, in order that they might be put to death at the instance of his nobles.GILL, "Thou didst say, woe is me now!.... What will become of me? I am ruined and undone; this he said in his heart, if not with his lips, perhaps both ways; and when the king gave orders for the apprehending of him and the prophet, being provoked at the roll which he had wrote and read, Jer_36:26; for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; caused him grief upon grief, sorrow upon sorrow, an abundance of it; for there was a variety of things which occasioned grief and sorrow; the trouble of his office, as secretary to the prophet; the reproach east upon him by the people for it; the grievous things contained in the prophecies he transcribed, concerning the ruin of his people and nation; the king's displeasure at the roll, and his burning it; to which was added the danger he was exposed unto for writing it; and especially, as he might apprehend, for writing it over again, after it was burnt; to which were annexed new threatenings, and such as personally concerned the king;

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I fainted in my sighing; or "with" it; he sighed and groaned at what he saw coming upon his country, and particularly upon himself; it quite overcame his spirits; he sunk and swooned away: or "I laboured in my sighing" (n); amidst his sighs and groans, he prayed to the Lord, and laboured in prayer, that he might be delivered from the evils he feared were coming upon him: and I find no rest; from his grief, sorrow, and sighing; no cessation of that; no serenity and composure of mind; no answer of prayer from God. The Targum is, "and I found not prophecy.'' And the Jewish commentators, as Jarchi, Kimchi, Abarbinel, and Abendana, from the ancient Midrashes, interpret this grief of Baruch to be on account of his not having the gift of prophecy bestowed on him, which he expected by being a servant of the prophet (o); and represent him as saying, Joshua ministered to Moses, and the Holy Spirit dwelled upon him; Elisha ministered to Elijah, and the Holy Spirit rested upon him; how different am I from all the disciples of the prophets! "woe is me now!" &c.

HENRY, " The consternation that poor Baruch was in when he was sought for by the king's messengers and obliged to hide his head, and the notice which God took of it. He cried out, Woe is me now! Jer_45:3. he was a young man setting out in the world; he was well affected to the things of God, and was willing to serve God and his prophet; but, when it came to suffering, he was desirous to be excused. Being an ingenious man, and a scholar, he stood fair for preferment, and now to be driven into a corner, and in danger of a prison, or worse, was a great disappointment to him. When he read the roll publicly he hoped to gain reputation by it, that it would make him to be taken notice of and employed; but when he found that, instead of that, it exposed him to contempt, and brought him into disgrace, he cried out, “I am undone; I shall fall into the pursuers' hands, and be imprisoned, and put to death, or banished: The Lord has added grief to my sorrow, has loaded me with one trouble after another. After the grief of writing and reading the prophecies of my country's ruin, I have the sorrow of being treated as a criminal; for so doing; and, though another might make nothing of this, yet for my part I cannot bear it; it is a burden too heavy for me. I fainted in my sighing (or I am faint with my sighing; it just kills me) and I find no rest, no satisfaction in my own mind. I cannot compose myself as I should and would to bear it, not have I any prospect of relief or comfort.” Baruch was a good man, but, we must say, this was his infirmity. Note, 1. Young beginners in religion, like fresh-water soldiers, are apt to be discouraged with the little difficulties which they commonly meet with at first in the service of God. They do but run with the footmen, and it wearies them; they faint upon the very dawning of the day of adversity, and it is an evidence that their strength is small (Pro_24:10), that their faith is weak, and that they are yet but babes, who cry for every hurt and every fright. 2. Some of the best and dearest of God's saints and servants, when they have seen storms rising, have been in frights, and apt to make the worst of things, and to disquiet themselves with melancholy apprehensions more than there was cause for. 3. God takes notice of the frets and discontents of his people and is displeased with them. Baruch should have rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer in such a good cause and with such good company, but, instead of that, he is vexed at it, and blames his lot, nay, and reflects upon his God, as if he had dealt hardly with him; what he said was spoken in a heat and passion, but God was offended, as he was with Moses, who paid dearly for it,

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when, his spirit being provoked, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. Thou didst say so and so, and it was not well said. God keeps account what we say, even when we speak in haste.JAMISON, "

K&D 3-5, "The occasion for this message of comfort addressed to the prophet's attendant is pointed out in Jer_45:3, in the words which Baruch had uttered: "Woe to me! for Jahveh adds sorrow to my pain." Baruch felt "pain," i.e., pain of soul, at the moral corruption of the people, their impenitence and obduracy in sin and vice, just like the prophet himself, Jer_15:18. To this pain God adds sorrow, by threatening the judgment which shall fall on Judah for sin, and which was even then beginning to break over the land; cf. Jer_8:18. Baruch sighs over this till he is wearied, and finds no rest; cf. Lam_5:5. "I am weary with my sighing," is a reminiscence from Psa_6:7. This sorrow in addition to his pain was not caused in him for the first time by writing down the discourses of the prophet, but was rather thus freshened and increased. The answer of the Lord to this sighing is of a stern character, yet soothing for Baruch. The sentence of destruction has been determined on. What the Lord has built He will now destroy: it is not said why, since the reason was sufficiently known from the prophet's utterances. As to the expression in Jer_45:4, cf. Jer_1:10; Jer_31:28. The destruction regards the whole earth, ְוֶאת־ָּכל־ָהָאֶרץ ִהיא, lit., "and as regards the whole earth, it is it," namely that I destroy. On the employment of ֵאת in introducing the subject, cf. Dan_9:13; Hag_2:5, and Ewald, §277 d. ָּכל־ָהָאֶרץ does not mean "the whole land," but "the whole earth:" this is indubitably evident from the parallel "upon all flesh," Jer_45:5, i.e., the whole of humanity, as in Jer_25:31. The sentence is passed on all the earth, in accordance with the announcement made in Jer_25:15.

CALVIN, "The prophecy is afterwards more clearly expressed, Thus saith Jehovah of Baruch. The Prophet sets on him and accosts him, in order that he might fill his mind with holy fear, in order to correct that sinful fear, by which he was impeded in strenuously serving God. Thou hast said, the cause of the reproof is expressed —thou hast said, Wo is to me now! for Jehovah has added sorrow to my grief Barnch no doubt wished to withdraw from his office, as is the case with those who are too much pressed, when they find that they are unequal to their task; they seek hiding-places and become runagates. Such, then, was the feeling of Baruch when he said, Wo is to me now! It was highly honorable to be a scribe to a Prophet, for it was the same thing as though he received words from the mouth of an angel. It was then unworthy and disgraceful for the holy servant of God to complain of his own misery, when yet it was an evidence of singular favor, that God had been pleased to choose him for such an office. Here then the ingratitude of Baruch is condemned, when he exclaimed that he was miserable, while yet he ought to have deemed it a singular happiness, that God had called him to that work.He says, Jehovah has added sorrow to my grief Here the ingratitude of Baruch breaks out still more; for he ex-postulated with God, as though he had said, that he was not kindly treated. And there is an implied reproach in this complaint; for it is

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the same thing as though he called in question God’s justice, and charged him with too much severity. At the same time he complains that there was no end, as though he had said, that he had already suffered too much, and that God was not acting kindly with him, because he added evils to evils, Jehovah, he says, has added sorrow to my grief. It seems that יגון, igun, is more than מכאב, mecab, for Baruch intimates that he had already suffered grief there being an occasion for it; but that now an addition of sorrow or mourning was made to so many griefs.We hence conclude, that Baruch did not shrink immediately at the first conflict, as slothful men do; but that he vacillated in the middle of his course. And this ought to be carefully observed; for they who have once courageously performed their office, think themselves endued as with angelic fortitude. Hence it comes that they boldly disregard all dangers, because they believe themselves to be invincible. But we see that Baruch was for a time a strenuous and courageous servant of God; but when there appeared no end, he began to grow faint. Let us then learn constantly to flee to God and to seek of him a new increase of grace, so that he may sustain us by the power of his Spirit, and raise us up, when fallen, for otherwise we cannot but fall every moment, even when our career seems glorious; but let us learn, being mindful of our infirmities, to ask the Lord to hold us up and to stretch forth his hand to us every day. This is what we are to observe in the example of Baruch, when he says, that sorrow was added to his grief.But he afterwards expresses the same thing more clearly; I have labored in my groaning, he says, and found no rest By these words also, he testifies that he had been exposed to various evils, that his troubles were not as yet alleviated, or that he was not freed from dangers, and that at length he succumbed, for no rest was given him. We hence see what I have already stated, that Baruch was not refractory immediately at starting, but that when he had already made progress, having completed a part of the race, he was overcome with trials and overwhelmed, before he reached the goal. COFFMAN, ""I am weary with my groaning ..." (Jeremiah 45:3). "There were three grounds, probably, for Baruch's discouragement: (1) he was overwhelmed with the prophet's words on the seriousness of the peoples' sin and the shattering consequences of it; (2) he had probably already suffered some indignities because of his association with the `prophet of doom,' and may have anticipated more to come; and (3) he saw his own personal air castles of ambition and advancement come crashing down around him."[4]COKE, "Jeremiah 45:3. The Lord hath added grief— "The sorrows which I felt for the threatenings denounced against my country and religion are increased by my own troubles; being sought after by the king's commands, in order to be put to death." See chap. Jeremiah 36:26. TRAPP, "Jeremiah 45:3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

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Ver. 3. Thou didst say,] i.e., Thou didst think, like a poor pusillanimous creature as thou art. But Jeremiah could pity him in this infirmity, because it had sometime been his own case, [Jeremiah 15:10] and may befall the best. Pray for me, I say, pray for me, said Father Latimer, for sometimes I am so fearful and faint hearted that I could even run into a mouse hole.For the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow.] So do we oft complain, non quia dura sed quia molles patimur, without cause, through feeblemindedness. And when we speak of our crosses, we are eloquent oft beyond truth; we add, we multiply, we rise in our discourse, as here.PETT, "Jeremiah 45:3“You did say, ‘Woe is me now! for YHWH has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest’.”YHWH here indicates that Baruch had gone at this time through similar soul searching to his master. It is a reminder that it was no easier being a faithful prophet’s assistant and supporter, than it was being a faithful prophet. These could easily have been words of Jeremiah for at times he complained against his lot in a similar way (Jeremiah 15:10-21; Jeremiah 20:7-18). Master and assistant suffered together. Baruch’s complaint may indeed have occurred as a result of what followed his reading of the scroll in the Temple (Jeremiah 36:4-10). It may well be that he had expected that there would be a remarkable response to his reading of Jeremiah’s words. And in a sense there was. But it had not been what he had expected, and he had subsequently had to go into hiding along with Jeremiah. What he had hoped would be a triumph had turned out to be a disaster. We can understand his discouragement and disillusionment. He felt that YHWH had added to his already deep anguish further sorrow and pain. It is an experience endured by many of God’s servants as God brings us to an end of ourselves. And he had grown weary of his need to groan, and of the fact that he did not seem able to find rest. He had almost reached the end of his tether. But as with Baruch it is at such times that God speaks to us.PULPIT, "Jeremiah 45:3Hath added grief to my sorrow. Baruch felt "sorrow" or "pain" at the sinfulness of the people; "grief" or "anxiety" was added by Jeremiah's announcement of the judgment. I fainted in my sighing; rather, I am weary with my sighing; comp. Psalms 6:7 (Authorized Version, 6).

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4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth.

BARNES, "land - Or, earth. Baruch’s lot was cast in one of those troublous times when God enters into judgment with all flesh Jer_45:5. It was not Judaea only but the whole known world that was thrown into turmoil by Nebuchadnezzars energy Jer_25:26.

CLARKE, "Behold, that which I have built - I most certainly will fulfill all those threatenings contained in the roll thou hast written; for I will destroy this whole land.GILL, "Thus shalt thou say unto him,.... This is spoken to Jeremiah, and is an order from the Lord to him, what he should say in his name to Baruch: the Lord saith thus, behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; the Jewish nation, both as to church and state; which the Lord had built up as a spacious and beautiful house to dwell in, and had planted as a vineyard, and set it with pleasant plants; but now would demolish this building, and destroy this plantation: even this whole land; not a few cities only, or only Jerusalem the metropolis, but the whole land of Judea; no part of it but what should be left desolate. So the Targum, "even the whole land of Israel, which is mine.''

HENRY, " The reproof that God gave him for talking at this rate. Jeremiah was troubled to see him in such an agitation, and knew not well what to say to him. He was loth to chide him, and yet thought he deserved it, was willing to comfort him, and yet knew not which way to go about it; but God tells him what he shall say to him, Jer_45:4. Jeremiah could not be certain what was at the bottom of these complaints and fear, but God sees it. They came from his corruptions. That the hurt might therefore not be healed slightly, he searches the wound, and shows him that he had raised his expectations too high in this world and had promised himself too much from it, and that made the distress and trouble he was in so very grievous to him and so hard to be borne. Note, The frowns of the world would not disquiet us as they do if we did not foolishly flatter ourselves with the hopes of its smiles and court and covet them too much. It is our over-fondness for the good things of this present time that makes us impatient under its evil things. Now God shows him that it was his fault and folly, at this time of day especially,

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either to desire or to look for an abundance of the wealth and honour of this world. For, 1. The ship was sinking. Ruin was coming upon the Jewish nation, an utter and universal ruin: “That which I have built, to be a house for myself, I am breaking down, and that which I have planted, to be a vineyard for myself, I am plucking up, even this whole land, the Jewish church and state; and dost thou now seek great things for thyself? Dost thou expect to be rich and honourable and to make a figure now? No.” 2. “It is absurd for thee to be now painting thy own cabin. Canst thou expect to be high when all are brought low, to be full when all about thee are empty?” To seek ourselves more than the public welfare, especially to seek great things to ourselves when the public is in danger, is very unbecoming Israelites. We may apply it to this world, and our state in it; God in his providence is breaking down and pulling up; every thing is uncertain and perishing; we cannot expect any continuing city here. What folly is it then to seek great things for ourselves here, where every thing is little and nothing certain!JAMISON, "that which I have built ... planted I will pluck up — (Isa_5:5).

This whole nation (the Jews) which I founded and planted with such extraordinary care and favor, I will overthrow.CALVIN, "He afterwards adds, Thus shalt thou say to him, etc. Here the Prophet shews that he was not roused against Baruch through any private displeasure, but that he had only conveyed to him God’s message. Behold, what I have built I pull down, and what I have planted I root up. Here it is evident that the cause of the reproof was, that Baruch loved himself too much, and wished to evade dangers when God ordered him to engage in the conflict. Jeremiah sets forth what would be to the whole people. The comparison shews what I have stated, that Baruch, disregarding the public safety, was too cautious, and was thus timid and tender as to his own life. This is the reason why God mentions the whole people, as though he had said, “Dost thou wish to be deemed of more importance than the whole people? Is thy life of more value than the wellbeing of the whole community?” It was a disgrace to Baruch to prefer himself to the whole people, and even to the Temple and the worship of God. When, therefore, the severity of God was now ready to fall on the whole people, though Baruch might have endangered his life a hundred times, yet he ought not to have made so much account of his life. Then the Prophet shews here that Baruch was too delicate as to himself; and because he was blinded by the love of himself, he did not consider the public safety of the people, nor did he regard the Temple and the holy land.These metaphors of building and planting often occur in Scripture, I shall not therefore dwell on them here. But we must observe, that though God be the creator of the whole world, yet the people of Israel were peculiarly his work, and also the land of Israel. For God had consecrated that land to himself that he might be served in it, and had adopted the people. Hence he often compares that people to a vineyard.“O my vineyard, I have planted thee.”(Jeremiah 2:21.)

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I will not multiply quotations, for in a thing so easy it would be a foolish ostentation to heap together many texts. God, then, had built his people, because they dwelt there as in their own habitations, and the land was called his rest He had also planted his people. We may remark, in short, that the building mentioned here and also the plantation, refer to those special favors which God had bestowed on that people. For though he had planted the whole world and all nations, yet the people of Israel was especially his planting, as it is said by Isaiah,“The planting of the Lord is for glory,”that is, this people had been planted, that God through them might manifest his own glory. (Isaiah 61:3)Let us come now to what is here declared; he says, I pull down what I have built, I root up what I have planted; as though he had said, “I have hitherto adorned this people with singular endowments; for I chose them as a heritage to myself, it is a holy race, it is a priestly kingdom, I dwell in the midst of them, I have undertaken the care of defending them, I am their Father, they are to me not only as a son, but also as a first-born; and titan this land is holy, because I have set my name in it: I have therefore built and planted this people and this land; but now, he says, I am pulling down and rooting up.” COFFMAN, ""And this in the whole land ..." (Jeremiah 45:4). God's reply reveals that when a whole society is being destroyed, there will certainly be hardship and disaster for many individuals, and warns Baruch to give up his thoughts of ambition and self-advancement. They could not come in that situation where God was plucking up and tearing down the kingdom of Israel."But thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest ..." (Jeremiah 45:5). Nevertheless would bless his faithful children, not with the prosperity and peace for which they longed; but he would grant them life, when all around them were perishing. What a precious gift is life, under whatever conditions!COKE, "Jeremiah 45:4. Behold, &c.— "The land and people which have so long flourished under the peculiar care of my providence, I resolve now to give up to utter destruction: (see chap. Jeremiah 31:28.) And art thou better (Jeremiah 45:5.) than the rest of my people, that thou shouldst expect to be exempted from the common evils?" Houbigant renders the last words, For the whole land is mine.REFLECTIONS.—Baruch had been the prophet Jeremiah's faithful assistant, chap. 36: and thereby involved himself in trouble, and exposed himself to the fury of the enraged Jehoiakim. We have,1. The consternation that God observes in him when the warrants were out for

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apprehending him. Woe is me now! he looked upon himself as a dead man; for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow: after all the pains that he had taken, and the reproaches that he had endured, now his very life is in danger; and the anguish that he felt, on transcribing the dreadful doom of his people, is increased by his own sufferings. I fainted in my sighing, unable to support the load of grief that oppressed him; and I find no rest, from his sorrow, or any composure of mind under his troubles. Note; (1.) Our hearts are very unwilling to bear the cross. (2.) Many of our complaints arise more from our unbelieving fears, than our real danger. (3.) We should watch over the temper of our hearts, and the door of our lips, when tempted to impatience or despair under our sufferings; for God observes, and will reprove us for it.2. Jeremiah, from God, checks his aspiring thoughts, the disappointment of which seems to have been at the root of his complaints. He was a man of abilities, a scribe to the prophet, and a follower of his piety; and he might hope that this would recommend him to his countrymen, and enable him to rise to some distinguished post: but it was absurd in him to seek great things for himself, when the whole nation was devoted to ruin. Note; (1.) If we had less expectations from the world, we should have fewer disappointments and less cause to complain. (2.) Even good men in general are slow of heart to believe what Jesus hath spoken, My kingdom is not of this world, and too often have their hearts been too much attached to worldly hopes and prospects.3. Though his hopes of greatness are blasted, his life is secured to him, and that is a distinguishing mercy, when death spreads around his universal ravages. In all places, and amidst every danger, God promises to protect him, and with this he has cause to be abundantly satisfied and thankful. TRAPP, "Jeremiah 45:4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, [that] which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.Ver. 4. Behold, that which I have built, &c.] A metaphor, as is before noted, ab architectura et agricultura. I am turning all upside down, and wouldst thou only go free and untouched of the common calamity? It is no whit likely; thou must share with the rest.WHEDON, " 4. Built… break down — This announces God’s purpose and his right. His proprietorship is involved in that he is the builder, and out of this comes his right to destroy.Even this whole land — Rather, whole earth. The original word is ambiguous, but the parallel all flesh in the following verse limits its import to that land.PETT, "Jeremiah 45:4-5

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“Thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says YHWH. Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, and this in the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For, behold, I will bring evil on all flesh, the word of YHWH, but your life will I give to you for a prey in all places to which you go.”It would appear that at that time Baruch had been confident that through the words of Jeremiah Jerusalem would be restored, with the result that he himself would receive accreditation as Jeremiah’s scribe, and be held in honour. He was sure that eventually he would be seen as a great man (‘do you seek great things for yourself?’), the scribe of a successful prophet.But YHWH here informs him that that is not to be. For the truth is that Jerusalem will not repent at the words of Jeremiah, with the result that what He, YHWH, has built up, He will break down, and what He has planted He will pluck up, and this not only in Jerusalem but also throughout the land. And now this has come about with the result that the words of the prophecy become directly relevant.But YHWH assures Baruch that, while this may be so, in the midst of the disaster he, like Jeremiah, need not be afraid, for he can be assured that he will be preserved by YHWH until his time comes. YHWH’s promise is that he will not be caught up in the final disaster coming on the people of Judah, for whilst evil will be brought on all Judah, Baruch himself will be preserved through it, and will be one of the remnant who escape. The section thus ends with a message of hope in the midst of the gloom. It is a reminder that God never forgets His people, even in the midst of disaster, and provides the assurance that whenever things might appear to be at their darkest, those who are His can be confident that He is there with them in the midst of it all. It is the guarantee that His people will survive, and that His purposes will finally come to fruition. It is a fitting climax to the section.‘And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.’ There are no words that better express what is to be the attitude of the true people of God. They are words that should be written on the hearts of all who would seek to serve God. It is doubtful whether they are to be seen as a rebuke levelled at Baruch’s general attitude, but rather as a warning in a moment of temporary exultation. YHWH gently warns His servant that it is not outward success that must be sought, but the will of God, and that that does not necessarily come to fruition within one person’s lifetime. Let him therefore be content with this, the assurance that YHWH will be with him whatever the future may hold.Indeed, as He points out, for Jeremiah and Baruch there is no short term solution. Judah’s sin is such that they can only be broken down and uprooted, something that had now happened. But that is not to be a matter of despair, for Baruch will himself be an evidence of the fact that God preserves His remnant ready for another day. In the face of this they must persevere in the midst of hardship, and must not become discouraged, for God’s Day will finally dawn.

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The words are a reminder to us that our thoughts also should not be set on what we can achieve, or have achieved, but should be fixed on a desire for the fulfilling of the will of God. They are words that should be inscribed on every preacher’s rostrum. And they remind us that whether we live at times of success, or of outward failure, our confidence should be in the fact that God watches over His people and will see His purposes through in the end, and this whether the way be rough or the way be smooth. For with God there can be no failure, with the result that we may be sure that what may seem to us sometimes to signal the end of hope, will only turn out to be a part of His plan, and a stepping stone in the carrying forward of His will.PULPIT, "That which I have built (comp, Jeremiah 1:10 and parallel passages). Even this whole land; rather, and that is the whole earth.PULPIT, "Jeremiah 45:4Divine destruction.I. GOD CAN DESTROY HIS OWN WORK. What he made he can unmake. People dogmatize about the indestructibility of matter, of atoms, of souls. How do we know they are indestructible? Is God's omnipotence limited by the properties of his own works? But apart from all metaphysics, the complex world, being constructed, is plainly subject to destruction. It is monstrous to think the universe is a huge Frankenstein, able to escape from the power of its Maker.II. GOD HAS A RIGHT TO DESTROY HIS OWN WORK. There is no property so clearly belonging to a person as the work of his own hands. All things that exist were made by God, and all belong to him. What he gave us he has a right to withdraw. His gifts are loans, talents to be used for a season and then returned. No creature has a right to its own life before God. He freely gave it; he may withdraw it. Much less have we sinful creatures any such right.III. GOD WILL NOT DESTROY HIS OWN WORK WITHOUT GOOD REASON. A power is not necessarily always put forth nor a right in perpetual exercise. God does not act capriciously nor cruelly. He is the Creator rather than the Destroyer. He delights in creating because he loves his creatures. He takes no pleasure in destroying, but will only do it under urgent necessity.IV. NEVERTHELESS THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH GOD WILL DESTROY HIS OWN WORK. All things were good when they came from their Maker's hands. But some have been corrupted. When a thing is hopelessly corrupt there is no reason for preserving it and much for destroying it. See this in earthly experience—the Flood, the destruction of Jerusalem, and m greater judgments—the wages of sin, death, and the final destruction of the world. Therefore let us not presume that any work or institution is eternal because it was established by the eternal God, that any possession of ours must be permanent

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because it came from him, or that our own life is safe because God breathed it into us.

5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

CLARKE, "And seekest thou great things for thyself? - Nothing better can be expected of this people: thy hopes in reference to them are vain. Expect no national amendment, till national judgments have taken place. And as for any benefit to thyself, think it sufficient that God has determined to preserve thy life amidst all these dangers.

But thy life will I give unto thee for a prey - This is a proverbial expression. We have met with it before, Jer_21:9, Jer_38:2, Jer_39:18; and it appears to have this meaning. As a prey or spoil is that which is gained from a vanquished enemy, so it is preserved with pleasure as the proof and reward of a man’s own valor. So Baruch’s life should be doubly precious unto him, not only on account of the dangers through which God had caused him to pass safely, but also on account of those services he had been enabled to render, the consolations he had received, and the continual and very evident interposition of God in his behalf. All these would be dearer to him than the spoils of a vanquished foe to the hero who had overcome in battle.Spoil may signify unlooked-for gain. The preservation of his life, in such circumstances, must be more than he could reasonably expect; but his life should be safe, and he should have it as a spoil, whithersoever he should go. This assurance must have quieted all his fears.

GILL, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not,.... Riches and wealth honour and esteem, peace and prosperity; these were not to be sought after and expected, when the whole nation would be involved in such a general calamity. Baruch perhaps expected that his reading the roll to princes would have been a means of preferring him at court, of advancing him to some post or office, in which he might have acquired wealth, and got applause, and lived in peace and plenty all his days; but this was not to be looked for; when, if he observed, the very roll he wrote and read contained

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in it prophecies of the general ruin of the nation. The Jews restrain this to the gift of prophecy they suppose Baruch sought after, which was not to be enjoyed out of the land of Canaan: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh; not upon every individual person in the world; but upon all the inhabitants of Judea, who should either die by the sword or by famine, or by pestilence, or be carried captive, or be in some distress or another: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest; suggesting that he should be obliged to quit his native place and country, and go from place to place; as he did, after the destruction of Jerusalem, along with the prophet; and even into Egypt with the Jews that went there; where his life would be in danger, and yet should be preserved; he should be snatched as a brand out of the burning, when Jerusalem was taken; and in other places, when exposed, though he should lose everything, yet not his life; which should be as dear to him as a rich spoil taken by the soldier, being a distinguishing mercy.

HENRY, "The encouragement that God gave him to hope that though he should not be great, yet he should be safe: “I will bring evil upon all flesh, all nations of men, all orders and degrees of men, but thy life will I give to thee for a prey” (thy soul, so the word is) “in all places whither thou goest. Thou must expect to be hurried from place to place, and, wherever thou goest, to be in danger, but thou shalt escape, though often very narrowly, shalt have thy life, but it shall be as a prey, which is got with much difficulty and danger; thou shalt be saved as by fire.” Note, The preservation and continuance of life are very great mercies, and we are bound to account them such, as they are the prolonging of our opportunity to glorify God in this world and to get ready for a better; and at some times, especially when the arrows of death fly thickly about us, life is a signal favour, and what we ought to be very thankful for, and while we have it must not complain though we be disappointed of the great things we expected. Is not the life more than meat?

JAMISON, "seekest thou great things for thyself — Thou art over-fastidious and self-seeking. When My own peculiar people, a “whole” nation (Jer_45:4), and the temple, are being given to ruin, dost thou expect to be exempt from all hardship? Baruch had raised his expectations too high in this world, and this made his distresses harder to be borne. The frowns of the world would not disquiet us if we did not so eagerly covet its smiles. What folly to seek great things for ourselves here, where everything is little, and nothing certain!

all flesh — the whole Jewish nation and even foreign peoples (Jer_25:26).but thy life ... for a prey — Esteem it enough at such a general crisis that thy life shall be granted thee. Be content with this boon of life which I will rescue from imminent death, even as when all things are given up to plunder, if one escape with aught, he has a something saved as his “prey” (Jer_21:9). It is striking how Jeremiah, who once used such complaining language himself, is enabled now to minister the counsel requisite for Baruch when falling into the same sin (Jer_12:1-5; Jer_15:10-18). This is part of God’s design in suffering His servants to be tempted, that their temptations may adapt them for ministering to their fellow servants when tempted.

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CALVIN, "It afterwards follows, And seekest thou great things for thyself? We now see clear enough why he reproved Baruch, it was, because he was too careful as to himself, and too timid; and thus it was that he was impeded in his duty. He then says, And dost thou seek for thyself? The particle לך , lac, for thyself, is put here emphatically; for here God sets Baruch in the balance, and the whole people together, with the temple and divine worship. “Dost thou,” he says, “outweigh them? Is thy life of more value than the temple, the safety of the people, and all my gifts which so much excel?” It was then God’s purpose in this way to make Baruch ashamed of himself, because he preferred a frail life to so many things and so glorious. Dost thou, then, he says, seek great things, גדלות , gidalut, for thyself? that is, “Shall thy state be eminent while the temple is burnt with fire, while the land is laid waste, while most men perish, and the remnant are driven into exile and captivity? Art thou then alone to be deemed sacred? Art thou alone to be exempt from loss and trouble? See, is all this right?” Here then he made Baruch himself the judge.But as Baruch might as yet flatter himself, he immediately restrains him; Seek not, he says, for we know how men from self-love seek their own indulgence. That Baruch then might not persist in his course, God puts a check on all his ambitious feelings; Seek not, he says. He afterwards adds a ground of consolation. Baruch has been thus far severely reproved, as he deserved, on account of his self-indulgence; but God now forgives him, and adds a comfort which might in part alleviate his sorrow; For behold, he says, I will bring evil on all flesh, and 1 will give thee thy life for a prey in all p1aces whither thou goest Here God frees Baruch from that distressing fear by which he had been debilitated, so as not to possess suitable firmness for his work. he then says, “Fear not, for thy life shall be safe to thee while all around thee are destroyed.” Baruch thought that he should perish while the people were safe and secure; but God declares that none of the people would be safe, and that he would be safely preserved while all the rest were perishing.I will bring evil, he says, on all flesh He speaks indeed briefly, but Baruch must have well considered what he had received from the mouth of the Prophet, for he ought to have been fully persuaded as to the faithfulness and immutable purpose of God. God then assumes this fact, that ruin was nigh as to the whole people and other nations. He afterwards adds, Thy life will I give thee as a prey Of this kind of language we have before spoken. To give one his life for a prey was to deliver him as it were from instant death. As when all things are exposed to plunder, if one snatched this or that and escaped, he would have something saved; or as if one plucked anything from the burning, he would have it preserved; so when all things were thrown into such a confusion, that death would beset men on every side, he who could escape in safety would have his life as a prey when removed from all danger. Then God bids Baruch to be content with the benefit of being safe, while others, as I have said, were perishing. Now follows, — COFFMAN, ""For a prey ..." (Jeremiah 45:5). "This means that God will allow

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Baruch to escape with his life, as in Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 28:2, and Jeremiah 39:18."[5] However, the words, "In all places whither thou shalt go," are somewhat ominous, indicating that, "Baruch will be obliged to avoid destruction by flight, but that God will thereby save his life."[6]The discerning comment of Albert Barnes is a fitting conclusion to my comments on this little chapter. "The long catalog of calamities pronounced against Israel by Jeremiah made a painful impression upon Baruch's mind. He was ambitious, of noble birth, being the grandson of Maaseiah the governor of Jerusalem during the times of Josiah; he was a scribe and probably looked forward to high office of state. This short prophecy commands Baruch to give up his ambitions and to be satisfied with being able to escape with his life. When the last memorials of Jeremiah's life were added to the history of the fall of Jerusalem, Baruch added this chapter in his old age; and then, being humbled by the weight of years, and by the sorrows of private and public ,disasters, he probably read this little chapter with far different feelings from those which he had when first Jeremiah revealed to him what the Lord had prophesied concerning his faithful scribe."[7]TRAPP, "Jeremiah 45:5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek [them] not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.Ver. 5. And seekest thou great things for thyself?] This is, saith one, as if a man should have his house on fire, and instead of seeking to quench his house, should go and trim up his chambers; or as if, when the ship is sinking, he should seek to enrich his cabin.Seek them not.] For what so great felicity canst thou fancy to thyself in things so fading, as the case now stands especially?But thy life will I give thee for a prey.] Which, in these killing and dying times, in such dear years of time, is no small mercy.WHEDON, "5. Great things for thyself — That is, in the way of worldly prosperity. When the whole earth is involved in judgment no individual can reasonably seek for any thing great. If he can make his life his prey he ought not to ask more.SIMEON, "WE MUST NOT SEEK GREAT THINGSJeremiah 45:5. Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.WORLDLINESS is a great and common evil: and it is often manifested in those from whom we should least expect it. The sons of Zebedee solicited the highest posts of honour in their Master’s kingdom, immediately after he had been foretelling his

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crucifixion: and all the disciples disputed about preeminence even at the last supper, just after they had been warned, that one of them would betray his Lord. Thus Baruch, when he had been writing in a book all the prophecies of Jeremiah, wherein God’s determination to destroy the Jewish nation had been repeatedly declared, was promising himself years of case and affluence; and was afraid to write another copy of the prophecies, lest the king, who had destroyed the former copy, should put him to death. Jeremiah therefore was ordered by God to reprove him; to tell him what had been the secret thoughts of his heart [Note: ver. 3.], and to warn him against indulging such an unbecoming spirit [Note: To see this connexion, read the thirty-sixth chapter, and then the forty-fifth, which, in the series of Jeremiah’s prophecies, ought to follow it.].The prohibition in the text being applicable to all in every age, we shall shew,I. When we may be said to seek great things for ourselves—In direct reference to the text itself we observe, that this may be said of us,1. When the objects of our pursuit are great—[Things are great or small by comparison only; since that which would be great for a peasant, would be altogether worthless in the eyes of a king. But they may universally be called “great,” when they far exceed our present condition: and, in that case, an aspiring after them subjects us to the censure in the text. The world indeed universally commend ambition: but worldly ambition is very opposite to the self-denying doctrines of Christianity. It was always discountenanced by our Lord [Note: Matthew 8:20. John 6:15. Matthew 6:19-21.]; and is universally reprobated by his Apostles [Note: Philippians 3:19. Colossians 3:2.]: and, wherever it rules in the heart, it indicates a carnal and worldly mind [Note: Romans 8:5.].]2. When we seek even moderate things with eagerness—[There is an important distinction to be made between industry, and eagerness: the one relates to the activity of the body; the other to an excessive desire of the mind: the one is not only proper, but necessary, in our respective spheres [Note: Romans 12:11. Ecclesiastes 9:10.]; the other is universally sinful, when it relates to earthly things. What can our Lord mean by repeating, no less than four times, that solemn injunction, “Take no thought [Note: Matthew 6:25; Matthew 6:28; Matthew 6:31; Matthew 6:34.]?” Doubtless it is not to be taken literally in the strictest sense: but, allowing for the utmost latitude of interpretation, he must mean, that we should take no anxious thought even for the most moderate, or most necessary, comforts. In perfect agreement with this are the directions of his Apostles [Note: 1 Corinthians 7:32. Philippians 4:6.]:—consequently, the indulging of an eager desire after any thing pertaining to this life, exposes us to the reproof contained in the text.]3. When we seek any thing merely for ourselves—

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[We are not at liberty to make self in any instance the chief end of our actions. There is One above us, even God, whose honour we should seek, even in the most common offices of life [Note: 1 Corinthians 10:31.]. To be lovers of our own selves is a mark of a reprobate mind [Note: 2 Timothy 3:2.] and whatever we do under the influence of such a spirit, whether the action be of a civil [Note: Hosea 10:1.] or religious [Note: Zechariah 7:5-6.] nature, it is not acceptable to God. Though therefore we do not aspire after great things, yet, if we seek any tiling merely for ourselves, and without any higher end than our own ease, interest, or honour, we are altogether wrong, and deserving of the severest censure.]To vindicate the reasonableness of this prohibition, we shall proceed to shew,II. Why we should not seek them—That the reasons may more distinctly appear, we shall shew,1. Why we should not make great things the objects of our pursuit—[An aspiring after riches or honours necessarily supposes that we expect to find happiness in the enjoyment of them. But it is certain that even the whole world (supposing we could possess it) could never make us happy [Note: Luke 12:15.]. What folly then is it to be seeking to “fill our belly with the east wind [Note: Job 15:2.]!” Besides, the more we possess of this world, the more we are exposed to temptations. Who does not see that the having the means of gratifying our evil inclinations operates as an inducement to indulge them? and that an elevation of rank or character has a tendency to strengthen the pride of our hearts? Are there not then temptations enough in our way without our seeking to increase them? Shall we “load ourselves with thick clay [Note: Habakkuk 2:6.]” when we are about to run a race; or make the way to heaven tenfold more difficult than it is already [Note: Matthew 19:23-24.]? They to whom God has given great things, may doubtless enjoy them: but the man who seeks them, labours for that which will ultimately involve him in utter ruin [Note: 1 Timothy 6:8; 1 Timothy 6:10. οἱ δὲ βουλόμενοι πλουτεῖν. The willing and desiring to be rich has this fatal tendency, without any determination to get rich at all events.].]2. Why we should not seek even moderate things with eagerness—[No man is eager after any thing but in consequence of the love he feels towards it: his eagerness therefore to it must imply a love of it. Now an attachment to any of the things of time and sense, especially such an attachment as stimulates us earnestly to pursue them, argues a want of true love to God [Note: 1 John 2:15.]: for to love both God and mammon is impossible [Note: Matthew 6:24.]. Moreover, such an eagerness shews, that we have no just value for our souls: for if we had once learned to appreciate the soul aright, the whole world would appear as nothing in comparison of it [Note: Matthew 16:26. Philippians 3:7-8.]. Will any one then justify

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a conduct that involves in it such consequences? As long as the love of God, and a care for our own souls, be our bounden duty, so long must the eager pursuit of any earthly vanity be incompatible with the Christian character.]3. Why we should not seek any thing merely for ourselves—[We are not our own, but God’s. He both formed [Note: Isaiah 43:21.] and redeemed [Note: 1 Corinthians 6:20. 2 Corinthians 5:15.] us, that we might glorify his name: and he represents his faithful servants as seeking, not their own things, out the things of Jesus Christ [Note: Philippians 2:21.]. Are we then at liberty to rob God of his glory? and to defeat the great end both of our creation and redemption? Besides, our fellow-creatures also have a claim upon us. We are commanded not to “seek every man his own, but every man another’s wealth [Note: Philippians 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:24.]. Ought we then to deprive them of their right? Doubtless we may without impropriety labour in our respective callings to provide for ourselves and families; but we must take care that, in doing this, we have a view to God’s honour, and the general welfare of mankind. Else our labour is mere selfishness, that contracts and hardens our hearts, while it violates every obligation to God and man.]Address—1. Those who are seeking only the things of this world—[What have you gained by all your past exertions? You are pleased, perhaps, with your success, and have your pride gratified: but are you really happier than you were before you possessed your present honours and emoluments? Perhaps we may rather ask, Have you not, together with your means of self-indulgence, multiplied also your vexations and disappointments? But supposing you to be unusually favoured in these respects, we still ask, What comfort will these things afford you in the hour of death, and the day of judgment? Will they not then at least, whatever they may now do, appear to be lighter than vanity itself? Then in the name of God, “Seek them not.”If however you be determined to seek great things, we will change our voice, and say, “Seek them:” yes, seek them: only take care that they be truly great. Be not contented with the poor pitiful things of time and sense: let your ambition rise to the very throne of God, and all the glory of heaven. Seek the favour of God: seek an union with Christ: seek an abiding fellowship with him: seek such discoveries of his love as produce in you a perfect conformity to his image. In pursuit of such things, you cannot aim too high; your eagerness cannot be excessive; your very selfishness becomes a virtue. Other things that you acquire, are for yourselves and heirs; these shall be for yourselves alone, and that, for ever and ever.]2. Those who profess to seek higher and better things—

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[Many a Baruch is to be found in the house of God: even the people who are truly beloved of the Lord, may need reproof for being too much cumbered about earthly things [Note: John 11:5. with Luke 10:41-42,]. If then such a character be present, let him consider the text as applied to himself in particular; Seekest thou great things unto thyself? thou, who professest to be dead to the world? thou, who pretendest to walk in the steps of Christ? thou, who boastest that thou hast God for thy portion? How dishonourable is such conduct! O “remember whence thou art fallen; and repent.” Remember what was the root of Demas’ apostasy [Note: 2 Timothy 4:10.]; and know that the same root of bitterness, if nourished in your hearts, will bring forth the same malignant and destructive fruit. The best, the only antidote to this poison is, “the love of Christ shed abroad in your hearts [Note: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.].” As a sight of the meridian sun unfits our organs of vision for beholding for a time, any inferior objects, so will a sight of Christ efface the beauty of all sublunary things; or, to use the language of inspiration, “by the cross of Christ, the world will soon be crucified unto us, and we unto the world [Note: Galatians 6:14.],”]PULPIT, "Seekest thou great things, etc.? All around is passing through a sore crisis, and canst thou expect a better lot? It is no time for personal ambition, when the very foundations of the state are crumbling. In all places whither thou goest. This seems to indicate that Baruch's time of exile would be a restless one; it would nowhere be safe for him to take up a settled habitation.PULPIT, "Jeremiah 45:5Self-seeking.Self-seeking is treated in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, as both wrong and not really profitable to the self-seeker, although it seems be prompted by natural instincts and supported by good reasons. Let us consider the grounds of these representations.I. WHY SELF-SEEKING IS WRONG. God does not require absolute altruism; we are only commanded to love our neighbours as ourselves. Natural self-regarding instincts created by God can surely be innocently exercised. It cannot be necessary for all efforts of men to rise in social position, etc; to be condemned. What, then is the self-seeking which is blameworthy?1. That which offends against justice by seeking selfish gain at the expense of others. What frightful injustice ambition must answer for, in liberty destroyed, lives sacrificed, confusion and misery sown broadcast!2. That which offends against charity by disregarding the good of others. In the spirit of Cain it cries, "Am I my brother's keeper?" So long as it attains its own ends, it will not lift a finger to move another man's burden. But Christ teaches us that it is not enough that we do not injure others, we must also actively help them; it

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is not enough that we do not steal, we midst go further and "give to him that asketh."3. That which offends against duty by sacrificing the vocation of life to private gain. We are not free to live to ourselves, because we are not our own masters. We are called to God's service. Our duty is to serve God, not self, so that whatsoever we do may be done "unto the Lord." Self-seeking is rebellion against our Lord and Master. In times of public distress self-seeking is peculiarly odious. Such were the times in which Baruch lived. Then there are loud calls of duty and noble tasks to be done. The general grief makes the thought of one's own pleasure and profit out of place. To use that distress as a ladder by which to rise to greatness is indeed despicable.II. WHY SELF-SEEKING IS NOT PROFITABLE. In a worldly sense and for a time it may be, but not really and ultimately. Even in the lower human relations, how often do the seeds of ambition bring a harvest of anxiety! The self-seeker reaches the climax of his endeavours, his most brilliant dream is realized, he is a king—and he wears a hidden coat of mail, hides himself in a fortress-castle, has not the liberty of his meanest subject, is driven near to madness by the fear of assassination."He who ascends to mountain tops shall findThe loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow;He who surpasses or subdues mankindMust look down on the hate of those below."When extreme greatness and extreme disappointment are neither realized, lesser self-seeking brings its corresponding trouble. It narrows the heart and destroys the purest and best delights—the joys of human sympathy. Christ shows to us deeper grounds for regarding it as a vain pursuit. "The first shall be last, and the last first." The reason he gives is that "Whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it." Only in proportion as we live out of self can we enjoy a life worth living; only then, indeed, do we truly live at all. By trying to make ourselves great, though we may reach a high external position, we fall to a low internal condition—we become mean and small; while in forgetting self and sacrificing self for God and for mankind we become unconsciously great.BI, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not. Seeking great thingsBaruch, the companion of Jeremiah, to whom these words were addressed, was a young man of learning, who had probably formed large expectations of distinction, which were sadly disappointed by the calamities which befell his country. The prophet checks his

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aspirations in the strong language of our text: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” It is the selfish seeking of the great things of this world and the eager pursuits of them, as if they were of supreme importance, which is censured by the prophet.1. They who thus seek them are least likely to attain them. It is said there is a fiery light which appears in marshy places, floating just above the surface of the earth, so volatile in its nature that the least breath moves it, and consequently those who rush towards it most eagerly, create a current of air which drives it from them, and it thus leads them on to miry places for their destruction; while, if they would quietly sit down it might float near them, or rest upon them when there was no agitation in the atmosphere to repel it. So is it with the great things of this world, they often fly from those who pant in the chase after them; they frequently rest upon those who reach after them more quietly. One of the wealthiest individuals in a distant city, who spends immense sums for benevolent purposes, was heard to say, that he hardly knew how his property came to him; it seemed to increase without effort on his part, and whether he would or no. The reason may have been because he was not selfishly eager in the pursuit of it, and because he consecrated it to good objects, and therefore God blessed him as He did Solomon.2. They who selfishly and eagerly “seek the great things” of the world, are apt to have some sore trial coupled with success, if they are successful. Look at all history; when were its great men so wretched, as when they had attained the highest point of exaltation! “He has gained everything,” said a companion of Napoleon, when he was in the zenith of prosperity, “and yet he is unhappy.” So true is this, that one almost dreads entering upon a state of great worldly aggrandisement, or to see others entering upon it, lest something should happen to mar all. We feel as we do when one is on a lofty spire, admiring his elevation, but almost afraid to look at him lest he should fall God has wisely connected such checks with worldly greatness, to teach us not to set our hearts upon it, and to enforce the prophet s warning, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.”3. The thought of death should teach the vanity of the selfish and eager pursuit of worldly greatness. How one severe fit of sickness will change the aspect of all the glitter of the world! In health it is like the panoramic view where splendid palaces and cities pass before our delighted eyes; in sickness the glass is taken away, and a little painted daub is seen, no bigger than one’s hand. And death shuts out even that from our sight. “Millions for an hour of life,” was the dying exclamation of one of England’s proudest queens. It is further humiliating to all worldly aspirations to see how small, a vacancy one makes among the living by his death. Think of any person, however great he may have been, who has been two years dead, how little is he missed! how everything goes forward just as smoothly without him! What then, in conclusion, is the view of the great things of this life to which such reflections lead? The proper view seems to be, not to despise the things of this world, but to be sure that our supreme affections are on those of another and a better; not to reject the good gifts of this life, but neither to toil for them as if they were all in all to our happiness, nor to use them, when gained, for our own selfish gratification. (W. H. Lewis, D. D.)

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Seeking for “great things”We wish, so to speak, not to annihilate the passions of human nature, which sin disturbs and perverts; but, if possible, to convert them, and turn them into another direction. You love pleasure, and we wish you to have pleasure; only we would draw you off from “the pleasures of sin for a season,” to the joy of God’s salvation; we would draw you from the filthy puddle to the “water of life, clear as crystal, which proceedeth from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” You love wealth; we wish you to love it, and to obtain it; but not “the deceitful riches,” as the Scriptures call them, but the “true riches,” the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” You are ambitious, and we wish you to be so; you wish to rise, and we wish you to rise; you wish to be great, and we wish you to be great; and therefore we would open a career of glory and grandeur, in pursuing which you will be placed far above philosophers, and politicians, and heroes, and kings; “dwelling on high,” and being “quickened together with Christ,” “raised up, and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places.” There are four reasons why you should not “seek great things” for yourselves on earth, and four reasons why you should “seek those things that are above.”I. The one is uncertain in acquisition—the other sure. A great deal of what is called earthly greatness is placed beyond the reach of many, whatever they may do. Many are poor, and they have not the opportunities and the means of becoming affluent. Many cannot fill the seats of learning and of science; they have not capacities to acquire the needful treasures. But here is a reason why you should “seek those things which are above”; for these are always sure in their attainment. In the work of the Lord the servant may become equally great with the master; for moral greatness does not consist in doing great things, but in doing little things with a great mind. And these are accessible to all.II. The one is fleeting in possession—the other durable. What is all history, but a relation of the revolutions to which all worldly things are liable—of the rich despoiled of their wealth, of nobles stript of their honours, of princes dethroned, exiled, imprisoned, put to death—Pharaoh in the Red Sea, Nebuchadnezzar eating grass like an ox, Belshazzar the conqueror and the conquered, Napoleon the emperor and the captive! These instances, perhaps, are too peculiar, and too remote, and national, to impress many of you: look therefore nearer home; look at those things which will touch you. What is honour, but a noise of airy breath? What is popularity? It hangs on the wavering tongue of the multitude, who are like the waves of the sea, driven to and fro and tossed; now rolling towards one shore, and now towards another, according to the gale; now crying “Hosannah,” and now “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” Yes, wherever on earth you lay up treasure, you must lay it up where “moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” And here is another thing to be taken into the account too. Allowing that these things could be perpetuated in your possession to the end of life, they can be possessed no longer. You have only a life interest in any of them. Shall I set my heart on that which is not, and that from which I am so soon to be removed? But now this is a reason why you should “seek those things that are above”; for he that succeeds here (and we have shown that you will succeed if you seek them), has “chosen,” as our Saviour says, “that good part, which shall never be taken away from him.” He has seized a blessedness which is independent of external accidents, independent of the revolutions of states, independent of the vicissitudes of time, independent of the ravages of death, independent of the conflagration of the last day: so that when “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up,” he can stand upon the ashes of the

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universe and say, “I have lost nothing”; “I look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”III. The one is unsatisfactory in enjoyment—the other satisfying. Take the “great things” you would here seek after for yourself; allowing that you attain them (and you have heard that the attainment is uncertain)—allowing that you could retain them (and you have heard that the retention is impossible)—yet there is no real contentment in them. Ahab was king of Israel Was he satisfied with his dominion? No; he covets Naboth’s little vineyard; and because he cannot obtain it, he is sick forsooth and takes to his bed and can eat nothing. Some of the Roman emperors, who strode over the world, were the most wretched of all beings; they were burdens to themselves. I was one day walking with rich individual over his estate; his mind was in a serious mood, and I endeavoured to avail myself of it; and he made this very wise remark, “Sir,” said he, “those who have not succeeded in the world always impute their dissatisfaction to their want of success; they are not aware of the insufficiency of these things themselves. ‘Oh!’ say they, ‘could we obtain them, we should be happy.’ But those of us who have succeeded, and have obtained them, and find ourselves no nearer happiness than before, are the men who know that the fault lies in the things themselves.” But this is a reason why you should “seek those things which are above.” They are satisfying.IV. The one is dangerous and injurious in influence—the other safe and beneficial. Yes; the “great things” you seek here for yourselves, owing to our depravity, are full of peril. “Who is the Lord,” says Pharaoh, “that I should obey Him?” “How,” says our Saviour, “can ye believe, who receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour which cometh from God only?” Even good men, with regard to these “great things,” as they are called in our text, want peculiar grace, or they will not be proof against their evil influence. Hezekiah could not bear the notice taken of him by the ambassadors of Benhadad; “his heart was lifted up; therefore was wrath upon him and all his people.” I never yet saw a Christian improved by his rising in the world: I have seen many who have been injured by it: I have seen many who have been less constant and regular in their attendance on the means of grace, though they had more leisure, and could command a vehicle: I have seen those who have given less afterwards—not less comparatively, but less absolutely; some of them who gave gold, then gave silver, and some even copper. Wherefore, once more, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not”; but “seek those things which are above.” There safety is. These are not only blameless; but they are profitable—“profitable unto all things; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” These, instead of polluting the mind, will purify it; they will draw you off from earth, instead of allowing you to settle here. Instead of elevating you, they will clothe you with humility; instead of leading you away from your God, they will connect you with Him; they will prepare you for every condition in which you can be found. Therefore you cannot have too much of these. (W. Jay.)

The folly of ambitionI. The first reason for not seeking the great things of earth and time is, that they will not be attained. We do not deny that the energy and perseverance of an ambitious man will accomplish great results, but we affirm confidently that he will never attain what he desires. For his desires are continually running ahead of his attainments, so that the more he gets the more he wants. He never acquires the “great thing” which he is seeking in such a way as to sit down quietly and enjoy contentment of heart. Alexander, we are

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told, having conquered all the then known world, wept in disappointment because there were no more worlds for him to overrun and subdue. In this way, it is apparent that he who is seeking great things here upon earth will never obtain them. He is chasing his horizon. He is trying to jump off his own shadow. As fast as he advances, the horizon recedes from him; the further he leaps, the further his shadow falls. His estimate of what a “ great thing” is continually changes, so that though relatively to other men he has accumulated wealth, or obtained earthly power and fame, yet absolutely, he is no nearer the desire of his heart—no nearer to a satisfying good—than he was at the beginning of his career. Nay, it is the testimony of many a man, that the first few gains that were made at the beginning of life came nearer to filling the desires of the mind, and were accompanied with more of actual contentment, than the thousands and millions that succeeded them.II. If they could be attained they would ruin the soul. It is fearful to observe the rapidity with which a man’s character deteriorates as he secures the object of his desire, when the object is a merely earthly one, and the desire is a purely selfish one. Take, for illustration, the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. He aimed at a universal empire in Europe. And just in proportion as he approached the object of his aspirations, did he recede from that state of mind and heart which ought to characterise a dependent creature of God. We always associate him with those pagan demi-gods, those heaven-storming Titans, who like the Lucifer of Scripture are the very impersonation of pride and ambition But such a spirit as this is the worst species of human character. It is the most intense form of idolatry—that of egotism and self-worship. It is the most arrogant and defiant form of pride. It would scale the heavens. It would dethrone the Eternal. The same effect of mere worldly success is seen also in the walks of everyday life. Cast your eye over the circle in which you move, and select out those who are the most greedy of earthly good, and are the most successful in obtaining it, and are they not the most selfish persons that you know? It is here that we see the moral benefit of failures and disappointments. Were men uniformly successful in their search after “great things”; did every man who seeks wealth obtain wealth, and every man who grasps after power obtain power, and every man who lusts after fame become renowned, the world would be a pandemonium, and human character and happiness would be ruined. Swollen by constant victory, and a sense of superiority, successful men would turn their hands against one another, as in the wars of the giants before the flood. There would be no self-restraint, no regard for the welfare of others, no moderate and just estimate of this world, and no attention to the future life.III. “Great things,” so far as they are attained at all in this world, are commonly attained indirectly. Saul, the son of Kish, was sent out by his father to find the asses that had strayed, but he found a kingdom instead. Look into literary history, and see how this is exemplified. The most successful creations of the human reason and imagination have rarely been the intentional and foreseen products of the person. The great authors have been surprised at their success; if, indeed, success came to them during their lifetime. But more commonly their fame has been posthumous, and their ears never heard a single note of the paean that went up from the subsequent generations that were enchanted with their genius. Shakespeare and Milton never read a single criticism upon their own works; and to-day they neither know anything of nor care for the fame that attends them upon this little planet. Look, again, into the circles of trade and commerce, and observe how often great and lasting success comes incidentally, rather than as the consequence of preconceived purposes and plans. The person simply endeavoured to provide for the present and prospective wants of those dependent upon him, with prudence and moderation. He obtained, however, far more than he calculated upon.

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Wealth came in upon him with rapidity, and that which he did not greedily seek, and which he never in the least gloated upon with a miser’s feeling, was the actual result of his career in the world. Seekest thou, then, great things for thyself? seek them not. They will not come by this method. Seek first of all the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and then all these minor things, which the world and the deluded will be likely to attain even by the most engrossing and violent efforts devoted to the sole purpose of obtaining them.IV. Great sorrow springs from great aspirations, when those aspirations are unattained. There is only one species of aspiration that does not weary and wear the soul, and that is, the craving and cry of the soul after God. Humboldt, who had surveyed the cosmos, and who had devoted a long existence to placid contemplation of the processes of nature, and had kept aloof from the exciting and passionate provinces of human literature, said in his eightieth year, “I live without hope, because so little of what I have undertaken yields a satisfactory result.” This is the penalty which ambitious minds pay for seeking “great things.” There is an infinite aspiration, and an infinitesimal performance. The hour of death, and the failing shadows of an everlasting existence, and an everlasting destiny, bring the aspiration and the performance into terrible contrast. Go down, once more, into the sphere of active life, and see the same sorrow from the same cause. Look at that man of trade and commerce who has spent his life in gigantic, and, we will suppose, successful enterprises, and who now draws near the grave. Ask him how the aspiration compares with the performance. He has generally accomplished, we will assume, what he undertook. The results of his energy and capacity are known, and visible to all in his circle and way of life. His associates have praised him, and still praise him; for he has done well for himself, and for all connected with him. But he writes vanity upon it all. When he thinks of all the heat and fever of his life, all his anxious calculation and toil by day and night, all his sacrifice of physical comfort and of mental and moral improvement, and then thinks of the actual results of it all—the few millions of treasure, the few thousands of acres, or the few hundreds of houses—he bewails his infatuation, and curses his folly.

1. In the light of this subject and its discussion, we perceive the sinfulness of ambition.2. We see in the light of this subject, the complete and perfect blessedness of those who are free from all ambitious aims and selfish purposes; who can say, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee?” &c. (G. T. Shedd, D. D.)

Seek not great things for yourselfI. Seek not great things for yourselves, for self ought never to be an ultimate object. The glory of God is the only legitimate aim. The glorification of God is not to be sought as a mean to the good of the creature, but the reverse—man would be exalted above God. Even great spiritual things arc not to be sought for our own purposes and exaltation—“name’s sake.” There is no hardship in this, for if we seek the glory of God, our own enjoyment will follow.II. Seek not great things for yourselves, for you thereby render them the objects of idolatrous worship.III. Seek not great things for yourselves, for to do so is to subordinate the discharge of

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duty to their acquisition and enjoyment.IV. Seek not great things for yourselves, for by doing so you will involve yourselves and others in much positive suffering.V. Seek not great things for yourselves, when the Church of Christ requires your sympathy and your efforts.Baruch. (Jas. Stewart.)

A dissuasive from ambitionI. When we may be said to seek great things for ourselves.

1. When we seek a larger portion of worldly good than is necessary. But still the question returns, How much is necessary? If men were to answer this question, they would soon prove that few or none are guilty of violating the command in our text; for they all pretend that they seek no more than is necessary. But by this term they usually mean all that would be necessary to gratify their sinful inclinations and desires. Now man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him for ever; or, in other words, to obey God’s will and receive His everlasting favour. More than this no man needs; more than this no man ought to seek.2. When we seek them for ourselves only, or seek them merely with a view to self-gratification or self-aggrandisement.

II. Some of the reasons why we should not seek great things for ourselves.1. Because it is the sure way to multiply our disappointments and sorrows. In the lottery of life there are few prizes, and many blanks. He, then, who seeks great things for himself, engages in a pursuit in which it is exceedingly probable he will be disappointed; and the more ardent are his desires, the more eager his pursuit, the more keen will be the sufferings which his disappointment will occasion. But this is not all. The man whose pursuit is crowned with success, will be no less disappointed than his unsuccessful neighbour. After he has obtained great things, he will find himself as far from happiness, find his desires as unsatisfied, his mind as discontented as before. His desires will increase with his success. Nay, they will increase much faster than his success.2. Another reason may be drawn from the nature and situation of the world in which we live. Might we not as easily employ our time and exertions in building upon a quicksand, or upon ice which the summer’s sun will melt away!3. Another reason may be found in our own character and situation. We are ourselves sinful, dying, and accountable creatures. We have, therefore, a great work to do, no less a work than securing the favour of God, and obtaining the salvation of our immortal souls, a work which demands our time, our attention, our utmost exertions. And can we, in such a situation, find leisure or inclination to seek great things for ourselves here? to seek them while death is at the door; while the Judge is at hand; while eternity draws near; while our souls, unprepared, are in momentary danger of sinking beyond the reach of hope or mercy?4. Another reason is, that seeking them is incompatible with the duties which we are required to perform; and of course incompatible with our best interests. Man has but

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one soul, but one heart, but a certain limited portion of time, strength, and energy. He cannot, then, give his heart to God and to the world at the same time. (E. Payson, D. D.)

AmbitionI. The evil denounced. It may be viewed under three aspects.

1. There are some who pursue worldly objects that are far above them.2. There are some who pursue with undue eagerness worldly objects they might reasonably hope to attain.3. There are some who pursue all classes of worldly objects in a selfish spirit.

II. The reasons why it is denounced.1. Because it attaches excessive value to worldly objects.2. Because it misapprehends the comparative advantages of the different ranks in the social scale.3. Because it overlooks the duties which arise out of the relations we sustain to our race and our Maker.4. Because it ignores all the facts, and objects, and interests, and blessings of the spiritual world. Address—

(1) Worldlings.(2) Christians. (G. Brooks.)

A great missionary’s self-effacementWhen Stanley found Livingstone in the heart of Africa, he begged the old heroic missionary to go home. There seemed to be many reasons why he should go back to England. His wife was dead; his children lived in England; the weight of years was pressing upon him, and the shortest march wearied him. He was often compelled to halt many days to recover strength after his frequent attacks of prostrating illness. Moreover, he was destitute of men and means to enable him to make much practical progress. But like the great apostle to the Gentiles, none of these things moved him, nor counted he his life dear to himself. “No, no,” he said to Stanley; “to be knighted, as you say, by the Queen, welcomed by thousands of missionary enthusiasts, yes—but impossible. It must not, cannot, will not be. I must finish my task, and do what I can to bring Africa to Christ.”Thought self mars the finest workEvery artist longs to have his work thought well of. But the higher artist seeks first truth and beauty, and hopes for praise as the meed due to them. The lower artist is so thirsty for praise, thinks so much more about himself than about his work, that he turns aside to make a display of his strength or skill. He is not wholly given to bringing forth truth and beauty, but he is hankering to strike the beholder s eye with his originality or power. This I take to be the secret of—’s aberrations. His pictures show wonderful force of

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painting; but what spoils them is that, instead of calmly striving to raise his painting to the highest, he has itched to amaze you by his boldness. (Charles Buxton, M.P.)

The folly of self-seeking in Christ’s serviceSpurgeon in a late sermon hits off a very common fault noticeable among Christian workers: “The hen in the farmyard has laid an egg, and feels so proud of the achievement that she must cackle about it; everybody must know of that one poor egg till all the country round resounds with the news. It is so with some professors: their work must be published, or they can do no more. ‘Here have I,’ said one, ‘been teaching in the school for years, and nobody ever thanked me for it; I believe that some of us who do the most are the least noticed, and what a shame it is!’ But if you have done your service unto the Lord you should not talk so, or we shall suspect you of having other aims. The servant of Jesus will say, ‘I do not want human notice; I did it for the Master; He noticed me, and I am content. I tried to please Him, and I did please Him, and therefore I ask no more, for I have gained my end. I seek no praise of men, for I fear lest the breath of human praise should tarnish the pure silver of my service.’”How to lose thought of selfWhen a dog is not noticed, he doesn’t like it. But when the dog is after a fox he don’t care whether he is noticed or not. If a minister is seeking for souls he will not think of himself. Self is forgotten in a single aim to save others. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Ambition true and falseIt is related of the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon that at the commencement of his ministry, when he was beginning to feel conscious of the wonderful powers with which God had endowed him—like most young people, I suppose, for he was but a boy, or little more than a boy at the time—he was one day walking across a common and seemed to hear, as it were, a voice speaking to his innermost consciousness in the terms of my text, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” Mr. Spurgeon accepted the text which flashed into his mind as a Divine message and monition, and from that moment made a fuller consecration of himself, his life, his opportunity, his power to the service of the living God. We know the result, and looking back upon it we know, much better, I venture to think, than he did even on the day of his death, but not better than he knows it now, he chose the good part, which was not taken from him. He set his affections on things above, not on things of the earth. Mr. Spurgeon deliberately renounced worldly ambition. That is what I want you to do. But do not make any mistake and think that I mean you to renounce ambition in the truer sense, because Mr. Spurgeon certainly did not. I want you to see what is the difference between ambition false and ambition true, and to endeavour, if I can, to clear away some confusion of thought which clings around this particular subject. What is ambition, as commonly understood? You will gather it, I think, from such familiar phrases as “that last infirmity of noble mind,” or “by this sin fell the angels.” It takes many forms. If one wished to suggest a name or a life in which ambition had freest and most unrestricted reign, I think you would name Napoleon. He is the classical, outstanding instance; not that, I am quite sure, he is any more guilty than thousands of persons before him and since. But in Napoleon ambition, insatiate and unconcealed, had undisputed sway. He waded to his throne, as has been said, through

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the blood and tears of millions. I never care to be too hard on a conventional type of a particular failing for fear one should happen to be wrong, but Mr. Gladstone said of Napoleon that perhaps he had the mightiest intellect that was ever packed into a human skull. Judged by the facts as they appear to us, that intellect was prostituted. It never was exalted as it might have been, and, as I believe sincerely, God meant it to be. Yet another type is Cecil Rhodes. Here, again, I speak somewhat diffidently, because it is possible that very different opinions in regard to the worth and work of Cecil Rhodes obtain in this congregation. But this is my view of his life. He had a great idea as to the position and place of England in the world. More than that, he believed in the mission of the Anglo-Saxon race. But he was not too scrupulous in his attempts to realise his ideal, if we may judge by the facts as they appeared to us. It was a form of ambition not so despicable as Napoleon’s, because it was less self-centred, but I venture to think it was materialistic and mistaken, and now that the great man has gone there are thousands upon thousands of us who, looking upon his career, pronounce those saddest words of the tongue or pen, the saddest of all, “it might have been.” Cecil Rhodes was a great empire builder, we are told. He might have been more than that. He sought great things, and he saw himself associated with them. Do you feel, you young men, that his is the highest ideal and the type to which you would like to conform your character? I trust to he able to show before I close that it was not. You men of the world know perfectly well how you weigh each other up. You see a good thing done for which a man is receiving an amount of public credit, and you promptly ask, “What is his aim? What axe has he to grind?” You can scarcely bring yourself to believe in disinterestedness at all, because, so far as you have been able to see, people who were apparently disinterested, really had some ulterior motive that would not hear the light. You know among your associates, for example—in the business house, it may be—the difference between the man of modest ambition and the man of vaulting, unscrupulous ambition. You prefer the former, but you never believe that he has no axe to grind at all. In most cases you are right, but beware of general statements. I think the chief danger of to-day is not that men are too ambitious, but that they serve the wrong form of ambition. There are fellows in your business—perhaps a good many of those who are here present could be included in the category—who are at fault not because they have too much ambition, but because they have not enough of the right sort. The man who will not work, the man who will not aspire-and there are plenty of them in our country—the man who never wishes to be any better or more powerful, or to live his life more completely than now, is of no benefit to society, and his selfishness is as real as the selfishness of any Napoleon You owe something to God, you owe something to men. There is not one among you who is an isolated unit. I have with me here an extract from Carlyle, which I think can put more clearly than I can the distinction between the true ambition and the false. “Let me say that there are two kinds of ambition, one wholly blameable, the other laudable and inevitable The selfish wish to shine over others, let it be accounted altogether poor and miserable.” “Seekest thou great things for thy, self? seek them not.” This is most true. “And yet I say,” continues Carlyle, “there is an irrepressible tendency in every man to develop himself according to the magnitude which Nature has made him of, to speak out and to act out what Nature has laid in him. This is proper, fit, inevitable; nay, it is duty, the duty of duties. For man the meaning of life here on earth might be defined as consisting in this—to unfold yourself, to work what thing you have the faculty for. It is a necessity for every human being, the first law of our existence.” I am going to try and spiritualise, if I can, that wonderful principle set forth by Carlyle. True ambition is to live out what is in you for the sake of Him who gave you life. It is a wonderful, it is even an 41

awful, thought that God Himself finds fulfilment through what you are. God’s work is being done, God s thoughts and purposes are being realised by these commonplace men and women that I see around me, and every one of you is the embodiment of the Divine. Would you shrink and shrivel that Divine which God has given you? It is to be manifested not only for your own sake, nor chiefly so, but for the sake of Him who gave it and to mankind. I want to warn you against misusing God’s great gift, your own soul. You are a unique product in the universe, and there are unmeasured possibilities before every man here. Each of us, all of us are citizens of eternity. The true ambition is that of a man who is not afraid to endure, not afraid to sacrifice, not afraid to spend his soul, for in giving he is gaining, and he shall have more abundantly. Now, young men, I want to warn you before I go on against possible disappointment even in your endeavour to live up to your ideal. It may be that while I have been speaking in these terms to you some old and wise man m this assembly may have been thinking to himself, “That preacher will change his tone in a few years when he knows how sadly life can disillusion and can trample upon our ideals.” Oh, the tragedies of life, the hopes blighted, the old men who are just doing their day’s work in patience that no longer one can expect. Well, you are only saying what has been said before. That poor, wayward genius, Percy Bysshe Shelley, saw a little farther than the disappointment when he told us in so many words that it is never possible for the soul to live itself out completely here. How should it be? Because here is not the close of our destiny. It will take all eternity for you to live out what God has put in. Never think that you are going to live out all, but I think you will save yourself from disappointment if you will only say, “It is possible for me to get on the right track now and be living out in time that which I shall live out better when eternity comes.” It is possible for you to give a whole-hearted, unselfish allegiance “to a great ideal, and that not for your own sake. There is a Divine idea pervading the visible universe, the spirit of truth and beauty and good. We are called to service, every one of us is called to reveal and express it in some fashion. For us it is embodied in Jesus Christ. I cannot but halt there. The Christ contains for me all that humanity is able to aspire to or understand, the great Divine ideal. The life that is given to Christ is well invested. It has produced the best results in the history of human character. What a man was Paul! The Christ crossed his path, and this ambitious, zealous, burning soul changed to something else, Saul the persecutor became. Paul the apostle, lived a suffering life and died an obscure death in a Roman prison; and this was his verdict when the evening came—“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith . . . I am now ready to be offered.” Paul knew that his life was hid with Christ in God. He knew that this is the shadow time, the other side is the reality. The Master’s comment on the choice is this—“I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Young men, I strongly urge you, choose the life wherein you can throw your best energies for God. Have a purpose therein. Do not fear to give it Him back. Beware of seeming to drift into a destiny. Let your choice be rational, let it be strong, let it be pure. By and by you shall do greater things than these. In time be faithful to the little that you can do, that in eternity you may do the more for God. Believe that you have a vocation, a vocation for God. You will not live out all that is within you here. You cannot. But if you live only for yourself here you will be a wretched man. Give the best to God. We have all read that psychological novel, John Inglesant, with its too self-conscious hero. One character drawn therein, that of a Jesuit, who for s time is spiritual adviser to John Inglesant, seems to me to be a remarkable one. I know not whether such a Jesuit ever existed, but you know this, the Jesuits by their system of training manage to squeeze out of every man upon whom they get their grip any thought of living for his own self-interest. He becomes the bond-slave 42

of the society. They have great strength from the fact that they can thus obsess a man, as it were, de-self him, and make him work for the great organisation. Here is the Jesuit’s verdict to John Inglesant upon his own life, an exhortation for his pupil: Choose your side or your lot; when you have chosen it be true to it all the way. It matters comparatively little what a man chooses as his course of action provided it be a worthy one and his conscience tells him so, but when he has chosen, no looking back. Go straight on, be faithful to the uttermost, cost what it may. A grand and a glorious ideal for the twentieth century, as well as for the seventeenth. And there is a Divine principle within us which urges us to do our best to make the world better than we found it. I have often been struck with the fact that very ordinary people, who make very small profession of religion, somehow will do this at some part of their career, in some one of their interests. They feel they must even at a cost do a little to make the world gladder and to make the world better. I remember the utterance of the bishop in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. As the convict stands at the door of the house, proclaiming what he was by his dress and his demeanour, thus spoke the servant of God, “This house is not my house, it is the house of Jesus Christ. This door does not demand of him that enters it whether he has a name, but whether he has a grief.” Oh, I feel that if our bodies were made the temples of the Christ as the bishop’s house was made the tabernacle of his Lord; if our interests, our opportunities were consecrated to Him, oh, what a difference, majestic, far-reaching, redemptive it would make to the world to-morrow. And, if I could, I would like to fill every young soul before me to-night with that Divine ideal. What can we do, you and I, to bless the world? Just what these noble ones in times past have done, the Pauls and the Luthers and the Wesleys, not merely ambition, but the consecrating of everything they possessed to their Lord, and the counting all but loss if they might win Him. Let us do the same as these. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” Seekest thou great things for God? Go on. Live out all that God has given you as His trustee. Seekest thou joy and blessedness and victory and power in the highest sense of that word? Would you come to the full stature of your manhood? Then “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (R. J. Campbell, M. A.)

Self-seeking vetoedThis short chapter embodies the history of Baruch, the secretary of Jeremiah.I. The very excusable moan (verse 3), “Woe is me now!”

1. He was probably pained for his master’s sake.2. Probably grieved on account of the unhappy national outlook.3. Was evidently distressed on his own account. Possibly weary of being secretary with dangerous duties attached.

II. The very decided veto on his ambitious design.1. God interpreted his aspiration, whatever its nature.2. Decidedly nipped the project in the bud.3. Suggesting by implication that he seek great things for others—Jeremiah, to wit. To be identified with him was true greatness. Men are engrossed in themselves, their

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family, their party, their “ism.”III. The compensating guarantee. “Thy life will I give unto thee.”

1. The nation at large would pass through great tribulation.2. Baruch and his master would be hurried hither and thither.3. But the secretary’s life would be given him as a reward. Baruch lived through all the dire experiences that followed. Escaped from Egypt to Babylon, and wrote the Book of Baruch. Who has not enjoyed the compensations of selfishness? Every surrender of selfhood helps to enrich the soul. (W. J. Acomb.).

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