Jeremiah 31:18, 19 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke… The very word suggests sorrow, weariness, distress. And all the more when the reason of such bemoaning is not something external to ourselves, as when Rachel wept for her children, but something in ourselves, when we are the cause of our own distress. I. INQUIRE WHEREFORE THIS BEMOANING. 1. That he had called down upon himself the chastisements of God. 2. That these chastisements had been of no avail. 3. That now it was made evident there was no hope of amendment in himself. II. COMFORTING THOUGHTS CONCERNING THIS BEMOANING. 1. The Lord surely heard it, Cf. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." 2. There is no attempt to excuse or palliate his sin. 3. That it had led him to despair of help in himself. 4. That in his misery he seeks the Lord. 5. That it was and is the forerunner of genuine conversion. CONCLUSION. 1. Welcome the smart and pain of sorrow for sin. 2. Dread that apathy which is so common in the slaves of sin. 3. Remember that it is only as the Lord turns us that our conversion is genuine and real. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. |
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