False Refuges
J. J. S. Bird, B. A. Jeremiah 5:10 Go you up on her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's. I. WORTHLESS REFUGES TRUSTED IN. 1. Infidelity. Such a rampart is nothing more than a deliberate closing of the eyes to danger. It is like the sand in which the foolish ostrich hides its head and thinks himself safe. It is like watching an avalanche descending upon us and consoling ourselves that we are only led by a fanciful vision. 2. Personal merit. There are those who exercise far higher thoughts of human nature and of their own particular abilities than the case justifies. And they estimate their good qualities so highly that they think they surely ought to obtain some recognition from the Almighty. 3. Divine Fatherhood. Some think that because God made man He is therefore a universal Father, and they assume that a Father could not, be so unkind to His children as to let justice overpower mercy. II. WORTHLESS REFUGES DENOUNCED. "Go ye up and destroy." 1. The Author of this destruction. The immediate instrument may be man's natural enemies, but the real author is God. He will cast down all false hopes and crush all evil anticipations. 2. The reason assigned — "For they are not the Lord's." 3. The limitation — "Make not a full end." The object is not destruction of the soul, but the taking away the false hopes which lull it into fancied security. God takes away earthly hopes, so that He may bestow heavenly ones. He crushes worthless props, so that He may lay under us His eternal arms. (J. J. S. Bird, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S. WEB: "Go up on her walls, and destroy; but don't make a full end. Take away her branches; for they are not Yahweh's.