Jeremiah 47:6 O you sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere you be quiet? put up yourself into your scabbard, rest, and be still. As patriots, prophets felt the miseries which they denounced; as mourners, they lamented the sins which brought on these miseries; and as men, they wept over the graves of the enemies by whom their country had been harassed and wasted. I. THE SWORD OF THE WARRIOR IS THE SWORD OF THE LORD. 1. The seasons in which the sword is drawn and sheathed are appointed by the Lord. The direction of cabinets, the ambition of princes, and the caprices of statesmen in these affairs, are subordinated by His invisible influence to His own will, without violating the order of second causes, or breaking in upon the freedom of rational agents. 2. The sword of the warrior is put in commission by the Lord. 3. The direction of the sword of the warrior is from the Lord. The seat of war is marked out, and its bounds circumscribed, in the purpose of the will of God; and thither the warrior marches without mistaking his way, whether it he to the shore of Tyrus, the valley of Jehoshaphat, the plains of Blenheim, the heights of Saratoga, or the mountains of Armageddon. 4. The execution done by the sword of the warrior is of the Lord. "A sparrow falleth not to the ground without our heavenly Father," and in the day of battle, no soldier loses his life without His knowledge and predetermination. 5. By the sword of the warrior the Lord sanctifies and magnifies Himself. According to the states of the sufferers wars of conquest and extirpation are corrections and punishments, and whichever of the sides gains or loses the victory, the supremacy of Jehovah over all is main, rained, and the glory of His justice and holiness displayed and magnified. The cause in which the sword is drawn is always sinful on one side, and frequently sinful on both sides. But whatever be the quality of the cause, the views of men, or the issues of the contest, the Lord will not lose His end. He rules in the seat of war, and commands on the day of battle. II. THE REASONS FOR WHICH MOURNERS IN ZION LONG TO SEE THIS SWORD SHEATHED. 1. Compassion for those who are delivered to the sword, or subjected to the insolence and rage of fierce and lawless men whose tender mercies are cruelty. 2. Knowledge of the consequences of driving men unprepared into eternity. 3. The peace of God, which rules in the hearts of mourners in Zion, inclines and constrains them to cry for the sheathing of the sword of the warrior. 4. Convictions that the wrath of God bringeth upon men the punishment of the sword, dispose mourners in Zion to long for its being put up into the scabbard. (A. Shanks.) Parallel Verses KJV: O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. |
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