Jeremiah 11 - 12, Romans 5, Psalm 102

The Broken Covenant

11The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, ²“^aHear the words of this ^bcovenant, and you shall speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ³and say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “^aCursed is the man who does not hear the words of this covenant ⁴which I commanded your fathers in the ^aday that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the ^biron furnace, saying, ‘^cListen to My voice, and ¹do according to all which I command you; so you shall be ^dMy people, and I will be your God,’ ⁵in order to establish the ^aoath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered and said, “^bAmen, O Yahweh.”

⁶And Yahweh said to me, “^aCall out all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘^bHear the words of this covenant so that you will ^cdo them. ⁷‘For I solemnly ^awarned your fathers in the ^bday that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, ^crising up early and warning, saying, “^dListen to My voice.” ⁸‘Yet they ^adid not listen or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the ^bwords of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

⁹Then Yahweh said to me, “A ^aconspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰“They have ^aturned back to the iniquities of their ¹ancestors who ^brefused to hear My words, and they ^chave walked after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have ^dbroken My covenant which I cut with their fathers.” ¹¹Therefore thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am ^abringing calamity on them which they will ^bnot be able to get out of; and they will ^ccry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. ¹²“Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will ^ago and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their calamity. ¹³“For your gods are ^athe number of your cities, O Judah; and the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the ^bshameful thing, altars to ^cburn incense to Baal.

¹⁴“But as for you, ^ado not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry of lamentation or prayer for them; for I will ^bnot listen when they call to Me because of their calamity.

¹⁵“What possession has My ^abeloved in My houseWhen ^bshe has done many schemes of wickedness?Can the flesh, which is set apart as holy, take away from you your calamity,¹So that you can exult?”¹⁶Yahweh called your name,“A ^agreen olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;With the ^bnoise of a great tumultHe has ^ckindled fire on it,And its foliage has an evil demise.

¹⁷Yahweh of hosts, who ^aplanted you, has ^bspoken forth evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have ¹done to provoke Me to anger by ^cburning incense to Baal.

Men Seek Jeremiah’s Life

¹⁸Moreover, Yahweh ^amade it known to me, and I knew it;Then You showed me their deeds.¹⁹But I was like a gentle ^alamb led to the slaughter;And I did not know that they had ^bdevised thoughts against me, saying,“Let us make the tree with its ¹fruit a ruin,And ^clet us cut him off from the ^dland of the living,That his ^ename be remembered no more.”²⁰But, O Yahweh of hosts, who ^ajudges righteously,Who ^btests the ¹insides and the heart,Let me see Your vengeance on them,For to You have I revealed my case.

²¹Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the men of ^aAnathoth, who ^bseek your life, saying, “^cDo not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, so that you will not ^ddie at our hand”; ²²therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Behold, I am about to ^apunish them! The ^bchoice men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine; ²³and a remnant ^awill not be left to them, for I will ^bbring calamity on the men of Anathoth—^cthe year of their punishment.”

Jeremiah’s Plea

12^aRighteous are You, O Yahweh, when I would plead my case with You;Indeed I would ^bspeak matters of justice with You:Why has the ^cway of the wicked succeeded?Why are all those who ^ddeal in treachery complacent?²You have ^aplanted them; they have also taken root;They grow; they have even produced fruit.You are ^bnear ¹to their lipsBut far from their ²inmost being.³But You, O Yahweh, You ^aknow me;You see me;And You ^btest my heart’s attitude toward You.Drag them off like sheep for the slaughterAnd ¹set them apart for a ^cday of carnage!⁴How long is the ^aland to mournAnd the ^bplants of every field to dry up?Because of the ^cevil of those who inhabit it,^dAnimals and birds have been swept away,Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ^eending.”

Yahweh Answers Jeremiah

⁵“If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,Then how can you compete with horses?If you fall down in a land of peace,How will you do in the ¹^,^athicket of the Jordan?⁶“For even your ^abrothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously with you,Even they have called aloud after you.Do not believe them, although they may say ^bnice things to you.”⁷“I have ^aforsaken My house;I have abandoned My inheritance;I have given the ^bbeloved of My soulInto the hand of her enemies.⁸“My inheritance has become to MeLike a lion in the forest;She has ^agiven forth its voice against Me;Therefore I have come to ^bhate her.⁹“Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?Are the ^abirds of prey against her on every side?Go, gather all the ^bbeasts of the field,Bring them to devour!¹⁰“Many ^ashepherds have ruined My ^bvineyard;They have ^ctrampled down My portion;They have made My ^ddesired portionA desolate wilderness.¹¹“¹It has been made a desolation;Desolate, it ^amourns ²before Me;The ^bwhole land has been made desolateBecause no man ^csets it upon his heart.¹²“On all the ¹^,^abare heights in the wildernessDestroyers have come,For a ^bsword of Yahweh is devouringFrom one end of the land even to the ²other;There is ^cno peace for any flesh.¹³“They have ^asown wheat and have reaped thorns;They have ^bstrained themselves ¹to no profit.But be ashamed of your ^cproduceBecause of the ^dburning anger of Yahweh.”

¹⁴Thus says Yahweh concerning all My ^aevil neighbors who ^bbeat at the inheritance with which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, “Behold, I am about to uproot them from their land and will ^cuproot the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵“And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will ^areturn and have compassion on them; and I will ^bcause them to return, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. ¹⁶“Then if they will really ^alearn the ways of My people, to ^bswear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ even as they taught My people to ^cswear by Baal, they will be ^dbuilt up in the midst of My people. ¹⁷“But if they will not listen, then I will ^auproot that nation, uproot and make it perish,” declares Yahweh.

Results of Justification by Faith

5^aTherefore, having been justified by faith, ¹^,^bwe have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom also we have ^aobtained our introduction by faith into this grace ^bin which we stand; and ¹we boast in hope of the glory of God. ³^aAnd not only this, but ¹we also ^bboast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about ^cperseverance; ⁴and ^aperseverance, ^bproven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵and hope ^adoes not put to shame, because the love of God has been ^bpoured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For while we were still ^aweak, ^bat the right time ^cChrist died for the ungodly. ⁷For one will hardly die for a righteous man, ¹though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸But God ^ademonstrates ^bHis own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, ^cChrist died for us. ⁹Much more then, having now been justified ¹^,^aby His blood, we shall be saved ^bfrom the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰For if while we were ^aenemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved ¹^,^bby His life. ¹¹^aAnd not only this, ¹but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^bthe reconciliation.

The Gift of Righteousness in Christ

¹²Therefore, just as through ^aone man sin entered into the world, and ^bdeath through sin, and ^cso death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³for ¹until the Law sin was in the world, but ^asin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned ^ain the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a ¹^,^btype of Him who was to come.

¹⁵But ¹the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of ^athe one ^bthe many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by ^cthe grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. ¹⁶And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand ^athe judgment arose from one transgression ¹resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many transgressions ²resulting in justification. ¹⁷For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned ^athrough the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will ^breign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸So then as through ^aone transgression ¹there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one ^bact of righteousness ²there resulted ^cjustification of life to all men. ¹⁹For as through the one man’s disobedience ^athe many ^bwere appointed sinners, even so through ^cthe obedience of the One ^dthe many will be appointed righteous. ²⁰Now ¹^,^athe Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, ^bgrace abounded all the more, ²¹so that, as ^asin reigned in death, even so ^bgrace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

102

A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and ¹pours out his complaint before Yahweh.

^aO Yahweh, hear my prayer!And let my cry for help ^bcome to You.²^aDo not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;^bIncline Your ear to me;In the day when I call ^canswer me quickly.³For my days ^ahave ¹vanished in smoke,And my ^bbones have been scorched like a hearth.⁴My heart ^ahas been stricken like ¹grass and it has ^bdried up,Indeed, I ^cforget to eat my bread.⁵Because of the sound of my groaningMy ^abones ¹cling to my flesh.⁶I resemble a ^apelican of the wilderness;I have become like an owl of the waste places.⁷I ^alie awake,I have become like a lonely bird on a roof.⁸My enemies ^ahave reproached me all day long;Those who ¹^,^bridicule me ^cswear against me.⁹For I have eaten ashes like breadAnd ^amixed my drinks with weeping¹⁰^aBecause of Your indignation and Your wrath,For You have ^blifted me up and cast me away.¹¹My days are like an ^aoutstretched shadow,And as for me, I ^bdry up like ¹grass.¹²But You, O Yahweh, ¹^,^aabide forever,And the ^bremembrance of Your name ²from generation to generation.¹³You will ^aarise and have ^bcompassion on Zion—For ^cit is time to be gracious to it,For the ^dappointed time has come.¹⁴For Your slaves ¹find pleasure in its stonesAnd show grace to its dust—¹⁵¹So the ²^,^anations will fear the name of YahwehAnd ^ball the kings of the earth Your glory.¹⁶For Yahweh has ^abuilt up Zion;He has ^bappeared in His glory.¹⁷He has ^aturned toward the prayer of the ¹destituteAnd has not despised their prayer.¹⁸¹This will be ^awritten for the ^bgeneration to come,And ^ca people yet to be created will praise Yah.¹⁹For He ^alooked down from His holy height;^bFrom heaven Yahweh gazed ¹upon the earth,²⁰To hear the ^agroaning of the prisoner,To ^bset free ¹those who were doomed to death,²¹To ^arecount the name of Yahweh in ZionAnd His praise in Jerusalem,²²When ^athe peoples are gathered together,And the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.²³He has afflicted my strength in the way;He has ^ashortened my days.²⁴I say, “O my God, ^ado not take me away in the ¹midst of my days,Your ^byears are from generation to all generations.²⁵“Of old You ^afounded the earth,And the ^bheavens are the work of Your hands.²⁶“¹Even they will ^aperish, but You will remain;And all of them will wear out like a garment;Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.²⁷“But You are ¹^,^athe same,And Your years will not come to an end.²⁸“The ^achildren of Your slaves will dwell securely,And their ^bseed will be established before You.”