311 At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith Jehovah: The people [that were] left of the sword have found grace in the wilderness, [even] Israel, when I go to give him rest. 3 Jehovah hath appeared from afar unto me, [saying,] Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee. 4 I will build thee again, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel! Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tambours, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5 Thou shalt again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall eat the fruit. 6 For there shall be a day, when the watchmen upon mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let us go up to Zion, unto Jehovah our God. 7 For thus saith Jehovah: Sing aloud [with] gladness for Jacob, and shout at the head of the nations; publish ye, praise ye, and say, Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth; [and] among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great assemblage shall they return hither. 9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by water-brooks, in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 31:1-9
Commentary on Jeremiah 31:1-9
(Read Jeremiah 31:1-9)
God assures his people that he will again take them into covenant relation to himself. When brought very low, and difficulties appear, it is good to remember that it has been so with the church formerly. But it is hard under present frowns to take comfort from former smiles; yet it is the happiness of those who, through grace, are interested in the love of God, that it is an everlasting love, from everlasting in the counsels, to everlasting in the continuance. Those whom God loves with this love, he will draw to himself, by the influences of his Spirit upon their souls. When praising God for what he has done, we must call upon him for the favours his church needs and expects. When the Lord calls, we must not plead that we cannot come; for he that calls us, will help us, will strengthen us. The goodness of God shall lead them to repentance. And they shall weep for sin with more bitterness, and more tenderness, when delivered out of their captivity, than when groaning under it. If we take God for our Father, and join the church of the first-born, we shall want nothing that is good for us. These predictions doubtless refer also to a future gathering of the Israelites from all quarters of the globe. And they figuratively describe the conversion of sinners to Christ, and the plain and safe way in which they are led.