7 O Lord , You have deceived me and I was deceived ; You have overcome me and prevailed . I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. 8 For each time I speak , I cry aloud ; I proclaim violence and destruction , Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. 9 But if I say , "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name ," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones ; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it. 10 For I have heard the whispering of many , " Terror on every side ! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!" All my trusted friends e , Watching for my fall , say: "Perhaps he will be deceived , so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him." 11 But the Lord is with me like a dread champion ; Therefore e my persecutors will stumble and not prevail . They will be utterly ashamed , because they have failed , With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten . 12 Yet, O Lord of hosts , You who test the righteous , Who see the mind and the heart ; Let me see Your vengeance on them; For to You I have set forth my cause . 13 Sing to the Lord , praise the Lord ! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13
Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13
(Read Jeremiah 20:7-13)
The prophet complains of the insult and injury he experienced. But verse 7 may be read, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou wast stronger than I; and didst overpower me by the influence of thy Spirit upon me. So long as we see ourselves in the way of God, and of duty, it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties and discouragements, to wish we had never set out in it. The prophet found the grace of God mighty in him to keep him to his business, notwithstanding the temptation he was in to throw it up. Whatever injuries are done to us, we must leave them to that God to whom vengeance belongs, and who has said, I will repay. So full was he of the comfort of God's presence, the Divine protection he was under, and the Divine promise he had to depend upon, that he stirred up himself and others to give God the glory. Let the people of God open their cause before Him, and he will enable them to see deliverance.