Jeremiah (1-31) 4:2 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth.’ This must be your most solemn affirmation. You have got a make a profession of God also. You have got to honour him and acknowledge him. You come to God, you repent of your sin, but you must acknowledge that God is the living God. He lives as the God who is, who forms plans and fulfils his purposes, who acts independently without consultation with or the help of his creatures, who speaks truth and whose word cannot change but stands forever. Look at the items here, one after the other. All of them are in contrast to what they were doing. ‘In truth’, that his word is true; he is the God of truth and everything he determines and says he will carry out. The Lord is also to be acknowledged ‘in judgment’; he is a just God; he will judge the world, and only his judgment will stand. He will punish those who are unrepentant. ‘And in righteousness’: he is a holy God; all that he does is done in righteousness. The salvation of his people and the justification of sinners is carried out in perfect conformity to his righteousness. ‘And the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory’, which refers first to the tribes of Israel, but which extends to all nations. Salvation will be for individuals, and they will come into the kingdom one by one as each one responds in faith to the gospel. But at times so many will be converted that it will seem that whole nations are being blessed by God. It will be a condition of salvation for every one for the pagan nations that they abandon their gods, and glory in the one true and living God.