Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, [saying],.... Either to the prophet, bidding him say to the church what follows, so Jarchi: or to Christ, who was from eternity with the Father; lay in his

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

The word saying being not in the original, hath given advantage to some to think that the first words are either the words of some of the people owning that the Lord indeed had of old appeared to and for them, but doubting whether the kindness of God still held toward them; or else complaining that these were old stories. To which the prophet replies by assuring them that God’ s love was not a temporary love, manifested to a single generation, but it was an everlasting love; therefore he had drawn them with loving-kindness, he had all along dealt graciously with them, that way attempting to oblige them to that duty which they owed to him: this drawing with loving-kindness he calleth a drawing with the cords of men, , who ordinarily are little wrought upon by force, but won by love.

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.Ver. 3. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me.] This seemeth to be the people’ s objection. You tell us what was done of old; but these are ancient things, and little pertaining to us, who are now under a heavy captivity; iam refrixit et obsoleta videtur Dei beneficentia. Hereunto is answered, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.] I am one and the same. I am Jehovah that change not, whatever thou mayest think of me, because I seem angry at thy misdoings. Therefore with lovingkinduess have I drawn thee.] Or, Therefore will I draw out lovingkindness towards thee. Iudaeorum quiritantium verba. - Zeged.

(3) The Lord hath appeared of old unto me . . .—The Hebrew adverb more commonly refers to distance than to time. From afar the Lord appeared unto me. The thought is that of a deliverer who hears the cry of his people in the distance, and then draws near to help them. Jehovah enthroned in Zion, or in the heaven of heavens, hears the cry of the exiles by the waters of Babylon or Nineveh. Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.—Some translators render I have preserved (or respited) thee, others I have continued my loving kindness to thee, as in Psalms 36:10; Psalms 109:12; but the LXX., Vulg., and Luther agree with the English Version, and it finds sufficient support in the meaning of the Hebrew verb and in the parallel of Hos 11:4.

Verse 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love] ואהבת עולם אהבתיך veahabath olam ahabtich, "and with the old love I have loved thee." "Also, with a love of long standing have I loved thee." - Blayney. "But I love thee always." - Dahler. I still bear to the Jewish people that love which I showed to their fathers in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the promised land. Can it be supposed, by any person seriously considering the context, that these words are spoken of God's decree of election in behalf of the Jews? Those who make it such, act most injudiciously on their own principle; for, how few of the Jews have ever given evidence that they were the children of God, from their restoration from Babylon to the present day! The words refer simply to their state as a people, most wondrously preserved by the providence and mercy of God, as a standing proof of the Divine authority of the Scriptures, and as an evidence of God's displeasure against sin. Therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.] "Therefore have I lengthened out mercy to thee." - Blayney. C'est pourquoi je t'ai conserve ma grace. - Dahler. "Therefore I have preserved my grace to thee." The exiles, who had not for a long time received any proofs of the Divine protection, are represented as deploring their state; but God answers, that though this may seem to be the case, he has always loved them; and this continued love he will show by bringing them out of their captivity. However creeds may fare, this is the sense of the passage; all the context proves this.

3. The Lord appeared of old unto me] It is best to take this as put in the mouth of the people themselves. of old] rather, as mg. from afar, as the same Hebrew word is rendered ch. Jeremiah 30:10. The people from their distant exile in Assyria think upon God as dwelling upon His accustomed seat, Mount Zion. with lovingkindness have I drawn thee] mg. have I continued lovingkindness unto thee. Cp. Psalms 36:10 and mg. of Psalms 109:12. But, considering the strong influence of Hosea on Jeremiah, it is perhaps best to retain “have I drawn” (or I draw). Cp. the parallel in Hosea 11:4.

Of old - From afar (margin). See Jeremiah 30:10. To the Jew God was enthroned in Zion, and thus when His mercy was shown unto the exiles in Assyria it came from a distant region 2 Chronicles 6:20, 2 Chronicles 6:38.

3. Of old — Better, as the margin, from afar; in allusion to the sense of distance from God which would be wrought by their material separation from that sanctuary which they had always regarded as