he time of Jeremiah's birth
were Assyria and Egypt. They were contending for supremacy. But
Jeremiah lived to see both of them subdued and Babylon mistress of the
world. He foresaw also how Babylon would fall and how a kingdom
greater than all would rise wherein there would be righteousness and
peace.

Jeremiah.

The book of Jeremiah is composed principally of sketches of biography,
history and prophecy, but the events and chapters are not in
chronological order. It closes the period of the monarchy and marks
the destruction of the holy city and of the sanctuary and tells of the
death agony of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. But he saw
far beyond the judgments of the near future to a brighter day when the
eternal purpose of divine grace would be realized. The book,
therefore, emphasizes the future glory of the kingdom of God which
must endure though Israel does perish. He made two special
contributions to the truth as understood in his time. (1) The
spirituality of religion. He saw the coming overthrow of their
national and formal religion and realized that, to survive that
crisis, religion must not be national, but individual and spiritual.
(2) Personal responsibility (31:29-30). If religion was to be a
spiritual condition of the individual, the doctrine of personal
responsibility was a logical necessity. These two teachings constitute
a great step forward.

Analysis.

I. The Prophet's Call and Assurance, Ch. 1.

II. Judah Called to Repentance, Chs. 2-22.

1. Her sins set forth, Chs. 2-6

2. The call to repentance, Chs. 7-10.

3. The appeal to the covenant, Chs. 11-13.

4. Rejection and captivity foretold, Chs. 14-22.

III. The Book of Consolation, Chs. 23-33.

1. The restoration of the remnant, Chs. 22-29.

2. The complete restoration, Chs. 30-33.

IV. The Doom of Jerusalem Due to the People's Wickedness, Chs. 34-36.

V. The History of Jeremiah and His Times, Chs. 37-45.

VI. Prophecies Against Foreign Nations, Chs, 46-51.

VII. Historical Appendix, Ch. 52.

Lamentations.

The name means elegies or mournful or plaintive poems. It was formerly
a part of Jeremiah and represents the sorrows of Jeremiah when the
calamities which he had predicted befell his people, who had often
despised and rejected him for his messages. He chose to live with them
in their suffering and out of his weeping pointed them to a star of
hope. There are five independent poems in as ma