aste is vitiated and will not endure any other teaching than that to
which it has been accustomed, though it be false. There is no sadder
verse in all prophecy than the complaint of Jeremiah, "The prophets
prophesy falsely, and my people love to have it so." Like prophet,
like people; the public mind may be so habituated to what is false,
and satisfied with it, that it has no taste or even tolerance for the
true.[39] Jeremiah could not gain a hearing for his stern and weighty
message from ears accustomed to the light and frivolous views of the
false prophets; and to Baruch, his young coadjutor and amanuensis, who
was starting on the prophetic career with the high hopes of youth, he
had to deliver the chilling message, "Seekest thou great things for
thyself? seek them not." The path to popularity and eminence was not
open to anyone who did not speak according to the prevailing fashion.

The false prophets won and kept their popularity by pandering to the
opinions and prejudices of the people. The times of Jeremiah were big
with coming calamities, and he had to predict that these calamities
were sure to come; for there were no signs of deep or genuine
repentance, and, indeed, the time for repentance was past. The
self-flattering, ease-loving people hated to hear these disagreeable
facts. Their frivolous minds were engrossed with the gossip and
excitement of the passing day, and it was too great an exertion to
give their attention to the majestic views of the Divine justice and
the far-reaching sweep of the Divine providence to which Jeremiah
tried to direct their attention. They wished to enjoy the present and
to believe that all would come right somehow. The false prophets
flattered these wishes. They said that the calamities which Jeremiah
was foretelling would not come to pass, or that at least they would be
much less formidable than he represented. They were, as Jeremiah says,
like an unconscientious physician, who is afraid to probe the wound to
the bottom, though the life of the patient depends on it. Ezekiel
accuses them of making nightcaps to draw over the eyes and ears of
their countrymen, lest they should see and hear the truth, and of
muffling with a glove the naked hand of God with which the sins of the
people should have been smitten. The constant refrain of their
prophecies was, "Peace, peace," though the storm-clouds of
retribution were ready to burst. The people said to them, "Prophesy to
us smooth things"