gh it was a servile, hypocritical fear, but
Jehoiakim had none at all." And even this preference, when more
narrowly examined, amounts to nothing, for it belongs to nature, and
not to grace. Whether corruption manifests itself as weakness, or as a
carnal, powerful opposition to divine truth, is accidental, and depends
upon the diversity of mental and bodily organization. The fact that
Zedekiah did not altogether put away from himself the truth and its
messengers (_Dahler_ remarks: "He respected the Prophet, without having
the power of following his advice; he even protected his life against
his persecutors, but he did not venture to secure him against their
vexation") cannot be put down to his credit; _he was, against his will,
forced to do so_; and indeed he could not resist a powerful impression
of any kind. In a man of Jehoiakim's character, the same measure of the
fear of God would induce us to mitigate our opinion; for in such a one
it could not exist without some support from within. Confiding in the
help of the neighbouring nations, especially the Egyptians; persuaded
by the false prophets and the nobles; himself seized by that spirit of
giddiness and intoxication which, with irresistible power, carried away
the people to the abyss, Zedekiah broke the holy oath which he had
sworn to the Chaldeans, and, after an obstinate resistance, Jerusalem
was taken and destroyed. As yet, the long suffering of God, and, hence,
also that of man, was not _altogether_ at an end. The conquerors left a
comparatively small portion of the inhabitants in the land. The grace
of God gave them Gedaliah, an excellent man, for their civil superior,
and Jeremiah for their ecclesiastical [Pg 370] superior. The latter
preferred to remain in the smoking ruins, rather than follow the
brilliant promises of the Chaldeans, and was willing to persevere to
the last in the discharge of his duty, although he was by this time far
advanced in life, and oppressed with deep grief But it appears as if
the people had been bent upon emptying, to the last drop, the cup of
divine wrath. Gedaliah is assassinated. Even those who did not partake
in the crime fled to Egypt, disregarding the word of the Lord through
the Prophet, who announced a curse upon them if they fled, but a
blessing if they remained.

What the Prophet had to suffer under such circumstances, one may easily
imagine even without consulting history. Even although he had remained
free from all per