Jeremiah 7:4

Trust ye not in lying words,.... In the words of the lying prophets, as the Targum; and to the same purpose is the Arabic version, "do not trust in lying words, for the false prophets do not profit

Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. The temple of the Lord ... are these.

Because this was God’ s house, wherein he had promised to dwell, and that for ever, ,14, they flattered themselves that he could dwell no where else, and would not depart, and certainly would not suffer the Chaldeans to destroy this, and therefore that no evil could befall them, as they promised themselves, ; therefore the prophet cautions them not to deceive themselves in trusting to the temple and its buildings, as the two courts, and house, and holy of holies, implied in the word these, which he doth as it were point to with his finger; (for where the prophets speak distinctly of the form of the temple, they reckon the court, where the people did sacrifice, and the holy place, or house, whereinto the priests only did enter, and the oracle, or holy of holies, wherein was the ark of the covenant, and into which only the high priest entered, and that but once a year;) which these hypocrites looked upon themselves secured by, as it were, by a treble wall, fort, or bulwark, that they could not miscarry; but he would have them to know that neither these, nor the services belonging to them, will be able to secure them, ; and it is likely their false prophets did thus persuade them, whose prophecies he calls here these lying words; but God will have them know that he doth not choose a nation for the place’ s sake, but the place for the nation’ s sake; the like caution the apostle gives them, , &c. The emphasis that may be in this threefold repetition seems rather to relate to the confident and often reiterated brags and boasts of the temple that were in their mouths, than the worth and excellency of it, in regard of God’ s owning it. These; the prophet, standing in the gate at which the people entered, doth as it were point at the several buildings appertaining to the temple, viz. the courts, house, oracle, &c.

Jeremiah 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.Ver. 4. Trust ye not in lying words.] Or, Matters, sc., that will deceive you. The ships Triumph or Good Speed may be ventorum ludibrium, mocked by the wind and miscarry upon the hard rocks or soft sands; so fair shows and bare titles help not. Vatinius, that wicked Roman, professed himself a Pythagorean: and vicious Antipater wore a white cloak, the ensign of innocence. This was virtutis stragulum pudefacere, said Diogenes wittily, to put honesty to an open shame. The temple of the Lord, the temple - are these,] i.e., These buildings, or these three parts of the temple, viz., the most holy place, the sanctuary, and the outer court. To these are made the promises of God’ s perpetual residence; therefore we are safe from all danger while here we take sanctuary. See Micah 3:11. The Romish crew, in like manner, have nothing in their mouths so much as the Church, the Church, the Catholic Church; and therein, like oyster wives, they outcry us. Many also among ourselves cry, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," who do yet nothing care for the Lord of the temple. They glory in external privileges, and secure themselves therein, as the Jews fable that Og, King of Bashan, escaped in the flood by riding astride upon the ark without. But what profiteth it “ Respicere ad phaleras, et nomina vana Catonum? ” Esse Christianum grande est, non videri, saith Jerome. It is a great privilege to be a Christian, but not to seem only to be so; an empty title yieldeth but an empty comfort at last. Cic. in Vatinium. Ecclesiam ad ravim usque crepant catholicam.

(4) Trust ye not in lying words . . .—The emphatic threefold repetition of the words thus condemned, “The temple of the Lord,” points to its having been the burden of the discourses of the false prophets, possibly to the solemn iteration of the words in the litanies of the supplicants. With no thought of the Divine Presence of which it was the symbol, they were ever harping on its greatness, identifying themselves and the people with that greatness, and predicting its perpetuity. So in Matthew 24:1 the disciples of our Lord point, as with a national pride, to the buildings of the later Temple. The plural “these” is used rather than the singular, as representing the whole complete fabric of courts and porticoes. The higher truth that the “congregation” of Israel was the living Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:5), was not likely to be in the thoughts of those whom Jeremiah rebuked.

Verse 4. The temple of the Lord] In the Chaldee the passage stands thus:-"Do not trust in the words of lying prophets, which say, Before the temple of the Lord ye shall worship; Before the temple of the Lord ye shall sacrifice; Before the temple of the Lord ye shall adore; thrice in the year ye shall appear before it." This the Targumist supposes to have been the reason why the words are here thrice repeated. They rather seem to express the conviction which the people had, that they should be safe while their temple service continued; for they supposed that God would not give it up into profane hands. But sacred places and sacred symbols are nothing in the sight of God when the heart is not right with him.

4. lying words] those of the false prophets, who maintained that the possession of the Temple was enough. Jehovah would never suffer it to be overthrown, and thus its presence would be a kind of charm or fetish. They doubtless relied on such passages as Isaiah 37:22 ff., with the signal overthrow of Assyria that followed, as well as on the sentiment produced by the centralisation of worship at Jerusalem under Josiah. The temple of the Lord] Cp. for the threefold repetition Jeremiah 22:29; Isaiah 6:3. Here it seems intended as a charm. Cp. 1 Kings 18:26 as illustrated by Mussulman Dervishes at the present day. See Stanley, f. Ch. II. 254, 438. these] the buildings of the Temple.

The temple of the Lord - Thrice repeated, to emphasize the rejection of the cry ever upon the lips of the false prophets. In their view the maintenance of the temple-service was a charm sufficient to avert all evil.

4. Lying words — Words of deception, misleading them as to their confidence.