“The poor were left to take care of the vineyards.  Jeremiah remained with them in preference to going with the king of Babylon to be promoted to honor.  God offered to take them under his protection and be their God:  but no, they would go to Egypt, and put themselves under the king of Egypt’s protection.  Jeremiah told them from the Lord, that Egypt itself should soon go into captivity.  But to Egypt they went and carried Jeremiah with them.  See Isaiah’s prophecy on this occasion, chapter 30:1-4.  Now look at chapter 42:24; there you see God’s judgment and chastening; follow him in the beginning of chapter 43, and view his mercy; in the end of the same chapter, again, see his charge against them, but it is followed, with mercy, not judgment.

“Thus we learn the character of God.  Thus we learn his dealings with his people.  They are not called to earthly comfort and prosperity.  They ever have been, and still are a suffering people; they are all sinners—­sin brings suffering, and God overrules suffering, so as to make it profitable to them.  Though redeemed by the life and death of Christ, being justified by faith, they have peace with God; yet the Lord has not pleased all at once to qualify them for the purchased possession.  They receive a new birth, new life, and are called to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, with this consolation, that God worketh in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure.  This is not their home, here they have no continuing city; they are travelling through the wilderness, to the city and mansions purchased and prepared for them by their Saviour, and must be made holy before they can enter in.  They have many corruptions to be mortified, and many errors in their estimation of men and things to be corrected.  Their hearts require to be made spiritual, humble, tender, resigned, and loving.  ’Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna—­that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.’

“Besides, all suffering is not the immediate punishment of sin in the individual sufferer, nor for his exclusive profit; it is evident from Scripture, there is suffering for the benefit of the body of Christ, his church, of which, I think, all have some share.  God has wise ends to answer by all the suffering of his creatures, and especially of the members of his body.  The apostles rejoiced in this, and so ought we.  ’If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.’  Paul says, ’I fill up in my flesh that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ, for his body’s sake, which is the church.’