Fathers

Jeremiah 8

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“At that time,” says Yahweh, “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or be buried. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth. Death will be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Moreover you shall tell them, ‘Yahweh says: “ ‘Do men fall, and not rise up again? Does one turn away, and not return? Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit. They refuse to return. I listened and heard, but they didn’t say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Everyone turns to his course, as a horse that rushes headlong in the battle. Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times. The turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people don’t know Yahweh’s law. “ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie. The wise men are disappointed. They are dismayed and trapped. Behold, they have rejected Yahweh’s word. What kind of wisdom is in them? Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to those who will possess them. For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed. They couldn’t blush. Therefore they will fall among those who fall. In the time of their visitation they will be cast down, says Yahweh. “ ‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh. No grapes will be on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade. The things that I have given them will pass away from them.’ ” “Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves! Let’s enter into the fortified cities, and let’s be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay! The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan. The whole land trembles at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they have come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell therein.” “For, behold, I will send serpents, adders among you, which will not be charmed; and they will bite you,” says Yahweh. Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me. Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: “Isn’t Yahweh in Zion? Isn’t her King in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign idols?” “The harvest is past. The summer has ended, and we are not saved.” For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt. I mourn. Dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

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What the Fathers say

Jeremiah 8:11

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

Such, then, should Christ's apostles be preachers of the gospel and not ones who greet on the road. That is, not ones who look for something else, but those who proclaim the gospel out of genuine brotherly love. Let them come to the house and say, "Peace be to this house." They do not only say it with their lips, but they pour out what they are full of. They preach peace, and they have peace. They are not like those of whom it is said, "Peace, peace, and there is no peace." What's the meaning of "Peace, peace, and there is no peace"? …

Sermon 101:11 ↗

Jerome

But what can I do, I who can only wish for peace and have no power to bring it about? Even though the wish may win its reward with God, its futility must still sadden one who cherishes it. When the apostle said, "as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all," he knew quite well that the realization of peace depends on the consent of two parties. The prophet truly cries, "They say Peace, peace: and yet there is no peace." To overthrow peace by actions while professing it in words is not hard. …

Letter 82.2 ↗

Commodian

The arranged time comes to our people; there is peace in the world; and, at the same time, ruin is weighing us down from the enticement of the world, (the destruction) of the reckless people whom you have rent into schism. Either obey the law of the city, or depart from it. You behold the mote sticking in our eyes, and will not see the beam in your own. A treacherous peace is coming to you; persecution is rife; the wounds do not appear; and thus, without slaughter, you are destroyed. …

On Christian Discipline, LXVI ↗