Jeremiah 17:14-18--Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

Jeremiah 17:14-18
English Standard Version

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise.
15 Behold, they say to me,
    “Where is the word of the LORD?
    Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
    nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
    it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
    but let me not be put to shame;
let them be dismayed,
    but let me not be dismayed;
bring upon them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction!

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Jeremiah seems to sing a song pleading for salvation and rescue that sounds like it could have come straight out of the Psalms  It starts by declaring that the LORD is Sovereign and if He wills us to be saved, we will be saved.  If He wishes to heal us, we will be healed.  However, the people show how wicked they are by mocking the LORD and the Word of the LORD.  They taunt, "Let it come," saying they don't believe that the LORD's prophecy won't come true--they may even think they can somehow resist the LORD and win.  That sounds a lot like the spirit of the devil, not the spirit of the LORD.

Jeremiah says that he did not run away from being a priest or a prophet, both of which are to shepherd the people.  He has not denied the condition of the people that they are deserving of everything that the LORD has promised will happen to them.

The LORD knows everything that Jeremiah says and even thinks, yet He is not terrified of the LORD.  Jeremiah, like David, prays that his enemies would be put to shame and dismayed.  Jeremiah also asks for him to have strength and courage and fortitude to stand firm in the face of the constant and fervent opposition.  Jeremiah stops praying for the LORD to stay His hand of judgment and instead asks for His judgment to come and for them to be destroyed with double destruction (for not only their bodies to be killed, but for their souls to experience the eternal suffering that comes to those who die in rebellion to the LORD).  This seems to be quite a shift for Jeremiah, and it might not sit right with us, but Jeremiah has come to know that the LORD loves those who belong to Him enough to remove those that a threat to them.  The ways in which He protects His children do not always make sense to us, but we don't have all knowledge and wisdom like He does.  He always does what is good and right, and all things He does work together for the good of those who love Him (and are loved by Him) and are called according to His purposes.