And I am not troubled, following thee for my pastor, and I have not desired the day of man, thou knowest. That which went out of my lips, hath been right in thy sight.

“Further, also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, "And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart." And He says in another place, "If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them." The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: "And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it." Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, "He finished in six days." This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, saying, "Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years." Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. "And He rested on the seventh day." This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the-sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Moreover, He says, "Thou shalt sanctify it with pure hands and a pure heart." If, therefore, any one can now sanctify the day which God hath sanctified, except he is pure in heart in all things, we are deceived. Behold, therefore: certainly then one properly resting sanctifies it, when we ourselves, having received the promise, wickedness no longer existing, and all things having been made new by the Lord, shall be able to work righteousness. Then we shall be able to sanctify it, having been first sanctified ourselves. Further, He says to them, "Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure." Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead. And when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens.”

“For I love those presbyters and deacons who when they have performed their mission will not allow themselves to remain absent any longer from their duties. For the prophet says, I have not been weary in following thee. And who can be weary in following Jesus, when He Himself says, Come unto Me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Let us therefore never cease from following Jesus, which if we do we shall never fail, for He gives strength to them that follow Him. The more nearly you approach to the Source of power the stronger you will be. Often, while we are thus following Him, the adversaries say to us, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. But let us not grow weary in following Him, let us not be turned aside by meeting with this crafty question. It was said to the prophet, when he was thrown into prison, when he was cast into the pit of mire, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. But he followed him so much the more, and therefore attained the prize, and received the crown; for following Jesus he was not weary; for there is no weariness in Jacob, neither shall sorrow be in Israel.”

“The Lord has indeed made every day—not only has made but also continues to make. I mean, he makes every day as follows: he makes his sun rise on the good and the bad and sends rain on the just and the unjust. So we are not to imagine that this ordinary kind of day, which is common to good and bad alike, is meant in this place, where we heard, "This is the day that the Lord has made." What particular sort of day can it be when it says, "Let us exult and be joyful in it"? What sort, but a good one? What sort, but a very choice, lovable, desirable one, the sort about which Jeremiah said, "And I have not yearned for the day of men, you know it well"?”

“For it is but little for a monk to have once made his renunciation, that is, in the early days of his conversion to have disregarded the present world, unless he continues to renounce it daily. For to the very end of this life we must with the prophet say this: "And I have not desired the day of man, you know it well." Wherefore also the Lord says in the Gospel: "If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."”

“But I did not hasten I did not hasten to urge You to bring them because I am a good shepherd, who goes after You to beg mercy for them. and...the woeful day The illness of their retribution I did not desire. Jonathan renders: And I did not hamper Your word from prophesying concerning them to return them to fear You. According to the Targum, אַצְתִּי is an expression of hampering. That is to say, I did not hesitate from telling them Your message and to return them to you if they would hearken to me. What came out of my lips was before Your face to return Your wrath from them.”

“This is the third point, from which their confidence of impunity arose, because they did not believe the divine threats: and concerning this there are three things. First is set down the mockery of the unbelievers: "Where is the word?" As if to say: they will not come. Isaiah 5: "you who say: let it hasten, let his work come quickly, that we may see it, and let it draw near, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, and we shall know it." Amos 5: "Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. Why then is it for you?" Secondly is set down the prophet's excuse as to constancy of mind: "and I have not been troubled," on account of their contradiction; "following," fulfilling what you commanded me; "day," the present life, since he was also ready to die; or prosperity and present glory. 2 Corinthians 4: "But to me it is a very small thing that I be judged by you," or by man's day. And as to the truth of his preaching: "you know" (...) "it was right in your sight," though not in theirs. Job 16: "in heaven is my witness." Thirdly is set down his own petition: and first he asks for safety: "be not to me," as if to say: I fear only your indignation. Job 9: "he takes away his rod from me, and let not his dread terrify me." Matthew 10: "do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." Secondly he asks affliction in heart for the unbelievers, from confusion, concerning guilt: "let them be confounded." Psalm 39: "let them be confounded and abashed, who seek my soul to take it away." And fear of punishment: "they dread." Proverbs 10: "dread to those who work evil." Wisdom 17: "for since wickedness is timid, it is given over to the condemnation of all." And in body: "bring upon them the day of affliction," in life; "crush," through death; "double," by sword and famine, or in soul and body.”

“As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee,.... Though he had met with so much ill usage, and was hated by the people for bringing such messages to them, and was jeered and scoffed at because his prophecies were not accomplished; yet he had not been hasty, and solicitous, and importunate with the Lord to dismiss him from his service; but was willing to continue in his office as a pastor or prophet, and to follow the Lord fully, and faithfully perform the work he had called him to, whatever difficulties and discouragements attended him, or reproaches were cast upon him. Some render the words, "I hastened not", or "I have not urged", or "pressed to be a pastor after thee" (z); to which the sense of Kimchi agrees, "I did not press myself, or was anxious about the matter, that I should be a shepherd after thee, or a prophet;'' he did not run before he was sent; he did not thrust himself into this office; he was not forward, but backward to it, as appears from Jer 1:6; a pastor of the Lord is an under shepherd; one that has his mission and commission from the Lord; who obeys him in all things; follows his directions; goes where and with what he sends him; and such an one was Jeremiah; though it was not what he sought after, and was pressing for; and this he says to take off the edge of the people's resentment against him; to which agree the following words: neither have I desired the woeful day, thou knowest; he foresaw that reproaches and calumnies would be cast upon him, and that bonds and afflictions would abide him wherever he went with his messages and prophecies; he knew it would be a woeful and miserable day to him, whenever he was sent as a prophet to this people; and that he should meet with nothing but sorrow, and trouble, and vexation of spirit; and therefore it could not be desirable to him, as a man, to be in such an office, or to be sent on such an errand; to be a messenger of such terrible things, and to denounce such woeful judgments; and much less did he desire the execution of them, even though he had prophesied of them; having not so much regard to his own honour and credit, as an affection to the people, and a compassionate concern for their welfare; and for all this he could appeal to the heart searching and rein trying God. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Arabic versions, render it, "man's day"; see Co1 4:3; but the Targum paraphrases it agreeably to the sense given, "and the evil day which thou shall bring upon them, I have not desired:'' that which came out of my lips was right before thee; as he could appeal to the omniscient God for the truth of the above, so for this, that he delivered nothing by way of prophecy but what he had from the Lord; and that he delivered out truly and faithfully whatever he had from him; and it was all done openly and publicly, and in his sight, with all sincerity and truth; see Co2 2:17. (z) "ego autem non festinavi ut essem pastor post te", Calvin; "et me (quod attinet) non ursi esse pastor post te", Noldius, p. 567.”

“I have not refused Thy call of me to be a prophet (Jon 1:3), however painful to me it was to utter what would be sure to irritate the hearers (Jer 1:4, &c.).; therefore Thou shouldest not forsake me (Jer 15:15, &c.). to follow thee--literally, "after thee"; as an under-pastor following Thee, the Chief Shepherd (Ecc 12:11; Pe1 5:4). neither . . . desired--I have not wished for the day of calamity, though I foretell it as about to come on my countrymen; therefore they have no reason for persecuting me. thou knowest--I appeal to Thee for the truth of what I assert. that which came out of my lips--my words (Deu 23:23). right before thee--rather, "was before Thee"; was known to Thee-- (Pro 5:21).”