Context No. 3260 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 14:17-22: in context

17“You shall say this word to them: “‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound. 18If I go out into the field, then behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.’” 19Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay! 20We acknowledge, LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you. 21Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake. Do not disgrace the throne of your glory. Remember, and don’t break your covenant with us. 22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, the LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.

Jeremiah weeps day and night over the wound of his people, the daughter of Zion broken with a grievous blow. And the people at last pray a true prayer: we acknowledge, LORD, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. Do not abhor us, for your name's sake; do not break your covenant. Can any idol of the nations bring rain? We will wait for you.

Two voices blend here. Jeremiah weeps ceaselessly, sharing God's own grief over the people's wound. And the people, at last, confess without excusing themselves, appealing not to their own merit but to God's name and covenant: do not abhor us for your name's sake. They turn from the false gods that cannot even bring rain and say, we will wait for you. This is what real repentance sounds like: honest confession, no self-justification, an appeal to God's mercy and covenant rather than to our worth, and renewed waiting on him alone.

When I confess my sin, do I appeal honestly to God's mercy and covenant rather than to my own merit, turning from every false hope to wait on him alone?

Sources

Jeremiah 14:20: "We acknowledge, LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you."
Jeremiah 14:22: "Aren't you he, the LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things."
Psalm 51:4: "Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."