Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
The prayer belongs to the long body of prophecy running from Jeremiah 3 through Jeremiah 21. Its meaning stands out clearly in awful denunciations against sin. It is marked also by Jeremiah's sorrow of heart over his people's transgression. With that sorrow are joined most touching appeals to return to God.
Those appeals met with utter lack of response from the mass of the people. Amid that unresponsiveness to God's messages, the prophet turned to pleas to God. This cry for the Lord to give heed and to hearken to the voice of adversaries is one of those pleas.
The prayer belongs to the long body of prophecy running from Jeremiah 3 through Jeremiah 21. Its meaning stands out clearly in awful denunciations against sin. It is marked also by Jeremiah's sorrow of heart over his people's transgression. With that sorrow are joined most touching appeals to return to God.
Those appeals met with utter lack of response from the mass of the people. Amid that unresponsiveness to God's messages, the prophet turned to pleas to God. This cry for the Lord to give heed and to hearken to the voice of adversaries is one of those pleas.