Jeremiah 5:24 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Neither say they in their heart; they are so careless that they never trouble themselves about it; or so obdurate and stiff that they never lay it to heart, or consider that it is God that disposeth of all fixings according to his own pleasure, both in the earth and in the great deep. Fear; or, serve and obey; all service to God being both performed in it, and proceeding from it. That giveth rain, without which nothing could subsist. By this the true God is distinguished from all false idol gods, Jeremiah 14:22; and in this appears not only his power in decreeing, Job 28:26, and preparing it, Psalms 147:8 his sovereignty in withholding it, Amos 4:7; but his general goodness in bestowing it, Deuteronomy 28:12 Matthew 5:45, and his special providence in the seasonable disposal of it, according as there is need, and which he gives as a witness of it, Acts 14:17. As in the former instance God sets forth his people's insensibleness of the works of his greatness and power in so easily taming such an unruly element; so here he doth also further manifest the same by instances of his providence and goodness, implying, that so stupid, resolute, and obstinate they are grown, that they are neither afraid of him for his greatness, which possibly may be understood by the former fear, nor fear him for his goodness, which possibly may be the sense of the word in this latter place. The former and the latter; he means not the former and latter part of the year, but according to their seasons of sowing and reaping; the former to prepare the ground for sowing, and the latter to prepare the corn for plumping and ripening: see Jeremiah 3:3. He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest; he gives seasonable harvests according to his appointment: the sum is, God would let them know by this what an impudent and foolish, as well as wicked thing it is for them to set themselves against that God that keeps the whole order of nature at his own disposal, which he can govern and order as he sees men behave themselves towards him.