The burden of the Lord.
"The burden of Babylon" (see Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 17:1; Isaiah 19:1, etc.). The use of the word "burden," to signify a message and its subsequent expansion into the phrase "the burden of the Lord" (see Jeremiah 23:33), suggest to us—
I. THAT TO ALL MEN EVERYWHERE BELONGS THE SACRED DUTY OF CARRYING THE MESSAGES OF GOD. The term here used may simply signify this—the bearing of the Word of God to those for whom it was intended. This is a work which belongs to every filial son, to every faithful servant. Possessed of it ourselves, and experiencing its exceeding preciousness, we are to convey it to all who are in need of it. We can all carry to the souls of men "the will of God concerning them in Christ Jesus, "his Divine desire that they should turn from all iniquity, should believe in his Son, their Savior and Lord, and should follow him in every path of purity, integrity, love.
II. THAT ON SOME MEN THERE SOMETIMES DEVOLVES THE PAINFUL DUTY OF DELIVERING BURDENSOME MESSAGES FROM GOD. This was notably the case with the Hebrew prophets. They were frequently commissioned to convey unpleasant, unpalatable truths to men and nations, such as few cared to announce and none liked to receive; e.g. the message of Moses to Pharaoh, of Nathan to David, and of Elijah to Ahab; such, also, as these "burdens" to Babylon, Moab, Egypt. The faithful parent, teacher, minister, has often a message to make known which is a burden in this sense; it is that which is likely to weigh heavy on the heart of him that receives it; it is
III. THAT ON THOSE IN WHOM IS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, SACRED TRUTH BESTS AS A BURDEN, from which they can only be delivered by faithful utterance. So was it with the Savior himself (Luke 12:50); and so with the prophets (Psalms 39:3; Job 32:18; Jeremiah 20:9); and so with the apostles (1 Corinthians 9:16). So should it be with us. We ought to feel burdened with a sense of the sin and sorrow of the world, together with the fact that we have in our minds the knowledge of those truths which are divinely suited to destroy that sin and to disperse that sorrow. This is "the burden of the Lord," resting on the man in whom is much of the Spirit of Christ—a burden which will only be lifted from him when he has spoken his most earnest word and done his most devoted work, to teach, to heal, to save.—C.