Jeremiah (Sections 86-93)

Section 87

"But I said, How shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land,
a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My Father;
he shalt not turn away from me."—Jeremiah 3:19 Man thinks lightly of sin; but not so the Lord.

Man thinks lightly of grace; but not so the Lord.

Man trifles where God wonders.

Man forgets where God considers. The text may be viewed as written with a note of interrogation (?), or a note of exclamation (!).

Let us treat it somewhat in that blended fashion.

I. Here is a difficult question.

Many knotty questions are involved in it.

1. As to the holy Lord. "How shall I put thee among the children?" How, in consistency with justice and purity, shall the Holy One place in his family persons of such character? They have forgotten, despised, forsaken, rejected, and insulted their God and can he treat them as if they had loved and obeyed?

2. As to the unholy person. "How shall I put thee among the children?" Shalt thou be adopted after being— A rebel so set on mischief, wilfully disobeying? A sinner so open, so presumptuous, so obstinate? A desperado so profligate, profane, and persecuting? A criminal "condemned already" by thine unbelief?

Such persons do obtain mercy, but how is it done?

3. As to the family. "How shall I put thee among the children?"

What will the children say? "A fine brother, certainly!"

What will the world say? Will not observers exclaim,— "See what characters are received into the household of God!" May it not even seem like trifling with iniquity? May not the wicked hope for impunity in their sinning?

What can I myself say to justify such a course? How shall I make this appear to be the act of the Judge of all the earth?

4. As to the inheritance: "and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage?" Is not this too good for such?

Shalt thou have peace and happiness below?

Shalt thou have all that my favored children enjoy?

Shalt thou be admitted into heaven?

It is a question which none but the Lord would ever have thought of.

He himself asked it long ago, as if to let us see that it was no small matter which he proposed.

He himself answered the question, or it had been unanswerable.

II. Here is a wonderful answer.

1. It is from God himself, and is therefore a perfect answer.

2. It is in the divine style: "Thou shalt"; and "thou shalt not." Omnipotence speaks, and grace reveals its unconditional character.

3. It is concerning a divine work. God himself puts sinners among his children, and none beside can do it. The Lord infuses a new spirit—a filial spirit. The spirit expresses itself by a new call, "My Father." This creates new bonds: "and shalt not turn away from me."

4. It is effectual for its purpose.

Those who heartily cry "My Father" may safely be put among the children.

Those who do not turn away from their father must be children. Servants go, but sons abide.

Thus the wisdom of our gracious God, by regeneration and adoption, answers the difficult question.

III. Here, without question, is a matchless privilege.

We are put among the children.

1. We are indeed made children of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.

2. We are as much loved as the children.

3. We are treated as the children.

We are forgiven as a father forgives his children.

We are clothed, fed, and housed as children.

We are taught, ruled, and chastened as children.

We are honored and enriched as children.

4. We are placed under filial obligations,— To love, honor, obey, and serve our Father. This should be regarded as a high honor, and not as a burden.

Let us admire the grace which puts us into the family.

Let us enjoy the privileges which this secures to us.

Let us act as loving children should do.

Extracts

God seems, as it were, to be at a stand. "How shall I act so as to save these sinners, and yet not wrong myself?" This should greatly humble us for our sins. As if a child should do much evil, and bring himself into grievous troubles, so that if his tender father would help him he must be put to abundance of difficulties, and is fain to beat his brains, and laboriously study how he shall contrive to save his poor, foolish child from utter undoing. Now, if the child has any ingenuousness in him, he will not think, "My father's anxiety is no great matter, so long as I am delivered"; but he will cry—"Alas, this will break my heart! What troubles have I brought my father into! I cannot bear to think of it!" It should be thus with us in reference to our God, who in this text speaketh after the manner of men. —Jeremiah Burroughs. In the second century, Celsus, a celebrated adversary of Christianity, distorting our Lord's words, complained, "Jesus Christ came into the world to make the most horrible and dreadful society; for he calls sinners, and not the righteous; so that the body he came to assemble is a body of profligates, separated from good people, among whom they before were mixed. He has rejected all the good, and collected all the bad." "True," said Origen, in reply, "our Jesus came to call sinners —but to repentance. He assembled the wicked—but to convert them into new men, or rather to change them into angels. We come to him covetous, he makes us liberal; lascivious, he makes us chaste; violent, he makes us meek; impious, he makes us religious."

Regeneration is not a change of the old nature, but an introduction of a new nature. Not "Ishmael changed," but "Isaac born," is the son of the promise. Whom God adopts, he anoints; whom he makes sons, he makes saints.—Watson.

One of my parishioners at East Hampton, converted after having lived through three or four revivals, to the age of fifty, and having given up hope, used to exclaim for several weeks after his change, "Is it I? Am I the same man who used to think it so hard to be converted, and my case so hopeless? Is it I? Is it I? Oh, wonderful!"—Dr. Lyman Beecher.

Section 88 "They have refused to return."—Jeremiah 5:3 There is about all men the primary evil of sin. This is greatly increased by a refusal to return to their allegiance. This is intensified by the rejection of pressing invitations.

I. Who have refused to return?

1. Those who have said as much. With unusual honesty or presumption, they have made public declaration that they will never quit their sinful ways.

2. Those who have made a promise to repent, but have not performed it.

3. Those who have offered other things instead of practical return to God:—ceremonies, religiousness, morality, and the like.

4. Those who have only returned in appearance. Formalists, mere professors, and hypocrites offer the counterfeit for the genuine; and thus in a veiled manner really refuse to repent.

5. Those who have only returned in part. Hugging some sins while hanging others is a wretched method of continuing rebellion while feigning submission.

II. What this refusal unveils.

1. An intense love of sin. Suppose the prodigal had refused to leave the famine-stricken country, it would have proved his insane attachment to those with whom he had spent his substance.

2. A want of love to the great Father, who bids them return.

3. A disbelief of God: they neither believe in what he had revealed concerning the evil consequences of their sin, nor in what he promises as to the benefit of returning from it.

4. A despising of God: they reject his counsel, his command, and even himself.

5. A resolve to continue in evil. This is their proud ultimatum, "they have refused to return."

6. A trifling with serious concerns. They are too busy, too fond of gaiety, etc. There is time enough yet. There is no need to be so earnest. No doubt things will come right. Thus they treat God's command as a light matter.

III. What deepens the sin of this refusal?

1. When correction brings no repentance.

2. When conscience is violated, and the Spirit of God is resisted. Repentance is seen to be right, but yet refused: duty is known but declined.

3. When repentance is known to be the happiest course, and yet it is obstinately neglected against the plainest reasons.

4. When this obstinacy is long-continued, and is persevered in against convictions and inward promptings.

5. When vile reasons are at the bottom: such as secret sins, which the sinner dares not confess or quit; or the fear of man, which makes the mind cowardly.

IV. What is the real reason of this refusal?

1. It may be ignorance, but that can be only in part, for it is plainly a man's duty to return to his Lord. No mystery surrounds this simple precept,—"Return."

2. It may be self-conceit: perhaps they dream that they are already in the right road.

3. It is at times sheer recklessness. The man refuses to consider his own best interests. He resolves to be a trifler; death and hell and heaven are to him as toys to sport with.

4. It is a dislike of holiness. That lies at the bottom of it: men cannot endure humility, self-denial, and obedience to God.

5. It is a preference for the present above the eternal future.

Oh, do not refuse the reasonable request to return when God tenderly invites you to come to himself! Is it not right? Is it not wise?

Life or death hangs on your choice! Why will you die?

Let a sweet consent be given. Say, "I will arise, and go unto my Father." You will never regret obedience to such a suggestion.

What is the riotous living of the far country compared with the joy of your Father's house? From the cross the Lord Jesus calls on you to return. Hasten home!

Morsels The door of heaven shuts from below, not from above. "Your iniquities have separated," saith the Lord.—Williams, of Wern.

Lord Byron, a short time before death, was heard to say, "Shall I sue for mercy?" After a long pause, he added, "Come, come, no weakness; let's be a man to the last!" The reason why a wicked man doth not turn unto God is not because he cannot (though he cannot), but because he will not. He cannot say at the day of judgment, "Lord, thou knowest I did my best to be holy, but I could not." The man that had not on a wedding-garment could not say, "Lord, I was not able to get one." But he was "speechless."—W. Fenner.

Section 89

"Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."—Jeremiah 6:16

It is the distinguishing feature of the good old way that in it we find rest for our souls. This is one of the tokens by which we may discern the false from the true.

Rest was the promise of the Saviour. "I will give you rest."

Rest is the point in which the law failed. Moses could not lead the people into Canaan, neither can the works of the law conduct us into the rest of God.

Rest has been enjoyed by believers, and it is now enjoyed by them.

Rest is never found apart from the gospel, and faith in Jesus.

Rest comes not from wealth, health, honor, or any other earthly thing.

I. In "the good way" we find rest if we walk therein.

We walk by faith in the gospel way, and are rested.

1. The way of pardon by an atonement gives rest to the conscience.

2. The way of believing the Word as a little child gives rest to the understanding.

3. The way of trusting our affairs with God gives rest to the mind.

4. The way of obedience to divine commands gives rest to the soul.

5. The way of communion with Christ gives rest to the heart. It is no little matter which can rest the desires, the fears, the regrets, the questionings of our manhood; but gospel doctrines, promises, and precepts, and the gospel spirit accomplish this.

II. Rest found by walking in "the good way" is good for the soul.

Some forms of rest rust and injure the soul; but this does not.

1. It brings satisfaction, but not self-satisfaction.

2. It brings a sense of safety, but does not lead to presumptuous sin.

3. It creates content, but also excites desires for progress.

4. It removes legal fears, but supplies superior motives for holiness.

It is actually beneficial to a man to walk in the good way, for as a saved believer his possession of salvation—

Supplies him with an answer to the bribes of Satan; for what can Satan offer which could be preferable to assured salvation?

Sets him free from personal anxiety, and thus enables him to serve the Lord without distraction, since he is himself saved.

Engenders intense love to his Saviour for his completed work.

Excites him to holy imitation of his heavenly Father, who is so gracious as to afford rest to the weary.

III. Rest of this kind should be enjoyed now.

It is so enjoyed by many of us, and it is a grievous error when it is not the case with all real Christians.

1. You should be in the way, know that you are there, and try to keep to the very middle of the road. Truly believe in Jesus, and perfect rest must come. "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God": Romans 5:1.

2. You should have no doubt that the way is good, and that it is the way of the Lord. This is the assurance of understanding.

3. You should lay aside all anxious care because "he careth for you."

4. You should feel an intense satisfaction in Jesus. You will do so unless you live at a distance from him, and so miss his presence and smile. A present Christ is a well of delight.

5. You should indulge the largest anticipations concerning your future blessedness, both in time and eternity.

We challenge Romanists, sacramentarians, self-justiciaries, and the like, to say that they have any rest. Rome does not promise it even to her own votaries, either in this world or in the world to come; but goes on saying her masses for the repose of the souls of her own departed cardinals, who evidently are not at rest. If her most eminent divines go to purgatory, where do the common people go?

We invite all the laboring and laden to come and try the Lord Jesus, and see if he does not rest them at once, and for ever.

We bear our own willing testimony to the sweetness, safety, perpetuity, and truthfulness of the rest of faith.

Way-marks

It is called "the good way." It is not the easy way: the idle and the foolish ask for that, but it is not worth seeking for, since it leads to poverty and perdition. Neither is it the popular way, for few there be that find it. But it is the good way, made by a good God, in infinite goodness to his creatures; paved by our good Lord Jesus, with pains and labors immeasurable; and revealed by the good Spirit to those whose eternal good he seeks. It is the way of holiness, of peace, of safety, and it leads to heaven. Is it not good? It has been traversed by the best of men since time began, and the unclean do not pass over it. It is good at its commencement, for at its entrance men are born again; it is good in its continuation, for they are righteous who hold on their way; and it is good in its termination, for it leads to perfection, to bliss, to God himself. In this good old way you shall find rest if you have never enjoyed it before; traveling you shall rest, as certain birds are said to rest upon the wing. Joy shall be upon your head, peace shall prepare the place of your feet. It is wisdom's dominion, and concerning her we read, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Rest for the conscience comes to those who enter God's way of salvation; rest of heart arises out of their love to him who is the Way; rest of brain from their acceptance of his teaching; rest of desire from their satisfaction with his person,—in a word, the soul rests in all its powers and faculties. Nor does it alone rest in the present; the future is guaranteed beyond all fear.—C. H. S.

Here there is a well-beaten track under our feet. Let us keep it. It may not be quite the shortest way; it may not take us through all the grandeur and sublimity which bolder pedestrians might see; we may miss a picturesque waterfall, a remarkable glacier, a charming view: but the track will bring us safe to our quarters for the night.—Dr. Dale.

Dr. Judson once sent for a poor Christian convert, who was about to engage in something which he feared would not be for her spiritual good. "Look here," he said, snatching a ruler from the table, and tracing a not very straight line upon the floor; "here is where you have been walking. You have made a crooked track, to be sure—out of the path half the time; but then you have kept near it, and not taken to new roads; and you have, to a certain extent, grown in grace. And now here you stand. You know where this path leads. You know what is before you: some struggles, some sorrows, and finally, eternal life, and a crown of glory. But to the left branches off another very pleasant road, and along the air floats, rather temptingly, a pretty bubble. You do not mean to leave the path you have walked in fifteen years; you only want to step aside, and catch the bubble, and think you will come back again; but you never will." The solemn warning was not given in vain.

Section 90 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin?"—Jeremiah 13:23

Jeremiah had spoken to these people, and they would not hear; he had wept over them, and they would not consider. Even God's judgments had failed to move them, and he came to the conclusion that they were incorrigible, and could no more improve than a black man could become white.

Jeremiah's figure was most probably suggested to him by the Ethiopians in the king's court, one of whom attended more to him than his countrymen ever did. (Jeremiah 38:7-13.) Persons of color were no doubt more notable among an exclusive people like the Jews than they would be among us.

I. The question and its answer.

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin?" The expected reply is, "He cannot do so." The outward impossibility is the Ethiopian's changing the color of his own skin: a physical experiment never yet accomplished. The inward impossibility is a change of heart and character by one "accustomed to do evil." Can he—will he—change himself? Never. The difficulty in the sinner's case lies—

1. In the thoroughness of the operation. The Ethiopian can wash, or paint; but he cannot change that which is part and parcel of himself. A sinner cannot change his own nature.

2. In the fact that the will is itself diseased by sin. The man cannot do good, for he has no mind to it, no wish that way. In man's will lies the essence of the difficulty: he can-not means that he does not will to have it done. He is morally unable.

3. In the strength of habit. Use is second nature. Practice in transgression has forged chains, and bound the man to evil.

4. In the pleasure of sin, which fascinates and enslaves the mind.

5. In the appetite for sin, which gathers intensity from indulgence. Drunkenness, lechery, covetousness, etc., are a growing force.

6. In the blindness of the understanding, which prevents men from seeing the evil of their ways, or noting their danger. Conscience is drugged into a deep sleep, out of which the man cannot arouse himself.

7. In the growing hardness of the heart, which becomes more stolid and unbelieving every day, till nothing affects it.

8. In the evident fact that outward means prove ineffectual: like "soap" and "nitre" on a negro, they fail to touch the living blackness. For all these reasons we answer the question in the negative: sinners can no more renew themselves than Ethiopians can change their skins.

Why then preach to them?

It is Christ's command, and we are bound to obey. Their inability does not hinder our ministry, for power goes with the word.

Why tell them that it is their duty to repent?

Because it is so: moral inability is no excuse: the law is not to be lowered because man has grown too evil to keep it.

Why tell them of this moral inability? To drive them to self-despair, and make them look to Christ.

II. Another question and answer. Can the Ethiopian's skin be changed? Or, can the sinner be made anew? This is a very different affair, and in it lies the door of hope for men.

Assuredly the Lord can make a black man white. The greatest sinner can be transformed into a saint. The grounds for so believing are many.

Here are a few of them,—

1. All things are possible with God. Matthew 19:26.

2. The Holy Spirit has special power over the human heart.

3. The Lord Jesus has determined to work this wonder, and for this purpose he came into this world and died, and rose again. "He shall save his people from their sins": Matthew 1:21.

4. Many such jet-black sinners have been totally changed: among ourselves there are such, and in all places such may be found.

5. The gospel is prepared with that end. It does more than change the skin; for it affects the head, the heart, the understanding, the conscience, the motives, the desires, the hopes, the fears; and through these, the whole conduct, so that those who were accustomed to do evil become expert in doing good.

6. God has made his church long for such transformations, and prayer has been offered that they may now be wrought. Will not the Lord hear us?

Herein lies hope for the most inveterate sinner. Not in the bath of baptism; Nor in the scalding tears of remorse; Nor in the medicine of vows and pledges: But in his word of power, who doeth great wonders of grace.

Chips

Dirt contracted may be washed off, but we cannot alter the natural color of a hair (Matthew 5:36), much less of the skin; and so impossible is it, morally impossible, to reclaim and reform these people.—Matthew Henry.

If it were possible for those who have been for ages in hell to return to the earth (and not to be regenerated), I firmly believe that, notwithstanding all they have suffered for sin, they would still love it, and return to the practice of it.—John Ryland. The Christian sects in Syria appear to consider a true case of Druze conversion to Christianity as out of the question. "The wolfs whelps," they say, "are not tamed." The conversion of many sinners appears equally impossible, and yet how many such triumphs of grace are recorded as that which John Newton described in himself: "I was a wild beast on the coast of Africa once, but the Lord Jesus caught me, and tamed me, and now people come to see me as they would go to look at the lions in the tower."

O endless misery!

I labor still, but still in vain, The stains of sin I see Are woaded all, or dy'd in grain.

There's not a blot will stir a jot, For all that I can do.

There is no hope in fuller's soap, Though I add nitre too.

I many ways have tried Have often soak'd it in cold fears; And when a time I spied, Pour'd upon it scalding tears: Have rins'd and rubb'd, and scrap'd and scrubb'd And turn'd it up and down;

Yet can I not wash out one spot;

It's rather fouler grown.

Can there no help be had?

Lord, thou art holy, thou art pure:

Mine heart is not so bad, So foul, but thou canst cleanse it, sure.

Speak, blessed Lord, wilt thou afford Me means to make it clean?

I know thou wilt: thy blood was spilt. Should it run still in vain?

—Christopher Harvey, in "Schola Cordia"

Section 91 "Return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good."—Jeremiah 18:11 This is the voice of mercy, anxious about each individual.

Justice might slay the sinner in his sin; but mercy would slay the sin, and spare the sinner.

Yet it is the voice of holiness, opposed to each man's special evil way; and claiming of each man an acceptable life. The Lord Jesus has not come to be the Minister of sin, but the Destroyer of it.

Let us hear each one for himself on this occasion, for have we not every one some evil way of his own?

It is Jehovah's voice, and concerning its message we enquire,—

I. What?

"Return." This includes three things.

1. Stop! Stand still! Go not a foot further in your evil way.

2. Turn round! Face towards God, holiness, heaven, etc.

3. Hasten back! Practically move in the right way, and continue in that good course which is the reverse of your present one.

II. When?

"Return ye now.

1. Every step makes so much more to retrace.

2. Every step makes it more difficult to return.

3. Further wandering will be wanton and wilful, a presumptuous rejection of the warning which is now so earnestly given.

4. Never again may you have an opportunity to return.

There is nothing certain about life save its uncertainty.

Joy is being lost by this procrastination; you are missing present peace of mind.

God is robbed of your service, and you cannot make up the loss.

Man is being injured by your example.

Every reason pleads for now, but for delay there is no excuse.

III. Who?

"Return ye now every one." The personality of the call to each hearer of it is necessary, for—

1. Each man has his own peculiar way of sin.

2. Each man is apt to think of his neighbor's sin more than his own.

3. Each man needs a special effectual call ere he will turn.

4. Each man is now lovingly invited to return.

IV. From what?

"From his evil way."

"We have turned every one to his own way": Isaiah 53:6. This way of your own you are to return from,— From your own personal sin. From your constitutional sin. From your most frequent sin. To many it will be important to be able to discover this favorite sin.

1. It is that into which you are most easily led.

2. It is that which has already been most indulged by you.

3. It is that about which you are most irritated if you are rebuked concerning it. Darling sins must not be touched, or their fond friends grow angry.

4. It is that for which you give up other sins; a covetous person will not be extravagant, a hypocrite will deny himself, etc.

5. It is that with which you are most loath to part.

6. It is that on which you spend most money, energy, etc. From such a darling sin each man must turn.

V. To what?

"Make your ways and your doings good." Negative religion is not enough, there must be positive goodness.

1. Your general habits or ways must be made good as a whole.

2. Your ways in reference to yourself.

3. Your doings towards both God and man.

Personal examination of the utmost importance.

Practical repentance an absolute necessity.

Yet how difficult is the way back. To descend into sin is easy, but to retrace your steps, this is the work, this is the labor.

Only by faith in the Lord Jesus can it be accomplished; a look at his cross breeds more repentance than anything in the world besides. To those who believe in Jesus, he will send the Holy Spirit to lead them in the way everlasting.

Explanatory

There are two things proper to a man that returneth: first, to go a way clean contrary to the way he went before; secondly, to tread out and obliterate his former steps . . . First, I say, he must go a way clean contrary to his former way. Many men think that the way to hell is but a little out of the way to heaven, so that a man in a small time, with small ado, may pass out of the one into the other; but they are much deceived: for as sin is more than a stepping aside, viz., a plain, a direct going away from God; so is repentance, or the forsaking of sin, more than a little coasting out of one way into another. Crossings will not serve; there is no way, from the road of sin to the place we seek, but to go quite back again the way we came. The way of pleasure in sin must be changed for sorrow for the same. He that hath superstitiously worshipped false gods must now as devoutly serve the true; the tongue that hath uttered swearings, and spoken blasphemies, must as plentifully sound forth the name of God in prayer and thanksgiving; the covetous man must become liberal; the oppressor of the poor as charitable in relieving them; the calumniator of his brother a tender guarder of his credit; in fine, he that hated his brother before must now love him as tenderly as himself.—Joseph Mede.

"Now," thou resolvest, "I will hereafter look to it better than I have done before." Alas, this will for hereafter is no will! First: because it is only to shuffle off the willing of the present. The heart is unwilling to obey, and therefore it puts off the commandment to the future, not for any desire that it hath to do it hereafter, but only because it is unwilling to do it for the present; like a man that is unwilling to lend. "I'll lend you hereafter," says he, only because he would shuffle off lending at all. Secondly: this will for hereafter is no will, because it goes without God's will. God's will is now; thine is hereafter. "He that will not when he may, when he would he shall have 'Nay.' " Take heed lest when thou wouldest fain be pardoned, and criest, "Lord, open to me," thou dost find thyself too late. —William Fenner. A missionary in India, addressing the natives on the question of sin, asked, "What say your own shasters?"—

'I a sinner, you a sinner, sinners every one, Sinless—none are found who dwell beneath the sun,'

1. He that leaves not all sin; 2. He that leaves sin only outwardly; 3. He that leaves sin because he cannot commit it; 4. He that leaves sin out of sinister respects; 5. He that leaves one sin for another; 6. He that leaves sin but for a time; 7. He that leaves sin, but does not endeavor to subdue it; 8. He that so turns from sin as not to turn to God—has not had complete repentance.— Clarkson.

Many would kill the adder, and spare the viper as in Hudibras, they—

Compound for sins they are inclined to, By damning those they have no mind to.

—C. H. S.

Section 92

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee
great and mighty things which thou knowest not."—Jeremiah 33:3 This is a prison-word: let those who are spiritually in prison prize it. This was the second time the Lord had spoken to the prophet while in the dungeon. God leaves not his people because of their being in ill odor with the world, nor even when they are put into prison. Nay, rather, he doubles his visits when they are in double trouble. The first prison-word was a trial of Jeremiah's faith by obedience: he was to redeem the field at Anathoth; and this he did. This second word tested his faith by prayer, and we doubt not that he endured the test, for in after days he saw great and mighty things, even as the Lord had promised. The text belongs to every afflicted servant of God.

It encourages him in a threefold manner,—

I. To continue in prayer.

"Call unto me!"

1. Pray, though you have prayed. See previous chapter at 16th verse and onward.

2. Pray concerning your present trouble. In chapter 32:24 the prophet mentions "the mounts" which were raised against Jerusalem, and in verse 4 of this chapter the Lord answers on that very point.

3. Pray though you are still in prison after prayer. If deliverance tarries, make your prayers the more importunate.

4. Pray; for the Word of the Lord comes to you with this command.

5. Pray; for the Holy Spirit prompts you, and helps you.

We need this precept because of our backwardness, forgetfulness, want of spirituality, and tendency to unbelief. This precept is sent to us because of the Lord's wisdom, love, and condescending thoughtfulness for our welfare.

II. To expect answers to prayer.

"I will answer thee, and shew thee."

Usually the promise is to "hear" us: but when we are in trouble the promise is special: "I will answer thee." The Lord will answer us because—

1. He has appointed prayer, and made arrangements for its presentation and acceptance. He could not have meant it to be a mere farce: that were to treat us as fools.

2. He prompts, encourages, and quickens prayer; and surely he would never mock us by exciting desires which he never meant to gratify. Such a thought well nigh blasphemes the Holy Ghost, who indites prayer in the heart.

3. His nature is such that he must hear his children.

4. He has given his promise in the text; and it is often repeated elsewhere: he cannot lie or deny himself.

5. He has already answered many of his people, and ourselves also.

We know that the only limit to the prevalence of prayer is our heavenly Father's wise and loving will; which to his loving children, is really no limit whatever. Let us ask in faith, and look up in hope.

III. To expect great things as answers to prayer.

"I will shew thee great and mighty things."

Read the previous chapter from verse 18, and learn from it that we are to look for things—

1. Great in counsel: full of wisdom and significance.

2. Mighty in work: revealing might, and mightily effectual.

3. New things to ourselves, fresh in our experience, and therefore surprising. We may expect the unexpected.

4. Divine things: "I will shew thee." These are enumerated in the verses which follow the text, even to the end of the chapter; such as these—

Health and cure (verse 6).

Liberation from captivity (verse 7).

Forgiveness of iniquity (verse 8).

See how prayer increases the knowledge of those who know best.

See how saints may advance in experience by calling unto God.

See how sufferers may win unexpected deliverances.

See how workers may achieve surprising marvels.

See how seekers may find more than they dare expect.

Further Encouragements

Many years ago, the late Duchess of Gordon called on good Harrington Evans, and said, "I have just five minutes, but I could not leave town without calling to say 'good-bye!' " "Five minutes," said Mr. Evans, with that solemn and impressive manner by which he was distinguished; "five minutes! Then pray! Pray! Pray! Good morning." "I felt so struck with these words," said the Duchess to a friend, "that I could not forget them; and, as I thought on them, I was led to study prayer, as a means of grace as well as an act of worship, and ever after my chief work in the Lord's service became the promotion of prayer-meetings." A young engineer was being examined, and this question was put to him: "Suppose you have a steam-pump constructed for a ship, under your own supervision, and know that everything is in perfect order, yet, when you throw out the hose, it will not draw; what should you think?" "I should think, sir, there must be a defect somewhere." "But such a conclusion is not admissible; for the supposition is that everything is perfect, and yet that the pump will not work." "Then, sir," replied the student, "I should look over the side of the ship to see if the river had run dry." Even so it would appear that if true prayer is not answered the nature of God must have changed.

God's praying people get to know much more of his mind than others; like as John, by weeping, got the book opened; and Daniel, by prayer, had the king's secret revealed unto him in a night vision. "Bene orasse, est bene studuisse" said Luther; who, as he had much communion with God by prayer, so holy truths were daily more and more made known unto him he knew not how or which way, as himself said.—Trapp.

Sir Walter Raleigh one day asking a favor from Queen Elizabeth, the latter said to him, "Raleigh, when will you leave off begging?" To which he answered, "When your Majesty leaves off giving." Ask great things of God. Expect great things from God. Let his past goodness make us "instant in prayer." —New Cyclopaedia of Illustrative Anecdote.

Thomas Brooks, alluding to the old classical myth of Daedalus, who, being imprisoned in the island of Crete, made wings for himself, by which he escaped to Italy, says, "Christians must do as Daedalus, who, when he could not escape by a way upon earth, went by a way of heaven." Holy prayers are the wings of the soul's deliverance. The dungeon of the Mamertine, where a probable tradition declares that Paul was for a while confined, is entered through a round hole in the floor of another dungeon above. The uppermost apartment is dark enough, but the lower one is darkness itself, so that the apostle's imprisonment was of the severest kind. We noticed, however, a strange fact:—in the hard floor there is a beautiful fountain of clear crystal water, which doubtless was as fresh in Paul's day as it is now; of course the Papists believe the fountain to be miraculous; we who are not so credulous of traditions rather see in it a symbol full of instruction:—there never was a dungeon for God's servants which was without its well of consolation.—C. H. S.

Section 93 "Let Jerusalem come into your mind."—Jeremiah 51:50 The captives in Babylon are charged to remember Jerusalem,—

Because the temple of their God was there; To keep them from settling down in Babylon; To make them long for the holy city; and To keep them prepared to return to it.

There are equally good reasons for our remembering the New Jerusalem.

We are too apt to forget our spiritual citizenship, and hence we will meditate on our text under two aspects.

I. There is a Jerusalem here below which should come into our mind. The church of the living God is our holy city, the city of the Great King, and we should have it in mind,—

1. To unite with its citizens. We should join with them in open profession of faith in Christ, in Christian love and mutual help, in holy service, worship, communion, etc.

2. To pray for its prosperity. Whenever it is well with us in prayer, we should let the cause of God be on our mind. Our window, like that of Daniel, should be opened towards Jerusalem.

3. To labor for its advancement. We should remember it in the allotment of our money, the use of our time, the employment of our talents, the exercise of our influence, etc.

4. To prefer its privileges above earthly gain. We ought to consider these privileges in our choice of our residence, occupation, etc. With many professors this is a very small matter.

5. To act consistently with her holy character. We must not dishonor the place of our citizenship. God's people must not degrade his name and cause by living in sin.

6. To lament its declensions and transgressions. Remember how our Lord wept over Jerusalem, and Paul wept over enemies in the churches. Luke 19:41. Php 3:18.

Oh, that all Christians took a deeper interest in the church of God!

It were well if into all our joys and sorrows the cause of God were interwoven like a thread of gold. He is a poor patriot who forgets his country, and he is no Christian who does not bear the church upon his heart.

II. There is a Jerusalem above which should come into mind.

1. Let the believer's thoughts often go thither, for Jesus is there, our departed brethren are there, our own home is there, and thither our hopes and desires should always tend.

It should be upon our minds— In our earthly enjoyments, lest we grow worldly. In our daily trials, lest we grow despondent. In our associations, lest we idolize present friendships. In our bereavements, lest we grieve inordinately. In old age, that we may be on the watch for the home-going. In death, that visions of glory may brighten our last hours. In all seasons, that our conversation may be in heaven.

2. Let the unconverted permit such thoughts to come into their mind, for they may well enquire of themselves thus,—

What if I never enter heaven? Shall I never meet my godly relatives again? Where then must I go? Can I hope that my present life will lead me to heaven?

Why am I not taking the right path?

Unbelievers perish: why am I one of them? Do I wish to perish?

How can I hope to enter heaven if I do not so much as think about it, or the Lord who reigns in it?

Such thoughts will come to our minds if we will let them. Shall we not open the door of our minds at once and let the heavenly visitors enter and abide?

Reminders The undying love of the Jews for their Fatherland, and their ineradicable desire to return to it, are displayed in an affecting manner on the day of atonement, which is still observed by them with great solemnity. The services of the day close with the beseeching shout, "When next year comes, may we all be in Jerusalem!" We could almost make this prayer our own as we think of the "Jerusalem above."

I have been endeavoring to establish amongst us what are called "Aaron and Hur Societies," i.e., little collections of four or five or more persons, who meet before service on Sabbath morning to spend an hour in prayer for a blessing on the ministers and the ordinances. They began on New Year's Day, and we seemed to have an immediate answer, for the meeting was unusually solemn, and we have reason to hope that the word was not preached in vain.—Dr. Payson. My soul shall pray for Zion still, While life or breath remains:

There my best friends, my kindred dwell;

There God my Saviour reigns.

—Watts The church of God should come into our minds as spontaneously as the recollection of our wife or mother. When we look at a map of any country, we should think of how the cause of God prospers in that region. If we make a profit in business, one of our first thoughts should be,—"Now I can do something more for the work of the Lord." When the newspaper is read, it should be in relation to the progress of the kingdom of God. This one thing should tinge all other things with its own color, and draw all other thoughts into its net. The cause of Christ should be an all-absorbing maelstrom, into which all our thoughts and pursuits should be drawn. A man of one idea sees the universe by the light of it, and he who loves the church of God with all his heart will do the same. How can we say, "Lord, remember me," to Christ in heaven, if we do not remember his church on earth?

It may be a sin to long for death, but I am sure it is no sin to long for heaven.—Matthew Henry.

Blessed are the home-sick, for they shall come at last to the Father's house.—Heinrich Stillings.

John Eliot was once on a visit to a merchant, and finding him in his counting-house, where he saw books of business on the table, and all his books of devotion on the shelf, he said to him, "Sir, here is earth on the table, and heaven on the shelf. Pray don't think so much of the table as altogether to forget the shelf."

"Here I sit the whole day with the visage of the church ever before me, and the passage 'Why hast thou made all the sons of men in vain?' How horrible a form of God's anger is that abominable kingdom of the Roman Antichrist! I abhor my own hardness of heart that I am not dissolved in tears, and that I do not weep fountains of tears for the slain sons of my people. But is there no one to arise, and cleave to God, and make himself a wall for the house of Israel in this last day of his wrath? God have mercy on us! Wherefore, be thou meanwhile instant as a minister of the Word, and fortify the walls and towers of Jerusalem till they shall assail thee."—From a letter to Melancthon, written by Luther at the Castle of the Wart-burg.