Jeremiah

[0:00] As the Lord should be pleased to help me, I would ask your attention to the subject in the prophecy of Jeremiah, the 31st chapter and the third verse.

[0:25] The prophecy by Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 3. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.

[0:47] Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. I feel to need much help in the setting out of the matter that is in this verse before you.

[1:07] It is something that is precious to my soul. The very words of it, as they are upon my lips, they bring a memory of the time when the Lord, in much mercy, spoke the words into my heart.

[1:22] And I know something, both of their truth and, I hope, of their experience. Yet, when we look at such a word as this, we have to see it first in the matter of its doctrine.

[1:40] And as grace is given, we shall be led into the matter of its experimental application. The circumstances of this word as the circumstances of so many of the precious words of the word of God, of those times which were not times of prosperity.

[2:03] We cannot look upon the prophecy of Jeremiah with the many precious things that are set in it, in promises and in the experience that was given to Jeremiah himself.

[2:19] And we cannot relate it to a time of prosperity. It was a time of impending judgment. It was a time when, as the sinfulness of the people, even the Lord's people, his chosen nation, of that time had been so great that the Lord had decreed against them chastisement.

[2:45] And in the judgment that was his, there was, of course, complete knowledge, complete knowledge, not only, we must not see it as a contingency plan, it was an anticipated need, and a need that had been prepared.

[3:05] In fact, already the circumstances for it had been ordained, and in measure had been declared before Jeremiah's time. For Isaiah had been moved by the Spirit of God to manifest some of the detail, as well as some of the general matter regarding their captivity to the people of an earlier generation.

[3:33] Yet, when we look at such a word as this, we find, as we find so often in the prophecies, and indeed we find it almost through the entire word of God, that in the midst of the clouds, there are those cheeks through which the sunshine can be seen.

[3:55] And, as from time to time we are able to see it in the things of nature, an almost cloud-covered sky, yet we are able to see those rays which shine through, and if we follow them down, we see a little patch upon the earth where the sun is shining, and the whole of the aspect of the cloudy sky is enlightened.

[4:21] We are able to see that there is, beyond the clouds of judgment, the shining of the grace of God. And, as we look into this prophecy, we find again and again, there are those little places where the wondrous grace of God shines through his judgment.

[4:43] We can follow it through the history. We can follow it in almost every part of the word of God. But I feel that in these prophecies, especially in Jeremiah's, we find it to be more marked.

[4:57] And I have thought many times, the blessedness of these places in the chapters of judgment that show the love of God.

[5:09] The word begins, the chapter begins, at the same time. And it refers us, of course, to the previous chapter. And we see those things which are foretold of the judgments that shall come upon Israel.

[5:30] And if we follow it carefully, we find that the Lord had appointed the time of the judgment, and he had appointed, as it were, that time that would fulfill all that was good in his sight, all that seemed to him, was known to him, not seemed to him, to be necessary for his people.

[5:55] He looked upon it, and he showed that there would be an appointed time. Peter shows us something of the same understanding of the Lord's judgments, and again, the Spirit of God, by John, shows us the same understanding in the Revelation.

[6:18] Peter shows to us, in the beginning of his first epistle, the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth.

[6:30] But in the verse preceding, wherein ye greatly rejoice in the power of God, though, now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

[6:57] For one of the churches in Asia, the Spirit dictated to John the Apostle, fear none of those things that thou shalt suffer.

[7:11] Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life, an appointed time, if need be, time of tribulation, stipulated, specified, limited by God.

[7:35] It is something that shows to us not only the sovereignty of God, but the sovereign mercy of God. A sovereignty in that it is his prerogative to lead his people in that way that is good to him and shall be good to them.

[7:56] For, as Paul shows to us as he works through the wondrous doctrines of grace as he sent the epistle to the Romans, that all things work together for good to them that love God.

[8:12] All things. Judgments, dispensations, tribulations, trials, difficulties, they will all lead to this one thing.

[8:25] They will lead us nearer to our Lord. They will bring us closer to him by his own work of grace, by his own delivering verses, and in the realisation of that sovereignty which is of God in love toward me.

[8:47] So look a little further for a moment of the verse in itself before we begin to look into the precious things that are in it.

[8:59] In most of the Bibles you will see that the little word saying is in italics and as such we understand it to be something which was added by the translators as they put the Hebrew into English that it might be easier for the English thoughts to follow the things which were declared in the Hebrew language.

[9:32] I find according to my own thoughts about it and I checked up on one or two of those gracious men of old who could read the original language and were able to turn their thoughts into something of the idiom of the Hebrews and they seem to see this as two parts almost as if we find it in the Psalms so often the Lord speaks and the soul replies but here it is suggested that the first part of the verse is the response to the Lord when the declaration was made the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness even Israel when I went to cause him to rest the Lord reminding his people Israel of his grace toward them in former times that as indicated by the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud the Lord went before his people and where he indicated that there would be rest for them there they found rest and where he indicated by his manifestation of his will in the moving of the cloud or of the pillar of fire they found strength and help as they journeyed then it would seem that the soul perhaps of the the prophet or maybe the soul as it were of the people because remember this was the spirit of God we think of it as

[11:21] Jeremiah's prophecy but it was the word of God by Jeremiah there was a reply the Lord hath appeared of old or from afar unto me yes Lord we acknowledge that in those times past there were manifest the gracious appearances of the Lord but oh the implication is left but now it would seem that God has forsaken his people there was an acknowledgement of the Lord's goodness in times past yet the implication of this little word from afar or of old is that it was something of former times oh do you not find this sometimes in your own soul one dear hymn writer find it where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord where is that so refreshing view of

[12:24] Jesus by his word oh do you find sometimes in your own soul's experience that you need to look back that you can look back upon those things that encouraged you that blessed you but oh to enter again into those experiences or think we have something of the spirit of the first part of this verse in such an understanding the Lord hath appeared yes Lord we acknowledge thy goodness to us we acknowledge thy grace oh in those times past how great was thy mercy toward Israel and we might look within Lord in those times past how great was thy blessing to our soul that first calling by thy grace that first manifestation of the love of God in Christ Jesus that which delivered us from the bondages of sin and of fear of doubt that which encouraged us to hope in our

[13:34] Lord and Saviour yes we look back and oh we would have the vision brought as it were into a time of currency into a time when we were able to look at it again and our feeling is like this yes the Lord hath appeared of old from afar in former times unto me and then the Lord replies now if you read the Psalms and read them we find that there's nothing in the manner in which it is set to indicate which is the soul and which is the Lord but so often the words that are used make it abundantly apparent there is no putting of the words into quotation marks there is no separation except in the verses and yet we find that so often the soul speaks the Lord replies the soul speaks again and once more the

[14:38] Lord makes known his way you follow it again and again in the Psalms and I think we follow it in a manner and in a measure in this verse the Lord replies he replies to the soul to the nation to the prophet who felt the need that there should be that current manifestation of grace that the Lord should not only cause his people to hope in the blessings of a far off time but that he should graciously manifest to them that his interest is maintained his blessing is continued but we have the word here the word of the Lord the word that the Lord speaks first to his nation by his prophet and then to every heart to every soul that is brought to hope in him and oh the words of the

[15:41] Lord are abundantly gracious yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee I suppose that there are many parts of the word of God that are made precious to our souls many that we look into because they are particularly applied many that we feel are perhaps wondrous manifestations of grace invitations expressions of love we are able to look upon them from time to time in a right spirit led by the spirit of God and to feel something of their wondrous blessedness and to find a little in our hearts of the marvellous grace that calls their expression for when we think of the word of God and it comes to me as a wonder again and again that it pleased God from the beginning to give those words that were words of grace to his people immediately to our first fallen parents when sin had entered into the world when the temptations of the evil one had for the moment triumphed triumphed and in their hearts there had been a departure from the word of

[17:13] God the devil had said hath God said and they had questioned immediately the authority of the word of God and they had disobeyed but oh we find that even as they were turned out of their first paradise when they were removed from the garden of Eden the word of the Lord was spoken and the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head there was hope given there was a word of encouragement there was a word of expectation there was a word that was the word of God and it was a word of grace it was not only a word that was the word of God they shall not but it was the word of God that there should be a hope there should be a reason to look to him to wait upon him to have in their hearts hope in the mercy of God and in the provision of God that in due time they should be brought to see and to know and we find these words spoken again and again through the word of

[18:29] God as it were direct from God to his people the wonder of this should ever fill our hearts do we sufficiently regard this precious book when we look upon it sometimes we read it dutifully sometimes we read it for a particular purpose and sometimes it seems to me that I read it with a thought of text or sermons and I fear when I find such a spirit in my heart using it as a means to an end and not looking upon it with a realization of its infinite power and its marvelous grace that it is the word of God put into the hearts and minds of men oh can you think upon it sometimes and find in your hearts a rejoicing that God has in much mercy been pleased to speak by his word to make known his grace to manifest his mercy to declare his love all by this precious word of God but oh we have it before us in a particular part when the

[19:46] Lord speaks and he gives an affirmation yay this is not something that is past this is not something which is run out there is here the assurance of God whose word cannot be altered whose forever we find that his word is yay and amen it is and it shall be so and the Lord here has been pleased to give to us a word of assurance of affirmation a word that shows that the declaration of his grace of his love is something which is sure or when we find the word given in such a way as this we find it to be a word which is not only something that we read but it is something which demands our attention we find it to be so when the

[20:58] Lord speaks with as it were the Lord Jesus would have used the phrase in his day verily verily it is truth it is the truth of God it is that which cannot be controverted it and we have the same implication the same understanding in the word that begins this blessed and gracious pronouncement by the God of heaven yea now when we come so often with a a fearful heart yes and perhaps it must be admitted an unbelieving heart to the throne of grace is it because that we have as it were looked away from such a word as this we are falling or have fallen into the same sinful state of mind as

[22:05] Eve did and then Adam when the serpent questioned the word of God we find this often in our hearts unconsciously and sometimes consciously a questioning of the word of God questioning whether or not it is a word that we are able to plead at the throne of grace a word that perhaps we can lay hold upon yes maybe not in the full assurance of faith but in the hope that is wrought within us and yet sometimes we question the very manner and way of its declaration oh I find this in my own heart so often fearful I have to plead again and again before the throne of grace a precious promise given to me round about thirteen years ago when the

[23:10] Lord said certainly I will be with thee and I have that fear in my heart I must admit it often when I come into the places of worship lest it should be the time when I shall find that the Lord has left me has left me to myself to my own ability to my insufficiency for this work of the ministry of the word and yet the Lord has been faithful oh that I could find more faith in my heart to believe to lay hold yet when I look at such a word as this and I know it to be the word of God and he begins with this precious word yea here is truth here is truth that is from God himself I have loved thee with an everlasting love oh we must try to consider the words that the Lord speaks

[24:10] I have loved thee it is as it were in a tense which shows it is nothing new it has been from eternity yes then he says therefore the loving kindness have I drawn thee and here I think we find the detail we find the application we can hardly comprehend everlasting love we are creatures of time creatures bounded by time we find it hard to turn our minds to those things which go even into the times which can be computed we think of a thousand years sometimes looking back in history maybe more often nearly two thousand and we look back and it seems to us time that is almost endless and yet we are limited to that span of life which is given maybe seventy eighty perhaps even a few more years and we are conscious that time passes it is something which is perishing in the sense that it ticks away all the time and time so far as we are concerned shall come to an end and our thoughts naturally are bounded by time we live by time we are conscious all the time of its passing and as its passage is before us constantly we are made to fear think how many times in the course of a day you have to glance at the clock because of appointment because of expectation or you just have to look you must know what the time is and it is time it is passing it is not so in the sight of

[26:09] God it is a part of that eternal now which is the prerogative the environment of an eternal God he looks upon those things before him and he sees them all his undisturbed affairs he is able to look upon them not as we look but he sees them and I say from his own viewpoint that viewpoint of eternity and always he looks he looks with an understanding he knoweth our frame he remembereth that we are dust he did know from the beginning of time he knew the limitations of his creatures for they were made for a purpose they were made for an eternal purpose and he knew that their place upon the earth was limited when the

[27:10] Lord Jesus came upon the earth he entered himself into that state which was temporal not in his holy mind not in his knowledge but in his physique in so far that he came upon earth as a child as an infant a newborn babe and he had to go through the process of time to grow into manhood he was subject to time in much the same sense as we are and there had to be a time appointed for him and it was divinely appointed for his death and of in this we can take some courage that not only has God known from his purpose eternally of the thoughts the feelings of his people but the Lord Jesus in that measure which was necessary for him entered into those things which his people bear with oh you can follow those words in the exposition of the life of the Lord Jesus in some of the epistles which show to us he was subject to our temptations he was subject to our afflictions in the sense not in the sense of illness or sickness but in the sense that he knew the enmity of his fellow creatures he knew their unfaithfulness he knew those things which as he lived his life were the grief to him in the sense of his nature and our griefs to his people he has been tempted with those things with which his people are tempted we find there is one difference for him it is yet without sin for us so often we find that there is the sinfulness of our hearts so evident that even if outwardly we are kept from that which is openly manifesting sin we know that inwardly there is given so much reason for confession for supplication but we have departed a little from the thought but the

[29:38] Lord knows the Lord is conscious of our failure to understand his everlasting love to the degree in which it is known to him oh by the word of God we are brought to accept the fact of it that from everlasting there was a people in the heart in the purpose of God made to be the subject of his love made to be those that were to be loved by him to be loved with everlasting love yet in the sense of this knowledge it seems to us too great too large for our comprehension we are unable to bring such a thought into our soul's comfort we can perhaps think of an unknown number a number which no man can number but a number known to God and we can think of an everlasting love toward them and it would be some encouragement to us to know that there is such a thing that God has ordained an eternal love has appointed the people to be the subjects of it but we have to look a little further the Lord brings this large view of his love into a more detailed understanding perhaps we can see it like this sometimes you see in art galleries a very large picture and you look at it and you need to stand back and look at it because it is so large and then sometimes you see just a little piece of one a little detail and sometimes the details are published a detail from such and such a painting and you look closely at one little part of it and you see the beauty of it in the different sense not the large view the overwhelming thought of the artist at one time but you see the painstaking detail that the artist put into one little part of his painting and I think the

[31:55] Lord has set this word before us like this I have loved thee with an everlasting love so comprehensive so immense eternal that it is almost beyond your thought and indeed will be beyond your conception except for my word but oh you will find that so that you can more readily enter into it I have drawn thee with loving kindness the detail is shown in the last part we think of the grand concept in the first part I have loved thee with an everlasting love yes the truth is there but there is its application its bringing into the hearts of those to whom the Lord has determined it therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee or heard somebody told me

[33:01] I cannot remember whom the dear minister long since gone to eternity who used to refer to this text and he said loving kindness is the love of God in action it is the application of that love it is to be brought into its compass feelingly not to know of it but to know it not to know this grand concept but to be part of it with loving kindness have I drawn thee oh can we think of this everlasting love in the sense of the experience of it the loving kindness stop to think for a moment it is a marvellous thought to our hearts that God in infinite mercy has given to us this wondrous idea that from the beginning in the mind

[34:02] Godhead the father the son the holy spirit there was a people chosen chosen to be redeemed by the lord jesus christ and in that grand unspeakably grand purpose of salvation all was known unto god whether you see the father the son the holy spirit or all three the trinity who look upon the god head and all was known known from the beginning eternity before the time began and known to the end of time all in that eternal mind not one of his people unknown or unseen not one that can be left out again nor Jesus declares it and I will repeat it again all that the father giveth me shall come to me they must they must do because it is appointed by the eternal purpose of

[35:11] God it is that which is the everlasting love but the loving kindness oh to think of this that the lord in his great goodness has appointed a means has appointed a way has ordered all things my father used to tell us that the running of the universe the whole of the creation of God was to that end his glory and the good of his chosen people in it that the lord ordered all the things of time as it were to bring all the chosen ones unto himself but not one could be left out because the infinite knowledge wisdom grace and purpose of God had ordered all things to that end that they should be brought to him oh sometimes we are made to feel a little of this we look back and we can see those little touches

[36:21] I say little touches because the hardness of our hearts those outpourings truly of loving kindness of God toward us sometimes we may not have even recognized them at the time yet looking back we can see it is shown to us we are able spiritually discerned that they were the evidences of loving kindness God's loving kindness to his people God's loving kindness to us the outpouring of his love most of us perhaps all of us can look back upon such a favor that we were not placed upon the earth where the name of God was not known that we were not among those who were brought up in an erroneous religious system we had in infinite mercy the truth given to us from our earliest days upwards that perhaps some of the first words that we consciously heard were words of prayer were words of worship and in our hearts and minds the

[37:47] Lord was pleased to put very much that concerned himself yes I know that we cannot look upon the knowledge even of bringing up as that upon which we can rest until the time comes for a further pouring of the loving kindness of God that God in his great goodness and mercy toward each one open their heart to receive and to know himself oh to think that when the Lord determined a love toward his people he did not determine this love as something which should be unknown and unfelt he determined this love to be something which should bring a response of love to his own from the heart to himself a response of love that would be toward himself oh to think again

[38:51] John gives it to us I think in the fourth chapter of his first epistle we love him because he first loved us oh if we find the love toward God in our hearts is it not some evidence that this loving kindness has brought us that the love of God manifested to us has brought us into a response of love toward God my friends when we try to think of this love we have to think of it in more ways than just the response of our hearts but it is a very important way both and know that we are able to say we love him it brings us into this certain knowledge and we cannot find any controversy of John's words if we love him we love him for one reason only because he first loved us but oh we need to go a little further and I'm leaving the time rather late but we must look at one more important aspect of this with loving kindness have I drawn thee what greater evidence of the loving kindness of God have we in the word of

[40:11] God than in the gospel again we come to an repeated after used of God word from himself when he said God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son there's times when we specifically and particularly remember the sufferings and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ I find in my own heart's experience to be times of love oh we think sometimes of the gathering together in the ordinance of the Lord's table remembering according to his word still in remembrance of me we think sometimes of that great love wherewith he loved us that though we were dead in sins yet Christ died for us we think of that great love from heaven that

[41:15] God in infinite love spared not his own son whom he had loved for all eternity and to whom there was a love that can be only compared to the love of God a love between the father and the son something almost beyond our comprehension in that eternal union which was between the eternal father and the eternal son unable to comprehend it yet to see that love so great toward his people that he spared not his own son in the purpose of redemption that the lord bore the punishment for his sins he had to bear that punishment from the hand of his father and always we try to think of such a thing it is beyond us but there is but one thing that we can comprehend through it that the love to the son from the father great as it was yet it was not that love which would refuse to work this purpose of redemption which had been eternally ordained no and nor although the love of the son to the father was equal nor was there any hesitation on the part of the son of

[42:42] God to fulfill that covenant of grace oh we can see such great love in the father such great love in the son the father to give and not to spare his only begotten son the son of God who in that eternal love toward the church that had been given to him yes the church that had been given to him he knew for whom he came he knew each one the eternal mind of God in him looked through the ages of time backwards present and forwards from the cross and he looked upon every one that was chosen every one written in the Lamb's book of life oh to think of this and to know that in his heart there was this love toward each one that by his loving kindness in coming upon the earth in one point of time in one thing that could be seen and comprehended we are able to know of this great love this everlasting love in the

[43:54] Godhead love love one one more aspect of love which is by the Spirit of God what is the Holy Spirit's work the work that delights him the work that brings to him from him by him the love of God into the hearts of his people the Lord shows us he shall take of mine and shall give it reveal it unto you he shall bring you as it were into the knowledge of that love what does Paul tell us in the epistle for the Romans the love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us Father Son and Holy Ghost all concerned in redemption all concerned that this great love which was of God here declared should be brought in the manner of loving kindness of application of revelation into the lives and times of his people through the whole age that the world is ordained to be everlasting love never drawn out a love which began in eternity and will go through time watching over keeping drawing bringing each one of his people each one to be brought to that place of knowledge to that place of redemption and a love that shall continue never ending yes we can think of its beginning in a place incomprehensible eternity we can understand it in its loving kindness as we are able to put time and place into the dealings of

[45:45] God with our souls here it is brought into the compass understanding and understanding of our temporal minds we are brought because we are creatures of time into an understanding of the love of God in time loving kindness but it is continuing we have an unchanging God an unchanging saviour we have that assurance of the word of God I am the Lord I change not no change in that spirit of love that began in the beginning before the world was when the father and the son brought that wondrous covenant of grace the son to give himself a redemption for a poor fallen race the poor fallen church and the father in infinite love making this known revealing by the spirit from time to time and particularly in times and places that the

[46:57] Lord's people should never be in any doubt as to his grace now look into my soul look into yours does it come sometimes as a feeling a feeling of joy we have to understand a little of the expressions that are used in this chapter for we read that they shall come and sing they shall not sorrow anymore they shall rejoice in the dance we have to understand that too it is something of that dance that David used before the ark of the covenant it was a rejoicing not to be equated to with the word that is used nowadays it is an expression a physical expression of joy and rejoicing in the things of God yet when we look at this we find that the very fruit of this word of promise brings a joy into the heart of a people who had to anticipate that joy and yet knew that they could anticipate it with certainty because it was the unalterable word of

[48:11] God now does your soul come here sometimes yes to feel able to say with certainty the Lord hath appeared of all unto me and then to know the certainty of the word of the Lord yea I have loved thee and then to find that there is those little places and times in which we are able as it were to pinpoint this loving kindness in its gracious application and so doing to glorify God as he has been pleased to fulfill his purpose in us and then to know that there is an anticipation that the gracious experience given on earth will be continued in the will of God into eternity and we shall see the source of that love or we shall find not the streams on earth but the fountain head in heaven and oh what love there will be wrote in our hearts as we look upon the face of God we look upon the

[49:34] Lamb and we think of that love from eternity and we are brought and last ourselves into an eternity which will be subject to the comprehension of our souls we shall know and we shall see the source of that love and we shall need eternity we shall need eternity itself that we might fully in our continued praise express our love our praise our thanksgiving we shall say worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honour and praise and there will be that desire in our hearts constantly to make known that praise hope to find a little more of it as we live in this time state and to find his loving kindness shed abroad in our hearts amen hymn 579 tune god record 925 hymn 579 salvation salvation oh my soul rejoice salvation is of god he speaks and that almighty voice proclaims his grace abroad how wonderful how grand the plan all deities engage to rescue rebel ruined men from satan's power and rage we'll commence singing at verse three hymn 579 the father lord does every come and will forever love nor shall the past of all prepare his love from

[52:03] Zion moon t'was love that her pain pain to obey and soft he just and good and on his heart is great come day a hope half of be now be so

[53:13] No less than love divine for God, No longer time for me.

[53:36] And o'er the flow the Spirit shows, When Jesus he reveals, To man of past his faith and heart, He all that God has revealed, Thus we in one and one in three, In love forever rest,

[54:46] And Zion shall in glory be, And with his love be blessed.

[55:09] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, And the love of God, And the communion of the Holy Ghost, Be with each one, Now and forever.

[55:26] Amen. Amen.

[55:53] Hug. On this round of Sprint rod. Amen. Hang on? Stand weren't here and show us. Honest even.

[56:04] Amen. May God of? Did Jesus? Com Netz? I don't have to know him, I don't have to know them. I remember you, I Thank you.

[56:51] Thank you.

[57:21] Thank you.