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[0:00] Seeking the Lord's help, I direct your attention this evening to the prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 29 and verse 11. The prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 29 and verse 11.

[0:18] For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

[0:34] For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

[0:47] We read in the 139th Psalm this morning, the psalmist speaking of his God and how precious are thy thoughts toward me.

[1:04] And the question that arises in my mind tonight is this. Who here has ever had any indication of the thoughts of God toward their own soul?

[1:25] Who has had any revelation of his purposes toward them?

[1:38] The Lord says that he knows those thoughts. And in the context of our subject tonight, we see what they are.

[1:51] They regard these thoughts, ancient Israel. Her sin. Her rebellion. Her idolatry.

[2:02] The Lord's dealing with that. He dealt with them. And he sent them into captivity. And that captivity was known.

[2:15] The length of time of the chastening hand of God upon ancient Israel was recorded. Seventy years. Then we come, in scripture, to the prayer of Daniel.

[2:32] And the wrestling he had for ancient Israel. And then the return. The rebuilding of the wars in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And we have here in our text the purpose of God in that chastening of his dear people.

[2:54] Solemnly to make them aware of how he saw sin. Their sin. And he dealt with them. And these are a figure of his dear ancient people.

[3:08] So many blessed figures are in scripture. These are a figure of the whole church of God. Dealt with.

[3:20] Chastened. Sent into captivity. Mourning an absent God. And being brought to a understanding. To an understanding.

[3:31] Of why he is dealing with them last. And why he is chastening them. And why he is working out his will. In their souls.

[3:43] And in their lives. And here we have the Lord speaking to ancient Israel. They will return. His purposes. Will be accomplished.

[3:58] They were a chosen people out of all the world. And the Lord gave that land. To Israel. From Dan to Beersheba. Forever.

[4:10] And they are still there today. And they suffer today. Solemn persecution. As they did. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And the Lord has said.

[4:21] Regarding them. The day is going to come. When they will be granted again. Solemnly we have lived to see.

[4:31] In our own lifetime. The fulfillment. Of that word. His blood be upon us. And upon our children. I spent on one occasion.

[4:43] In my. Army time. Six weeks. In the barracks. At Belson. Right beside the old camp of Belson.

[4:56] Where. Thousands and thousands of them died. They do not recognize this. At all. As the work of God. Or of the. Chastening hand of their God.

[5:07] But the day will come. The apostle Paul assures us. The day will come. When they will be grafted in again. And when. As we read in scripture.

[5:18] So beautifully. In the language of the apostle Paul. When it shall turn to the Lord. The veil will be taken from their eyes. And they will see.

[5:29] The blessedness of the truth. In his holy word. In their own scriptures. That the promise. Was to Abraham and his seed forever.

[5:42] Indeed. And in all the nations of the earth. Will I be blessed. And the Lord has brought them again. In my own lifetime.

[5:54] Into that promised land. Another return. And he knows. The thoughts. That he thinks towards them. But we come. To the figure of ancient Israel.

[6:07] As the. Whole church of God. His chosen people. His covenant people. And here. The Lord speaks. To his elect.

[6:20] Those whom he. Loved. With an everlasting love. He told this. To Jeremiah. These thoughts.

[6:33] How blessed they are. Do we. Know anything. Of the. Truth. That the Lord revealed. To Jeremiah. Of his thoughts.

[6:44] Before I. Formed thee in the womb. I knew thee. The psalmist. In the 139th psalm. Knew that. God had.

[6:58] The purpose. Of love and mercy. And he has. To every one of his dear children. They are his. In eternal covenant relation. In eternity past.

[7:10] Beautifully. We quoted it this morning. He spoke of his coming. Into the world. For this cause. For them. For their. Salvation.

[7:21] I came here. Into the world. And he said of them. My sheep. Hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow me.

[7:33] Oh has the. Lord. So doubt with you. In. Your soul. That he has brought you.

[7:45] To know him. And to follow him. To hear that. Blessed voice. To have our ears.

[7:56] Circumcised. To have a hearing ear. Under the sound of the. Ministry of his holy word. To be seeking. Precious evidences.

[8:07] In our hearts. Blessed tokens. What the apostle. Peter speaks of. So often. He speaks. Of those things.

[8:18] I think. Seven times. In his epistle. That to were to him. Precious. He speaks. Of Christ.

[8:30] As the. Chief. Cornerstone. And he says this. Elect. Precious. He that believeth on him.

[8:41] Shall not make haste. He speaks. Of the. Precious. Blood of Christ. As of a lamb. Slain before the foundation of the world.

[8:53] He speaks. Of the exceeding great. And precious promises. But you know. In all those things. The apostle.

[9:05] Paul. Peter. Reveals. His knowledge. He reveals the. Revelation. He reveals the.

[9:17] Sacred tokens. That were given to him. He reveals that. The Lord has granted him. Precious evidences. In his own soul. That lead him to know.

[9:29] Something of the. Blessed thoughts. Oh what a. Word this is. When the Lord. speaks it. By his spirit.

[9:41] Into the. Hearts of his dear. Children. As he did here. In the. Heart of. Jeremiah. Says. I know the thoughts. That I think.

[9:51] Towards you. I would. Stop here. Just for a moment. And. Speak of Jeremiah. Jeremiah. The lamentations. Of Jeremiah.

[10:02] Jeremiah. Speak of his heart. I am the man. That has seen affliction. By the right of Israel. Oh how.

[10:13] The Lord's servant. Jeremiah. Was a man of sorrows. His lamentations. Speak of his pathway. Life. When we look at his life.

[10:26] In this. Prophecy. We see. There is. Only mention. In the whole of this book. Of two friends. One is Beirut.

[10:37] And the other is. Ibed Mila. We see. That the Lord. By his word. Barred him from marrying. And have a partner in life. Barred him.

[10:48] And we see. That he was a man of sorrows. All the days of his life. And that he eventually. Died. In Egypt. Out of his own country.

[11:02] An exile. His path. Was a path of sorrow. And we see. Another aspect of his life. And that is this. That in all his ministry.

[11:14] He was rejected. Like his master. He was despised. Like his master. He walked in great sorrow.

[11:26] No apparent fruit. To his labors. He warned Israel. He warned Zedekiah. He told him what would happen. Nothing was listened to.

[11:37] All appeared to be failure. And yet. We see here. That the Lord. Was with him. If all was against him.

[11:51] And as he. Says in his. Lamentations. We hear the. Bitter cries of his heart. Especially in the third chapter. He speaks of his.

[12:03] Sorrows. And. Of the pit. Into which he was put. They have cut off. My life. He says in the dungeon. And cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed.

[12:15] Over my head. Then I said. I am cut off. Persecuted. Hated. For the truth. Same. We see the.

[12:27] Pathway. He walked. And yet. He says. I called upon. Thy name. O Lord. Out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard. My voice. Hide not thy face. At my.

[12:38] Cry. Thou drewest near. In the day. That I called upon thee. Thou saidst. Fear not. O Lord. Thou hast. Pleaded the causes of my soul.

[12:49] Thou hast redeemed my life. Sorrows. Followed his footsteps. All the days of his life. And yet. His one.

[13:02] Blessed consolation was. That he had the answer. Of a good conscience. He was not walking in paths of disobedience. Oh when we come to look.

[13:13] At these solemn thoughts. Which God had toward him. Before I formed thee in the womb. I ordained thee a prophet. And he had.

[13:26] That sweet knowledge in his soul. Yea I have. Loved thee. With an everlasting love. The Lord told him. And therefore with. Loving kindness.

[13:37] Have I drawn him. Oh how the Lord. Gave him. Grace. Sufficient. For his dying. And he communed.

[13:49] With his God. And in the face of many false prophets. Much error and darkness. Alone. He was able to stand. And there were those who witnessed it.

[14:02] Those who. Solemnly witnessed it. And one of them. Was his dear friend. The colored. The colored. The colored. Ethiopia. The eunuch. He was a.

[14:14] Witness. He was the one who. Loved him. In the court. He was the one who. When he was put in the pit. Went in to plead his cause.

[14:28] He was the one who. Went to bring him out of the pit. Up out of the pit. And he was the one. Who. Took those old cast claims.

[14:40] So that. The prophet. Would not suffer agony. As they drew him out of the pit with robes. This. Dear man of God. Loved him.

[14:54] His heart was knit toward him. And we see. When the. Sack of Jerusalem came. The blessed nature. Of the union. Between those two dear men.

[15:05] Both. Walking in solemn times of darkness. When the. Sack came. Of Jerusalem. And its destruction. Then the Lord.

[15:16] Sent. The prophet Jeremiah. To. His friend. And companion. Ibed Melech. And the word was this. And it was the Lord. Who sent.

[15:27] Jeremiah. To Ibed Melech. Go. Say unto Ibed Melech. Thou shalt not. Fall by the sword. For thy life. Will I give.

[15:39] For a prey unto thee. Because thou hast. Put thy trust in me. We have a beautiful example. There. For a powerful example. There. Of our text tonight.

[15:51] When the. Lord. Spoke in the heart. Of Ibed Melech. And gave him. A precious revelation. A blessed promise.

[16:02] In his soul. And you know. When we look at that spiritually. It is a beautiful word. Thou shalt not. Fall by the sword.

[16:15] The sword. Of God's divine wrath. And anger. Of his judgment. Life. Given for a prey. Mr. Philpott.

[16:26] Preached. A beautiful sermon. On that subject. Life. Given for a prey. Life. Life. Given. In the conflict. In the path of conflict.

[16:41] In the path of temptation. Prayed upon. By Satan. The arrows. Of the wicked one.

[16:52] A life of conflict. And temptation. But. A blessed promise. In that conflict. Thou shalt not fall. By the sword. The sword of my divine.

[17:04] Wrath and justice. And anger. A learning of that. Beautiful truth. He. Christ. Is the propitiation. For our sins. Oh.

[17:16] The. Sins of the. Whole church of God. Not for ours only. The sins of the whole world. That is his church. In every nation. Kindred. Tribe and tongue. Throughout all time.

[17:30] And when we look at this. Truth that. Lies here. I know. The thoughts. That I think. Toward you. Oh. How the Lord.

[17:41] Through the lips. Of his dear servant. Jeremiah. Revealed. Those thoughts. In the heart. Of Ibed-Mela. And every time.

[17:52] The Lord. Speaks. In the souls. Of his dear people. Every time. He grants to them. A precious hearing. Under his. Holy word.

[18:03] Or a blessing. Under the singing. Of his praise. As indeed. He does. Infrequently. We may feel. Sometimes. But what do we deserve. Nothing.

[18:14] But oh. To receive. A crumb of mercy. To have a heart. Melted down. Under his holy word. In the preaching of it. Through his sent servants.

[18:26] In the singing. Of his praises. To come as low. As. We came this night. In the singing. Of that second hymn. Of dear Anne Steele. Never. In her pathway.

[18:37] In her pathway. In her pathway. Until her dying breath. Was she able to speak.

[18:48] With assurance. And certainty. She wrote. She wrote that. Blessed hymn.

[18:58] Which has been so blessed. To the whole church of Christ. My God. My Father. Blessful name. Oh. May I call thee mine.

[19:09] And I wonder how many of you. Here tonight. Come in there. May I. With sweet assurance. Claim. A portion so divine.

[19:21] But not until her dying hour. Could she say. As she did. In her last breath. I know. That my Redeemer live it. Those were her dying words.

[19:35] Her niece. Recorded them in her diary. As she witnessed them. Blessed utterance. Sacred assurance. In that hour. I know.

[19:49] The thoughts. That I think towards you. And you know. Each one of us. Needs the revealing of those thoughts. Toward us. We do.

[20:01] If we are children of God. We cannot rest. Never will rest. Short of the. Revealing of those thoughts. And what are these thoughts.

[20:17] You see. Expressed here. In this way. By God himself. Peace. And not of evil.

[20:27] How. How. Jacob. Speaking from this. Our Saturday week. At St. Hampton.

[20:38] How Jacob. Went out. From Bethel. To Paddan Aram. He went out. From Bethel.

[20:50] When the Lord. Had revealed. His thoughts. Toward him. I'll be with thee. Blessed thoughts. I'll not leave thee.

[21:04] Till I bring thee again. To this place. Well. He came back. Fourteen years later. Having been deceived. By his uncle Laban. Over Leah and Rachel. He returned.

[21:15] As the Lord commanded him. Return to thy land. And to thy people. And I'll be with thee. But when he came. To the Jordan. On the return journey. He was met by Esau. With four hundred armed men.

[21:28] And then. His heart. Went back. To Bethel. And he said this. With my staff. I crossed.

[21:40] This Jordan. That was fourteen years before. And now. I've become too bad. And he said this. I'm not worthy. Dear. Jacob.

[21:53] Those blessed thoughts. The Lord had revealed to him. They were precious to him. And thou said. Return unto thy people. And I'll be with thee.

[22:03] Or how he. Spoke to his God. So blessedly. Of the thoughts. That the Lord had revealed to him. And you know. Every time. God speaks a promise. Into the souls.

[22:15] Of his dear people. Those exceeding great. And precious promises. He reveals his thoughts. To them. Thoughts of peace.

[22:27] Are not leave thee. He did it to Joshua. And Moses died. As I was with Moses. So will I be with thee. I will not leave thee.

[22:38] Nor forsake thee. I do. Ask you here. This evening. Have you a promise. Has the Lord. Spoken. One of those.

[22:48] Exceeding great. And precious promises. In your heart. Jacob came back. He said. With my staff. A precious promise.

[22:59] I crossed over this door. Now I've become two bands. And then we read that. That night. He was alone. And he wrestled with his God.

[23:11] Oh what a sight we have. Of that wrestling prayer. I'll not leave thee. I'll not let thee go. Except thou bless me. He wanted. A token. And you know.

[23:22] We read this. He blessed him there. He blessed him there. We read of his. Grandfather Abraham.

[23:37] When the Lord. Sent him. With Isaac. To make Mariah. To raise the knife over him. We read as he came back. From that. Solemn.

[23:48] Fiery furnace. We read. In blessing. Oh. The revealing of God's thoughts. In blessing. I will.

[23:58] Bless thee. These. Exceeding great. And. Precious promises. Are the revealings. Of God's peace.

[24:10] Thoughts of peace. And not of evil. To give you. An expected end. The Lord said to Abraham. I am thy shield.

[24:21] And thy exceeding great reward. That was his expected end. Reward. Heaven. At the last. And the Lord promised this. To Abraham.

[24:33] And here. Jeremiah. Has this. Blessed promise. In his heart. I know the thoughts. That I think towards you.

[24:45] Thoughts of peace. We would stop here. Peace. Says the dear hymn writer. By his cross. As Jesus made. What.

[24:57] Do you know. What do I know. Of this. Divine peace. In our hearts. The peace of God. Says the apostle.

[25:08] That passes all understanding. That. Blessed. Inward peace. Of his. Peace. Speaking. Blood. At the.

[25:19] Mercy. Saint. The place. Of propitiation. Where. The wrath. Of God. Is lifted. From his dear church.

[25:30] And fell. Upon his dear son. As he. Bore. Their sins. In his. Own body. As the bible says.

[25:42] He himself. Bore. Bore. Our sins. In his. Own body. On the tree. Here. Is peace.

[25:53] And that peace. Will only enter our souls. As. That peace speaking blood. Is applied to our hearts. And we shall then know. Those sacred thoughts.

[26:07] Of God. Toward us. As he told. Ibed Melek. They shalt not. Fall by the sword. That sword. Of his divine wrath. There was peace.

[26:19] In those words. There was the atonement. Lying there. There was reconciliation. Between God. And dear Ibed Melek.

[26:30] In the person. And finished work. Of his dear son. I know. The thoughts. Their thoughts.

[26:40] Of peace. And not of evil. They stem. From the finished work. Of Christ. They stem. From that covenant. Of everlasting grace.

[26:51] In eternity past. They stem. From the. Revelation. Of the spirit. Of truth. In the soul. Applying. Blood. And promises.

[27:01] Of Christ. In the heart. But it is a peace. Which is to be known. And oh then. To know it. In a dying hour. That peace.

[27:13] Which passes. All understanding. Then we come to this word. And not of evil. Why? What do God's dear children deserve?

[27:24] The evil that is spoken of here. Is thoughts of wrath. Justice. Judgment. Retribution. All these thoughts of evil.

[27:37] How. They are not inherent evil. But they are evil. In the. Path and life. Of those who go out. Into eternal darkness. They go into everlasting evil.

[27:48] And darkness. There is a devil and his angels. And the Lord speaks of these two things. Thoughts of peace. And not of evil. Oh. To cast them away.

[28:03] Hath not the. Potter. Power. Over the cloud. Sacred word. It is lived. With me for a long time. Thou art our father.

[28:15] We are the cloud. Do we see it? Thou art potter. We are all the work of thy hand. If the Lord has. Thoughts of peace.

[28:26] And not of evil. Hath not the potter. Power over the cloud. The same lump. To make one vessel unto honour. And one vessel unto dishonor. What if God. Says the prophet in the.

[28:38] Ninth of Romans. Willing to show his wrath. Endured with much long suffering. Vessels of wrath.

[28:50] Oh when we look at these truths here. Here we see heaven. Though the path. Of the apostle was dark. Of the prophet Jeremiah was dark and dreary.

[29:02] Yet. We see here. He had a hope. Though it was a path of sorrow and affliction and grief.

[29:13] Yet he had a hope. The Lord had spoken. Into his dear heart. I know. The thoughts that I think towards you. Thoughts of peace and not of evil.

[29:26] To give you. An expected. End. End. End. Oh the. Work of God. In the. Hearts of his dear people.

[29:39] Has an end in view. It is to bring them. To be. With himself. Forever. An end.

[29:50] That is waited for. Their expectation. Says his holy word. Will not be cut off. They have been brought.

[30:00] To rest. In Christ. To know him. Here below. And they have been brought. To have.

[30:11] A good hope. Through grace. When we look again and again. At. God's dear children. In his holy word. We see.

[30:23] The. Truth of these words. His dear. Servant. David. The sweet. Psalmist of Israel. Walked in some. Solemn path.

[30:36] But we read. Very blessedly. The last verse. Of the 72nd Psalm. The prayers of. David. The son of Jesse. Are ending. An expected end.

[30:47] Brought. Safely through. In spite of all. We look at the last hours. Of. The Lord's dear servant.

[30:58] Moses. How he pleaded. To be allowed. To enter the promised land. But no. The chastening hand. Of his God. Was upon him. In love. He could view it.

[31:09] He couldn't enter it. Cast his mind. But. The dear man. Lived. In the. Enjoyment. Of the. Peace of his God.

[31:19] In that. Beautiful word. There is none. Like unto the God. Of Jeshur. Who rideth. Upon the heaven. In thy help. And is in excellency.

[31:29] Upon the sky. Then this. Eternal God. Is thy refuge. And underneath. Are. The everlasting arms. The 91st. Psalm.

[31:40] Speaks so beautifully. Of this. He that dwelleth. In the. Secret place. Of the most high. Shall abide. That is eternally. Not just in this world.

[31:52] Where. Under the shadow. Of the almighty. Blessed shadow. From the heat. Of God's wrath. It is Christ. And then he goes on. I'll say of the Lord. He is my refuge.

[32:03] My strength. My God. In him. Will I trust. Have you been brought. To trust in him tonight. Has he taught you. Oh how.

[32:18] Solemn. To have. A religion. That has no revelation in it. That knows not.

[32:29] The king eternal. Immortal. Invisible. God only. Why. Knows not. The hand of God. In our lives. Knows not.

[32:39] The voice of God. In our lives. In. Providence. And in grace. I know. The thoughts.

[32:50] That I think. Towards you. Thoughts of peace. And not of evil. To give you an expected end. God's. Thoughts.

[33:00] And not our thoughts. Thoughts. We read in the prophecy. We read in the prophecy. My thoughts. And not your thoughts. Neither are your ways.

[33:13] My ways. Says the Lord. For as the heavens. Are higher than the earth. So my ways. Higher than your ways. And my thoughts. Than your thoughts.

[33:24] We plan. We scheme. His ways. Are past. Finding out. He brings us. Constantly.

[33:35] Back. To that. Blessed place. Thy will. Be done. We know. It is the. Only.

[33:46] Safe place. To come to. To be found. In the. Compass. Of his dear thoughts. The apostles. Thoughts. As we spoke. This morning.

[33:56] Regarding his. Thorn in the flesh. Was to have it. Taken away. God's thoughts. Were to use it. To his good. To bring him.

[34:08] To Christ. To make him. Well his. Weakness now. And keep him. Very. Very low. Dependent. Upon his God. Oh.

[34:19] Has the Lord. Brought you. To love his wife. To come to the. Place of him. Right at thy way. Not mine.

[34:31] Dear. Savior. Still lead on. Nor leave me. Till I say. Father. Thy will be done. We do it best. But taste the cup.

[34:42] For thou alone. Hast. Drunk it up. We have to. Solemnly learn. Again and again. My thoughts. And not your thoughts.

[34:52] And we look back. To those solemn times. In life's pathway. When we had. In our own hearts. Thoughts.

[35:04] Purposes. Ambitions. Desires. And we attempted. To pursue them. And the Lord.

[35:15] We wanted him to bless them. So it was. Our. Thoughts. And we asked the Lord. To put his approbation on.

[35:27] But we learnt. Such a lesson in experience. And that was this. That we go to him. With an open heart. And say. Do.

[35:38] What seemeth he good. Show me. Now. Thy way. Lead me. In thy path. And teach me. Oh how we need grace.

[35:52] And then. When he does it. Oh how we see the glory of it. His thoughts. Revealed in our soul. His purposes. His hand.

[36:04] His doings. And we can return. To give him all the honour. And the glory. No carnality in that. Oh to be found.

[36:15] In the. Compass of those. Sacred thoughts. In life's past. Or whatever it be. Partner in life. A home to live in.

[36:27] Our afflictions. Which he has laid upon us. To be. Brought down. At his footstool. And be still. And know.

[36:38] That he is God. Our hearts are deceitful. We need such grace. To come. In the compass of his beautiful word.

[36:50] I know. The thoughts. That I. Sing towards you. And the beauty of the psalm. We read. This morning. That 139th psalm.

[37:03] Has. Long rested with me. In its blessedness. And beauty. In all the path. That the psalmist walked out. How precious. Are thy thoughts.

[37:14] Unto me. O God. How great is the sum of them. If I should count them. They are more in number. Than the sand. When I awake. I am still with thee.

[37:26] Search me. O God. And know my heart. Try me. Try me. And know my thoughts. They'll be approving of them.

[37:36] They'll be approving of those thoughts. Are they of God. Or are they us. Is it our desire. Or is it God's will. Try me.

[37:48] Beautiful psalm. Grace given. To ask wisely. Solomon asked. For wisdom. O may we.

[37:59] Be given grace. To ask for. Heavenly wisdom. In the pathway. I know. The thoughts.

[38:09] That I. Think towards you. Thoughts of peace. And not of evil. To give you an expected end. Who. Knows. Better than our God.

[38:22] What we need. What should be the contents of that cup in life's pathway. He alone knows. We need. Grace.

[38:33] We need the pathway of sanctification. To bring us. To be as glory. In the hands of a heavenly potter.

[38:45]  Amen.