Let us turn again to the Word
of God and to the prophecy of Jeremiah to chapter 6 and verse
16. The prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter
6 and verse 16. Thus says the Lord, stand ye
in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, we will not walk therein. Jeremiah chapter six,
verse 16, thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see
and ask for the old path, where is the good way, and walk therein
and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will
not walk therein." I preached from this verse last
Lord's Day at Grove in Wiltshire in the afternoon and afterwards
felt that Well, either I hadn't really finished with the verse
or the verse hadn't finished with me, and so I felt that I
ought to bring it again to you this morning, and may God bless
us together as we look into this verse. It's a verse that, in
my experience, has been often quoted, and especially we hear
people talking about the old paths and the importance of asking
for the old paths. But again, in my experience,
and especially perhaps growing up as a boy and in previous places
where I've worshipped, I wonder if sometimes the verse has been
misunderstood and the old paths have been spoken of in a wrong
way. What do people sometimes mean
when they talk about asking for the old paths? Well, they really,
often it's restricted to The things like this. They say, well,
the old paths, it means sticking to the old hymn book. It means
sticking to the old translation of the Bible. It means sticking
to our old order of service. Sticking to our old and traditional
way of speaking. And even sometimes they mean
sticking to our old traditional way of dressing. Well, I'm not here to speak about
any of those things or to speak against any of those things.
I certainly wouldn't want to change the hymn book if there
was only one hymn book that I could have. I think it probably would
be this Gatsby's hymn book. I've certainly no desire to change
the translation of the Bible that we read from. It still is
the most accurate translation in the English language. I wouldn't
recommend we need to change our order of service. I certainly
don't think we need to particularly change our language whilst we
obviously need to be careful that we don't use language which
gets in the way. But surely in this verse, when
we read of the old paths, we're not just to restrict it to those
things. And I say that because these
Jews that Jeremiah was speaking to, they probably had all those
things. They were probably still singing
the same kind of hymns. They were probably still reading
from the same scriptures as Moses did. Their order of service probably
hadn't changed very much since the days of Moses. The language
they used probably hadn't changed very much since the days of Moses. And even their way of dressing
probably hadn't changed very much since the days of Moses.
And so perhaps there were those who, when Jeremiah came with
this message, they would have said to him, well, Jeremiah,
we don't really know what you're talking about because we are
in the old paths. Are we still worshipping in the
same way as our forefathers did? Our order of service is exactly
the same? Our sacrifices, the offerings
in the tabernacle, in the temple, we're still doing those things,
we're still gathering together for the feasts and so on. They
perhaps would have said to Jeremiah, you're making a mistake, Jeremiah,
if you think that we've gone wrong, because we are in the
old path, we're still in the good way. And in that we can
see that they really are very similar to the Pharisees in the
New Testament. And you remember how Jesus often
had to correct them for their misguided reliance upon tradition. And they too would have said,
well, we're the Pharisees. We have the word of God. We have
the right form of worship. We're still worshipping in the
same way as our forefathers did. Didn't they say, we are the children
of Abraham? We are. We worship in the same
way as Abraham did. And they too might have said,
we're in the old paths. And it's a danger today as well,
isn't it? Especially perhaps for those of us who have been
brought up in the Christian church. And we can very easily fall into
holding on to these traditions for their own sake. And perhaps
there might be those today, and if you were to go into their
chapels and tell them to ask for the old paths, they might
reply, well, we are in the old paths. We still use Gadsby's
hymn book. We still read from the authorized
version. Our order of service has not changed particularly
much since the days of people like William Gadsby and J.C.
Philpott. They would say if those men walked
into our chapels today, they would recognize what we're doing.
And they might say the language we use is the same, really, as
the language that they use. And even the way we dress is
not so very different to the way that our forefathers dressed.
They might say we are in the old paths. And it would be a
terrible thing, wouldn't it, to be like those prophets who
are spoken of earlier on in this chapter. In verse 14, the Lord
through Jeremiah speaks of those who healed, also the hurt of
the daughter of my people slightly, saying peace, peace when there
is no peace. If I was to come here today and
say to you that all that's important is that you sing this hymn book
and read this Bible and dress in this way, that would be a
very dangerous thing to do. It might have the effect of reassuring
those who are in reality out of this good way that they're
in it. Stand in the old path, says the
Lord through Jeremiah, where is the good way and walk therein.
But we do need to be wary of a religion which is built upon
tradition only. Because that was exactly what
these Jews had, and exactly what the Pharisees had in the days
of Christ. And they said, we are the chosen
people, we are the special people, we are the righteous people. It's important and useful to
understand something of the context of the time that Jeremiah is
speaking in here. In the first chapter of his book,
at the beginning of the chapter, you can find that he ministered
in, really, what was the closing days of the kingdom of Israel,
of the kingdom of Judah, sorry. You remember how after the death
of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel, it split into two kingdoms, and
10 of the 12 tribes went off, and they deserted the son of
Solomon, and they set up their own king, that man Jeroboam. And two tribes were left to serve
the son of Solomon. And so it continued. And the
kingdoms ran alongside each other in parallel for a number of years
and sometimes they would be at war with each other and sometimes
they would be in alliance. But the kingdom of Israel, it departed from God really much
more quickly than the kingdom of Judah did. After the death
of Solomon, That man Jeroboam, he set up two golden calves,
didn't he? Because he said, well, I don't want the people going
to Jerusalem to worship because they might turn back to the house
of David. And really, that was the beginning
of their apostasy and their idolatry. And Israel was taken into captivity
because of their sin. And really, Jeremiah, he preached
in the days when the nation of Israel had already been taken
into captivity and the nation of Judah was threatened with
it. In the second book of Chronicles,
chapter 34, you can read about the start of the reign of King
Josiah. He was the first king that Jeremiah
would have known. We read that he began to preach
in the days of Josiah, in the 13th year of King Josiah. And
if you look at the history in 2 Chronicles 34, you will find
that Josiah, he came to the throne when he was eight. And in the
12th year of his reign, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem
from the high places. So he begins to reform the nation
of Judah, and he begins to tear down the images that had been
put up. by his father Amon and his grandfather Manasseh who
were wicked kings. At Josiah he begins to reform
the nation and it was at that time that Jeremiah begins to
prophesy and to preach. And you remember how they found
the copy of the law in the house of God? And Josiah, he begins
to try and put in place some measure of reformation. He gathers
together the people and he reads the law to them. And he appoints
that solemn Passover to be kept in 2 Chronicles chapter 35. And perhaps Jeremiah, he would
have seen these things. And perhaps he would have felt
some hope springing up. And he might have thought, well,
perhaps it's all going to come right again. And yet the reign of Josiah,
it comes to a very abrupt end, doesn't it? In 2 Chronicles 35,
after all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco, king
of Egypt, came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates. The king of Egypt comes to fight
with another king, and Josiah, for whatever reason, he went
out against him. And the king of Egypt sent messengers
to him saying, I haven't come to fight with you, Josiah. don't
meddle with me. But Josiah, he won't hear and
he won't turn his face from the king of Egypt. And he goes up
to fight with the king of Egypt and there he is wounded by the
archers and he dies in that battle. And he's buried, taken back to
Jerusalem and buried in the sepulcher of his father's. And we read
at the end of that 35th chapter that Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the singing men and the
singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this
day. And we can understand why that was. When Jeremiah, all
his hopes are crushed and Josiah is suddenly taken away. And really
that was the beginning of the end, wasn't it, for the nation
of Judah. There were only four kings after
King Josiah and their reigns really were relatively short.
We have King Jehoahaz, This is in 2 Chronicles 36. King Jehoahaz,
he reigns for only three months, and then the king of Egypt takes
him away, and he makes Eliakim his brother, king over Judah.
And that's King Jehoiakim, and he has a longer reign. He reigns
for 11 years, but then the king of Babylon comes up and takes
him away, and his son reigns in his stead. That's King Jehoiakim. He only reigns for three months.
And he too is taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. And another
king, King Zedekiah, is appointed over Judah. And Zedekiah was
really the last king of Judah. He reigned 11 years, but when
he rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, he too is taken into captivity
and his people with him. And all the vessels of the house
of God are carried away. The house of God is burnt down.
The wall of Jerusalem is burnt down. All the palaces are burned
with fire. and all the goodly vessels are destroyed. And the
land lies desolate for 70 years, just as Jeremiah had prophesied. That was the kind of period that
Jeremiah spoke in. It was a time of hope, and then
a time of disappointment. And we see that even during the
reign of good King Josiah, the people, they were not really
wholeheartedly following Josiah. They still were divided in their
worship. Oh yes, they were still going
through the motions of worshipping the Lord God of their fathers.
But they were in parallel often worshipping false gods and setting
up idols and images and serving Baal. And you can read about
some of that in the historical books as well as in this book
of Jeremiah. And it was because of their idolatry
that they were taken into captivity. And the land, as I say, it lay
desolate for 70 years. It was a time of idolatry, of
departing, and we read through that second chapter. And you
see that there, don't you? It's a very sad chapter in a
way. Look at what the Lord says in verse 13 of chapter 2. My
people, he says, have committed two evils. They have forsaken
me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, which can hold no water. They had departed from
the fountains of living waters and they were putting their own
cisterns in its place. And then again at verse 19, The
Lord says to them, thine own wickedness shall correct thee
and thy backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see
that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken
the Lord thy God and that my fear is not in thee, saith the
Lord God of hosts. They had forsaken him, his fear
was not in them. And then again in verse 28. The Lord speaks of their many
idols that they had made. According to the number of thy
cities are thy gods, he says to them. You're worshipping so
many gods that you've got as many gods as you have cities.
They were worshipping idols. And yet all this time, they would
have said to Jeremiah that they were trusting in God. And they
would have said to Jeremiah that they were worshipping in the
same way as their fathers. Look at what they say to him
in chapter 7, verse 4. This was the kind of things that
they were saying to each other there in Jerusalem. Trust ye
not in lying words, says Jeremiah, saying the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. They were
saying to one another, and perhaps they were being encouraged by
false prophets, who were saying to them, well, no evil can come
upon Jerusalem because the temple's here. And this is the chosen
place that God has appointed. And they would have said, well,
as long as we have the temple, we'll be safe and we'll be kept. And we won't be taken into captivity
like those wicked Israelites because we've got the temple.
And they put their trust in the physical temple. Again, chapter
seven, verse 14, the Lord says, therefore will I do unto this
house this temple, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust."
He says to them, you're trusting in the temple. You're trusting
in these stones, in this bricks and mortar. You're not trusting
in me, you're not worshipping me. Your backs are turned towards
me and you're worshipping idols, but you're trusting in this temple. Or they would have said perhaps
that they were walking in the old paths, but their backs were
turned towards God. and their hearts were against
him. And yes, there is judgment spoken
of throughout this book, but it's very wonderful, isn't it,
and very striking how there are these words of mercy that are
mixed in amongst these words of judgment. You look through chapter three,
And what does the Lord say to these idolatrous Jews, to these
sinful backsliders, those who had turned their backs to Him
and were worshipping idols? What is His message to them?
Chapter 3, verse 1, He speaks of them having played the harlot
with many lovers, yet He says, return again unto Me. Return
again to Me, saith the Lord. And again in chapter 3, verse
12, Jeremiah is instructed to go
and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return thou
backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine
anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and
I will not keep anger forever. Verse 14, turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you. Again
in verse 22, return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your
backslidings. He is constantly Appealing to
them, isn't he? As we see in the chapter we read,
how he appeals to them. Chapter 2, verse 5, what iniquity
have your fathers found in me that they are gone far from me
and have walked after vanity and are become vain? He says
to them, in effect, what is the reason why you have turned your
backs to me? What have I done? How have I
offended you? Chapter 2, verse 9, he says,
Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with
your children's children will I plead. And again in chapter
2, verse 31, O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have
I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness? Wherefore
say my people, we are lords, we will come no more unto thee.
What's the explanation for it, he says to them? What possible
reason can you have for turning your backs to me after all that
I have done for you? It reminds us, doesn't it, of
the words of Isaiah in chapter 65 where the Lord speaks of spreading
out his hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh
in a way that was not good after their own thoughts. And he speaks
of them provoking him to anger. burning incense, sacrificing
in gardens, remaining among the graves, eating swine's flesh.
They were such a sinful, idolatrous people, and yet, he says, I've
spread out my hands all the day unto them. They have turned their
backs upon him, but he has not turned his back to them. And
constantly he calls them back to himself, and he's so patient
with them, isn't he? He's so patient with them. He
says in that verse I just quoted, he says, I will plead with you,
saith the Lord, and with your children's children. Generation
after generation, they hear these words from the mouth of Jeremiah
and from the mouths of the other prophets. Return unto me, saith
the Lord. Reminds me of that hymn, 750,
where the hymn writer, he speaks of that patience, doesn't he?
speaking of God and the way in which God is love. And he says
in hymn 750, verse 3, behold his patience lengthened out to
those who from him roam. And he is patient with sinners. He is patient with us. And patiently he speaks to his
backsliding, to these backsliding people here. Thus saith the Lord,
stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where
is the good way? And walk therein, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. Rest for your souls, well, you
can understand its meaning in the time in which Jeremiah spoke
it. And he's saying to them, look, if you put your trust in
God, then you really will be safe. And if you turn back to
him and if you stop all this idol worship, then you'll be
kept safe. That was the way of rest for
them. But you have to look at it in a gospel sense. It's rest
for the soul. That's what Jeremiah is talking
about. Rest for your souls. And of course, doesn't it remind
us of the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew's Gospel, where he
also talks about rest for the soul. And he says, come unto
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Rest
unto your souls. What do you know about soul rest?
Is your soul at rest today, now, at this time? What's your relationship
like with God? Are you at rest with him? Could
you stand before him with confidence, at peace? How would you feel
if he came and if you saw him? Would it be terrifying to you
or would you be at rest with him? Here is the way of rest,
here is the way to rest, the good way. I am the way. We sang
about it in that opening hymn, didn't we? This is the way I
long have sought and mourned because I found it not. My grief,
my burden, long has been because I could not cease from sin. The
hymn writer there, he had no rest. He was trying to cease from sin.
He was trying to fight with sin. He was trying to overcome all
his sinful tendencies. But he says, the more I strove
against its power, I sinned and stumbled, but the more, till
late, I heard my Saviour say, Come hither, soul, I am the way. And he comes and he finds rest
in Christ. Here is the way to rest and it
is a sure way. stand in the ways and see, and
ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls. Not ye may, or not there's
a small chance, or not it's possible that you'll find rest for your
souls, but it's spoken of as something certain, isn't it?
Something certain. If you're looking for rest for
your soul today, this is the certain way set out before us
here, to find it. And there's four things. here
in this 16th chapter. Four exhortations, four things
that these Jews were encouraged to do, four things that we are
encouraged to do if we are seeking gospel rest today. And the first
is here at the beginning of the verse. Chapter 16, thus saith the Lord,
stand ye in the ways What is he calling upon them to do in
these words? Well, he's calling upon them
to stop, isn't he? To stand is to stop. The picture
is of a man who perhaps is on a journey and he's following
a path and he comes to a crossroads or a parting of the ways. What's
the danger? The danger is that he just goes
on without thinking. And perhaps we can think of times
when we've been out for a walk and we've got to a pathway or
a meeting of pathways and we think we know which one is the
right one and we just rush on into it. And then later on we
stop and we see that we've gone the wrong way. Well, that's the
kind of imagery that the Lord is using here. And he says to
these Jews, the first thing you need to do is to stop. There's
no hope of finding the right way while you persist in the
wrong one. There's no hope of finding the right way if you
are confidently proceeding in the way that looks right to you
but really is the wrong way. No, he says, stand ye in the
ways. We read at the end of that second
chapter, why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? These
Jews, they were very busy, they were very active. They were rushing
about here and there and if you read through the history you
find one day they're looking to the Egyptians for help and
the next day they're looking to the Assyrians and they can't
seem to make up their minds who to ally with and who to depend
upon. And they were busy in their religion,
weren't they? There was plenty of religious activity, I'm sure,
in the nation of Judah at this time. But what they really needed to
do was to stop Stand ye in the ways. Don't keep
rushing about, says the Lord. Don't keep rushing on in that
way. The first thing you need to do is to stop. And that's hard sometimes, isn't
it? You can read through the experiences of Christians down
through the ages, and very often this is the kind of thing that
happens. They become aware of their sin. and they become aware
that they are not right with God and what is very often the
response, they say, well I must do more then, I must read more
and I must pray more, I must become more religious, I must
give more, I must go to services more. Well all those things are
good things, but they're not the way to rest. It's not easy sometimes to stand
in the ways, to stop and to consider. You can think of a couple of
times in the history of the nation of Israel when no doubt they
would have found this particularly difficult. You can think of that
time when they come out of Egypt and they come into the wilderness
and they think that they've escaped from Pharaoh and that they're
heading for the Promised Land. And then they look behind them
and they see Pharaoh and his army chasing them. And then they
look in front of them and they see the Red Sea. And there doesn't
seem to be any way of escape. And they cry out to Moses, don't
they? And they're sore afraid. And they say to Moses, why have
you brought us out here, Moses? Is it because there were no graves
in Egypt? Oh, they said it would have been better for us to stay
in Egypt and to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the
wilderness. And what does Moses say to them in response? He says,
fear ye not, stand still. Stand still. Again, mustn't that
have been a really hard thing for them to do? You can imagine
it, can't you, when you've got this army coming towards you
and they're intent on slaughtering you, and Moses says, stand still,
and perhaps we would have said to Moses, well, that's no use,
Moses. Standing still isn't going to
help. No, says Moses, you must stand still, you must see the
salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. This
is not the time for rushing to and fro. This is not the time
for trying to do more and more. Stand still, stand in the ways,
a time to stop. And then you can think of that
occasion in the life of that good king, Jehoshaphat. In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, when
Jehoshaphat is on the throne and all seems to be at peace. And then there comes this messenger
and he says to Jehoshaphat, there cometh a great multitude against
thee from beyond the sea, the children of Moab, the children
of Ammon, and with them other, beside the Ammonites, a great
multitude is coming together to fight against King Jehoshaphat
and to fight against the nation of Judah. And he gathers together
the people in the house of the Lord, and he prays that memorable
prayer, doesn't he? O our God, he says, wilt thou
not judge them? For we have no might against
this great company that cometh against us. Neither know we what
to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And then the Spirit of
God comes upon that man, Jehaziel. And he stands up before all the
people and he says to them, thus saith the Lord unto you, be not
afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for
the battle is not yours but God's. You shall not need to fight in
this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still,
and see the salvation of the Lord. And again, no doubt there
were those at the time who would have said to Jehoshaphat, well,
it's all very well, Jehoshaphat, but that's not going to do much
good in the long run. We need to make preparation,
we need to be up, we need to be doing. We need to be preparing
for this battle that we know is coming. But Jehoshaphat, he
is given grace to heed the exhortation. He stands still and he does see
the salvation of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye
in the ways. No soul rests without stopping. No soul rests without standing
still. You know what Bishop J.C. Riles said, I know he's not 100%
accurate and reliable, but he said that serious thought is
one of the first steps towards heaven. And that's how it was
with these Jews. That was what they needed. They
needed to stop. Stand ye in the ways. That's
the first thing. And then we have the second thing.
What are they called upon to do in the second place? They're
called upon to see. stand ye in the ways and see. And it kind of carries with it
the idea of considering or thinking. It's the same word as we have
throughout that second chapter. And they're called upon in chapter
two, verse 10, the Lord says to them, pass over the eyes of
Chittim and see, and send unto Kedar and consider diligently,
and see if there be such a thing. And he says to them, you know,
all those nations round about you, they have not changed their
gods. They've been worshipping the
same gods for generations. But you, my people, you have
changed your glory for that which doth not profit. Even though
their gods are false gods, they hold fast to them. But you, who
have served the living and true God, you have departed from me
and changed your glory for that which doth not profit. See this,
he says to them. And then in verse 19, Thine own wickedness shall correct
thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore
and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken
the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the
Lord God of hosts. Know it and see it. And then in verse 23, How canst thou say, I am not
polluted? I have not gone after Baalim.
See thy way in the valley. Know what thou hast done. He
calls upon them to face it, to look at it. And then in verse
31, O generation, he says to them, see ye the word of the
Lord. What was the issue with these
Jews? Well, they were not facing the facts, were they? Their eyes
were closed. Hear now this, O foolish people,
says the Lord in chapter 5, verse 21. Hear now this, O foolish
people and without understanding, which have eyes and see not,
which have ears and hear not. Well, they had eyes, they had
ears, but they were not using them. They were not facing the
facts. They had forgotten the foolishness
of idle worship. as the Lord says to them in chapter
2. They were saying to a stock,
to a stump of wood, they were saying, Thou art my Father. To
a stone, they were saying, Thou hast brought me forth. It's nonsense,
says the Lord. It's nonsensical. It doesn't
make any sense to think that you can create a God that's worthy
of worship. It reminds us of the words in
Isaiah's prophecy. In chapter 44, where he speaks
of those who make idols, a man who cuts down a tree and he takes
some of the tree to burn to warm himself, and he takes some of
the tree to use in his oven to bake bread, and then he takes
some of the tree and he worships it, and he makes a graven image
and falls down to it. And he falls down unto it, and
worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for
thou art my God, this piece of wood that he has carved into
the shape of an idol. And Isaiah, the Lord through
Isaiah, he says, they have not known or understood. He hath
shut their eyes that they cannot see, and their hearts that they
cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart,
neither is there knowledge nor understanding, to say, I have
burned part of it in the fire. Yea, also I have baked bread
upon the coals thereof. I have roasted flesh and eaten
it. And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall
I fall down to the stalk of a tree? If only they would stop and think,
says the Lord, they would realise this is a foolish pathway. But
their eyes were blinded to it. Stand ye in the ways and see.
Look at these things, he says to them, face these facts. Don't
just rush on in your way unthinkingly. But take a moment to stop and
to consider. Stand ye in the ways and see.
You know the kind of things that people would say about us as
we come here to worship. They would say, well, these Christians,
they're unreasonable. They're not facing the facts.
Don't they see the suffering in the world? How can they believe
in a loving God when we live in a world like this? Well, we
are here and we are to assert and to be confident in asserting
that the Christian is the reasonable one. It's foolishness to deny God. It's the fool that has said in
his heart there is no God. When we look out into creation
we are to see his handiwork. That's what it shows us. Stand ye in the ways and see.
And this is what Christians can speak of, can't it? Their eyes
being opened. John Newton knew it, didn't he?
What did he say in that well-known hymn? I once was lost, but now
am found, was blind, but now I see, now I see. Stand ye in
the ways and see, no soul rests without seeing, no soul rests
without considering, without thinking, without facing the
facts. Stand ye in the ways and see,
and then they're told in the third place to ask. standing
in the ways and see and ask for the old path, to inquire after
it, to seek it, to look for it. What's the implication? Well,
it's very obvious, isn't it? The implication is that there
must be an old path, there must be a good way. God would not
encourage his people, God would not speak to us in this way if
there was no such thing as the old path, if there was no such
thing as the good way. Ask for the old paths. We are
prejudiced sometimes against the old paths, aren't we? And
we're always encouraged in the world that we live in to look
for something new. And we say it's old-fashioned
and that's something bad. Well, that is illogical, isn't
it? There's no reason that just because something is old, it's
not good. Ask for the old paths. But you know, really, this word
old It's the same word as we have in chapter 10 of this book,
in verse 10. And what does it say there? The
Lord is the true God, He is the living God and an everlasting
King. It's the same word, everlasting
is translated there. We could equally put it in this
way, stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the everlasting
paths, the everlasting paths. It can only be a reference to
Christ, can't he? He is the Everlasting One. Unto
us is born a son, unto us a child is given, and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the old path. He is the
good way. That's the way that the hymn
writer says, I long have sought. He was looking for a way to overcome
his own sin. And perhaps he thought, well,
if only I could get rid of these sins and make myself a better
person, then I would be able to come to Christ and find peace.
But he found he couldn't do it. Till late, he says, I heard my
Saviour say, come hither so, I am the way. I am the way to
get to peace. It's not that you have to find
peace yourself and then you can come. I am the way to it. He
is the old paths. He is the good way. And he is
to be asked for. Ask for the old path, says the
Lord. If you don't have it, if you haven't found it, ask for
it. And we are told, aren't we, everyone
that asketh, receive it. Everyone that asketh, receive
it. And that is something that all Christians will do. If God
is working in you, one thing is certain, he will make you
ask for the old paths and the good way. Just as he made Paul
ask, after that Damascus Road experience, what was the question
of Paul? Lord, what will thou have me
to do? Oh, Paul, when he was Saul, he
would have said that he was in the old paths. He thought that
he was in the good way, but when he sees Christ face to face,
then his whole attitude changes and his whole life is turned
upside down and now he is asking, what will thou have me to do?
And everyone that asketh receiveth. stand ye in the ways and see
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way? And then fourthly, they're told to walk in it, to
walk in it. In other words, it's not enough just to know about the old paths
and it's not enough just to know about Christ and to know that
he is the good way. Not enough just to be able to
say, I know that Jesus is the way to God. The devils know that,
and they tremble. There must be a walking in it.
There's no soul rest without walking in it. In John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress,
there's a character called Talkative, isn't there? And he knows all
about the Christian way. And he knows all about the way
to heaven, and he can answer all the difficult questions that
are put to him. But ultimately we see that although
he knows all about the way, he's not in it. He's not walking in
it. There must be a walking in it.
And you know, finding Christ and coming to Christ is not the
end of a journey. It's the beginning of it. It's
the beginning of it. You remember what Paul wrote
to the Colossians? He said, as ye have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. In other words, he says,
receiving him is good, and receiving him is essential, but receiving
him is not the end. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. So walk ye in him. There must be a walking in Christ,
there must be a walking into Christ before there can be rest
for the soul. You remember that verse in the
Proverbs where it says the name of the Lord is a strong tower.
Well again, it's not enough just to know that the name of the
Lord is a strong tower. But it says the righteous runneth
into it and is safe. Safety is from being in the strong
tower, not just knowing that the tower is strong. There must
be a walking in Christ if you are to come to the place of rest. You can't get to Southampton
from here just by looking at a map of the way. It's good to know the way. It's
useful to have a map. But there has to be a stepping
out and a stepping into the way and a stepping on in the way. That's why Isaiah, at the beginning
of his prophecy in chapter two, what does he say? What does the
Lord say through him? O house of Israel, he says, come
ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord. not just look at
the light of the Lord, not just experience the light of the Lord,
but walk in it. And again, later on in his prophecy,
he talks about those who fear the Lord, that obey the voice
of his servant, that walk in darkness and have no light. And he says, let him trust in
the name of the Lord and stay upon his God. There must be a
walking. And sometimes if we are Christians
and if we have found Christ, if we come to those times in
our life when we don't have rest of soul, we have to examine our
walk. If we have turned aside out of
him, if we have backslidden from him as these Jews have, well
it's not surprising then if our rest is taken away. Stand ye
in the ways and see and ask for the old paths where is the good
way and walk therein and he shall find rest for your souls. To
walk in him is to walk with him and to walk with him is to be
upheld by him. Again, remember what Jesus said
about spiritual rest. He said, take my yoke upon you
and learn of me. The picture is of two ox who
are pulling a plough and the yoke is between them and it binds
them together. And where one goes, the other goes, and their
strength is put together, if you like. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. It is to walk according to the
example of Christ. It is to walk in the strength
of Christ. It is to walk according to the word of Christ. As ye
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Ask for the old paths, where
is the good way, and walk therein. Let us labour therefore, says
Paul, to the Hebrews to enter into this rest. There is a rest
even in the labouring. There is a rest even in the walking. You shall find rest for your
souls. As I said earlier, it is a promise. It is a sure and
certain word, isn't it? Ye shall find rest for your souls,
no exception. And remember again what kind
of people they were that Jeremiah is talking to here. Very easy
sometimes when we read of this kind of thing to say, well, it's
all very well to talk about rest, but surely it's not something
that is to be said before people like me. Well, these people were
idolatrous people. They were people who had turned
their backs to God. and who had departed from Him. And yet even
to these people God is not ashamed to speak of rest for their souls.
And you can look again at that chapter where Christ speaks of
rest and notice again who He is talking
to. He's just spoken about this generation. He's talking to people who had
said of Him, behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners. And he's talking about the cities
wherein most of his mighty works were done, but they repented
not, Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum. And it was at that
time that Jesus continued And he prays to his father and
thanks his father because these things have been hidden from
the wise and prudent and have been revealed unto babes. But
then it's in the same breath almost, in the same context,
in the same chapter, that he speaks of rest for the soul.
He's not just talking to righteous people. He's talking to sinners. just as Jeremiah is here. Stand
ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where is the
good way? And walk therein and ye shall find rest. Even you,
he says to them, will find rest for your souls. And yet what was their response?
Well, we have it at the end of the verse, don't we? Well, they
heard him and it wasn't that they didn't understand what he
was talking about. They said, we will not walk therein. We will not walk therein. And
that's a constant theme, isn't it, throughout this book and
in so many of the Prophets. The Prophets come to them and
they speak to them of the way of peace and of the way of rest. And they say, well, no, we won't
go in that way. We don't want to. It doesn't
seem right to us. We will not walk therein. And
that's true of all of us. That will be our response to
this message if we're not changed, if our hearts aren't changed.
We will be like those men in the parable in Luke chapter 14
where Jesus spoke of a wedding supper and a great supper is
made and many are bidden to come. Come for all things are now ready,
say the servants as they go out and speak to those which were
bidden. And they all began with one consent to make excuse. And
you can read their various excuses there in Luke chapter 14. I have
bought a piece of ground, I must go and see it. I bought five
yoke of oxen, I go to prove them. I have married a wife and therefore
I cannot come. They have no interest in that
great supper, they don't think they need it. But there are those
who are brought in, aren't there? And Jesus describes them, the
poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind. They come and go out
into the highways and hedges, says the Lord his servant, and
compel them to come in that my house may be filled. And there
will be those who will come to this rest. There is a rest that
remains for the people of God and there are those who will
enter into it. That's prophesied of even in
this book. In chapter 50, we read of those
who are constrained to come. In those days, and we know and
that is often a reference to the Gospel days, isn't it? In
those days and in that time, saith the Lord, the children
of Israel shall come. They and the children of Judah
together, going and weeping. They shall go and seek the Lord
their God. They shall ask. They shall ask the way to Zion
with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join
ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. Oh, these Jews, they said, we
will not walk therein. But the Lord says there will
be those who will come in those days, and at that time, the gospel
day, he will make them come. He will overcome all their objections,
and He will bring sinners to Himself. Thus saith the Lord,
stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where
is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest, for your
souls rest in this life. There is a rest in this life. It's the kind of rest that we
had set before us on Thursday when the pastor was speaking
from that 23rd psalm. And where do you see David in
that psalm? Well, he's in a place of rest,
isn't he? Lying down in green pastures,
walking beside the still waters, being led in the paths of righteousness.
And he says, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me. My cup runneth over. It's a place
of rest, a place of provision, a place of peace. There is a rest in this life
even in the midst of chaos. But ultimately it speaks of the
rest that there is above. When you read through that book
of Revelation and when you see the church at the end of time,
brought together into that new Jerusalem. What is it? It's a
place of rest, isn't it? In chapter 14, I heard a voice
from heaven, says John, saying unto me, Write, blessed are the
dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow
them. Heaven is a place of rest. Well, if that's true, it's not
surprising what we read about hell in that same chapter. When John sees the third angel, he says in chapter
14, verse 9, Revelation, the third angel followed them saying
with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast and his image
and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up for ever and ever. And they have no rest. And they
have no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast and his
image. and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. And Jesus,
he spoke of two ways, didn't he? And he only spoke of two
ways, a narrow way which leads to life, and that's this way.
The old path's the good way. Not the way of tradition only.
Not the way of just reading the right Bible and singing the right
hymns and wearing the right clothes and using the right language.
But the way of faith. The old path's the good way.
entering into Christ, walking in Him, believing on Him. That's
the narrow way. Walk therein, says the Lord,
and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will
not walk therein. The broad way is the attractive
way to the unregenerate man. It seems right. It seems more
logical. It's the way that everybody else
is in. but it's the way that leads to
a place where there is no rest, no rest for the soul. Thus saith
the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way? And walk therein, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. Well, may God bring us into that
good way and keep us in it, to that place of perfect rest for
the soul. Amen.