let us turn to God's Word and
we turn to that portion that we read in fact that last verse
the second portion that we read Jeremiah 45 and verse 5 and seekest
thou great things for thyself seek them not for behold I will
bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I
give unto thee for a prey in all places, whither thou goest. And seekest thou great things
for thyself, seek them not. For behold, I will bring evil
upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I give unto
thee for a prey in all places, whither thou goest. We did, in
fact, consider the worth of this text about 18 months ago the
earlier part of last year but I did feel very much drawn to
it again during this past week and there is of course such a
fullness in God's Word as we were thinking last Lord's Day
morning those words in Psalm 119.96 where we're reminded that God's
commandment is exceeding broad, what a breadth, what a depth
there is here in the Word of God. And oftentimes one preaches
a particular verse and then comes away and thinks, well, one had
hardly begun to scratch the surface of that part of Holy Scripture. There seemed to be so much more
that one had failed to realize or to appreciate. So I want us
to turn again to this particular text. I think the last time I
really concentrated more particularly on what's said at the end of
the verse, thy life will I give unto thee for a prey. Life given
for a prey. But the theme I really want to
try to address tonight concerns the person to whom this
word is spoken in particular. It's the word that Jeremiah the
prophet spoke unto Baruch, the son of Nariah, as we are told
in the opening verse. And the name Baruch means blessed. So the theme is that of the life
of Baruch, or the life of the blessed. And who is that one
who is the blessed? Surely it's the believer, and
so Really, the theme is that of the believer's life, the blessed
life of the believer. There is very much a contrast
again in this verse, as is so often the case, and we see it
in that little conjunction, but, in the middle of the verse. God said, Behold, I will bring
evil upon all flesh, but thy life will I give unto thee for
a prey in all places whither thou goest. We read then of evil upon all
flesh, that's not to be understood. In terms of moral evil it means
really calamity, catastrophe. God's judgments and God's judgments
in the earth and God's judgments upon the nations of the earth
upon the unbelievers. Of course, Jeremiah was minishing
at a time when God's judgment was very much coming upon the
kingdom of Judah. In fact, he lives through the
days of the assaults of the Babylonians as we saw in chapter 39 when Judah was eventually taken and
Jerusalem destroyed and the king Zedekiah blinded and taken away
into exile, all of that recorded there in chapter 39. But God's
judgments are spoken of more generally here in this book if
we turn to chapter 25 for example and the words that we find there
in verses 31 and 32 it speaks of God's judgments upon all the
nations verse 31 and all you shall come even to the ends
of the earth. For the Lord hath a controversy
with the nations, it says. He will plead with all flesh.
He will give them that are wicked to the swords, saith the Lord."
This is the word that the Prophet was to speak, not just a word
addressed to Judah, but his word was to the nations. Verse 30
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say
unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice
from his holy habitation. He shall mightily roar upon his
habitation. He shall give a shout, as they
that tread the graves, against all the inhabitants of the earth. against all the inhabitants of
the earth, and I shall come even to the ends of the earth. For the Lord hath a controversy
with the nations." That was true in the days of Jeremiah and surely,
surely we have to recognize in some measure that is true in
our day. And the confusion amongst all
the nations because of this virus we are made sometimes to wonder
just what is it that is taking place what is happening not just
in our own land but amongst all the nations of the earth you
know there are many various theories as to just what it is that is
taking place at this time and we remember that God's judgments
do begin at his own house the house of the Lords there in 1
Peter 4 verse 17 but we need to observe that there's a but
here in the text God will bring evil upon all
flesh but he says to Barak thy life will I give unto thee for
a prey we're not to think that God's judgments come upon his
people in any vindictive way that would really be to dishonor
the Lord Jesus we might even say to blaspheme the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ because he has borne that vindictive
wrath in his love not that we love
God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins What does that word propitiation
remind us of? It reminds us of the fact that
God has visited His wrath upon His only begotten Son. He has borne that vindictive
wrath of God against all the sins of His people. That's the
great work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished. And so when
He comes to the people of God Though God is dealing with all
the world, He is ever mindful of His people and with them.
In wrath He remembers mercy. And as the prophet Isaiah says,
He is that one who stayeth his wrath wind in the day of his
east wind. All God's dealings with us are
measured. There's equity in the ways in
which the Lord deals with His people. And we see it here with
regards to the life of this man Beorik. His name, Beorik, remember,
means blessed. What a blessed life. And it's
a blessed life of the believer, of the child of God. And I want
us, as we look at these words again this evening, to consider
some four headings. First of all, to see how it is
God who makes his people true seekers. He makes them true seekers. The opening words of the text,
And seekest thou great things for thyself, seek them not. We're not to be those who are
seeking great things. We're not to seek that we might
have a name and a reputation in the world. We're not to seek
to find our nest, as it were, in this world. We are to seek, but we're not
to seek the great things of the world, we're to seek those real
things. And those real things, of course,
are only found in the Lord God Himself. Because God is our Creator,
it is God who made us and God made man as you know this is
so familiar to us all we know how God made us he made us in
his image he created us after his likeness he made us for himself
and he was that great church father Augustine who said thou
hast made us for thyself our souls are restless till they
rest in thee all were to seek those real things in, those things
that can only fill the soul of man. We look not at the things
that are seen, but at the things which are not seen. The things
which are seen are temporal. The unseen things are the eternal
things. We have to do them with a God
who is the Eternal One. Seek ye first the Kingdom of
God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added
unto you says the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God that is to have the priority and we have the great promise
of God ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search after
me with all your heart if we would but seek. And again, the
words of the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. He tells
us, Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Everyone that asketh
receiveth. He that seeketh findeth. To him
that knocketh it shall be opened. How the Lord drives the message
home, repeats the words as it were. And what are these promises? They're all in the Lord Jesus
Christ and they're all J and they're all Amen. But are we
not told there is none that seeketh after God. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. Those words, recorded three times. Twice in the Psalms, Psalm 14,
Psalm 53, and then again in Romans chapter 3. Three times, that
threefold chord that is not easily broken. Not some vain repetition,
but the very Word of God. He tells us plainly there, Is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. That's why I say it is God who
makes his people first of all to be seekers. You remember only he that made
the world can make a Christian. A Christian is a miracle of grace. It's a great work that God does
in the soul of the sinner. It's a new creation, a new creature. And where does that new life begin to manifest itself? When there is seeking after God.
God makes his people to be seekers. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not. It is God who
must give life if there's going to be any seeking. And what does
the Lord God say here through His servant Jeremiah to Barak? Thy life will I give unto thee. Thy life will I give unto thee. Well of course that's true with
regards to our our natural physical life where does our life come
from? it's the gift of God God gave
us life and God is the one who also must
give us that spiritual life and it's a personal life, isn't it?
it's thy life that's what it says in the text thy life will I give unto thee. Only God can give any man spiritual
life. A man can receive nothing except
it is given him from heaven. That's where our life comes from,
that spiritual life that is in our souls. If we have any spiritual
life, it's a life of God. It's come from heaven. It's come
from Himself. Go and think of the words of
the Lord Jesus. There in John chapter 10, I give
unto them eternal life, he says. And they shall never perish.
No man is able to pluck them out of my hands. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
my Father's hands. What is he speaking of? He's
speaking of his own, his sheep. those that the Father had given
to Him in the eternal covenant. The Father gave them to the Son,
and what did the Son give to them? He gave unto them eternal
life. When the sinner is born again
of the Spirit of God, that life that comes into his soul, it
never dies. It's there even when the body
dies, because it's absent from the body, now present with the
Lord. Of His fullness of all we received,
it says, and grace for grace. And how all of this is given
to us so freely. So freely. We receive not the Spirit of
the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God, it says. They're
freely given. All to give is much, much more
than to sell or even to offer a thing. No,
God gives us something. He gives us eternal life and
that eternal life is in His Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Again,
the language that we have there in that 10th chapter of John
where Christ speaks of himself, of course, as the great shepherd
of the sheep. I am come, he says, that they
might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Oh, this is how the Lord gives
us life, by giving himself, by giving his own life. by making
that sin-atoning sacrifice in the room and in the stead of
his people by whom we have now received
the atonement, it says. Oh, this is the life. I am the
Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. And what do we receive? We receive
all the blessings that come by and through that great sin atoning
sacrifice we receive the atonement we were in a state of enmity
and alienation from God at one with God, reconciled to God what
was our condition by nature? we were by nature, by wicked
works far off from God in that state of alienation. But now through Christ and all
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, He's coming, He's living, He's
dying, He's rising again, we're reconciled to God. The language there in Romans
5.10, when we were enemies, it says, we were reconciled to God
by the death of His Son. much more being reconciled we
shall be saved by his life and not only so but we also joy in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received
the atonement. This is what the Lord God is
pleased to give to us. He gives that spiritual life, and that
spiritual life is evidenced by that true seeking after Him,
that calling upon Him, that crying to Him. Or do we possess these
evidences of the life of God in our souls? It is only the Lord who makes
us to differ. We don't make ourselves any different
to others. Think of the language of Paul
writing there in 1 Corinthians 4, 7, Who maketh thee to dither
from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive, if thou hast received it? Why dost thou, glorious,
if thou hadst not received it? It is that which the Lord himself
giveth. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not, For behold, I will bring evil
upon all flesh, for the Lord will deal with the unbelieving
nations. His judgments are abroad, but thy life will I give unto
thee. He has given us a life, a new
life, and that life centers in our Lord Jesus Christ. But what
does God do He certainly tries that life, and that's what we
see here. The life that is given is preyed upon. Thy life will I give unto thee
for a prey in all places whither thou goest, it says. A fascinating book, the book
of Jeremiah, isn't it? It's such a a remarkable account
of those events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and
the end of the kingdom, it would seem, taken away to exile. But God knew the end from the
beginning. And who were those who were to
be taken away and removed far, far from Jerusalem? It was those
who were the election of grace. Now we see that in what is recorded
previously in chapter 21 verses 8 and 9. Unto this people thou
shalt say, Thou saith the Lord, behold, I set before you the
way of life and the way of death. He that abideth in this city
that is, Jerusalem shall die by the swords, and by the famine,
and by the pestilence. But he that goeth out and falleth
to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life
shall be unto him for prayer. There's only death in the city.
God's elect are those who are going to be taken away into exile. But God's judgment is certainly
going to fall on the citizen. As we see here at verse 4 in
this 45th chapter, Thus shalt thou say unto him, unto Baruch,
The LORD saith thus, Behold, that which I have built will
I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up,
even this whole land. Destruction. And the godly remnant are those
who are taken away. and they feel their life is under
assault, they're being preyed upon continually. Now the interesting
thing is that Barak and Jeremiah were actually left behind. They were not amongst those who
were taken away. We see that in chapter 43. and verses 5 and 6 and 7. In fact, what happens with these
two is that they are removed into Egypt. They're taken into Egypt. Verse 7 of that 43rd chapter,
they came into the land of Egypt for they obeyed not the voice
of the Lord. Thus came they even to Tarpanes. And then in chapter 42 and verse
17, So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go
into Egypt to sojourn there. They shall die by the sword,
by the famine, and by the pestilence, and none of them shall remain
or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. How strange
are the Lord's ways because Surely these two men, Jeremiah and Barak,
who was a sort of amanuensis, he was like a secretary to the
prophets. He would write down the words
of the prophets and so forth. So what has God saying? Thy life
will I give unto thee for to pray in all places whither thou
goest, wherever he goes. Even if he's left in the land
where there's nothing but destruction, even if he goes into Egypt, of
which God has also spoken, terrible destructions. All places, whether
they're ghosts, wherever you are, whatever situation, whatever
circumstances, there's a life that is given, but it's a life
that is being continually preyed upon. Now, Is there not some
spiritual significance and some spiritual meaning to what we
have here? What were these men, Jeremiah
and Barak? They were strangers and they
were pilgrims on the earth. Are they not to be numbered amongst
those spoken of at the end of Hebrews 11? They wandered in
deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. And here they had no continuing
sitter. This was their lot. Not dissimilar to David's experience,
of course, when he was continually having to flee from the persecutions
of King Saul. And he cries out and says, my
soul is continually in my hand there in that 119th Psalm my
soul is continually in my hand it's under threat I might lose
a grip I might lose it all together it's so vulnerable and John Calvin
says of the whole book of Psalms that really it's an anatomy of
the soul Surely we understand that when
we read in the Book of Psalms. We do see that it's dealing with
soulish matters. It's dealing with the spiritual
lives of the people of God, and that's how we're to understand
it, that's how we're to interpret it. And isn't that the case here
when we read of the life that God gives to Barak? This blessed life! This new life,
this spiritual life, this new creation that God has given. Oh, it's far from easy, because
this life is under attack. There are many beasts of prey.
Again, the Psalmist cries out in Psalm 54, My soul is among
lions. And we observe it's a plural,
there are lions. Or there's a certain line that
is often spoken of in scripture, the devil. The devil is a roaring
lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And here he comes. Here he comes, how clever, how
subtle is that awful foe, the devil. Here he comes and he tempts,
and he tempts, and he tempts. And alas, we fall. And then he comes in
another guise, he's now not the tempter, he's the accuser of
the brethren. He accuses them day and night, he accuses them
before God, he accuses them in their own consciences. All these
poor souls, how he preys upon them continually. draws them
into sin, then turns accuser, shuts their mouths, they're confused. How can they ever come and speak
with God again? How can they really ever confess
their sins? They've confessed these sins so many times. What a foe is Satan! How he tempts! He tempted the Lord Jesus Christ. And now the Lord overcame all
his temptations. The Prince of this world cometh,
he says, and hath nothing in him. Though he might fire all
his fiery darts at the Saviour, for there was nothing that could
find in the Saviour. but it's our comfort that Christ
was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin he
understands what sore temptations mean himself felt the same touched
with the feeling of our infirmities all our sinless infirmities he
knows all those sinless infirmities there was no sin in him all but
now we have to learn obedience by all the things that he suffered
All this life, you see, it's given, it's preyed upon. The believer finds himself among
lions, not just Satan. There are other lions, aren't
there? There's the world, and all the allurements of the
world, why the world lies in the wicked one. And how many things are attractive
in the world, how our old nature wants to go the ways of the world,
Or do we not kid ourselves if we imagine that the world has
no attraction to us? It does. It suits our fallen
natures. Paul could speak of fightings. Without the fightings,
he says, within were fears. Or there are
fightings without. And then we look within and we're
full of fear. than God that he knows that and
he gives us so many fear nots. Why are there so many fear nots
in the word of God? Because God's people are such
a fearful people and the Lord knows it. But when we look within
there are so many fears, there's all that inward trouble. We have to cry out with the Apostle
in Romans 7, I know that in my, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth
no good thing. Well, he doesn't know how to
perform the thing that is good, he sees it, but he can't perform
it because he has an old nature. Oh, wretched man that I am, who's
going to deliver me from the body of this death? You're familiar
with that great 7th chapter of Romans. and the inwards trials
and troubles of the apostle and do we not know something of them
we have doubts if we have real faith doesn't mean we're going
to be free from doubts no, the devil will come and he'll
cause us to question the reality of that faith he'll even fill
our minds with Infidelity at times will question everything,
will question the very being of God. Some have been beset
by such awful black atheistic thoughts. There are many inward troubles
that God's people have to endure. There's that covetousness, that
worldliness. Paul felt it, didn't he, when
he says there in that seventh chapter of Romans that his heart
was full of all evil desire the commandment that caught him really
was the tenth I shall not covet and he saw that his heart was
full of covetousness, desire evil desire, concupiscence an
old-fashioned word but now it rolls off the tongue it's there
isn't it with us we're full of it If the righteous scarcely be
saved, where shall the ungodly appear?
We read in Peter. If the righteous scarcely be
saved. Who are the righteous? That's
the Lord's people. He's not speaking of the self-righteous.
He's speaking of those who are righteous because they're justified. They have upon them the righteousness
of Christ, the Lord is their righteousness. And yet, Peter
says that they are scarcely saved. Now what does that mean? Well I like the remark of Richard
Sibbes, one of the Puritans. He says of that word scarcely
saved, that it's not a word of doubt. It's not a word of doubt, because
once they are saved, they are saved forever. Once they have
received that eternal life, it can never die. I give unto them
eternal life, says the Lord, they shall never perish. No man
can pluck them out of my hand. If this life is given, though
this life is preyed upon, it can never be destroyed. scarce
decide is not a word of doubt but says the Puritan it is a
word of difficulty it's a word of difficulty what it means is
that the believer cannot avoid trials, troubles setbacks, problems,
difficulties we cannot avoid them the trial of your faith
being much more precious than of gold, though it be tried with
fire, is found, it's found, it endures, it's ever been the case
with God's people. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial that is to try you as though some
strange thing happened unto you. No, God is faithful. He will
not allow that his people be tried above what they are able,
with the temptation he makes a way of escape that they can
bear it. Look at the word that we have
in Zechariah 3 and verse 8. It says, Therefore wait ye upon
me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise upon the proud. Oh, we have to wait upon the
Lord our God, and He will rise in His day upon the pride. Oh, that great foe will not overcome us,
the Lord will overcome Him. That's what it's saying there
in Zechariah 3.8, the Lord will overcome all the foes of His
people. What are His people to do? they
are to pray, they are prayed upon and what is their response? they pray, they call upon God,
they cry to the God who is the God of deliverances who delivered
us from so great a death who doth deliver in whom we trust
he will yet deliver us says Paul there in the opening chapter
of 2nd Corinthians he is the God of deliverances past, present,
future I will surely deliver them. That's what the Lord says
to those who are preyed upon. We read that 39th chapter also,
and there at the end of that chapter He concerns another man,
Ebed-Melech. Jeremiah was told go and speak
to Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian. And what does God say through
His servant the prophet, verse 18, I will surely deliver thee,
and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be
for a prey unto thee, because thou hast put thy trust in me,
saith the Lord. Oh, there is God's promise of
deliverance. there is God's promise of deliverance.
And what is the time of that promise? Well, in that 39th chapter,
it was in that day. Verse 17, I will deliver thee
in that day, saith the Lord, and they shall not be given into
the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. What was the day? Well, it's the day of the actual
fall of the Sitter, as we saw in those opening verses of chapter
39. In the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month
came Nebuchadrezzar, sometimes he's called Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, and all his army against Jerusalem. They besieged
it, and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month,
the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. It's
sieged for about 18 months or more and then it falls and all
the princes of the King of Babylon came in and sat in the middle
gate. We're told who they were and the city has fallen. But the promise is that in that
day, in that day of great calamity, it's the day of the captivity. It's a day of darkness. It's
a day of desolation. It's a day of destruction. Lord, it's that very day that
He's being spoken of here in verse 4 of chapter 45. What He's
got about? Behold, that which I have built
will I break down, that which I have planted I will pluck up.
Even this whole land, this is the promised land. And God is
going to take them out of that land of promise. Oh, it's an awful day then, darkness,
desolation, destruction, and yet, and yet it's the day of
deliverance. It's the day of deliverance to
Ebed-Melech. I will deliver thee, he says,
in that day. But remember when we When we
read of the day in this fashion here in the Old Testament prophecies,
we're to think of a much greater day. That day, we're to think of the
last day, we're to think of the gospel day, we're to think of
the day of grace, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
think about all that transpired at the end of that life that
he lived. And that awful death that he
had to die, oh what a day was that! When Christ made the great
sin-atoning sacrifice, it seemed that all the powers of darkness
had prevailed. And this one that his disciples
looked to as the promised Messiah, the Christ, thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God. That was the confession of Peter
there at Caesarea Philippi. It's all gone now. But in that
very day when he died, why did he not vanquish all the powers
of darkness? O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, the
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has answered
all the demands of that holy, righteous, just Lord of God.
He has made the great sin-atoning sacrifice. All the time of God's
promise. And that promise centering in
our Lord Jesus Christ, all the promises of God in Him are yea,
and in Him are men. The time of God's promise there.
We see it there in that 17th verse of chapter 39, to a man
whose life was given to him for a prey, I will deliver thee.
You feel sometimes as if your whole life is being preyed upon.
And it's likely to be destroyed. Well, he can't be destroyed.
I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord, and thou shalt
not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. but not only the time of God's
promise but also there we see the truth of God's promise because he repeats himself in
verse 18 for I will surely deliver them and they shall not fall
by the sword but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee In delivering, I will deliver
thee. That's what we have as the alternative reading in
the margin. That's the literal Hebrew really. I will surely deliver thee we
have in the text. In delivering, I will deliver
thee. And that's not thy repetition.
That's the word of God. God is not a man that he should
lie nor the son of man that he should repent. As he said it,
shall he not do it? As he spoken it, shall he not
make it good? But I do like the way in which
it's declared here in the actual text. I will surely deliver them. Because surely contains the idea
of God's oath. when God made promise to Abram,
remember, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. Oh, he said he would bless and
he stakes his very being as God upon the performance of that
word of promise. He magnifies his word above all
his name. I will surely deliver thee that's
the truth of his promise confirmed by God's oath sealed
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and coming back to Baruch oh this man, this blessed man
this blessed man this man who has the life of God in his soul
that's indestructible. This man who is a true seeker
after God, not seeking the great things of this world, but seeking
first God's kingdom and His righteousness. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not. For behold, I
will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life
will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
the blessed man that's the believer or what a life is that then that
God has put into the souls of all his children they are the
favorites of heaven if God has given to us that eternal life
which is in his son Jesus Christ our Lord what then have we to
fear he will preserve us close by directing you to the words
of the Psalmist there in the 124th Psalm. Verse 6 following, Blessed be
the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers,
The snare is broken and we are escaped. Our help is in the name
of the Lord who made heaven and earth. May the Lord bless his
word to us. Let us conclude our worship today
as we sing hymn 960 and the tune is Walton 430. By faith in Christ I walk with
God, with heaven my journey's end in view, supported by His
staff and rod, my road is safe and pleasant too. Though snares
and dangers throng my path and earth and how my course withstand,
I triumph over all by faith, guarded by His almighty hand. 960, 2, 430