Break not thy covenant with us

Q: What does the Bible say about God's covenant with His people?

The Bible teaches that God cannot break His covenant; it is a reflection of His unchanging nature as seen in Malachi 3:6. God's covenant with His people is an assurance of His faithfulness, which He affirms in scriptures such as Malachi 3:6, declaring, 'I am the LORD, I change not.' This steadfastness in covenantal love means that despite the rebellion and formalism of His people, God remains committed to His promises. In Jeremiah 14:21, the prophet pleads, 'Remember, break not thy covenant with us,' highlighting the understanding that while human unfaithfulness exists, divine faithfulness prevails. God made a covenant with Israel to be their God and they His people, establishing a relationship that is both personal and corporate, where His promises find ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Thus, we can trust in God's covenant, knowing it cannot be broken.

Q: How do we know that God hears our prayers?

Scripture assures us that God listens to the prayers of His people, as evidenced in Jeremiah's plea in Chapter 14. God's willingness to hear our prayers is a profound aspect of His covenant relationship with His people. Jeremiah 14:21 illustrates this as the prophet cries out, 'Do not abhor us for thy name's sake,' indicating that our pleas are significant before God. Throughout scripture, from the merciful response to the cries of His people to the assurance of His listening ear in the New Testament, we find that God invites us into communion with Him through prayer. The reality of Jesus as our High Priest further strengthens this assurance; 'Let us come boldly to the throne of grace,' invites us to approach God with confidence. Therefore, we can be reassured that our prayers are not empty words but are heard by a God who is intimately involved in the lives of His people.

Q: Why is understanding the mercy seat important for Christians?

The mercy seat symbolizes God's presence and is fulfilled in Christ, making it essential for understanding God's grace towards us. The mercy seat, located in the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, represents God's presence among His people and the place where atonement occurs. In Exodus 25, God promises to meet His people there, highlighting its significance in the covenant relationship. This concept becomes integral for Christians as it is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, who serves as our ultimate mercy seat (Romans 3:25). His sacrificial death on the cross satisfies divine justice and allows us to approach God confidently. Understanding the mercy seat reveals the richness of God's grace and mercy, affirming that through Christ, we have access to the throne of grace where we can find help and comfort in our time of need. Thus, the mercy seat's significance transcends the Old Testament and is foundational to New Testament faith.

Q: What does it mean for God to reign from His throne?

God's throne symbolizes His sovereignty and authority, which is a source of comfort and security for believers. God reigning from His throne signifies His supreme authority over all creation, ensuring that nothing happens outside of His divine plan. In Jeremiah 17:12, it refers to God as 'a glorious high throne from the beginning'—indicating that His reign has no beginning and no end, which instills hope for His people. The throne, depicted in imagery throughout scripture, represents not just authority, but also His intimate involvement in the lives of His people, assuring them that He is in control. This sovereignty brings comfort, reminding believers that despite worldly chaos, God is unwavering in His purpose and promise. As we understand His reign from His throne, we recognize the peace and security that comes from being under His lordship, even amid trials.

Q: How should we approach God in prayer according to Jeremiah?

We should approach God in humility, acknowledging our sins and seeking His mercy, as modeled by Jeremiah's prayer. Jeremiah's prayer in Jeremiah 14:21 serves as a model for how we should come before God—humbly and earnestly. He pleads, 'Do not abhor us for thy name's sake; remember, break not thy covenant with us,' highlighting the need to acknowledge our position before a holy God. True prayer involves recognizing our sins and the need for God's mercy. The scriptural call to approach God with a contrite heart resonates with David's confession in Psalm 51. Furthermore, as Jesus taught us to pray, we are invited to invoke God's name, relying on Christ as our access point to the Father. Our prayer life should reflect an understanding that we come to God not based on our merit but on His grace, seeking His intervention and guidance in our lives.

Let us turn to God's word and
turning again to that chapter that we read in the 14th of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 14 and calling your attention to
verse 21. Do not abhor us for thy name's sake. Do not disgrace the throne of
thy glory Remember, break not thy covenant with us. Jeremiah's prayer. Although Jeremiah's
prayer, it's a prayer in which, of course, he is instructing
the people. Verse 17, Therefore thou shalt
say this word unto them. that was the command of God and
so the words that follow are spoken by the Prophet unto the
people and he is instructing them with regards to the manner
in which they are to come before God with their confessions and
with their prayers and yet not long previously as we see God
had been telling the Prophet not to pray for this people. Verse 11, Then said the Lord
unto me, Pray not for this people for their goods. How can we reconcile
that particular word, that commandment, with what God is saying here
at verse 17 following? Well, the reference in verse
11 is really to external things. There are certain things that
God had determined that he would do, and it would be a vain thing
for the prophet to pray against God's purpose. Look at what he says in verse
12, when they fast, I will not hear their cry, and when they
offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them, but I
will consume them, by the sword and by the famine and by the
pestilence. It would not be profitable, it
would be a vain thing then if the profit was to pray for these
people in respect to what God had determined. He had determined
that they would fall before the Babylonians. There could be no
deliverance from the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. And the people
were to be taken, of course, into exile. But God had also
determined that he would send this terrible death, this great
famine upon them. And it would therefore be a vain
thing to seek that that should also be reversed. He's not to
pray then with regards to these particular things, external things.
But that doesn't mean he's not to pray at all. And here in the
words which we've read as a text, we see that his prayer is very
much a spiritual prayer. Do not abhor us for thy name's
sake. Do not disgrace the throne of
thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant
with us. We know that God could not, God
certainly would never break his covenant He would do the thing
that had proceeded out of his mouth, but God will have his
people come and pray for him. And so I want us to consider
this particular aspect of the prayer of the Prophet as we have
it set before us in this verse. And first of all, to consider
what we to understand by the throne of God's glory. Do not
disgrace the throne of thy glory. He says in the prayer, what is
the throne of God's glory? It is of course, or was then,
the mercy seat. Remember how God had given instruction
and direction to Moses with regards to the tabernacle and all the
furniture of the tabernacle and particularly in regards to the
holy of holies there was to be the place where they kept the
Ark of the Covenant, that Ark, that box containing the two tables
of the Law, the Covenant that God had made with the children
of Israel at Mount Sinai. And as they placed those tables
in the Covenant, so upon the Covenant there was to be that
covering which was called the Mercy Seat. and it was to be
housed there in the Holy of Holies and God promised that he would
come and he would meet with his people. He would make that covering
a mercy seat. It would be his throne and there
he would sit enthroned in the midst of Israel. We have the directions concerning
the Ark and the Mercy Seat in Exodus 25. And then this promise
with regards to the mercy seat, verse 22, And there I will meet
with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy
seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the
testimony of all things which I will give thee in commandment
unto the children of Israel. It was a remarkable thing, the
mercy seat. It was exactly the same measurement
as the ark, it was a perfect covering. And of course the ark
contained the tables of the law, that law that condemns the sinner,
that the mercy seat was the covering, the law is covenant. And remember
how on the great day of atonement, Yom Kippur, It was the high priest
who was to go into the Holy of Holies. It was the only occasion
throughout the whole year when the high priest could venture
beyond that vial and go into the Holy of Holies before God,
as it were, and he was to take the blood of sacrifice and he
was to sprinkle the blood before the mercy seat and upon the mercy
seat. How it speaks to us of the Lord
Jesus Christ and that perfect satisfaction that Christ has
given to the Holy Lord of God. Christ is that one who was made
of a woman and made under the law and being under the law he
has honoured and magnified that law. He has satisfied it in respect
to all its terrible penalties. He has borne the punishment that
was the desert of his people. He has suffered the curse of
the law for him by his dying, but he has also honoured the
law in respect to all its precepts. He has obeyed it. He is the end
of the law for righteousness. But all that mercy, it sets before
us the Lord Jesus Christ, does he not? And here we see it is
God's throne in the midst of his people, the throne of God's
glory. And how in their worship, the
children of Israel, they were very mindful of these things.
We just sang in the mythical version, the opening verses of
the 80th Psalm, and see how there they are to plead with God in
respect to Him shining forth before or from the mercy seat. Ye hear, O Shepherd of Israel,
thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, thou that dwellest between
the cherubims. God dwells between the cherubims.
He dwells upon the mercy seat. And what is their petition? Shine
forth. Shine forth before Ephraim and
Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up thy strength and come
and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause
thy face to shine. and we shall be saved. How they plead with God then,
that he would give ear, that he would come and that he would
appear for his people. Again in the 99th Psalm we have
mention of God who dwells between the cherubims. Remember on each
end of the mercy seat there were cherubims. Psalm 99, the Lord
reigneth, let the people tremble. He sitteth between the cherubims. Let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion, and
He is high above all the people. Let them praise Thy great and
terrible name, for it is holy." Here then we see the throne of
God's glory. This is the prayer. Do not disgrace
the throne of thy glory. Oh, it sets before us all that
God himself is. He fills the throne. And so later
in the 17th chapter and verse 12 we have this statement of
glorious. High throne from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary. God's throne was there then in
the midst of Israel. It was the mercy seat that was
there in the tabernacle and then subsequently of course we know
in the days of King Solomon there was the building of the temple. God was to have a permanent dwelling
place, no more living as he were in a movable tent, a tabernacle. But the glory of the temple was
the same as the glory of the tabernacle, it was God's throne.
It was God's presence that made the temple so glorious. And we have the record in the
books of the Kings concerning Solomon and the prayer that he
prayed there at the dedication of that temple of the Lord in
the sixth chapter of the first book of the Kings. Verse 11 The word of the Lord
came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in
building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments,
and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I
perform my word with thee which I spoke unto David thy father,
and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake
my people Israel. So Solomon built the house and
finished it. God, as he had dwelt there in
the tabernacle in the Holy of Holies, enthroned upon the mercy
seat, so he says, with regard to the temple he will come again.
I will dwell among the children of Israel. He would sit enthroned. Here then we have reference to
God's throne. It was the glory of the temple. And the temple of course was
the glory of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is being assaulted
by the Babylonians. What are the people to do? Here
is the prayer then of the prophets. The man of God, do not abhor
us for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant. And what was the attitude of
the people to this building to this temple and to the throne
of God that was there in the midst of the temple. Well, we
see the vain formalism of so many of the people in the days
of the prophet Jeremiah. I deliberately read those opening
verses in chapter 7 because we see that many have nothing but
a formal religion. Here is the prophet and he is
commanded by God to go and stand in the gate of the Lord's house,
the gate of the temple. And he is to proclaim a particular
word to those who are going into the gates to worship the Lord.
And what is he to say to them? Trust ye not in lying words,
saying the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord are these. Here is a vain religion, they
think that all must be well, why? Because they have God's
temple in their midst. Had not God promised that he
would dwell there in the midst of his people? Was he not seated
there upon the mercy seat in the oracle? The holy place in
Solomon's temple. How many, you see, have but a
vain and superstitious religion afore? He sang that hymn of John
Berridge's just now in the opening of our worship, with solemn weekly
state, The world entreads thy court, contented see thy gate,
and such as there is ought. But ah, what is the house to
me unless the master? I can see. Is that our desire
as we come? Yes, it's good that we see one
another. It's good to be in company one with the other. We're not
to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But is this
our desire that we might meet with the Lord? We want to meet
with Him. We want the Lord Himself to be amongst us. We want the
Lord to come and make Himself known to us and to manifest Himself
as He does manifest Himself in the world. We want to hear the
voice of the Lord Jesus Christ as that one who comes, who speaks,
and we come here because we believe that Christ himself is enthroned. He is king in Zion. Or is it
just a form? Or the vanity, you see, of their
religion. They thought all must be well.
Why? We have a form. We have good, sound articles
of faith. We don't despise that. It's good
to have sound articles of faith. But we're not to put our trust
in these things. We're not to think, ah, but our worship is
that, that we seek to properly regulate from the word of God,
we believe in the regulative principle, we don't seek to introduce
any strange things into our worship. Is this where you put our confidence?
We don't despise a good form. But we read of those in the New
Testament having a form of godliness and denying the power thereof.
We want to know something of the power of these things. We
want to know that ours is a real religion. It's something that
has been brought in our souls by God. We want God Himself to
come. We want Him actually to come and to be enthroned in our
hearts and to rule and reign over us. We want to know Him
by faith. Or they vainly said, you see,
three times, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord are these. But what do they know of real
faith? What do we know of real faith?
And what is that real faith? Is there not with faith something
of ebbing and flowing? Is there not that that is going
out and coming in? Is it not a strange course that
the Christian has to steer in this world? He knows many changes. In another of the Psalms, remember
how David speaks of those who have no changes. And those who
have no changes, they fear not God. God sees, you see, that we need
to be constantly instructed by Him, constantly made to feel
our need of Him. All the formalist wants to know
is pleasant things. Pleasant things. It's interesting
how we see Jeremiah having to speak against false prophets.
There were false prophets as well as the true prophets of
the Lord. And the people loved to hear the message of the false
prophets. And in chapter 23 we have an
interesting statement. It's in the margin. It's always
interesting to consult the marginal readings. There at verse 31 in
chapter 23, Behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord,
that use their tongues and say he saith. They use their tongues
and they say he, that is God saith. But we are told in the
margin that the Hebrew is literally that they smooth their tongues. They smoothed their tongues.
That's how they used their tongues. They smoothed their tongues.
What did the false prophets do? They spoke smooth things. They
were saying to the people just the sort of things that they
wanted to hear. Look at verse 13 in this chapter
then. It said, I are Lord God Behold the prophets, that is
the false prophets, say unto them, ye shall not see the sword,
neither shall ye have famine, but I will give you assured peace
in this place. This is what they say, you see,
they fall in with this idea, the temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. Others, they encourage,
the people in their vain confidences, in their formal religion. You're
not going to have any trouble, you're safe, you're going to
have peace in Jerusalem. Verse 14, Then the Lord said
unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them
not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them.
They prophesy unto you a false vision, and a divination, and
a thing of naught. and the deceit of their own hearts. Or there are false prophets.
Let us recognise that, friends. We have to be those who would
discern, discern the spirit, because many false spirits have
gone out into the world. That's in the New Testament.
John tells us that in his first epistle, does he not? We have
to make judgement. It's not wrong to make judgement.
We're not to be judgemental. But we are to be discerning,
we are to recognise that not all who stand up in the name
of the Lord and those who want to say smooth things and pleasant
things, we are not to conclude that these, because they have
such a gentle message to speak, are necessarily the servants
of the Lord. You see, there was no fear of
God forsaking the nation with these people. This is why Jeremiah
has to instruct them as he does here at verse 17 following. Therefore they shall say thus,
they shall say this word unto them. What is the word when it
follows in these verses? Verse 19, As thou utterly rejected
Judah, they asked God, or they are to ask God, hath thy soul
loathed Zion? Why is there smitteness and there
is no healing for us? We look for peace and there is
no good and for the time of healing and behold trouble. We acknowledge,
O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquities of our fathers for
we have sinned against them. All there is to be that acknowledgement,
that confession before God. We can't be at ease. Woe to them
that are at ease in Zion. These who are at ease, these
who are saying the temple of the Lord, all are so wrong, there's
no safety there, that's false. That's a false security. Here is our safety when we come
and we acknowledge our sins, and make our confessions, and
ask the Lord's pardon, ask His forgiveness. dead formalism,
false security. All this is so dangerous, so
unprofitable. And yet that's what we see. This
is the religion that Jeremiah is having to contend against
in his time. Look at what he says in chapter
7 and verse 8. Behold, he says, he trusts in
lying words that cannot profit. Lying words that cannot profit. What is God's word? How God's
word comes to us often times as a mighty word. Or what authority
there is in the word of God. He says in a later chapter here,
is not my word like as a fire set the Lord, and like a hammer
that breaketh the rocks in policing? Doesn't God need to come to his
people if he's going to deliver us from every false way? He needs to come and he needs
to break our hard hearts. That's what we need. We need
hard hearts to be broken. We need God's word to come to
us sometimes, just like that, as a hammer, breaking the rocks
in pieces. We need to know something of
conviction. If we would know the consolations
of the Gospel, we must first be convinced of our sins. The
Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is the great prophet, the greatest
of all the prophets, what was his calling? Well, he tells us
that he came, not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Not to call the self-righteous
one, not to call those who are but formerly, to have a form
who can say the temple of the Lord. He doesn't come to call
these. He comes to call sinners. We have to learn that. Here in
the words of verse 20, we acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the
iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against them.
Not the smooth words of false preachers. But that word that
comes as a fire, and as a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces. When we have that experience,
it doesn't end there. It doesn't end there. That is but the Lord beginning
to teach his people, there will be comforts. The Gospel, you see, is suited
to sinners. And it's that sinner who is awakened
to his sinnership who is the sacred thing. It's the work of
the Holy Ghost in a man's soul. And he sees that he needs not
a formal religion. Oh no, he needs a real religion.
And so let us move on to consider this also the faith of God's
elect. What we have here in the words
of our text tonight, friends, is the prayer of faith. Or can we take up such words
as the Prophet? Do not abhor us. For thy name's
sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. Remember, break
not thy covenant. Oh, it is time for God to abide.
They have made void His laws. They have made void His covenant. It's time for God Himself to
work. The glorious high throne from
the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. That throne of
God's glory, that is the place of our sanctuary. The life of
faith, the fight of faith, does he not involve us in having to
come before the Lord and pray such words as we find here in
Jeremiah. Why are these things written?
We don't just come to the book of Jeremiah or any of the Old
Testament prophecies and simply consider them as historical. We want to enter in some measure
into the spiritual significance of them. Surely we do. And why
are they written? They are written for our learning.
They are written so that we through patience or endurance and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope. We want to draw from them
some profitable instruction. Here is Jeremiah and he is surrounded
by so much vanity, so much formalism. There are so many false teachers
and false prophets and the people are running after them. And he
is almost overwhelmed. And he comes at times almost
to despair of any help. What will the end be? Look at
the way in which he speaks here at verse 17. Let mine eyes run
down with tears. This is how he is to speak to
the people. Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people
is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. If
I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword. And if I enter into the city,
then behold them that are sick with famine. Yea, both the prophet
and the priest go about into a land that they know not, that
is, into exile. The land that they know not,
they're being taken, they're being transported, they're going
into captivity and there he grieves. Jeremiah, he is the weeping prophet,
is he not? And he's almost overwhelmed.
Ah, but then you say, he rejoices in the unchangeableness
of his God. That's what he's doing, he's
rejoicing in God. He pleads with God here, do not
abhor us, do not disgrace thy throne, do not forsake us. And when we turn to those words,
we've already referred to those words in chapter 17, and there at verse 12, but the following
verse is also a glorious high throne from the beginning is
the place of our sanctuary, O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that
forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me
shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the
LORD, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O LORD, and
I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be saved,
for Thou art my praise." Oh, how real this man is! And how
real is his faith and his trust in God. It's born, you see, out
of great grief and many sorrows
as he views the sin all around him as he feels himself to be
overcome by those things that he is witnessing. O do not abhor
us, for thy name's sake do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant. What changes? This man knows
it. But in all of this we see that his faith is such a real
faith. It's a real faith. It's not just
a mental ascent to certain propositions in scripture. It's a life of
God. Deep in the heart it lies, it
lives, it labours on the low though damp. It never dies. It's a real faith. And he knows that. The Lord is
teaching him, the Lord is instructing him. The Lord is sifting him
and searching him. Those words that he speaks are
words that he has proved to himself. Remember how he goes on to speak
in that 17th chapter, the heart he says is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked who can know it. I the Lord search
the heart, I try the reins. When Jeremiah speaks that word,
it's not just that God is, as it were, dictating the word to
him and he repeats the word and he has no feeling of the things
that he's declaring, he has proved that. He knows something of his
own heart and that he's sick of his own heart. But he knows
also that the Lord is that one who is searching him and trying
him. and instructing him. This is the same faith as all
the gods, the same faith as we see in that good king Hezekiah. All remember Hezekiah's prayer
in Isaiah 38, when he had been sick and was recovered from his
sickness. By these things men live, he
says, and in all these things is the life of my Spirit. by all that he had to pass through
when it seemed it was previous, of course, to the days of Jeremiah
when the great empire was that of the Assyrians and the northern
kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians and here are
the Assyrians now at the gates of Jerusalem and is Jerusalem
going to fall? And here is that great general He comes with a message from
Nebuchadnezzar. He is torching the men upon the
walls of Jerusalem. But it seems that Christ is hopeless. And yet God appeared and there
was a glorious deliverance. The city did not fall to the
Assyrians. But then the king is sick. And he's told he's going
to die and not live. That's the message of Isaiah
the prophet and he turns his face to the wall and he cries.
And God hears his prayer and before ever the prophet has left
the court, God sends him back. God's going to add 15 years to
his life. By these things men live. But
it's the same faith that we see in Jeremiah. He seems at times
to be utterly overwhelmed He is despairing of the situation
that he finds himself in. So few will accept his message
or believe his message. They follow the false prophets
and their smooth talk. Or they have a formal religion,
they can look and they can see all these beautiful buildings,
the temple of the Lord, the throne of God, there in the midst of
the temple, surely all is going to be well. That's what they
think. And yet, Jeremiah knows something
different, God has spoken to him, God has made it plain to
him, and now there is a great dirt upon the land, and there
is death all around him. But what does he do? In the midst
of all these things we see the reality of his faith. There is
here then the cry of faith. Do not abhor us, he says. for thy name's sake. Do not disgrace
the throne of thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant
with us." Now can God disgrace His throne? Can God really disgrace
His throne? Or can God break His covenant? Of course He cannot do these
things. That's an impossibility. 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 spoke and it shall he not make it good
that's the God that we have to deal with he cannot disgrace
his throne that is himself he cannot deny himself he is God and he is the God of
the covenant I am the Lord he says In Malachi 3 verse 6, I
am the LORD and as you know there it's LORD in capitals, it's a
covenant name, it's Jehovah, it's the God of the covenant.
I am the LORD, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. He will not break His covenant. He cannot break His covenant.
Nor can He disgrace the throne of His glory. But Jeremiah, oh, Jeremiah is
much cast out. What has the Lord said to him?
Verse 11. Pray not for this people for
their good. What a word to receive from the
Lord. Pray not. for these people for their good. Remember that Moses was found
in similar circumstances to this when he was there in the mount
40 days and 40 nights and they grew weary and they
asked Aaron his brother to make golden calf, a representative
of God. They would worship God, but they'd
worship him by means of the golden calf. It was sort of syncretism,
it was idolatry mixed in with the worship of God, the worst
sort of religion. They're worshipping God, but
they're worshipping him with an idol. And Moses was sent down,
remember, from the mountain. God said how he would disinherit
these sinful people. He would dissolve them. He would
cast them off. There in Exodus chapter 32. In Exodus chapter 32 at verse
10 and the following few verses.
We see how God speaks to Moses, Therefore let me alone, that
my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume
them, and I will make of thee a great nation. Moses is going to be made a great
nation. But Moses doesn't want that. Moses besought the Lord
his God and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy
people which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians
speak and say, for mischief did he bring them out to slay them
in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?
Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repents of this evil against
thy people, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel thy servants,
to whom thou swearest by thine own self, and sayest unto them,
I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all
this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed,
and they shall inherit it for ever. Oh, what a prayer! and the Lord repented of the
evil which he thought to do unto his people but then again you see at the
end verse 31 Moses returned unto the Lord and said all these people
have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold yet now
if they will forgive their sin and if not like me I pray that
out of thy book which thou hast written. Remarkable works. He
doesn't seek his own glory. He seeks the good of the people.
He stands in the breach. He pleads for them. There are these similarities
between these saints of God and these things left upon record
here in the Scriptures. God would have cast them off,
but Moses pleads for them. And here God says to the prophet,
pray not for these people. Now as I say, as I've said already,
he's not to pray against what God had determined in the way
of the girth, the famine, in the way of the Babylonians falling
upon them. But he doesn't stop praying altogether
for them, he does pray. Oh, and how this man prays, the
cry of his faith in the words of the text tonight. He pleads
with God. Do not abhor us, he says. And he has confidence in God.
Not just the cry of faith that we see in Jeremiah, it's also
the confidence of faith. He goes on to say, remember in
that 17th chapter, a glorious high throne from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary. Oh, God will not disgrace the
throne of His glory. It's a place of real safety and
real security. The throne of God's glory. But
what is the throne of God's glory? Now, as we've said already, we
have to understand it in terms of the mercy seat. The mercy
seat that was there in the tabernacle, Exodus 25, where God said He
would come and make himself known in the
midst of Israel. And when the temple was built,
1 Kings 6 again, God promised his presence there in the midst.
The mercy seat. It's a seat, it's a throne, it's
the throne of God's glory. It's the throne of grace, the
mercy seat, the throne of grace, they are one and the same. But
you know when we come to the New Testament we see that that
mercy seat is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ is it not? in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse
5 we have mention of the mercy seat as Paul is speaking of the
furnishings of the tabernacle he speaks of the mercy seat and
he uses a word a particular word that he uses on just one other
occasion in the New Testament. In Hebrews 9.5 that word is rendered
mercy seat but it's used again in Romans 3.23 where Paul is
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and he says to him, God has set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. But the word
propitiation in Romans 3.25 is in fact exactly the same word
that rendered mercy seat in Hebrews 9.5. And it's only two occasions,
those two occasions where that particular word is used in all
of the New Testament. You see the Lord Jesus Christ
is the mercy seat. Remember what we said concerning
the mercy seat and the day of atonement, how the high priest
was to come with the blood of sacrifice and to sprinkle it
upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. It's the place
of atonement. It's the throne of God and here
is God now and God's holiness and God's justice are satisfied. Here is the sprinkling of the
blood of sacrifice. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
that one who has made the great sacrifice. He is the one who
is the propitiation for our sins. He is all that we see typified
in the mercy suit. This is how we are to come then
before God and to plead with God. We are to plead for thy
name's sake, it says. Do not abhor us for thy name's
sake. In our prayers we must always
invoke the name. And what name? We must invoke
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must look to Him. We must
even look to Him as that One who is truly our Mercy Seat. Do not disgrace the throne of
thy glory. Or God will not And he cannot
disgrace the throne of his glory, that is Christ. That is Christ. And it is to Christ that we are
to come, is it not? We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. We are told
but was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help. Here is the place
of safety, the glorious high throne from the beginning, the
place of our sanctuary. Break not thy covenant. Isn't
the Lord Jesus Christ the messenger of the covenant? Isn't the Lord
Jesus Christ the great testator who has shed his blood? He sealed
his covenant with blood, the testament is in force. Oh God,
we'll not break that covenant. Or with what confidence is Jeremiah
able to come to his God when he comes by and through Him who is Christ? Do not abhor us
for thy name's sake. Do not disgrace the throne of
thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant
with us. Are there any among the vanities
of the Gentiles that can cause rain, or can the heavens give
showers? Art not thou His? O Lord our
God, therefore, we will wait upon Thee, for Thou hast made
all these things. O God, grant to us that confidence
of faith, for His name's sake. Amen.

Break not thy covenant with us

What does the Bible say about God's covenant with His people?

How do we know that God hears our prayers?

Why is understanding the mercy seat important for Christians?

What does it mean for God to reign from His throne?

How should we approach God in prayer according to Jeremiah?

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Break not thy covenant with us

What does the Bible say about God's covenant with His people?

How do we know that God hears our prayers?

Why is understanding the mercy seat important for Christians?

What does it mean for God to reign from His throne?

How should we approach God in prayer according to Jeremiah?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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