But let us turn to the short
chapter that we've just read in Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter
45. And I want us to look in particular at the end of the
chapter in verse 5, part of the words that Jeremiah is commanded
by the Lord to speak to Barak the son of Lariah. 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 to pray in all places without thou
goest." This man, Barak, was obviously very close to the Prophet. He served him as a sort of amanuensis
or a scribe as we see from what's recorded here in the opening
verse the words that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch
the son of Nariah when he had written these words in a book
at the mouth of Jeremiah. He wrote Jeremiah's words in
a book we're told and it was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah that he wrote those things down
so if we just turn back a few chapters we have the detail concerning
the particular incident that's being referred to there in chapter
36 It came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of
Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from
the Lord, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein
all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and
against Judah, and against all the nations from the day that
I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah even unto this day. and then at verse 4 we read how
Jeremiah called Barak the son of Nariah and Barak wrote from
the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had
spoken unto him upon a roll of a book he wrote down then the
words of the prophet but he did more than that we read how he
also read what he had written in verse 10 there in that 36th
chapter then read Beirach in the book the words of Jeremiah
in the house of the Lord in the chamber of Demariah the son of
Shaphan the scribe in the higher court at the entry of the new
gate of the Lord's house in the ears of all the people that when
the King, Jehoiachin, was aware of these things he sought to
destroy that word, he sought to destroy that scroll. There again, same 36th chapter
and verse 20, they went into the King, into the court, but
they laid up the role in the chamber of Ilai Shama, the scribe,
and told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king
sent Yehudai to fetch the roll and he took it out of Ilai Shama,
the scribe's chamber and Yehudai read it in the ears of the king
and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter
house in the ninth month and there was a fire on the hearth
burning before him. He came to pass that when Yehudai
had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife and
cast it into the fire that was on the hearth until all the roll
was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. And that's the context then in
which this particular word Again comes to the Prophet Jeremiah,
but now the word is not to Israel and Judah and the nations, but
it is a very particular and personal word that's addressed to this
man, this scribe, or amanuensis, Baruch. He was clearly greatly
troubled by what had happened to those things that he had written.
He felt these things. Verse 2 then, here in chapter
45, Thou saith the Lord, the God of Israel unto thee, O Baruch,
thou didst say, Woe is me now, for the Lord hath added grief
to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and
I find no rest. He was fearful that the king
who had destroyed the word of the prophet, the word of God,
would surely be there to seek his destruction also, because
he was so closely associated with the ministry of God's faithful
servant Jeremiah. The wise man in the Proverbs
tells us the wrath of the king is as messengers of death. And he thinks, does Barak, that
he's going to experience that wrath of the king, that the terrors
of death are going to be visited upon him. But this is the word
that God speaks to him then here at the end of the chapter. Verse
4, Thus shalt thou say unto him, 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. The wicked
king who would dare to destroy the word of God, Jehoiakim, is
going to be destroyed. The land is going to be left
derelict, because the people are going to be transported and
taken away into exile. God's judgment will come upon
the nation in the Babylonian captivity. That's what we read
of there in verse 4. And then these very personal
words that spoken to Barak in the last verse. Seekest thou
great things for thyself? Seek them not, for behold I will
bring evil upon all flesh. Says the Lord, that is the captivity. The fall of Jerusalem, the raising
of the temple of the Lord to the ground, I will bring evil
upon all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I give unto
thee for a price in all places whither thou goest. Two things then I want us to
consider for a while before we turn to the Lord again in prayer. First of all, the life that God
gives, and then secondly, how it is a life that is prayed upon. First of all, the life that God
gives. God, of course, is the one who
is the author of life in every sense. If we think of our physical
lives, our natural lives, we have our lives from God. He says through his servant Isaiah,
I have made the earth and created man upon it. We are God's creatures. Again the psalmist says, know
that the Lord he is God, it is he that has made us and not we
ourselves, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. We are creatures and we are thus
accountable to him who has created us, the very God who has given
to us our being and we have that account of course in the scriptures,
in the opening chapters of Genesis, concerning the manner in which
God made the heavens and the earth, that God created all things
out of nothing. And he could have done it, of
course, in one moment of time, but he was pleased to do it over
a period of six days. And then he rests on the seventh
day and he sanctifies that particular day, sets that day apart as the
day of rest. But in six days God creates not
only this world but the vastness of the universe. And it is on
the last day of creation that we read of how the Lord God created
the man. Whereas previously God simply
acts by fiat, he spake and it was done, he commanded and it's
good fast. He just speaks creation into
existence. God said and it was so. But it's so different when it
comes to man who is to be God's vicegerent. He's made in God's
image. He's created after God's likeness
and so there's that counsel between the persons of the Godhead. God said let us make man in our
image after our likeness. And then the Lord God formed
the man of the dust of the earth, breathes into his nostrils the
breath of life, and man becomes a living soul. And it's there
of course in the soul that we are to discern the image of God.
It's that that distinguishes man from brute beasts. Man is
God's creation. and God is the one who sustains
his creature. Paul says, for in him we live
and move and have our being, but for God we would not be here
tonight, we would have no existence at all, we are completely, we
are utterly dependent upon him for our natural being. And what does The man Moses say
in his prayer in the 90th Psalm, we spend our years as a tale
that is told. The days of our years are three
score and ten, and if by reason of strength they be four score
years, yet is that strength labor and sorrow. That is the situation
that man finds himself in because alas our first parents transgressed,
and Adam and Eve sinned against God in their disobedience and
there is a curse upon the creature, upon creation. With regards to
our physical being we have to recognise that it is God who
is the maker of man. Thy life have I given thee. How true are those words with
regards to this physical life that we have. God gave it to
us. This is why, of course, self-murder is altogether wrong. The evil
that he's spoken of, now euthanasia, is if man has a right to take
his own life. Man has not given himself a life,
God has given life. And it is only God who can take
life. And God, of course, has decreed,
has he not, he has commanded of us, that it is the responsibility
of the state to take life, where there are those who are guilty
of murder. Whosoever shedeth man's blood,
by man shall his blood be shed. That's God's command. God is
the one, the only one who can give such a command as that. We are those then who are dependent
upon him with regards to our natural lives. But if that be
the case, how much more when it comes to spiritual life and
eternal life. Adam was told concerning the
consequence of disobedience to God that in the day that he ate
the forbidden fruit he would die. He would surely die. Dying thou shalt die. And so though he was still physically
alive yet death had come into his soul immediately. He died spiritually instantaneously,
dying. And then, of course, his body
began to die. But all of us, as a consequence
of that, are born into this world dead, in trespasses and in sins. We might be physically alive,
we see the wonder of that life in the newborn babe, but all
of us, as we come into this world, are not spiritually alive. We
are born dead in trespasses and in sins and so we need new life. The Lord Jesus to Nicodemus makes
it so plain that man has to be born again. He has to be born
from above, he has to be born spiritually. To use the theological
term, he must be regenerated. The great doctrine of regeneration
that The Spirit of God must come into the soul that's dead in
trespasses and sins, and now the Spirit works so strangely,
so mysteriously, so sovereignly. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
says Christ, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit. We have to be born again. And this is why Christ has come,
is it not? What was the purpose of his coming into this world?
That men might receive that new life, that spiritual life. I give unto them eternal life,
he says, and they shall never perish. No man is able to pluck
them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
my Father's hand. This is the life. that is really
being spoken of here by the Prophet as the mouthpiece of God, as
he seeks to comfort poor Barak, who had pronounced such an awful
woe upon himself, who thought he was going to die. Thy life,
says God, will I give unto thee. God gives him spiritual life. And as I said, this is why Christ
came. I am come that they might have
life, he said. and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Here is the way in
which Christ gives spiritual life to sinners. They are dead
in trespasses and sins and as sinners they deserve the ultimate
punishment. They deserve that eternal death,
that eternal separation from God. What has Christ done? He who is the life. He who is
the source of life. He who is the great creator.
Remember the opening verses of John's Gospel concerning him
as the Word. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him. And without him was not
anything made that was made. He is the source of life. He declares that, I am the way,
the truth and the life, he is the life. And yet he comes into
this world in order that he might give his life, that those who
are dead in trespasses and sins might receive new life. This
is the manner in which he communicates that spiritual life and he takes
to himself the sins of his people. and He bears that punishment
that was there, desert upon the cross, that they might enjoy
that new spiritual life, that eternal life. Here then is that life that is
being spoken of in the promise that God gives to Barak. Thy life will I give unto thee. But isn't this a life that we
should be those who are seeking after? There's not just promise
here in verse 5, there's also exhortation. There's an imperative
at the beginning of the verse. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not. Now he's put in
negative terms, he's told what he should not seek. But is there
not an implication there? There is something to be sought.
What is he not to seek? He is not to seek great things. We should not desire great things
in the sense of the things of this present world. We're not to set out affections
on the things of this fallen world. We look not at the things
which are seen, says Paul, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
that are not seen are eternal. We are not to be bound up in
seeking great things, great reputations, great position in this world. In fact we can say It shouldn't
be our chief concern to be those who desire great things in the
Church of God. Surely the thing that we should
be primarily concerned about is knowing real things. That's
what we should be seeking after. Not great things, but real things. And where are real things to
be found? Well, the real things are those
eternal things. The things that are not seen.
The real things are only to be found with God himself. Remember
how that great church father Augustine of Hippo was born to
realize that, when he made his prayer to God and said to him,
thou hast made us for thyself, and our souls are restless till
they find their rest in thee. Or what if a man profited, says
Christ, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul,
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? As I said, it's
in the soul that we see the image of God in man and it's only God
who can satisfy man. In the words of the Westminster
Shorty Catechism, man's chief end is to glorify
God and enjoy Him. forever. Man is made to know
God, and to know God is the greatest enjoyment that a man could ever
possibly know. Oh, it is God, you see, who gives
these things. Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them
not. Behold, he says, behold, I will give thee life. Thy life will I give unto thee. God is the only one who can give
that life. He gives it and as God is the
giver what is man? Man is but the recipient. Paul says now we have received
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. If we have the Spirit of God,
we'll know those things that are freely given. This is how
God deals with his creature, his sinful creature. His sinful
creature deserves the awful consequence of his disobedience. He deserves
to be punished because of his sin. But God gives. And to give, of course, is something
much greater than having something that we
purchase. Greater to have something given
than to have to go and buy it. To give is more than to sell.
To give is more than to offer a thing. God, it says, freely
gives. That we might know the things
that are freely given unto us of God. And from whence do we
receive these things? From heaven. John the Baptist
in his preaching says as much, a man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. Oh, it's God who gives it. Every
good and perfect gift cometh from above, says James, cometh
from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness
nor any shadow of turning. If we have salvation, We have
nothing of which we can boast. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou hast not received? Now,
if thou hast received it, why dost thou, glorious, if thou
hast not received it, says the Apostle? It is God who gives,
and God gives so willingly and God gives so freely. This is the character of God,
of His fullness, of all we have all we received and grace for
grace all God gives what wondrous things God gives in the Lord
Jesus Christ does he not give the forgiveness of sins isn't
that what Christ is exalted for a prince and a savior to give
repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins and when
Paul writes to the church at Rome, what does he remind them
of? How they have received, by whom,
that is by the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. It's all of God, it's all of
grace, it's all given, it's given so freely. It's not something
to be purchased. The great gospel invitation that we find there
in the opening words of Isaiah 55. Oh everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and ye that have no money, come ye buy
and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk, without money and without
price. Wherefore do ye spend money for
that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfies
not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness incline your ear and come unto me here and your soul
shall live and i will make an everlasting covenant with you
even the sure mercies of david behold i have given him for a
witness to the people a leader and commander to the people it's
the promise of christ is it not it's the promise of the gospel
it's a great Gospel word then that we have here in these opening
verses of Isaiah 55 and we see that the salvation of God is
without money, without price. It's what God gives and God gives
it so willingly and so freely. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not. We should be seeking
these real things, these things that are of God, this great salvation,
these things that God delights to give. And we have every encouragement
because God loves to give. He tells us in his word it is
more blessed to give than to receive. God is the giver. And
what do we do then? We have to ask, that's all we
have to do, ask. And it shall be given you. Seek
and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. Everyone that asketh receiveth. That's what it says.
Everyone. Everyone that asketh receiveth.
He that seeketh findeth, to him that knocketh. It shall be opened. These are the promises of God
in the Lord Jesus which are all yea and amen. We're to ask then. And we're to have our priorities
right, seek ye first. the kingdom of God. Seek not
great things. Seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto
you. This is the God that we have
to do with then as we come together, as we seek His face, as we address
Him in prayers. He is a God who delights to give
and is for us to come and ask. But what does Bayreuth say here,
it is sad, despondent, depressed condition in verse 3. Woe is
me now, for the Lord hath had agreed to my sorrow, I fainted
in my sighing and I find no rest. I faint in my sighing, he says. But what is this? Well, this
is real prayer, is it not? This is real seeking. He is sighing
after God, he is seeking God, and it's not easy. He waits upon
God. And that's what we have to do.
We are prone, you see. We're prone to every evil. We
don't like waiting upon God. We grow weary of calling upon
Him. and often times we find ourselves in that condition,
the bureaucracy. We conclude that ours is a life
of work, we're never going to obtain that that we would desire
of the Lord. But how he comes so graciously
to this man in the midst of all his despondency. Thy life, he
said, Will I give unto thee? God gives the life. And the very
fact, you see, that he was saying is indicative that there was
already the communication of life, there was something in
his soul. There was that looking to God,
and that calling upon God. And this is what we're to do,
we're to pray to him, we're to call upon him, and we can come
with that spirit of expectancy. But I said two things. There's
not only that life that God gives, but also here we have that life
that is being prayed upon. 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 to pray in all places whither thou goest. I will bring evil, says God. Evil upon all flesh. What is
this evil? We're not to think here in terms of moral evil. God is not the author of sin. And the very thought is blasphemy.
God is good. And God does good. He only ever
does what's good. What then are we to make of this
evil that he's spoken of? Well, it's not moral evil, it's
calamities that are being spoken of. In fact, the reference is
really to that judgment that was going to come through the
Babylonians, when Nebuchadnezzar and his armies overthrew the
kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem fell and the people were taken
and transported into exile. It was calamitous. I will bring
evil in the sense of calamity then. He says, back in Isaiah
45, I create evil. The guy there, God is not the
creator of sin, it's calamity. Shall there be evil in a city,
and the Lord hath not done it, says Amos? That is the sovereignty
of God, you see. In every situation He is sovereign.
Nothing comes but under His mighty hand. And here we have it. Behold,
I will bring evil upon all flesh. And though this man is promised
life, yet God says this life is going to be preyed upon. This life then is going to be
endangered at times. Now there are dangers that are
common to all men, believers and non-believers alike. Man
is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward we read in the book
of joe it cannot be avoided in this world this world is a sinful
world it's a world under the curse of god and therefore troubles
will come into the lives of all people again god says to his
people concerning their temptations,
there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to
man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
above what you are able, but will with the temptation also
make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. In that
sense, temptations are common. There are dangers that are common
to men, We want to think more particularly of those dangers
that are peculiar to the people of God, peculiar to the election
of Christ. Because this man, Bayreuth, was
a gracious character. He was one who was favoured of
God. He was one that God spoke to. Very specifically and very
personally, the Great Prophet, you see. who in his ministry
is often addressing the nations, not just Israel and Judah, but
the nations round about. But here in this chapter, this
short chapter, there is a word that is specifically intended
for one man, for Barak. He's a greatly favoured man,
is Barak. He is surely one of the election
of Christ. But God tells him that his life, though it be given
to him, is going to be preyed upon in all places, whither thou
goest. Now, there was ever and always, of
course, in Israel a remnant according to the election of grace, and
not all Israel that are of Israel. The nation is a typical nation,
but always in the midst of that typical people, there is the
true Israel of God, the true seed of Abraham, a very little
remnant. And it was so, of course, at
the time of the captivity. And where was the true remnant,
the true Israel to be found? Was it to be found in those who
remained in the land, or was it to be found in those upon
whom the judgment came in the sense that they were transported
and taken into exile. We might think that the true
remnant would be there in the midst of the land still, because
there was some left in the land. But no, the remnant is to be
found in those who are transported. As we see from the end of Isaiah
chapter 6, Here is a chapter in which Isaiah
receives his call and his commission. He is told that he will preach
to the people but their hearts will be fat, their ears heavy,
they'll shut their eyes. In other words, his ministry
is not going to be very fruitful. Verse 11 there, Then said I,
Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities
be wasted with that inhabitant, and the houses without man, and
the land be utterly desolate. And the Lord hath removed men
far away, and there be a grave forsaking in the midst of the
land. Yet in it shall be a tent, and it shall return." Here is
the true remnant. It's a tent, it's a time. And
it's there in the exile. But eventually there will be
a return. There'll be a restoration. But
the point we make is that the godly seed is to be found amongst
those who were taken into captivity and that's made plain in the
ministry of Jeremiah here in chapter 21. And verses 8 and 9, Jeremiah
21 verse 8, Unto these people thou shalt say, Thus saith the
Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of
death. Be the divide of him this city
shall die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence,
but either goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans or the Babylonians
that besiege you, he shall live and his life shall be unto him
for the pride. That is the way of life. To fall
into the hands of the Chaldeans and to be taken into exile. That's where the godly seed is
to be found. But Barak was not one of those
who was taken into exile. He is left. He is here still
in Jerusalem. In chapter 43 verse 5 we read
of Yohanan, the son of Kareah, and
all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah
that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven,
to dwell in the land of Judah. Even men, and women, and children,
and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzah aid,
and the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son
of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and
Barak the son of Neriah. So, we see that Jeremiah and Barak
are not with those who have been taken into captivity. Oh, they
do go into Egypt. Really, they are in Judah. And
yet, here is the promise of God that covers this man wherever
he is, whatever situation he is in. Thy life will I give unto
thee for to pray in all places. Wherever he goes, his life is
given to him, but his life is going to be constantly prayed
upon. His life is going to be under
assault, same as David, is it not? As he says in the 119th
Psalm, verse 109, my soul is continually in my hand. He felt
that. that he was being pursued by
Saul who was seeking to destroy him. And even when he goes to
find refuge among some of the peoples around Israel, yet they
will betray him into the hands of Saul. And even when he becomes
the king, he finds that his own family will scheme and plot against
him. There's the rising of Absalom
against his father. My Saul is continually in my
hand. But remember, what Calvin said
with regards to the words of the Psalmist that the Psalms
are really an anatomy of the soul and so when David speaks
of his soul in his hand we do understand that not just with
regards to his natural life, his physical life, but also with
regards to his spiritual life and it's the same with Barak.
This life that God has given to him, it's not just his natural
life as we sought to say, it's also that spiritual life, it's
the life of God in his soul. And that life is a prey, wherever
he goes, it's preyed upon, it's attacked. There are those who
would seek to destroy it. David can say in the psalm, my
soul is among lions. Now we know that the devil is
a lion, a roaring lion. who walketh about seeking whom
he may devour. There is opposition then from
Satan. He is not inactive. He seeks
to destroy man. He seeks certainly to destroy
the godly man. He hates that in the soul of
the converted man because it is the restoration of God's image. And the devil will seek to destroy
that. But David doesn't just speak of a lion in the singer,
he says my soul is among lions. There's not only opposition from
Satan, there's the world. The world that lies in the wicked
one. And ungodly men in the world. But there's not only opposition
from without, there's that within his own fallen nature. that is
a constant trouble and a trial to him. Paul can say without
were fighting, fighting within were fears. This is what the
godly feel, the soul among lions, it's attacked on every hand,
not only outward but also inward things. And what are the godly
to do in the midst of all these things? Well they must look to
God. This is what God is teaching
His children, is it not, to call upon Him, to pray to Him, to
wait upon Him. This is why the life of God in
the soul is prayed upon, that the godly do not become secure,
but they feel increasingly their dependence, and they have to
live that life of dependence. That is the life of faith, is
it not? In the book of the Prophet Zephaniah, One of those minor prophets at
the end of the Old Testament Scriptures, Zephaniah chapter
3 and verse 8, the opening words of that verse,
Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that
I rise up to the prey. Here is the life of God. It's prayed upon, but God will
rise. God will rise up to the prey. But how are the godly to
find God? They are to wage. Therefore wage
ye upon me, saith the Lord. He is the God who delivered us
from so great a death, and doth deliver in whom we trust that
he will yet deliver us. And so this is the life of the
godly man then. He is constantly calling upon
God, constantly seeking God. It's a life of prayer, as it's
a life of faith. It's the life of Beirut, had
to live. These are the real things. We're
not to seek great things, but all to know these real things.
The life of God in the soul of a man, and that life evidenced
by constant dependence upon him, and that dependence manifests
by a calling upon him, and that calling seemed to be real because
there is a waiting. I fainted in my sighing, says
Bayreuth, but it was not in vain. Thus shalt thou say unto him,
the Lord then commands his servant the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah
is to go and is to answer this man's sighings. 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 prayer in all places whither thou goest. The Lord bless his word to us. Now before we turn to prayer, let us sing the hymn 954, the
tune Holly 348. 954 Save me, O God, my spirit cries, and on
thy faithful word relies. Save me from sin, my desperate
foe, and fill my that fills my soul with every
woe. 954. Save me, O God, thy spirit cries,
and on thy faithful word relies. Save me from sin, my desperate that fills my soul with every
hope. Save me from pride, that angel
born, that swells up for me, That moves the town, the hands,
the eyes, And often takes me by surprise. Save me from disbelief, That has to death ten thousand
hells. His charms enchant and lead astray
from Jesus Christ. Save me from Satan's wiles and
snares From all the malice which he bears Against my image, work, and grace of thy face. Save me from On thee alone I'd cause my care,
And wait, and pray, and groan, and sigh,