Well, having started in Lamentations
chapter 1 last week, I want to come back there this week, but
this time into Lamentations chapter 3. In Lamentations 1, verses
1 to 16, we saw the sins of Jerusalem and Judah, which were real, which
led to the captivity of Jerusalem and Judah in Babylon. And we
saw that it was a picture of the sins of God's people. The
sins of Jerusalem and Judah were a picture of the people of God.
It was a picture of their sins. And then it turned around to
be Jeremiah saying they were his sins. And we saw that's a
picture of the reality that Christ was made the sins of his people
for the purpose of redemption. He had the sins of his people
made over to him that they might be his sins, that he might make
satisfaction to the justice of God for his people, for God's
people, the people whom he came to save from their sins. And
then in chapter 2, we didn't read that, but it's a deep lamentation
over the misery of Jerusalem. It's a sorry, sorry tale. Read
it for yourself. And chapter 3 verses 1 to 20
is a deep, deep lamentation. It's bitterness and pain of judgment. And you know, there are echoes
of Job in his deepest despair, crying out to God, why have you
done this to me? What have I done that's caused
this to happen to me? It's a cry of the soul experiencing
the judgment of God. It's a terrible litany of woe
and a sense of hopelessness. Is that our experience in any
way? I guess it depends on how much
you know or feel this world around us and this life which we live
in the flesh to be devoid of any eternal good or hope. The
world as we've seen before from Jeremiah is a world full of broken
systems. Men and women hew out systems
from rocks for themselves but they're broken and they can hold
no water. None of the water that they seek
for satisfaction. It's all corruption all around
us. There's idolatry all around us,
especially the idolatry of self. And God has judged. And the enactment
of the judgment is certain. You say there's a lot of doom
and gloom and judgment here. It's because it's true. God has
judged. And the enactment of judgment
is certain. His word warns us to take heed. It warns us to take heed. Someone
has said that God has hedged us about on the one side with
his promises of mercy, lest we despair, and on the other side,
he's put warnings, lest we presume. And so John Newton found himself
in that middle position. He could write on the one hand,
amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
me. Promises of mercy. But on the other hand, he also
wrote, tis a point I long to know. Oft it gives me anxious
thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I his or am I not? You know, in that central place
between the hedging about on the one side with the promises
of mercy lest we despair, and on the other side with the warnings
lest we presume. So the Apostle Paul wrote to
believers, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.
And Peter wrote, give all diligence to make your calling and election
sure. In these first 18 verses, there's
the hopelessness portrayed of being under the judgment of God's
law. And we come to verse 18, and
he says, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord. My strength and my hope. It's
a desperate condition. My strength and my hope is perished. It's gone. I knew it. I thought
I experienced it, but it's gone. Isaiah came into the presence
of the Lord when he saw the Lord high and lifted up in the temple
in Isaiah chapter six. And when he saw the glory of
the Lord, he didn't say, hey, this is great, let's have a revival.
He didn't say, hey, let's come on, let's have a real strong
singing session. This is just such a great place
to be. He said, woe is me. I am undone for I'm a man of
unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips. No,
seeing the truth and justice of God brings you to having no
strength left in you. My strength and my hope is perished
from the Lord. And then verses 19 and 20. Remembering
mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall, my
soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. It's a
true sight of self in the presence of God. And it can only convict
us. It can only humble us. It can
only crush us. Think about it, where you've
come from. You're the seed of Adam in the flesh. The seed of
Adam with his transgressions. Those transgressions in that
fall which corrupted all of his offspring with that corruption
of sin. Beginning with Adam's transgressions,
what hope is there in us? What hope is there in our nature
of sin? Because we know that's what we
are by nature. What hope is there in whenever
we try to do anything, it's always tainted with sin. Our inability
to think or do anything that is truly pleasing to God, because
even our righteousnesses, says Isaiah, are as filthy rags in
his sight. Where are you going to get any
hope of eternal life and eternal glory from? Where are you going
to get it from? Is there any foundation for hope
at all? Any foundation? Or is it just
mere wishful thinking? Perhaps you adopt Mr Bunyan's
sorry, the philosophy of Mr. Putitov, who was one of Mr. Bunyan's
characters. Mr. Putitov, sounds like he was
a Russian, doesn't it, Putitov? But he always wanted to put it
off to the next day. He didn't want to decide anything,
he didn't want to be determined, like Felix was thinking about
him last week, you know, when Paul came before him, and he
said, hmm, I'll put it off to another day when I have a more
convenient season to listen to you. But judgment is certain. It's coming. It's coming. Where
is there any basis of hope? In Habakkuk, judgment was coming,
as the Chaldeans were coming, as the Babylonians were coming. And Habakkuk was wondering why
this was. And God says to him, it's appointed.
It's certain. It might seem to tarry, it might
seem to delay, but it will surely come exactly as appointed. God said that to them then, and
you know what? We can look back in history,
and it did. It did, exactly as he said. It did. It did in the
days of the flood, it did in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah,
it will do in our day. Judgment is coming. So where
is there any hope? Verse 21, I recall to mind. You just contrast
the absolute despair of those first twenty verses. You would
struggle to find a more desperate passage of scripture. A heart
that is, maybe in the book of Job, a heart that is bleeding,
that is suffering. under the judgment of God, under
the sense of sin and of lostness. But then he gets to verse 21,
this I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. He has some hope. Jeremiah finds a solid foundation
for hope, even in a despairing situation. And where he finds
it is in what he recalls to his mind. This I recall to my mind. Here are all the things that
I'm feeling, all the things that I'm sensing, all the things that
I'm knowing in my experience, but I recall to my mind, I remember,
I remember something, and that something that I remember gives
me hope. What is it that gives me hope?
It's the Word and the promises of God. That's what gives me
hope. The Word and the promises of
God. This is why Paul tells the Colossians,
believers, to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, in
all wisdom. Because that gives you a solid
foundation to recall to mind. And in recalling it to mind,
is hope. Not in your feelings, not in
your senses all around you, but in that which is the solid rock,
the solid anchor for the soul, that we be not tossed about by
every wind of doctrine. We recall to mind the word and
the promises of God. What do we recall to mind? Not
our works. There's no hope in that. There's
no comfort in our works. Which of your works gives you
any comfort at all? It cannot. It's the grace of
God that gives hope. The fact that God is gracious.
In your sins? No. That doesn't give you any
hope, that's just despair. But the redemption that Christ
has accomplished, the redemption, the payment of the debt that
Christ has done for his people's sins, that gives me hope. Looking
within to the flesh can only cause grievance. But now he looks
to Christ. and says, therefore have I hope. This I recall to mind, the word
and promises of God. I recall these to mind, and therefore
I have hope. And in the following verses,
there are six aspects of that hope, and that's what I want
to look at with you this morning. Remember what Peter said to those
that he was writing to. He said that they should always
be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you. To anybody
that asks you, you've got a hope. Why have you got a hope? Be ready
to give a reason. I think here is a solid foundation
of the reason for the hope. I recall this to mind, therefore
I have hope. But you're in a terrible situation,
Jeremiah. Yes, but I have hope. Why have
you got hope? It's illogical. It's silly. There's
no foundation for it. Yes, there is. Here's a solid
foundation for the fact that he has hope. First of all, verse
22, Look at the first half of it. It is of the Lord's mercies. You see, we should be consumed
by this judgment. We should be consumed by judgment
on our sins. But, this I recall to mind. This I recall to mind. It's of
the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Why are we not
consumed when we ought to be? Because God is merciful. What is mercy? I heard many years
ago, somebody put it like this, the difference between grace
and mercy. And you may think, oh, it's far too simple. It probably
is, but you know, I can't really find much wrong with it. Grace
is when we do get what we don't deserve. Mercy is when we don't
get what we do deserve. We deserve the judgment and punishment
of God, but God is merciful. He is merciful. Ephesians 2 and
verse 4. God who is rich in mercy. God. The God we worship. The God who's making everything
go round this morning. Made the sun to rise, made the
stars to appear in their places. God who is rich in mercy. to sinners for his great love
wherewith he loved us that's at the root of it we'll come
to that in a minute i'm a sinner under god's judgment i'm a sinner
deserving the condemnation of god but this i recall to mind
therefore i have hope that though i'm a sinner under god's judgment
god is merciful and so we his people the objects of his mercy
are not consumed I recall it to mind. Therefore, I have hope. We're not consumed. It's of the
Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. It isn't because he
has overlooked sin. It isn't because he has swept
my sin under the carpet, as it were. It isn't as though he has
said, that's all right, doesn't matter. I think I'll be okay
with you. You'll do. I'm going to punish
that one. But no, I'm all right with you. No, no, no. it's because
Christ has borne the penalty of that sin of his people, in
the place of his people. And what the law requires of
my sin, which is condemnation, which is death, the soul that
sins it shall die, my Redeemer has paid it for me. And therefore,
The God who is perfect and just in all things can be merciful
to me, a sinner. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed. I recall it to mind, therefore
I have hope. There's a cause of hope for me.
God cannot change. He has decreed it. He's the same
yesterday, today, and forever. The eternal God and our Lord
Jesus Christ are both described in that way, the same yesterday,
today, and forever. It has been decreed. It cannot
be undone. Christ has accomplished it for
all that He brings to trust Him. Has He brought you to trust Him?
Oh, I'm going through trials and tribulations. Yes, but has
he brought you to trust him? This I recall to mind, therefore
I have hope. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed. It's because he's merciful, because
he's able to be merciful, because he's satisfied justice in my
place, therefore we're not consumed, and therefore I have hope. Then
at the second point, why is he merciful? Second half of verse
22 and the first bit of verse 23. His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. His
compassions fail not. His compassion is his love. It's
his love that fails not. It's his love that is new every
morning. Remember what Ephesians said,
God who is rich in mercy for his great love. The cause of
his mercy is his great love. At the root of mercy is God's
ever new unfailing compassion, his love of his people. What
caused it? Grace, just grace, just sovereign
electing grace. Did he see something that was
attractive in the objects of his grace? No. Sinners, just
like everybody else. Children of wrath, just like
everybody else. No. He loved them because he
loved them. What does his word tell me? This
I recall to my mind. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly. What does his word tell me? Jeremiah
31 verse 3. God says to his people, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love. When did you start loving
me, Lord? from before the beginning of
time, he loved me with an everlasting love. Before the beginning of
time, he called me with his name. When he foreknew me in sovereign
electing grace, when he predestinated me to be conformed to the image
of his son, he loved me there. Therefore, he says, because I
loved you before the beginning of time with loving kindness,
Have I drawn thee? Every step of your way through
this life, He has been ordaining. He has been controlling. He has
been governing. Therefore, with loving kindness,
have I drawn thee? It's all from before the beginning
of time. Ephesians 1 verse 4, according as He has chosen us,
in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, because
of His love. Hosea chapter 14 and verse 4, He says to His people,
I will heal their backsliding. I will heal their sins, I will
heal their going away from me, and I will love them for what
price? What charge does he put on it?
God's going to love you, but you've got to pay something for
it, you know? You ever heard the parents say
to the child, we always used to try and resist saying this,
I hope we did, I hope it can be testified that we resisted
saying this. If you don't do this, I won't love you. Or if
you do that, I won't love you. Because God says to his people,
I will love them freely. Freely. No cost. No payment due. nothing that
you have to pay, I will love them freely for mine anger is
turned away from him." Well what's happened to your anger? God is
angry with the wicked every day. Where's it gone? It's fallen
on his son who has made sin for his people. John chapter 13 verse
1. How long is he going to love
them? How long is he going to love them? He loved them from
eternity, how long? Having loved his own which were in the world,
he loved them to the end. He loved them to the end. His
love for his people is as certain as his upholding of all things
is certain. We've seen the sunrise this morning.
If by the message of the Spirit of God, knowing the mind of Christ,
you know the reason that all things hold together, it's not
some mindless, inanimate Big Bang 14 billion years ago, or
whatever it is they say, you know it is all being upheld by
the Word of His power in our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom He
upholds all things, by the Word of His, the power of Christ.
And that's certain, and it happens all the time. Gravity stays as
it is because he is upholding it now. That's how certain his
love is. More than that, because this
is going to be wound up and come to an end. But his love is not
going to be wound up and not come to an end. He is going to
love them to the end. The next point, number three,
verse 23b, that what we sang in the opening hymn, great is
thy faith. This I recall to mind Therefore
I have hope. What do you recall to mind? That
God is faithful. That God is greatly faithful. Great is thy faithfulness. Who
is he faithful to? He's faithful to himself, for
we read in his word that he cannot deny himself. You know, faithfulness
means absolute reliability. Faithfulness means utter dependability. There is no chance of him ever
reneging on his promises or his determination. He's faithful.
Great is thy faithfulness. I recall this to mind, therefore
have I hope. He's faithful to himself, he
cannot deny himself. He's faithful to his purpose.
God has a purpose whom he called according to his purpose. You
know, God causes all things to work together for good to those
that love Him, who are the called according to His purpose. Isaiah
46, verses 9 and 10. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning. Why does
he declare the end? He knows the end, he knows what
the story's going to turn out like from right at the start.
You know you start to watch a film or start to read a book and you
don't know how it's going to turn out unless somebody tells you,
but he knows because he declares the end from the beginning. God
has declared, where has he declared it? In his word. in his word. You know, you read the whole
book right through to the culmination in Revelation. You know the end
because God has declared it. He's decreed it. He will bring
it to pass. And from ancient times, the things that are not
yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all
my pleasure. God is faithful. Great is thy
faithfulness to his purpose. And he's faithful to his covenant.
Great is his faithfulness to his covenant. David says, David
was greatly blessed of God but David had great trials because
of sin. And the sin brought upon him
immense trials and his family was a terrible mess and there
was murder and adultery and all sorts of things, it was a terrible
mess, but yet on his deathbed, 2 Samuel 23, verse 5, he knew
this. He, God, hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and because God
has made it, it's certain. He's sure. He's faithful to his
covenant. He's made a covenant with all
his people. to redeem them in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's
faithful to his son. Look at a couple of scriptures
with me. Look at Psalm 89. We were there last week, but
turn over again. Wonderful Psalm. Psalm 89, verse
27. Psalm 89 verse 27 down to verse
36. This is God being faithful to
his son. Also I will make him my firstborn,
higher than the kings of the earth. God's faithful to this.
My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant
shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to
endure forever. Are you amongst those whom God
calls the seed of the Lord Jesus Christ? He's faithful to his
promises in his Son. To his seed, I will make them
to endure forever. And his throne is the days of
heaven. If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments,
if they break my statutes and keep my nocturnal commandments,
then I will visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity
with stripes. So yes, we experience the chastisement
of God. Nevertheless, verse 33, My loving
kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. Great is thy faithfulness. My
covenant will I not break. God cannot break his covenant
and remain God, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my
lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie
unto David. His seed shall endure forever
and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever
as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven. This I recall
to mind. Therefore have I hope. God is
faithful to his son. He is utterly faithful to his
son and to his people. Look at Isaiah 43. In him, Isaiah
chapter 43. Isaiah 43, the first five verses. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, talking to his people, and he that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not. Why not? For I have redeemed
thee. I have called thee by thy name.
Thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not,
for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee up from the west. God is faithful to
his people. He says, quoting in Hebrews chapter
13, verse 5, The writer, who I believe is Paul, says there,
he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Great
is thy faithfulness. This I recall to mind, therefore
I have hope. What's the reason for the hope
that you have of eternal glory? God is faithful to his promises.
Verse 24, this is the fourth one. The Lord is my portion,
saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. There's a book, it was
a book called, by Jim Packer I think it was, Knowing God,
that was greatly revered for many years and no doubt there
was some good in it. But what is it for someone to
know God? The Lord is my portion. The Lord
is my portion. What I have is my portion. The Lord is what I have. The
Lord is my portion. But how do I have the Lord as
my portion? How do I have the Lord? The Lord
is my portion. How do I have the Lord as my
portion? Believer, I'm asking you, how
do you have the Lord as your portion? How do I do that? No
man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has made him known. That's how
you have the Lord as your portion. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's in having Christ that you have the Lord as your portion.
In Numbers 18 and verse 20, in that chapter, the promised land
is being divided up amongst the tribes and they're all getting
their allotted portion. But to Aaron and the Levites,
the Lord says this, the Lord spake unto Aaron, thou shalt
have no inheritance in their land. They all got a bit of the
land to farm and to look after. But you and your brethren, the
Levites, the priests, you shall have no inheritance in their
land. Seems a bit harsh. Neither shalt thou have any part
among them. You're not going to have a share
of it like they've got. Why not? Why not? God says to him, I am
thy part. I am thy portion and thine inheritance
among the children of Israel. And this is a picture of the
believer. Aaron is a picture of the believer. And to the believer,
God says, the Lord is your portion. The Lord is your portion. The
Lord is your father, Abba, father. The Lord is the husband of his
bride, his church. The Lord is the brother, one
who sticks closer than a brother. The Lord is to his people, no
longer the master of servants, though they gladly bond servants
of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he says he's the friend of his
people. I call you no longer servants,
but friends. Our total care, spiritually, physically, materially,
whatever our current experience and condition, is in him. The
Lord is my portion. Paul says to the believers in
Colossae, he says, we are complete in him. Complete. What do you
need for life and eternity? We are complete in Him. The Lord
is my portion. This I recall to mind, therefore
I have hope. He is unto us. As we were thinking
earlier, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. He is unto us wisdom from
God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. He is everything
we need. In my flesh, I am in verses 1
to 18 of Lamentations chapter 3, in that terrible state. But
in my spirit, I'm in Christ. The Lord is my portion. And if
he's my portion, therefore I have hope. The fifth one. Fifthly,
verse 25. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. The Lord is good
to them. I remember that God's word assures
me that God is good to those that wait for him and seek him.
He's good. Whatever the natural man in flesh
might think of the God of this universe, You know, why does
God do this? Why did God cause that to happen?
Why did God cause my mother to die or whatever it might be?
Why did God do these things? No, God is good in all he does. As Abraham said, shall not the
judge of all the earth do right? All of the attributes and works
of God are good. They're ultimately aimed for
the good of his people. He causes all things to work
together for good to those that love God, who are the called
according to his purpose. But especially is he good to
those who wait, to wait. It's good to them, the Lord is
good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh
him. What is it to wait? What is it to wait? We're such
impatient people, aren't we? We always want things to move
on. The Lord is good to those who calmly trust Him for salvation. Calmly trust Him. Psalm 37, verse
nine, for evil doers shall be cut off, but those that wait
upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. Isaiah 64, verse four,
for since the beginning of the world, and this was quoted, I
don't know if you noticed, in 2 Corinthians chapter two, verse
nine, I think it is, for since the beginning of the world, Men
have not heard, I have not seen, I haven't got the full quotation
here, I have not seen, O God, beside thee, what he has prepared
for him that waiteth for him. Hope involves waiting. It's not like I've said so many
times before, we don't hope, this biblical hope that he's
talking about, this hope that Jeremiah has is not a, I hope
it's not going to rain tomorrow so that I can do such and such.
That's a forlorn hope. And it depends how much you trust
the weather forecast a few days ahead. But you know, I'm hoping
for a white Christmas. Well, you know, there's no way
of knowing whether it's gonna be a white Christmas or not.
It's not that kind of hope. This is a solid confidence. This
is a solid hope. But biblical hope involves waiting. And not only waiting, but seeking. Seeking Him. Knowing our need. Knowing that we need to seek
Him. Knowing that we need to do something. Knowing that we
need to seek sincerely. Where do you seek? Where do you
go looking for Him? Think of Song of Solomon. The
beloved who's lost her beloved and she's going out to try and
find him. She's looking for him, she's
urgently, she gets up in the middle of the night to go and
look for him. Seeking sincerely, we look in his word. This is
why we read his word, read his word, imbibe his word. Don't
necessarily stumble over trying to understand every verse you
read. But read it and read it again and again. I think it's
the testimony, I was reading the testimony of John Kershaw. That's right, nearly forgot his
name. John Kershaw, who said when he came to know the truth,
before he was called to the ministry, He was just absolutely consumed
with reading the word of God. Just read it, read it, read it.
And his preaching was so empowered because the word that he'd read
and read and read and read was readily there in him. He'd sought
the Lord in the word. Seek him and you will find him
there. Seek the Lord in his church, amongst his people is what that
means. You will find him amongst his
people. You won't find him if there is a church you can go
to and you choose to sit alone at home, you won't find him.
I know there are people in situations where they cannot get to a church
that believes the truth and so they fellowship with us around
the internet and that's great, that's a wonderful thing in these
days. But the church is that fellowship.
And I'll just make this point, that those that do fellowship
with us over the internet, I just love the way that they write
to each other, and they commune with each other, and they are
seeking the Lord together, in fellowship together. Reading
his word and communicating the word they've read to one another,
to encourage one another. We seek him in prayer. We seek
his face in prayer. We trust him. We make it a priority. We know that it is He who seeks
His people. He's the one who puts it within
us. I sought the Lord and afterward I knew He moved my soul to seek
Him, seeking me. Romans 2 verse 4. It's the goodness
of God that leads thee to repentance. It is good. It is good. The Lord
is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh
after Him. And then finally, verse 26. This
is the sixth. pillar of our hope. This is the sixth rock of solid
foundation. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. God's
salvation. That God is a Savior. He is, as Isaiah 45, 22 says,
a just God and a Savior. I am God your Savior. You read
Isaiah, how many times does God say He is the Savior of His people? Our blessed God, our Savior,
He is our Savior. Our hope is based on God's eternal
decree and purpose, to maintain absolute justice, to honor His
law, to never let it be overlooked or ignored, but to justify the
ungodly in His Son. That's what He's determined to
do. That's how He's a God who is just and a Savior. He justifies
the ungodly. He's justified his people from
eternity in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. He's redeemed, he's paid the
price of justification in time at the cross of Calvary, that
great pivotal event. In the time and experience of
every one of his people, he brings each one from darkness to light
as the Holy Spirit comes and regenerates each one. But all
of it is pointing to the culmination of salvation, which is eternal
glory. It all points to heaven. The
marriage supper is fixed in eternity. There's a date set. It's fixed
in eternity. The marriage supper of the Lamb
is going to take place. There's a verse in Isaiah 8 verse
18, and it's quoted in Hebrews 2 and verse 13, which is Christ
speaking, and He says, and the children whom the Lord has given
me, that elect that the Father gave to the Son before the beginning
of time, He saves. This I recall to mind, therefore
I have hope. God has purposed to save His
people from their sins, and saving them, He's going to bring them
to glory. He is the king of glory, he's the lord of hosts when he
goes in the second time, with his train of his children behind
him, behold, I am the children whom he has given me. These things,
these six things, are the solid foundation of Jeremiah's hope.
In the midst of despair, this is what he hopes in. Remember
what Peter asked? Be ready to give a reason for
the hope that is in you. These things I recall to mind,
therefore I have hope. I have hope because of his mercy. I have hope because of his love.
I have hope because of his faithfulness. I have hope because he is mine.
He is my portion. I have hope because I wait for
him and seek him. I have hope because he is a God
of salvation. This I recall to mind, therefore
I have hope. Can you give a reason? for hope
to anyone that asks you for it.