JEREMIAII, A LESSON FOR THE DISAPPOINTED.
JEREMIAI/ i. 8. " Be vol af raid of theirfaces:for I ara with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord."
HE Prophets were ever ungratefully treated by the Israelites; they wcre resisted, their warnings neg|ected, their good services forgotten. But therc was this diffcrence between the earlier and the later Prophets; the earlier lived and died in honour amont" their pcople,—in outward honour; though hated and thwarted by the wicled, they were exalted to high places, and ruled in the congregation. Moses, for instance, was in trouble from his people all his lift, long, but to'the end he was their lawgiver aud judge. Samuel, too, even though rejected, was still held in reverence; and when he died, "all the Israelites were gathered together and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah." David died on a royal throne. But in the latter rimes, the prophets were 1 1 Sain. xxv. 1.
hot only feared and hated by the enemies of God, but cast out of the vineyard. As the rime approached the coming of the true Prophet of the Church, the Son of God, fliey resembled tIim in their earthly fortunes more and more; and as He was to surfer, so did they. Moses was a ruler, Jeremiah was an outcast: Samuel was buried in peace, John the Baptist was beheaded. In St. Paul's words, they "" had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned; they were stwn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about iii sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, aftlicted, tormented; of whom the world was hot worthv; they wandered in deserts, and in mounta.ins, and iii dens and caves of the earth ." Of these, Elijah, who lived in the wilderness, and the hundred prophets whom Obadîah fed by fifty in a cave,:tre examples of the wa.nderers. And Miea.iah, who was appointed the bread of affliction and the water of affiletion by an idolatrous king, is the specimen of those who " had trial of bonds and imprisonment." O" those who were sawn asunder and slain with the sword, Isaiah is the chief, who, as tradition goes, was by order of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, sawn asunder with a wooden saw. And of those who were stoned, none is more thmous than Zechariah, the son of Jehoiad, "who was slain between the temple and the alttr. '' But of Heb. xi. 36-38. Matt. xxiii. 35.
ail the persecuted prophets Jeremiah is the most emirient; i. e. we know more of his hist)T, of his imprisonments, his wandering's, and his attlictions. He may be taken as a representative of the Prophets; and hence it is that he is an especial type of our Lord and Saviour. Ail the Prophets were types of the Great Prophet whose way they were preparin; they tended towards and spoke of Christ. In their sufferings they foreshadowed llis priesthood, and in their teaching" lIis prophetical office, and in their miracles His royal power. The history of Jeremiah, then, as being drawn out in Scripture more circumstnti.'dly than that of the other Prophets, is the most exact type of Christ among them; that is, next fo David, who, of course, was the nearest resemblance to Him of ail, as a sufferei,, au inspired teacher, and a king. Jeremiah cornes next to David; I do not say in dig'nity and privileg'e, for it was Elijah who was taken up to heaven, and appeared a.t the Transfiguration; nor in inspiration, for to Isaiah one should assig'n the hig'her evang'elical gifts but in typifying tlim who came and wept over Jerusalem, and then was tortured and put to death by those He wept over. And hence, when out Lord came, while some thought Him Elijah, and others John the Baptist, risen ff'oto the dead, there were others, who thought Him Jeremiah. Of Jeremiah, then, I will now speak, as a speeimen of ail those Prophets whom St. Paul sers belote us as examples of faith, and St. James as examples of patience.
Jeremiah's ministry may be summed words, good hope, labour, disappointlnent. It was his privilege to be ealled to his saered ofllee from his earliest vears. Like Samuel, the first, prophet, he was of the tribe of Levi, dedicated fl'om his birth to religious services, and favoured with the constant presenee and graee of God. "Befi»re I formed thee.... 1 kuew theel," says the word of the Lord to him when IIe gave him his eolnmission, "and belote thou eamest out of the womb I sanetified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." This commission was given the year after Josiah began his reforlnation. Jeremiah retnrned for answer, "Ah! Lord God! behold, I eannot speak; for I ara a ehild." tIe felt the arduousness of a prophet's office; t.he firmness and intrepidity whieh were required to speak the words of God. "But the Lord said unto him, Say not I ara a ehild; for thou shalt go fo all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I eommand thee thou shalt speak. Be hot afraid of theiï rimes, for I am with thee t,o deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and totfehed my mouth, and said unto me, Behold I bave put My words in thy mouth." No prol)het eornmeneed his labours with greater eneoura.gement than Jeremiah. A king had sueeeeded to the throne who was bring, ing baek the times of the man after God's own heart. There had hot been a son
,,f David so zealous as Josiah since David himself. The king, too, was yonn, at most twenty years of ag'e, in lhe beginning of his retbrmation. What mig'ht hot be effected in a course of years, howcver corrul)t and dcgraded was the existin state of his pcople? So Jcremiah mig'ht think. If nmst 1)e rccollected, too, lhat rclig'ious obedience was under the Jcwish covenant awardcd with temporal prospcrity. Thcre seemcd, then, every reason for Jeremiah af first to suppose that bright fiwtuncs were in store for the Church. Josiah was the vcry king whose birth wns foretold by name above lhree hundred years belote, when Jeroboam established idolatry; who was the prolnised avengr of God's covenant, " the pairer of the breach, the restorer of p,qths t,» dwell in ." lsrael (the ten tl'ibes) having, "onc into (.aptivity, schism had corne fo ifs end; the kings of the bouse of David ag'ain ruled over the whole extent of the promised lal»d; idolatry was destroyed by Josiah in (he cities. Such were the psent blessing's which the Jewish renmant enjoyed. Af first siglt, then, if seemed rcasonable to anticipate further and permanent ilnprovement. Every one begins with being sanguine; doubtless thon, as now, many labourers in God's husbandry entered on their office with more lively hopes than their ater fortunes warranted. Vhether or hot, however, such hope of success encouraged Jeremiah's first exertions, very soon, in his case, this cheerful prospect was a isa. lviii. 12.
for t/« Dfs«i6poft«J. i 9 overcast, and he vas left fo labour in the darl. Huldah's message fo the king, on his finding the Book of the Law in the teml)le, fixed the coming fortunes of Judah. Huldah foretold a woe,—an early removal of the good Josiah fo his rest as a mercy to him, and fo the nation, who were unworthy of him, a tierce destruction. This prophecy was delivered rive years after Jcrcmiah entered upon his office; he ministered ia all forty years bcfore the captivity; so ear]y in his course were his hopes cut away. But even though Huldah's message be suppooed hot to reach him, still he w doubtless soon undeceived as to any hopes he mig'ht entertain, whether, by the express Word of God informing him, or by the actual hardened state of sin in which the nation lay. Soon, surely, were his hopes destroyed, and his mind sobered into a more blessed and noble temper,—resiation. I call resignation a more blessed frame of mind than sanguine hope of present success, because it is the truer, and the more consistent with our fallen state of being, and the more improving to our hearts; and because it is that for which the most eminent servants of God have been conspicuous. To expect great effects from out exertions for religious objects is natural indoed, and innocent, but if arises from inexperience of the kind of work we bave fo do,—to change the heart and 4ll of man. It is a far nobler frame of mind, to labour, hot with the hope of seeing the fruit of our labour, but for [VIII] K
30.ïcere.ffah, a Lesson conscience' sake, as a marrer of duty; and ag'ain, in faith, trusting good will be done, thoug'h we see it hot. Look through the Bible, and you will find God's servants, even though they beg'an with success, end with disappointmeut; hot that God's purposes or His instruments rail, but that the rime for reaping" vhat we have sown is hereafter, not hcre; that bere there is no great visible fruit in any one man's lii"etime. Moses, for instance, bcgan with lcading the ]sraelites out of Eg'ypt in triumph; be ended af the age of an hundred and twenty years, bci"ore his journey was finishcd and Canaau gained, one amoug the offending multitudes who were overthrown in the wildcrness . Samuel's reformations ended in the peol)le's wilflflly choosing a king like the nations around thcm. Elijah, after his successes, fled ri'oto Jezebel into the wilderness fo mourn over his disappointments. ]saiah, ai"ter Hezekiah's religious reign, and the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army, fell upon the cvil da.ys of his son Manassch. Even in the successes of the first Cbristian teachers, the Apostles, the saine rule is observcd. After all the great works God enabled them fo accomelisll, they confessed belote their death that what they experienced, and what they saw before them, was reverse and calamity, and that the fruit of their labour would hOt be seen, till Christ came fo open the books and collect His saints ri'oto the four corners of the earth. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being" deceived t,,, is the testimony of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, and St. Jude. Now, in the instance of Jeremiah, we have on record that variety and vicissitude of feelings, which this transition from hope to disappointment produces, at least in a sensitive mind. tIis trials were very great, even in Josiah's reign; but when that pious king"s countenance was withdraxvn on his early death, he was exposed to persecution from every class of Inen. Af one rime we read of the people conspiring against him 3; af another, of the Inen of his own city, Anathoth, " seeking" his life, '' on aecount of his prophesying" in the Lord's naine. At another time he was seized by the priests and the prophets in order to be put to death, from which he was only saved by certain of the princes and elders who were still faithful to the Inemory of Josiah 4. Then, ag'ain, Pashur, the chier govcrnor of the temple, smote hiin and tortured him . At another rime, the king, Zedekiah, put him in prison 6. Afterwards, when the army of the Chaldeans had besieged Jerusalem, the Jews accused him of falling" away fo the enemy , and sinote him, and iinprisoned him; then they cast hiin into a dungeon, where he "' sunk in the Inire," and alinost perished froin hunger . When Jerusalein had been taken by the enemy, Jeremiah was forcibly carried down fo Eg.ypt by men who af first pretended fo reverence and consult him 1, and there he came to his end—it is believed, a violent end. Nebuchadnezzar, the heathcn king. of Babylon and conqueror of Jerusalem, was one of the few persons vho showed him kindness. This ffreat king., who a.fterwards honoured Daniel, and was at lenffth brouffht to acknowlcdg, e the God of heaven by a sevcre chastisement, on the taking" of the city dclivered Jcrcmiah fl-om prison "-, and gave charge to the captain of his guard eoneerning him, to "look wetl fo him, and to do him no harm; but to do unto him even as he should say.... "' An Ethiopian, another lma.then, is also mentioned as delivering" him ri'oto the dung'eon. Sueh vere his tria]s: his affliction, fera; despondency, and sometimes even restlessness under them are variously expressed; that succession and ride of feeling, s vhieh most persons underg'o belote their minds settle into the ealm of resig'nation. Af one time he Speaks as astonished af his failure: "0 Lord, art hot Thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast strieken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast eonsumed them, but they have refltsed to reeeive correction ." Ag,ain, "A wonderful and horrible thingis eommitted in the land; the prophets 1)rophesy falsely, and the priests bear ru]e by their means; and My people love fo have if so 4.,, Af another rime, he expresses his perplexity at the 1 Jer. xlii. xliii. Ibid. xxxix. 14. a Ibid. v. 3. * Ibid. v. 30, 31.
for lhe Disa22oiztcd. x 33 disorder of the world, and the sueeesses of the wieked: "Rihteous art Thon, O Lord, when I plead with Thee; ver let me talk with Thee of Thy judgments: wherefore doth the way of the wieked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treaeherously?.... but Thou, O Lord, knowest me; Thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart towm'ds Thee 1.,, Then, in turn, his mind ri'ets af the thought of ifs own auxious labours and perplexities: "Woë is me, my moflmr, tha thon hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I bave neither lent on usury, nor men ha.ve lent fo me on usury; yet every one of them doth eurse me..... Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable?... wilt Thou be altog"ether unto me as a deeeiver, and as waters tha fallU? '' These are the sorrows of a gentle and peaceable mind, forced against its will into the troubles of lire, and incurring the hatred of those whom if opposes against ifs nature. This he elsewhere expresses thus: "As for me, I have hot... desired the woeful day" (which he foretold); "Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was rig'ht belote Thee.:Be hot a terror unto me: Thou art my hope in the day of evil ." Vhen Pashur put him to torture he was still more agitated, and said, "0 Lord, Thoh hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou moE stronger than I, and hast prevailed. I ara in derision daily, every one mocketh me.... Cursed be fle day Jer. xii. 1—3.: Ibid. xv. 10—18. a Ibid. xvii. 16, 17.
) eremial, a Lessou wherein I was born" (here eertainly is the languge even of impatience), "let hot the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed ."
However, of such changes of fedings what was the end?Jresignation. He elsewhere uses language which expresses that chastened spirit and weaned heart, which is the termination of all agitation and anxiety in the case of religions minds. He, who af one rime could hot comfort himself, af another was sent to comfort a brother; and, in comforting Baruch, he speaks in that nobler retaper of resignation which takes the place of sanguine hope and harassing fear, and betokens calm and clear-sighted faith and inward peace. "Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel unto thee, O Baruch. Thon didst say, Woe is me now, for the Lord bath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest..... Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I bave planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thon great things for thyself? seek them hot: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh;.., but thy lire will I give unto thee for "a prey in all places whither thon goest;" that is, seek hot success, be hot impatient, fret hot thyself—be content, if, after ail thy labours, thon dost but save thyself, without seeing other fruit of them.
And now, my brethren, does what I bave becn saying Jer. xx. 7—14.
apply to all of us, or only to Prophets? It applies to all ol us. For all of us lire in a world which promises well, but does hot flflfil; aud all ol us (taking" out lires altogether apart from religious prospects) begi with hope, a.nd end with disappointment. Doubtless, there is mach difference in out respective trials here, arising fl'om differenee of tempers and fortunes. Still it is in out ha.tare to )egin lire thoughtlessly and joyonsly; to seck great things in one wa.y or other; to ha.ve vague notions of good fo corne; to love the world, and to bclicve its promises, and seck satisfaction and happiuess ff'oto if. And, as it is out nature to hope, so if is our lot, as litb proceeds, to eneounter disappointment. I know that there are mnltitudes, in the rctired ranks of society, who pass tlcir days without any great varietics of fortune; though, even in such ca.ses, thiuking persons will have mach more to say of themselves thau at tlrst sight might a.ppear. Still, that disappointment in some shape or other is the lot of man (that is, looking at out prospects apart fl'om the next world) is plaiu, from the mere fact, if nothing else eould be said, that we begin life with health and end if with sickness; or in other words, that it co#tes to an end, /br an end is a failure. And even in the quietest walks of life, do hot the old feel regret, more or less vividly, that they are not young? Do hOt they lameut the da.ys gone by, and even with the pleastire of remembranee feel the pain? And why, exeept that they think that they have lost something which they once had, whereas in the beginning of lire, they thought of gaining something" they had hot? A double disappointment.:Now is it relion that suggests this sad view of things?:No, if is experience; if is the worhl's doing; it is tact, fi-om which we cannot escape, though fle Bible said not, word about the perishing nature of all earthly plensures. ttcre then it is, that Goal ttimse]f offers us His aid by ttis Word, and in tIis Church. Left to oursclves, we seek good from the world, but cannot find if; in youth we look forward, and in ag, e we look back. It is well we should be persuaded of these things betimes, to gain wisdom and to provide for the evil day. Seek we great things? We must seek them where they rea]ly are fo be round, and in the way in which they are fo be round; we must seek them as He has set them before us, who came into the world to enable us to gain them. We must be willing" to give up 10resent hol0e for future enjoyment, this world for the unseen. The truth is (though it is so difflcult for us to adroit it heartily), out nature is hot at first in a state to enjoy happiness, even if we had it offered fo us. e seek for it, and we feel we need it; but (strange though it is to say, still so it is) we are not fitted fo be happy. If then at once we rush forward fo seek enjoyment, it will be like a child's attempting fo walk before his strength is corne. If we would gain true bliss, we must cease to seek it as an end; we must postpone the prospect of enjoying, it.:For we are by nature in an unnatural state; we must be changed from what we are when born, before we can rcceive our greatest good. And as in sickness sharp remedies are often used, or irksome h'eatment, so if is with our souls; we must go through pain, we must practisc self-denial, we must curb our wills, and purify our hearts, before we are capable of any ]ast.ing" solid peace. To attcmpt to gain happiness, except in this apparently tedious and circuitous way, is a labour lost; if is building" on the sand; the foundation will soon give way, though the bouse looks fair for a rime. To be gay and thoughtless, tobe self-indulg`ent and self-willed, is quite out. of character with our real state. We must learn fo know ourselves, and fo bave thoughts and feelings 1)ecoming ourselves. Impetuous hope and undisciplined mirth ill-suit a sinner. Shonld he shrink from low notions of himself, and sharp pain, and mortification of natural wishes, whose guilt called down the Son of God from heaven fo die upon the cross for him? 1[ay he live in pleasure here, and eall this world his home, while he reads in the Gospel of his Saviour's lifelong" affliction and disa.ppointment? If cannot be; let us prepare for suffering" and disappointment, which befit us as sinners, and which are necessary for us as saints. Let us not turn away from trial when God brings if on us, or play the coward in the fight of faith. "Wateh ye, stand fast in the faith,
13 8 yeremiah, a Lessoz qui you like men, be strongl; '' such is St. Paul's exhorttion. When affliction overtakes you, remember fo aecept if as a means of improving your hea.rts, and pray God for His grace that it nmy do so. Look disappointment in the face. "'Fake.... the Prophet.... for an example ofsufferin affliction, and of pa.tienee. ]3ehold, ve eount them happy -ho endure." Give hot over yotr attcmpts fo serve God, thoug'h you oee nothing eome ofthem. XVa.tch and pry, md obey your conscience, though you ea.nnot pereeive your own progress in holiness. Go on, and you ealmot but go forward; believe it, though you do hot sec if. ]30 the duties of your ealling, thoug'h they are disasteful fo you. Educate your children carefidly in the good way, though you eannot tell how far God's graee has touehed their hearts. Let your light shine before men, and praise God by a consistent lire, eveu though others do hot seem fo glori[y their Father on a.ccoun ofif, or t be benefited by your examp]e. " Cast your bread upon the waters, for you shall find if afer many days..... In the morning sow your secd, in the evening withhold hot your hand; for you know hOt whether slmll prosper, either this or tha; or whether they Loth shall be alike good ." Persevere in the narrov way. OEhe Prophes went thmuh sufferins fo whieh ours are mere trifles; violence and craf combined fo turn them aside, bu they kept right on, and are af rest. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. -" Eecl. xi. 1.6.
for the Disaointed. 13 9 ow, I know full well, that this whole subjeet is distasteful fo many men, who say we ought fo be eheerful. "'We are bid rejoiee, why then do you bid us mourn?" I bid you mourn in oler that you may rejoiee more perfeetly. '" Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be eomforted ." "" They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy." I bid you talle up the cross of Christ, that you may wear His erown. Give your hearts to IIiln, and you will for yourselves solve the diffieulty, how Christians ean be sorrowfhl, yet alway rejoieiug". You will find that lightness of heart and cheerfulness are quite consistent with that new and heavenly character which tIe gives us, though fo gain if in any good measure, we must for a rime be sorrowful, and ever after thoughtful. But I give you fait warning', you must af first take His woM on trust; and if you do hot, there is no help for if. IIe says, "Corne unto Me,... and I will give you rest." You must begin on faith: you cannot see af first whither He is leading" you, and how light will rise out of the darkness. You must begin by denying" yourselves your natural wishes,—a painful work; by refl'aining from sin, by rousing from sloth, by preserving your tongue from insincere words, and your hands from deceitful dealings, and your eyes from beholding vanity; by watchingagainst the first rising" of anger, pride, impm'ity, obstinacy, jealousy; by learning fo endure the laugh of 1 Mat. v. 4. 2 Cor. vi. 10.
irreligious men for Christ's sake; by forcing your minds fo follow seriously the words of prayer, though it be diflîcult to you, and by keeping befbre)Tou the thotght of God all through the da.y. These things you will be.able to do if you do but seek the mighty hclp of God the Holy Spirit whieh is given you; and while you follow after tl»em, tben, in lbe Prophet's lal»guage, "your light shall rise in obscurity, and)Tour darkness shall be as the noond,y. And the Lord shall guide you eontinually, and satisfy your soul in drought: and you shall be like, watered ga.rden, and like a spring of w,ter, whose waters rail not ."