Jeremiah 4:11-12, Jeremiah 4:22-28, Psalm 14, Exodus 32:7-14, Psalm 51:1-10, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10
A). “YET I WILL NOT MAKE A FULL END.”
Jeremiah 4:11-12; Jeremiah 4:22-28.
Many of our readings in Jeremiah seem to, like Lamentations, open out on to a vista of total devastation and despair. However, depending on what translation one uses, there is hope: “yet I will NOT make a full end” (Jeremiah 4:27). As always, God’s judgments are tempered with mercy.
In fact, despite the terrible circumstances that Judah was facing, the intention all along (even the intention in the exile when it came) was for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11). Whatever circumstances we may be facing at any given moment, even if it is the direct consequences of our own foolishness, God has a better end in sight.
The selected verses first confront us with a sirocco, a dry dusty wind coming in from the Sahara which can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa. This is no mere winnowing or cleansing wind, but a fierce wind from the LORD (Jeremiah 4:11). Yet this is only a metaphor for something infinitely worse: the eventual Babylonian invasion of Judah (cf. Jeremiah 4:13), and the scattering of the Jews from their homeland – as a judgment from the LORD (Jeremiah 4:12).
The LORD continues to indict His people, in terms reminiscent of the Wisdom books. They are foolish and have not known God. They are metaphorically drunk on their silliness. Their only skill is to do evil, and they do not know how to do good. (Jeremiah 4:22).
The apocalyptic horror of the following verses takes us all the way back to Creation (Genesis 1:2) – the only other time when the words “waste and void” (Jeremiah 4:23) appear in the Scripture. It is as if God is wiping the slate clean, allowing the world to return to its primeval chaos, and starting all over again. Such dissolution of the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 4:23-24) is also envisaged at the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:14), and as a prelude to the end of the age (2 Peter 3:10).
After the hurricane, the Babylonian invasion, we are left with a wilderness of utter devastation. The people are gone, and the birds have fled; the fruitful field is a wilderness, and the cities are broken down. All this is because of the fierce anger of the LORD against His people (Jeremiah 4:25-26).
It is here that we capture our text of hope in the context of God’s determination against His wayward people (Jeremiah 4:27). The punishment is inevitable, and God will not turn back from it (Jeremiah 4:28). “Yet I will NOT make a full end” (Jeremiah 4:27).
In what turned out to be the Church’s inaugural sermon, Peter spoke of Jesus being delivered over BY GOD to be crucified by the hands of evil men (Acts 2:23). Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Acts 2:36; cf. Genesis 50:20).
We gain a better perspective for the verses of Jeremiah in today’s reading if we take into account the overall theological background of God’s sovereignty - and His continued working of good, even out of what we deem ‘evil’.
B). UNBELIEVING BEHAVIOUR AND THE GRACE OF GOD.
Psalm 14.
The first verse of this Psalm is well known as an argument against those who deny the very existence of God (Psalm 14:1). I am sure I have heard it preached in that way, I know I have read it so, and maybe have even mentioned it in such a way from the pulpit. Taken on its own, it seems valid enough: but the context does not seem to be addressing so much an ‘intellectual atheism’ as a ‘practical’ or ‘moral atheism.’
The practical atheist sets out like the Prodigal son in the parable, wishing that his father were dead already (Luke 15:12). Notice, the Prodigal did not deny his father’s existence, but just wanted to get as far away as possible from his father’s house (Luke 15:13). The consequences, as we know, were disastrous - until such time as he came to his senses (Luke 15:17) and wound his humbled weary way back to his father’s house (Luke 15:18).
True enough these people are called ‘Nabal’ or ‘Fool’ (cf. 1 Samuel 25:25), but the moral dimension is found right here in the second half of the first verse: “They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 14:1). The last clause is echoed in the third verse: “none that doeth good; no, not one” (Psalm 14:3; cf. Romans 3:10-12). This is illustrated in an earlier Psalm where it is said of the wicked, ‘God is not in all his thoughts’ (Psalm 10:4; cf. Romans 1:28).
Let us be sure of one thing: ‘The LORD looks down from heaven, he beholds all the children of men’ (Psalm 33:13). Before the Flood ‘God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth’ (Genesis 6:12). So here, “The LORD looked down from heaven” to see if there were any who did understand and seek after God (Psalm 14:2).
“No,” comes the emphatic answer. “All” are gone aside (Psalm 14:3). ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way’ (Isaiah 53:6). ‘We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as a filthy rag’ (Isaiah 64:6). ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).
This universal “none;” “no, not one;” “all” is suddenly negated as we enter into the second section of the Psalm. Here we become aware of a people whom the LORD calls “My people” (Psalm 14:4); “the righteous” (Psalm 14:5); and “the poor” (Psalm 14:6). The only way that there can be any righteous when the LORD has said there is none is by His grace, as ever, plucking out those whom He has foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:29-30).
It was by God’s grace that Noah was plucked out of a doomed world (Genesis 6:8). It was by grace that ‘Abraham believed in the LORD, and it was accounted to Him as righteousness’ (Genesis 15:6), the model of our faith (Galatians 3:9). It was by grace that Lot was plucked out of a doomed city (Genesis 19:16).
When Elijah thought he stood alone, he was told that seven thousand had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). At the end of the Old Testament, ‘they that feared the LORD spoke often to one another,’ and a book of remembrance was written ‘for them that feared the LORD and thought upon His name’ (Malachi 3:16). So, in the Psalmist’s day, as in ours, there was a “people” (Psalm 14:4) accounted “righteous” (Psalm 14:5) by God’s grace.
The indictment against the “Fools” who live as if they were answerable to “no God” (Psalm 14:1), is that they are “workers of iniquity” who have “no knowledge” and “eat up My people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD” (Psalm 14:4). People who want God out of their lives cannot abide His people, and often oppress them (Psalm 14:6).
Yet they are presented with a fearsome sight: “God is in the generation of the righteous” (Psalm 14:5; cf. Psalm 112:2). “The LORD is his refuge” (Psalm 14:6; cf. Psalm 9:9). We who have fled to Christ ‘lay hold upon the hope that is set before us,’ and anchor ourselves in Him (Hebrews 6:18-19).
The final verse anticipates God’s deliverance of His people and encourages us to praise Him (Psalm 14:7; cf. Psalm 85:1; Psalm 126:1-3). Perhaps the first thing we need to be delivered from, if we have not already, is the foolishness of trying to live our lives without God. And if we have been delivered (as I hope we have), then we must not forget that it is God’s grace which delivered us from this and every sin.
C). A MODEL OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER.
Exodus 32:7-14.
Even as Moses finished his business with the LORD in the mount, the LORD disowned His covenant people, telling Moses to get down “for your people which you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves” (Exodus 32:7).
The indictment is that they had made a molten calf, worshipped it, and made sacrifices to it: and that they had said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:8; cf. Exodus 32:4).
Now the wrath of the LORD waxed hot against them, and He determined to wipe them out, and make a new nation out of Moses (Exodus 32:9-10).
Such is the humility of Moses that he does not even consider the option of the LORD making a new nation out of him, to replace wayward Israel. Instead, Moses’ response is a model of intercessory prayer.
First, he is zealous for the honour of the LORD. It is the LORD who has brought Israel out of Egypt, so why should He give occasion for the Egyptians to suggest that He brought them out only to consume them in the mountains (Exodus 32:11-12)?
Second, he appeals to the covenant promise which the LORD had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 32:13).
We are not told here of any sin-offering being made, but “the LORD repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people” (Exodus 32:14). Such is the power of prayer: that man should strive with God, and prevail (cf. Genesis 32:28)!
The Cross of Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God’s “great power and mighty hand” (Exodus 32:11). Through the sacrifice of Jesus, Christians have been brought out of captivity to sin and death (Romans 8:2). Because He took our sin, we are made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
It is part of the purposes of God that His purposes should be fulfilled through the prayers of His people. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (1 John 2:1), who is ever interceding for us at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34). We are enjoined by Jesus Himself to ‘ask in my Name’ (John 16:24), and so we may come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Furthermore, though we know not what to pray for as we ought, yet (since Pentecost) the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us (and through us) with groanings that cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).
D). CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART.
Psalm 51:1-10.
In this solemn Psalm of repentance, we dive in (headfirst, as it were) with a plea for mercy. The verbs “have mercy… blot out… wash me… cleanse me” (Psalm 51:1-2) all appear to be in the imperative: but they are in fact plaintive pleas based in the fact that there is no redemption outside of God Himself. This is the task of the awakened conscience: “I acknowledge my transgressions; my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).
Although our offences are often manifested in the pain which we bring to others, sin is primarily a slight to the character of God. I have wronged Bathsheba, David could say; I have wronged her husband Uriah; I have wronged my general Joab; I have wronged my people as their king: but above all, I have wronged God. Before I can even begin to go about my job of seeking reconciliation with these other people, I stand at the bar of God: “Against thee have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4).
We are not making excuses when we have recourse to observations about our tendency towards sin. David is not slandering his mother when he suggests that he was ‘conceived in sin’ (Psalm 51:5) - he is rather recognising that the tendency to sin is inherent in the human character. We are left without excuse once we realise that, not only did we inherit Adam’s fall, but we were equipped with a sense of right and wrong, even from the womb (Psalm 51:6)!
Once again, the Psalmist makes his plea, but this time he mingles it with faith: “Purge me, and I shall be clean… wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow… make me to hear joy and gladness, that I may rejoice” (Psalm 51:7-8). The purging is with hyssop, an aromatic herb used in the sprinkling of blood at the first Passover (cf. Exodus 12:22). Significantly it was also used for the cleansing of lepers (cf. Leviticus 14:6-8).
David was faced with the leprosy of sin in his own life. The penalty for both adultery and murder was death, with no provision for their forgiveness in the Jewish faith. Yet somehow, he believed that God could provide a sacrifice (cf. Genesis 22:8), and blood could be sprinkled even for his sins!
Well, just like Abraham was provided with a ram for a sacrifice in lieu of Isaac (cf. Genesis 22:13), the LORD had already provided a lamb for David. Oh, this was a Lamb which had not yet been sacrificed: yet it would be true to say that Jesus’ blood was sacrificed for the sins of His forebear (cf. Matthew 1:1), just as surely as it was for ours too. Thus, God is seen to be both just, and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus (cf. Romans 3:25-26); and to hide His face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities (Psalm 51:9).
Having been purged of sin, we will then be able to enter into the positive benefits of reconciliation with God. We shall be satisfied with nothing short of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives (Psalm 51:10).
E). PAUL’S TESTIMONY.
1 Timothy 1:12-17.
Paul is ‘an Apostle of Jesus Christ according to the command of God our Saviour, and of the Lord Jesus Christ our hope’ (1 Timothy 1:1).
I. THANKSGIVING.
The Apostle gives thanks to the One who strengthened Him for this service, Christ Jesus our Lord. Furthermore, Paul marvels that he - of all people - was esteemed as faithful - especially considering his past life (1 Timothy 1:12-13).
Faith, of course, is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). So is our equipping for the service of the gospel. Paul was first given the gift of faith, and then called to - and equipped for - his ministry (1 Timothy 1:12).
II. PAUL’S PAST LIFE.
The Apostle describes what he once was (1 Timothy 1:13):
1. As a blasphemer himself, he also compelled others to blaspheme.
2. As a persecutor, he pursued believers even to foreign cities.
3. Paul’s violence saw him cast his vote for the death sentence.
(See also Acts 26:9-11).
III. THE SIN OF IGNORANCE.
Yet, for all that, he did it “ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13).
This is not to give an excuse for the sin of unbelief (John 3:18) - but it does offer some mitigation for the sin of ignorance (Leviticus 5:17-19).
Jesus prayed on the Cross for those who ‘know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34).
Paul no doubt benefited from this prayer, and also the similar prayer of Stephen (Acts 7:60) (the latter of which he will have heard as he held the coats whilst the church’s first martyr was stoned).
IV. THE GRACE OF GOD.
This was because the grace of our Lord “super-abounded” towards Paul - producing within him both the faith, and the love, which emanate from Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14).
‘Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound’ (Romans 5:20). However, ignorance still requires repentance (Acts 3:17-19).
V. ‘A TRUSTWORTHY SAYING.’
There follows a short, expressive saying which encapsulates the whole essence of the gospel. It is indeed “worthy of all acceptation” (1 Timothy 1:15).
1. The Person of our Lord is declared under two names:
(i) “Christ” (Messiah, or anointed one). In Ancient Israel prophets, priests and kings were anointed.
(ii) “Jesus” (Saviour - see Matthew 1:21).
2. We see the work of Christ.
(i). He is the One who came into the world - the incarnation.
(ii). He came to save sinners - His work on the Cross.
(iii) He came to save even the chief of sinners.
VI. CONCLUSION.
If the chief of sinners can be saved, then I can be saved, and so can you.
Indeed, the Apostle considered his own testimony as a pattern of the patience and long-suffering of the Lord ‘towards all who will believe unto eternal life’ (1 Timothy 1:16).
VII. DOXOLOGY.
It is no wonder that this encouraging testimony ends with a word of doxology (1 Timothy 1:17).
1. “Now to the King of the ages” is addressed to the eternal God.
2. He is incorruptible, and immortal.
3. He is invisible - no man has seen Him.
However, He is revealed in His Son (John 1:18).
4. He is the only (‘wise’) God (cf. Romans 16:27).
5. To whom be “honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
F). A LOST SHEEP AND A LOST COIN.
Luke 15:1-10.
In the first parable of today’s reading we see the caring shepherd. He left his ninety-nine other sheep in order to seek the one that was lost, until he had found it. This is an image which is familiar from both the Old Testament and the New Testament:
‘For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out’ (Ezekiel 34:11).
Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep’ (John 10:11).
I am familiar with the bleating of lost sheep from my sojourn in the Western Isles of Scotland. Usually it was a lamb that had got the wrong side of the fence by the roadside, or a stubborn ewe grazing on the foreshore that had become separated from her companions by the incoming tide. They were unable to help themselves, and cried out in alarm.
The tax collectors and “sinners” who came to Jesus similarly recognised that they were lost.
Then a man with a crook would come to the rescue. The stubborn ewe would be waded through water, if necessary, to bring her to safety. The lamb would be lifted from the roadside and carried back into the field in one of the most evocative of Biblical illustrations:
‘He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom’ (Isaiah 40:11).
In our text, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing - and parties with his friends over the lost one of his hundred, which is now found.
The scribes’ and Pharisees’ accusation was a statement of fact: sinners resort to Jesus, and He receives them.
After all, He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine people who are “just” and need no repentance!
The second illustration shows us a woman who loses one of her ten pieces of silver. Perhaps she has had it sewn into her garment as part of her dowry. The coin has now slipped onto the floor of her dark, dusty home. She lights a lamp, and sweeps thoroughly, until at last she finds her lost coin.
Again there is a party, again rejoicing. The woman’s one coin in ten has been found. And again we are reminded that there is much joy in the presence of angels over one sinner who repents.
Unlike the sheep, the coin was totally unaware that it was lost. Likewise unconverted man is lifeless until the light of the Holy Spirit illumines him, and brings him to life.
The woman represents the church. The sweeping might represent the work of evangelism. The lamp would then illustrate the light of the gospel, and particularly the Holy Spirit’s work of bringing the light to bear on the life of the sinner.
