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help matters. It would only accentu ate their guilt. His murder would he an added sin for which God would pun ish them. (2 Ki. 24:3, 4) “ Surely at th e comm an dm ent o f the L ord cam e th is upon Judah, to rem ove them ou t o f his sig h t, fo r the sin s o f M anasseh, a cco rd in g to a ll that he did; A nd a lso fo r the in n ocen t h lood th at he sh ed ; fo r he filled Jerusalem w ith in n o cen t b lo o d ; w h ich the L ord w ou ld n ot p ar don.” (4) JEREMIAH DEFENDED AND DELIVERED, y. 16. The Lord brought conviction by the word of His prophet. The worldly, un godly, reckless princes, as well as the people, wer'e convicted, and confessed that the prophet was a true prophet. “ This man is not worthy of death for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord.” So it was with Paul when he plead before Agrippa and Festus (Acts 26:32). When God called Jeremiah He gave him this promise: (Jer. 1:16-19) “ I w ill u tter m y ju d gm en t a g ain st them . T hou , th erefore, g ird up th y loin s, arise and sp eak u n to them a ll th at I comm and thee. T h ey sh all figh t a g ain st thee, hut th ey sh all n o t p rev a il a g a in st thee, fo r I am w ith thee to d eliver thee.” The Gospel of the grace of God is a trust sacredly committed to us as His messengers. Are we faithfully giving it to the people of the earth? Are any of us who are preachers and teachers evading our responsibility and avoiding the opportunity to declare the whole counsel of God? Listen to Paul’s ex hortation to Timothy: (2 Tim. 4:1, 2) “ I ch a rg e thee, th erefore, b e fo re God and th e !Lord Jesu s Christ, w h o shall ju d g e the q u ick and the dead at his ap p ea rin g and h is kin gd om , p reach the W o rd , be in stan t in season and ou t o f season . R e p ro v e , rebu k e, exh ort, w ith a ll lo n g su fferin g and d octrin e.” In these days there is a tendency to make but little of the strong doctrines of the Lord; to smooth the stern de nunciations against sin; to make light of eternal things and to prophesy a pleasant future. Jeremiah won out because of his faithfulness. May the Lord make us brave and strong. Hear the Word of the Lord to Joshua (Josh. 1 : 9 )
“ H ave n o t I comm an ded th ee? Be stro n g and o f a g o o d c o u r a g e ;. be not “* nei t her be th ou dism a yed ; fo r the L ord th y God is w ith thee w h ith ersoever thou g oest.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1) Jeremiah was Jehovah’s proph et, predicting judgment upon Judah. (2) The prophet’s place is not a playground, but a battlefield. (3) God demands a whole-hearted service with the whole Word of God. (4) Persecution may come to a faithful preacher, but God will promote him. (5) The world may not welcome the Word of God, but it is worth while to preach it. ( 6 ) Convicted, the princes confess ed that Jeremiah was a true prophet. (7) Teachers should evade any ten-, dency and avoid any habit of treating lightly the warnings of the Word. ( 8 ) If we lovingly and loyally labor in the truth, God will hold accountable those whose attitude is unjust toward us. (9) Our commission carries with it both a responsibility and a reward. v. 2. Stand in the court of the Lord's house. Jeremiah knew from his own experience that a subject might trust and serve God with his whole heart even when the COMMENTS FROM king was false to COMMENTS FROM J e h o v a h . He Keith L. Brooks understood h is countrymen t o o well to expect that a nation would con tinue to advance in paths of righteous ness which its leaders and teachers had forsaken. But scattered here and there through the mass of the people was a remnant, men and women, to whom the revelation of Jehovah had been the be ginning of a higher life. He would not leave them without a word -of counsel and encouragement. To others he would give a message of warning and judg ment.—Ball. v. 3. I may repent. Expressed ac cording to human conceptions, not as if God did not foreknow all contingencies, but to mark the obstinacy of the people and the difficulty of healing them and to show His own goodness in making the
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