THE LORD PROVIDES

It is a true saying that God grants strength according to the crosses He sends, but He also sends crosses in according to the strength He gives. When we read the book of Jeremiah we find this clearly confirmed. Jeremiah was known by God from eternity; he was a favorite of Jehovah. What a great privilege this was! Who can value it rightly? Who can properly express it? Moreover, God Himself had assured him that the grace he had received was real and true. He was not only known by God and sanctified by Him as being a child of God, but he was also called and separated as a servant of God. Mountains of difficulties had arisen in his heart, but the Lord had taken them all away. God Himself had made Himself responsible for Jeremiah, for his person and also for his ministry.

They were dark and sad times when God called Jeremiah. The righteous judgement of God upon Judah and Jerusalem was near. God will not be mocked, and what a man sows he will also reap. During the reign of the godly king Josiah there was a certain amount of restraint among the people, but as a whole body they only honored God with the lips while their hearts remained far from Him. There was no sincere breaking with sin, not a whole-hearted departing from iniquity. They heaped guilt upon guilt and sin upon sin, until God could no longer tolerate their unrighteousness.

Now it was in these times that Jeremiah had to prophesy. He was bowed down under the judgments of God. It was a matter of heartfelt grief to him to see the hardness of heart increase from year to year and from day to day. Jeremiah knew that after the judgment of the hardening of hearts would follow the judgment of destruction. Great enmity was also displayed toward this faithful ambassador of God. During the reign of king Jehoiakim Jeremiah was persecuted. And why was this? Only because he delivered the Word of the Lord as God had given it to him. O, how evident it is from all this, that mankind seeks nothing but its own destruction and ruin. In the fall of Adam man became an everlasting enemy of God. And now what else does he do but live a life of enmity, either concealed or openly, to his eternal destruction, unless God Himself takes a hand by the irresistible power of the Holy Ghost!

In the days of Zedekiah, too, matters did not go well for Jeremiah. Zedekiah was a person like Pilate in later years, a man without principle. Under heavy oaths Zedekiah had promised obedience to the king of Babylon, but he secretly made a covenant with the king of Egypt, and rebelled against Babylon. If he had only fallen into the hands of God, but alas! he remained a stranger to this, and he looked for help from man. Jeremiah had warned both the monarch and the people to submit to the Lord’s chastening rod and to remain subject to Nebuchadnezzar, but neither would hear of it. The prophet had sought nothing else than their temporal and spiritual welfare. It was a matter of deep sorrow for this servant of the Lord that all his warnings were cast to the winds. Jeremiah grieved on this account because it was his own nation, to which he was so closely united; it was the nation from whom one day the Messiah was to be born.

Up to this time Jeremiah was still free to go where he pleased, and he took full advantage of the time which God was giving him. To every one whom he met and who would listen he would say: “Do not deceive yourself.” Still, whatever means Jeremiah employed, everyone hardened his heart at the warnings of God. They loved darkness better than light. Judah and Jerusalem rejected the truth and believed a lie.

On a certain day Jeremiah passed through the gate of the city. Not at midnight, but in broad daylight, while everyone could see him. He wanted to go to the land of Benjamin where he was born and where he probably still had some relatives. The watchman saw it, and… .good! now they have finally found reason to imprison him. They accuse Jeremiah as though he were nothing other than a spy, a traitor to his country. Without any hesitation the prophet could deny it, and prove his innocence, too. But no, all that he tells them is in vain. O how happy the enemy is now! The servant of God is brought before the magistrates, we would say! he was summoned before the court-martial, and without further investigation the accusations are accepted.

Pilate and Herod soon become friends when it is a matter of slaying Christ. And it is the same here. How foolish these princes were! Jeremiah was a prophet of the Lord, but also one who prayed for the people and nation, one who wept and groaned before God’s countenance. They deny the value of all this. That man must be put out of the way. The blind and foolish people now beat Jeremiah and cast him into prison.

He is finally put in a prison under the ground. One of those damp, dirty, musty and dark underground caverns. And there he lies now; helpless and inactive, trodden down by the enemy. How could God permit a thing like that? Yes, friends, that is a part of those two hundred pieces of silver for those that keep the fruit of the vineyard, of which you may read in the Songs of Solomon. Those are the trials which the Lord sometimes permits to come upon His people. But let us remember that this does not take place outside of the providence of God. It is definitely included; in fact, everything which comes upon God’s people they receive because of this Fatherly and everlasting love.

It wasn’t very pleasant for Jeremiah underground. But the Lord does not forsake His people. In whatever depths they come or find themselves, that faithful Covenant God goes with them. This is so evident from that precious covenant promise you may read in Isaiah 43:2, “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 shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” And regarding that blessed and exalted Mediator of the Covenant it is written: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them.”

Indeed, that tie which was placed in eternity and also here in time for the quickened people of God, can never be broken by any enemy. It is that tie of fellowship and love which even death can not break.

Although Jeremiah was underground, he was not forgotten and forsaken of God. In such times Christ’s suffering as a Surety becomes most precious and of great value; then it becomes the strength of our heart. Yes, friends, there must be circumstances in our life, internally as well as externally, in connection with which God can manifest Himself as the God of His people. Then they may join with the poet and sing:

My song for ever shall record
The tender mercies of the Lord;
Thy faithfulness will I proclaim,
And every age shall know Thy Name.

For Jeremiah this was fatherly chastising, not judicial punishment. It is so different if we are put into prison because of our own fault, or if we are cast into prison by the enemy, in the providence of God.

Samson sat in prison at one time, too; but…his eyes had been put out and he was grinding in the prison house. It was because of his own sin and guilt.

Peter, however, lay asleep in the prison. His soul rested in God. And Paul and Silas sang songs of praise to God in the jail at Philippi. The difference is very great. In the event that we find ourselves there due to our own fault, then we shall find heaven shut; but if we have been brought there for trial, and because God wishes to employ us as a means to manifest His glory, then we shall find free access in Christ’s blood and righteousness to the throne of God’s grace. 0, then we shall constantly be aware of the tokens of Divine love in our hearts, and our hearts will be strengthened by the ministry of Christ. He came in the fulness of time, out of His heavenly abode, into the bands of death and of hell. Of His own free will He came down to be taken prisoner, so that His captive people would be delivered out of prison, and that, even though bound with the strongest fetters, they would glory in God. As a Surety He was forsaken by God, to bring His people to God, to reconcile and unite them to Him, so they would never again be forsaken by God. O infinite, Divine wonder, one we can never comprehend or understand! This causes us to be lost in admiration and adoration before God, and fills our hearts with heavenly joy.

The Father never forsook His Son; there has never been a separation between these Divine persons. In the same way, there is never any separation between God and this people, because of the intervention of that blessed Mediator of the Covenant. This does not mean that they always feel this equally clear and plain. Zion must at times complain mournfully: “The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.” But as soon as God returns to their soul they will tell you something else; then complaints are longer heard, but then you will hear them extol the eternal, unchangeable covenant faithfulness and love of that God who loved His people with an eternal love. O, those people learn that they can be anywhere if God is with them, and that no enemy in the whole world can disrupt communications between heaven and earth, between God and their soul. In the war-torn countries, during the past war many, many telephone wires were out; but the path to heaven cannot be obstructed by any enemy.

Christ ever lives to intercede for His people. And that precious Spirit intercedes in their hearts with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Christ is that Jacob’s ladder on which the angels ascended and descended. God in Christ descends to His people, even though they are under the ground, as in the case of Jeremiah, and they are privileged to ascend by faith to the altars of God from out the depths. O, what great riches! what a great blessing! The world is poor and God’s children are rich; not rich in themselves, but rich in God through Christ.

For many days and nights Jeremiah was forced to sigh in that wretched prison. But God heard the sighs and complaints of him who lay bound there. God does not permit His people to be tried above what they are able to bear, but grants deliverance after the trial. Jeremiah could not help nor deliver himself. A poor child of God is never envious of the man who can; but he does envy the man whom God delivers in His eternal love for Christ’s sake.

Well, what happened to Jeremiah? The prophet would have had to die in that prison, but the Lord manifests that He has all hearts in His hand. “Even the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; He turneth it whithersoever He will.” Zedekiah was very wicked, but his conscience still spoke. It is fearful if one’s conscience is shut, and neither blessings nor judgments, nor warnings have anything to say to a person anymore.

Privately Zedekiah has Jeremiah brought to him. It was just like in the case of Belshazzar. When no one could read the handwriting on the wall, Daniel, who was already ninety years old, is called in. In anxious times such as those, people are willing the have God’s children around. O yes, but it is mainly to quiet their conscience. This was the case here, too. To the king everything was equally dark and oppressive. The Chaldees lay at the gates of the city, and what shall the end be for himself and for the people? Everything alarms and disturbs him, and his conscience testifies against him.

Perhaps Jeremiah can comfort him. You may see here what happens to a man who does not have God for his refuge in days of trouble and distress. He clings to a straw, but it will break off in his hand. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” The king wishes to know if the prophet has any word of the Lord for him. Yes, Jeremiah has, but it is of such a nature that it is far from encouraging: “Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

At the same time that Jeremiah had transmitted the Word of God, he had humbly requested to be released from prison. He had suffered so intensely from all that abuse. If the king had only taken a firm stand now, he would have set Jeremiah free, and released him completely. But the unprincipled king did not dare to do that.

Nevertheless God’s servant was given some relief, which is an evidence of God’s faithful care. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison. Some translate this: In the court of the armory. There Jeremiah could walk about freely; he could move and breathe there. That certainly meant much to him. Under the ground he had been oppressed on all sides; there he could barely get air to breathe. You may be sure that he will have sung:

When all the night of woe is past
And morning dawns at length
Then I shall praise Thy grace, O God,
My refuge and my strength. (Psalm 59)

A second proof of God’s faithfulness is mentioned. “And they gave him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was spent.” Our lives are in God’s hand; internally as well as externally; according to both body and soul. So often the rams of Nebaioth must minister unto the Church, and the enemies must provide food for that poor people. God simply employs them to that end. A piece of bread a day certainly was not very much. We would call it food rationing, as was the case during the war. But for Jeremiah it was enough. The little that the righteous has is much better than the abundance of many wicked. God granted His blessing upon that piece of bread. God caused the little he received to be enough. And enough is much.

Now all this is written for the comfort of God’s people in the anxious times which they must often experience. O, how we should bow ourselves deeply when His afflicting hand is upon us. His judgments are a mighty deep. O, let us not deceive ourselves. The calamities which have come upon the nations are but a beginning of sorrows, as Christ has emphatically declared.

Many of us have experienced a little of what it means when God comes; to have to meet Him being unconverted and unreconciled. Out of Christ God is a consuming fire. O, I pray you, parents and children, great and small: Do not harden your hearts, but be warned. Fall at God’s feet. Now you may still do it. Refuge is to be found only in the wounds of that precious Mediator; there alone you will find shelter from the wrath of the Almighty, and from all the arrows of the enemy.

There is still a remnant according to the election of grace. However, so often they are under the ground, imprisoned, as it were, because of their own sin and guilt. This is also true regarding their own life. Friends, do not attempt to escape in your own strength, but be desirous of having the great God issue a command.

May the day of salvation soon dawn for you, concerned souls! Then you shall be delivered out of that pit which has no water by that blood of the Covenant, and amid all the judgments and world calamities you will be set free by Christ. May the power of atoning, cleansing, sanctifying preserving, and quickening blood be applied to you by the Holy Ghost. What a great thing it would be if God’s people could once again lift up their heads. Then their hearts and mouths would be opened, having received boldness by the eternal Spirit for Christ’s sake. Then they will have nothing to distress them, neither temporal nor spiritual things. Then there will be a bakers’ street, and bread will be baked there as long as Jeremiah remains in Jerusalem. People of God, your Surety has merited this for you. The earth is cursed because of your sins, but inasmuch as the earth was made drunken with Christ’s blood, it now brings forth herbs meet for whom it is dressed. It is a great thing if that people may eat a piece of bread, sensible of their unworthiness. They will then moisten it with their tears, moved because of the wonder of it all. How much more will they be lost in admiration if they may view that Christ who merited all things; also that bread. He taught them to pray: “Our Father which art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread.” They have received a child’s right to that bread.

O, we should be filled with adoration for that God. Praise Him who has ransomed you; who delivered your soul from that death, which made your soul tremble and fear. He now grants you His grace.

One day nevermore under the ground or in prison, but taken up into eternal glory. No small piece of bread then, but fulness of joy in the presence of God; at His right hand pleasures for evermore.

Comfort ye one another with these words. Amen.

The growth of a believer is not like a mushroom, but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed, but surely. Many suns, showers, and frosts pass upon it before it comes to perfection; and in winter, when it seems dead, it is gathering strength at the root.

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