A HEART-TOUCHING APPEAL

JEREMIAH 14:1

A. "LET MINE EYES RUN DOWN WITH TEARS NIGHT AND DAY, AND LET THEM NOT CEASE; FOR THE VIRGIN DAUGHTER OF MY PEOPLE IS BROKEN WITH A GREAT BREACH, WITH A VERY GRIEVOUS BLOW"
  1. These and related words in Jeremiah 14 indicate:
    1. The prophet's love and affection for the people and a realization of their fallen condition
    2. Their aggravated sins seemed to hide all hope for recovery
  2. In this:
    1. The prophet of God sets a pattern for all the ministers of God - to love God's people
    2. And to be deeply concerned about their relationship to the Lord
    3. His appeal to a fallen people and to an offended God is moving and heart touching B. A HEART-TOUCHING APPEAL
  3. The background to the plea:
    1. A great breach between Israel and the Lord
    2. Said the prophet Isaiah, "your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear" - Is. 59:1-3
    3. Said the Psalmist, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" - Ps. 66:18
    4. A state of confusion and moral decay which was heart-breaking to the prophet of God
  4. The plea of the prophet:
    1. The humble confession of the penitent - "We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness" (v.20)
    2. There is no other honest way of dealing with our sins. As God loves a cheerful giver, He also desires an honest confession - Ps. 32:5; I John 1:7; Examples of humble confession of sin: David truly made a penitent confession of his sin - 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:1-14; the prodigal son - Luke 15:18-21; the publican - Luke 18:13-14
    3. Men like Moses, Jeremiah, and Daniel are noted for their representing God's penitent people in their confession of sin - compare Ex. 32:30-32 with our text and Dan. 9
  5. Note the basis of the plea of Jeremiah:
    1. "Do not abhor us for Thy name's sake"
    2. He also appeals to the dignity of His throne - "Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory"
    3. The throne of the glory of God is the mercy seat; this throne, the throne of grace, will never be dishonored by the Lord
    4. The prophet's next appeal is the solemnity of the covenant the Lord had made with His people, "Remember, break not Thy covenant with us" - Is. 54:10; 59:21 C. THE RESOLVE
  6. Art not Thou He, O Lord, O Lord our God...that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers?
    1. The thought is that God let's the sun shine upon the just and the unjust - Matt. 5:45 that is true also of sending His rain upon the just and the unjust
    2. If God does that for the sinners, why would He withhold these blessings from His children
  7. What is so challenging in this touching plea of the prophet Jeremiah:
    1. That he revealed the sorrow of a man of God who foresaw the calamity that would soon overtake his nation
    2. He loved the people and sought by every means at his disposal to change the pending judgments over an apostate nation
    3. Our blessed Lord carried that same sorrow as He foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem - Luke 19:41-44
    4. As we view current events in the light of Bible Prophecy, how can anyone of us be lighthearted with perilous times before us - 2 Tim. 3:1-5
    5. All news media points to the chaotic condition now prevailing among the nations - Matt. 24:6-14; Luke 21:25-26
    6. Is there a possibility that our Lord predicted the carelessness of some of His servants living in the last days - Matt. 24:48-51
    7. We shall do well to heed the admonition found in Joel 2:15-17


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