Jeremiah 14

Resp. 1. To make God to be a God to us, is to acknowledge him for a God: The gods of the heathen are idols (Psalm 96:5), and we know that an idol is nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4), that is, it has nothing of deity in it: If we cry, Help O idol, an idol cannot help; the idols were t…

Deutr. 23. 14. For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy Camp to deliver thee. Jer. 14. 9. Thou O Lord, art in the midst of us. The Church of God hath not only enemies without her, to conflict with, but within her, such as are Hypocrites and Apostates; she complains that…

All the fields do languish, and the bellowing cattle are pined with thirst. Such a sad state the prophet rhetorically describes (Jeremiah 14:3-6). The nobles have sent their little ones to the waters, they came to the pits and found no water; they returned with their vessels emp…

Though you make many prayers, when you multiply prayer, I will not hear: and when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; your hands so filthy that if you would follow me to lay hold on me with them, you drive me further off, as one with foul hands following…

As the ivy wrapped about the tree, cannot be hurt, except you do hurt to the tree: So, the Lord has twisted our concernment about his own honor and glory. Thus the saints plead God's glory as an argument (Jeremiah 14:7), O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do you i…

1. Let us be earnest suitors to him, exercise Eyes of Faith, and Knees of prayer. Jeremiah 14:9. And in prayer let us use Joshua's argument, Josh. 7:9.

Doctrine 2. It is God alone that can keep us from wandering. Reason. There is in man's heart a mighty proneness thereto (Jeremiah 14:10). You have hearts that love to wander. Man is a restless creature, that loves shifts and changes.

There need many mercies from first to last for the saving of a poor sinner; their natural misery is great (Ezekiel 16:6): When I passed by you and saw you polluted in your own blood, I said to you when you were in your blood, live; yes, I said to you when you were in your blood,…

We have boisterous lusts, and wandering hearts, we need not only to be conducted but governed. We have hearts that love to wander (Jeremiah 14:10). We are sheep that need a shepherd, for no creature is more apt to stray (Psalm 95:10).

Good David had cause to say (Psalm 119:176), I have gone astray like a lost sheep: Oh, seek your servant. We go astray, not only out of ignorance, but out of perverseness of inclination: Jeremiah 14:10, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not restrained their feet. We have…

There is no way to shake off those evil companions and associates, till there be a bent seriously toward heaven. So for ourselves, we have changeable hearts, that love to wander (Jeremiah 14:10). We have many revoltings and reluctancies, therefore until a sanctified judgment, an…

Magistracy, ministry, and commonalty are diseased, and those who pretended to be our healers are physicians of no value. We have spent our money upon these physicians, but our sores are not healed (Jeremiah 14:19): why have you smitten us and there is no healing for us? Instead…

Our turning away our eye from the Covenant is the cause why we succumb; Christ, under his sorest assault with hell and hell's pursuivants and officers, devils, and the felt anger of a forsaking God, doubles his grips on the Covenant, my God, my God (Psalm 22:1) (Matthew 27), O m…

14. And upon this account there is required a deadening of our hearts to shipping and trading with diverse mighty nations, as we see in the case of Tyre (Ezekiel 27), of Babylon (Revelation 18:11-13; Jeremiah 51). So are we to be mortified to fair houses (Isaiah 5:8), stately ci…

Our blessed Savior not only did not in fact pray for the world, but openly and in the most solemn manner avowed the omission (John 17:9). And the prophet Jeremiah was forbidden by God, to pray for the Jews, for their good (Jeremiah 14:11). So that when the apostle in the first v…

(Psalm 40:12): My sins are more in number than the hairs of my head. (Jeremiah 14:7): Our iniquities testify against us — our backslidings are many. It is a vain shift to say, the Church prays and confesses in name of the wicked party, not in name of the justified ones; for as m…

Here are two living things, Christ, and believing Paul acting mutually one upon another, there is a heart and a life upon each side. 5. Faith under fainting and great straits can so improve the promise as to put a holy and modest challenge upon God, so (Psalm 119:49) afflicted D…

4. We may use arguments of faith, challenging God (Jeremiah 31:18): "Turn me, and I shall be turned" — and why? "For you are the Lord my God." The covenant is faith's Magna Carta, the grand mother-promise; all prayers must be bottomed on this (Jeremiah 14:21): "Do not abhor us"…