Well, let's turn back to our reading in Jeremiah.
We're going to read again at verse 2 of chapter 31, verse 2 and 3.
Thus says the Lord,
The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness
! When Israel sought for rest,
the Lord appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Next weekend, God willing, we have our communion weekend
when we look forward to visiting preachers coming to minister to us.
We look forward to being under God's word, taking communion.
But what does it mean to you?
What does that mean to you?
We hear phrases at this time such as taking communion,
sitting at the Lord's table, being or becoming a member.
We hear about meeting the session.
And perhaps we know little of what these things mean,
or perhaps we're very familiar with what these things mean.
What does it mean for you?
Is it something you are going to do?
Or do you see it as just something that is for others?
Well, at the heart of communion,
at the heart of what we are doing,
it's not any of the things I've mentioned.
At the heart of it is remembering what has been done for us by Jesus Christ.
By remembering what he did for us at the cross that he gave his life.
Because we, by our nature, are sinners.
Every one of us is that.
We are all in the same boat when it comes to being sinners.
But Jesus came to save his people from their sins.
And he did so by coming to give his own life.
So how are you sitting here today?
Or how are you sitting at home listening online?
When you hear all of these things,
are you thinking,
I am glad to be numbered among those who will come
and sit at the Lord's table and remember my precious Savior?
Remember his precious steadfast love
that saves me from my sins.
Or are you sitting here today or listening
and thinking,
I wish,
how I wish I could do that.
How I would long to come
and just show
that sense of giving to the Lord,
remembering him
for what he has done for me.
But I'm not good enough.
Or perhaps you're sitting here today or listening
and you're thinking,
it's not for me.
Not just now.
Not at this time.
Maybe another time.
It's just not for me.
Whatever situation you find yourself in today,
whatever situation you find yourself in
in this coming week
as we're thinking about approaching the Lord's Supper,
one thing we can say for sure,
we can only do it
by the grace of God to us.
The grace that he gives
and by faith in him
and him alone.
So this morning,
we're going to look at this passage
in Jeremiah,
a passage that reminds us
about this grace,
the wonder of God's grace.
And it's grace even in the midst
of hard times.
Grace even in the midst
of times of difficulty,
times of struggle,
times of challenge.
It's a grace that he gives.
And Jeremiah,
if you're familiar with the book at all,
you say,
well,
how can you find grace
in Jeremiah?
Because as you read through it,
you see,
you might say,
there's so little
here about grace.
Jeremiah,
the prophet,
was so often
one associated
with bringing
bad news,
associated with
a sense of hopelessness.
And you can read through
the whole of the book
of Jeremiah
and think,
well,
where is hope found
in the midst
of this book?
One person
described it in this way,
52 chapters
of almost uninterrupted
gloom
and doom.
It's not.
It is God's word
to us.
It's not gloom
and doom.
Yes,
there's challenges
in it.
But it's not like
what we see
on the news today.
If you watch the news
at all in these days,
that is doom
and gloom
all the time.
There's so much
sorrow,
so much sadness,
so many things
going on around us.
There's almost
nothing positive.
It used to be
you could watch the news
and you would get
that story at the end
when they would say,
and finally,
and there was
something positive
to speak about,
some good news story,
but seldom
do you even
see that now.
But as you look
at Jeremiah
and as you look
at the word of God,
the Bible as a whole,
what you see
is a story
about God's people
and the journey
that they are on
and reminders,
constant reminders
as you're going
through it of sin,
of waywardness.
We see all that
in these verses
that we're going
to look at
together today,
but we see
a God who cares.
And a God
who calls
his people.
And there are
a number of
encouragements
in the book
of Jeremiah.
It's not always
just that everything's
positive.
It's not.
There are challenges too,
but there are still
encouragements in it.
One of my own
very personal ones
is from this book,
chapter 8,
verse 20,
a verse there
that says,
the harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.
It sounds gloomy.
The harvest has passed,
the summer has ended,
still you're not saved,
and yet it was a verse
that was used
in my own conversion,
preached nearly 23 years ago
by the man
who's now
out into the moderator
in Shabbos.
And those words
spoke to me,
challenged me,
but also spoke
about the grace
of God.
How,
although we can be
in that situation,
there is hope
as we look to Jesus.
One of the best
known verses
in Jeremiah
is Jeremiah 29,
11.
For I know the plans
I have for you,
declares the Lord,
plans for welfare
and not for evil,
to give you a future
and a hope.
These may be words
that you've heard
and know well.
They're encouraging words,
but they're in the midst
of difficulty
and in the midst
of challenge.
And so too,
as we turn
to the end
of chapter 30
and into chapter 31,
we see both challenge
and encouragement
in these verses
as well.
And what we have
is surrounded here
by the grace
of God.
And you see that
in verse 2,
which is really
our text,
if you like,
the people
who survived
the sword
found grace
in the wilderness.
Grace
in the wilderness.
And it's these,
that word,
grace in the wilderness,
that I want us
to think about.
And we see grace
here in three
different ways.
At the end
of chapter 30,
we have a grace
that warns.
A grace that warns.
And then as you
go into chapter 31,
we have a grace
then that reminds,
and then thirdly,
we'll see we have
a grace that renews.
A grace that warns,
a grace that reminds,
and a grace that renews.
So the first thing
we want to see here
is a grace that warns.
And we see that
at the end
of chapter 30.
Jeremiah had
a very long ministry.
He ministered
to the people
for about 50 years.
It's hard to imagine
preaching and ministering
for 50 years
in any kind of situation.
But Jeremiah's situation
was one where
it was 50 years
where no one listened.
There's no record
of anyone repenting,
of believing.
Nobody listened.
They mocked him,
they shunned him,
told him to go away.
They wanted nothing
to do with him.
Imagine 50 years of ministry
and no one's listening.
difficult.
But it does not mean
that his ministry
wasn't fruitful
because he was faithful
to the word of God.
And although it took time,
the people did come back.
But much of Jeremiah's ministry
was of giving warning.
And we see that
at the end of chapter 30.
In verse 23,
Behold the storm
of the Lord.
There is a warning here.
But it's a gracious warning.
It's a warning
that comes
from God.
Silence at times
can be bliss.
There are times,
I'm sure,
every one of us
would say,
I just want to get away
and have a time to myself,
a time of peace,
a time of silence,
to get away
from the noise
and the busyness of life
and just find a place,
a place of solitude.
It's lovely
to get that kind of place.
We need it
from time to time.
But silence
can sometimes
be an awful thing.
Silence
when you're waiting
for news
of maybe a loved one
who's missing.
It's an awful thing
not to hear anything.
It's an anxious time.
Silence
when you're crying
for help
and nobody's hearing.
silence
from someone
you love
who's not speaking
to you.
We can know
and maybe you do know
these kinds
of situations
for yourself
where silence
can be agony.
Silence
can be painful.
But where do we see
the greatest silence
that took place?
It's not for ourselves
but it's what was done
for us
and especially
as we think
of a communion week
it's where we look
to as we approach
a communion season
it's at the cross
where Jesus there
suffered
for our sin.
Where as we see here
behold the storm
of the Lord
that was coming
upon the people.
Behold
the storm
of the Lord
that we can have
in our lives.
As we look
to the cross
we see
the way that Jesus
suffered for us.
in Matthew 27
verse 45
now from the sixth
hour there was
darkness over the land
until the ninth hour
and about the ninth hour
Jesus cried out
with a loud voice
saying
Eli Eli
lemma sabachthani
that is my God
my God
why
have you forsaken me?
There was silence.
but when we see here
a storm warning
we see it is
a gracious warning
because we see
that God is not silent
but God is speaking.
God is warning.
And Jeremiah
was warning
his people
here as well.
He was warning them
to learn
to heed
these warnings.
Professor John L. Mackay
who was a lecturer
in the
Free Church College
he wrote a commentary
on Jeremiah
and one of the points
he makes
on these verses
is
he says
there is a prevalent
tendency
to grasp
the promises
of the Lord
and to forget
the warnings
that he gives.
A warning
is given
that the future
time of blessing
and its continuance
are not to be
lightly assumed
as inevitable.
We must take care
not to repeat
the mistakes
of the past.
What mistakes?
Well as you look
at this passage
and as the end
of chapter 31
Jeremiah is warning
his people
behold the storm
of the Lord
he is warning them
that they have
made mistakes
that sin leads
us down
the wrong path.
The mistakes
of taking God
lightly
of not listening
of rejecting
him
they did it
for 50 years
they didn't
listen to a word
that Jeremiah
was saying.
You do it
I do it.
We don't listen.
We take God
lightly.
We can reject
him so easily.
And we can see
that there is
doom
and gloom.
The storm
of the Lord
can feel
very much
upon us.
There's a word
in the dictionary
and it's
Jeremiah.
And what does
it mean?
Well if you look
at what the
definition of
Jeremiah
it means
a prolonged
lamentation
or mournful
complaint.
That's very much
from Jeremiah.
You can see
it so clearly.
Do you feel
Jeremiah today?
Do you feel
that sense
of just the
weight
of everything
upon you?
the weight
of sin
the fears
of life
the worries
the anxieties
everything that
just comes
our way
so often.
We can feel
Jeremiah
doom
and gloom
but yet
what we see
here is that
God is still
in control
because even
as it speaks
of a storm
here
he says
in verse
24
the fierce
anger of
the Lord
will not
turn back
until he
has executed
and accomplished
the intentions
of his mind.
In the latter
days you will
understand this.
God has a
plan
and a purpose
even in the
storms.
Even in all
these things
God is saying
this is part
of my purpose
for you
in the days
of Jeremiah
and he says
it to ourselves
as well.
These are my
purposes for you
and in the
latter days
you will
understand
that there
are times
that we
cannot
understand
things.
Just like
the hymn writer
William Cowper
said
God moves
in a mysterious
way
his wonders
to perform
he plants
his footsteps
in the sea
and rides
upon the storm.
He moves
in mysterious
ways
but
as it says
he rides
upon the storm.
And so even
as we see
here the
warning
behold
the storm
of the Lord
the Lord
is riding
on that
storm
and he
is with
his people.
And so we
see the grace
of a warning.
But the second
thing we see
here is the
grace that
reminds
the grace
that reminds
us
of all the
wonders of
God
when we feel
that we are
in a wilderness
at times.
And that's
seen as you
go into
chapter 31
and verse
1 to 3.
At that
time
there is a
reminder here
that God
does not
forget.
At that
time declares
the Lord
I will be
the God
of all
the clans
of Israel.
He's not
silent
he's not
absent
he is very
much
with us.
John L.
Mackay's
words
we must
not repeat
the mistakes
of the
past.
That is
what Jeremiah
is focusing
on here.
Thus
in verse
2 the
people who
survived the
sword found
grace in
the wilderness.
He takes
them back.
He takes
them back to
the mistakes
they made
previously in
the days of
Moses as the
children of
Israel were
led from
Egypt to
the promised
land but
journeying
through the
wilderness.
They found
grace in
the wilderness.
But he
also is
taking them
forward here
as well.
He's speaking
to the people
in Jeremiah's
day who
were going
to be
taken captive
by Babylon
a powerful
nation.
They were
going to be
taken into
exile again
into the
wilderness
again but
they would
find grace
in the
wilderness
there too.
So what
does this
remind us
of?
Well it
reminds us
that sin
leads to
this
an exile
from God.
It leads
us into
this wilderness
that the
tragedy of
sin is
that keeps
God at
an arm's
distance.
And yet
grace calls
us in
the wilderness.
Grace speaks
to us in
the wilderness.
The people
who survived
the sword
found grace
in the
wilderness.
Think of
that in
your own
life.
What has
sin done
in your
life?
What is
it doing
now?
Sin is
always active
all around
us and
in us.
And what
sin is
doing is
keeping us
from God.
Keeping God
at an arm's
length at
times.
Even as a
Christian.
Even as
those who
will come
and sit
at the
Lord's
table.
In our
hearts
right now
we can
feel a
sense of
that sin
a distance
from God.
sin has
that tendency
to just
drag us
back into
the wilderness.
And all
we feel is
a sense of
unworthiness,
of burden.
And what
can we
do?
Well we
can look
to this
grace.
The grace
that has
been shown.
Because it
says they
found grace
in the
wilderness
when Israel
sought
for rest.
When they
looked for
rest.
John
Newton is
the author
of that
hymn
Amazing
Grace.
And
Jeremiah
31 was
one of
his
favorite
passages.
He often
returned to
it because
it reminded
him so
much of
his own
life.
He was
one who
had been
in the
wilderness
living his
life in
a wild
way,
away from
God.
He knew
the distance.
He felt
like that
wretch that
he describes
himself as.
grace.
But he
found grace
in the
wilderness.
Grace that
saved a
wretch like
me, he
says.
He found
the Lord
in the midst
of his own
storm, in
the midst of
his own
wilderness.
And Israel
it says here
they found
rest when
they sought,
they found
that grace
when they
sought for
rest.
And are
you seeking
for that
rest?
Are you
longing for
that rest?
That rest,
that grace
when you
feel like
you're just
in the
wilderness?
I learned
about something
this week
I'd never
heard of
before.
It was
about a
stone that
would be
familiar out
on the
moors many
years ago.
You can
still find
them in
different
places,
but when
the shillings
were used
more often
for tending
the sheep
and the
cattle out
in the
moor during
the summer
months,
there was
a stone
that would
be close
nearby to
the shilling
and it
was called
a
clachtasich,
or an
itching
stone,
because the
moorland is
barren in
many ways.
But as you
know if you
go out there
there's all
kinds of,
when you see
animals they're
always itching
whether it's
midges or
ticks or
whatever it
is and
there's no
relief for
them.
But these
stones would
be erected
beside the
shillings,
quite large
stones about
the size of
a wooden
strainer,
a fence
strainer,
and they'd
be put into
the ground
and erected
so that the
sheep or the
cattle could
come and
find relief
in scratching
themselves against
this stone.
Well when we
think of our
lives, what is
the stone that
gives relief
to us?
when we
have that
scratch, that
sin you
could almost
describe as
an unscratchable
itch, we
just can't get
to the heart
of it.
Where is our
stone?
Where is our
rest found?
Well it's in
the stone, the
rock that is
Jesus Christ.
When Jesus
says in
Matthew 11
28,
come to me
all you who
labor and are
heavy laden,
I will give you
rest, I will
give you
relief.
He's saying
seek me, and
when you seek
me you will
find me, when
you seek me
with your
whole heart, and
I will give
you rest.
They found
grace in the
wilderness when
they sought
for rest, so
can you, so
can I.
When we seek
the Lord, when
we look for
his grace, when
we come to
him, the
wilderness can
be a horrible
place to be.
But there is
still grace
there for us
when we seek
the Lord.
You think of
the prodigal
son.
There's so
much of that
in his life,
where you
think of him
going away
from his
father, into
the wilderness,
into the
wilderness, there
was life away
from the
father, thinking
it was the
bliss that he
was looking
for.
But it
wasn't.
But when
he came to
his senses,
he returned
to his
father.
Charles Spurgeon
has a great
way of showing
that coming
home.
Charles Spurgeon
said the
prodigal saw
his need to
come home.
But listen to
this, his
last steps
before entering
the house
were with a
kiss still
warm upon
his cheek
and the
welcome still
musical in
his ears.
Isn't that a
wonderful way
of looking at
it?
How could he
say that?
Because of
what the
father did.
the father
ran to
the son.
The son
knew that
grace in
the wilderness
and the
father came
from afar.
And you
see that in
verse 3
here, the
Lord appeared
to him
from far
away saying,
I have
loved you
with an
everlasting
love.
That is the
love of
God the
father, shown
to the
prodigal and
shown to
all of his
people who
are in the
wilderness, but
seek after
the Lord.
the kiss
still warm
on his
cheek because
the father
had run to
him.
He is
faithful and
he gives
us amazing
reminders of
a grace that
loves, an
everlasting
love.
So we are
to come,
we are to
come to
seek him
and not to
come to the
Lord's
supper praising
ourselves,
slapping our
own back,
saying,
well done
you.
But to
come sometimes
broken,
sometimes weary,
sometimes just
with that
weight still
on, but
coming thankful
for the
love that
he has
shown.
That love
that he
speaks of
here, I
have loved
you with
an everlasting
love.
Therefore I
have continued
my faithfulness
to you.
he didn't
leave his
people.
Even though
you could
say they
deserved it,
the same is
true for us.
We feel we
didn't deserve
his grace.
But it is
his love
that's without
beginning and
without end.
That is the
love that we
are to look
to.
And if we
know that
grace,
if we love
and know that
love of God,
then we are
to come.
Come and
seek him
and find
that grace
in the
wilderness
that gives
us rest.
The final
thing we
see here is
that grace
that renews.
I said
earlier that
when we
watch the
news, it
seldom now
we get
that final
story,
and finally
there's some
good news.
But here we
see that what
Jeremiah is
saying in this
section is
and finally
there is
good news.
truth.
Truly,
there is
good news
because this
closing section
of this
passage really
is a sense
of rejoicing.
A rejoicing
that God
is able to
help.
God is able
to give.
And you
could go
back to
verse 18
of chapter
30 where
it says,
There is
hope.
There is
hope.
There is
hope.
But then you
see it again
in verse 4
and 5 of
chapter 31.
with that
repeated
phase again
three times
in these
two verses.
And look at
what he
says,
Again I
will build
you and
you shall
be built
up,
virginess.
Again you
shall adorn
yourself with
tambourines
and shall
go forth in
the dance
of the
merrymakers.
Again you
shall plant
vineyards in
the mountains
of Samaria.
Three times
he says
again.
Because there
is a sense
of renewing
here.
the blessings
that they
had enjoyed
in the
past they
are going
to enjoy
again.
The people's
lives were
ruined by
sin.
And they
were going
to be
ruined.
They were
going to
be taken
into exile.
Their
homes would
be gone.
Their joy
would be
gone.
Their
vineyards
would be
gone.
All these
things that
were important
and precious
to them
all gone.
Brought
into the
wilderness.
But here
is God
saying I
will bring
you home.
I will
renew.
I will
restore
you.
And so
you see
the three
things that
will
restore
their
homes,
their joy,
their
vineyards.
All that
was important
for life
was going
to be
renewed.
There was
going to
be a
newness
to it.
Even in
the midst
of the
mysterious
ways of
God
working.
William
Cowper's
hymn goes
on to
say,
Judge
not the
Lord
by feeble
sense,
but trust
him for
his grace
behind a
frowning
providence.
He hides
a smiling
face.
His
purposes
will ripen
fast,
unfolding
every hour.
The bud
may have a
bitter taste,
but sweet
will be the
flower.
You see
there just
how he's
speaking of
the frowning
providence,
not understanding,
and yet
God is
in control
and his
grace
unfolding
his
purposes
hour by
hour,
so that
even when
there's a
bitter taste
initially,
the flower
will be
sweet in
the end.
And what
you see
here is
that journey
of God
leading his
people from
warning to
reminding
them and
then finally
to renewing,
to say
that yes,
you lost
it all in
the wilderness,
but again
you will have
all of these
things.
But what
is the
most important
thing you
see restored
here?
It's what
you have
in verse
6.
It's great
that they
have their
homes,
their joy,
their vineyards
restored,
but look at
verse 6.
for there
shall be a
day when
watchmen
will call
in the
whole country
of Ephraim,
arise and
let us go
up to
Sion,
to the
Lord our
God.
What is
being restored
there?
A right
worship.
A right
worship.
Let us
go and
worship the
Lord our
God.
The watchmen
had a vital
role.
They were
often the
ones who
warned of
danger
approaching.
They were
often the
ones who
warned of
seasons changing,
of new
moons and
all of
these things,
times of
harvest,
times of
festival.
Well here
they are
saying the
day is
coming when
the watchmen
will call,
arise,
let us go
to Sion,
to the
Lord our
God.
Do you
see the
change that's
taken place?
Where God
is speaking
initially in
verse 22 of
chapter 30,
and you
shall be my
people and
I will be
your God.
It's in the
future, but
here is a
day when that
is renewed.
Let us go
up to
Sion, to
the Lord
our God,
a relationship
restored.
That is what
we long for.
It's great
to have
material
blessings,
the blessings
of homes,
of joy,
of vineyards,
Jeremiah is
saying, but
your greatest
blessing of
all will
be to once
again worship
the Lord
as your
God, a
relationship
restored.
Our lives
in the
wilderness are
hindered by
sin, but
the good
news is
there is
grace in
the wilderness.
And that
that grace
is able
to renew.
What do
you want in
this communion
weekend?
Surely, above
all, we
want to
come and
worship the
Lord our
God, to
give him
that praise,
that worship
that he is
due.
And it
comes if we
see the
grace that
he has
shown.
If we
seek after
that grace
as he
speaks of
there in
verse 2,
the people
who survived
the sword
found grace
in the
wilderness
when Israel
sought for
rest.
Seek that
rest.
Find it
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
And then
you can
come,
arise,
let us
go,
and worship
the Lord
our God.
John
Newton said,
it was grace
that taught
my heart
to fear,
and grace
my fears
relieved.
How precious
did that
grace appear,
the hour
I first
believed.
May you
find how
precious this
grace is,
even in the
wilderness,
even in the
trials, the
storms of
life, God's
warning is
there graciously.
God reminds
us of his
grace again
and again,
and God
is able
to renew.
Let us
pray.
Lord, our
gracious God,
we thank you
for your
word, we
thank you
for your
grace, and
we pray to
seek it with
all our
hearts, and
to know the
rest that you
are able to
give to us
through our
Lord Jesus
Christ, as
we ask all
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We'll
conclude now
by singing
to God's
praise in
Psalm 4
once again.
We'll sing
these last
stanzas from
verse 6.
Oh, who
can show us
any good?
I hear so
many say,
O Lord,
shine on us
with your
light, show
us your
face, I
pray.
We'll sing
from verse 6
down to the
end of the
psalm.
Amen.
O who can
show us
any good,
I hear so
many say,
O Lord,
shine on us
with your
light, show
us your
face, I
pray.
You
filled my
heart with
greater joy
than others'
men have
heard, as
they
rejoice at
harvest time,
when pain
and wine
are
burned.
I will
lie down
and sleep
in peace,
my heart
will
rest
secure
for you
alone,
O
righteous
Lord,
will
keep
me
safe
and
sure.
After the
benediction, I'll
go to the door to my
left.
Now may grace,
mercy, and peace
from God,
Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, rest
upon and abide
with you all,
now and forever
more.
Amen.