The text for sermon this afternoon comes from Jeremiah chapter six. And we'll be looking at the first 20 verses of Jeremiah six. Let's hear the word of our holy living God as we find it in Jeremiah six, verse one through 20. O you children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal fire in Beth Harkarim, for disaster appears out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman, The shepherds with their flock shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place. Prepare war against her. Arise and let us go up at noon. Woe to us for the day goes away for the shadows of the evening are lengthening. Arise and let us go by night and let us destroy her palaces. For thus the Lord of hosts said, cut down trees, and build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst, as a fountain wells up with water, so she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before me continually are grief and wounds. Be instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you, lest I make you desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus says the Lord of hosts, they shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel. As a great gatherer, put your hand back into the branches. To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed, their ear is uncircumcised and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. Therefore, I am full of the fury of the Lord. I am weary of holding it in. I will pour it out on the children outside and on the assembly of young men together. For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, the age with him who is full of days. Their houses shall be turned over to others, fields and wives together. For I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. "'cause from the least of them, even to the greatest of them, "'everyone is given to covetousness. "'And from the prophet, even to the priest, "'everyone deals falsely. "'They have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, "'saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. "'Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? "'No, they were not at all ashamed, "'nor did they know how to blush Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall. At the time I punish them, they shall be cast down, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord, stand in the ways and see and ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk in it. Also, I set watchmen over you saying, listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, we will not listen. Therefore, hear you nations and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth. Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded my words nor my law, but rejected it. For what purpose to me comes frankincense from Sheba and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me. Let's come before our God in prayer to ask his blessing on the preaching of the word. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we come before you giving you thanks, Lord, for your word. We give you thanks that you have given us your word and revealed yourself and your way of salvation to us. Lord, help us now to be diligent hearers of the word. Cause your spirit to work in our hearts to ever convict us of our sin and misery, that in that conviction, our eyes would be turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our Redeemer. And Lord, we pray that you would ever renew our wills by your spirit, that we would endeavor after new obedience. Lord, be at work among us, we pray. In Christ's name, amen. As I've already said, after the sermon this afternoon, the members, communicant members of the church are going to be renewing their vows of membership. This is a time of covenant renewal. And in my email this week, I encouraged many of you to be thinking about those vows. and seeking the Lord in prayer regarding those vows. Taking a vow is a solemn and a serious thing. And throughout the Old Testament, there were times of covenant renewal where the people of God would make confession of sin and solemnly promise to be the Lord's and to keep his word. We read of such covenant renewal happening in Nehemiah 9. The people of Israel all gathered together to corporately confess their sin and worship God. They did so by calling to mind their history and how God had been faithful to them even in the midst of their unfaithfulness. After the people of Israel recounted their history, they confess their sins with the words we find in Nehemiah 9, verses 33, 35. There they say, you are just in all that has befallen us, for you have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly. Neither our kings, nor our princes, our priests, nor our fathers have kept your law, nor heeded your commandments and your testimonies with which you have testified against them. They have not served you in their kingdom, or in the many good things that you have given them, or in the large and rich land which you have set before them, nor do they turn from their wicked hearts. After that confession of sin, the people of Israel declare that they are the Lord's servants once more. And once again, they make a covenant to him. They enter into a curse and an oath. to walk in God's law and to keep his commandments. They say in Nehemiah 9, verse 38, and because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it. Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it. How does that have any bearing on us? Well, the new people and the new Testament age are to covenant as well. Isaiah 45 verse 23 through 24. We read there, I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return. That's me. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall take an oath. You just say, surely in the Lord, I have righteousness and strength to him. Men shall come and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against him. This covenanting that we do often takes the form of the public confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. And this is a common phrase we hear throughout the epistles of Paul. We see it in Romans, and we also see it in Philippians 2, verse 11, where Paul says that every time should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This is covenanting in the New Testament. It is a public acknowledgement, a public declaration and confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. And as we endeavor to think about our covenant of membership, Jeremiah 6 is a very appropriate text. It recalls us to forsake the new ways of sin and go back to the old paths. Jeremiah 6 verse 16 is a passage that calls us to ask for the good old paths, that in those paths we might find rest for our souls. And the great rest for our souls isn't in ourselves or in our own covenant faithfulness. The rest for our souls is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is abundantly faithful to his covenant to redeem us. Christ has redeemed us and our souls from destruction. So let us consider covenant renewal as we find it in Jeremiah 6, verse 16. As we look at God's word, as we find it in Jeremiah 6, we must do the convicting work of recognizing our own sinfulness. Now, Jeremiah 6 verse 16 is written in the context of Israel's continued disobedience and God's pronouncement of judgment upon Israel for that disobedience. In the context of Jeremiah 6, God is declaring that he will send Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and take the people of Judah away into captivity. While Jeremiah 6 has much to say about Israel's we must be sure to see our own sinfulness in such a passage and respond with repentance unto life and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 6 verse 2 to 3, God says, I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flock shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place. What is happening in these two verses is that Zion, or in other words Jerusalem, is being compared to a pasture. And the invading nations sent as judgment against Jerusalem are said to be shepherds with their flocks. You might think, how is that judgment? flocks of sheep grazing in a pasture, well, that's a nice pastoral scene. Something you might expect if you're driving down the road and just seeing some sheep grazing in a pasture. Well, I'm not sure if any of you have had much experience with farming, but I worked on a cattle farm for a couple years. And the farmer who had this farm, well, he hadn't had cattle in his corral for numerous years. And he went and bought some cattle and set them into the corral. But that corral, the grass in the corral was a good two feet high. It was thick and luscious. It didn't take more than a day for that thick green grass to be nothing but mud and excrement. This is what God is saying will happen to Jerusalem. The sheep would come into Jerusalem and mow it down to the very dirt. There would be nothing left of the pasture. But what sins did Judah commit to earn such a judgment? Well, Judah refused to hear the word of the Lord. In fact, it had become annoying to them. It had become something to make fun of, something that was dull and uninteresting. Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 6, verse 10, to whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed, their ear is uncircumcised and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. Has God's Word become a reproach to you? You may not make fun of it, but perhaps it has become dull and uninteresting. You'd much rather watch your 45-minute television show or your three-hour movie than sit down for five minutes and read your Bible. You have taken the life-giving Scriptures of God's Word and found little to no delight in them. They have become a chore to you. And so you do the bare minimum. Friends, we must repent of our apathy towards God's Word. We must see in the Scriptures, not just human words, but the words of the living God. Apathy towards God's Word points to a thankless heart. It points to a heart that is not thankful for salvation. And so let us not harden our hearts to the scriptures, but let us find in them the very words of life. The first vow of communicant membership asks, do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life? If we truly believe this, We must be ardent students of God's Word all the days of our lives. For in God's Word is revealed the one living and true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And thus, the fifth vow of communicant membership asks, to the end that you may grow in the Christian life, do you promise that you will diligently read the Bible, engage in private prayer, keep the Lord's Day, regularly attend the worship services, observe appointed sacraments. We must delight in God's word. We must also see that viewing the word of the Lord as a reproach is connected to covetousness. Judah was a covetous people. Jeremiah 6 verse 13 says, because from the least of them, even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness. And from the prophet, even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. A covetous person is never content. He is constantly looking for new, better things. Judah was not content with the old paths of worshiping the Lord. They were not content with the prophets. They were not content with the law given to Moses. They wanted new ways to worship the Lord. They were not satisfied with the word of the Lord, but they sought out many new inventions. They found new ways to worship God. They mixed the worship of the Baals and the Ashtaroth with the worship of Jehovah. In their prosperity, the abundance of their goods, they forgot the Lord and denied Him. And we live in an exceptionally covetous age. We are constantly filling our houses with stuff. wanting this gizmo and that gadget, never being satisfied with what we have, but instead constantly reaching for more. Our dressers and our closets are filled with clothes that we rarely wear, and yet we continue to procure new clothes. Our pantries at home are filled with food, but we neglect to thank God for such abundance. Our covetousness often causes us to forget the abundance found in God's word. And so we look for helps elsewhere. We look for new paths, new things. We seek new paths to satisfy our lusts. And the other sin of Judah was that the religious leaders did not warn the people of the dangers of seeking these new paths. Jeremiah 6 verse 14 says that the prophet and the priests have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. What a sad statement of today's religious culture. We live in a city surrounded by churches. Many of them saying, peace, peace. Often they are either actively condoning sin or passively letting sin slide. Rather than teaching what God's word actually says about sin, they simply say, God loves you. They fill the world with Merry Christmases, but have no actual understanding of why Jesus had to come to this earth. They promise peace on earth and goodwill towards men, but that is a peace without the justice of the cross and a goodwill without the call to repentance and faith. The question that comes to you from Jeremiah 6 is, are you telling yourself, peace, peace, where there is no peace? Do you condone yourself in your sin? Do you use the grace of God as an excuse to not deal with indwelling sin in your life? Do you let your reformed orthodoxy be an excuse for you not loving your wife? Do you let your practice of the regulative principle be an excuse for provoking your children to wrath? Do you let your faithful church attendance be an excuse for not dealing with your lust? Are you saying, peace, peace, where there is no peace? If so, you must repent and seek the good old paths. Closely connected to proclaiming peace, peace where there is no peace is that callousness towards them. Jeremiah six verse 15 says, were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, nor do they know how to blush. Perhaps your sins have become so common to you that you no longer know how to blush at them. Degrees of sin that in years past would have given you a sleepless night you now forget about in five minutes. Perhaps your conscience has become so seared that you think nothing of lusting after someone by taking that second look. or shouting in anger at your spouse when they do not do what you want. Friend, be warned that God will not accept the worship of a people who live in unrepentant sin. Even though at this time Judah engaged in vile sins, They still seem to be continuing to worship the Lord to some extent. In Jeremiah 6 verse 20, the Lord asks, for what purpose to me comes frankincense from Sheba and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifice is sweet to me. Judah thought they could have the best of both worlds. They thought they could live in their sins, that they could enjoy the sinful pleasures of Egypt. And they thought they could have the world of redemption. They thought they could have both. Their worship of God was not a worship coming from a living faith, but a worship coming merely from tradition. And for these sins, God will cause the nation of Babylon to come against the city of Jerusalem and decimate it like sheep will decimate a pasture. We should heed such a stark warning. The wickedness of the United States is filling up, the cup of God's wrath is filling up, and God will not withhold judgment from this country at the appointed time. The question is, Where will the church be when that happens? Will the church be repenting of its sin and going to the old paths, asking for the old paths, or will the church be saying, peace, peace, where there is no peace? We, as a church, must ask for the old paths. Jeremiah 6, verse 16, the Lord, the God who is faithful to his covenant, Jehovah, he says to his people who are living in rebellion, his people who deserve his judgment, he calls them to repentance. He shows forth that he is a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He says, stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. God says, come to me, repent of your sins, and you will find rest for your souls. This life is often compared to a path or a journey in the Old Testament. And this passage in Jeremiah is no exception. The Lord paints the picture of a man who goes on a journey coming to some forks in the road. He doesn't know which way to turn. And so he starts asking. He asks his fellow travelers, where are the old paths? Literally, it's where is the ancient paths? And he seeks those ancient paths because those paths are the safest. It's not like those new paths that promise shortcuts, but at the price of danger and possibly death. And he asks for the old paths, the safe paths. We live in a world that has a deep disrespect for old paths. As we discover new and exciting technological advancements, we suddenly think that there's no longer a need for the old things. There's no longer a need for a book. Who uses books anymore? There's a thought that we need new religions to compensate for our new ways of living. It is assumed that the ancient faith needs to be modified for use in a modern world. And so a Christ who promises salvation from sin is exchanged for a Christ who promises salvation from financial poverty. A Christ who is the very Son of God, who is born of the Virgin Mary, is exchanged for a Christ who is just a man, a good moral example, but just a man like us. A Christ who is a holy and a just king is exchanged for a Christ who loves everyone and doesn't judge. But friends, what use is a Christ we have made after our own image? We might as well go and get our picture taken and put it in a nice place in our shelf, put a nice place in our house, and start bowing down towards that. What kind of Christ is it if we dictate who He is? What kind of Savior He is? What kind of a Christ is it if we tell Him what the terms of salvation are? What a great mercy of God it is that He has given us the old paths of His Word in which are revealed the way of salvation, in which it is revealed that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. What an amazing thing it is that this Word of God is never irrelevant. It is always applicable, no matter what day and age we live in. when the Lord commands us to ask for the old paths. He's commanding us to go to the standard of his word. Old paths are paths prescribed by the word of God. Psalm 119 tells us that God's word is to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. God's word shows us where we are to go in this life and what we are to do. The safe old path is the path that leads us in God's Word. Now, some might accuse Christians of simply following the old ways of antiquity, as though just because Christianity is old, it automatically makes it good. Yet the old paths are not simply something that is just old. Old paths are paths that are dictated by the boundaries set forth in God's Word. There's been much wickedness in the past done in the name of Christianity, but that has not been done in accordance with the old paths of God's Word, and we must run from these. We must forsake those sinful old ways. In Job 22, verse 15 through 16, the question is asked, will you keep to the old way which wicked men have trod, who were cut down before their time, whose foundations were swept away by a flood? Our answer to that question must be no. Must turn from the sins of our fathers and pursue new obedience to God because he is faithful to his covenant promises. And this old path is good, not just because by following it, we earn something with God, not because by being faithful to it, we earn salvation. This old path is good. It is a delight because in it, it leads us to the person and work of Jesus Christ. When we sin and break God's law, The old paths lead us to Christ, who is our righteousness. They lead us to the God who says, comfort, yes, comfort my people, for her iniquity is pardoned. In times of trial and suffering, the old paths lead us to Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. They tell us that whoever believes in Christ shall never die. When we go through times of spiritual drought and exhaustion, the old paths lead us to the refreshing streams of Christ. He is to Christ who is the living water, and if we drink of Him, we will never thirst. He's not a broken cistern, but he is a fountain of living water springing up onto everlasting life. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness sake, the old paths lead us to Christ, who is the bread of life. And we shall never leave his table. Unsatisfied we will always leave his table satisfied in the abundance of his righteousness If we lack direction and where to turn in this life The old paths lead us to the Good Shepherd who guides us into all truth Truly the old paths are good paths and The old paths lead us to the person and work of Christ. They say, come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The old paths give rest. During our honeymoon, Grace and I had the opportunity to go hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. And on one of our hikes, we wanted to climb a peak about 13,000 feet. And it was probably the longest hike we did. About halfway up, we got to a mountain lake. And up to that point, we had been following the path. But I, after looking at the peak, said, you know, there's a shortcut I can take here. We can just go up that slope and get to the peak a little quicker. About 20 minutes after, I realized I'd made a huge mistake. We were climbing up a very steep snow-covered slope and the sun was just starting to hit that snow and the top layer was beginning to melt and it was perfect avalanche conditions. Thankfully, we made it back down and got back to the actual trail, but that was an important lesson for me to learn, that the old paths are good paths. Venturing off the old path meant that I had endangered our lives. And venturing away from the old paths of God's word means endangering your own soul. You take your own soul into your own hands and say, I know what is best. I know better than God himself what safety there is in the path that leads to Christ, who is the light of the world. We shall never endanger our souls if we find in him our source of light and salvation. And so let us ask for the old paths And as we ask for the old paths, we must walk down them. We are not simply to ask for the old paths, but we are to walk in them. There must be some degree of an intentionality about this. We must not be looking to get somewhere. No, sorry, we must be looking to get somewhere. After all, when we go on a hike in the mountains, we have a destination in mind. We want to get to that mountain lake. We want to get to that waterfall. We want to get to that peak. We want to get somewhere. The Sixth Vow of Communicant Membership asks, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the relationships of life, faithfully to perform your whole duty as a true servant of Jesus Christ and seek to win others to Him. There is great intentionality in that. There is a purposing after new obedience. There is a forsaking of old ways and putting on new ways, new ways that lead you in God's word. We must seek Christ with earnestness and walking down the old paths. Our life can bring about many distresses and trials. At times, we will walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Even walking down the good old paths of God's word means walking through hardship. And sometimes that hardship will be much greater than anything an unbeliever will experience. Sometimes we will come across beautiful meadows with refreshing streams. Other times we'll be running on the mountain peaks rejoicing in the Lord. Sometimes we'll be limping in dark canyons through a veil of tears. But no matter where we are, No matter where we are walking, our eyes must be fixed on Christ. Not looking behind at all the trials of the past. Not looking at ourselves and our ability to face these new troubles. Not distracted by the blessings of the green meadows, but looking to Christ and finding in Him a faithful Savior. Jeremiah 18 verse 15. The Lord describes those who have departed from the old paths. These people did not worship Christ. They did not have their eyes fixed on Him. Instead, they had their eyes fixed on their idols. In Jeremiah 18, verse 15, the Lord says, Because my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in pathways and not on a highway. The people here invented new ways to worship the Lord. They created new gods to worship that they did not find in Christ. rest for their souls, but they sought that rest in other places. And because of that, they stumbled. They stumbled upon their own sinfulness. In their pursuit of new ways, they made their way much more treacherous. They experienced the devastation that comes with hearts that pursue their own desires. Instead of forsaking the old paths, let us walk in paths that lead to Christ. Let us be like the people in Jeremiah 50, verse 15. In Jeremiah 50, verse 5, we read, they shall ask the way to Zion with their faces toward it, saying, come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten. Let us so join ourselves to the Lord and rejoice in Him, knowing that He is a God who is abundantly faithful to His covenant, that He saves His people, that He washes away their sins as far as the east is from the west. Let's join ourselves to the Lord who shows us the path of life. Psalm 16 verse 11 says that God will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy. at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Let's throw off those temporary and fleeting pleasures of sin and find in the presence of God, find in the old paths fullness of joy. Not temporary fleeting joy, but fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Let us declare that in Christ we have righteousness and strength. And let us covenant together unto him for he alone is our savior. Let's pray. Our father and our God, we come before you humbly And we acknowledge, oh Lord, our sinfulness. Lord, we say that your word is right when it says that we have broken your law. Lord, we have transgressed your law. We have committed great iniquities. We have violated your commandments. And Lord, we pray, asking that you would blot out our sins, that you would remove our sins as far as the east is from the west, that you would wash us in the righteousness of Christ, that you would take our sins, which are scarlet, and wash us whiter than the snow, that you would do so, not for our own sake, Not because of anything we have done or anything we will do, but for the sake of Jesus Christ, who alone is our Savior. Lord, we pray that in Christ we would find rest for our souls. Lord, we give you thanks that you promise in your word that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What a joy it is for us to know that you promise us rest, that in you we find rest, and that you are abundant in giving that rest. Lord, we pray that we would ever find in you fullness of joy. Help us, Lord, to pursue new obedience, that we would endeavor to serve you that we would put off the old man and put on the new man. Lord, by your spirit, sanctify and purify us that we might praise your great and glorious name for providing us with this amazing and awesome salvation. Lord, to you alone be the glory. We pray in Christ's name, amen.