Psalm number 145 we're going to commence with, second version. Starts at the bottom of page 134 in the hymnal. We're going to sing the first eight verses of this psalm. So Psalm 145, it's the second version we normally sing. O Lord, Thou art my God and King, Thee will I magnify and praise. I will Thee bless and gladly sing unto Thy holy name always. Psalm 145 verses 1 to 8, we're standing as we worship the Lord. O come, Thou Son of Man, Lord and King, Reign over me with Thine own grace. ♪ That brings you ♪ ♪ Down to the yoke ♪ ♪ We may hope in you ♪ ♪ Each day our eyes are moving west ♪ ♪ And we suddenly can hear a dream ♪ ♪ A shimmering creature bring the wind ♪ ♪ His name is love, and love will be true ♪ ♪ We shall not waste days on new ways ♪ ♪ But by the answers you are guiding me ♪ ♪ I must do the glorious thing ♪ The night is sleeping. ♪ Lord, my every value shall be extolled ♪ ♪ All for a day of hope and joy ♪ ♪ Have I made my stride unfold? ♪ ♪ Till I'm sure I've walked it clean ♪ ♪ In this way ♪ ♪ And shall sing praises dearly ♪ ♪ And sing the praises of thee ♪ ♪ While on earth's weary branches ♪ Amen. We'll bow together in prayer. Just take a moment to settle our hearts and come before the Lord. Enter into His courts. Our Heavenly Father, we draw near into Thy holy presence. We come in the attitude of prayer. We come, O Lord, in the name of our Savior. We thank Thee for the One who brings us unto God, that there is but one way. And He is that way. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Him. And today, our Father, we come that way that He has opened up, a new and living way, a blood-sprinkled way, a way that brings us by the cross. For there, sin was put away by that one sacrifice of our Savior. And He died there, the just for the unjust. to bring us on to God. And we thank Thee for that great plan of redemption, that means of bringing us to Thee that was devised, whereby God would remain just and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. And we see the wisdom of God and the power of God manifest at Calvary. Thou didst devise a way whereby the banished may return. And Lord, that way involved Thy dear Son coming to this world, taking our nature, living that perfect life, dying that atoning death, lying in the grave under the power of death for a time, and then coming forth victorious. We thank Thee that up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph over His foes. And today we draw near in the name of a Savior who is alive. There were those who bore witness to that fact during those forty days when He was with His disciples and made Himself known to them and to others by many infallible proofs. O Lord, it was no theory, no figment of somebody's imagination that Christ had risen, but we thank Thee that He was truly alive, and we rejoice that He lives in the power of an endless life. And in His name, we draw near to Thee today. We trust in the name of the One who is alive from the dead, who is our Savior, our mediator with God, our advocate, our forerunner, who has entered in for us. And today, Lord, we enter in now into Thy presence. We seek fresh cleansing as we come before Thee. We acknowledge that we are sinners by nature and by practice. Lord, we may be saved by the grace of God, but we are saved sinners, and we acknowledge that. We need fresh cleansing from the pollution of our sins. Lord, we have been delivered from the penalty of sin. We have been delivered from going down to a lost eternity to suffer eternal judgment. we're conscious that as we come before Thee and day by day as we pilgrimage through this world, we need that fresh cleansing. We need to be purged from our sins. And Lord, we pray that Thou would do that even now as we come before Thee. Prepare our hearts as we gather here, as we come into Thy presence, as we come to worship Thee. We pray, Lord, for that heart that is prepared that we might worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Lord, lift us up this day heavenward. Lift our souls up, we pray, that we might climb the mountain and ascend that hill of God and know what it is to commune in fellowship with Thee. O Lord, we read in Scripture of those who were overcome, overwhelmed by Thy presence, by a sense of Thy holiness and Thy power, We pray, Lord, that today we might have something, some understanding of those things. We pray that we might be conscious that we are not engaged in something normal, but we are coming before the God of all the earth, the One who is holy, thrice holy, the One who is of pure eyes and to behold iniquity. O Lord, we do well to humble ourselves, to bow our heads, close our eyes now before Thee in the attitude of prayer, acknowledging that we're in the presence of One who is infinitely greater. We have been singing about the praises of the Lord, and great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. We thank Thee for all Thy mercies, for every blessing bestowed upon us, For Thy goodness, O God, that attends our way, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life. And Lord, this day and each day, there are those tokens of Thy mercy and Thy goodness, Thy grace. And therefore we come, Lord, to give Thee thanks, to give Thee praise. We come also to leave ourselves before Thee afresh, acknowledging our need of Thee, praying, Lord, for grace and strength, help. Praying, Lord, for a greater love for Thee. Lord, how changeable is our love for Christ. Thy love for us is unchanging. It is constant. It ever abides the same. But O Lord, we cannot say that about our love for Thee. It waxes and wanes. It rises and falls. Lord, we are like Jacob in many respects. We can reach the heights that He did, and yet there's times we go down into the valleys. There's those low points in life, low points in spiritual experience, when we're overcome with sin and temptation, where we forget Thee, O Lord. O Lord, we can go hours without thinking about the Lord, maybe even days without thinking about Thee properly. Lord, forgive us, we pray, for our shortcomings. On this day, wilt thou not look upon us afresh? Be gracious to us. Thou art our God. We are thy people. We are the sheep of thy pasture. Therefore, Lord, we pray that thou will look graciously upon us. We've been singing those very words, almost the very last words of this portion that we have sung from this psalm, that God is gracious. And we pray, Lord, that we might know something of that graciousness this day to us. Remember us, each one. Let us know the need in each one's life, each family. All our circumstances are known to Thee. As a congregation, Lord, Thou art aware of our needs. And we pray that Thou will draw near and minister to us. And for those that are unwell, we pray for them each one, Lord, that Thou will do them good. Minister to them, Lord. We pray that Thou will put Thy hand upon them. We thank Thee for those who are back out amongst us, even this morning, Lord, those who are here who have been let aside for a time. And we pray that Thou will bless each one. those who are unable to be out, longer term, and would love to be here and yet cannot. We just pray that Thou will minister to them, Lord, and be their portion. Oh, grant them my blessing. And we pray that they might know the Lord's good hand upon them. So abide with us. Bless Thy people. Bless Thy cause. Remember missionary endeavor to the ends of the earth. Lord, we pray that Thou will prosper all who are serving Thee faithfully. Remember the persecuted church today. Lord, there's those that have lost their lives this past week and these past weeks for the cause of Christ for no other reason than they profess to follow the Savior. Lord, remember thy people wherever they are today who are being persecuted. Give them relief, Lord. We pray that thou would frustrate the desires of those who are their enemies and who desire to harm them. I pray, Lord, that plans will come to naught, and that Thou wilt be gracious. So hear our cry, tarry with us, as we continue on this Sabbath morning before Thee. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. 377 is going to be our offering hymn in a moment. 377. Something in My Heart is the title of that. Him, but as you're turning that up, we do bid you welcome each one in the Savior's name. We're glad to see each one who's in the house of the Lord this morning. There's some who've returned after being laid aside, and we're very glad to see you, and we pray the Lord will bless us all. Those who are tuning in online, we welcome you also, and pray the Lord will be pleased to bless us today. There are the extended times of prayer today, so do remember that. Immediately after the service, we will wait on for a time of prayer up to 2 o'clock, and then we'll take a break and reconvene at 5 through to half past 6. So there are those times of prayer today after the evening service. We will meet for a little while as well. There will be a time of favored hymn singing before the evening service, around a quarter to 7, 10 to 7. That will take place So you'll have an opportunity there to pick some favorite hymns. It is Missionary Council Offering Day as well in your giving, so please remember that also. Now this incoming week there is a change to the evening of the Bible Club. We're moving it forward to Tuesday instead of Friday. So, remember that. And also, the time is going to be a little earlier as well. It's going to take place at 6.30. So, do remember both of those things, the change of evening and the change of time as well. That's going to run now to the end of the season, just before the holiday time. So, do remember that. We want to make that a matter of prayer today, in the seasons of prayer. So, please, if you can take this upon your heart, not only today, but overcoming days as well. Let's remember this work before the Lord and carry the burden. We appreciate those who labor in the Bible club, but as a congregation, we need to carry the burden of prayer. and carry them as they labor and serve. So please do remember that today and over the coming weeks as well. Wednesday evening is going to be our regular prayer meeting and Bible study. I will be in charge of that at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, there is a meeting in the Bryan's House fold where our Sister Annie resides. Some of the school pupils will be going around to take part in that meeting as well. So certainly, please remember that in prayer as we have the opportunity of speaking at that. In the evening time from six through to nine, there is a sort of craft sale shopping evening for school, as I say, that runs from six to nine. I sent out the announcement on the WhatsApp group So you're aware of it. If you're interested in coming along, we certainly would encourage you to do that. Have a look around. There'll be a number of different tables there that you can have a look at. So that's on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. That is commencing. Friday night, there's Presbytery, Brethren as Elders. That's in Balomina Church. That will be taking place on Friday evening. And then through to next Lord's Day, it's the first Lord's Day of December, so it's Building Fund Sunday. And then Sabbath School at 10, the services 11, 30, and 7, preceded by the times of prayer. God willing, I'll be preaching at those meetings. There will be the meeting in the Ashwood Nursing Home in the afternoon as well. That will be at 3 PM. Do continue to remember those who are unwell and laid aside. The Lord will touch them and minister to each one. That senior citizens meal is going to be set for Saturday the 3rd of January. I think all who put their name down indicate it either. So we're going to go with that, which was the original preference, which is Saturday the 3rd of January. So do keep that in mind. The sheet is still on the table there. If you haven't put your name on it, and you would like to, and we would encourage you to do that, it'll be a sit-down meal, a lunch in the middle of the day, here served in the church. There's going to be outside caterers that are going to be doing that. So please, if you are a senior citizen, please come along. You're more than welcome to do that. Please put your name down and indicate that. There are some extra Let the Bible Speak calendars there available that we have got. So if you want one of those, you can do that there. They're on the table. Our brother Christopher Orr has asked me to pass on his thanks to the congregation for the deputation that we had for him there a few weeks ago. He was at the prayer meeting for the offering that was taken up. I don't have a final total, but we'll get that for tonight and announce that. But he has asked me to pass on his sincere thanks to you as a congregation for your support of him. Sabbath school prize giving will be taking place this day fortnight in the morning time, 14th of December. One of our own, Elizabeth McGill, is going to be coming to speak to the Sabbath school pupils on that occasion. So do remember that, that's this day fortnight. And there will be presentation of attendance prizes at that meeting as well. So that's this day fortnight in the morning time. There is a school open night Friday the 12th, which will be Friday week. That's half past 4 to 7 o'clock in the evening. Again, I put that note up. If you want to share that and invite others along and make it known, then please do that. I think that's everything by way of announcements. They're all in the will of the Lord. 377 then is going to be our offering hymn. 377, I have something in my heart that Jesus gave to me. It makes me feel like singing, glory all the day. He found my captive soul and give me liberty. And now I feel like singing glory. 377, keeping our seats for the opening verses. If you sow, then may we ever be. Then God will unsee no green. He makes a path for man, every passing day. He makes a world lighter, no longer way. This one, dear God, this will I never make, but only when I see glory. My Savior is my God. The life I seek is grace. Since then I have been saved. ♪ Enter the hearts of Jesus and his race ♪ ♪ The Lord peace be seen, glory be to thee ♪ ♪ Peace that will guide you every passing day ♪ ♪ He makes good and high you all the way ♪ Let's stand for verses three and four. My Saviour took my feet From on the winding lane, Since then I have been seen On the open hill. In the same wondrous power As shepherds He makes good and righteous all along the way. His firmness, my delight, is the light of faith, and for a time was she all for me. In heaven's great light sing, glory, all the way. Just send the Savior in, the Lamb take control. In heaven's great light sing, glory, all the way. ♪ Mary, how she came, she came in a story of life and birth ♪ ♪ All along the way ♪ ♪ Yes, there is one in us, there is one at our way ♪ ♪ And all the time we're singing, glory, glory, glory, glory ♪ Jeremiah chapter 7 is where we want to turn this morning and read from verse 1 down to verse 20. Jeremiah chapter 7. We're going to think this morning of God's Word to a wayward people, continuing on some of these thoughts that we have been dwelling upon in the book of Jeremiah. First of all, a word to kings, and then a word to the false prophets and priests. Now we want to think about God's word to the people, and seek to apply that to our own times, that we might have understanding of the days that we live in, and that we might know what to do as well. So we're going to read from Jeremiah chapter 7, beginning at the opening verse of the seventh chapter. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand ye in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. trusting not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt, then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever." Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not, and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, we are delivered to do all these abominations? In this house, which is called by my name, is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel." And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I speak unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not, therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh, and I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, And in the streets of Jerusalem the children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger, saith the Lord? Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold mine anger, and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground, and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. Amen. We'll end there at verse 20. We know the Lord will add His blessing to the reading of His Word. I want to take you back to verse 3 as a text this morning out of this chapter. We're going to be thinking about the chapter as a whole, but certainly we will seek to set what we want to say around these words in verse 3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place." We're going to bow together in prayer for a moment and ask the Lord for His help as we come to His Word. Our Father, we acknowledge a fresher need of Thee as we come to think upon Thy Word. We need Thee to give us understanding, Lord, of Thy Word that then we may apply it to our own times, to our own day, Lord. We believe we live in similar times. We live amongst a similar people. And we pray, O Lord, that therefore there will be that application of Thy Word, and that Thy Word will indeed give us understanding. So to that end, Lord, come and help us. Take of the things of Thyself this day and apply them to all of our hearts. Speak to us. Lord, we want to hear that still, small voice of God speaking. over and above the clamor and din of the world, that which we have had to listen to this past week, O Lord, as we have gone about our duties and tasks. And we pray now that as we have turned aside and come into Thy house for a while, that Thou will speak to us. Grant us Thy blessing now, we humbly pray. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen. So there is a third group of individuals to whom Jeremiah is charged to bring the Word of the Lord. He has spoken to the king. He served under five kings, as we noticed a few weeks ago now, as he ministered as the prophet in Judah. We were thinking particularly of his words to Zedekiah, the last of those kings, and what he had to say from the Lord to that king. Then we thought about what he had to say to the false prophets and the false priests in the land. They really were the cause of the departure. And the strongest of condemnation in the book of Jeremiah is reserved for those who were the false prophets and the false priests in the land. There is one of those false prophets named Hanani, and what he specifically said and how he contradicted what Jeremiah had said as delivering it to be the Word of the Lord. And Jeremiah told him that he would die before the year would end, And true to the word of the Lord, that false prophet did indeed die and was struck down by the Lord. They were, and even today in our own times, they are the primary cause of departure from God and the land. That doesn't mean the king was excused his culpability. He was in a position of authority, and he could have acted contrary to what they told him, but they were primarily responsible. And it is the same today in our land. Those that are the primary cause of departure in our land is false prophets. ministers who don't preach the Word of God, churches that don't stand for the truth of God. It's even in their creeds, but don't stand for what they ought to stand for and don't preach what they ought to preach. They are the cause of departure in our nation. And that has gone on for a long time, that spirit of modernism and liberalism and ecumenism that is marching on day by day amongst us as a nation. But that brings us then to this third category. And you'll see there in the start of this chapter, verse 2, how Jeremiah was directed by the Lord to go and stand at the gate of the Lord's house. So he was to go to the temple, and the entrance to the temple, and he was to stand there, and he was to proclaim the word of the Lord. Because that's where the people were going to be going in to worship. We're not specifically told, but it may have been a feast time where there was a particular gathering in the house of God. But he is directly told by the Lord that he is to go there, and he is to stand, and he is to proclaim what the Lord has said unto him. And his opening words are given to us there in verse 2, where he is to cry out, hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. it's fairly clearly directed towards the people. Whatever He had to say to the king, whatever He had to say to the false prophets and false priests and false pastors, now He's directing His Word from the Lord to the people at large, to the inhabitants of Judah. Now, already the Lord has prepared Jeremiah for this task. Back in chapter 1, He exhorted Jeremiah not to be afraid of their faces. verses 8 and 9 of chapter 1, "'Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee,' saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.'" So, Jeremiah is told, you're not to be afraid of their faces. They're not going to like what you're going to say to them what the Word of the Lord is to this people. They're not going to receive it very well, and they're going to show that on their countenance, but that is not to trouble you. Just because somebody may frown and give that opinion as if they are annoyed at what they hear is not to stop Jeremiah from delivering what God has said. So, there is to be a boldness about Jeremiah and what he preaches. Now, a previous word from the Lord had been given to him to declare. And if you go back there just a few pages in your Bible to chapter 2 and verse 2, Jeremiah on a previous occasion was to go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, so here again to the people generally, thus saith the Lord, I remember thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness in a land that was not sown. he was to remind the people of their past professions of love and faithfulness and devotion to the Lord. He's to call these things to remembrance. The Lord was calling them to remembrance. The Lord hadn't forgotten them. That's always an important word to those who drift away from the Lord and drift into by-path meadows and backslidden ways. The Lord has never forgotten the professions of love and devotion that were made. The individual may forget them. They may even deny them, but the Lord has never forgotten. And here He is saying to Jeremiah, you go and remind the people of this. I have not forgotten that they profess to follow me. Now that's taking Israel away back to standing in the wilderness at Mount Sinai. not going to go back there this morning, but if you go back to those chapters in Exodus that record for us Israel coming to the foot of Mount Sinai and what took place before the Ten Commandments were given to them. But at that time when they were there, they professed to be the Lord's Lord came down and spoke to them. They heard His Word out of the cloud on the mount, and they professed that they would serve the Lord, and the Lord has not forgotten it, even though years have gone by. Generations have gone by from the time that they stood at Mount Sinai until the days of Jeremiah. Hundreds of years have gone by, but the Lord says to Jeremiah, go and tell this people, I have not forgotten the professions of love and devotion that were made when you were when you went after me in the wilderness," is how it is described there. Jeremiah was also to demand that the people in Jeremiah's day, that they would declare what faults they had found in the Lord to now justify their turning away from Him. Go back there to chapter 2 again, maybe, and pick up verses 4 and 5 this time. Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 4 and 5, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? And you could read on there those subsequent verses as well in the same line of thought. But here's another point that the Lord is telling Jeremiah. Here's what you have to say to them. Not only are you to remind them of those professions of love and devotion that they made at a previous time, but you're also, Jeremiah, to declare to them, what fault have you found in the Lord to forsake the Lord? What has the Lord done on you? What has He not done for you that would justify you turning away from the Lord? Those are questions that are well worth repeating in our day and age to our nation. Does the Lord not remember how this nation in the past followed the Lord and professed to follow the Lord, even going back to Reformation times and other times as well, but certainly the great Protestant heritage that we have that is inbuilt, ingrained into the very fabric of our system of government and into the monarchy? yet now long forgotten are God's ways. Trampled under feet are God's ways, but does God forget that? Does God not call it to remembrance? And would the Lord not even say, well, what have I done on you that would justify forsaking me? The Lord has blessed our nation in many ways down through the years. We cannot turn around and find fault with God, not at all. There were times when the Lord miraculously intervened for our deliverance, and yet it is a worthy question today to say, well, what iniquities have your fathers found in me? What's the justification for forgetting the Lord now? It's not that it has gone better with us as a nation. It's not that times are far improved because we've forgotten the Lord and cast off His law and set these things aside. It hasn't gone any better. Our nation is in its worst state. It's in its worst state. So, that brings us through here to where we have read this morning, chapter 7 of Jeremiah, where the Lord tells His prophet to stand at the gate of the Lord's house, and He is to declare this simple message that we have in verse 3. It's elaborated upon as we're going to consider down through the rest of the chapter, but the message there is encapsulated in those statements that you have in verse 3, "'Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.'" It couldn't have been a simpler message from Jeremiah than this, change your ways or else, or else. If you do not change your ways, you're not going to remain in this land. But if you do, if you do amend your ways, you will remain in this land. You will continue to enjoy the inheritance that you have come into in this land. " So, here is what Jeremiah was commissioned by the Lord to declare. The first thing I want us to consider here is the nature of that word from the Lord, "'Amend your ways and your doings.'" That word could also be translated as, "'Make good your ways, and your doings. And we'll pick up on this in a little moment and see that this is indeed how it is used in other places in the Scriptures. But there is a thought, there is implied in the Word that they are following a way that is not good. They're following a way that is evil. And Jeremiah is here to call them to return to the good way. Well, wasn't that what they were exhorted to do in the previous chapter? We actually took these words as our motto text back at the start of this year. you go back to chapter 6 and verse 16, "'Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way? And walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' But they said, We will not walk therein." So, they were told there, this is what you need to do. Stand and ask for those old ways, that good way, that way of blessing and peace and rest, they wouldn't listen. So now the prophet is to come again, and this time he's more pointed in what he's going to state as he stands there at the gate of the temple, and he's going to tell his people, make good your ways, amend your ways or else you're not going to live in this land anymore. You're heading for captivity. there is implied there in those words that their present ways are evil ways, they're sinful ways, they're ways contrary to the Lord. They need to turn from these ways. They need to seek the paths of righteousness. And furthermore, they are not to assume that the Lord is with them, and that, therefore, they're going to be delivered from their troubles. That was the message, remember, of the false prophets. Oh, yes, well, first of all, they said the Babylonians wouldn't come. And then when they did come, they said, well, they're not going to do us much harm. But they did do plenty of harm. But Jeremiah is warning them here from the Lord that they are not to have this false trust. If you look there at verse 4, trust ye not in lying words, saying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these. And the thought there is that they are not to think that because they have the Lord's temple or the Lord's presence amongst them, that somehow the temple will never be destroyed, that the temple was of the Lord's doing, that He chose the very location for it, He gave the very plan for it, not to think that because of all of this history that they have that somehow now the Lord is going to owe them something, and the Lord is not going to deal with them as Jeremiah is saying He will, because there were those who thought that. Oh, as long as we have the temple, we are safe. That was a spirit that was often found among the Israelites. Isaiah chapter 48 verse 2, For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name. Micah, who was ministering at the very same time as Isaiah was. Micah chapter 3 verse 11, The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money. Yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, is not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us. So here's the spirit that was among the people. And Micah there, as I say, who ministered at the very same time as Isaiah did, is making it out very clearly. The people think that they can live as they want and that somehow the Lord is going to turn a blind eye to it because we have got the temple. Sure, the Lord chose the very location. The Lord has put His name amongst us. The shekinah glory is above the temple and the holiest of all. So, they are not to have this Spirit among them. It's repeated there in verse 4 of Jeremiah chapter 7 three times to make them aware that they are not to use this as a false confidence. There are other places where a similar thought appears in the prophets as well. It was a recurring theme among the children of Israel that they had a false trust, a false hope that somehow the Lord wouldn't deal with them in chastisement. And sometimes that false trust is amongst us as a nation, even amongst God's people that somehow, oh, we're beyond that. The Lord will not do that to us. If you look at the great heritage that we have, we have a great heritage, and the Lord has blessed us in many ways down through centuries and even down through recent times as well. The Lord has blessed us, but we're never to think that somehow that's going to be a safeguard from the chastening hand of the Lord upon our nation and our land and our province. If this people depart from the Lord, the Lord will chasten. And here He is directing Jeremiah to say to them, here is the message. You've got to mend your ways, and you're not to have this false confidence that somehow the Lord is going to overlook these things. Now, verses 5 and 6, and then 8 to 10, their evil ways are expanded upon. We're not going to read over those verses again, but I draw them to your attention. As I say, from verse 5, 6, and then we'll drop out 7 and take from 8 to 10. There is there this expanding upon the sins of the nation and the things that they are engaged in, and they're exhorted to execute judgment between man and his neighbor. They're ceased to oppress the stranger and the fatherless and the widow. They're deceased to shed innocent blood. They're not to walk after other gods. These were all their sins. These are the things they have to amend, in other words, put right, put good, And again, that's a recurring theme. As I say, this phrase that you have in verse 3 there that we've taken as a text, amend your ways, has the idea of make good, make good, and in it there is the thought, well, what you're doing at present is evil, and you need to make it good. You need to turn from it. Chapter 18 of Jeremiah, verse 11, Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you, and return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. There's that same thought. but changed a little bit from our text. Our text says, it's translated in our text as, amend your ways. But over there in Jeremiah 18, verse 11, make your ways and your doings good. That's the thought that is here as well in Jeremiah 7, 3. You've got to make it good. You've got to put it right. And Christian, that's the way to know the Lord's blessing, put it right. That's what the message is to the backslider. Put it right. If there's somebody who has drifted away from the Lord, how do they obtain the Lord's blessing? How do they get back to the place of favor? Put it right. Put it right. That's what the Lord is saying here through Jeremiah. Put the matter right. And when you put it right, the Lord will bless. Christian, surely there is a lesson for us all in that, about how there are times we have to put things right in order to know the Lord's blessing. Jeremiah 26 verse 13, Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. So the Lord promises them, if you do this, if you amend your ways, if you put it right, you obey the voice of the Lord, the Lord will turn from the evil that He has pronounced against you. One final verse in this thought as well, Jeremiah 35, 15, I have sent also unto you all my servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers. But ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. Jeremiah 35, 15. So again and again, there is this thought that Jeremiah is to preach, amend your ways, put it right, make it good. And if you do this, the Lord says, I'll turn from the evil, the trouble that I'm going to bring upon you. I'll stop it. But the conclusion there in Jeremiah 35, 15 is you haven't done this. You haven't inclined your ear to what has been said. There's been a defiance of the Lord. And I suggest to you, Christian, that all of those points are points of application to our day, and to the nation that we live in, and to the people of our times, to us as well. The Word of God ought not to be lost in us. So you have the nature of the Word that is spoken here. I want you, secondly, to consider the example that is given as a warning. And that'll take us to verses 12 through to 15 of this chapter. And the example is Shiloh that the Lord points to. And He says, now look at Shiloh, and look at what happened to Shiloh. Now, Shiloh was a city in the tribe of Ephraim. It was north of Bethel. If you have a Bible map, you can look it up yourself. If you have some idea in your mind's eye of the geography of the land of Israel, north of Jerusalem, there was Bethel. And north of Bethel, you will find Shiloh. As I say, it was in the tribal area of Ephraim. And when the children of Israel first entered into the land of Canaan in the days of Joshua, that was where the tabernacle was set up. We read about that in Joysha chapter 18 verse 1. The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. So from the days of Joysha right the whole way through to the days of Eli, the beginning of 1 Samuel. So all through the days of the judges, Going from the time of Joshua all the way through to we come to the days of Eli, when you come into 1 Samuel, the tabernacle was at Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim. And during that time, we read a little bit there in 1 Samuel of what happened to it. The ark was taken out a number of times and then eventually lost and then brought back again. there was a forsaking of Shiloh by the Lord, by the Lord. Turn over to Psalm 78, or turn back to Psalm 78, I should say, and in this Psalm, you have some verses here that explain this to us, beginning at verse 56 of this Psalm. So, Psalm 78, and it's a lengthy Psalm, so if we come right away down to verse 56, And it says there, they provoked him to anger with their high places and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this, he was wroth and greatly abhorred Israel. And here's the line to notice, verse 60, so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, and delivered his strength into captivity and his glory into the enemy's hand. And he gave his people over also unto the sword and was wroth with his inheritance. Let's just stop for a moment there and notice what the Lord is saying. So, He's making the connection with Shiloh, and we've explained where that was, and that that was where the tabernacle was set up when they came into the land. But the Lord gave it over, it says. Verse 61, He delivered His strength into captivity and His glory into the enemy's hands. And that's a reference to the taking of the Ark of the Covenant. wasn't sacrosanct in that sense that nobody would be allowed to touch it. When the people forgot the Lord, the Lord said, you're going to lose all these things. You're going to lose, you're going to lose the very ark of the covenant. Now, it did come back eventually, but it ended up being lost. It ended up being destroyed. There was no ark of the covenant thereafter, not the original one anyway. So, there was a delivering up of the strength of the Lord, His glory, which is a reference to the tabernacle. But then verse 62, He gave His people also unto the sword. He let the enemy come over, overrun the land. And when you think about those institutions, even in our own land, Christian, that were so honoring to the Lord in times past, well, the Lord not just let the enemy overrun them. And is that not what is happening in our day? various institutions of government and outside of government that were once known for being Christian and standing for the Lord and seeking to honor His Word and do the thing that is right. And where are they today? In a sense, they've fallen into the enemy's hands. The enemy's taking possession of them, even in our own land. And more and more in our own land, there's a clamor for majority rule. And that is where our land, our little province, is heading. And we will know what it is to live under the heel of Rome all again. God gives up when a people forsake Him. And we live amongst a people who have forsaken the Lord, and the Lord says, here's what's going to happen. Follow on down through those verses. They go right down to verse 69. I'm not going to read all of those verses this morning again for... sake of time. But if you look at verse 67, just to get the context, moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, because this is where Shiloh was. So that explains verse 67, the tabernacle of Joseph is the tabernacle that was in Shiloh. It was in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph. Joseph's two sons had an inheritance, Ephraim and Manasseh, So in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph was where Shiloh was to be found and the tabernacle was to be found. So that explains how the Lord rejected the tribe of Joseph and rejected Ephraim and rejected the tabernacle that was at Shiloh. Verse 68, He chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he established forever. He chose David, also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds." So, we know that that happened. The temple was built in Jerusalem. But now when we come over to Jeremiah's time, what is Jeremiah saying? You're not to have any more expectation of this tabernacle than there was of the tabernacle in Shiloh. It's going to go the way of Shiloh if you do not turn. And there is a loss that will be incurred. Forsake the Lord, forget the Lord, and there is going to be a loss. that will be sustained. If you come back to Jeremiah 7, look at verse 14, Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I give to you and to your fathers, as I have done unto Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. So again, the reference to Ephraim is understandable there in the connection of where Shiloh was. And the Lord says, you see this temple? It's going to go the same way as the tabernacle in Shiloh if you do not amend your ways. And there will be a loss in our nation. There has already been a loss. There will be a greater loss in our nation if there is not an amending of our ways. One final thing I want you to notice here, and that is that formal religion is a provocation to the Lord. formal religion is a provocation to the Lord. If we come down those latter verses of what we have read there, and on past verse 20 where we finished reading in our Bible reading a little while ago, you will find that Judah were guilty of mixing the religion of Jehovah with the false religions of the day, particularly the religion of Baal. Verse 18, for example, the people gather wood, or the children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods that they may provoke me to anger. Do you want the modern term for it? Multiculturalism. Multifaith. That's the day we live in. Well, they tried that in Bible times in the days of Jeremiah, and it didn't work. It brought the curse of the Lord upon them. It provoked the Lord. It provoked the Lord. Those words are actually used, that term provocation. You see there in verses 19 and 20, you can find those words. Do they provoke me to anger, saith the Lord, verse 19. Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? It's a provocation to the Lord. same in verse 20, "'Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, and it shall burn.'" So, they were provoking the Lord by their mixture of false religion and a semblance of true religion. And it was only formal religion because it was vain. They can't do anything else but worship the Lord in a vain way when they're mixing. the world and the truth of God. There can only be one outcome, and that is that it was vain and the Lord would not accept it, to the extent that we read there that the Lord told Jeremiah not to pray for this people. That's how far they had gone. Verse 16, pray not for this people. There can be no more serious point to arrive at than that, that God says, I'm not going to hear any prayer for this people anymore. There's no point in praying, Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah was a praying man. Of that there is no doubt. And the Lord says to him, Jeremiah, don't pray anymore. Don't plead with me anymore for this people. Their end is determined. Their end is determined. How sad it is when a people, a nation, get to that place where prayer will not prevail anymore. I don't think we're at that point in our own land yet where that could be said. God is gracious. We sang that in that psalm this morning. God is gracious. But there may come a time when that is true. that God will say, I will not hear prayer anymore for this nation. I will give it over into the hands of its enemies, lock, stock, and barrel. So he instructed Jeremiah not to pray for this people. But in verses 21 and 22 there, just after where we finished our reading, there is this warning from the Lord with regards to their mixed worship. and how the Lord would not accept this mixed worship. Put your burnt offerings onto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I speak not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I, they am saying. Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. And walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. as I suggested to you back there at the start, that idea in the word amend is something that comes in here as well. This idea of do well or make good, that's the idea that lies in that word amend. So, the Lord says, if you do this, it'll be well with you. And what is it that He's referring to here? Outward formal worship is provoking Him. He says, when I brought you out of Egypt, It wasn't as the only thing that I told you about that you were to burn sacrifices, because the Lord did tell them about that. So it's not as if this is a contradiction of what happened back there at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the Lord gave them instruction about offering sacrifices. But what has been inferred here is the Lord says, I told you more than that. I'm not interested in mere formal outward sacrifices. The turning up and the offering of worship and thinking that that will be acceptable to the Lord. The Lord says, I want something from your heart. Verse 23, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. Walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. The Lord was looking for heart religion, heart religion, not outward formal religion. We have outward formal religion in this land to the full. Most of those national occasions now is just formal religion. Whether it's coronation or funerals at times that have a national dimension to them, other gatherings that there are on a national level, it's just formal religion. There's nothing of the heart in it, but that's what the Lord is looking for. And that's the point, Christian, I want to leave with you this morning. as believers. The Lord wants heart religion from us, not just an outward form of religion. Yes, it's good to come to God's house. That's important, as we know. But the Lord is not just looking for that outward, physical, formal turning up at the house of God. What He's looking for is our heart. He's looking for heart religion, a heart devoted to Him, a heart that will obey Him, that will obey all that He has said, not just some of the things that He has said, but will desire to obey all that He has said. Isn't that what He says there in those verses? 23, 24, walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, and it may be well with you. And then there was the contrast there with Israel, but ye hearkened not, verse 24, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the councils in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. I would suggest to you our country is going backwards, not forwards. Why? Well, Jeremiah 7 will tell you why. Why is our country going backwards? The Lord says it. He even uses that terminology here in Jeremiah 7 about a country going backwards because they've forgotten God's ways, and all they have is a formal, outward form of religion. There's no reality to it. There's no sincerity to it. There's no truth to it. It's not heart religion. And the Lord says, that's a country going backwards. Well, if anything describes our country, it's that. And even people unconscious of what the Bible has to say and the terminology that the Word of God uses in this place have said the country's going backwards. And may we go backwards. May we go forwards and not backwards. May we obey the Lord, true heart religion. And that's the challenge for us all, Christian, even this morning, that we would live like May the Lord bless His Word to all of our hearts. We're going to bow in prayer, and then we're going to sing a couple of verses of 2-5-4. Our Father, even challenge us this day, Lord, about true religion, heart religion. Lord, while we see the spirit of the day and what is happening in the land, we pray, Lord, that thou would cause there to be a turning to thee, a forsaking of that which has brought so much trouble upon us. And Lord, may there be a putting of things right and amending of our ways as a nation. Hear us, we pray. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. "'Give me thy heart,' saith the Father above, "'no gift so precious to him as our love.' "'Softly,' he whispers, "'wherever thou art, gratefully trust me, "'and give me thy heart.'" 254. We're going to sing the three verses, because each one of them applies to a person in the Trinity, the Father, and then the Savior, and then the Spirit. So we'll sing all three verses. 254. standing as we sing in closing. ♪ Where'er thou art ♪ ♪ Where'er thou art ♪ through the night. Sing it to memory, give me the light. Fill me, my heart, as a sliver of light. Life once simple, now equally hard, How long can you live with me at all? Give me your heart, give me your love, ♪ This surrender of mine ♪ ♪ Promise of victory from you of mine ♪ ♪ Sweetly so tenderly with me I'll hide ♪ ♪ With me I'll hide says the Spirit divine ♪ ♪ It's forever, it is time to depart ♪ ♪ Give yourself, thank you, and give me your heart ♪ ♪ Give me your heart, give me your heart ♪ ♪ Give yourself, listen, where there are none ♪ Our Heavenly Father, we pray that Thou indeed would have our heart. Each one of us here in this gathering, O Lord, give us true heart religion, devotion to Christ. a desire to please Thee and serve Thee, obey Thee. Lord, this is the way of blessing. This is the way of good. This is the way to go forward. And may we be a people who go forward. Have mercy. Bless the times of prayer as they continue on now and then later on this afternoon as well and into the evening. We pray that Thou will bless this day. Lord, make us a people who seek Thee. Part us with Thy blessing now, as we come to a close in this service. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. Make your way into the creche, and we'll start there in a moment or two. so so