We're going to sing a portion out of Psalm 119 this morning. It's page 114 in the hymnal. We're singing from verse 33 to 40. which is the fifth part. "'Teach me, O Lord, the perfect way of Thy precepts divine, and to observe it in the end I shall my heart incline.'" We're going to be thinking about a theme that ties in with this this morning. In Jeremiah, we're going to go back to Jeremiah. So, we're going to sing a portion here out of this psalm. So, it's Psalm 119, beginning at verse 33, just that part, that fifth part down to verse 40. We will stand and sing, beginning at verse 33. to me, so be my own child. May he, with the blood of my children, surrender for me. If I was lost, ♪ I come to thy temple with water clean and bright ♪ ♪ In the good and holy way ♪ ♪ We please Him in the way ♪ ♪ Come, let us agree by gracious word ♪ ♪ Which I give the daily ear ♪ ♪ Give me a servant for Him alone ♪ Well, unite together in prayer. and wait upon the Lord today. Let us all unite in prayer. Our God and Father, we draw nigh unto thy presence this Sabbath day. We come before thee, the God of all the earth, the one and true living God, the one who is Jehovah. The I am that I am is how thou hast revealed and declared thyself. Thou art the God who is self-existent. dependent upon nothing and no one. All things are dependent upon Thee, for Thou hast made all things. Thou hast created all Thy creatures. Thou hast given to us breath and life. Thou hast breathed into man, and we have become a living soul. Lord, there is that spiritual dimension to us today, and we draw near to Thee, our God, to worship Thee, in acknowledgment, O Lord, of that manner in which Thou hast created us, that we might indeed know Thee." We think of that first question that is taught to the young people in the catechism, what is man's chief end? It is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And we come this day to Thee, O Lord, that we might indeed enjoy Thee and glorify Thy name. We come to rejoice in Thee for all that Thou hast done for us, for Thy mercies, every temporal blessing that Thou hast bestowed upon us. Lord, we give Thee thanks. We have many material blessings, Lord, many that we fail to appreciate and realize just how privileged we are in this part of the world. There are many others, many, many others across the world do not have a fraction of what we have. We pray, Lord, that we might be those who are thankful, who do appreciate what we have. Lord, most of all, we thank Thee for that inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus, those spiritual blessings, the privileges that are ours in the gospel. The lines have fallen onto us in pleasant places in regards to this. Lord, we have a goodly heritage. We thank Thee for the gospel being preached for generations and centuries across our nation, and the blessings that have come down upon us, times when Thou hast blessed mightily the preaching of Thy Word, and there's been seasons of refreshing and revival, reformation even. O Lord, we give Thee praise for all of this, and it is our desire that in these days, that Thou would come again and own Thy cause, and that Thou would grant us Thy blessing. Lord, if Thou has blessed us in times past, then the days are still the same. We live in the days of Thy Spirit. And Lord, we can look to Thee to come upon us. We know the direction that this world is traveling. Lord, spiritually speaking, But we also know that along the way there are times of refreshing from the hand of our God. Thy cause would not survive otherwise. O Lord, it has been at a low ebb many a time, and Thou hast come by and refreshed and revived, restored a people. And we pray that Thou will come in our time, Lord. And so work by Thy mighty power, so own Thy Word. Lord, give a hearing for the Word of God. It is sounded forth by various means, and yet, Lord, we live in a day when there's no ear to hear Thy Word. The ear of many is closed, and they do not want to listen to what God the Lord has to say. Lord, they have an ear for everything else, everyone else. They run after the ways of the world and the things that are current in a day and generation, Lord, there is no ear to hear Thy truth, and we pray, Lord, that Thou would nevertheless help us to be those that continue to proclaim Thy Word, to be like Jeremiah when he said that the Word was as a fire in his bones, and he could do nothing else but speak, O Father, may Thy Word so burn in us that we can but speak that which we have seen and heard. We look to Thee today to draw near to us as we gather here. Be one of our number. Lord, bless our souls. Refresh us. Lift us heavenward. We ask of Thee, O Lord. Closer to Thee, we pray that Thou would shut us in with Thyself, Lord. Close out every distraction, every distracting thought, Lord, that there would be. Bring each one, each thought into captivity to Christ today. We pray that we might have our thoughts centered on Him alone, and that our souls would indeed be made glad. Remember the need that there is amongst us all, Lord, from individual to individual, from home to home, family to family as a congregation. Thou art aware of every need there is amongst us, and we pray, Lord, that Thou will draw nigh this day to us. O be gracious, we ask of Thee, and we pray that Thou will come with blessing upon us, be our portion where there are particular needs today, some who are laid aside, Lord, some who need a touch from the Lord physically. We pray that Thou will minister to such, Lord. O come, we pray, grant Thy blessing to us all. Remember Thy cause, we humbly pray. We think of the work of God generally. We pray that Thou would prosper it. We pray, Lord, that Thou will raise up those who will cry aloud and spare not, and that we will see Thee working. Remember even those that sorrow. We think of Dr. Cook's family this morning, his wife, Lord. We pray that Thou will comfort her heart. Remember her need, we pray, even at this time. Be her portion. We thank Thee for the memory of Thy servant, for his labors in this denomination, for the abilities that Thou has given him, Lord, and We praise Thee, O Lord, for the benefit that He has been to so many. And we ask, Lord, that Thou will even remember that family circle and the extended family that mourn His passing. And we pray You'll bless. Remember those funeral services on Monday. Lord, grant grace and help there as those individuals will take part in that funeral service. So grant Thy blessing to us. We cast ourselves upon Thee afresh today, Lord, hoping in Thy mercy, looking for Thy blessing to be bestowed upon us this day. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. Amen. Hymn number 54 is going to be our offering hymn. Just in a moment, number 54, Great God of Wonders, All Thy Ways. As you're turning that up, we do bid you welcome each one this morning. In the Savior's name, we're glad to see you, and we pray the Lord will bless and meet with us as we gather. Those who are tuning in online, the Lord will bless you and put his hand upon us all. There are some who are off on well. We pray for them, that the Lord will bless them and raise them up and bring them out back amongst us. It is Building Fund Sunday being the first Lord's Day of the month, so do remember that. There is the meeting in the Ashwood Nursing Home in the afternoon at 3 p.m. That will be taking place. And then 6.30 is the prayer time. And the evening time, 7 o'clock is our evening meeting. And God willing, I'll be preaching at that in the evening time. Now remember that the Bible Club has moved forward to Tuesday evening, 6.30. That now is taking place over these weeks. So please remember that as that continues. And then Wednesday night is our midweek meeting, prayer meeting and Bible study. I did mention a while back that we'd say a little bit about the 75th anniversary plans. There's a video to show as well, so we're going to do that on Wednesday night. And also, there's going to be an offering for the work of the college. We do need to take that up. Each congregation is required to do that. We haven't done that yet this year. So we want to put that right and do that for the college. So that will take place on Wednesday night. So do remember that, please, in your giving on Wednesday night that the offering is going to the college. as I say we will say something about those 75th anniversary plans that have been put down. Friday night there is school open night that is going from half past four in the evening through to seven o'clock it will conclude. So if you're interested in coming along and seeing around or telling others about that, then you're more than welcome to do that on Friday. So that's half past four through to 7 p.m. That will be taking place on Friday. And then the Sabbath, next Lord's Day, Sabbath school prize giving will be taking place in the morning. The Sabbath school pupils will be amongst us. They will be taking part in the service. Elizabeth McGill will be speaking to them as well next Lord's Day morning, so remember that. There is a meeting in the Glebe road nursing home as well. And in the evening time, we will be observing the Lord's Table. We do it once a quarter in the evening time, so that fits in very well with our prize giving in the morning that we will have communion at the close of the evening service. So I'll be preaching at those meetings next Lord's Day. It will be the youth meeting as well. Our brother Thomas Hannah will be here to speak at that. for the young people later on, quarter to nine, that will be taking place. So do remember those that are laid aside. I said that there earlier. There is a number that need our prayers. The Lord will bless them and raise them up. Now the new hymn books are available. I sent a note out on WhatsApp about that. If you have ordered, I sent out a picture of the list as well for those who had ordered. It's a little while ago now. that you ordered those books. And since that time, there's a gilt edged edition that has come out with a leatherette back. So if you're interested in swapping, that we can accommodate that. If you just want to go ahead and pick up the books, they're there this morning, whatever you've ordered, they are £8 each and we'll get an invoice to you for that in due course. But if you do want to change, then as I say, that's possible. We can work with that. They will be £20 as you appreciate. The leatherette gilt edged one is going to be a bit more expensive. So that is an option if you want to swap. Even if you haven't ordered and you would like either of those, let me know and we will get some extra if we need that. As a congregation, the committee decided that we wouldn't buy complete new hymn books for the church services, not at the present time. So that is why we're not swapping over as a as a congregation to do that. That may come along at another time, but certainly not just at the moment. So we're just facilitating those who want copies for themselves if you wish to do that. So please, if you can, think about that. And if you're picking them up, then they should be there in the box at the table there as you're going out. There is a CD that has been brought out by the Balomina Church. And there's various individuals singing on that. It's to mark the 75th anniversary, I think. So they're £13 if you're interested. It's entitled, O Say, But I'm Glad. So there's copies of that on the table as well. As I say, they're £13 if you wish to have one of those as well. There's a new prayer calendar for 2026, the missionary prayer calendar. And on the back of it, there's those to pray for each day of the month. And it's a very good way of remembering the missionary work, to do it on your own devotions or family devotions, to remember the missionary work of the denomination. There is going to be a new cleaning rota that will be brought out for the new year as well. So, if there are others, And we would encourage you to think about this, who could help and do a month on the rota. And then during the summertime in December, it changes to a weekly rota. If you could help in that, would you speak to John? As I say, we are drawing up a new rota. So if we can have others that would help, that would be much appreciated. It spreads the burden around. The more there are involved in that, even if you want to join up with others and do that, that would be much appreciated. That's all the announcements that I want to make. I want to say a little bit about the death of Dr. Cook. Dr. S.B. Cook, who was for many years deputy moderator in our presbytery, stepped in for Dr. Paisley on many occasions, passed away on Friday evening around 6 p.m., I think it was. Many men were already getting ready to go to the presbytery. There was a tribute paid to him in the presbytery by Mr. Greer's clerk and then Reverend David McMillan as current minister in our MA congregation. That was where Mr. Cook ministered. for the greater part of his preaching ministry. He started out in McMarion congregation, and then he was in Recharkin congregation, and then he went to Armagh, and he ministered there for many years. up until his retirement. He was a great preacher, a great ability to preach, and also a great contender for the faith. That was something that he never lost, even in retirement. There was always that desire that the church would be a contending church. And he made comment about that on a number of occasions, that he trusted that the younger men who were coming up would not lose that contending spirit. that there needs to be and was in the early days, and he was very much part of. As again, you know, he lectured in the college on homiletics, which is the art of preaching and pastoral theology. He did that for many years. I had the privilege of being in his classes. He retired from Armagh during my time in college, but he kept on the work of the college for another, I think it was on until he was 70. He retired when he was 65. out of the work in our man, then he kept on the college for another five years. And those of us who were in at that time were very glad of that. that he stayed on and we finished our time with him. So he's gone to his reward. Do remember his wife, please. And then the extended family that mourn his passing as well, that the Lord would draw near. The funeral services are on Monday in Money Slain Church. It's where he was associated with during his retirement. And then he's burying in Ballygowan Graveyard. So we do remember the Lord's servant and pay tribute to Him even today. Okay, we're going to turn to our offering hymn then. Number 54, great God of wonders, all thy ways are worthy of thyself, divine. But the fair glories of thy grace beyond thine other wonders shine. Who is a pardoning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free? Keeping our seats for the opening verses. Number 54. ¦ O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come, O come, Emmanuel, You raise the one-army one by one. Glorious peace, so rich and free. Such a joy, oh, how dear are we to you. ♪ This is a temple of the world within you ♪ ♪ And if we know we're not just in you ♪ ♪ There is no more before I give you ♪ ♪ For it has peace to bring you joy ♪ That's time for verses three and four. ♪ Hail Alma Mater, Hail Alma Mater, Hail Alma Mater. His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love, His love Jeremiah chapter 9 is where we want to turn This morning, we're going to read from verse 12 of the chapter, Jeremiah chapter 9. And we're reading from the 12th verse of this ninth chapter. So Jeremiah chapter 9, and beginning at verse 12, we'll read down to the end. of the chapter. So, verse 12, Jeremiah chapter 9, "'Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? For what? The land perisheth, and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through. And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Balaam, which their fathers taught them. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them." Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women that they may come, and send for cunning women that they may come, and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion. How are we spoiled? We are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. For death has come up into our windows, and has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. Speak. Thus saith the Lord, even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvest man, and none shall gather them. Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this. that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Behold, the day is come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised. Egypt and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." Amen, we know the Lord will add His blessing to the reading of His Word to all of our hearts. It's verses 23 and 24, that I want to turn your thoughts to this morning. In these two verses, if we can just read them again, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, saith the Lord." I want to consider with you this morning the things that God delights in, the things that God delights in. We're going to bow together in prayer and ask the Lord for His help as we come to His Word. Our Heavenly Father, once again we thank Thee for the Word of God that we have read. And we come now to consider it, O Lord, and acknowledge our need of help as we do so. Lord, we do not have understanding of Scripture. Our hearts are sinful. Our minds are dull of understanding. Lord, we need help from heaven. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. And we thank Thee that He has been promised to us as the one who will come forth and who will lead us into all truth. We pray that as we come to consider this thought this morning of those things that God delights in, we pray that Thou wilt be our Teacher. Open up Thy Word, O Lord. Apply Thy truth to us all this day, whatever our spiritual state might be. We pray, Lord, that we might hear the Lord speaking. Even as Thou didst speak in this chapter, that time to Jeremiah and through him to others. O Lord, come this hour. Speak now to us, we pray, and lead us out after Thyself. Speak to the unconverted. Bring them to Thyself, Lord. That is our earnest prayer, our fervent prayer, Lord. What danger they are in. Lord of all people, they are in the most dangerous place. there is but a step between them and eternal death, not just physical death, but going out into a lost, Christless eternity. So, Lord, have mercy this day. Draw nigh now to us, we humbly ask, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. It was very obvious that among the children of Judah, to whom Jeremiah had been called to minister, that they had put an emphasis upon the wrong things, and that they were delighting in things that God did not delight in. And here he is sending word through Jeremiah that there is a note of caution that needs to be urged, and even a warning that this people to whom Jeremiah is ministering, that they take on board the things that the Lord is saying, and that they change their ways. We were thinking last Lord's Day about those words, amend your doings, your ways and your doings. Well, we're going to think at least this morning here about some areas where that indeed is very much emphasized in the prophecy of Jeremiah. And not only did he minister to the royal house, and then he challenged the false prophets and priests and false pastors, and also spoke more generally to the people. Here he is now, highlighting one particular thing in this portion of Scripture at least. And it is a reminder to us all that There are things that take our affections and take hold of our hearts from time to time. They might be the repeated topics of our conversation, the focus of our attention, the subject of our energies, the occupier of our times, even the consumer of our resources. But are they the things that God delights in? We would do well to ask ourselves that question. The things that take up our time, Are they the things that God says He delights in? because he makes it very abundantly clear here in this portion of Scripture what it is that he delights in. So there is an application to us, each one even today, although it's spoken in Jeremiah's time, spoken to that particular people, yet the principles are very much applicable to us. And that is what I want us to simply do here this morning, to notice in these two verses, 23 and 24, what it is that God delights in. And first of all, we'll notice that he sets it out in the negative because he tells us the things that he does not delight in. And yet these are oftentimes the very thing that people are taken up with. And there in verse 23, he highlights three areas, wisdom, might, and riches. And these are the three things that by fact that we are those characterized by fallen human nature, that oftentimes that is the things that we delight in. And the Lord says, not according to Him, this is altogether different. And whether it's Jeremiah's day, whether it's this day and age that we live in, the principles I think are very much the same. Whatever country you may be in, culture you may be part of, there is an inbuilt tendency to glory in that which is not of God. And that is what was happening in Judas. Such was the influence of those false prophets and pastors and preachers of Jeremiah's day, that they had turned the people away from the right ways and the good things of God. And they had made them to focus on other things. So the first one that is mentioned there in verse 23 is, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let him not glory in his wisdom." Now, the first thing to ask is, well, how are we to understand this word wisdom? Is it just knowledge? Or is there something else that lies behind this particular word? After all, is not knowledge important? Does the Lord not place emphasis upon knowledge and perception and even intuition? Are not all of those things profitable to us? Well, the best way to understand the word here is to just look up two places where it's translated in our English Bible by a word other than wisdom. The vast majority of places where this word appears, it's translated as wisdom. But there's two places where it's not. And if you go, first of all, back to 1 Chronicles chapter 28 and verse 21, you will find the first place where this word appears, and it'll give us a little insight here into how we're to understand this. So 1 Chronicles chapter 28, and we're almost, we are at the very last verse of the chapter. So it's not wisdom that it's translated here as, 1 Chronicles 28 verse 21, And behold the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God, and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship, every willing, and here's the word, skillful man. For any manner of service, also the princes and all the people will be holy at thy commandment. So the word skillful there is this word translated wisdom in our text. So when the Lord says in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the skilled man glory in his skills or in his abilities. Because after all, every skill and ability is God given in the first place. It's not something we can claim complete ownership of. It might be something that we indeed have if we think that we do, but ultimately it comes from the Lord. So the thought here is of some skill, some mastery, some expertise that somebody has in a particular field, a capability to do a particular task, and the Lord says, you're not to glory in that. That's not what you're to glory in. That's not to be the focus of your life, that everything about your life is centered upon that one thing. It's God-given. It may indeed exist. The Lord does give abilities, and the Lord does give skills to individuals. We think about that in relation to the parable of the talons, for example. where there was an unequal distribution of talents. And that's how it is in life. Not everybody has the same gifts and abilities. So the Lord says, whatever gifts and abilities and skills an individual may have, that is not to be the focus of their boasting. That's not what they're to glory in. They may have a reputation, among others, for that particular skill or ability. They may be able to wield that skill with great ability so that they have a reputation for it in a particular area, but it is not to be something that we glory in. God does not delight in that when we do, especially when there is no honoring of the Lord and acknowledging of the Lord. publicly and openly that He is the giver of whatever gifts and abilities and skills we might have. God says, I don't delight in that. He doesn't hide the fact that in the way that it is expressed there in Jeremiah 9 and verse 23, he doesn't hide the fact that there are people who have these skills because he says, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. So he acknowledges there is indeed those who will have skills and abilities, but don't let them be the focus of your glory. Don't let them be the thing that is all important to you. There's one other place, and this time it's in the Psalms, where that same word appears, Psalm 107. And it's the 27th verse there of that lengthy psalm, Psalm 107. And you'll recognize this word. It has actually come over into our own language in a colloquial sense. But Psalm 107, it's verse 27, they reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and at their wits' end. We use that little phrase, to be at your wits' end. It's a Bible word, but do we ever sit down and think about, well, what does that word mean? Where does it come from? It comes from this word wisdom. at the end of their wisdom. They're at the end of their understanding. It's a way of saying, I don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end. That's how we use it. Whatever the circumstances that have come upon us that has brought us to that place, and maybe all our abilities have been expended on something, and we have got to say, I'm at my wit's end. I don't know what to do now, do next. Well, this is the word here that we have in our text as wisdom. And the Lord says, you're not to glory in any of these things. Because very easily and very quickly, the Lord can bring us to our wit's end. He can bring us to our wit's end. He can bring us to an end of all of our resources and all of our abilities. And we will soon be seen, and we will soon feel how unable we are to do anything, and how dependent we are upon the Lord. So the Lord says, don't be glorying in wisdom. Then the second one in Jeremiah 9 and verse 23 is, let not the mighty man glory in his might. And the word might there has the reference to physical strength and vigor. If we think about a phrase that appears in the scriptures, I think it would characterize this, the arm of flesh. We're told not to depend upon the arm of flesh. We're not to depend on human strength and human ability. That physical capacity to accomplish something is not what we are to be glorying in and boasting in. That's not to be the focus and the center of our lives. Again, human ability is nothing to boast of before God. Strength. There was a man in the Scriptures along those lines. His name was Nimrod. If you go way back to Genesis chapter 10, we read about this man Nimrod and the mighty man that he was in the earth. Genesis chapter 10 and verses 8 and 9 we read about him. Cush begat Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter. before the Lord, wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord." And then it tells you that the beginning of his kingdom was Babel or Babylon. Babel and Babylon are one and the same. Here's the man who founded Babel and founded Babylon, and he's described as a mighty hunter before the Lord. And the word there has the idea of against the Lord, because that's often what happens when people lean upon their own might and strength. They end up opposing the Lord. They end up resisting the Lord and acting contrary to the Lord, and Nimrod is such a man. And that phrase there that you have in Genesis chapter 10 and verse 9, he was a mighty hunter before the Lord, we need to understand it in that sense of against. We might not describe or use that type of terminology today, but that's what that portion of Scripture is saying. Nimrod was a mighty hunter against the Lord, a mighty man. And you can think of many others as well in the Scriptures that fall into a similar category. And more often than not, they use their might to dethrone God. They use their might to oppose Him. And there are those today who are doing the very same thing. They're using that might and strength that they have, maybe even in a physical sense, to oppose the Lord. And they think that man can be self-reliant. It's a long, long time ago. Some of you younger ones were not even born when Prince Philip said, we can do without the Lord. I would imagine he's well changed his mind now. as to whether he can do without the Lord or not. But some of you might be old enough to remember that statement that Prince Philip made many years ago. We can do without the Lord in this country. No, you can't do without the Lord, and you'll soon discover you can't do without the Lord. Step out and try to be self-reliant and to have the attitude that the Lord is warning here about in Jeremiah chapter 9, where He says, the mighty man is not to trust in his might. That does not please the Lord. That's not something the Lord delights in. So we are warned then. That brings us on to the third one. If we keep moving through these, let not the rich man glory in his riches. So we're thinking about skills and ability. We're thinking about physical strength and prowess. Now we've come on to that which we possess. that which we have obtained and attained for ourselves, the riches of this world, that's not to be our boast. We are not to be taken up with those things. They are not to become all-important in our lives. They're not to be what we glory in. Again, there is nothing wrong with having riches, just the same way as there's nothing wrong with having wisdom or having strength. These things are from the Lord, but it's when they become the center of our lives and the thing that is all important to an individual, and we turn away from those things that God says He delights in, and we're going to come to consider those just in a moment, it's when these things become the very focus of our attention. all that's important in life is just this, riches. And the Lord says, that is not to be the case. We're not to glory in this. That word glory is more often in the Scriptures translated by the word praise, the word praise. And you can think of somebody being praised for their skills or their ability or their strength or even their riches, admired, somebody's admired, That word is used in that exact way. Again, if you go back this time to 2 Samuel to Absalom, that son of David who was vain and proud among other things. And in 2 Samuel chapter 14 and the verse 25, you'll find this word that is in our text in Jeremiah's glory. But here it is as praised. And as I say, it's more often than not translated by praised throughout the Bible. So 2 Samuel chapter 14, verse 25, That's what it seemed on the outward. There was plenty of blemishes in him in his heart. He was vain. He was proud. He ended up leading a rebellion and a conspiracy against his own father. It went to the extent where he even sought his father's death. But there was a time when he was looked upon, he was praised in Israel. And it tells you they're all Israel. They all were taken in. It wasn't just an odd individual here and there across the land that were taken in by Absalom. It was something that was general and common amongst the whole nation. They looked upon Absalom and admired him and praised him and spoke highly of him. Along maybe some of those lines that we're thinking about here in Jeremiah chapter 9, wisdom or skills, even might and riches. It particularly says there in 2 Samuel that he was praised for his beauty. he looked. So these are the things that people were admiring and praising in Absalom. And when we come here to Jeremiah 9, the Lord is saying to Israel through Jeremiah, there are things I do not delight in. And here they are. And by more often than not, those are the things that the world are taken up with. the Christian needs to be warned lest we would be drawn into that as well and taken up with those things. And they become the things that are important, the things that we might glory in or praise or boast. We are not to praise these things. These are not to be the things that we admire in people or even that we think are important to ourselves to have. The Lord says, I don't take delight in these things. So you first of all have it in the negative, and then if we come into verse 24, here we have it in the positive. Here are the things that we are to glory, and here are the things that God delights in. The Lord gives us clear insight into this. First of all, it tells us there, verse 24, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. I am the Lord." Let's start there, that He understandeth and knoweth me. God delights in those who understand and know Him. Not just know of Him, and we know that there is a difference, just not to know about God. You can have a knowledge about God and yet never know Him, never know Him. never be familiar with him, never be acquainted with him. We can say that about all individuals, maybe in a community or somewhere that we live in. We can know about them. We have heard their name. We might even know where they live, but we know nothing about them. Maybe we've never interacted with them very much of anything at all. So we can say, well, I certainly know of that individual. Maybe we could even take somebody to where they live, but as to know that person, we know nothing of all about it. Well, that's the sense in which the Lord here is using these words. Here's what I glory in, he says. Here's what I delight in. I delight in those who understand and know me. Who understand and know me. Who understand God's ways. who have some insight into His Word, to know what God believes, what God requires, that they have some understanding of God. And we cannot have an understanding of God if we're not familiar with His Word, for there's no other way we can learn about God other than His Word. We can't rely on human intuition or knowledge, because that's corrupted. There was a time when that was written perfectly upon our hearts in creation, when God first made man. The knowledge of God was written upon his heart. We're told that in Scripture. Man was created in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. So he had a perfect knowledge of God, but that knowledge is corrupted and either corrupted or totally gone today. So we can't look inward and say, well, here, I know God just because I'm an intelligent individual or I'm a rational individual. Therefore, I know God. No, we don't know God in that sense. In fact, we need to repudiate all of our own learning and all our own thoughts, because we will discover God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We can only understand God through His Word. And that means we will be those who are in His Word, who read it, who meditate upon it, who seek to study it, to learn of God, to learn who God is. So we are to understand God. But not only are we to understand God, it says we're to know Him. We're to know Him. We're to be familiar with Him. We're to be able to explain His ways. just that we have a knowledge of God that we have gained through His Word, but in practical terms, we can understand what God is doing. We know God. We commune with Him and fellowship with Him, and He with us. The secret of the Lord, it says in the Psalms, is with them that fear me, the Lord said. The Lord lets His people into His secrets. He opens up the Scriptures to those who know Him. And they have insight into God's Word. They have understanding of the times, to use scriptural language. They know what Israel ought to do at a particular season. Why do they do that? Is it because of some intuition they have? Some skill or ability they have? No. It's because they know the Lord. They've spent time with Him. They have been in communion with Him, in fellowship with Him. They have been with Him in His Word. And as a result, they know God. They know His ways. They know His thoughts. He has shown them things from His Word that are there for us all to see and understand, but we don't take the time, nor do we pray over His Word sufficiently to see those things that others see that are there in Scripture. The Lord says, I delight in those who know Me, who understand Me, and who know Me. That's the chiefest thing. that we can indeed ever come to acknowledge of is the Lord Himself. I don't know who it was, it's probably a long time ago, but theology was described as the queen of sciences. In fact, when Oxford University and Cambridge University started off many, many hundreds of years ago, everybody did theology. It wasn't a matter of going there as it is today and majoring in something else entirely and having no thought. Everybody at the start, when they went to Oxford or Cambridge, those universities that started way, way, many, many hundreds of years ago, everybody, everybody started off learning more about the God of heaven because He was seen to be the source of all knowledge. And all true knowledge was centered in Him. And therefore, if you were there for learning and advancing in knowledge, it would only be right and proper that you started off with the source of knowledge. The chiefest thing that God delights in is that we know Him. We understand Him. And sometimes it may be the case that An individual may not have many outward skills or abilities or strength or even riches, but they know God. They know God. Maybe there's nothing that the world would praise them for at all about their lives, but they know God. know Him by experience. Not only have they a knowledge of Him gleaned from His Word, but they know Him by experience. They have fellowship with Him. They have lived in communion with Him. They know God. They know God. My thoughts were directed towards this particular portion by A little story I read this past week, maybe it was last week I actually read it, about three boys that were bragging, out playing. It was in America, but they were out playing in their back garden or whatever. They were neighbors. And as boys started to do, they started to boast about their fathers. My father can do this, and my father can do the other thing. And one wee boy, he said, this is a true story, that Christian man told the story. I'll tell you what he did at the end. But he heard this. He was coming out to where the boys were, and he heard what was going on. And one boy said, my dad knows the mayor. He's on speaking terms with the mayor of the town. And the other little boy says, well, that's nothing. My dad knows the governor. He meets up with the governor many times. And then this other little boy whose house it was, and whose back garden they were in, and whose father overheard the conversation. He says, that's nothing. He says, my dad knows God. My dad knows God. And that father says that he went in, and he got down on his knees, and he thanked the Lord that his child had such respect for him that he thought he knew God. That's what God delights in, that we know Him, that we know Him. But then not only do we know Him, the Lord here starts saying, well, what do we know about Him? If we were to ask, well, what do we know about the Lord? Well, first of all, that we are to know that He is Jehovah. That's the first thing there in verse 24, that I am Jehovah. I am the Lord. And as you know, that word in italics, the word Lord in italics is a place where the name Jehovah appears. And the name Jehovah refers to one who is primarily self-existent. It's that phrase, I am that I am. God is not dependent upon anything or anyone. He's self-existent. You and I are not self-existent. We depend upon Him. So we cannot ever take that attribute. This is one of God's incommunicable attributes as they are spoken of. Only God can be self-existent. If there was anybody else that could claim this, then there's a rival to God, and God is not unique. He alone is self-existent. He is all-powerful, immutable, onerring in all that He does, all-wise in all that He does. His name is Jehovah. He is that great I am, with no beginning, no end. He is the one who was, and is, and is to come. He sitteth upon the circle of the earth. The inhabitants thereof are his grasshoppers in his sight. What is man compared to him? That question is asked a number of times in the Scriptures. What is man? But thou would be mindful of him. He's only a creature. the work of thy hands. He's just made of dust. What is man compared to God? And this is something the Lord would have us to know, that we would know who God is. He is Jehovah. There is none like Him. This is what He delights in, that we would recognize Him to be such. that He is Jehovah. But not only that, that He is a great and terrible God, but then He goes on to say, a God that exercises lovingkindness. He would have us to know that about Him. And if we know that about Him, He says, this is what I delight in. Because yes, He is a great and terrible God, a consuming fire, but He's also one who delights in mercy. He delights in His lovingkindness. The Psalm 36 and verse 7 tells us that He's full of lovingkindness. He's full of lovingkindness. It is out of His lovingkindness that He has brought salvation to sinners. We were destined to perish, and yet God was pleased to provide and open up a way back to Himself from the dark paths of sin. It's His good pleasure. If we want to take the New Testament phrases that appear, particularly in the book of Ephesians, it's God's good pleasure. He delights to do it. He delights to show loving-kindness. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Now, we are not to ever mistake His loving-kindness and His long-suffering, if we add that in alongside it, for slackness or indifference, that God would somehow be indifferent to sin. No, He's not. He is a God who is great in His loving kindness and His long-suffering, and He would have us to know that. And He says, if you know that, He says, that pleases Me. I would imagine if you were to ask people generally whether they believed in God or not, do you believe in God, or what do you know about God? I would say most people would start off describing God as being some kind of an angry being towards them. Yet the very thing the Lord here starts off speaking about after He has said something about His own person and character, the first thing that He's emphasizing is not the fact that He's a God of wrath and judgment. He is that. We're going to come to think about that in a moment here. The first thing He mentions is, I want you to know I'm a God of lovingkindness. I'm a God of mercy. I delight in mercy. I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked." So even the order that we would understand these things and put an emphasis upon them, Christian, are important if we are to know God and delight in the things that He delights in. So there's mention made there of His lovingkindness, and then there's mention made of His judgment. He's a God of judgment. He calls men to account. Of that there is no doubt. Whether they be the great men of the earth or not, He's going to call them to account. The inhabitants of the nations are going to be called before Him. They're going to stand before the bar of God, and the judge of all the earth will do right. And He certainly wants us to know that, and even to delight in that. There is in humanity, it is part of our creation in the image of God, but there is in us all a sense of justice. Now again, it's corrupted. It's corrupted. But there is in us all a sense of justice. And where we see injustice, it annoys us, grieves us. It might even prompt us to do something about it, or at least to attempt to do something about it, because there's something just not right about that when we see injustices in the world. And where does that sense come from that makes us annoyed at that? It's because God has created us and it hasn't been totally lost. It's corrupted because man tolerates that which God doesn't tolerate. But there is a sense of justice. There is a sense in us all that those who commit crime ought to suffer for the crime and be called to account for their crime, what they've done. God says, I want you to know that I'm a God that exercises judgment. I'm a God that is just. What God does, no one will ever be able to disagree with. They will never point it out as something of an injustice that God has done. God does all things well. He does all things right. None can stay His hand, nor say what doest thou." And the Lord says, this is what I want you to know, and this is what I delight in. I want you to know, not only that I'm a God of lovingkindness, but I'm a God of judgment too. I will call men and women to account. There's a warning for the unconverted. They're not to presume upon His mercies forever in a day. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his heart, shall suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy." Yes, God's mercy runs far longer than ours, but there is a time where it runs out eventually. My spirit shall not always strive with man. So He is a God of lovingkindness. He's a God of justice and judgment. He's also a God of righteousness. And that is the thought about His holiness. What is the guiding rule in all things? It's characterized by holiness. Psalm 145, verse 17 says, the Lord is righteous in all His ways, holy in all His works. So those of us who would claim to know Him, we need to know something about His righteousness, His rectitude. He does all things right. all His ways are holy. Whether it's in small things, private things, whether it's in public things, large things, God has one standard across the board. He doesn't change. He doesn't alter His standard because of who it is that He's dealing with. You think of some of the characters in Scripture. David, let's take David as a perfect example, the man that was said to be after God's own heart. God delighted in him. God delighted in him. Samuel told Saul this was the reason why he was being rejected was because God had another man that he delighted in, and he was going to make him king instead of Saul. But God didn't change his standards for David. And when David sinned and did things wrong, God didn't change. God didn't alter. God didn't lessen the standard. God didn't say, well, David, it's you. Therefore, we'll go easy on you. God acts in righteousness at all times. In righteousness at all times. These are the things that he would have us to know. And if we come down to the end of that verse, in closing, he wants us to know that this is how he acts in the earth. I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. This is how God acts now. And you and I surely ought to reflect the Lord in these things and how we act at all times. But He does these things in the earth now. And there's the conclusion to it there. Verse 24, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. So having told us the negative and they said, here's the things I don't take any pleasure in and I do not delight in, here's the things that I do delight in. And there was obvious a call to the people in those times that they would delight in these things that God delights in. And surely today the challenge for us is the same. Are these the things we delight in? May they be so. May they be so. May that be seen in our lives as we live in the earth, as we're God's people in the earth at this time. May the Lord help us to manifest and display these things in our lives. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, bless Thy Word, we pray. Search out our hearts as we're thinking about these different messages that were delivered through Jeremiah to the people of his day. O Lord, may the lesson found in them not be lost on us. Imply Thy Word. Search out our hearts even today, Lord. What it is that we delight in and glory in and speak of and follow after, count important. Lord, give us a knowledge of Thyself, we humbly pray. O Lord, be our portion now, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 532. We're going to sing in closing, 532. Above thine own ambitions here, another voice is sounding clear. It is the call of God to thee, O leave thy all and follow me. Go through with God thy vows to pay thy life upon the altar lay. 532. We're going to sing, well, we're just going to sing all four verses of this hymn. 532 standing to sing. That's stuck. He's the God of our dreams. Darling, I know I'm falling. Oh, through the fire. ♪ And redeem us every day. ♪ ♪ O come, O come, Israel. ♪ ♪ And ransom captive Israel. ♪ O fruited one, O fruited one, I rise to thee. Thy life, O God, we offer thee. The holy gospels, filled with grace, I bring to thee, God's blessing. ♪ God rest their minds, let space be yours ♪ ♪ To sing His love, we praise or sing ♪ ♪ What shall we do, take heart and be free ♪ to thee, God's very own. ♪ When you're gone, empty your heart ♪ ♪ With hopes that will go through you at heart ♪ ♪ Confirm, O God, thy righteousness ♪ ♪ Thy hand upon the altar laid ♪ Our Father, we pray that we might delight in the things that thou dost delight in. We pray that today, even afresh, Lord, we would think about our own ambitions, and over and above them, that we would be those who know the Lord. We pray that thou would bless thy word to all our hearts, May we live in the light of it. May it exercise our hearts this day. Part us with thy blessing now, thy fear and fever. Grant thy people thy abiding presence. For we pray in Jesus' worthy name. Amen. ♪ Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ you.