Sermons
Vander Kam on Jeremiah 20:9
Sermons
Vander Kam on Jeremiah 20:9Jeremiah 20:9 – "But if I say, 'I will not remember Him
Or speak any more in His name,'
Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And I cannot endure it." (New American Standard
Bible)
Beloved in the Lord: this is indeed an historic day, as we all realize. This is the day that we have been waiting for, and yet at the same time this is also the day that we many a time have dreaded. Dreaded that it should come to a thing such as this, that we have seen it develop over the years, and have seen it develop evermore, and that also at the present time we see it ever getting greater. And that as a result of that we were also not able to see any other way out, but that we would meet and that we would be independent, that we would be independent of that church which we have loved, in which many of us have been born, which many of us have served.
This is therefore the kind of a day, of course, that is going to be remembered, and a day that is so important in our lives, and a day for which nevertheless we also give thanks to God for the blessing that He has given, that this is still a possibility. And that He has blessed us so greatly so that we come together under these conditions this morning. It is marvelous in our eyes, it is something more than any one of us could ever have expected, and that is the thing for which we give thanks to the living God.
And at the same time that we will realize, of course, that it is that Word of God that has been at stake. It is not one of the various questions that so often fill the hearts of men today, but it is essentially a matter of the Word of God; what does the Word of God say, and do we bow before that Word. That has been the problem throughout the ages, that is the problem in the churches today. And those are the things that we recognize, and we realize these are the things for which we have to stand. That is that Word of God that is to be upheld at all costs. We sang a moment ago, "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also," and those are the things that we are able to sing so easily, but it is not so easy to do.
These are the things that many have refused to do. They will not "let goods nor kindred go", and then as a result of that they might also go down with a sinking ship. These are the things that we must keep clearly before us, that it is essentially a matter concerning the Word of God. And that as a result of that, it is a matter concerning our Confessions. The Confessions that are based upon that Word, and that we are at all times to bow before Thee, these things that have been given to us. So that we uphold it, and this is the only time that it is going to be said; these things; only this morning. This evening we continue otherwise already, and next Sunday, the Lord willing, we already simply and calmly begin with the Catechism preaching. So that it is only this morning but that we are not able to get away from it this morning to state the few of these things as to the reason why we are here.
And that we will also realize, and that is a warning to every one of us, that we are not going to rejoice in the outward things, that we are not going to exult in those things that are external, but that we are going to rejoice in this, that we know our God through the Reformed Confessions, and that that Reformed faith is precious to us, so precious that we will indeed "let goods and kindred go" in order that these things be maintained.
That does not mean to say, and let us be very clear on it; that we consider the church from which we break away, from which we depart, that we consider that church apostate, or false church; no, not at all. I have been very careful that I will not be quoted as ever saying that, because it is not true. It is a tendency in that direction; there is a drift. Those are the things that we have feared. Those are the things against which some of us have battled; battled for ages. And these are the things that have to be preserved, people, and otherwise we have nothing left.
If we don't stand at this time, and stand for the truth of God, and they can say, of course, that these are the things that have nothing to do with our salvation; every part of the Scriptures deals with our salvation, and it is also true that if these things not be maintained, we will have nothing to transmit to the generations to come. And therefore we are to go ahead: on the basis of that Word of God, on the basis of the Confessions that are dear to us.
And at a time such as this, as was brought to my attention again very clearly in this past week, and already before, and that is, that when the times come that are very unique, times that are very different from others, and that we stand before that Word of God in the various texts as it were protrude; they protrude from that Word, they speak to us, they speak volumes. One of the best Reformed theologians of recent years has written various articles on the topic, "Searching For Texts." Well, you don't have to search for texts under certain conditions; they as it were protrude, they stand before you, begging to be used in the church of Jesus Christ, begging to be exegeted.
I speak to you this morning on, "Jeremiah's Compulsion To Testify." Noticing in the first place, the difficulty; secondly, its reaction; and finally, its nature.
Now you must understand, of course, that in the days in which Jeremiah is prophesying, it is one of the most difficult times in the history of Judah. It is such a difficult time because he is standing at the time when it is about to go into captivity. And seeing that it is about to go into captivity, there are various elements that arise in the history of Judah, in the lives of the people. And those are the things that are indeed very difficult at that time. And that the king has already sent to him and has already commanded him that he is not to preach, not to preach that word that he has brought. Because there were ever so many other prophets and they did not disturb the people the way in which Jeremiah has. And now why can't Jeremiah do the same thing! And therefore the king causes him to be silenced; he is not to preach anymore. He may not preach that word, no that is the thing that may not be done because of the fact that that would disturb, that disturbed the people badly.
And it is no wonder that it disturbs them, because of the fact that it is virtually traitorous, he has virtually become a traitor, the way it sounds. Because he has counseled the people that they are going to give themselves up to the king of Babylon. There is no use struggling anymore, this struggle is past. There is no possibility of gaining anything anymore, and therefore they are to give themselves up completely to the king of Babylon.
That the king calls him a traitor, he is a traitor to the cause, they can't get an army together anymore to battle against the Babylonians. Nineveh has fallen, apparently, already at this time. And now this Babylon, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, has been the great leader against Nineveh. And now Babylon is arising, and Jehoiakim goes to Egypt in order that Egypt may now help him. And Jeremiah warns him that he is not to do that, because that is also leaning upon a reed that is going to break and it is going to go into his hand, and as a result it is going to do him no good whatsoever. And therefore he counsels, Jeremiah has never stood in the counsels of the king the way Isaiah or even Ezekiel and certainly not as Daniel did.
Not only that, and it does not only come from the palace, but it also comes from the temple. You read of it where we began to read this morning in the first part of Chapter 20. There this Pashur who is a priest, the chief priest apparently, the one who is also somewhat of a sergeant-at-arms in the temple. This is the man who has heard Jeremiah preach, and he can't stand it. He can't stand it, this is precisely the kind of material wherewith Jeremiah comes, that is going to be ruinous for this people, and it is going to be ruinous especially for the priesthood.
Now these are the two that ought to work together; the priest and the prophet; but they don't. And that has happened so many times in the history of Israel and Judah. That it was the prophet who had to call them back to the Word. But the priest, who is always dealing with those things that became routine; this sacrifice – it had all the built-in things to become a routine and a tradition. These so often departed from the Word of God, and had to be brought back by the prophet.
But now this Pashur sets himself over against Jeremiah and again has him imprisoned. He places him in the prison in order that he might still, that he might silence the voice of Jeremiah the prophet. He has to testify, he has the compulsion to testify; but I tell you there are difficulties. When it is this, that nobody listens and it complains about it in previous chapters and he says, "I have become a laughing stock. I come, O Lord, with Thy Word, and they laugh about it, they laugh about it. They don't accept it, they will not apply it, but they laugh about it, and they laugh me to scorn." That is the situation in which he finds himself.
Now, those are the kind of things, of course, that we are able to understand, that under such conditions it is very difficult for this man to do his work. To do the work of a prophet, to do the work of the Lord. When he realizes, and there is such a compulsion within him, he loves his God; he loves His people. And there he is torn, torn completely; he doesn't know which way to turn; because the difficulties are many. And those are the difficulties, beloved, that have been there throughout the ages. These are the difficulties that have been multiplied again and again. Martin Luther says in one place that if it were left up to him, there would not have been ten horses that could have dragged him into the Reformation. But it was not left to him.
And this is the question, of course, that a Jeremiah; is it going to left to him? The difficulties are many; he has the compulsion to testify, to preach, to bring the Word of God. But at the same time, these difficulties. And here is the man who isn't able to take that. Here is the man who has been made in such a way so that he is so tenderhearted. He is no Amos, no Amos that stands before the kings of Israel and says to them "This is the condemnation that is going to come." But Jeremiah is of such tender-heart and he now has to bring this message, and the message doesn't suit him. He should receive the message that "all is well, God loves you, God is going to take care of you, there's nothing on the horizon that is ever going to disturb." That would be the true message for Jeremiah.
And now God says to him, "You prophesy to this people and say that they are surely going into captivity. That Nebuchadnezzar is going to come and he is going to lay the land waste, and that they are going to be destroyed. And that this Pashur, this priest, this chief priest; he is going to become a terror to himself, he can't live with himself." That's going to be the situation.
And then he complains; and he complains bitterly. But at the same time, though he complains bitterly at the end of this chapter, for example, when he says, "O that I had never been born! Or that I had died at birth! Or that I had died prior to birth!" And yet in verse eleven he says, "But the Lord is with me like a dread champion." He's torn between the two; see? Torn between the two, a dread champion – he is my God. I have to be faithful, but on the other hand, I wish I hadn't been born.
To see such misery, and to tell my people that it is coming, and I know it is, it's not a falsehood, I know it is coming, and that there's going to be destruction all over in this great land of David and Solomon. There's going to be nothing left, it is going to be a desolation. And that is the message that he has to bring under these difficulties.
And secondly, notice also the reaction. Now the reaction is that which is very clearly stated in the words of my text. He says, "But if I say I will not remember Him, or speak anymore in His name", that is the thing that comes to mind. That is the thing that come to his mind that "let's forget it. Let us not make mention of Him; let us not remember Him; I'm going to quit. Then I'm through with it. And I still have that fellowship; I am still a child of God." Now it is those are the things that are not touched. He is still the child of God who can have fellowship, and can have communion with his God every day, and knows himself to be safe, safe in the arms of that living God.
But, "I will not remember Him, I will not make mention of Him, that's the thing to do. I'm going to forget it." That is the thing that comes to his mind; that is the kind of a feeling that he has, that's what he ought to say. And yet he can't live with that. No, he can't live with that because of the fact that he is the prophet of God; a God who has laid His words upon his mouth, upon his tongue, and those are the words that will have to be brought.
But now he says, "When I stand before that, then to me there comes this kind of a feeling; and that I better not speak to him, that I won't go into these things. You're certainly able to speak concerning ever so many things that do not deal with the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, aren't you? You can speak of ever so many nice things that might still happen." That is not the message given to him. And this whole matter of the inspiration of the Scriptures is here also very much at stake. That we will realize here is a man who is under the compulsion, compulsion of the Spirit of God, that he has to bring a message, and that he has to bring a certain message; a precise one. And that it is not going to be found in generality; generalities which touch nothing; generalities wherewith everybody can live and everybody will die by. In fact, nevertheless, is the kind of a thing that comes to his mind – and there it does sound attractive; sounds attractive, that he might not remember Him and that he might not speak concerning this Word.
So that, even in the mind of a Jeremiah these things happen. He cries so at the time that he was sinking in the mud of that prison in which he was placed. He is sinking in the mud at the bottom of that prison, and he cries out to his God, "Have mercy, have mercy." He goes to his own city Anathoth; are they going to accept him there? This people, with whom he has grown up, who know him so well, will they accept him? They tried to kill him.
Now where are you to turn; and then he turns to his God again, almost in despair; because the difficulties are so many. Now that is the kind of a thing that happens with the Word of God, that Word of God is not something that you can play with, to put it very bluntly. That Word of God is something that has to come and that has to come sharply. And if it does not come sharply, it doesn't come at all because that's the way He speaks. And that He speaks glowingly of that love of God that there is in Christ Jesus our Lord and that it is greater than human tongue is ever able to mention. But at the same time it also speaks in such a way so that it is unmistakably clear what is the result of sin.
And those are the things that Jeremiah has to bring. Because it doesn't help very much at this time when Judah is about to go into captivity to speak to them concerning the sweet things of the Gospel, No! Those are all truths, surely. But they are not the ones that are now really standing clearly before him; it is rather this, they are to be warned, and that they are to be warned by that Word of God, that they are about to go into captivity, and their country is about to be destroyed, and their loved ones are going to fall by the sword, and they themselves are going to be in danger. That is the word. But that's the word that Jeremiah doesn't care to bring.
That is, that is the temptation; the temptation that comes to him that I will not remember Him, I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His Name; that's the temptation. Let it go! If they want to go in this way, all right. If they want to keep on sinning, let them go; why should I also put my life on the line for it? That is the real temptation. These are the temptations that arise in the hearts of ever so many, and these are the temptations that there have been throughout all the ages of the church.
It was a real temptation to Luther not to say a thing. His own salvation assured, what more do you want? And now he is called upon and he receives all the brickbats of men. But he does it, because there is a compulsion to testify. And if that isn't fair, of course, then we give in to the temptation, or we fall in that temptation that we will not remember Him, or speak anymore in His Name. That's the easiest way out. Don't touch on the issues; there's ever so much more to talk about. Don't touch on them, and then you will be able to live in peace, and harmony.
That's the temptation that comes to him, this man of God, this major prophet. And that is the temptation, no doubt, that has also crossed your mind time and again. Maybe you've given in to it sometime. Not to do this anymore, not to do these things. After all, they know the way, and if they don't want to walk therein, I can't help that either.
And then there is that kind of a compulsion, that he can't do it, because finally, that is the nature of that compulsion. And then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. That's what it is. That is really that compulsion to testify or to preach. "It's like a fire inside of me," he says, "and that fire is kindled by the Spirit of God." He is called upon to testify, that is, to bring the Word of God. And that Word of God does not come unattended, but that Word of God comes together with His Spirit; that Word is given by the Spirit of God as we have it before us. And that Word must also come through the Spirit which dwells within him, and there is that kind of a compulsion within him; he says, "It's like a fire in my bones, that would consume me if I don't testify; so, I can't get away from it."
The temptation is there not to do it; that would be the easy way out. But He won't let me. He is within me like a burning fire. And that demands that the Word be proclaimed. That demands that it be proclaimed in the way in which He has given it. That demands that it be proclaimed in the way in which He has laid it upon my mouth. That demands that it is going to be proclaimed in the way in which He wants it to be proclaimed at this particular time. That is the Word of God; that is the way He speaks.
And then he says, "it's like a fire within me, and I can't stand it." You can't live with that. When there's a fire raging in your heart, in your chest, and that will not out, well, you are going to be consumed by it. There are fires without, yes, and he is called upon to address those, but that is nothing compared to the fire within. That is the Spirit of God that gives him no rest. That is the Spirit that compels him. Where that compulsion comes from. And that causes him to go whether it is through prisons, or through sickness, or through difficulties, regardless, but it calls him to go through all these things for the sake of the Word of God.
And that's it, people. That compulsion to testify, that is so strong, "it is such a fire within me," he says, "I am weary of holding it in and I cannot endure it or I cannot contain it. I can't hold it." He has taken over, He has taken over my life, He is now within me, and is causing me to do that which I find to be very difficult. That's his compulsion to testify.
And that is the Word that comes to us as a hammer blow. That comes to every church, that comes to every individual, that comes to all people throughout the world. That compulsion of Jeremiah to testify to the Word of God. Let that be a Word of grace, or let it be a Word of warning, or let it be a word of condemnation. But it is like a fire in my bones that will not give me rest. It will compel me; it will cause me to have no rest whatsoever until I am faithful. Because that's all that we are called to.
Not that we are going to do great exploits. A man said to me a few years ago; "How many have you led to the Lord?" I said, "I have no idea, I have no idea." And it's a good thing that you have no idea, because it is not a matter how many, but it is this, have you been faithful? And that is the only thing that comes to us; are we faithful? For that we begin, to be faithful to Him. And without being faithful to Him, people, you cannot contain it, you cannot live with it, you cannot endure it. Because it is like a fire in your bones that will not rest, and that will give you no rest until you give in. Trust the Word of God.
He feels that compulsion, and he shares that with us; what it felt like. And then he goes on. This is Chapter 20; there are over fifty chapters. He goes on, and on, to bring that Word of God in its fullness to that people, and he is going to suffer for it tremendously.
Finally, it comes down to this; I'd rather suffer at the hands of men than have the Spirit of God consume me. That's what it comes down to. There, that's the danger in which he stands, that Spirit is going to burn him up. But I cannot contain it; I cannot endure it. And then the only thing is this, to be faithful, and proclaim that Word, testify to that Word, preach that Word. And that is the Word that we need. That Word that comes to us under all circumstances of life, and is sufficient in every need, that Word that builds up, that Word which is our food and drink unto life eternal. Outside of that Word we are and can do nothing. And if that Word is not preached, everything goes to pieces. The church and the world and our families, in our own personal lives; everything. That Word must uphold it, and therefore must that Word be preached.
And then even the Catechism asks in one place, you know, "Why must it be so strictly preached?" A great majority of the churches of this country and of the world have no difficulty with that question at all anymore, because they don't preach it strictly. But it must be strictly preached or the Spirit that is within is not satisfied. Beginning this morning, and so go on into the future, nothing doubting, and having in mind only this one thing; the glory of our God, based upon that Word that He has given us. Amen.
We give thanks to Thee, Heavenly Father, for the grace and mercy Thou hast given to us. We are thankful for that Word which Thou hast spoken, that Word in which we may find all the things necessary to life. And we pray, O Spirit of God, that it may be applied unto our every heart in order that we may walk uprightly before Thee. Grant us Thy blessing further on this day. Bring us together again in Thy courts in this evening, in order that we may feast on the Word of God. Forgive our sins and hear us in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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