Archives for June 2023

The seed, the source, the essence of unhappiness

(James Smith, “The Way of Salvation Set Forth”)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

Sin is the seed, the source, the essence of unhappiness. “There is no peace to the wicked”–nor is there any happiness for the sinner in his sins. The carnal mind may find something like pleasure in carnal things–but real, solid, lasting joy, cannot be found, never has been found by the sinner, until converted to God. Carnal pleasure is empty, fleeting, and unsatisfactory in its very nature!

The true Christian has enough to make him genuinely happy:
All of his sins are forgiven and forgotten.
He is adopted into God’s family.
His person is justified before God.
He is clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus.
He is a child of God.
He is regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
He has the Spirit of adoption in his heart.
He is at peace with God, and God is at peace with him.

All the promises of God are his, which represent Jehovah as pledged to support, sustain, comfort, supply, and bless him in time and eternity!

His God is with him.
His God is for him.
His God will never fail him in any trial, nor leave him under any circumstances for one moment.

Such is the Christian’s blessed state, and such are his blessed privileges–though he may appear poor, afflicted, and despised among men.

In proportion . . .
  as sin is subdued,
  as sanctification is deepened,
  as the Savior is prized,
  as our talents are laid out for the Lord’s glory
–are we happy. But if sin is allowed to conquer, if personal sanctification is neglected, if the intimations of the Holy Spirit are slighted–then the believer is not, and cannot be happy.

Let the Christian therefore . . .
  cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart,
  cultivate close fellowship with God,
  walk softly, uprightly, and daily with God.
So will his peace be like a river, and his path be like the shining light which shines more and more unto the perfect day.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You!” Isaiah 26:3
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 14 

JEREMIAH PLEADS WITH GOD (19-22) 

¹⁹ Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!²⁰ We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.²¹ Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.²² Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things. 

“Jeremiah acknowledged his own sins, and those of the people, but pleaded with the Lord to remember his covenant. In their distress none of the idols of the Gentiles could help them, nor could the heavens give rain of themselves. The Lord will always have a people to plead with him at his mercy-seat. He will heal every truly repenting sinner. Should he not see fit to hear our prayers on behalf of our guilty land, he will certainly bless with salvation all who confess their sins and seek his mercy.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 14 

THE DROUGHT (1-6) 

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.² Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.³ And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.⁴ Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. ⁵ Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.⁶ And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 

JEREMIAH’S INTERCESSION (7-10) 

⁷ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.⁸ O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?⁹ Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 

“The people were in tears. But it was rather the cry of their trouble, and of their sin, than of their prayer. Let us be thankful for the mercy of water, that we may not be taught to value it by feeling the want of it. See what dependence husbandmen have upon the Divine providence. They cannot plough nor sow in hope, unless God water their furrows. The case even of the wild beasts was very pitiable. The people are not forward to pray, but the prophet prays for them. Sin is humbly confessed. Our sins not only accuse us, but answer against us. Our best pleas in prayer are those fetched from the glory of God’s own name. We should dread God’s departure, more than the removal of our creature-comforts. He has given Israel his word to hope in. It becomes us in prayer to show ourselves more concerned for God’s glory than for our own comfort. And if we now return to the Lord, he will save us to the glory of his grace.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

GOD’S REPLY (11-12) 

¹¹ Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.¹² When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 

FALSE PROPHETS (13-18) 

¹³ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.¹⁴ Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. ¹⁵ Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.¹⁶ And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.¹⁷ Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.¹⁸ If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. 

“The Lord calls the Jews “this people,” not “his people.” They had forsaken his service, therefore he would punish them according to their sins. He forbade Jeremiah to plead for them. The false prophets were the most criminal. The Lord pronounces condemnation on them; but as the people loved to have it so, they were not to escape judgments. False teachers encourage men to expect peace and salvation, without repentance, faith, conversion, and holiness of life. But those who believe a lie must not plead if for an excuse. They shall feel what they say they will not fear.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

JEREMIAH PLEADS WITH GOD (19-22) 

¹⁹ Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!²⁰ We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.²¹ Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.²² Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things. 

“Jeremiah acknowledged his own sins, and those of the people, but pleaded with the Lord to remember his covenant. In their distress none of the idols of the Gentiles could help them, nor could the heavens give rain of themselves. The Lord will always have a people to plead with him at his mercy-seat. He will heal every truly repenting sinner. Should he not see fit to hear our prayers on behalf of our guilty land, he will certainly bless with salvation all who confess their sins and seek his mercy.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

GOD’S REPLY (11-12) 

¹¹ Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.¹² When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 

FALSE PROPHETS (13-18) 

¹³ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.¹⁴ Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. ¹⁵ Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.¹⁶ And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.¹⁷ Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.¹⁸ If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. 

“The Lord calls the Jews “this people,” not “his people.” They had forsaken his service, therefore he would punish them according to their sins. He forbade Jeremiah to plead for them. The false prophets were the most criminal. The Lord pronounces condemnation on them; but as the people loved to have it so, they were not to escape judgments. False teachers encourage men to expect peace and salvation, without repentance, faith, conversion, and holiness of life. But those who believe a lie must not plead if for an excuse. They shall feel what they say they will not fear.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 14

THE DROUGHT (1-6) 

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.² Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.³ And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.⁴ Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. ⁵ Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.⁶ And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 

JEREMIAH’S INTERCESSION (7-10) 

⁷ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.⁸ O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?⁹ Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 

“The people were in tears. But it was rather the cry of their trouble, and of their sin, than of their prayer. Let us be thankful for the mercy of water, that we may not be taught to value it by feeling the want of it. See what dependence husbandmen have upon the Divine providence. They cannot plough nor sow in hope, unless God water their furrows. The case even of the wild beasts was very pitiable. The people are not forward to pray, but the prophet prays for them. Sin is humbly confessed. Our sins not only accuse us, but answer against us. Our best pleas in prayer are those fetched from the glory of God’s own name. We should dread God’s departure, more than the removal of our creature-comforts. He has given Israel his word to hope in. It becomes us in prayer to show ourselves more concerned for God’s glory than for our own comfort. And if we now return to the Lord, he will save us to the glory of his grace.” (Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise)) 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 13 

Three Lessons about the Wickedness of Israel 

Result of Israel’s forgetting the Lord (22-27) 

And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. ²⁴ Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.²⁵ This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. ²⁶ Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.²⁷ I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be? 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 13 

Captivity of the North

Captivity from the north (18-21) 

Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.¹⁹ The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. ²⁰ Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?²¹ What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 13 

Three Lessons about the Wickedness of Israel 

The lesson from the marred girdle (1-11) 

The marred girdle (1-7) 

Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.² So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.³ And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,⁴ Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.⁵ So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.⁶ And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.⁷ Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 

God’s lesson (8-11) 

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,⁹ Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.¹⁰ This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.¹¹ For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. 

The lesson of the filled bottles (12-15) 

The filled bottles (12-13) 

Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?¹³ Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 

God’s lesson (14-15) 

And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.¹⁵ Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. 

The lesson of the weary traveler overcome by darkness (16-17) 

Weary traveler (16) 

Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 

God’s lesson (17) 

But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. 

Captivity from the north (18-21) 

Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.¹⁹ The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. ²⁰ Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?²¹ What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? 

Result of Israel’s forgetting the Lord (22-27) 

And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. ²⁴ Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.²⁵ This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.²⁶ Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.²⁷ I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be? 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

JEREMIAH 13 

Three Lessons about the Wickedness of Israel 

The lesson of the filled bottles (12-15) 

The filled bottles (12-13) 

Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?¹³ Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 

God’s lesson (14-15) 

And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.¹⁵ Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. 

The lesson of the weary traveler overcome by darkness (16-17) 

Weary traveler (16) 

Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 

God’s lesson (17) 

But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

JEREMIAH 13 

Three Lessons about the Wickedness of Israel 

The lesson from the marred girdle (1-11) 

The marred girdle (1-7) 

Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.² So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.³ And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,⁴ Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.⁵ So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.⁶ And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.⁷ Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 

God’s lesson (8-11) 

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,⁹ Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.¹⁰ This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.¹¹ For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com