Jeremiah 24:6-7 - Homiletics

Prosperity restored.

I. AFTER CHASTISEMENT HAS BEEN RIGHTLY RECEIVED , GOD LOOKS FAVORABLY ON HIS CHILDREN . He sets his "eyes upon them for good." Men shrink from the eyes of God as from a keen and fatal scrutiny. But God is not always looking as the Judge. He beholds his children with love. There is a wonderful tenderness in this gaze, like that of a mother fondly watching over her suffering infant—a deep pity for sorrow, an earnest care to ward off harm, a kindly will to bestow all real good. It is blessed indeed to be so beheld by God. There are men possessed of such great power and influence that some consider a favorable look from them sufficient to make their fortune. What must be the effect of God setting eyes on a man for good?

II. WHEN GOD LOOKS FAVORABLY ON HIS CHILDREN HE MAY SECURE THEIR TEMPORAL PROSPERITY . This will not always happen, for it will not always be for the real good of men. Still, it does often occur. We are too ready to confine the recognition of God's action in our lives to the sterner sides of it. God sends prosperity as well as adversity. If he banishes, he restores; if he pulls down, he builds up again. And the joy of the restoration and the glory of the latter building exceed those of earlier times. If earthly prosperity comes from God it is real and solid. God can maintain it after he has bestowed it. He will build so that none shall pull down. The man who is innocently enjoying a prosperity sent by God need have no superstitious fears of a jealous Nemesis. He is not secure from trouble; but he has no special ground for apprehending it simply because he is happy at present.

III. WHEN GOD LOOKS FAVORABLY ON HIS CHILDREN HE WILL CERTAINLY SECURE THEIR SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY . This is seen in a restoration of a true knowledge of God.

1. It is good for us to know God. The knowledge of God is here represented not so much as a subject of duty as in the light of a form of spiritual blessedness. The loss of this knowledge leads to the darkness of a godless life. The enjoyment of this knowledge is eternal life ( John 17:3 ).

2. A true knowledge of God is the recognition of God as he is—quite another thing from our common conception of his nature. Then we see and feel the grandeur, the mystery, the glory of "the eternal."

3. This knowledge of God depends on the condition of our hearts . The "heart" represents the whole inner life. When this is rightly disposed we can know God, and only then. What we need, therefore, is not a new revelation, but a change of heart. When our soul is in sympathy with God, when our spiritual vision is open, we can see indications of God's presence and character which would otherwise be obscure.

4. The right condition of heart for knowing God must be produced by God . God promises to give them a heart to know him. He only can create the heart anew. The greatest blessing of redemption is that he will do this.

IV. THE WELFARE OF GOD 'S CHILDREN IS RESTORED BY THE RESTORATION OF THE CLOSE RELATIONS BETWEEN HIM AND THEM . "They shall be my people, and I will be their God." This relation is twofold. God exercises paternal influences, they engage in filial duties.

1. God takes them under his care . They are his people, to be guarded and blessed by him. So Christians are God's peculiar people ( 1 Peter 2:9 ).

2. They take God for their portion . He is their God—theirs to worship, serve, love, rejoice in.

V. THE RESTORATION OF TRUE PROSPERITY DEPENDS ON THE GENUINE RETURN OF GOD 'S PEOPLE TO THEIR FIDELITY TO HIM . The restoration was not a mere compensation for the troubles of the exile. Happiness does not necessarily follow trouble. The father runs to meet the prodigal son when he returns, but cannot regard him favor-ably before this.

1. This return must be with the heart . Repentance, of all acts, must be genuine and heartfelt. A formal acknowledgment of God without a change of heart is a mockery and an insult to him, which can bring us no good.

2. This return must be with the whole heart. A partial return to God is no true return. He claims the whole heart or none of it.