Jeremiah 51:50 - Homiletics

The duty and encouragement of the saved.

I. THE DUTY . "Stand not still."

1 . Why the duty is requisite. Past deliverance is no security for the future. The first arrow missed the mark, but the second may strike. The tide advances; though the waves have not yet reached us, they will overwhelm us if we remain where we are.

2 . How the duty is to be performed .

II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT . "Remember the Lord from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind"

1 . God's grace in the past is an encouragement for the future. Past deliverances will not secure us against future danger, but they wall furnish reasons for seeking safety again in God.

2 . The chief reason for pressing diligently and hopefully forward is to be found in the contemplation of God. His holiness should make us fear sin; his love should make us trust in his helping grace. That we may not stand still, we should "remember the Lord."

3 . Our very remoteness from God should urge us not to stand still We may have wandered far from God in sin, or have forgotten him among the crowd of worldly distractions. But when we realize our condition, when we come to ourselves, we shall see that our only safety will be in arising and going to our Father. We can never be too far to return by Christ" the Way." The further we are from God the greater is our danger, the nearer we approach him the more of his grace and help shall we enjoy.

4 . Thoughts of our mission and destiny should induce us not to stand still. The Jews are to remember Jerusalem, their ancient home, the seat of their future destinies. If there were no such city they might despair in their exile. The thought of Jerusalem suggests a centre of union and an aim for the future. If a man loses all hope, he loses himself. When we think of our possible future and of our mission, we are roused to take up the tangled threads and weave our life's work with patience according to the pattern of God's will.