Peter Barnes | Jeremiah 17:5-10
SERMON NOTES
TWO WAYS ONLY
Jeremiah 17:5-10; Philippians 3:1-11
– Joseph de Jussieu was a French botanist of the 18th century who lost his manuscript on malaria, and went insane.
1. Two foundations contrasted.
– 17:5,7. The operative word is ‘trust’ e.g. Luke 12:16-21; Isa. 31:1-3.
– Phil.3:8-9. Edward Mote: I dare not trust my sweetest frame,/ But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. George Duffield: The arm of flesh will fail you;/ You dare not trust your own.
2. Two ways of life contrasted.
– 17:6, 8; a shrub in the desert which withers or a tree by the river, which grows and is fruitful; may not be immediately obvious (Psalm 37:35-36).
– problem is the heart (17:9; Matt.15:19; Gen.6:5; hence they reject God’s Word (17:15; 2 Peter 3:4). John 15:4-5, 8. The Christian may have dry periods, as Thomas Boston pointed out: ‘A tree, that has life and nourishment, grows to its perfection, yet it is not always growing; it grows not in the winter.’
3. Two final results contrasted.
– 17:10; see 1 Cor.4:5. Pol Pot was apparently a most charming man. But God knows all.