TAKEN DOWN BY A HEARER.
“How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”? (Jeremiah iv. 14.)
WE can consider for a short time, as we may be enabled, the last part of the verse, the words: “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”? Jerusalem is addressed. When Jerusalem is spoken to, it does not mean stone and lime or the material of which it is built, but the inhabitants—the rational part. A great privilege this city had when the Lord spoke to it in this manner—other cities were left without rebuke. It was that the Lord made choice of Israel. The Lord is speaking to us, in the same way as he is speaking to Jerusalem, and saying “Wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved,” and asks of us this question also: “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”? We are in possession of the gospel and are asked to turn from our sins and live. In making a few remarks on the words of our text we will
1st consider the question: “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”? and in the second place the implications.
1st the question: “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”?
This is a question that is addressed to us all. We must take the Scriptures and apply them to ourselves, and each one should take this portion of God’s Word and apply it to himself and herself here tonight. In so doing we know not when the Holy Spirit may come and make the Word quick and powerful.
Regarding the question, the Lord is speaking by way of illustration, and in so doing he compares the whole of Jerusalem to an house; a place where there are lodgers kept. In addressing Jerusalem He is addressing each Israelite in it. The soul is an house, a “temple”; the souls of believers are temples of the Holy Ghost. You will see the Holy Ghost is not lodged here, but vain thoughts are lodged and entertained. The natural man uses his “house” for a bad purpose, not to glorify God with, but to dishonour and defy God by entertaining sin and satan. People forget their obligations to God. You cannot now recall the many vain thoughts that passed through your own mind since you entered this church this evening. The Lord Who searches the heart and tries men’s secrets knows them all. The Lord’s people are tried by their vain thoughts. They try to meet them at their door and turn them away and if they do get in they hunt them out, but they don’t go far away they always hang about their gates. It is otherwise, however, with the carnal mind which is “enmity against God.” It will invite them and will say to them at the door of the soul “come in my companions, I am very pleased to hear your voice at my door.” They are thus entertained in the soul and given a comfortable bed, that they may abide there. Vain thoughts are made very welcome in the house of God. The carnal mind finds it tedious, and especially if the sermon is long. Now what are thoughts? They are our resolutions and cares. We can say that cares are thoughts. Here cares, not about the soul or regarding the glory of God, but regarding the things that are seen. You are here tonight and you are very careful about the things of this world, but the concerns of your soul never cost you a serious thought. You read the Parable of the Sower and you will see what happened to those who received the seed among the thorns, the seed was good but “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches” choked it and it became unfruitful. The mind can only serve in one way. You cannot entertain two kinds of lodgers. You must turn either the one or the other away. Those taught of the spirit are afraid that they will offend any thoughts that are serious and savours heaven. They are exercised inwardly and always feel that they are being searched, “O Lord Thou hast searched me, and known me, Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.” Blessed are the people who thus breathe under the influence of the knowledge of the greatness of Jehovah. The soul who is exercised like this will ask himself the question “how long will vain thoughts be entertained in my heart”? but by Divine grace he is always at war with his vain thoughts. But the careless build a tower, and their thoughts are that it will reach to heaven, the Lord confounds, however, and proves “men’s thoughts to be but vanity.” We said that resolutions are also thoughts. Trace them in the hearts of the enemies of Christ. In the parable “This is the heir,” they said, “come let us kill him, and let us seize his inheritance,” and again “we will not have this man to reign over us.” These resolutions are to no purpose. Christ is king for all
that; He is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” He will reign till all His enemies are made His footstool.
Again the heart is a factory of vain thoughts, and sinful filthy thoughts and when they come out they show how defiled man is. Christ Who knows the heart told what comes out of the heart: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Where is boasting? Vain thoughts are unprofitable, but man has great joy in his vain thoughts. You young people are often in your thoughts with your vain companions or in some place of amusement or say picturing yourselves in some happy position in this world. You picture yourselves on a death-bed and at the judgment seat and these are realities which you must some day face. To be in Christ that day will be your joy and safety.
Thoughts are real. They will be judged. They are capable of being pardoned: “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” They are to be repented of: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” They defile the man: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” Thoughts are the first motions of all evil. Murder begins first in heart-hatred and revengeful thoughts. The law is spiritual and we are judged in our thoughts as well as in our actions. Thoughts of this nature, as we showed already, defile the soul, just the same as a man does when he comes into a house with dirty boots on polished floors and carpets. You may be sure that the women would not be pleased with this conduct, neither should we when our soul is defiled by sinful and vain thoughts.
This question is a searching one and a solemn one: “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee”? If they will always continue lodged in our soul what shall the end of these things be. There is a remedy. The Bible is given us as a remedy against vain thoughts. Those who read novels must have a vain mind indeed—for these are all vanity and lies. Get a good stock of sanctified knowledge and let the words of Christ dwell richly in you; and that is a wholesome barrier against vain thoughts. Watch what you see and what you say and what you hear. Entertain Christ in your hearts. Let the God of Heaven make His dwelling there. Christ asks for your heart: “Son give me thine heart.” Seek to be like the Psalmist who said: “when I awake I am still with Thee.” What an heavenly exercise of mind! Young men and young women should aim at this. What a wide and deep ocean God is to think of, in all that He is, and in the revelations He gave and is giving of Himself. If we had God in our thoughts we would be with Him wherever we were in our worldly calling as well as when in His house. The Lord is not without a people who fear and think of His name.
II. The Implications.—How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within you, and I, my son and the Holy Spirit are without? It would be good if you would confess to your God that you are guilty in grieving the Holy Spirit, and that you are leaving the Lord Jesus outside while He is saying “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” This sort of conduct calls for much grief of heart in a gospel land. Why not entertain the Lord of Glory then? You have no realization of the pleasure you would have in giving lodgings to Christ if you would repent and believe. If you give your soul to Christ, young people, you will be His ally and fellow-workers. You will be allied together in getting your own soul washed. The soul must be washed not swept. The unclean spirit when he returned to “his” house found it only “swept” and he had no difficulty in entering again. A brush, if it be rough, leaves a lot of dust, but the heart must be washed. A moral outward reformation is not enough. The heart must be washed, the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” makes it a clean heart. The Psalmist’s prayer was “create in me a clean heart.” You unconcerned soul seek the Lord. Ask the Lord to give you repentance that you might lose your relish for sin. Seek faith to cut you away from your love to the world. The believer who has a clean heart is constantly lamenting over his heart condition. Some people have a very keen eye and will notice everything. You ask the Lord for a keen eye to search your own heart that no sin might escape your notice. The Lord give us what is good and substantial and what will stand us in good stead on the other side of death. May the Lord bless His Word to us.