Jeremiah 17:7-8 – Steady Your Confession.
7
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8, New King James Version
1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3, New King James Version
Jars of Clay invokes in the band's unforgettable song "Inland,"
afraid of your convictions
they said the land will change you
steady your confession
your course make no corrections
when you are a stranger
hold your tongue and wager
love will set you free
until it sets you free
Jeremiah has recently warned against the possibility of being changed by trusting in men, not so much that the land would change those who once trusted in the Lord, but that the absence of it would cause those sent into exile to place excessive trust in each other, preempting a move of the Lord in their hearts.
The sensitive prophet then relates the other extreme to which men's hearts swing when unreasonable expectations of human constellation haven't been met. Those disillusioned will retreat to life's deserts and miss good when it comes.
I think of Jars of Clay's "Inland" insistence to, "Steady your confession," because that's what Jeremiah is coaching toward in Jeremiah 17:7-8. He knows how prone his audience is toward extreme emotions because he has experienced them. At the beginning of Jeremiah 9 when God laid on him the scope of the people's sin and of his calling to stand in the gap and remain God's faithful spokesman, he wants to retreat.
He is overwhelmed, but God abides with him and helps him to process through his very human feelings. God proves Himself constellation enough to keep men circling back to faithfulness.
Though we are not saved by technique, it helps. We feel safer, more edified, if we come away from Scripture with a how-to to watch play out in our lives by Christ's strength and righteousness. Jeremiah provides that. When despair washed over him in chapter 9, it no doubt felt like something had seized him which was not common to man, that he was bailing against something that no one had ever dealt with before.
Yet, by Christ's strength and faithfulness, he floats to the top, and now he is encouraging his listeners to do the same. Jeremiah models recourse in the Word of God – even as he records the Word of God himself.
Jeremiah steadies his confession and leads others to do the same by patterning his exhortation after Psalm 1. It is at once challenge and a confession, a mutual realization that steadiness comes from a Source outside ourselves, that fruitfulness is realized by in Whom we are planted rather than by our physical location or emotional makeup.
If JEREMIAH, the weeping prophet, can emerge on the other side of upheaval clinging to the timeless Truth of Scripture, so can we. Steadying one's confession is to be learned and practiced in uncertainty. Contentment in Christ, insists Paul, is to be learned.
I would also caution against a notion we easily inculcate that we master these, then we teach them. I find very often that when the soft spots in my heart draw me to offer resources and rescue to others because I care about them that the Truth the Lord brings out of my mouth in those few selfless situations actually instructs me.
I can't tell you if Jeremiah was at risk of a relapse, but I can tell you that the root system in which he instructed his people to rest is invigorating for him, for them, and for Christ's people through the centuries. Fruit comes in different seasons according to His calendar, but the leaves that proved His abiding faithfulness never wither.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8, New King James Version
1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3, New King James Version
Jars of Clay invokes in the band's unforgettable song "Inland,"
afraid of your convictions
they said the land will change you
steady your confession
your course make no corrections
when you are a stranger
hold your tongue and wager
love will set you free
until it sets you free
Jeremiah has recently warned against the possibility of being changed by trusting in men, not so much that the land would change those who once trusted in the Lord, but that the absence of it would cause those sent into exile to place excessive trust in each other, preempting a move of the Lord in their hearts.
The sensitive prophet then relates the other extreme to which men's hearts swing when unreasonable expectations of human constellation haven't been met. Those disillusioned will retreat to life's deserts and miss good when it comes.
I think of Jars of Clay's "Inland" insistence to, "Steady your confession," because that's what Jeremiah is coaching toward in Jeremiah 17:7-8. He knows how prone his audience is toward extreme emotions because he has experienced them. At the beginning of Jeremiah 9 when God laid on him the scope of the people's sin and of his calling to stand in the gap and remain God's faithful spokesman, he wants to retreat.
He is overwhelmed, but God abides with him and helps him to process through his very human feelings. God proves Himself constellation enough to keep men circling back to faithfulness.
Though we are not saved by technique, it helps. We feel safer, more edified, if we come away from Scripture with a how-to to watch play out in our lives by Christ's strength and righteousness. Jeremiah provides that. When despair washed over him in chapter 9, it no doubt felt like something had seized him which was not common to man, that he was bailing against something that no one had ever dealt with before.
Yet, by Christ's strength and faithfulness, he floats to the top, and now he is encouraging his listeners to do the same. Jeremiah models recourse in the Word of God – even as he records the Word of God himself.
Jeremiah steadies his confession and leads others to do the same by patterning his exhortation after Psalm 1. It is at once challenge and a confession, a mutual realization that steadiness comes from a Source outside ourselves, that fruitfulness is realized by in Whom we are planted rather than by our physical location or emotional makeup.
If JEREMIAH, the weeping prophet, can emerge on the other side of upheaval clinging to the timeless Truth of Scripture, so can we. Steadying one's confession is to be learned and practiced in uncertainty. Contentment in Christ, insists Paul, is to be learned.
I would also caution against a notion we easily inculcate that we master these, then we teach them. I find very often that when the soft spots in my heart draw me to offer resources and rescue to others because I care about them that the Truth the Lord brings out of my mouth in those few selfless situations actually instructs me.
I can't tell you if Jeremiah was at risk of a relapse, but I can tell you that the root system in which he instructed his people to rest is invigorating for him, for them, and for Christ's people through the centuries. Fruit comes in different seasons according to His calendar, but the leaves that proved His abiding faithfulness never wither.
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