Lord of the Heart: Jeremiah 16, 17 (5)

Pray Psalm 7.1-5.
O LORD my God, in You I put my trust;
Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
Lest they tear me like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O LORD my God, if I have done this:
If there is iniquity in my hands,
If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy without cause,
Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust.

Sing Psalm 7.1-5.
(Finlandia: Be Still My Soul)
O Lord, my God, in You do I take refuge;
save me from those who my poor soul would tear!
Deliver me from my foes’ angry deluge,
lest I be swept beyond all hope and care.
Let not injustice, let not evil stain me,
lest to the dust my glory trampled be.

Read and meditate on Jeremiah 17.9-18.

Prepare.
1. What does the Lord search? Why?

2. How would you summarize Jeremiah’s response to God (vv. 14-18)?

Meditate.
Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem were still going through the outward motions of religion, God reminded them that outward religious practices are not what He is seeking (cf. Ps. 50). God is looking for hearts set in love on Him and minds that think His thoughts after Him (v. 10). And the people of Judah and Jerusalem were wanting on both counts.

Because our hearts are suffused with sin, we can easily be deceived, thinking that whatever we desire or whatever we hanker for must be what we need (v. 9). We can’t know when our hearts are deceiving us apart from the Word of God (vv. 9, 13). The people to whom Jeremiah preached had departed from the Lord. They let their hearts stray to foreign and false idols, and they gave their minds over to convenience and expediency, rather than the will of God. God was sending a test their way. Then all their wicked ways would be exposed, and judged. The people of Judah and Jerusalem were sitting on a nest egg full of life, but they never brought them to hatch (v. 11). Instead, they turned away from their one true hope and sought refreshment in false gods (vv. 11-13).

Jeremiah understood that these words applied to him as well, so he cried out in prayer to the Lord to test him and see that his heart and mind were where they ought to have been (vv. 14-18). He prayed for healing, if he needed it; and he praised the Lord. The people kept calling for him to declare God’s Word to them (v. 15). He was doing this, of course, but what he was proclaiming was not what they wanted to hear (we’ll see a great example of this later on). So when they called for the Word of the Lord, they weren’t really wanting to hear the Word of God. But Jeremiah proclaimed it faithfully anyway. He would not allow his heart or mind to stray from God, even under the pressure of the people, prophets, and rulers of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah feared God more than the people (v. 17), and fearing Him, he placed his hope in God alone. God would not allow him to come to shame; but the people who deserted Him were doomed (v. 18).

Reflect.
1. Why is it important to understand that God searches our hearts and tests our minds?

2. What can we do to keep our hearts and minds as God intends?

3. How do you see that Jeremiah’s heart and mind were right with the Lord?

He alone perceives what in our inward conscience each of us thinks and delights in. Delight is the end of care because our whole goal in life is to reach what we think and care about most and attain it. God, who searches the heart, therefore sees our cares.… And when he finds that our cares incline neither to the lust of the flesh, nor to the lust of the eyes, nor to the pride of life … but to the joys of things eternal, which are spoiled by no change, he provides direction for the righteous. Augustine (354-439), Expositions of the Psalms 7.9

Search my heart, Lord; test my mind: and lead me today as I…

Pray Psalm 7.6-17.
Call on God to protect and guide you as you put all your trust in Him and think on His Word.

Sing Psalm 7.6-17.
Psalm 7.6-17 (Finlandia: Be Still My Soul)
Arise, O Lord, rise up in wrath to save me!
Let rage and judgment fall upon my foes!
From all around to You let thanks and praise be.
Rise up on high; the wicked curse with woes.
O Judge of all, observe my just demeanor
And vindicate me by Your grace, O Lord.

Bring to an end the evil of the wicked,
but let Your righteous ones established be.
You are my shield, my soul will not be stricken;
You save the upright; You will rescue me!
You are a righteous Judge in every way;
a God of indignation every day.

Let all repent or know Your piercing sword!
Your bow is bent and ready for the fight!
Take deadly weapons in Your hand, O Lord,
and fiery arrows, aimed against the night.
The wicked fall and stumble in their mischief,
but to my soul Your grace will bring relief.

All praise and thanks to You, O righteous Savior!
My hope, my trust, my confidence are You!
Embrace me with Your kindness and Your favor,
and to Your glory make me ever true.
We sing Your praise and glorify Your Name,
Who brings our foes to judgment and to shame.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).