Be Still And Know

Psalm 56:1-3 O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me. But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. On a number of occasions, I have stayed in Benedictine monasteries in this country and in France. The monks’ way of life is very different from my own, but I have been incredibly blessed by the opportunity to worship with them. Honesty forces me to admit that I didn’t attend all eight of the daily services! What I found particularly impressive was that they read psalms at every service, and the whole book is read every week. There is huge value in reading all the psalms because they explore so many different themes. If you stick with your top five favourite psalms, you may come away feeling that they are all about praising and glorifying God, and you might overlook that many of them reflect times of agony, rejection and threat. The psalmists met God in every kind of situation. In

Psalm 52:8-9 But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love. I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people. This passage begins with a ‘but’ because David is contrasting himself with Doeg the Edomite, who had been seeking to stir up trouble for him with Saul. David has some harsh things to say about Doeg who had been bent on David’s destruction. He reflects that he had decided to live his own life very differently. His desire was to be like an olive tree, which was not only famous for surviving well in a demanding and hot climate but also for its longevity. Olive trees often survive for over 1,000 years. They only have a shallow root system, but their tap roots keep them supplied with moisture even in the harshest terrain. Like David, many of us will have met people like Doeg, who see it as their business to trip us up. It’s really tough when that happens. However, the

Jeremiah 29:4,5,7 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce…And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” God’s people refused to listen to Jeremiah. They continued in their sinful ways, and in 597 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Jerusalem and took over 3,000 people into exile. This was total humiliation for the self-confident and godless people of Jerusalem. To be transported to a foreign country about 1,000 miles from home was a horrific form of punishment, but Jeremiah wanted the people to know that God still had good plans for them. In his letter, Jeremiah told the people to accept their new home. They needed to settle down and bring up their families there. As they did so, they were not to fight against their new homeland but to

Jeremiah 18:1-4 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. My own attempts at pottery were a miserable failure. When I saw my teacher doing it, it all looked so simple. He just threw the clay onto the revolving wheel and within moments he was shaping a beautiful pot. What could possibly go wrong? As soon as I had a go, the clay seemed to acquire a mind of its own and I never managed to get the hang of it. On a number of occasions, while I was sitting at the wheel with my hideous misshapen pot, he would put his hands round mine and, incredibly, a wonderful pot would emerge. How did he do it? The sight of a potter sitting at their wheel would have been a familiar one in Jeremiah’s day. God used this everyday experience to convey a very clear message to

Jeremiah 17:21-23 This is what the LORD says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline. We were reflecting yesterday on the importance of maintaining good spiritual rhythms. Today’s passage reminds us of the most important of them: the Sabbath, one day in seven set apart for God. God observed this in Creation. For six days he laboured, and then, on the seventh, the all-powerful God rested. From that time onwards, the pattern of a weekly day of rest was established, and God pointed out through Jeremiah that the people’s failure to observe the Sabbath was at the heart of their problems. It was a clear sign that they were only concerned with their own interests and had no time for God. The early Church soon moved their special day of rest from Saturday to Sunday to c

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. We’ve all got a choice: we can rely on human beings or on God. Jeremiah says that those who rely on mere humans are cursed. He compares them to stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for the future (Jeremiah 17:6). They stand in marked contrast to those who put their roots down in God. The latter can look to the future with confidence knowing that they can withstand the hottest summer. They can be sure that whatever happens, they will keep producing fruit. We all want to think that we are like trees planted along a riverbank, and that we will be able to withstand the biggest pressures of life and keep being fruitful. However, that depends on us living lives that are deliber

Jeremiah 14:14 The LORD said: “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.” Jeremiah had some very harsh things to say. He needed everyone to know that if they didn’t change their ways, they would receive God’s judgement. This was not what the people wanted to hear. They wanted prophets who would tell them that everything was fine and they had nothing to worry about. They wanted to listen to prophets who told them that because they had the temple of the Lord, nothing could possibly go wrong. Jeremiah continually battled with these false prophets, whose comforting words were simply wrong. It is very easy for someone to make a statement adding the words “thus saith the Lord”, but did those words truly come from God? This has always been a challenge, and it was a particular problem in the early Church

Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom. We are all good at putting things off. It might be filling in our tax returns, making things right with an aggrieved neighbour, buying Christmas presents or 1,001 other things. Jeremiah was desperately concerned that the people were putting off the most important thing of all: following the Lord. They were happy the way they were and had no intention of changing. The sad truth is that they never did change, and judgement fell upon them in the form of an invasion from Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. The apostle Paul had exactly the same message for the church in Corinth. In 2 Corinthians 6:2, he declared: “Today is the day of salvation.” God calls us to follow him today and to live in the light of his salvation, and there will come a day wh

Jeremiah 10:12-13 The LORD made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens. When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. The fact that God created the world is the foundation of the Bible’s understanding of him. The first couple of chapters of Genesis tell us how God did this, and then the rest of the Bible points back to it. Here in Jeremiah, the prophet laughs at the uselessness of the idols that the people were worshipping. He highlights that, unlike the God of Israel, the idols have never created anything. They are a complete waste of time. We need to make sure that our thinking about God is continually shaped by remembering he is our creator. Creation should be the springboard for our daily worship, and its vast scale surely makes us want to burst out in praise and adoration. Let’s stand

Jeremiah 10:2 This is what the LORD says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.” If you’ve ever looked at a horoscope, you’ll probably have concluded that it is all a lot of nonsense. They may have told you that today is a good day to make friends, or to avoid puddles or to plan your holidays. However, horoscopes are nothing new. For more than 4,000 years, people have taken astrology very seriously and have developed sophisticated ways of reading the stars in order to guide their lives. In the time of Jeremiah, the Babylonians were particularly committed to this way of predicting the future, but the prophet was clear that this was no way to seek guidance. His confidence was in his God, and he refused to be swayed by astrology, however much others were influenced by it. We are all immensely interested in the future. Inevitably, we wonder what is going to happen, but just ima

Jeremiah 9:23-24 The LORD says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD.” What are the things you boast about – the things that give you the most pride and pleasure? For many people, it’s their family, but for others it’s their education, their achievements, their influence or their wealth. Almost certainly, the answer is found in the things you are most keen to talk about when you have a chance! In these verses, God was not saying that wisdom, power and riches were bad. There is much that can be very good about all three, but they should never take pride of place in our lives. All three of them are of passing significance, but the Lord is different and our knowledge of him is something with enduring importance. The Bible constantly invites us to reflect on our lives and the way that we think. Every day, we are un

Jeremiah 8:21 I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. The power of Jeremiah’s prophecy lies in the fact that he didn’t stand at a distance from the people. Their hurts were his hurts, and he described himself as being heartbroken and having grief that was beyond healing (Jeremiah 8:18). He knew that they were suffering because they had abandoned God’s way and had found other gods. As a result, they were just about to be defeated by an enemy who would come from the north and overwhelm them. Jeremiah was in such a state of distress that he cried out: “If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered” (Jeremiah 9:1). Leaders of God’s people should never stand at a distance from the people they are serving. If they are to be faithful to their calling, they will share the joys and the sorrows of the people among whom they minister. They will feel the pain of their failure and diso

Jeremiah 7:5-6 I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Most of the time, we probably think of justice as being in the hands of other people. We look to the police and the law courts to handle issues of justice, and we wish them well as they do so. However, these verses make it clear that justice involves us all. We all need to think and to act justly, and that is a challenge every day of our lives. We have to continually make judgments about what is just, whether it’s in our family, business, school, college, church or sports club. God was clear that he would only be merciful to his people if they were willing to take their responsibility for justice seriously. We live in a deeply unfair world. Although massive strides have been made in recent centuries, people still suffer becau

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” I struggle to remember the days before I used satellite navigation. However, I drove for many years before the luxury of these devices, and I would often come to a crossroads and wonder which way I needed to go next. I ministered in Devon for a number of years, and I frequently found myself travelling down beautiful country lanes and getting completely lost. Then, I would come to a crossroads, and I had to make a decision. God spoke to his people and told them to do just that: stop and reflect on which way they needed to go next. They had the power to go whichever way they chose but he advised them to choose the old, godly way that God had shown them through Moses. From time to time, we all face decisive moments. There will always be a range of options, but amid the clamour, we can hear the voice of Jesus saying: “Com

Jeremiah 3:22 “My wayward children,” says the LORD: “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” Jeremiah went to great lengths to show just how far people had wandered away from God. He used incredibly strong language. He talked about them acting like a prostitute running after many lovers, and pictured them sitting by the road waiting for customers (Jeremiah 3:2). Israel had totally abandoned the one true God and had explored every other god on offer. But, amazingly, God hadn’t given up on them. He still reached out his hands of love and offered to welcome them home and heal their wayward hearts. The lavish generosity of God’s forgiveness is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. Although humankind has repeatedly rebelled against him, he has always been ready to offer his welcome to all who will turn to him. The parable of the prodigal son is the most beautiful expression of God’s fatherly love (Luke 15:11-32). The son acted in a completely irresponsible way. It was bad enough that he

Jeremiah 2:13 [The Lord says:] “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” In a country like Palestine, cisterns are a vital way of storing water for the long, hot and dry summers. The porous limestone rock needs to be lined with plaster in order to make them watertight. A cistern with a cracked lining is completely useless, and Jeremiah used this powerful image to tell the people that the gods they were worshipping were a complete waste of time. They could never satisfy their needs, unlike the fountain of living water that God offered to provide for them. This reminds us of Jesus’ encounter with the woman of Samaria (John 4). He offered her living water which could completely satisfy her deepest needs. She would never be thirsty again. Our society is full of cracked cisterns. Each one offers the lure of possessions, philosophies and entertainments which have the power

Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.” Being a prophet is a tough job, and Jeremiah was just about to learn how demanding it was going to be for him. We all love sharing good news and saying nice things about people, but much of Jeremiah’s job was almost the complete opposite. He had to declare words of judgment to a nation that had abandoned God’s way. It was going to be a hard road for him, so he needed to be absolutely clear that what he was passing on was from God himself. In a moment which reminds us of the call of Isaiah, the Lord reached out and touched his mouth as he gave him his marching orders. God’s words are always full of love, but they are often tough both to hear and to share. It is tempting for a preacher or prophet to say what people want to hear. Peopl

Jeremiah 1:6-7 “O Sovereign LORD,” I said: “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” The LORD replied: “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.” Jeremiah followed in the well-worn tradition of trying to avoid doing what God was calling him to do. His words remind us of Moses, who responded to God’s call from the burning bush with a long list of reasons why he was a most unsuitable candidate to lead God’s people. Jeremiah tried the same approach, feeling that his age was the reason why God would need to look for someone else. His words were, of course, absurd, because he was addressing them to the creator of the world! God had formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb and, even before he was born, had set him apart to be a prophet. Times haven’t changed that much, and people are still offering God reasons why he has chosen the wrong person. When people were suggesting that I might be called to be a minister, I was eager to find a way of avoiding this. My

Proverbs 26:14 As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. The writer of the Proverbs has a great deal to say about laziness, and he is terrified of it. He sees it as the surest route to poverty and, in a society without a welfare state, that could easily spell starvation and even death. Fighting the war against laziness starts at the very beginning of the day when we decide to stop turning over in bed and actually get up! Laziness will try to lure us into its trap if it possibly can. A Latin proverb says: “As worms breed in a pool of stagnant water, so evil thoughts breed in the mind of the idle.” I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with times of relaxation. The problem that the writer of the Proverbs identifies is that without a clear sense of direction and purpose, evil thoughts can take root and breed. CH Spurgeon, the famous Victorian Baptist preacher, wrote: “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.” Laziness i

Proverbs 25:28 A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. It’s always tragic to see someone who is drunk. They stagger around with no clear sense of direction, their speech is slurred and you worry that they’ll fall over and hurt themselves. There are many other less obvious examples of a loss of self-control. Some people lack self-control in their spending or eating and the results can be disastrous. The writer of Proverbs compares the person without self-control to a city with broken-down walls – a city that is open to attack at any moment. It is completely vulnerable, and the citizens are right to live in fear. What city would want to live like that for a single day? The New Testament identifies self-control as one of the fruits of the Spirit. These fruits naturally grow when the Holy Spirit is in charge of our lives. They are the characteristics of a life that is lived to the full. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gala