Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-22

Golden Text: Amend your ways
ana your doings, and obey the voice
: Oh Jehovah your God" der. 26:13.
Sin is never static" it is always
progressive" (Modernists who are
rejecting the old Gospel as static and
falling headlong to find something
that is modern and progressive will
do we'll to ponder carefully this
truth.) The sin of Judah was not
static; it was progressive. Hezekiah,
: the man of prayer was succeeded by
MS son ManaSSeh, Il boy OF twelve
Years of age, who not only reigned
the longest, but also was the most
wicked Oh any OF the kings of Judah.
= His son Anon died after Il very brief
reign of wickedness, and Josiah, a
. boy of eight, took the throne. Josiah
tried to do the right thing, but the
load of sin left him as a heritage by
: his forebears was too great for him
to carry. Two of his sons succeeded
him, and then the kingdom of Judah
fell, conquered by Nebuchanezzar the
first of the Gentle powers that have
continued to hold sway over God S
chosen people Of Israel to this very
hour.
During Josiah's reign and even be-
fore, there had been developing two
i, political parties in Judah. These
grew out of the fact that judah was
situated between the upper milestone
of the great and growing power Bah
ylon and the neither milestone of the
lother great world power, Egypt. One
A. ~ cty insisted that their only safety,
PRow that Isreal, Syria, and Assyrla
Nhad been conquered by Babylon, was
to make an alliance with Egypt
The other party insisted that their
fafX low in al = an q
with Babylon. Neither put their
trust in Jehovah, the mighty God of
Israel who had delivered them time
and again by an Outstretched hand
without the aid of man. They had
lost their religion, had lost their
sense of Gods existence even, had
lost their faith in Him entirely. God
needed some one, therefore. to speak
to the people for Him. He needed
prophet. In Israers day He raised
UP such man.
He had been preparing this man
for this particular work. In little
village of Benjamin, a few miles
north of Jerusalem, the village of
Anatoth, there lived a priest named
Hilkiah. To him and his wife was
born little boy to whom they gave
the name of eremiah-"Jehovah will
rise" Their faith evidently looked
forward to the time when God would
rise UP and defend His own name,
when He would no longer stand for
the way the people We're dragging
1t in the dust.
When the lad had grown to ma
turity in an atmosphere Of such a
home and so near to Jerusalem as to
be thoroughly familiar with all that
! went on at the capitol, the word of
Jehovah came to him one day, say
fng: Before I formed thee in the
belly I knew thee; and before thou
earnest forth out of the womb I set
thee apart and ordained thee proph-
ct unto the nations"
The lad replied: "Ah, Lord God!
behold 1 cannot speak: for l am
child"
f, SAY not" said Jehovah, II am
child: for thou shalt go to all that
shall send thee, and whatsoever
shall command thee thou shall
speak. Be not afraid of their faces:
for / am with thee to deliver thee"
Then jeremiah felt hand touch
his mouth and God spoke to him
again: Behold 1 have put my words
into thy mouth. See [ have set thee
this day over the nations and over
i. the Kingdoms, to root out and to
pull down, and to destroy, and to
throw down, to build, to plant"
And here we have the secret of
Jeremiahs courage, his fearlessness,
his severe denunciation of sin when
it was breaking his heart to say it,
his persistence in the face of the
most determined opposition and
amidst personal persecution and suf-
fering. He was Gods man, to speak
Gods words, no matter how they
hurt him or anyone else.
One of his first messages was de-
livered in the gate of the temple
where the people gathered for wor-
ship in large numbers. 1t was to the
religious people, mind you, that he
(. was speaking: Amend your ways
and your doings," he said. That
was a favorite message Of his.
ways" were Of thinking; "doinSs'
were the outcome of those thoughts.
They were trusting in lying words.
Think of the people coming to the
!, temple gate to worship Jehovah and
yet depressing the stranger, the
fatherless and the widows, shedding
innocent blood, and running after
strange Sods Think of Jeremiah's
call whenNyou hear him telling them
their sins in this way and also ac-
cusing them of stealing, numbering,
adultery, swearing falsely, burning
incense to Baal and then coming
there to worship. And then telling
them Mat God had told him he
nfust not even pray for them be-
e41se He would not hear such a
player inasmuch as they had per-
sistently refused to listen to any of
the warnings that He had sent them
In the past
jeremiah took the sins Of his peo-
pie so hard and was so distressed
over the messages of denunciation
and of coming disaster that he was
told to deliver that he wept day
and night He has become known
as the weeping prophet. and new
word has been cuinen-a jeremiad--
to express something that is de,