August 30
Jeremiah 17: 5: Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man
that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from
the LORD. 6: For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see
when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in
a salt land and not inhabited. 7: Blessed isthe man that trusteth in the
LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8: For he shall be as a tree planted by the
waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see
when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the
year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
What a great contrast!
First, the cursed man is one who trusts in
man, who makes flesh his power, whose heart departs from the LORD. He is like a
desert heath. The blessed man is he that trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the
LORD. He is as a tree planted by the waters. A heath means destitute, scrubby, fruitless,
and useless. The man who trusts in his will, works, power, wisdom is trusting
in a curse and is cursed in every way there is to be cursed. But the blessed
man who trusts the LORD is one who has been planted by God in Christ. He is planted in Christ by divine election,
planted in Christ’s death and resurrection, planted in the house of the Lord by
his regenerating, calling grace. (Jn 15: 1;
Is 60:21;
61:3)
By God’s grace, his child of grace is a tree of righteousness in Christ the
Tree of Righteousness in whom we are engrafted. (Ps 1: 3;
Is 61: 3;
Rev 22: 1-4)
Believers grow in rich soil of his love, with much water of the Holy Spirit and
the Word preached. We are evergreen, fragrant in Christ by grace through faith,
rooted and grounded in his love. (Eph 3: 17)
Secondly, the cursed “shall not see when
good cometh”; the blessed “shall not see when heat cometh but her leaf shall be
green.” When good comes, like the sound of the gospel, then those looking to
the arm of the flesh are not benefited in the least. One of the saddest things
in the world is when men have the rare privilege to have the gospel of Christ
preached near them yet they regard it with complete indifference. Or when men
attend for a time then become contentious and walk away from the gospel. It had
been better not to have heard than afterward to turn away. (Heb 10: 26-27)
Yet, the blessed man is given a continual supply of the Water of Life from
Christ the River of Life so the heat only makes his “leaf green.” The Lord
sends the heat to the man trusting in his flesh to dry him up. (Mk 4: 16-17)
But God sends the heat to the blessed man to make him more fruitful, to make
his roots run deeper into Christ the River of Life, to make his branches cling
more firmly to Christ the Tree of Righteousness. (Jn 15: 2)
Lastly, the cursed man “shall inhabit the
parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited”; the
blessed man “shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease
from yielding fruit.” There is no
spiritual fruitfulness from the man who is trusting in his will, his works, or
his worth. He inhabits “parched places”, “the wilderness”, “a salt land” and a
land “not inhabited.” Yet, when draught
comes, the blessed man who is planted and rooted in Christ shall not have to
worry because he has plenty of spiritual water from the ever-flowing River of
Life. The believer never ceases bearing fruit due to the goodness of Christ. Christ’s
church is kept and watered every moment by Christ. (Is 27: 2-3;
Ps 92:14)
What a striking contrast between those
planted in Christ and those trusting in the arm of flesh. Those who trust in
Christ are most blessed; those who trust in themselves are most cursed. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the unceasing source of eternal life, strength, and
fruitfulness. Cast all your care on him and abide in him!