Jeremiah 17 - 18, Romans 8, Psalm 105:1-24

The Deceitful Heart

17The ^asin of Judah is written down with an ^biron stylus;With a diamond point it is ^cengraved upon the tablet of their heartAnd on the horns of ¹their altars,²As they remember their ^achildren,So they remember their altars and their ¹^,^bAsherimBy ^cgreen trees on the high hills.³O ^amountain of Mine in the countryside,I will ^bgive over your wealth and all your treasures for plunder,Your high places for sin throughout your borders.⁴And you will, even of yourself, ^alet go of your inheritanceThat I gave you;And I will make you serve your ^benemiesIn the ^cland which you do not know,For you have ^dkindled a fire in My angerWhich will burn forever.

⁵Thus says Yahweh, “^aCursed is the man who trusts in mankindAnd makes ^bflesh his ¹strength,And whose heart turns away from Yahweh.

⁶“And he will be like a ^ajuniper in the desertAnd will not see when prosperity comes,But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness,A ^bland of salt ¹which is not inhabited.⁷“^aBlessed is the man who trusts in YahwehAnd whose ^btrust is Yahweh.⁸“And he will be like a ^atree planted by the water,That sends forth its roots by a streamAnd will not fear when the heat comes;But its leaves will be green,And it will not be anxious in a year of ^bdroughtNor refrain from yielding fruit.⁹“The ^aheart is more ^bdeceitful than all elseAnd is ¹desperately ^csick;Who can know it?¹⁰“I, Yahweh, ^asearch the heart;I test the ¹inmost being,Even ^bto give to each man according to his ways,According to the fruit of his deeds.¹¹“As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,So is he who ^amakes a fortune, but unjustly;In the midst of his days it will forsake him,And in ¹the end he will be a ^bwicked fool.”¹²^aA glorious throne on high from the beginningIs the place of our sanctuary.¹³O Yahweh, the ^ahope of Israel,All who ^bforsake You will be put to shame.Those who turn ¹away on earth will be ^cwritten downBecause they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even Yahweh.¹⁴^aHeal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed;^bSave me and I will be saved,For You are my ^cpraise.¹⁵Behold, they keep ^asaying to me,“Where is the word of Yahweh?Let it come now!”¹⁶But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,Nor have I longed for the ¹sickening day;^aYou Yourself know that the utterance of my lipsWas in Your presence.¹⁷Do not be a ^aterror to me;You are my ^brefuge in the day of calamity.¹⁸Let those who pursue me be ^aput to shame, but as for me, ^blet me not be put to shame;Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.^cBring on them a day of calamity,And ¹crush them with twofold ²crushing!

Keep the Sabbath Day Holy

¹⁹Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and stand in the ¹public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem, ²⁰and say to them, ‘^aListen to the word of Yahweh, ^bkings of Judah and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: ²¹‘Thus says Yahweh, “^aTake care of yourselves, and ^bdo not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²²“You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day ^anor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I ^bcommanded your fathers. ²³“Yet they ^adid not listen or incline their ears, but ^bstiffened their necks in order not to listen or receive discipline.

²⁴“But it will be, if you ^alisten carefully to Me,” declares Yahweh, “to ^bbring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, ^cbut to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ²⁵^athen there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes ¹^,^bsitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this ^ccity will be inhabited forever. ²⁶“And they will come in from the ^acities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the ¹^,^bShephelah, from the hill country, and from the ^cNegev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of Yahweh. ²⁷“But ^aif you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then ^bI will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will ^cdevour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^dnot be quenched.”’”

The Potter and the Clay

18The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, ²“Arise and ^ago down to the potter’s house, and there I will make you hear My words.” ³Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making something on the ¹wheel. ⁴But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make.

⁵Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ⁶“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares Yahweh. “Behold, like the ^aclay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. ⁷“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to ^auproot, to tear down, or to make it perish; ⁸^abut if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will ¹^,^brelent concerning the calamity I planned to do against it. ⁹“Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to ^abuild up or to plant it; ¹⁰but if it does ^aevil in My sight by not listening to My voice, then I will ¹^,^brelent concerning the good which I promised, to do good to it. ¹¹“So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am ^aforming calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh ^bturn back, each of you from his evil way, and do good in your ways and your deeds.”’ ¹²“But ^athey will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the ^bstubbornness of his evil heart.’

¹³“Therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘^aAsk now among the nations,Who ever heard the like of ¹this?The ^bvirgin of IsraelHas done a most ^cappalling thing.

¹⁴‘Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?Or is the cold flowing water from a strange land ever uprooted?¹⁵‘For ^aMy people have forgotten Me;^bThey burn incense ¹to worthless gods,And they ²have stumbled ³from their ways,⁴From the ^cancient paths,To walk in bypaths,Not on a ^dhighway,¹⁶To make their land an ^aobject of horror,An object of perpetual ^bhissing;Everyone who passes by it will be ¹horrifiedAnd ^cshake his head.¹⁷‘Like an ^aeast wind I will ^bscatter themBefore the enemy;I will ¹show them ^cMy back and not My face^dIn the day of their disaster.’”

¹⁸Then they said, “Come and let us ^adevise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the ^blaw is not going to perish from the priest, nor ^ccounsel to the wise man, nor the divine ^dword to the prophet! Come on and let us ^estrike at him with our tongue, and let us ^fgive no heed to any of his words.”

¹⁹Do give heed to me, O Yahweh,And listen to the voice of those who contend against me!²⁰^aShould good be repaid with evil?For they have ^bdug a pit for ¹me.Remember how I ^cstood before YouTo speak good on their behalf,So as to turn away Your wrath from them.²¹Therefore, ^agive their children over to famineAnd deliver them up to the ¹power of the sword;And let their wives become ^bchildless and ^cwidowed.Let their men also be ²smitten to death,Their ^dyoung men struck down by the sword in battle.²²May an ^aoutcry be heard from their houses,When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;^bFor they have dug a pit to capture meAnd ^chidden snares for my feet.²³Yet You, O Yahweh, knowAll their ¹deadly counsel against me;^aDo not atone for their iniquityOr blot out their sin from before You.But may they be ²^,^boverthrown before You;Deal with them in the ^ctime of Your anger!

The Spirit of God Dwells in You

8Therefore there is now no ^acondemnation for those who are ^bin ^cChrist Jesus. ²For ^athe law of the Spirit of life ¹in ^bChrist Jesus ^chas set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³For ^awhat the Law could not do, ¹^,^bweak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in ^cthe likeness of ²sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the ^arighteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who ^bdo not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on ^athe things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, ^bthe things of the Spirit. ⁶^aFor the mind set on the flesh is ^bdeath, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷because the mind set on the flesh is at ^aenmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸and those who are ^ain the flesh are not able to please God.

⁹However, you are not ^ain the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God ^bdwells in you. But ^cif anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. ¹⁰^aBut if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is ¹alive because of righteousness. ¹¹But if the Spirit of Him who ^araised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, ^bHe who raised ^cChrist Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ¹through His Spirit who dwells in you.

¹²So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for ^aif you are living according to the flesh, you ¹must die, but if by the Spirit you are ^bputting to death the ^cpractices of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For as many as are ^abeing led by the Spirit of God, these are ^bsons of God. ¹⁵For you ^ahave not received a spirit of slavery ¹leading to fear again, but you ^bhave received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, “^cAbba! Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit Himself ^atestifies with our spirit that we are ^bchildren of God, ¹⁷and if children, also ^aheirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^bif indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ^aare not worthy to be compared with the ^bglory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the ^aanxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for ^bthe revealing of the ^csons of God. ²⁰For the creation ^awas subjected to ^bfutility, not willingly, but ^cbecause of Him who subjected it, in hope ²¹¹that ^athe creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation ^agroans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³^aAnd not only this, but also we ourselves, having ^bthe first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves ^cgroan within ourselves, ^deagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, ^ethe redemption of our body. ²⁴For ^ain hope we were saved, but ^bhope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵But ^aif we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it.

²⁶And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for ^awe do not know how to pray as we should, but ^bthe Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷and ^aHe who searches the hearts knows what ^bthe mind of the Spirit is, because He ^cintercedes for the ¹saints according to the will of God.

²⁸And we know that for those who love God ¹^,^aall things work together for good, for those who are ^bcalled according to His purpose. ²⁹Because those whom He ^aforeknew, He also ^bpredestined to become ^cconformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the ^dfirstborn among many brothers; ³⁰and those whom He ^apredestined, He also ^bcalled; and those whom He called, He also ^cjustified; and those whom He justified, He also ^dglorified.

God Is for Us

³¹^aWhat then shall we say to these things? ^bIf God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who indeed ^adid not spare His own Son, but ^bdelivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring a charge against ^aGod’s elect? ^bGod is the one who justifies; ³⁴who is the one who ^acondemns? Christ Jesus is He who ^bdied, yes, rather who was ¹^,^craised, who is ^dat the right hand of God, who also ^eintercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from ^athe love of ¹Christ? Will ^baffliction, or turmoil, or ^cpersecution, or ^dfamine, or ^enakedness, or ^fperil, or sword? ³⁶Just as it is written, “^aFor Your sake we are being put to death all day long;We were counted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly ^aconquer through ^bHim who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither ^adeath, nor life, nor ^bangels, nor rulers, nor ^cthings present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from ^athe love of God, which is ^bin Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remember His Wondrous Deeds

105Oh ^agive thanks to Yahweh, ^bcall upon His name;^cMake known His acts among the peoples.²Sing to Him, ^asing praises to Him;^bMuse on all His wondrous deeds.³Boast in His holy name;Let the ^aheart of those who seek Yahweh be glad.⁴Inquire of Yahweh and ^aHis strength;^bSeek His face continually.⁵Remember His ^awondrous deeds which He has done,His miracles and the ^bjudgments ¹uttered by His mouth,⁶O seed of ^aAbraham, His servant,O sons of ^bJacob, His ^cchosen ones!⁷He is Yahweh our God;His ^ajudgments are in all the earth.⁸He has ^aremembered His covenant forever,The word which He commanded for a ^bthousand generations,⁹^aWhich He cut with Abraham,And His ^boath to Isaac.¹⁰Then He ^aconfirmed it to Jacob for a statute,To Israel as an everlasting covenant,¹¹Saying, “^aTo you I will give the land of CanaanAs the ¹^,^bportion of your inheritance,”¹²When they were only a ^afew men in number,Of little account, and ^bsojourners in it.¹³And they wandered about from nation to nation,From one kingdom to another people.¹⁴He ^apermitted no man to oppress them,And He ^breproved kings for their sakes:¹⁵“^aDo not touch My anointed ones,And to My prophets do no evil.”¹⁶And He ^acalled for a famine upon the land;He ^bbroke the whole staff of bread.¹⁷He ^asent a man before them,Joseph, who was ^bsold as a slave.¹⁸They afflicted his ^afeet with fetters,¹He himself was laid in irons;¹⁹Until the time that his ^aword came to pass,The word of Yahweh ^brefined him.²⁰The ^aking sent and released him,The ruler of peoples sent and set him free.²¹He ^aset him up as lord of his houseAnd ruler over all his possessions,²²To ¹imprison his princes ²^,^aat will,And that he might teach his elders wisdom.²³^aThen Israel came to Egypt;And Jacob ^bsojourned in the land of Ham.²⁴And He ^acaused His people to be very fruitful,And He caused them to be stronger than their adversaries.