Jeremiah 18:14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which comes from the rock of the field?… The idea of the text is that a man will cut himself off from the main, will cut himself away from the eternally feeding snow of Lebanon, and will begin to make himself a little cistern — ah me, a broken cistern, a cistern that can hold no water. Let us think of the suicide of isolation, the madness of amputating our life, of leaving the inexhaustible, the eternal, the infinite — and living little, miserable, self-devouring lives. "Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon and the fountain that rises from the rock?" You would not allow it in business. Shall I tell you what I have heard some of you business men say? Did not one of you point out a man to me, and say, "You see that man crossing from the Mansion House to the Bank of England?" "Yes." "Very singular case," you say; "that man is living on his capital." I said, "What harm is there in that?" "Why, he is eating himself up, consuming himself. He ought to have his capital so invested that it will bring him in revenue day by day, year by year, and the capital should be kept intact if possible, and still the income should be accruing." "I see!" That is the text from a secular point of view. "This man is living on his capital, he has cut himself off from payable, remunerative, compensative agencies, and he is eating up what he has." The worst thing that can happen in military operations is for the enemy to get behind and to cut off the supplies. That is the horrible possibility and the dreadful mischief, that the supplies should be cut off. Take care how you dwell upon this as an instance of misfortune. I charge you, in the presence of God and the holy angels, foolish man, with doing this very thing. You have cut off your supplies, you have dismissed prayer, you are trying to live on your own miserable individuality and selfhood. Get back to your supplies — back to God, back to the fountain. Live and move and have your being in God, and then no man can impoverish you, until he has impoverished God. (J. Parker.) Parallel Verses KJV: Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? |
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