Spurgeon: July PM
* 07/20/PM
"And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the
waters of Sihor?"
--Jeremiah 2:18
By sundry miracles, by divers mercies, by strange
deliverances Jehovah had proved Himself to be worthy of Israel's
trust. Yet they broke down the hedges with which God had
enclosed them as a sacred garden; they forsook their own true
and living God, and followed after false gods. Constantly did
the Lord reprove them for this infatuation, and our text
contains one instance of God's expostulating with them, "What
hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of the
muddy river?"--for so it may be translated. "Why dost thou
wander afar and leave thine own cool stream from Lebanon? Why
dost thou forsake Jerusalem to turn aside to Noph and to
Tahapanes? Why art thou so strangely set on mischief, that thou
canst not be content with the good and healthful, but wouldst
follow after that which is evil and deceitful?" Is there not
here a word of expostulation and warning to the Christian? O
true believer, called by grace and washed in the precious blood
of Jesus, thou hast tasted of better drink than the muddy river
of this world's pleasure can give thee; thou hast had fellowship
with Christ; thou hast obtained the joy of seeing Jesus, and
leaning thine head upon His bosom. Do the trifles, the songs,
the honours, the merriment of this earth content thee after
that? Hast thou eaten the bread of angels, and canst thou live
on husks? Good Rutherford once said, "I have tasted of Christ's
own manna, and it hath put my mouth out of taste for the brown
bread of this world's joys." Methinks it should be so with thee.
If thou art wandering after the waters of Egypt, O return
quickly to the one living fountain: the waters of Sihor may be
sweet to the Egyptians, but they will prove only bitterness to
thee. What hast thou to do with them? Jesus asks thee this
question this evening --what wilt thou answer Him?