"He reserveth to us the appointed weeks of the harvest."--_Jer. 5:24._
THE chapter to-day is one where God is putting us in mind, by His
Prophet Jeremiah, whom he sent to speak to the wicked kings, that we
ought to remember Him and be thankful to Him. Two of His great mercies
are spoken of here.
If you go and stand on the sea-shore, you see the great wide sea of
waters heaving and moving all over. Then a long wave comes rising up;
it runs on and on, and rises high, falls over in white foam, and breaks
on the sand with a rush. Then another rolling wave comes after it, and
another, and another, each a little higher than the last. They hide the
ground; and if you stood still at the edge of the first, they would
soon carry you off. Stone is hidden after stone, rock after rock, and
you would think all the land would get covered at last. No, there is no
fear of that.
In six hours' time, the waves leave off coming farther and farther;
but each leaves a little bit more ground uncovered, till they have
gone quite back to where they were before, and the beach lies fresh
and shining in the wet. People call this the tide, and know it always
does so; it comes up and goes back at its set times, because God fixed
a line for that fierce sea, and said to it, "Hitherto shalt thou go,
and no farther; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." And if the
waves dash and roar ever so loud, still they never can get beyond the
bound God fixed for them.
There is the wonder of the sea! Now look at the wonder of the land. All
over the country, the corn stands up tall and brown; or else it has
been cut, and is piled up in shocks; or the wagons are carrying it safe
home! Perhaps you have been gleaning in the fields, and have brought
home your lap full of corn.
[Illustration: THE LORD COMMANDS JEREMIAH.--Jer. 2:16, 17.]
How did we get the corn that is to make us bread? It was because, when
the farmer sowed his grain, God sent rain to make it grow, and caused
the sun to shine, so as to draw up the stalk, and swell the grain in
the ear; and now He hath "reserved to us the appointed weeks of the
harvest." He has given us the glad harvest-time to store up our wheat,
to make bread for all the year. Let us thank Him, and never forget who
gives us bread, nor to say our prayer for daily bread.