Scripture Reading: Jer. 2:19; 10:10a; 11:20; 20:12; Lam. 3:22-25; 5:19

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 & DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 7　DAY 1　»

　　Jer. 10:10 But Jehovah is the true God; He is the living God and the eternal King…

　　Exo. 3:14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

　　Jehovah…means “He who was, who is, and who will be.” This title is composed basically of the verb to be. Apart from the Lord, all else is nothing. He is the only One who is, the only One who has reality of being. The verb to be should not be applied absolutely to anyone or anything except to Him. He is the only self-existent being. In the universe all things are nothing….Hebrews 11:6 says that “he who comes forward to God must believe that He is.” According to this verse, God is, and we must believe that He is. God is, but we are not. The words I Am are not a complete sentence, but function in Exodus 3:14 as a name, even a unique name,…[which] is actually the verb to be. Only God qualifies to have this verb applied to His being, for only He is self-existent. You and I…are not self-existent. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 57, 59)

　　As I Am, God is everything we need. To the words I Am we can add whatever we may need. Are you tired? The I Am is your rest. Are you hungry? He is your food. Are you dying? He is life. In the New Testament the Lord uses many things to describe Himself: “I am the true vine” (John 15:1), “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), “I am the light” (John 8:12). As I Am, God is everything—heaven, earth, air, water, trees, birds, cattle. This is not pantheism, the religious belief that identifies God with the material universe. I do not say that everything is God, but I do declare that God is the reality of every positive thing. This implies that God must be you, even the reality of your very being. We can say to Him, “Lord, You are me.” If the Lord is not us, then we are nothing, and we have no reality. This great I Am, the all-inclusive One, is the One who has come to call us….I can testify that for the more than fifty years of my Christian life the I Am has been sustaining me. Because of His sustaining me with what He is, I have never backslidden. Furthermore, I have been able to continue in the ministry for more than forty years. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 59-60)

　　I Am!…Do you see the preciousness in this name?…Do you realize that God is…? God’s word is most amazing. What He says is most amazing, and what He has not said is also most amazing. What God has fully said is amazing, and what He has not fully said is also amazing. What He has spelled out is most amazing, and what He has only half-uttered is also most amazing. What God has said forthrightly is amazing, and what He has said hesitantly is also most amazing. Here God does not say fully what He is. He merely says that He is….This implies that there is something not yet said.

　　If God adds the word power to the words I am, then He is not love. If He adds love to the first words, then He is only love and not power, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, comfort, protection, a high tower, and shelter. God only says that He is, without saying what He is. This allows those who believe in Him to add in other terms; actually, they are not terms, they are spiritual realities! We can add in whatever we want by faith. If we have the need and faith, we can add whatever we need to the words God is and receive God’s answer to our need. If we need comfort, God is our comfort. If we need a shelter, God is our shelter. If we need a high tower, God is our high tower. If we need victory, God is our victory. If we need holiness, God is our holiness. If we need a way, God is our way (John 14:6). If we need light, God is our light. If we need the bread of life, God is our bread of life. Whatever you need can be added to His name. We should not have any doubt. We can add whatever we want to His name. (CWWN, vol. 9, p. 266)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 9, pp. 263-274; Life-study of Genesis, msg. 56; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 7

«　WEEK 7　DAY 2　»

　　Jer. 11:20 But, O Jehovah of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the inward parts and the heart…

　　Psa. 24:9-10 Lift up your heads, O gates; and lift up, O long enduring doors; and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts—He is the King of glory! Selah

　　[Psalm 24:7-10 shows] us the victorious Christ as the coming King in God’s eternal kingdom….The gates are of the cities of the nations. The doors are of the houses of the people. The long enduring doors indicate waiting and expecting with long endurance (Phil. 3:20; 1 Cor. 1:7). This indicates that the people of the earth have been waiting and expecting Christ’s second coming. In Haggai 2:7 we are told that Christ is the desire of all the nations. All the nations, in a general way, are expecting Christ to come, but Christ would not come that quickly according to our human concept. Thus, we need to wait and expect His coming with long endurance. (Life-study of the Psalms, p. 149)

　　Because we must wait for His coming with long endurance, we have a tendency to drop our heads in discouragement. This is why the psalmist says, “Lift up your heads” [Psa. 24:9]. If we expected someone dear to us to come and he does not come, we would drop our heads. But if we received a phone call from him, telling us that he is coming, we would lift up our heads; that is, we would be encouraged to expect his coming.

　　We must get ready to welcome Him. Psalm 24:8 asks, “Who is the King of glory?” The King of glory is “Jehovah strong and mighty! / Jehovah mighty in battle!” Jehovah is Jesus, and Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God in resurrection. He is the One who is strong in fighting and victorious.

　　Verse 9 says, “Lift up your heads, O gates; / And lift up, O long enduring doors; / And the King of glory will come in.” Verse 7 says, “Be lifted up,” but verse 9 says, “Lift up.” To be lifted up means that we are still weak, needing someone to move us. But to lift up means we have become stronger. We can act to lift up ourselves. The King of glory, whom we welcome, is Jehovah of hosts. Hosts means armies. He is Jehovah of the armies. Jehovah is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Triune God. He is the One in His resurrection coming back to possess the entire earth, to take it as His kingdom. The King of glory is Jehovah of hosts, the consummated Triune God embodied in the victorious and coming Christ (v. 10). (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 149-150)

　　Even today, while we are enjoying the Lord’s presence so much, we still must say, “Lift up your heads, O gates; / And be lifted up, O long enduring doors” [Psa. 24:7]. We all must be so open to the Lord. If Christ could not come in to the church today in an adequate and fuller way, how could Christ come back to the earth? If the church, if Zion, is not absolutely open to Him, how can we expect the earth to be open to Him? So today we must respond and say, “Yes, open the doors; let us all open widely to Him. Come in, O come in, Lord! Before You come back to the earth, come in to the church, come in to fully possess this little mountain, the mountain of Zion.”

　　In the background of Psalm 24, the mountain of Zion was there, but the Ark was missing. Now the Ark is coming in; Christ is coming in. And while the Ark was entering, David said, “Lift up your heads, O gates; / And be lifted up, O long enduring doors; / And the King of glory will come in” [v. 7]. We may be the mountain of Zion, we may be the local church, but the King of glory is not so absolutely within. We need to be open, we need to be lifted up, to let the King of glory come in all the way. Then the church will be the steppingstone, the beachhead, for the Lord to return and possess the earth. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” pp. 46-47)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msg. 30; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” chs. 5, 12

«　WEEK 7　DAY 3　»

　　Lam. 5:19 You, O Jehovah, abide forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.

　　Psa. 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

　　Although Jeremiah was very human, he was also a man of God. He knew that the problems of the children of Israel could not be solved by merely being human. Therefore, at the end of the fifth lamentation, in Lamentations 5:19 through 22, he turned to Jehovah….The phrase You, O Jehovah, abide forever [v. 19] refers to God’s eternal being, and it indicates that there is no change with Him. In the human realm, changes take place in every way. In particular, many things changed in the situation of the children of Israel. But there was no change with God’s eternal being. He remains forever the same.

　　God’s throne has no beginning or end; His throne exists from generation to generation [v. 19]. Jeremiah’s writing here concerning God’s eternal being and His eternal and unchanging government surely is divine.

　　In the third lamentation Jeremiah spoke of God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness, and at the end of the fifth lamentation he appealed to God’s eternal being and His eternal throne, His unchanging government. Which do you appreciate more and which do you consider higher—God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness or God’s eternal being and eternal throne? God’s eternal being and throne are higher than His lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness. (Life-study of Lamentations, pp. 13-15)

　　According to the New Testament, God’s salvation is a matter of His love (John 3:16), His grace (Eph. 2:8), and His righteousness (Rom. 1:17). God’s love and grace may change, but God’s righteousness cannot change, because His righteousness is related to His government (Psa. 89:14). Both love and grace are related to God’s heart. God’s heart may change, yet He would still be righteous. God’s righteousness cannot change, because He must always be righteous.

　　Jeremiah ended Lamentations not with God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness but with God’s eternal being and His throne. This is a strong sign that in writing Lamentations Jeremiah touched God’s economy. Although his lamentations were too much in his human feeling, taste, love, and sympathy, at the end he came out of his being human and entered into God’s divinity. There, in 5:19, he touched God’s person and God’s throne.

　　In the New Jerusalem, God will be fully unveiled in His person and in His government, both of which are the unshakable foundation of His dealing with us. At that time, we will see God Himself as the eternal King with His eternal, unshakable kingdom (Heb. 12:28). The divine title Jehovah means “I am.” He is the One who was, who is, and who will be forever (Rev. 4:8b). Jerusalem was finished, the temple was finished, and the land of Israel was finished, but Jehovah will never be finished. When Jeremiah’s position and angle were changed from himself to Jehovah, he realized that although everything may be lost, Jehovah remains forever….The fact that nothing remains and that everything is finished manifests the truth that Jehovah remains forever….Heaven and earth may end, but He will never end. He is the unique source, and all the generations come out of Him.

　　I appreciate the contrast in [Lamentations 5:18 and 19], for it shows us what remains and what does not remain….Eventually, every “ism” will come to an end, yet Jehovah will remain forever. (Life-study of Lamentations, pp. 15, 18)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Lamentations, msgs. 2-4; CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 6

«　WEEK 7　DAY 4　»

　　Lam. 3:22-23 It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

　　Rom. 9:15 For to Moses He says, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”

　　First Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This word is a continuation of 1 Corinthians 1:8, strengthening the thought with the assurance of God’s faithfulness. In His faithfulness He will confirm the believers till the end, making them unreprovable in the day of the Lord’s return. In His faithfulness He has called us into the fellowship, the participation in His Son, and He will keep us in this participation and enjoyment in His faithfulness. His faithfulness is an assurance to us for this enjoyment.

　　First John 1:9 also reveals God’s faithfulness: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is faithful in His word (1 John 1:10), the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:13), which tells us that He will forgive us our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43). If we confess our sins, He, according to His word, forgives us, because He must be faithful in His word. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 95)

　　[In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24] we see that the faithful God who has called us will also sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete. This is Paul’s word of assurance to the believers concerning the faithfulness of God. Surely this divine faithfulness is a sweet attribute of God.

　　Romans 9:15 mentions both God’s mercy and His compassion: “To Moses He says, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’” Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all comfort.” What is the difference between mercy and compassion?…Although compassion is close to mercy, compassion is deeper, finer, and richer than mercy. Mercy is somewhat outward, but compassion is inward. Furthermore, compassion is more long lasting than mercy.

　　The Greek word for mercy, eleos, refers to the kind of response that is motivated by the wretched condition of the poor party. Mercy refers more to the action or manifestation in response to wretchedness. The Greek word for compassion in Romans 9:15 and 2 Corinthians 1:3 is oiktirmos. The basic root of this word refers to the inward organs of man which were believed to be the center of tender affections in man. Hence, this Greek word for compassion refers to the inward feeling that originates in the heart of the affectionate party. This feeling is not mild but deeply affectionate. Compassion, therefore, refers to the inward feeling that resides in the one who looks upon wretchedness. It is the deepest of words showing the inward affection of God for man in his pitiful condition.

　　With these definitions in view, we may consider Romans 9:15 again for a full contrast, translating the verse in this way: “I will display My kind act of mercy to whom I will display My kind act of mercy, and I will have the deepest feeling of compassion upon whom I will have the deepest feeling of compassion.” The former refers to God’s outward doing motivated by our wretched state; the latter refers to His inward affection originating in His loving essence. We all should appreciate such a sweeter affectionate attribute of God. Peace [that] results from the enjoyment of God as grace…is also an attribute of the God whom we enjoy in Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 96, 101, 106)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 10-11, 252; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The Central Line of the Divine Revelation,” ch. 1

«　WEEK 7　DAY 5　»

　　Lam. 3:24 Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; therefore I hope in Him.

　　Col. 1:12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light.

　　Psa. 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

　　I believe that [Lamentations 3:22 and 23] came to Jeremiah as he was contacting the Lord in the morning, reviewing all the afflictions of his people. While Jeremiah was reviewing these afflictions, he must have regretted the sinfulness of Israel. At this juncture the word of Jehovah came to him, that no matter how much He had punished Israel, He had not utterly consumed them. Jeremiah and many others remained. This was God’s lovingkindness. Realizing that he and all the others who remained with him were under God’s compassions, Jeremiah praised, saying, “For His compassions do not fail” (v. 22b). The people of Israel had failed, but God’s compassions did not fail. His compassions had preserved the remnant of Israel. Referring to Jehovah’s compassions, Jeremiah went on to say, “They are new every morning” (v. 23a). This indicates that Jeremiah contacted the Lord as the compassionate One every morning. It was through his contact with the Lord that he received this word regarding His lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness. God’s compassions do not fail, because He is the faithful One [v. 23b]. The faithfulness of God refers to His word. His faithfulness is also related to His covenant. Because He had made a covenant with Abraham and confirmed it with Isaac and Jacob, God had to be faithful to keep His word. (Life-study of Lamentations, pp. 6-7)

　　[Psalm 73:2-16 is] a record of the sufferings and puzzles of the God-seeking psalmist. Verse 2…indicates that the psalmist was nearly stumbled by the situation concerning the prosperity of the wicked (vv. 3-12)….This pious seeker of God was suffering, but if he had told others about his situation, they would have been stumbled and would have said, “Whoever keeps the law will be prosperous.” However, here is one who kept the law, yet was not at all prosperous.

　　In verses 17 through 28 we see that the psalmist obtained the solution in the sanctuary of God….Where is God’s sanctuary today? First, God’s sanctuary, His habitation, is in our spirit. Second, God’s sanctuary is the church. Thus, to go into the sanctuary of God, we need to turn to our spirit and then go to the meetings of the church. Once we are in the sanctuary— in the spirit and in the church—we will have another view, a particular perception, of the situation concerning the wicked.

　　Having gone into the sanctuary of God, the psalmist could perceive that the wicked were set in slippery places to be cast down into ruins (v. 18). This caused the psalmist to say, “How they are made desolate in a moment! / They are utterly consumed by terrors. / Like a dream when one awakes, You, O Lord, / Upon arising, will despise their image” (vv. 19-20).

　　Verse 25 reveals that God’s pure seeker would have God as his only possession in heaven and his unique desire on earth. God was the psalmist’s unique goal. The psalmist did not care for anything except God and gaining Him. In this matter, Paul was the same. In Philippians 3:8 Paul said that he counted all things as refuse in order to gain Christ….In Psalm 73:26 we have the answer to the psalmist’s question concerning his suffering and the prosperity of the wicked. The one who does not care for God may gain many things and seem to prosper. However, the one who cares for God will be restricted by God and even stripped by God of many things….This is what happened to Job. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 353-355)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 11, 30, 38-39, 43; CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “The All-inclusiveness and Unlimitedness of Christ,” ch. 1

«　WEEK 7　DAY 6　»

　　Lam. 3:25 Jehovah is good to those who wait on Him, to the soul that seeks Him.

　　Isa. 30:18 And therefore Jehovah waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He remains on high to have compassion on you; for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him.

　　Jeremiah enjoyed Jehovah as his portion, and he put his hope not in himself nor in the people nor in anything else but only in Jehovah. On the one hand, Jeremiah realized that God is a God of lovingkindness, that He is compassionate, and that His word is faithful. On the other hand, Jeremiah realized that we still need to contact the Lord every morning, put our entire hope in Him, and wait on Him. (Life-study of Lamentations, p. 7)

　　In Jeremiah’s time, the situation of the people of Israel was not good. It did not seem that God was so loving, kind, compassionate, and faithful….Like Jeremiah, we need to realize that God is still our portion and that we should hope in Him, wait on Him, and call upon His name (Lam. 3:55). However, even though we do these things, we should not expect the situation to change immediately. Since there may be no immediate change, we need to continue to wait on the Lord.

　　In Jeremiah’s case, the waiting on the Lord has been quite long. The fulfillment of his prophecies concerning the age of restoration has still not come. On the contrary, the situation of Israel today does not seem to be a confirmation of these prophecies. This indicates that we need to learn the lesson of waiting on the Lord. Today is not the time of the ultimate consummation; therefore, we must wait on the Lord.

　　To wait on the Lord is very crucial. God is our portion; He is full of lovingkindness and compassion; and He is absolutely faithful. Now we need to hope in Him, wait on Him [vv. 24-25], and call upon Him….A certain Bible teacher pointed out that God acted quickly in saving us, but in many other things He does not act quickly. For example, we know that the Lord answers prayer. We may pray to Him about a particular matter, but He may wait for several months before He answers our prayer. This helps us to realize that our God is true, living, compassionate, and faithful, yet He often does not do things as quickly as we expect.

　　The reason God delays is that He intends to test us. He will test us to such an extent that we will lose our hope and feel that we are utterly finished. When we feel that the situation is hopeless, that is often the time when God will come in. This is our experience under God’s dispensing.

　　In…Lamentations 3, Jeremiah said, “I called upon Your name, O Jehovah” (v. 55a). In the Lord’s recovery we have learned to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. However, many New Testament believers do not know about calling upon the name of the Lord and do not practice it. Some even criticize us for this practice. What an unfortunate situation this is!

　　I appreciate the three matters we have emphasized in this message: to have our hope in the Lord, to wait on Him, and to call upon His name. If we practice these things, we will be under God’s dispensing in a practical way.

　　When the situation around us seems to be hopeless, we need to realize that our God can never be defeated. Whatever He has spoken, He will be faithful to fulfill. Therefore, we should believe all that the Bible says. In addition, we need to realize that God is the portion of His people, and we need to put our hope and our trust in Him. We need to trust in Him and wait on Him whether He answers us now or later. Even if He seemingly does not answer our prayer, we should continue to pray and wait on Him. The eventual result will be according to His purpose, and we will be the ones benefited by Him. May we all learn this lesson. (Life-study of Lamentations, pp. 7-9)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Jeremiah, msgs. 11-12, 18; Life-study of Isaiah, msgs. 21, 44