Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2678
“Moreover the word of the LORRD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, You have seen well: for I am ready to perform My word.” Jeremiah 1:11,12.
OBSERVE, first, dear Friends, that before Jeremiah becomes a speaker for God, he must be a seer. The name for a Prophet, in the olden time, was a “seer”—a man who could see—one who could see with his mind’s eye, one who could also see with spiritual insight, so as vividly to realize the Truth of God which he had to deliver in the name of the Lord. Learn that simple lesson well, O you who try to speak for God! You must be seers before you can be speakers.
The question with which God usually begins His conversation with each of His true servants is the one He addressed to Jeremiah, “What do you see?” I am afraid that there are some ministers, nowadays, who do not see much. Judging by what they preach, their vision must be all in cloudland, where all they see is smoke, mist and fog. I often meet with persons who have attended the same ministry for years—and when I have asked them even very simple questions about the things of God, I have found that they do not know anything. It was not because they were not able to comprehend quickly when the Truth was set forth plainly before them, but I fear that it was, in most cases, because there was nothing that they could learn from the minister to whom they had been accustomed to listen. The preacher had seen nothing and, therefore, when he described what he saw, of course it all amounted to nothing. No, my Brother, before you can make an impression upon another person’s heart, you must have an impression made upon your own soul. You must be able to say, concerning the Truth of God, “I see it,” before you can speak it so that your hearers shall also see it. It must be clear to your own mind, by the spiritual perception which accompanies true faith, or else you will not be able to say with the Psalmist, “I believed, therefore have I spoken.” Let me say again that sentence which I uttered a minute ago—the speaker for God must first be a seer in the Light of God.
And, next, the true speaker for God must see what God sets before him. In this case, the Lord had set before Jeremiah’s eye “a branch of an almond tree.” We might have thought that as a preparation for his prophetical work, he would have seen mysterious wheels full of eyes, or flaming seraphs and cherubs, or the wonderful creatures that were caused to appear in the dreams of Ezekiel and the Revelation to John. Instead of this, Jeremiah simply sees “a branch of an almond tree” and, beloved Friends, when you look into the Bible, you will see some very simple things there—such things as save little children’s souls—such things as men with no education can understand and believe! Be not anxious to be numbered among those who are so “eclectic” and “cultured” that if God sets before them the branch of an almond tree, they cannot condescend to notice it.
That is something which everybody can see, so why should such remarkable eyes as theirs behold the plain things which ordinary individuals can perceive? They want to see—I scarcely know what they want to see, except their own foolish dreams—and even those are hidden from them. God give us Grace to see branches of almond trees when He sets them before us—I mean may He give us Grace to see such simple Truths as these—“You must be born again.” “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved.” What do your see, my Friend? Do you see what God would have you see, what He has put before you in His Word? If so, I may say to you what the Lord said to Jeremiah, “You have seen well.” But if not,
however gorgeous the panorama or pageant which you have invented for yourself to behold, you might as well be blind, for you will only be following some will-o’-the-wisp that may amuse for a while, but will ultimately destroy the souls of men!
Further, those who would speak aright for God must also take care to see with all their eyes. I do not suppose that everybody here who had seen the vision of a branch, would have known it to be “a branch of an almond tree.” I do not imagine that I would, though I think I could, after close examination, identify a branch if it were from an olive tree, or orange tree, having become familiar with them during my visits to the South of France. But I do not know that I would, in a moment, be able to say of a certain branch, “That is the branch of an almond tree.” But Jeremiah understood these things and, therefore, as soon as he saw what was set before him, he did not merely say, “I see a branch,” but, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” He distinguished at once the kind of branch that was revealed to him in vision, for he was a man who had those powers of discernment and discrimination which are most necessary in the Lord’s servants. And if you, dear Friend, are called to teach the children in the Sunday school, or if you try to win souls by private conversation, or if you are a preacher of the Word, blessed are you if you can see below the surface of the Truth of God and can peer into its hidden depths of meaning and get a spiritual insight into the Word of God so that you do not merely see a small portion of the Scriptures, but you perceive a far larger part than most people do! You should, if you can, see it all.