"REMEMBERING JERUSALEM" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 7/8/25

“…let Jerusalem come into your mind.” (Jeremiah 51:50)

The captives in Babylon are here charged to remember Jerusalem: “Let Jerusalem come into your mind.” They were charged to remember the city of God because the temple was there. Many were sorrowful for the solemn assembly, and the prophet would encourage them to treasure those sacred memories, lest they be tempted to settle down in Babylon. He would not have them to dry their tears and accept their loss, but rather, to continue with increasing desire and longing for the holy city. By remembering Zion, they would keep themselves prepared to return.

There are equally good reasons why we are to remember our Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem. We are too prone to become absorbed in the Babylon of this world and forget our spiritual citizenship.

There is a Jerusalem here below which should frequently and spontaneously come into our mind. The Church of the Living God is our holy city, the city of the Great King, and with us, as Christians, it should always be foremost in our thoughts. We should unite with its citizens in open profession of faith in Christ; become one in Christian love and mutual help in holy service, worship, and communion. The church and its prosperity should be on our mind when we pray. Let us, like Daniel, our windows being opened toward Jerusalem, as it were, pray for the cause of Christ and the Gospel. Let this be our first priority in prayer.

Let Jerusalem come into your mind as you labor for the advancement of the Church. In the allotment of our money, the use of our time, the employment of our talents, the exercise of our influence, let the church come into your mind. When things are as they should be with those who profess to know the Lord, Christ and the Church will be the first consideration respecting every decision and pursuit in life. Yet, with many who so profess, major decisions are routinely made without a thought about what effect it may have on the Church, or how it will affect their church life and service to Christ.

Oh, that all Christians took a deeper interest in the Church of God! “It were well if into our joys and sorrows the cause of Christ were interwoven like a thread of Gold. He is a poor patriot who forgets his country, and he is no Christian who does not bear the Church upon his heart.” (Spurgeon) In a letter to Melanchthon Luther wrote, “Here I sit the whole day with the visage of the church ever before me, and the passage, ‘Why hast thou made all the sons of men in vain?’ I abhor my own hardness of heart that I am not dissolved in tears, and that I do not weep fountains of tears for the slain of the sons of my people. God have mercy on us.”

There is a Jerusalem above which should come into our mind. Let the believer’s thoughts often go there, for Jesus is there, our departed friends and loved ones are there, and there our hopes and desires should always tend. Matthew Henry felt strongly that Christians ought to speak often of heaven, and keep it much upon their minds, lest we allow our earthly enjoyments to take priority. Isaac Watts wrote:

            “My soul shall pray for Zion still,

            While life or breath remains;

            There my best friends, my kindred dwell,

            There God my Savior resigns.”

It is good for Christians to have heaven often come to mind, lest our daily trials cause us to grow despondent. Also, with the New Jerusalem on our minds we are less likely to idolize present relationships or possessions. God’s Word reminds us that the hope of heaven prevents inordinate grief in our bereavements, especially when we must say goodbye to our loved ones. Certainly, as we come to old age, and we become watchful for our home-going, heaven comes to mind with cheering thoughts. Yet, in all seasons, it is good for us to think of the New Jerusalem, since “our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:20)