The Old Paths

There is a very solemn passage in Jeremiah 6: “Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]” (v16). I wonder if the reader is walking in those old paths, or whether he too has rejected them?

   ‘Our parents were too strict’ say the younger generation ‘and we intend to have more liberty ourselves, and to see that our children have it too. Times have changed, circumstances are different, and we will not walk in the old paths!’ It is open to question whether those who think and speak in this way are more satisfied than their parents or whether, as their children grow up, that they do so in the fear of the Lord.

   Many years ago, much precious truth concerning the Lord’s coming and the practical outworking of the Assembly in His absence was recovered to the people of God. Hearts were stirred in affection to Christ, and ties that bound believers to this world were loosed. The old paths that had been long forgotten were taken up, and Christians sought, in faith, to walk in them. Of course, it was impossible to walk in the old paths without leaving the new paths that men had made, and so they were marked by separation—an old-fashioned word that is seldom heard nowadays. The new generation that has arisen, however, despise the old paths and have determined that they will not walk therein. They say that since times have changed, we must adapt ourselves to modern conditions. But has Christ’s Word changed? No. Rather, it is the people of God that have changed. Again, the new generation say that in the past people were too strait-laced and narrow-minded, and that it is perfectly possible to enjoy the same truths our parents enjoyed without the constraints of the old pathway. I do not think so. Such may think they have the same truths, but the reality is often the opposite. For example, the supermarket mentality around us, where each can choose a ’church’ according to his fancy, is a work of the flesh (“schools of opinion”—Gal. 5: 20). Some believe that they reject such sectarianism by being open to as many as possible—receiving and being received by Christians whose very ecclesiastical position is a denial of the truth. But can travelling happily with the sects be done in love, if there is any sense of the error of their way? Turning away from sectarianism, rather than a turning of a blind eye to it, is the response of the godly soul. “Hereby know we that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments” (1 John 5: 2, my emphasis).

   To walk in the old paths will never be popular. Jeremiah was not a popular man in his day and his hearers seemed to think he was voicing his own peculiar views. Though he prefaced his call with “Thus saith Jehovah”, they unhesitatingly answered “We will not walk [therein]” (Jer. 6: 16)! Despite this, we appeal to the reader: heed the divine call, step out into the path of the Lord’s will. The road to popularity is to follow our own inclinations; the way to secure the approval of the Lord is to ask for the old paths and to walk in them. It may mean small numbers, criticism, and a more limited scope for service, but it will also mean that Christ Himself is our companion in the way. So what shall we say? Will we walk in His paths—“the good way” (v16)—or in paths of our own (or of other’s) devising?