THE Old and New Testaments are so linked together that they cannot well be separated. The Old is the foundation of the New; the New is the head-stone of the Old; and the same great principles run through them both. Thus faith in the Old Testament is the same in principle as faith in the New; and by studying the faith of the ancient patriarchs and prophets we may learn most important lessons respecting that of the modern believer. In different ages and different persons faith may differ in its object and in its form; but it is always the same in principle, and always involves the fixed assurance that what God has promised He is able and certain to perform. This is very clearly seen in the deeply important lesson of practical faith conveyed to us in this history of Jeremiah. The events described in the chapter took place during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was then king, and was struggling to the utmost of his power against the powerful enemy that was come up against him. In the midst of the siege the Prophet Jeremiah was employed to convey a most discouraging prophecy, for, as you read verse 3, Jeremiah said, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city unto the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.’ Of course such a prophecy was calculated to dishearten the defenders of the city. So, though it was the word of the Lord, Zedekiah arrested the prophet and shut him up in the court of the prison. Jeremiah, therefore, was in a position of great distress, the city was besieged, and he knew from his own prophecy that it would be taken; while he himself was a prisoner at the mercy of a bad and arbitrary king.