Jeremiah 1:5

5. Before I formed thee Jeremiah was assigned to an extraordinary work. The emphasis and solemnity of this assignment are here indicated by the fulness of the statement. As in the case of Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist, and some others, God’s purpose concerning him antedated his birth. Of course there is in this nothing to imply that this is not true of others, or indeed of all; but Jeremiah is reminded and assured of this, that he may feel himself “girded of God.” There is in the work which God has for men to do an individuality exactly answering to that of the worker. The eminent and notable cases of individual election mentioned in the Bible are but specimens of all. There is in this nothing of fatalism, since the free agent may, and often does, refuse to fill his assigned mission.