"And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave
thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest,
I will go;
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God
my God." -- Ruth 1:16
Subject: When those that we have
formerly been conversant with, are turning to God, and joining themselves to his
people, it ought to be our firm resolution, that we will not leave them.
The
historical things in this book of Ruth, seem to be inserted in the canon of the
Scripture, especially on two accounts:
First,
because Christ was of Ruth’s posterity. The Holy Ghost thought fit to take
particular notice of that marriage of Boaz with Ruth, whence sprang the Savior
of the world. We may often observe it, that the Holy Spirit who indited the
Scriptures, often takes notice of little things, or minute occurrences, that do
but remotely relate to Jesus Christ.
Secondly, because
this history seems to be typical of the calling of the Gentile church, and
indeed of the conversion of every believer. Ruth was not originally of Israel,
but was a Moabitess, and alien from the commonwealth of Israel, but she forsook
her own people, and the idols of the Gentiles, to worship the God of Israel, and
to join herself to that people. Herein she seems to be a type of the Gentile
church, and also of every sincere convert. Ruth was the remote mother of Christ.
He came of her posterity. So the church is Christ’s mother, as she is
represented, Rev. 12 at the beginning. And so also is every true Christian his
mother. Mat. 12:50, “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Christ is what the
soul is in travail with, at the new birth. Ruth forsook all her natural
relations, and her own country, the land of her nativity, and all her former
possessions there, for the sake of the God of Israel, as every true Christian
forsakes all for Christ. Psa. 45:10, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and
incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.”
Naomi was now returning
out of the land of Moab, into the land of Israel, with her two daughters-in-law,
Orpah and Ruth, who will represent to us two sorts of professors of religion.
Orpah [represents] those who indeed make a fair profession, and seem to set out
well, but continue only for a while, and then turn back. Ruth [represents] those
who are sound and sincere, and therefore are stedfast and perservering in their
way. Naomi, in the preceding verses, represents to her daughters the
difficulties of their leaving their own country to go with her. And in this
verse may be observed,
1.The remarkable
conduct and behavior of Ruth on this occasion: with what inflexible resolution
she cleaves to Naomi, and follows her. When Naomi first arose to return from the
country of Moab into the land of Israel, Orpah and Ruth both set out with her,
and Naomi exhorts them both to return. And both wept, and seemed as if they
could not bear the thoughts of leaving her, and appeared as if they were
resolved to go with her. Verse 10, “And they said unto her, Surely we will
return with thee unto thy people.” Then Naomi says to them again, “Turn
again, my daughters, go your way,” etc. And then they were greatly affected
again, and Orpah returned and went back. Now Ruth’s stedfastness in her
purpose had a greater trial, but yet is not overcome: “She clave unto her,”
verse 14. Then Naomi speaks to her again, verse 15, “Behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods; return thou after thy
sister-in-law.” And then she shows her immovable resolution in the text and
following verse.
2. I would particularly
observe that wherein the virtuousness of this her resolution consists, viz. that
it was for the sake of the God of Israel, and that she might be one of his
people, that she was thus resolved to cleave to Naomi: “Thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God.” It was for God’s sake that she did thus, and
therefore her so doing is afterwards spoken of as a virtuous behavior in her,
Ruth 2:11,12, “And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed
me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine
husband; and how thou has left thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy
nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord
recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel,
under whose wings thou are come to trust.” She left her father and mother, and
the land of her nativity, to come and trust under the shadow of God’s wings,
and she had indeed a full reward given her, as Boaz wished. For besides
immediate spiritual blessings to her own soul, and eternal rewards in another
world, she was rewarded with plentiful and prosperous outward circumstances in
the family of Boaz. And God raised up David and Solomon of her seed, and
established the crown of Israel (the people that she chose before her own
people) in her posterity; and, which is much more, of her seed he raised up
Jesus Christ, in whom all the families of the earth are blessed.
From the words
thus opened, I observe this for the subject of my present discourse: — “When
those that we have formerly been conversant with, are turning to God, and
joining themselves to his people, it ought to be our firm resolution, that we
will not leave them, but that their people shall be our people, and their God
our God.”
It sometimes
happens, that of those who have been conversant one with another — who have
dwelt together as neighbors, and have been often together as companions, or
united in their relation, and have been together in darkness, bondage, and
misery, in the service of Satan — some are enlightened, and have their minds
changed, are made to see the great evil of sin, and have their hearts turned to
God. They are influenced by the Holy Spirit of God, to leave their company that
are on Satan’s side, and to join themselves with that blessed company that are
with Jesus Christ. They are made willing to forsake the tents of wickedness, to
dwell in the land of uprightness with the people of God.
And sometimes
this proves a final parting or separation between them and those with whom they
have been formerly conversant. Though it may be no parting in outward respects,
they may still dwell, and converse one with another. Yet in other respects, it
sets them at a great distance. One is a child of God, and the other his enemy.
One is in a miserable, and the other in a happy, condition. One is a citizen of
the heavenly Zion, the other is under condemnation to hell. They are no longer
together in those respects wherein they used to be together. They used to be of
one mind to serve sin, and do Satan’s work, now they are of contrary minds.
They used to be together in worldliness and sinful vanity, now they are of
exceeding different dispositions. They are separated as they are in different
kingdoms. The one remains in the kingdom of darkness, the other is translated
into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. And sometimes they are finally separated
in these respects: while one dwells in the land of Israel, and in the house of
God, the other, like Orpah, lives and dies in the land of Moab.
Now it is
lamentable, it is awful being parted so. It is doleful, when of those who have
formerly been together in sin, some turn to God, and join themselves with his
people, that it should prove a parting between them and their former
companions and acquaintance. It should be our firm and inflexible resolution in
such a case, that it shall be no parting, but that we will follow them, that
their people shall be our people, and their God our God, and that for the
following reasons:
I. .Because
their God is a glorious God. There is none like him, who is infinite in
glory and excellency. He is the most high God, glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing wonders. His name is excellent in all the earth, and his glory is
above the heavens. Among the gods there is none like unto him. There is none in
heaven to be compared to him, nor are there any among the sons of the mighty
that can be likened unto him. Their God is the fountain of all good, and an
inexhaustible fountain. He is an all-sufficient God, able to protect and defend
them, and do all things for them. He is the King of glory, the Lord strong and
mighty, the Lord mighty in battle: a strong rock, and a high tower. There is
none like the God of Jeshurun, who rideth on the heaven in their help, and in
his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is their refuge, and underneath are
everlasting arms. He is a God who has all things in his hands, and does
whatsoever he pleases. He killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the
grave and bringeth up; he maketh poor and maketh rich: the pillars of the earth
are the Lord’s. Their God is an infinitely holy God. There is none holy as the
Lord. And he is infinitely good and merciful. Many that others worship and serve
as gods, are cruel beings, spirits that seek the ruin of souls, but this is a
God that delighteth in mercy. His grace is infinite, and endures forever. He is
love itself, and infinite fountain and ocean of it.
Such a God is
their God! Such is the excellency of Jacob! Such is the God of them who have
forsaken their sins and are converted! They have made a wise choice who have
chosen this for their God. They have made a happy exchange indeed, that have
exchanged sin, and the world, for such a God!
They have an
excellent and glorious Savior, who is the only-begotten Son of God: the
brightness of his Father’s glory. One in whom God from eternity had infinite
delight; a Savior of infinite love; one that has shed his own blood, and made
his soul an offering for their sins, and one that is able to save them to the
uttermost.
II. Their people
are an excellent and happy people. God has renewed them, and stamped his own
image upon them, and made them partakers of his holiness. They are more
excellent than their neighbors, Pro. 12:26. Yea, they are the excellent of the
earth, Psa. 16:3. They are lovely in the sight of the angels, and they have
their souls adorned with those graces that in the sight of God himself are of
great price.
The people of
God are the most excellent and happy society in the world. That God whom they
have chosen for their God, is their Father. He has pardoned all their sins, and
they are at peace with him, and he has admitted them to all the privileges of
his children. As they have devoted themselves to God, so he has given himself to
them. He is become their salvation, and their portion: his power and mercy, and
all his attributes are theirs. They are in a safe state, free from all
possibility of perishing. Satan has no power to destroy them. God carries them
on eagle’s wings, far above Satan’s reach, and above the reach of all the
enemies of their souls. God is with them in this world. They have his gracious
presence. God is for them: who then can be against them? As the mountains are
round about Jerusalem, so Jehovah is round about them. God is their shield, and
their exceeding great reward, and their fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son Jesus Christ. They have the divine promise and oath, that in the world
to come they shall dwell forever in the glorious presence of God.
It may well be
sufficient to induce us to resolve to cleave to those that forsake their sins
and idols to join themselves with this people, that God is with them, Zec. 8:23,
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, in those days it shall come to pass, that ten
men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of
the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard
that God is with you.” So should persons, as it were, take hold of the skirt
of their neighbors and companions that have turned to God, and resolve that they
will go with them, because God is with them.
III. Happiness
is no where else to be had, but in their God, and with their people. There are
that are called gods many, and lords many. Some make gods of their pleasures;
some choose Mammon for their god; some make gods of their supposed excellencies,
or the outward advantages they have above their neighbors; some choose one thing
for their god, and other another. But men can be happy in no other but the God
of Israel. He is the only fountain of happiness. Other gods cannot help in
calamity. Nor can any of them afford what the poor empty soul stands in need of.
Let men adore those other gods never so much, and call upon them never so
earnestly, and serve them never so diligently. They will nevertheless remain
poor, wretched, unsatisfied, undone creatures. All other people are miserable,
but that people whose God is the Lord. — The world is divided into two
societies: the people of God, the little flock of Jesus Christ, that
company that we read of, Rev. 14:4, “These are they which were not defiled
with women; for they are virgins: these are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth: these were redeemed from among men, being the
first-fruits unto God, and to the Lamb:” and, those that belong to the
kingdom of darkness, that are without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world. All that are of this latter company are wretched
and undone. They are the enemies of God, and under his wrath and condemnation.
They are the devil’s slaves, that serve him blindfold, and are befooled and
ensnared by him, and hurried along in the broad way to eternal perdition.
IV. When those
that we have formerly been conversant with are turning to God and to his people,
their example ought to influence us. Their example should be looked upon
as the call of God to us, to do as they have done. God, when he changes the
heart of one, calls upon another, especially does he loudly call on those that
have been their friends and acquaintance. We have been influenced by their
examples in evil, and shall we cease to follow them, when they make the wisest
choice that ever they made, and do the best thing that ever they did? If we have
been companions with them in worldliness, in vanity, in unprofitable and sinful
conversation, it will be a hard case, if there must be a parting now, because we
are not willing to be companions with them in holiness and true happiness. Men
are greatly influenced by seeing one another’s prosperity in other things. If
those whom they have been much conversant with, grow rich, and obtain any great
earthly advantages, it awakens their ambition, and eager desire after the like
prosperity. How much more should they be influenced, and stirred up to follow
them, and be like them, when they obtain that spiritual and eternal happiness,
that is of infinitely more worth, than all the prosperity and glory of this
world!
V. Our resolutions
to cleave to and follow those that are turning to God, and joining
themselves to his people, ought to be fixed and strong, because of the
great difficulty of it. If we will cleave to them, and have their God for our
God, and their people for our people, we must mortify and deny all our lusts,
and cross every evil appetite and inclination, and forever part with all sin.
But our lusts are many and violent. Sin is naturally exceeding dear to us. To
part with it is compared to plucking out our right eyes. Men may refrain from
wonted ways of sin for a little while, and may deny their lusts in a partial
degree, with less difficulty; but it is heart-rending work, finally to part with
all sin, and to give our dearest lusts a bill of divorce, utterly to send them
away. But this we must do, if we would follow those that are truly turning to
God. Yea, we must not only forsake sin, but must, in a sense, forsake all the
world, Luke 14:33, “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he
hath, he cannot be my disciple.” That is, he must forsake all in his heart,
and must come to a thorough disposition and readiness actually to quit all for
God, and the glorious spiritual privileges of his people, whenever the case may
require it, and that without any prospect of anything of the like nature, or any
worldly thing whatsoever, to make amends for it — all to go into a strange
country, a land that has hitherto been unseen, like Abraham, who being called of
god, “went out of his own country, and from his kindred, and from his
father’s house, for a land that God should show him, not knowing whither he
went.”
Thus, it was a
hard thing for Ruth to forsake her native country, her father and mother, her
kindred and acquaintance, and all the pleasant things she had in the land of
Moab, to dwell in the land of Israel, where she never had been. Naomi told her
of the difficulties once and again. They were too hard for her sister Orpah. The
consideration of them turned her back after she was set out. Her resolution was
not firm enough to overcome them. But so firmly resolved was Ruth, that she
brake through all. She was stedfast in it, that let the difficulty be what it
would, she would not leave her mother-in-law. So persons had need to be very
firm in their resolution to conquer the difficulties that are in the way of
cleaving to them who are indeed turning from sin to God.
Our cleaving
to them, and having their God for our God, and their people for our people,
depends on our resolution and choice, and that in two respects.
1.The firmness
of resolution in using means in order to it, is the way to have means effectual.
There are means appointed in order to our becoming some of the true Israel, and
having their God for our God. The thorough use of these means is the way to have
success, but not a slack or slighty use of them. And that we may be thorough,
there is need of strength of resolution, a firm and inflexible disposition and
bent of mind to be universal in the use of means, and to do what we do with our
might, and to persevere in it. Mat. 11:12, “The kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force.”
2. A choosing
of their God, and their people, with a full determination, and with the whole
soul, is the condition of an union with them. God gives every man his choice in
this matter: as Orpah and Ruth had their choice, whether they would go with
Naomi into the land of Israel, or stay in the land of Moab. A natural man may
choose deliverance from hell, but no man does ever heartily choose God and
Christ, and the spiritual benefits that Christ has purchased, and the happiness
of God’s people, till he is converted. On the contrary, he is averse to them.
He has no relish of them; and is wholly ignorant of their inestimable worth and
value.
Many carnal
men seem to choose these things, but do it not really, as Orpah seemed at first
to choose to forsake Moab to go into the land of Israel. But when Naomi came to
set before her the difficulty of it, she went back, and thereby showed that she
was not fully determined in her choice, and that her whole soul was not in it as
Ruth’s was.
APPLICATION
The use that I
shall make of what has been said, is to move sinners to this resolution, with
respect to those amongst us that have lately turned to God, and joined
themselves to the flock of Christ. Through the abundant mercy and grace of God
to us in this place, it may be said of many of you that are in a Christless
condition, that you have lately been left by those that were formerly with you
in such a state. Some of those with whom you have formerly been conversant, have
lately forsaken a life of sin and the service of Satan, and have turned to God,
and fled to Christ, and joined themselves to that blessed company that are with
him. They formerly were with you in sin and in misery, but now they are with you
no more in that state or manner of life. They are changed, and have fled from
wrath to come. They have chosen a life of holiness here, and the enjoyment of
God hereafter. They were formerly your associates in bondage, and were with you
in Satan’s business, but now you have their company no longer in these things.
Many of you have seen those you live with, under the same roof, turning from
being any longer with you in sin, to be with the people of Jesus Christ. Some of
you that are husbands, have had your wives; some of you that are wives, have had
your husbands; some of you that are children, have had your parents; and parents
have had your children; many of you have had your brothers and sisters; and many
your near neighbors, and acquaintance and special friends; many of you that are
young have had your companions: I say, many of you have had those that you have
been thus concerned with, leaving you, forsaking that doleful life and wretched
state in which you still continue. God, of his good pleasure and wonderful
grace, has lately caused in this place multitudes to forsake their old abodes in
the land of Moab, and under the gods of Moab, and go into the land of Israel, to
put their trust under the wings of the Lord God of Israel. Though you and they
have been nearly related, and have dwelt together, or have been often together
and intimately acquainted, they have been taken, and you hitherto left! O let it
not be the foundation of a final parting! But earnestly follow them. Be firm in
your resolution in this matter. Do not as Orpah did, who though at first she
made as though she would follow Naomi, yet when she had the difficulty set
before her, went back. But say as Ruth, “I will not leave thee; but where thou
goest, I will go: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Say as
she said, and do as she did. Consider the excellency of their God, and their
Savior, and the happiness of their people, the blessed state that they are in,
and the doleful state you are in.
You are old
sinners, who have lived long in the service of Satan, have lately seen some
that have traveled with you in the paths of sin these many years, turning to
God. They with you enjoyed great means and advantages, had calls and warnings
with you, and with you passed through remarkable times of the pouring out of
God’s Spirit in this place, and hardened their hearts and stood it out with
you, and with you have grown old in sin. Yet you have seen some of them turning
to God, i.e. you have seen those evidences of it in them, whence you may
rationally judge that it is so. O! let it not be a final parting! You have been
thus long together in sin, and under condemnation. Let it be your firm
resolution, that if possible, you will be with them still, now they are in a
holy and happy state, and that you will follow them into the holy and pleasant
land. — You that tell of your having been seeking salvation for many years
(though, without doubt, in a poor dull way, in comparison of what you ought to
have done), have seen some old sinners and old seekers, as you are, obtaining
mercy. God has lately roused them from their dullness, and caused them to alter
their hand, and put them on more thorough endeavors. They have now, after so
long a time, heard God’s voice, and have fled for refuge to the rock of ages.
Let this awaken earnestness and resolution in you. Resolve that you will not
leave them.
You who are in
your youth how many have you seen of your age and standing, that have of
late hopefully chosen God for their God, and Christ for their Savior! You have
followed them in sin, and have perhaps followed them into vain company. Will you
not now follow them to Christ? — And you who are children, know that
there have lately been some of your sort who have repented of their sins, loved
the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusted in him, and are become God’s children, as
we have reason to hope. Let it stir you up to resolve to your utmost to seek and
cry to God, that you may have the like change made in your hearts, that their
people may be your people, and their God your God.
You who are
great sinners, who have made yourselves distinguishingly guilty by the wicked
practices you have lived in, know that there are some of your sort who have
lately (as we have reason to hope) had their hearts broken for sin, and have
forsaken it, and trusted in the blood of Christ for the pardon of it. They have
chosen a holy life, and have betaken themselves to the ways of wisdom: let it
excite and encourage you resolutely to cleave to them, and earnestly to follow
them.
Let the
following things be considered:
1. That your
soul is as precious as theirs. It is immortal as theirs is, and stands in as
much need of happiness, and can as ill bear eternal misery. You was born in the
same miserable condition that they were, having the same wrath of God abiding on
you. You must stand before the same Judge, who will be as strict in judgment
with you as with them. Your own righteousness will stand you in no more stead
before him than theirs, and therefore you stand in as absolute necessity of a
Savior as they. Carnal confidences can no more answer your end than theirs, nor
can this world or its enjoyments serve to make you happy without God and Christ
more than them. When the bridegroom comes, the foolish virgins stand in as much
need of oil as the wise, Mat. 25 at the beginning.
2. Unless you
follow them in their turning to God, their conversion will be a foundation of an
eternal separation between you and them. You will be in different interests, and
in exceeding different states, as long as you live. They the children of God,
and you the children of Satan, and you will be parted in another world; when you
come to die, there will be a vast separation made between you. Luke 16:26,
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that
they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither can they pass to us,
that would come from thence.” And you will be parted at the day of judgment.
You will be parted at Christ’s first appearance in the clouds of heaven. While
they are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, to be ever with
the Lord, you will remain below, confined to this cursed ground, that is kept in
store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly
men. You will appear separated from them, while you stand before the great
judgment-seat, they being at the right hand, while you are set at the left. Mat.
25:32, 33, “And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats;
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” And
you shall then appear in exceeding different circumstances: while you stand with
devils, in the image and deformity of devils, and in ineffable horror and
amazement, they shall appear in glory, sitting on thrones, as assessors with
Christ, and as such passing judgment upon you, 1 Cor. 6:2. And what shame and
confusion will then cover you, when so many of your contemporaries, your equals,
your neighbors, relations, and companions, shall be honored, and openly
acknowledged, and confessed by the glorious Judge of the universe, and Redeemer
of saints, and shall be seen by you sitting with him in such glory. You shall
appear to have neglected your salvation, and not to have improved your
opportunities, and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, the same person that will
then appear as your great Judge, and you shall be the subjects of wrath, and as
it were, trodden down in eternal contempt and disgrace. Dan. 12:2, “Some shall
rise to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” And
what a wide separation will the sentence then passed and executed make between
you and them! When you shall be sent away out of the presence of the Judge with
indignation and abhorrence, as cursed and loathsome creatures they shall be
sweetly accosted and invited into his glory as his dear friends, and the blessed
of his Father! When you, with all that vast throng of wicked and accursed
men and devils, shall descend with loud lamentings and horrid shrieks, into that
dreadful gulf of fire and brimstone, and shall be swallowed up in that great and
everlasting furnace, they shall joyfully, and with sweet songs of glory
and praise, ascend with Christ, and all that beauteous and blessed company of
saints and angels, into eternal felicity, in the glorious presence of God, and
the sweet embraces of his love. You and they shall spend eternity in such a
separation, and immensely different circumstances! You have been intimately
acquainted and nearly related, closely united and mutually conversant in this
world, and you have taken delight in each other’s company! And shall it be —
after you have been together a great while, each of you in undoing yourselves,
enhancing your guilt, and heaping up wrath — that their so wisely changing
their minds and their course, and choosing such happiness for themselves, should
now at length be the beginning of such an exceeding and everlasting separation
between you and them? How awful will it be to be parted so!
3. Consider
the great encouragement that God gives you, earnestly to strive for the same
blessing that others have obtained. There is great encouragement in the Word of
God to sinners to seek salvation, in the revelation we have of the abundant
provision made for the salvation even of the chief of sinners, and in the
appointment of so many means to be used with and by sinners, in order to their
salvation, and by the blessing which God in his Word connects with the means of
his appointment. There is hence great encouragement for all, at all times, that
will be thorough in using of these means. But now God gives extraordinary
encouragement in his providence, by pouring out his Spirit so remarkably amongst
us, and bringing savingly home to himself all sorts, young and old, rich and
poor, wise and unwise, sober and vicious, old self-righteous seekers, and
profligate livers: no sort are exempt. There is at this day amongst us the
loudest call, and the greatest encouragement, and the widest door opened to
sinners, to escape out of a state of sin and condemnation, that perhaps God ever
granted in New England. Who is there that has an immortal soul, so sottish as
not to improve such an opportunity, and that will not bestir himself with all
his might? How unreasonable is negligence, and how exceeding unreasonable is
negligence, and how exceeding unreasonable is discouragement, at such a day as
this! Will you be so stupid as to neglect your soul now? Will any mortal amongst
us be so unreasonable as to lag behind, or look back in discouragement, when God
opens such a door? Let every person be thoroughly awake! Let everyone encourage
himself now to press forward, and fly for his life!
4. Consider
how earnestly desirous they that have obtained are that you should follow them,
and that their people should be your people, and their God your God. They desire
that you should partake of that great good which God has given them, and that
unspeakable and eternal blessedness which he has promised them. They wish and
long it. If you do not go with them, and are not still of their company, it will
not be for want of their willingness, but your own. That of Moses to Hobab is
the language of every true saint of your acquaintance to you. Num. 10:29, “We
are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come
thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning
Israel.” As Moses, when on his journey through the wilderness, following the
pillar of cloud and fire, invited Hobab — with whom he had been acquainted in
the land of Midian, where Moses had formerly dwelt with him — to go with him
and his people to Canaan, to partake with them in the good that God had promised
them, so do those of your friends and acquaintance invite you: out of a land of
darkness and wickedness, where they have formerly been with you, to go with them
to the heavenly Canaan. The company of saints, the true church of Christ, invite
you. The lovely bride calls you to the marriage supper. She has authority to
invite guests to her own wedding, and you ought to look on her invitation and
desire, as the call of Christ the bridegroom. For it is the voice of his Spirit
in her, Rev. 22:17, “The Spirit and bride say, Come.” Where seems to be a
reference to what has been said, chap. 19:7-9, “The marriage of the Lamb is
come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted, that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they which are
called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb.” It is with respect to this her
marriage-supper that she, from the motion of the Spirit of the Lamb in her,
says, Come. So that you are invited on all hands. All conspire to call you,
[and] God the Father invites you. This is the King who has made a marriage for
his Son, and he sends forth his servants, the ministers of the gospel, to invite
the guests. And the Son himself invites you: it is he that speaks, Rev. 22:17,
“And let him that heareth say, Come; and let him that is athirst, come; and
whosoever will, let him come.” He tells us who he is in the foregoing verse,
“I Jesus, the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star.” And
God’s ministers invite you, and all the church invites you; and there will be
joy in the presence of the angels of God that hour that you accept the
invitation.
5. Consider what a doleful company will be left after this extraordinary time of mercy is over. We have reason to think that there will be a number left. We read that when Ezekiel’s healing waters increased so abundantly, and the healing effect of them was so very general. Yet there were certain places, where the waters came, that never were healed. Eze. 47:9-11, “And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and everything shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it, from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets: there fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof, and the marishes thereof, shall not be healed, they shall be given to salt.” And even in the apostles times, when there was such wonderful success of the gospel wherever they came, there were some that did not believe. Acts 13:48, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.” And chap. 28:24, “And some believed, and some believed not.” So we have no reason to expect but there will be some left amongst us. It is to be hoped it will be but a small company, but what a doleful company will it be! How darkly and awfully will it look upon them! If you shall be of that company, how well may your friends and relations lament over you, and bemoan your dark and dangerous circumstances! If you would not be one of them, make haste, delay not, and look not behind you. Shall all sorts obtain, shall everyone press into the kingdom of God, while you stay loitering behind in a doleful undone condition? Shall everyone take heaven, while you remain with no other portion but this world? Now take up that resolution, that if it be possible you will cleave to them that have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them. Count the cost of a thorough, violent, and perpetual pursuit of salvation, and forsake all, as Ruth forsook her own country, and all her pleasant enjoyments in it. Do not do as Orpah did; who set out, and then was discouraged, and went back. But hold out with Ruth through all discouragement and opposition. When you consider others that have chosen the better part, let that resolution be ever firm with you: “Where thou goest, I will go; where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's Jonathan Edwards Collection by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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