"In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and no one will remember it or miss it, nor will another one be made. Sermons
Along with the denunciations and painful descriptions which Jehovah has put into the mouth of the prophet, there now begins to be mingled a gracious, evangelical element. God's severest condemnations are meant to pave the way for return, repentance, reconciliation, and a reception of still more abundant gifts than before. Far and wide Israel has been scattered, but scattered only to be brought together again. Though there be but one in a city and two in a nation, God will find out the isolated ones and draw them back to him. Then, with pastors after God's own heart, what can there be but increase and multiplication of the flock of God? And then comes what is evidently meant to be considered as a great blessing, though at first it seems to point to another sad apostasy, and to forgetfulness of one of the holiest and most precious treasures of the past. The ark of the covenant, with the tables of the Law deposited within, was the very center of religious associations to the nation. But now it is to be no more spoken of. God, indeed, trusts that the memory of it was to pass away. Reading such a verse as this, how one is made to feel the importance of time as an element necessary to the proper understanding of things! Such words as these spoken by Israel at an earlier date would have been a very bad sign, but spoken at the time when all was ripe for them, they become just as much a sign for good. The ark of the covenant - the literal ark with the literal tables of stone - could not be a permanent institution. For centuries it had been holy - holy not in word only, but also in deed. Consider how God honored it, when for a time it was lodged in Philistia; consider the calamities that came upon the men of Bethshemesh and upon Uzziah, for their thoughtless handling of the ark. Much thus happened to make the Israelite very careful how he dealt with it. David and Solomon in particular were very solicitous to honor the ark to the utmost of their power. This is seen not only in the bringing of the ark up into the city of David, and the putting of it into the temple by Solomon, but perhaps even more in the conduct of Solomon to Abiathar, when Abiathar was implicated in the offence of Adonijah. Solomon spared the man he would otherwise have slain, because he had borne the ark of the Lord God before David ( 1 Kings 2:26). But there can be no doubt that as generation succeeded generation, the general feeling would become so mixed with superstition as to do more harm than good. The people had said, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord," but their saying had not amounted to much. The ark had been remembered, but the writing on the stones within had been forgotten. The longer it stood as the central object of a unique ritual, the more it became a symbol of separation from other nations. That which had been given so that one set of thoughts should be associated with it, thoughts to help in making pure, reverent, and watchful, had ended in having quite another set of thoughts associated with it. And so both the object itself seems to have vanished, and at the same time its dominion to have ceased. It is surely a very remarkable thing that all through the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah there is no reference to the ark. The vessels of God's house are mentioned, an altar was set up and offerings made, and in due time a temple built; but there is no word of the ark. Its work was done, and we are not so much as told what became of it. We know that the brazen serpent was declared Nehushtan, but the withdrawal of the ark God manages in complete silence. So true it is that - "God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world." = - Y. The ark of the covenant of the Lord. When inward piety is low the externals of religion are frequently cried up. Those who know nothing of God are the very people to exclaim concerning themselves and their brethren, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these." The more phylactery, the less sanctity. On the other hand, whenever the Spirit of God is largely poured out, although the ordinances of God are carefully attended to, yet as external things they are sure to be put into their proper place, and that proper place is a secondary one.I. THE SYMBOL REVERENCED. 1. The ark of the covenant was the object of great reverence, and very fitly so, because it symbolised God's presence, the presence of Jehovah, the living God, in the midst of His people. 2. That presence of God meant blessing; for God was with His people in love to them. The Lord abides not with His enemies, but with His chosen. So long as He gave the token of His presence it was a sign that He had not cast them off as hopeless. 3. The ark was held in reverence by the Israelites because it was their leader. When the time came to march through the wilderness the ark went in the forefront. 4. The ark was to the Israelites, after their wanderings were over, the fixed centre of their nationality, even as while they were in the wilderness it had always been placed in the centre of the camp. 5. Marvel not that the men of Judah paid great reverence to this ark when, in so many ways, it was a token for good to them. What they did to this ark is mentioned in the text. First, they recognised it as the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They were wont to say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." They spoke much of it, and prided themselves upon the possession of it. Nay, they not only spoke of it: but they loved it; for we read, "Neither shall it come to mind," or as the margin has it, "Neither shall it come upon the heart." In the next place, they remembered it, as the text plainly informs us. If they were captives they prayed in the direction in which the ark was situated; wherever they wandered they thought of God and of the coffer which represented His presence. Next, they visited it. On certain holy days they came from the utmost ends of their land, in joyful companies, singing from stage to stage, and making joyful holiday as they went up to the place where God did dwell between the cherubim. Visiting it, they were accustomed also to speak highly of it; for in the margin of your Bibles you will find, "Neither shall they magnify it any more." They used to tell to one another what the ark had done; the glory that shone forth from it, the acceptance of the offering whose blood was sprinkled upon it on the day of atonement, and the testimony which was heard from between the cherubic wings. II. THAT REVERENCE OBLITERATED. They were to say no more, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." Yet that fact was to be a blessing. They were no more to speak of the ark itself, because they would have that which the ark was intended to foreshadow. 1. Our Lord Jesus by His coming has put out of His people's thoughts the material ark of the covenant, because its meaning is fulfilled in Him; and this, first, in the sense of preservation. He said, "Thy law is within My heart." It was not within His heart alone, but within all. His life; His whole thoughts, words, and acts went to make up a golden chest in which the precious treasure of the perfect law of God should be contained. 2. Next, the ark signified propitiation; for over the top of the sacred box, which held the two tables of the law, was the slab of gold called the mercy seat, which covered all. When God looks down upon His law, He does not see it nakedly, but He beholds it in the person of His Son. He sees it there perfectly preserved, without taint or flaw of any kind, and He rejoices therein. 3. The next word is a very blessed one, and that is covenant. The ark was called "the ark of the covenant." Ah, how soon we should lose the sweet things of God if we were under the covenant of works, and how soon we should miss the gentle sovereignty of His shepherd rod! I thank God that in Christ Jesus we have a covenant of grace which can never fail, and never can be broken, and in Him we have all that our souls desire: pot of manna and rod of Aaron, covenant provision and covenant rule we find in Him. 4. Because this ark was the ark of the covenant of God it was from it that He was accustomed to reveal Himself, and so it is called the "ark of testimony." We say no more, "The ark of the testimony," but we rejoice that God was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, and saw the Father in the Son. 5. This ark also signified enthronement; for the top of the ark was, so to speak, the throne of God. It was "the throne of the heavenly grace." If you would see the throne of God, behold the person of the Christ; for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Oh, what a blessing to have such a throne to come to — to Jesus Himself, who is the throne of the invisible God! 6. As it was the place of God's enthronement, so it was the door of man's approach. You and I need not speak of the ark of the covenant; for we have a blessed way of approach. We do not come to Christ once in the year only, but every day in the year, and every hour of the day. 7. The ark was the place of gracious power. On the top of the mercy seat stood cherubic figures, types of angelic power, and of all the powers of providence which God is pleased to use in the behalf of His people. Yet we will not speak of the ark, neither will we remember it, neither will we visit it; for we see in Christ Jesus that all the power of God is on our side: He is "God with us," and if God be with us, who can be against us? 8. The ark was much reverenced by the Jews, because it was the centre of their nationality. Find me a dozen spiritual men, and describe their different modes of thought; but let them sit together and begin to talk of the things of God, and of the covenant of grace, and of the work of the Spirit in the soul, and of the preciousness of the blood of Jesus, and you will see that they are one. There is, there must be, an essential unity among those who are quickened by the Spirit: and I rejoice that the name, the person, and the work of Jesus are at this hour the centre of Christendom. III. THIS REVERENCE TRANSFERRED. 1. Let us say that Jesus is our covenant. We are told, "They shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord." People must talk, it is natural to them — what else are their tongues for? Let us, then, say concerning Christ that He is the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Say this, say it often, nobody will rebuke you; it is a subject upon which you may be as fluent as you please. This is a kind of note of which the human ear, when once it is cleansed, never grows weary. 2. The text takes you a step further; for it says of the original ark, "Neither shall it come to mind." or (I give the margin), "Neither shall it come upon your heart." Let Christ come upon your heart and dwell there. Oh, love the Lord, alive His saints! You can love other things too much; but not your Lord. 3. And, next, if we should ever grow dull or cold at any time, let us take the third step in the text, and let us remember the Lord. O memory, leave no other name than that of Jesus recorded upon thy tablets. 4. The next thing is, let us visit Him. We cannot set out on journeys now to go to Jerusalem on foot, — little bands of us together; yet let us visit Jesus. Let us continually come to the mercy seat. No prayer, no power. The ark of the covenant is gone when the people no longer come together to cry unto the Lord. 5. The last thing is, "Neither shall that he done any more"; but the margin has it, "Neither shall that be magnified any more." Transfer your reverence, then, and as you cannot magnify the literal mercy seat, come and magnify Christ, who is the real mercy seat. () I. A MOST ALARMING AND UNWELCOME ANNOUNCEMENT. That the ark would disappear, and another not be made. Israel's safety and prosperity were connected with the ark of covenant. By some regarded with superstitious awe rather than reverential fear; yet by all as of incalculable value to the nations. II. A BITTER AND IRRECONCILABLE LOSS. 1. Prophecy soon fulfilled. 2. Loss deeply lamented. III. A SURPASSING COMPENSATION PREDICTED. 1. Must have seemed incredible at the time; yet after. wards proved consolatory. 2. How was the prediction fulfilled? In the appearing of Christ, the antitype of the ark. IV. THE REALISATION IN CHRIST OF THE ARK SYMBOLISED. 1. The Divine nearness. 2. The Deity bending mercifully over mere 3. The helpful and healing grace of God.Conclusion — 1. Israelites who early became Christians, and enjoyed the presence of Christ on earth, must have readily surrendered and forgotten the ark in the realisation of Jesus and His tender grace. 2. Believers, though now not realising Christ bodily among them, experience His Spirit's indwelling, revealing Christ within. 3. Contrite sinners can rejoice in the tenderness, lowliness, and compassion of Christ. () People Jeremiah, JosiahPlaces Assyria, Jerusalem, ZionTopics Affirmation, Agreement, Ark, Conscious, Covenant, Declares, Enter, Fruitful, Greatly, Heart, Increased, Inspect, Longer, Loss, Memory, Mention, Mind, Minds, Miss, Missed, Multiplied, Numbers, Pass, Remember, Remembered, Says, VisitOutline 1. God's great mercy to Judah the polluted land
6. Judah is worse than Israel
12. The promises of the gospel to the penitent
20. Israel reproved, and called by God, makes a solemn confession of their sins
Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 3:16 7306 ark of the covenant Jeremiah 3:1-25 8705 apostasy, in OT Jeremiah 3:13-22 5881 immaturity Jeremiah 3:16-17 8470 respect, for God Library Gregory the Patriarch and the Society at Kunwald, 1457-1473.
A brilliant idea is an excellent thing. A man to work it out is still better. At the very time when Peter's followers were marshalling their forces, John Rockycana,5 Archbishop-elect of Prague (since 1448), was making a mighty stir in that drunken city. What Peter had done with his pen, Rockycana was doing with his tongue. He preached Peter's doctrines in the great Thein Church; he corresponded with him on the burning topics of the day; he went to see him at his estate; he recommended his works …
J. E. Hutton—History of the Moravian ChurchStanzas by the Warden
The following stanzas, written by the Warden on the occasion of the baptism, will be read with pleasure, especially by those who are aware how faithfully the amiable writer of them fulfilled his part in preparing Kallihirua, not only for the right performance of such duties as seemed to await him in life, but (what was far more important) for an early death. THE BAPTISM OF KALLIHIRUA "I WILL TAKE YOU ONE OF A CITY, AND TWO OF A FAMILY, AND I WILL BRING YOU TO ZION."--Jer. iii. 14. Far through the …
Thomas Boyles Murray—Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian, Concerning the Ministry.
Concerning the Ministry. As by the light or gift of God all true knowledge in things spiritual is received and revealed, so by the same, as it is manifested and received in the heart, by the strength and power thereof, every true minister of the gospel is ordained, prepared, and supplied in the work of the ministry; and by the leading, moving, and drawing hereof ought every evangelist and Christian pastor to be led and ordered in his labour and work of the gospel, both as to the place where, as to …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity "The Heritage of the Heathen"
AND the Master said further, "We read in the lesson to-day a verse which tells us that the Lord has a pleasant land to give us, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the heathen' (Jer. iii. 19). And He has also said that He hath shewed His people the power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the heathen.' "What, dear children, is this pleasant land? and what is the heritage of the heathen the Lord has promised you? The pleasant land is none other than the heritage of our Lord Jesus Christ, …
Frances Bevan—Three Friends of God How the Impudent and Bashful are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 8). Differently to be admonished are the impudent and the bashful. For those nothing but hard rebuke restrains from the vice of impudence; while these for the most part a modest exhortation disposes to amendment. Those do not know that they are in fault, unless they be rebuked even by many; to these it usually suffices for their conversion that the teacher at least gently reminds them of their evil deeds. For those one best corrects who reprehends them by direct invective; but to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great How those are to be Admonished who have had Experience of the Sins of the Flesh, and those who have Not.
(Admonition 29.) Differently to be admonished are those who are conscious of sins of the flesh, and those who know them not. For those who have had experience of the sins of the flesh are to be admonished that, at any rate after shipwreck, they should fear the sea, and feel horror at their risk of perdition at least when it has become known to them; lest, having been mercifully preserved after evil deeds committed, by wickedly repeating the same they die. Whence to the soul that sins and never …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Conversion of all that Come.
"Turn Thou me and I shall be turned." --Jer. xxxi. 18. The elect, born again and effectually called, converts himself. To remain unconverted is impossible; but he inclines his ear, he turns his face to the blessed God, he is converted in the fullest sense of the word. In conversion the fact of cooperation on the part of the saved sinner assumes a clearly defined and perceptible character. In regeneration there was none; in the calling there was a beginning of it; in conversion proper it became a …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
OR, THE THRONE OF GRACE ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The churches of Christ are very much indebted to the Rev. Charles Doe, for the preservation and publishing of this treatise. It formed one of the ten excellent manuscripts left by Bunyan at his decease, prepared for the press. Having treated on the nature of prayer in his searching work on 'praying with the spirit and with the understanding also,' in which he proves from the sacred scriptures that prayer cannot be merely read or said, but must …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
(Galilee on the Same Day as the Last Section.) ^A Matt. XII. 38-45; ^C Luke XI. 24-36. ^c 29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, ^a 38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. [Having been severely rebuked by Jesus, it is likely that the scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign that they might appear to the multitude more fair-minded and open to conviction than Jesus had represented them to be. Jesus had just wrought …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Call of Matthew - the Saviour's Welcome to Sinners - Rabbinic Theology as Regards the Doctrine of Forgiveness in Contrast to the Gospel of Christ
In two things chiefly does the fundamental difference appear between Christianity and all other religious systems, notably Rabbinism. And in these two things, therefore, lies the main characteristic of Christ's work; or, taking a wider view, the fundamental idea of all religions. Subjectively, they concern sin and the sinner; or, to put it objectively, the forgiveness of sin and the welcome to the sinner. But Rabbinism, and every other system down to modern humanitarianism - if it rises so high in …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It The Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Bunyan's Last Sermon --Preached July 1688.
"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" John i. 13. The words have a dependence on what goes before, and therefore I must direct you to them for the right understanding of it. You have it thus,--"He came to his own, but his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." In …
by John Bunyan—Miscellaneous Pieces Mr. Bunyan's Last Sermon:
Preached August 19TH, 1688 [ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR] This sermon, although very short, is peculiarly interesting: how it was preserved we are not told; but it bears strong marks of having been published from notes taken by one of the hearers. There is no proof that any memorandum or notes of this sermon was found in the autograph of the preacher. In the list of Bunyan's works published by Chas. Doe, at the end of the 'Heavenly Footman,' March 1690, it stands No. 44. He professes to give the title-page, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Concerning Justification.
Concerning Justification. As many as resist not this light, but receive the same, it becomes in them an holy, pure, and spiritual birth, bringing forth holiness, righteousness, purity, and all those other blessed fruits which are acceptable to God: by which holy birth, to wit, Jesus Christ formed within us, and working his works in us, as we are sanctified, so are we justified in the sight of God, according to the apostle's words; But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 "They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Divine Jesus.
Jehovah-Jesus: John 1:1-18. the intimacy of John, John 13:23. 19:26. 20:2. 21:7, 20. "with Jesus," John 18:15.--John writes of Jesus--- when he wrote--getting the range--his literary style--the beginning--the Word--this was Jesus--the tragic tone. God's Spokesman: the Creator was Jehovah--- Jehovah is Jesus--the Spokesman--Old Testament revelations, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the elders of Israel, Isaiah, Ezekiel,--Whom these saw--various ways of speaking--John's Gospel …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 3:16 NIV
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