Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1840
“And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so willIplead with you, says the Lord God. And I will cause you topass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 20:34-38.
THIS striking utterance was given forth by that renowned Seer, Ezekiel, at the time when the Israelites, scattered in every country, had begun to forget their nationality. They judged it prudent and wise, as much as possible, to disguise their distinctive character and melt their race into the Babylonian or Chaldean—and become like the heathen. But God, who chose His people of old, would not have it so, and He interposed with this striking passage—“And that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, that you say, we will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.” The Lord tells them that He had them for a people and He meant to hold them for a people. Whether they delighted in it or not, He would not let them go! He pronounced a solemn oath concerning them—“As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you.”
They shall no more become Babylonians than of old He would suffer them to become Egyptians. This passage, which I have taken for a text, may very truthfully be regarded as a threat of terrible judgment upon erring Israel—as much as if the Lord had said, “You of the house of Israel, whom I have made to be the type of My spiritual people, you shall be Mine. And if you wander from Me, I will distinguish you by special punishments. Therefore I now threaten you with special judgments. If you will attempt to mix yourselves up with the Gentiles, I will deal with you with a startling severity, such as I have never shown unto the heathen. Your sins are greater, your privileges greater and so shall your chastisements be greater. You, only, have I known of all the nations of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities.”
Dear Friends, it is a dreadful thing to profess to belong to the people of God! It is a matter of great privilege if it is true, but if it is a lie, it is an awful thing involving sevenfold judgment! God will cause His professing people to be distinguished from other men and they that come in among them, who are not truly of them, shall be so dealt with that both the ears of him that hears thereof shall tingle! Special severities will overtake apostate professors—therefore they had better know what they are doing. You cannot trifle with the Christian faith! You cannot be a traitor and quietly glide away—you shall be marked as the son of perdition! You shall be known like Judas, as one for whom it would have been better that he had never been born! A profession of Christianity, without the real possession of it, will turn out to be a mantle of fire to him who puts it on! Such is the run of this passage.
But at the same time, reading between the lines and considering the verses very carefully, another reading is sug-gested—God, if He does not show distinguishing judgment, will display distinguishing Grace. Without twisting the passage at all, I will use the whole of it as setting forth that peculiar favor which God intends to exhibit towards His own chosen and of which they shall be the subjects, to the praise of the glory of His Grace. I see within this threatening black cloud, a bright light of infinite mercy, a silver lining of love! A golden thread of Grace runs through these threatening
verses, for the Lord speaks of taking away the rebels from among His people but, all along, when He addresses the remnant of His people, His tone is that of Grace.
He solemnly threatens judgments, but these are preparations for mercy. He preaches to them, by the Prophet, concerning mercy and judgment blended in effectual working for salvation. Lovingkindness underlies and overlays His wrath. He puts on a frown in order to smile. He deals harshly with His chosen, that He may deal safely with them— killing them, that He may make them alive—piercing them with the arrows of conviction, that He may pour in the wine and oil of His healing comforts! The central part of my text is this—“I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant.” I want briefly to explain what that means. Our second subject shall be the method which God often pursues with men when He is bringing them into this bond of the Covenant. By terrible things in righteousness He saves those whom He determines to bring to Himself!