Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
~ Psalm 85:6
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
~ 1 Timothy 4:15
Restore us, LORD God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
~ Psalm 80:19
The Obligations of All to Promote this Work, by Jonathan Edwards. The following contains an excerpt from Part Two his work, “Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of. Religion in New England”. (1742)
PART II.
Showing the obligations that all are under, to acknowledge, rejoice in, and promote this work, and the great danger of the contrary.
There are many things in the word of God, that show that when God remarkably appears in any great work for his church, and against his enemies, it is a most dangerous thing, and highly provoking to God, to be slow and hesitant to acknowledge and honor God in the work, and to lie still and not to offer a helping hand. Christ’s people are represented in Scripture as his army; he is the Lord of Hosts or armies. He is the captain of the host of the Lord, as he called himself when he appeared to Joshua with a sword drawn in his hand, Jos 5.13-15. He is the captain of his people’s salvation. And therefore it may well be highly resented if they don’t resort to Him when he orders his banner to be displayed; or if they refuse to follow him when he blows the trumpet, and gloriously appears going forth against his enemies. God expects that every living soul should have his attention roused on such an occasion, and should most cheerfully yield to the call, and heedfully and diligently obey it. Isa 18.3, “All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see when he lifts up a banner on the mountains; and when he blows the trumpet, hear!” All Israel should especially be gathered to follow after their captain, as we read they were after Ehud blew the trumpet on Mount Ephraim, when he had slain Eglon king of Moab, Jdg 3.27-28. How severe the martial law is in such a case, when anyone in an army refuses to obey the sound of a trumpet, and to follow his general into the battle! God at such a time appears in peculiar manifestations of his glory. And therefore, not to be affected and animated by that, and to lie still, and refuse to follow God, will be resented as high contempt of Him. If a subject stood by as a spectator of the solemnity of his prince’s coronation, and appeared silent and sullen as the whole multitude were testifying of their loyalty and joy, with loud acclamations — how greatly he would expose himself to be treated as a rebel, and to quickly perish by the authority of the prince that he refuses to honor!
At a time when God manifests himself in such a great work for his church, there is no such thing as being neutral. There is a need to be either for or against the King who then gloriously appears. When a king is crowned, and there are public manifestations of joy on that occasion, there is no such thing as standing by as an indifferent spectator. All must appear as loyal subjects, and express their joy on that occasion, or be accounted enemies. So it always is when God, in any great dispensation of his providence, remarkably sets his king on his holy hill of Zion, and Christ in an extraordinary manner comes down from heaven to the earth, and appears in his visible church in a great work of salvation for his people. So it was when Christ came down from heaven at his incarnation, and appeared on earth in his human presence. There was no such thing as being neutral, neither on his side nor against him. Those who sat still and said nothing, and did not declare for him, nor come and join him after he had given sufficient evidence of who he was by his word and works — they were justly looked at as his enemies. As Christ says in Mat 12.30, “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me, scatters abroad.” So it is in a time when Christ is remarkably spiritually present, as well as when he is bodily present; and when he comes to carry out the work of redemption in the application of it, as well as in the revelation and purchase of it. If a king came into one of his provinces that had been oppressed by its foes, where some of his subjects had fallen away to the enemy, and joined with them against their lawful sovereign and his loyal subjects — I say, if the lawful sovereign himself came into the province, and rode forth against his enemies there, and called upon all who were on his side to come and gather themselves to him — there would be no such thing in such a case, as standing neutral. Those who laid still and stayed at a distance would undoubtedly be looked at and treated as rebels. So in the day of battle, when two armies join, there is no such thing for any who are present, as being of neither party. All must be on one side or the other. And those who are not found with the conqueror in such a case, must expect to have his weapons turned against them, and to fall with the rest of his enemies.
When God manifests himself with such glorious power in a work of this nature, he appears especially determined to put honor upon his Son, and to fulfil his oath that he has sworn to him, that he would make every knee bow, and every tongue confess to him. God has had it much on his heart, from all eternity, to glorify his dear and only-begotten Son. There are some special seasons that he appoints to that end, in which He comes forth with omnipotent power to fulfil his promise and oath to him. And these times are times of a remarkable outpouring of his Spirit to advance his kingdom. Such a day is a day of his power, in which his people will be made willing, and he will rule in the midst of his enemies. These especially are the times in which God declares his firm decree that his Son shall reign on his holy hill of Zion. And therefore, those who at such a time do not kiss the Son — as he then manifests himself and as he appears in the glory of his majesty and grace — expose themselves to perish from the way, and to be dashed in pieces with a rod of iron. (Psa 2.9, 12)
Such a time is a time in which God eminently sets his king on his holy hill of Zion. So too, it is a time in which he remarkably fulfils Isa 28.16: “Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.” The two Apostles Peter and Paul (1Pet 2.6-8, and Rom 9.33) join with that prophecy made in Isa 8.14-15, “He will be as a sanctuary; but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to both houses of Israel, for a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared and taken.” This signifies that both are fulfilled together. Yes, both are joined together by the prophet Isaiah himself, as you may see in the context of that forementioned verse, Isa 28.16. In ver. 13, preceding, it is said “But the word of the Lord was to them, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little,’ that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” Accordingly it always is so, that when Christ is manifested and magnified in a peculiar and eminent manner by a glorious work of God in his church as a foundation and sanctuary for some, he is also remarkably a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, a trap and a snare for others. Those who long continue to stumble, and are offended and ensnared in their minds at such a great and glorious work of Christ —in God’s account, they stumble at Christ, and are offended by him. For the work is that by which God makes Christ manifest, and shows his glory, and by which he makes the stone that the builders refused, become the chief cornerstone. This shows how dangerous it is to always continue stumbling at such a work, forever doubting it, forbearing to fully acknowledge it and give God the glory for it. Such people are in danger, to go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken, and to have Christ be a stone of stumbling to them, which will be the occasion of their ruin — while to others he is a sanctuary, and a sure foundation.
The prophet Isaiah, in Isa 29.14, speaks of God’s proceeding to do a marvellous work and a wonder, which would stumble and confound the wisdom of the wise and prudent. In Act 13.41, the apostle applies this to the glorious work of salvation wrought in those days by the redemption of Christ, and that glorious outpouring of the Spirit that followed. The prophet in the context of Isa 29, speaking of the same thing, and of the prophets, rulers, and seers, those wise and prudent ones whose eyes God had closed, says to them in verse 9, “Delay yourselves and wonder.” In the original it is, Be slow and wonder. I leave it to others to consider whether it isn’t natural to interpret it this way: “Wonder at this marvellous work; let it be a strange thing, a great mystery that you don’t know what to make of, and that you are very slow and hesitant to acknowledge, long delaying to come to a determination concerning it.” What people are in danger of, those who wonder and are slow to acknowledge God in such a work, we learn by that saying of the apostle in the forementioned Act 13.41, “Behold, you despisers, wonder and perish! For I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, even if a man declared it to you”
The church of Christ is called upon to greatly rejoice when Christ at any time remarkably appears, coming to his church to carry on the work of salvation, to enlarge his own kingdom, and to deliver poor souls out of the pit in which there is no water. Zec 9.9-11: “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you. He is just and having salvation. — His dominion shall be from sea to sea. — As for you also, by the blood of your covenant, I have set your prisoners free from the pit in which there is no water.” Christ was pleased to give a notable type or symbolic representation of such a great event as spoken of in that prophecy, in his solemn entry into the literal Jerusalem, which was a type of the church, or “daughter of Zion” spoken of there. He probably intended it as a figure and prelude of that great actual fulfilment of this prophecy, that was to come after his ascension, by the outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles; and that fuller accomplishment that would occur in the latter ages of the Christian church. We have an account, that when Christ made this his solemn entry into Jerusalem, and the whole multitude of the disciples were rejoicing and praising God with loud voices for all the mighty works that they had seen, the Pharisees from among the multitude said to Christ, Master, rebuke your disciples. But we are told in Luk 19.39-40, Christ “answered and said to them, I tell you, that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out,” signifying that if Christ’s professing disciples should be unaffected on such an occasion, and did not appear to openly acknowledge and rejoice in the glory of God appearing in this, it would manifest such a fearful hardness of heart, exceeding that of the stones, that the very stones would condemn them. Shouldn’t this make those reconsider, who have held their peace for so long since Christ has come to our Zion, having salvation, and has so wonderfully manifested his glory in this mighty work of his Spirit, and so many of his disciples have been rejoicing and praising God with loud voices?
It must be acknowledged that so great and wonderful a work of God’s Spirit, is a work in which God’s hand is remarkably lifted up, and in which he displays his majesty, and shows great favor and mercy to sinners in the glorious opportunity he gives them; and by which He makes our land more of a land of uprightness. Therefore, that passage in Isa 26.10-11 shows the great danger of not seeing God’s hand, and acknowledging his glory and majesty in such a work: “Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Lord, when your hand is lifted up, they will not see. But they will see, and be ashamed for their envy of the people. Yes, the fire of your enemies shall devour them.”
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