‘And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.’—Ruth, iv. 6.
‘And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.’—Ruth, iv. 6.
Ithas been my sacred privilege to speak lately more than once on the great subject of redemption as taught in the Old Testament, and the last time I did so I directed your attention to the law of redemption, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. But that law conveys a very imperfect idea of the redemption by our Lord and Saviour. In some respects there is a remarkable agreement, but the type falls utterly short of the reality. Let me mention a single instance. If the kinsman came forward to redeem either the person or property of the debtor, the effect of that redemption was to restore the ruined man to his liberty and his home. The forfeited property was restored, andthe bondman became free; but there it stopped. The poor man was no better off after redemption than he was before he was sold. All that redemption did for him was to restore him to his original position. Here, then, you see in a moment the enormous difference between this Levitical redemption and the blessed work of our most blessed Saviour. He raises man by redemption to a position far above his position before the fall. Adam in Paradise had nothing to compare with the sacred inheritance of the saints of God in the kingdom of our Lord. Man, as represented in Adam, was far below the angels; but as redeemed in Christ Jesus, the second Adam, is high above them. Man in Adam had his inheritance on earth, but redeemed man in Christ Jesus is made heir to an ‘inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him.’
This point is very well illustrated by the case of Ruth. The history of Ruth is not unlike that of Joseph—a remarkable illustration, though never declared to be a type. We may, therefore, accept the illustration, though we must not ascribe to it a divine, or typical, authority.
Turning to chapter i., we find that Elimelech,a man of Bethlehem, had property in Bethlehem-judah, and in consequence of famine and subsequent poverty, had emigrated with his wife and two sons to Moab. When there, both his sons married, but before there was any family born to either of them, both they and their father died. The three women, therefore, were left widows, and the famine having abated, Naomi decided to return. She appears to have gone back to the old home at Bethlehem, but said that her name should be no more Naomi (pleasant), but Marah (bitter), for the old house had lost its joy. After her return she struggled on, with Ruth as her companion. At length Boaz, the great man of the neighbourhood, ‘a mighty man of wealth,’ became acquainted with their circumstances, and most kindly interested himself in their condition. Being related to Elimelech, he was prepared to step in, and act the part of a kinsman, by redeeming the property from sale. But in this there was a difficulty, for he was not the next of kin, and therefore had no right to redeem (ch. iii. 12). But when he who was next of kin heard of it, he declined to act, as he could not undertake the burden. Boaz, therefore, undertook to pay the redemptionprice himself. Is there not a remarkable illustration there of the sacred work of our Kinsman, for when all others failed, though bound by no responsibility, He freely undertook to redeem us Himself? Thus the price was paid, the property was redeemed, the family inheritance was preserved, and it is not at all improbable that it was in that very farm that Jesse lived, and David spent his boyhood.
But I do not want to dwell on the property, but rather to draw your attention to the case of Ruth. It was the stipulation of the covenant that Boaz should redeem all that belonged to Elimelech and his sons, and therefore he was to receive with the property the widow of the deceased Mahlon. It was a strange law that gave him such a power, or rather imposed on him such a duty. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has raised the marriage-tie to a sacred position, which would render any such regulation quite impossible now. But it was the law in the time of Boaz, and he acted on it when he redeemed the land.
But now I want you to observe carefully the result.
If the famine had not reduced Elimelechto poverty, and so compelled him to emigrate to Moab, he and his sons would have remained in humble life on their property at Bethlehem, and as for Ruth she would have dwelt unknown in the mountains of Moab. The famine, therefore, was the first link in the chain. God’s links are often very different to man’s plans. But after Naomi’s return, it is clear that she and her daughter led a struggling life, and were reduced so low that their property was advertised for sale. If all had gone well with them, they would apparently have been just able to live, and as it was, they were very glad of kind and generous help. But now observe the effect of redemption, and see how it raised Ruth above the position which either she herself, or the family of Elimelech, had occupied before the time of their distress.
There are two things to be noticed.
(1.) She became the bride of the man who had redeemed her. Before the redemption he was kind to her, and gave her six measures of barley into her veil. But by virtue of the redemption he made her his own, received her to a share of all he had, and bound himself to her by the sacred tie of a life-long affection. Now have wenot here a remarkable illustration of the blessed truth that by redemption we are raised to a position incomparably higher than that from which man originally fell? The Church of God is not like the young gleaner receiving a few shekels of barley as a generous gift; but by redeeming blood it is raised into the position of the Bride of the Lamb, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Look at the description of this union as the result of redemption in Eph. v. 25: ‘Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.’ If, therefore, we have redemption through His blood, we are not merely permitted to glean behind His reapers, but we are brought into a relationship the most sacred and intimate that it is possible for the human heart to imagine. We live in His presence, we are made partakers of His kingdom, we may rest in His love. His promise is, ‘As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoiceover thee.’ And even when we are most deeply and painfully humbled at our own shortcomings, and at the sad coldness of our own hearts, we may think of Him not only loving us, but rejoicing in His love, admitting us to the most sacred confidence, and permitting us with the holy intimacy of a reverent affection to pour out our whole heart before Him. If, then, it were an elevation to Ruth to become the bride of the ‘mighty man of wealth,’ oh, what an honour is it for such as we are to be clothed with the white robe of His spotless righteousness, to be called by His grace into fellowship with Himself, to be loved by Him with an everlasting love; and, finally, presented to Him in spotless holiness to be one with Him for ever! How infinitely higher this is than anything enjoyed by Adam before the fall!
(2.) But this was not all, for by the act of redemption Ruth was brought into a special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the genealogy of our blessed Saviour there are only three women mentioned, one of whom was Ruth. I have no doubt in my own mind that this narrative was written, and preserved in the canon of Scripture, to prepare the way forthat mention of Ruth in the genealogy; for I believe that the great object of the Old Testament is to trace the sacred line that terminated in the birth of the promised seed. The whole history follows that line, and all collateral branches are passed by without any special record. By the act of redemption, Ruth was bought into that sacred or royal line: she became the one woman of her generation that was lineally connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesse, the father of David, was her grandson, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was her seed. She was therefore brought by the act of redemption into union with Him, and so are we. Of course there is a vast difference between the two forms of union. She was the mother, we the children. He drew His human life from her, we receive our divine life from Him. In her case it was the tie of parentage or motherhood; in ours that of sonship. He was the promised Seed in which all nations of the earth are blessed; and as such He was her seed, and our Saviour. But though there was this marked distinction, in both cases redemption led to union; and if it were an honour to Ruth to be in the chosen line from which He sprang, isit not indeed an honour to such as we are to be admitted amongst the chosen family who are blessed in Him? Remember the words of the Apostle connecting sonship with redemption, Gal. iv. 4: ‘When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.’ The effect of redemption therefore is so to identify us with the Son of God that we ourselves in Him become sons. We are redeemed from the curse and made one with the Son of God, so that we may go in before the God of glory, and there cry Abba, Father. Ye then, who have redemption through His blood, accept your position, and be not afraid of claiming your union. As Ruth was brought into the same line of parentage, so are you into that of sonship. Act, therefore, as sons. Speak to your Father as your Father. Abide in Him: walk in Him: live in Him: trust in Him: undertake nothing independently of Him; and God grant that you may be preserved in Him till the great presentation day, when in Him you will be presented spotless before His throne!
But we have not yet done with Ruth. Yousee clearly that just as we are raised by redemption to a condition infinitely higher than that of Adam before the fall, so Ruth was raised by redemption to a position incomparably higher than that of Elimelech’s family before the famine. But we must look at her own previous condition, for it was far below the original condition even of Elimelech. He was one of the seed of Abraham, a member of the covenant, a proprietor in the promised land. But she was a poor heathen girl on the mountains of Moab, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and a stranger from the covenant of promise. Yet that poor heathen girl was raised by redemption to a higher position than all the Jewesses in the whole family of Elimelech. Does it not teach us the power of redemption to break down every barrier, to overturn every human calculation, to clear away every hindrance, and to raise to the most glorious salvation those very persons whose case to man’s eye seems hopeless? Doubtless there were noble women in Bethlehem who would have been glad enough to have been brought into the sacred line of the motherhood of the Coming One. But the honour was given through redemption to the poor young widow from Moab.So there may be many Englishmen, familiar with the words of the covenant, and living, as it were, within religious boundaries, but still strangers to real fellowship with God; while others, far away in heathen lands, in India, in Africa, in China, are brought in through the power of redeeming blood, and made heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. So, again, there may be many amongst us at home who seem as far off as that young woman was when she was growing up an idolater in Moab; but the lesson that we are to learn is that there is such a fulness in redemption, such a power, such a completeness, such an efficacy that that far-distant sinner, even though he has been an idolater; though he can never forgive himself, may be forgiven by God; and not forgiven only, but raised by infinite grace even to a oneness with the Son of God. Let no one, therefore, feel hopeless, whatever his position, and whatever his past idolatry; for redeeming blood can triumph over everything, and can so blot out all sin that those who are the farthest off of any amongst us may yet be made nigh by the blood of Christ, and finally presented spotless before His throne.
But one word more about Ruth, for if wereally desire thus to be made nigh, her words to Naomi may serve to illustrate the spirit in which we must come to the Lord Jesus. If we were to call this a type such an application of them would lead to nothing but confusion. But looking at it simply as a piece of history they may suggest a most important illustration. She said to Naomi, ‘Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’ If you desire to be made to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus kneel down, and from the bottom of your heart say the same to Him. You may be still far away from God, a stranger in a strange land. But there is He, having come amongst us to fetch you home, to seek you, to save you, to raise you to Himself. Let there be then the loving surrender of your whole soul into His hand; and let the prayer of your inmost heart be, ‘Whither thou goest, I will go; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’
‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’—Ps. xxxi. 5.
‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’—Ps. xxxi. 5.
Itis a very happy thing for the Church of God that David’s life was chequered by trials, and his character by no means free from fault. If he had never been in difficulty, we should never have been taught how difficulty drove him to his God; and if he had been a man without sin, we should not have had from him any lessons on repentance as we now have in his penitential psalms. To his difficulties we are indebted for the 31st psalm, and to his sins for the 51st. For this 31st psalm, ‘Trust in difficulty’ would be a suitable heading. It opens with the words, ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust;’ and after referring to many sources of anxiety, it concludes with that noble appeal to all believers, ‘Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.’
But I am not about to attempt any examination of the whole psalm, but simply to draw your attention to this one sacred verse, and to the spirit of confiding trust expressed in it. In the study of it we will examine, first, the trust, then the redemption which was the foundation of it. May God teach us so to realise the plenteous fulness of that redemption that we may be always able in confiding faith to exercise the trust!
I. The trust
This is expressed in the words, ‘Into thy hand I commit my spirit.’ There are few words in the whole word of God, presented to us with more sacred authority than these, for they were quoted by our Lord Himself even on the cross, and were almost the last words uttered by Him before His death. We must therefore approach them with a hallowed sense of profound reverence, and remember that the place whereon we stand is holy ground.
That use of them by our Blessed Saviour shows that they express the confiding trust of a dying believer, that the trust is a death-bed trust, and one especially prepared for thatsolemn moment when we come to the threshold of eternity, and, leaving all below, are just on the point of entering alone into the unseen world. Let no one think lightly of such a moment, or suppose that because there may be perfect peace there is no deep solemnity in the approaching change. There is an inexpressible solemnity about it, and it is only the foolhardy man that will ever brave it unprepared. But the words of this text are exactly suited to the well-prepared believer. He has reached the point when friends can do no more for him. The faithful wife can accompany him no further; the loving child can no longer minister to his comfort; every human help utterly fails; and the dying man is left alone with God. But his Blessed Father is at his right hand, and can reach his soul even when men think he is unconscious; so that, even at that moment when to the eye of man there is nothing but weakness, confusion, and failure, the trusting heart, in the inner secrets of the soul, can lean on the Beloved, and say, ‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ This is what our Lord did just as he was dying; this is what Stephen did when hesaid, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;’ and this is what I hope each of us may be able to do when the time of our departure is come, and the curtain which separates earth from heaven is being drawn aside to let us pass.
But I do not think that death is the only occasion on which we may use these words, or that we are to lay them by unused till we require them in our dying hour; for, as far as we can gather from the psalm, they are to have a present life-use likewise. The psalm is not a death-bed psalm, but one composed under difficulties. Nor did David write it under any expectation that he would be overpowered by these difficulties, for in verses 2, 3, and 4, he prays for deliverance; and in verse 8 he expressly declares, ‘Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.’ We must, therefore, regard these words as spoken by one who was in difficulty, and being in difficulty, availed himself of the privilege of committing all his difficulties into his Father’s hand. But you will observe that in this verse he does not speak so much of his difficulties as his spirit. He does not say, ‘Into thy hand I commend my difficulties,’ but‘Into thy hand I commend my spirit.’ He may in those words have prayed for the preservation of his life, but I think it was rather the preservation of his own spirit, what St. Paul describes ‘the spirit of the mind,’ for which he required help. We all know how the spirit is harassed, and the rest of the soul disturbed, when we are placed in circumstances of perplexity. At such times we are often distracted in prayer, and are so much occupied by the things that trouble us that we are tempted to forget our resting-place. Hence the importance of especial prayer, not merely that difficulties may be overcome, but that our own spirit may be kept unruffled and undisturbed in perfect peace reposing on the Lord. This is just what David did in the psalm. He earnestly prayed that he might be delivered. ‘Deliver me in thy righteousness.’ ‘Deliver me speedily.’ He earnestly sought God’s guiding hand, in order that in his own conduct he might do God’s will: ‘For thy name’s sake lead me and guide me.’ And meanwhile he trusted his own spirit, his mind, his thoughts, his temper, his whole man into his Father’s keeping, and said, ‘Into thy hand I commit my spirit.’
II. But now let us turn to that redemption which was the foundation of his trust. He did not trust without a reason, but said, ‘Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth;’ and we have to consider what he meant by that expression, ‘Thou hast redeemed me.’ In answer to this question, I have no hesitation in expressing my firm conviction that the redemption to which he referred was precisely the same as that on which we ourselves rest, the redemption from the guilt of sin wrought out by the Lord Jesus on the cross. There has never been any other redemption which could be the foundation of trust either in life or in death; and when we find the blessing of the Gospel connected in the Old Testament with redemption, we have no choice but to believe that the redemption with which they are connected is that great redemption by the Lord Jesus on which all our own hopes exclusively depend. Take, for example, such words as those of David, in Ps. cxxx. The great subject of that psalm is forgiveness: ‘There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared’ (ver. 4); and the reason why Israel is to hope for it is that ‘with the Lordthere is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.’ What but the redemption through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus can be described as thus plenteous for all who need forgiveness? The same may be said of those words of God Himself in Isa. xliv. 22: ‘I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me, for I have redeemed thee.’ He cannot refer in those words to any deliverance that had already taken place, for he is only inviting the sinner to return; but he clearly refers to the blotting out of the curse through atoning blood, and to the way of life laid open to the returning sinner. So I cannot doubt for a moment that redemption in this verse means exactly the same as in both those passages. In Isaiah God said, ‘I have redeemed thee;’ and in this verse David said, ‘Thou hast redeemed me.’ The one gives, the other accepts; but they both speak of the same thing, the redemption on the cross, the only satisfaction for sin. Thus our blessed Lord, when He quoted the words, omitted this latter clause. He said, ‘Into thine hands I commit my spirit;’ but he did not say, ‘For thou hast redeemed me.’ The reason of this isobvious, for God had not redeemed Him, and He Himself was at that very time engaged in completing the redemption by His death. He could not use the words, for they referred to that great act of mercy in which at that very time He was engaged.
But it may be said, If the redemption here spoken of was not to take place for more than a thousand years after the psalm was written, how was it that David spoke of it as a completed thing? Why did he not rather say, ‘Thou art about to redeem me?’ In answer to that question, two reasons may be given, either of which would be quite sufficient to explain his words.
(1.) The redemption was already complete in the eternal purpose of God. Remember those words by St. Peter (1 Pet i. 19, 20): ‘Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ . . . who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you;’ and remember how he is described (Rev. xiii. 8) as ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’ Although, therefore, the Son of God has not yet become incarnate, God speaking of His divine purposecould say, ‘I have redeemed thee;’ and His believing servant, referring to that same purpose, could reply, though a thousand years must pass before he witnessed it, ‘Thou hast redeemed me.’
(2.) But it was not purposed only, for it was promised. It was promised to our first parents the very day of their miserable fall, and it was kept continually before the eye of God’s people by a series of types and prophecies. Thus David’s language is an illustration of the words, ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for.’ What God had promised was as sure to him as if he held it in his hand; it was as much his own as if he had seen it. He was as sure of the power of the cross of Christ, as if he had been standing by, and had heard the centurion say, ‘Verily this was the Son of God.’ And is it not apparent from the verse itself that this is the real meaning of his words? for what is the peculiar force of those concluding words ‘O Lord God of truth?’ Do they not teach us that he was assured of that redemption, not because it had seen it accomplished, but because it was made sure by the truth of God? The truth of God was pledged to the redeeming workand therefore that work was as sure to him as if it were already finished. He did not, therefore, wait to puzzle his mind about times and seasons; he knew that God was true to His promise, and therefore being assured of His declared purpose, he said, ‘Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’
But if this be the case, we are surely brought to the conclusion that, whatever be our position, redeeming grace must be the one foundation of believing trust. Patriarchal faith looking forward, and modern Christian faith looking backward, both meet in one point, that point being the cross of Christ. And as for ourselves it matters not what are our peculiar circumstances. We may be actively engaged in the work of life, involved in its perplexities, and compelled to take a part in its struggles; or we may be at the end of life, expecting in a day or two to depart hence, and be no more: but in either case we must rest simply on the atoning blood, and resting on it, whether it be for life or for death, we may say in calm, quiet, peaceful, trusting faith, ‘Into thy hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’
But while we trust the perfect work we must not forget the perfect truth, for we are quite as dependent on that truth as David was. To his mind that had turned a future act into a present reality, and on that same truth we rely in order that the same act, long since completed, may be to us a present salvation, and the assurance of it a present power. We want each one to look back to the cross as David looked forward to it, and to say in happy, peaceful, personal trust as he did, ‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me.’ But in order to do this we must not forget the truth. We cannot rest on the work without the word any better than on the word without the work. It is when both are combined, and both applied by the Holy Ghost to the soul, that we can say, ‘Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth,’ and resting on those eternal counsels, whether living or dying, may trust Him without a fear.
May we not then, every one of us, learn a lesson of simple trust from these few words in David’s psalm? It matters not what is our position. When we are dying men and drawing near to the gateway of eternity we may calmly look up, and trust our soul for all eternity intoHis hand. If we be exposed to harassing anxiety, and are anxious about our own temper and judgment in difficult circumstances, we may spread our own spirit in simple faith before the throne. Or if we are undertaking work, and endeavouring to be employed for God, feeling the need of wisdom, zeal, love, and power, we may commit it all into His loving care. Yes, whatever it is that weighs on our mind, death, anxiety, disappointment, or duty, we may trust it all, and, whatever it is, may say as St. Paul did, ‘I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.’ Yes; and He is perfectly sure to keep it safe.
But there is one little word in the text that I have not noticed, and yet it is an essential one to the trust. Great principles are often found in little words, and so it is here, for all hangs on that little monosyllable ‘me.’ If you can only say, ‘Thou hast redeemed mankind,’ your soul will never rest in abiding trust. Nor will it if you can only say, ‘Thou hast redeemed thy Church,’ for the safety of the Church does not secure the peace of the individual. It is only when you can reverently look up to the atoning blood, and say, ‘Thou hast redeemedme,’ thatyou will be able in hallowed peace to commit everything into His loving hand. When you can say with deep thanksgiving, ‘In whomIhave redemption through his blood,’ you may then without the shadow of a doubt commit your body, your soul, your spirit, your will, your thoughts, your work, and all you care for, into His loving hand.
‘Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’—Jer. xxxii. 7.
‘Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’—Jer. xxxii. 7.
TheOld and New Testaments are so linked together that they cannot well be separated. The Old is the foundation of the New; the New is the head-stone of the Old; and the same great principles run through them both. Thus faith in the Old Testament is the same in principle as faith in the New; and by studying the faith of the ancient patriarchs and prophets we may learn most important lessons respecting that of the modern believer. In different ages and different persons faith may differ in its object and in its form; but it is always the same in principle, and always involves the fixed assurance that what God has promised He is able and certain to perform. This is very clearlyseen in the deeply important lesson of practical faith conveyed to us in this history of Jeremiah. The events described in the chapter took place during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was then king, and was struggling to the utmost of his power against the powerful enemy that was come up against him. In the midst of the siege the Prophet Jeremiah was employed to convey a most discouraging prophecy, for, as you read verse 3, Jeremiah said, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city unto the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.’ Of course such a prophecy was calculated to dishearten the defenders of the city. So, though it was the word of the Lord, Zedekiah arrested the prophet and shut him up in the court of the prison. Jeremiah, therefore, was in a position of great distress, the city was besieged, and he knew from his own prophecy that it would be taken; while he himself was a prisoner at the mercy of a bad and arbitrary king.
But while he was there alone in his prison the word of the Lord came to him saying that his first cousin, by name Hanameel, would come unto him and say, ‘Buy thee my field that is inAnathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’ You will remember that we found the nearest of kin had the right of redemption, and evidently Jeremiah stood in that position to his cousin. As famine and pestilence were raging in the city (see ver. 24), it is easy to understand why Hanameel was compelled to sell. But he could not sell to any one, for the right of redemption belonged to Jeremiah. The prophet, therefore, was warned by the Lord that Hanameel was coming to him with this object; and accordingly he very soon appeared as was foretold, and said, ‘Buy my field I pray thee that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of redemption is thine; buy it for thyself,’ ver. 8. You must not fail to notice the confirmation of his faith through this fulfilment of the prophecy, for when Hanameel came to him he said, ‘Then knew I that this was the word of the Lord.’ Till then he was probably not quite satisfied, but when his cousin came as it had been foretold, then he knew it was of God. Let us learn a lesson for ourselves. There were many prophecies of a coming Saviour scattered throughout the four thousand years that preceded His birth, and I can perfectlyunderstand the difficulty of faith in those who did not see those prophecies realised; but now that the Promised One has come according to His promise, and the great prediction has been fulfilled, the least that we can say is, ‘Now we know that this was the word of the Lord.’
But to return to Jeremiah. Being convinced that the whole thing was of God, he proceeded at once to redeem the field. He took care that the deeds were properly drawn, signed, sealed, and witnessed. And when the money, seventeen shekels of silver, was paid, and the conveyance complete, he trusted the deeds to Baruch, his faithful friend, and charged him to deposit them safely in an earthen vessel. His words were, ‘Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel that they may continue many days.’ You will observe that last clause, ‘that they may continue many days.’ He seemed quite sure that it would be a long time before they would be wanted.
Thus the transaction was complete, and the land redeemed; but not so Jeremiah’s part respecting it, for when he had delivered the evidenceof purchase unto Baruch, his next act was to kneel down in prayer. He says, ver. 16, ‘I prayed unto the Lord.’ I have not time now to study either his prayer or God’s answer to it; I would only remark in passing what a blessed thing it is when all that we do is of such a character that we can pray about it before God. It would wonderfully alter the character of commercial life if every bargain could be spread in prayer before God, and if every contract were of such a nature that as soon as it was complete we could kneel down and ask God’s blessing on it. I am inclined to think that this principle would knock off a great many of the hard bargains made in life. It would certainly prevent all cases of fraud and adulteration, and put a stop at once to the whole principle of the non-payment of lawful debts. Jeremiah, when he would redeem the land, first paid the money, and then knelt down to pray.
But that is not the point to be particularly noticed in the passage, for we must rather study the mind of Jeremiah, and consider on what principle he redeemed the field. Why was it that, when he knew the city was about to be taken, and everything within it was already atfamine prices, he apparently threw away these seventeen shekels in the purchase of a field which to all appearance he was never likely to possess? He knew perfectly well that at the time he purchased it it could be of no use whatever. It is believed to have been about three miles north of Jerusalem, and was probably at that very time trampled down by the besieging host, and he knew equally well that till after the restoration of the Jews he was not likely to attain possession. The city was invested by the Chaldeans, and there was not the smallest hope of a successful resistance; why then at such a time should he spend money in the redemption of the field? I believe that there were three principles on which he acted,—obedience, faith, and confidence in the law of redemption, and that he was called to do what he did in order to teach these principles to his besieged fellow-countrymen.
(1.) There was clearly obedience, simple obedience in direct opposition to human calculation. You may see this very clearly in the concluding words of his prayer. It is clear from ver. 24 that all human calculation was against him, and he knew it to be so, for he said, ‘Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and thecity is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.’ But the Lord had commanded him to buy the field, for he adds, ver. 25, ‘And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses: for’ (or rather ‘though,’ according to the margin) ‘the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’ God told him to buy it,thoughthe city was given up to the Chaldeans. He was not, therefore, to be guided by what he saw, but by what he knew to be the will of God. If he were to lose all his money, and never come into possession of the field, it was his clear duty to obey. And so it is ours, when once we are convinced of the will of God.
(2.) But as believers in the Lord Jesus we are not called to obey without hope, for where there is no hope you will never find power. The Christian’s obedience, therefore, is full of hope, because it is all founded on faith, and so was the obedience of Jeremiah. He acted in faith, firmly trusting the promises of God. You see this very clearly in his words to Baruch when he handedhim the deeds, as recorded ver. 15: ‘For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.’ He looked, therefore, beyond the present distress, and, more than that, beyond what I may term the first future. He foresaw the overthrow, but he looked beyond it to the recovery. He himself predicted desolation, but he was so sure of the restoration that on the strength of that assurance he redeemed the land. Though he saw the army of the Chaldeans around the city, though he was at that very time in prison for prophesying, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it,’ yet he was so sure of the truth of God’s promise to restore it, that he acted on the promise, and purchased the property. He looked beyond the captivity to the recovery, and confidently acted on God’s promise. That he fully realised the difficulty is clear from the words of his prayer, in which he said, ver. 17, ‘There is nothing too hard for thee,’ and from God’s reply to these words in ver. 27, ‘Is there anything too hard for me?’ But he was, like Abraham, fully persuaded that what God had promised ‘He was able also toperform,’ and therefore he acted on the promise? and paid down his money in the certainty that God would fulfil His word. Dear brethren, is there not a noble lesson here for all of us? Are we not all taught, not merely to believe, but to act on our belief? We may see difficulties thickening around us; we may even see prophecies of sore trial in the latter days. But we know that our God shall trample down Satan under our feet shortly. We are to trust Him, therefore, and act on our trust. We see things decaying around us; we look at our own frail bodies, and believe that they will soon be laid lifeless in the grave. We see death cutting down our dearest friends, and we know that, if the Lord does not come first, it will soon cut us down too. But we look beyond to a resurrection, to the certain promise that we shall rise again; and therefore now we must live and act as those who are sure of the resurrection life. To adopt the figure of the narrative, we must purchase the field with a view to the restoration. There may be dark days and sore trials before the time of possession; but it is certain to come at last. As Daniel said, ‘The thing is true though the time appointed is long.’ So we know the premise istrue, though the time of waiting may be long; and we must spend our whole life, and lay out all our powers, with the one fixed object of a certainty of possession when the dead shall arise, and the Lord shall take the kingdom.
(3.) But besides faith in the promise of God there was also confidence in the validity of the act of redemption. There was no doubt about the soundness of his title. The whole transaction was according to law. Hanameel had a legal right to sell, Jeremiah a legal right to redeem, and the conveyance was legally completed. All was done that was required by the law of transfer, and when those deeds were carefully deposited in the earthen vessel, there to continue for many days, Jeremiah clearly considered that whenever the time of restoration should come, the deeds would be recognised as valid, and his title as sufficient. He regarded the act of redemption as sufficient security whenever God should restore the land to Israel. And now, dear brethren, have we not all a magnificent lesson to learn from his example? We are looking forward to the times of restoration: we expect to rise again; we fully believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come bringing His saintswith Him, and, like Jeremiah, we depend on the finished act of redemption, as our own title to a share in the coming inheritance. Now look at that great act of redemption. There was no flaw in any part of it, for the whole law was fulfilled. The full price was paid, for we may adapt the words of the prophet, ‘She hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’ The redemption price was not seventeen shekels of silver; but the most precious blood of the Son of God. The Redeemer is not a mere man, a prisoner in the dungeon of the king; but the Son of God already risen from the dead, and already seated at the right hand of the throne. And the deeds are not deposited in any earthen vessel, or trusted to the care of such a man as Baruch; but they are treasured up in heaven itself, kept safe in the eternal counsels of Jehovah. And now follows the question, was that redemption by the Son of God sufficient? And are these title-deeds secure? If Jeremiah could trust to those sealed documents in the earthen vessel under Baruch’s care, may we not trust to the full satisfaction made through redeeming blood, and the perfect security of the covenant of God as sealed, ratified, and preservedby Jesus Christ Himself? Of course when persons have no interest in that redemption, when they have no part in that redeeming work, we cannot then say that their title is secure, for, poor people! they have neither title nor inheritance; they have no hope in the restoration as they are without God in the present. Oh! that I knew how to persuade such persons never to rest till they have their title-deeds to a heavenly inheritance. But I am not speaking of them. I am speaking rather of the redeemed believer, whose ‘life is hid with Christ in God;’ and I want to persuade all parties, both those that do, and those that do not, possess the title-deeds, to consider well the unspeakable blessedness of having the title safely deposited with the Son of God, so that, whatever happens, whatever success or discouragement, whether joy or trial, whether life or death, we may be perfectly sure that all is safe, for the redemption has been completed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the title-deeds are safe, being laid up in the treasury of God.
‘O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.’—Lam. iii. 58.
‘O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.’—Lam. iii. 58.
We studied in the last lecture the remarkable faith of Jeremiah. We found how he redeemed the field in Anathoth at the very time that Jerusalem was invested by the Chaldeans, and he himself was predicting the certainty of its destruction: but in that moment of hopelessness he had such entire trust in the promise of restoration, and such assurance in the validity of the title, that he purchased the field as readily as he would have done had everything been at the height of prosperity. We saw in such conduct the practical acting of faith. But it is very interesting also to look at the hidden life of faith, and to know, while he was thus acting, what was secretly passing in his soul. I think that this passage may throw great light on thesubject. From ver. 55 it is clear that he referred to a time when he was in the low dungeon: ‘I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.’ We are not informed to which imprisonment he referred. It may have been the imprisonment in the courts of the prison which was in the court of the king’s house, during which he redeemed the land of Hanameel, or it may have been the much more severe imprisonment which subsequently followed, as described Jer. xxxviii. 6, when they let him down by ropes into a deep, damp pit, called the dungeon of Malchiah. The expression ‘the low dungeon,’ seems rather to describe this latter captivity, and we may picture to ourselves God’s faithful servant left alone in a deep, dark pit, standing up to his waist in the mire, without a comfort, without a friend, and without even a fellow-prisoner to share his trouble. His title-deeds to the field in Anathoth would not do much to help him there. But he was a man of trust, and afterwards, when he was still in sore trouble, and deeply grieved at the ruin of the city, he could look back on that time and say, ‘Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul, thou hast redeemed my life.’
Let us study then this remarkable record of his intercourse with God during this time of his deep trouble. There was nothing done. It was not a time for doing. He could not climb out, he could only stand and wait. What then was passing in his soul? What transactions took place between him and God? To these questions I think this passage supplies an answer. There are three things that seem perfectly clear.
(1.) He called on the name of the Lord. Perhaps he remembered the words of Psalm xxxiv.: ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’ At all events he acted on them, and though in all probability he could not kneel because of the mire, yet he could pray, and so he did. But he was not like many people who live prayerless lives, and only begin to pray when they get into trouble, for prayer was no new thing to him. He was no stranger at the throne of grace, and he could look back on many happy occasions in which he had reason to be quite sure God had answered him. It is a terrible thing when men go on, strangers to prayer, till they are driven to it by calamity. It was not so with Jeremiah. He knew the mercy-seat well, and he was wellknown there. He could refer to answers in former times, and say, ‘Thou hast heard my voice,’ and so appeal to God in his present trouble and say, ‘Hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.’ There was both a breathing and a cry; the cry being the actual expression of his wants in words, and the breathing, the outpouring of his soul in mental intercourse with a God who knew his thoughts. It is well to remember this distinction between the breathing and the prayer. The prayer is not altogether unlike the food at stated seasons. The breathing is the unceasing communion of soul as essential to life as breath is to the body.