757. JDG 5:31. THE ENEMIES AND FRIENDS OF JEHOVAH

Jdg_5:31. The Enemies and Friends of Jehovah

"So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord; but let them that love him be as the sun, when he goeth forth in his might."’97Jdg_5:31.

God has often employed holy and devout women to effect his purposes, and carry on his cause. The Scriptures contain many biographical sketches of female piety and excellency. The name of Sarah is mentioned, and Ruth, Manoah’s wife the mother of Samson, and Hannah; Esther was not half so illustrious in all her royal splendor, as when we view her pleading for her countrymen, and risking her life to save them from the Persian edict. In the New Testament we have a galaxy of pious women, who shone in the hemisphere of the church with bright effulgency, as the milky way in the midst of the heavens. There was Anna, the prophetess; Elizabeth, the mother of the Baptist; the amiable sisters of Bethany; Dorcas, the friend of the poor; Lydia, the first European convert; and, at the head of the illustrious list, the virgin mother of Jesus, of whom it was properly said, "Blessed is the womb," &c. But we must refer for a moment to the writer of the celebrated song, of which the text is the sublime conclusion. Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, was raised up as a prophetess, and to be a judge in Israel. In connection with Barak, she roused the armies of Israel, encountered the powerful hosts of Sisera, and the Lord made them victorious; and she then recounts the whole in this song of triumph, and concludes, "So let all," &c. We may appropriately apply the text to the cause of Jesus, the Bozrah conqueror, who is going forth from conquering to conquer. Similar passage to the first clause, Psa_68:1, "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered," &c. Let us rather read them as predictory declarations. Thus we shall consider the text,

I. As descriptive of the true character and certain doom of the ungodly. And,

II. As giving an illustrious representation of the friends of Jesus.

I. As descriptive of the true character and certain doom of the ungodly.

The term "enemies" will apply to all the unrenewed portions of mankind. The heart is positively hostile, &c. "Carnal mind is enmity against God," &c. Christ died for us when we were enemies. Not all enemies in the same way, or to the same degree.

1. There are the daring enemies of God. Who skeptically treat his revelation, yea, deny his being. "The fool, who says in his heart, There is no God." They attack his rule’97despise his word’97rail at his servants’97try to subvert his cause.

2. There are the profane and reckless enemies of God.

Who defy, contemn the Most High’97Pharaoh, Belshazzar, Herod.

3. There are those who are wickedly neutral, and who temporize in religion.

Not professedly on the side of Satan. They admire, consent, are considerate, yet they are not decided, not changed, &c., see Mat_12:30. "He that is not with me is against me," &c. Now as to the doom of the enemies of God, they will all perish, except they repent; all have one condemnation, sentence, woeful abode. It will include,

(1.) Utter shame and confusion.

Now they boast and exalt themselves. Now they scoff, &c. Then they will be abased, and howl, and weep. "Many shall awake," &c. "Speechless," &c. "So will all," &c.

(2.) Total wretchedness and misery.

Now occasionally miserable, but have many subterfuges. Many awful statements. "Thou shalt break them," &c., Psa_11:6. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup." He shall say, "Take these mine enemies," &c.

(3.) Eternal ruin and despair.

They shall perish irreparably. Beyond the reach of mercy, all felicity and hope expire, all misery concentrated. "So will all thine," &c. Let us now turn to the bright and glorious side of the text, and notice,

II. The illustrious representation given of the friends of Jesus.

"Them that love him." In the enemy we look for hate; in the friend, love. Now love to Jesus is,

1. A divine principle.

It is of God, and from God. The result of regeneration. "Love of God shed abroad in our hearts."

2. It is a preeminent principle.

Not inconsistent with other love, &c. But above all, it has the centre, it reigns, it subordinates, &c. "Lovest thou me more than these?"

3. It is manifest.

Not hidden. It lives, and breathes, and speaks, and acts. It moves all the springs of the heart. Affects all the machinery of the life. It loosens the tongue, employs the hands and feet. Now this is the character. Mark the representation’97"Let them that love him be as the sun," &c. Now the metaphor will apply,

(1.) To the exalted station which they occupy.

Sin debases, sinks, &c. Religion exalts, raises the slave to be a prince, &c. "He shall dwell on high."

(2.) To the spiritual rays they diffuse abroad,

"Ye were once darkness," &c. Now lights, &c. "Arise, shine," &c. "Ye are the lights of the world," &c.

(3.) As fertilizing and beautifying all around.

When summer rays are gone, nature languishes, sterility reigns, &c. But as these rays return, every thing is softened and mellowed, the wilderness is gladdened. His rays, as the source of beauty, impart to every plant and flower its various hues and shades. Now believers shed moral beauty all around. Holy virtues, heavenly graces, Christlike feelings, all tend to expel the winter of moral evil and misery, like the sun.

(4.) Irresistibly advancing in their glorious career.

Numerous foes and difficulties; but these cannot impede their course. Hell may be moved from beneath, tempests roar, &c. "Yet if God," &c. "In all these things," &c. "The path of the just shines brighter and brighter, until the perfect day." All efforts fruitless to subvert the cause of God. Those who have loved him have been as the sun, &c.

(5.) Like the sun setting in celestial radiance, and moral splendor.

However bright the career, it must cease on earth. See the young convert, as the rising orb. See the matured Christian shining in his meridian glory. See the aged Christian declining, &c.; at last it sets’97but watch the scene. No stormy sky, no threatening tempest, no cloud; all still, and tranquil, and clear; the whole horizon mellowed with the golden glory. No wonder that Balaam exclaimed, "Let me die the death of the righteous," &c. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; the end of that man is peace."

(6.) As the sun rising in another hemisphere, and shining in fairer worlds.

Is that setting sun annihilated? Is he no more? He rises in another land, as he sets in this. He exists and shines, &c. So with those who once shone here, &c. They are lost to us, but they still live, and are more radiant, shine brighter, &c. They now indeed shine forth in the kingdom of their Father, as the brightness of the sun, &c.

Application

1. Let the subject be the test of character. Are we enemies, &c.

2. Learn the supreme excellence of true religion. Godliness leads to honor, usefulness, blessedness, and glory.

3. Let the enemies of God consider. Now pause, reflect, weigh the matter. Read the history of the enemies of God. Think of your adversary. What will you do? Now trembling, draw near, Christ is the way to God’s favor. He is ready to pardon. "Let the wicked man turn from his wickedness." "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry," &c.

4. Let the professed friends of Jesus exemplify their principles. You are to diffuse knowledge, to communicate the warm beams of benevolence and mercy.

Autor: JABEZ BURNS