Sermons of Ralph Erskine 2. The Great Trumpet of the Everlasting Gospel

Extract

Sermons of Ralph Erskine

2. The Great Trumpet of the Everlasting Gospel “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in his holy mount at Jerusalem?” Isaiah 27:13.

My friends, it is only the trumpet of common providence that hath, perhaps, gathered you together to this place — you hearing the news go through the country, that the sacramental feast was to be kept here, and so you have come along with the rest; but it is the great trumpet of special powerful grace that can gather perishing sinners together to Christ, and make them come to him for life and salvation, liberty, and redemption from their spiritual captivity. And, O may the sound of this trumpet be so heard, as many may come to Jesus at this occasion, that they may worship the Lord spiritually in his holy mountain.

These words are to be considered, first, in their literal, and then in their typical and spiritual meaning, in order to deduce a suitable doctrine from them.
First, as to the literal import of the words, they relate to the church of Israel that was scattered, their being gathered together and brought back to Jerusalem. Though the body of the people was abandoned as a people of no understanding, (verse 11); yet mercy was laid up in store for some that were to be gathered as the sheep of the flock, when the shepherds (the rulers in church and state) that scattered them should be reckoned with: “Thus saith the Lord God, behold I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places, where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day,” (Ezek. 34:10-12). Now concerning these scattered Israelites you may observe these particulars. …