Ver. 4. “Draw me, we will run after Thee.” The more we know of Christ, the more shall we desire to know of Him. The nearer we are to Him, the more shall we desire to be drawn nearer still. As Paul says, “That I may know Him,” yet none on earth knew Him so well. And, again, “That I may win Christ,” yet never was saint more sure of his prize than Paul. He could say in truth, though a prisoner in Home, and in want, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “What rich experience—what quiet confidence—what boundless joy, shines in his letter to the Philippians! There is such an infinity of blessing for us in Christ, that the more we apprehend it, the less we feel we have apprehended it. The more we taste of the reality and fullness of His love, we shall be able, the more truly, to say, It passeth knowledge. There are breadths and lengths, and depths and heights, which we can never comprehend. And there is such joy in His presence, that even while we are enjoying it, the heart so yearns for greater nearness, that it feels, comparatively, as at a distance.
Were I to read the heart of the loving Bride through these words, “Draw me, we will run after thee,” I should say, her desire to be near the Person of the Lord is so great that, near, and dear, though she be, there is something like felt distance experienced. Hence the deep breathings of her heart, “Draw me”—oh! draw me nearer—closer—my Lord, to Thee! There is growth in grace,—compared with ver. 2 —a growing apprehension of Himself. There is a greater desire for closer communion. It is similar to what we find in many of the psalms. “Ο GOD, Thou art my God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is......my soul followeth hard after Thee; Thy right hand upholdeth me.” (Psalm 63) The most blessed communion with the Lord, is perfectly consistent with the most earnest longings for greater nearness to Himself. Speakest thou thus, my soul, of thyself? Knowest thou this in thine own experience? Examine all thy words and ways as before the Lord, and pass judgment upon them. The Holy Spirit tells us that He tried His words, as in a furnace, “seven times.” How often, alas, we both speak and write, without even trying them once.
There is a beautiful connection between the Lord’s drawing, and oar running. “We will run,” but carefully note the last two words—“after Thee.” There is more, much more, in these words than can here be noted. They are all important. “After Thee,” not after our own notions, or even after the best of men on earth, but “after Thee.” As it is said in that beautiful sixteenth psalm, “I have set the Lord always before me.” Not at times, merely, but “always.” Oh! what a path ours on earth would be were this the case! How separated would it be from everything that is not Christ. And, surely, in all fairness, when we pray “draw me,” we should be ready to add, like the spouse and her companions, “we will run after Thee.”
But mark another deeply precious thought, suggested by the subject of our meditation. The One who draws, goes before. Thus the Lord goes before His people in the wilderness, and sees the danger and meets it, before they come to it. Many, many are the dangers that we are, by Him, delivered from, that we know nothing about. “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him.” A snare may be laid for us by the enemy, in the way that we said we would go, but our divine Leader, seeing the snare, turns into another path, leads in another direction, and the snare which might have proved fatal is escaped. And yet, I may feel so disappointed, and so discontented, because something hindered me reaching my previously appointed place. Blessed Lord! may we ever, and only, “run after Thee.”
“Draw me! I will run after Thee, will seek
To hear obediently what Thou wilt speak:
And step by step the blessed path would trace
Of my beloved - full of truth and grace.”
“The King hath brought me into His chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in Thee; we will remember Thy love more than wine; the upright love Thee.” Now we have the result, the happy fruit, of the drawing, and the running.
The prayer expressed conscious weakness, and dependence, combined with holy diligence. They have run well and reached the goal. And now they are crowned with joy and gladness. But, never forget, my soul, it is grace that draws, and grace that runs, and grace that crowns, and that all flow from the shoreless ocean of the Savior’s love. “We will remember Thy love more than wine.” Now she uses the word “remember,” she knew His love before. But she is enjoying it with increased interest. Like air, she is surrounded with it, she is in it. “The King hath brought me into his chamber.”
But why should Christ be here called “The King?” It is prophetic of His relationship with Israel after their restoration. As to His right or title, He is always that. Is He ever called the King of the Church? Not in scripture. He is a King and worthy of all homage. But in scripture He is spoken of as Head of His body, the church, and as King of the Jews. And as such, observe, He came at first in lowly grace, and presented Himself to the daughter of Zion, but, alas, she refused Him. He was despised and rejected, crucified and slain, but God raised Him up, and gave Him glory. Thereby making good, in resurrection, His rights and titles, not only as King of the Jews, but also as Head of His body, the Church, and center of all coming glory. (Compare Zech. 9 John 12 Acts 2 Eph. 1 Phil. 2) With the same breath the Jews cried, “Hosanna; Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,” and, “Away with him, Away with him! Crucify Him!” Such, alas, is the brief duration of human popularity! At last they filled up the measure of their sins. Their relationship with God was broken. The Messiah was cut off—the testimony of the Holy Ghost was despised—and, for the time, all was gone, as to the kingdom.
Nevertheless, the word of the Lord shall stand fast forever. Man’s unbelief and sin can never make the faithfulness of God of none effect. In the redemption accomplished by Christ, a foundation was laid for the future restoration of Israel, in grace, according to the changeless purpose of God; and for placing the children in the full possession and enjoyment of all the blessings promised to the fathers. “ Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” (Rom. 15:88Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Romans 15:8).) Nothing can be plainer than the predictions of God’s word as to the future reign of the Lord Jesus, in connection with the throne of David, and the whole house of Israel. Of course, His reign and His glory will not be confined to the restored tribes and the land of Israel; but Jerusalem and the cities of Judah will form the earthly center of His millennial kingdom. Just as the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, will be the heavenly center of the many connecting circles of His heavenly glory. Heb. 12:22-2422But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22‑24).
But as our meditations are of “the King,” we will dwell a little on the prophecies which reveal and unfold Him to us in this character. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to stablish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:6, 76For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6‑7).) This ancient prediction, which the zeal of the Lord of hosts will in due time perform, was, in substance, repeated to Mary by the angel. “Thou shalt bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:31-3331And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:31‑33).) Prophecies on this subject, yet unfulfilled, are almost innumerable.
But was not Jehovah, of old, King in Jerusalem? Oh, yes; most true! From the time of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt, until the days of Samuel, Jehovah was their king. Then they desired a king like the nations around them, and rejected the Lord as their king. But this, like everything else, with Israel under the law, ended in complete failure. From the banks of the Red Sea, to the cross on Calvary, or to the stoning of Stephen, we have a history of failure. And that, not only in one position or relationship, but in all. If we look at Israel as under law—as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the land—as the married wife, and as God’s witness on the earth, we find that there was not only constant failure, but they became incorrigible in their sins. Hence, at last, God’s righteous judgments came upon them. Their beloved Jerusalem was encompassed with armies, their temple and city razed to the ground, and those that escaped the edge of the sword, were driven by the sore displeasure of God to the four winds of heaven.
From that day to this, Israel’s condition has been “forsaken and desolate.” But it will not be always so. It is most needful to mark, at such a point as this, the difference between God’s ways in government with His people, and His ways in grace. The Jews, in the righteous government of God, because of their sins and impenitence, have been, and still are, under His chastening hand; but the grace and love of His heart towards them remain unchangeably the same. Mark the terms of the covenant, “And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever.” (1 Kings 11:3939And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. (1 Kings 11:39).) This is a principle of immense importance, not only with Israel and the Church, but with the individual Christian. The same great principle is referred to by the apostle when he is handling the subject of Israel’s rejection and restoration. “Because of unbelief they were broken off—but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.” Rom. 11
The present condition and future restoration of the Jews are touchingly described by the prophet Hosea, “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.” Precious thought! They will yet “seek the Lord their God, and David their king.” And what is the book of Canticles? Is it not the assurance, and the re-assurance to the remnant, of the unchanging affection of the King? Here, the God-fearing remnant in the latter days can read His love—the unwearied, unupbraiding, patient love of “the Lord their God, and David their king.” In the past, all failed under law. In the future, all will be re-established under grace. In the past, they were on the ground of the conditional part of the covenant. In the future, they will be on the ground of the unconditional grace of God. The value of the sacrifice of their once-rejected Messiah, and the fullness of the love of God, will be the measure of their blessing. But who can measure that which is immeasurable? Such will be the love of the king to His Jewish Bride.
The book of Ruth illustrates, in the most simple and touching way possible, the past, present, and future condition of Israel.
No fruit remained of the married life of Naomi. “Call me not Naomi,” she says, which signifies my delight, but “call me Mara,” bitterness, “for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” Her husband, Elimelech, (which signifies, my God is king,) and her two sons, died in the land of Moab. Naomi was now a widow, desolate, fruitless, and, naturally, without resources. “Call me Mara.... I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” Striking type of the Jewish nation, who, having lost God as its king and husband, is now as a widow, and desolate. But a feeble remnant, in the person of the meek and lowly Ruth, clings to Naomi, and, virtually, takes shelter under the wings of the God of Israel. “ Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” The fields which she first entered as a gleaner, became her own. But the nearest kinsman-redeemer refuses to redeem the inheritance, if Ruth must be taken as his wife with it. And this is done in the presence of ten witnesses. These ten men of the city may represent the ten commandments, which were given before Christ came, but there was no fruit unto God under the law. See Rom. 7:1-41Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:1‑4).
Boaz (which signifies, in Him is strength) now espouses the cause of the feeble remnant of Elimelech’s house, with all his heart. He is a type of the risen Christ, who was “declared to be the Son of God with power....by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:1, 41Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Romans 1:1)
4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:4).) What makes this picture so perfectly beautiful, is the circumstance, that Ruth had no direct claim on Boaz. He was not the nearest of kin; so it was all grace. Israel, as well as the Gentiles, must now come into the inheritance on the ground of pure grace.
“And Ruth bare a son......and Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it,” and the women said, “There is a son born to Naomi.” Touching scene! Lovely grace’. The widow’s heart is made to sing as in the days of her youth. The desolate one is become, as it were, a mother of children. The bereaved bosom is again filled with a living heir. All is joy. Here, we have prefigured, in the most lovely way, the full restoration of Israel to honor, glory, and dignity in the land. The true Boaz will, ere long, take up the cause of the God-fearing remnant, and reestablish Israel in the land, upon an entirely new footing altogether. This is the joyous theme of numberless scriptures.
Take a sample. “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken; neither shall thy land be termed any more desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah (i.e. my delight is in thee), and thy land Beulah (i.e. married), for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” (Isa. 62) And again, “Therefore behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt... and I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord.” (Hos. 2) Oh! wondrous, matchless grace! The grace of God in Christ Jesus to the chief of sinners! Love is the spring. Grace flows. The lost one is found. Love is ever the same. The Lord loves Israel—He loves the Church—He loves the individual believer. Every soul that is drawn to Him He loves with a perfect love. The deeper love and joy are His. Oh matchless love—boundless grace—heavenly joy, eternal delight—Hallelujah! “The King hath brought me into His chambers.”