The Parable of the Kingdom of Heaven, Treatise · Verse 10
Vers. 10. And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage, and the door was shut.
The foolish Virgins followed the Counsel of the wise and went to buy Oyle for themselves; and so do many formal and foolish Professors (when they are convinced of their sins, and of their necessity of a Saviour) then they seek after Christ and cry for grace, and call upon God for pardoning mercy and salvation, but it's too late it may be, Prov. 1.24, 28. Because I have called and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded—Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer, they shall seek me early but they shall not find me. And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came.
And they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage, and the door was shut. They that were duly prepared for the Bridegrooms coming had an entrance admitted to them into his Kingdom, and all others were excluded.
They that were ready had put off the filthy raggs of their own Righteousness, and had put on the Robes of Christs Righteousness, Rom. 13.14. God had taken away their filthy garments and had cloathed them with change of raiment, Zach. 3.3, 4. Thus Zion the holy City the New Jerusalem is called upon and commanded by the LORD her Maker, her Husband and her Redeemer to loose her self from the Bands of her Neck, her Captivity, to arise and put on her beautiful garments, Isa. 52.1, 2, 3. And so she shall do with great Joy and rejoycing. And therefore she is prophetically said to do so, Isa. 61.10. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath cloathed me with the Garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the Robes of Righteousness; as a Bridegroom adorneth himself with Ornaments, and as a Bride decketh her self with her Jewels.
And to be prepared for the Bridegrooms coming is to be arrayed in fine Linnen, white and clean, which is the Righteousness of the Saints, Rev. 19.7, 8. And so the holy City, the New Jerusalem was prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband in John's Vision, Rev. 21.2. Of this glorious Marriage and mysterie of Christ and his Church, David Prophesied, Psal. 45. Wherein we have this great and glorious solemnity of the Bridegrooms coming, and of the Marriage of the Lamb Mystically and Metaphorically sung and penned down by that sweet finger of Israel in that (Epithalamium) Love song, or Marriage-song, Psal. 45.1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14. My heart is inditing a good matter, I speak of the things which I have made touching the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. —Thou art fairer than the Children of Men; Grace is poured into thy Lips therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever, and the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter. All thy Garments smell of Myrrhe, and Aloes, and Cassia, out of the Ivory places whereby they have made thee glad. Kings Daughters were among thy honourable Women. Ʋpon thy right hand did stand the Queen in Gold of Ophir. The Kings Daughter is all glorious within, her Cloathing is of wrought Gold. —She shall be brought unto the King in Raiment of Needle-work; the Virgins her Companions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee; with gladness and rejoycing they shall enter into the Kings Palace. And so the Prophet Ezekiel (describing the Churches condition, from her Cradle to her Crown, Ezek. 16.13-14.) speaks of her inward and spiritual beauty and glory under divers Metaphors and figurative Expressions, ver. 8. to the end of the 14. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee; Behold thy time was the time of Love. And I spread my skirt over thee; and covered thy Nakedness; yea, I sware unto thee, and entred into a Covenant with thee saith the Lord God, and th…u becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water, yea I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with Oyle, I cloathed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with Badgers skin, and I girded thee about with fine Linnen, and I covered thee with silk, and decked thee also with Ornaments, and I put Bracelets upon thine hands, and a Chain on thy neck, and I put a Jewel on thy forehead, and Ear-rings in thine Ears, and a beautiful Crown upon thine Head Thus wast thou decked with God and Silver and thy Raiment was of fine Linnen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flower and honey and Oyle, and thou wast exceeding beautiful. And thou didst prosper into a Kingdom. — And thy renown went forth among the Heathen, for thy Beauty was perfect through my Comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. This Prophesie in the Mysterie of it will be fulfilled when the Bridegroom cometh, for then Christ will put on a beautiful Crown upon her head, and she will be exceeding beautiful, and she shall then prosper into a Kingdom, Isa. 28.5. In that day shall the LORD be for a Crown of Glory, and for a Diadem of Beauty, unto the residue of his people. Isa. 62.3. Thou shalt also be a Crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a Royal Diadem in the hand of thy God. When will this day of Zions glory be? then it will be, when the Bridegroom cometh, and marries his Bride, Isa. 62 5. For as a young man marrieth a Virgin, so shall sons marry thee, and as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride, so shall thy God rejoyce over thee. And thus the wise Virgin-saints were prepared and ready, and went in with him to the marriage.
And the door was shut. There is the Door of Grace, and that is all opportunities and seasons that the Ministers of Christ have and improve to preach, and the people have and improve to hear the Gospel of the Grace of God; also to administer and partake of the holy Ordinances of God in any place, and at any time, called an open Door, Rev. 3.8. A great Door and Effectual is opened, &c. 1 Cor. 16.9. and 2 Cor. 2.12. And a Door was opened to me of or by the Lord. That was a door of Grace. And when God removes the Candlestick, takes away the Gospel, suffering the Adversaries to silence and persecute his faithful Ministers and Churches of Saints, when their Ministers by Imprisonment or Banishment are removed into Corners, and their Eyes cannot see their Teachers, when the people run to and fro, to seek the Word of the Lord, and cannot find it, then the Door of Grace is shut.
There is also the Door of the Kingdom of Christ, Luk. 13.25, 26, 27, 28, 29. When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, LORD, LORD, open unto us, and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not, whence you are; Then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets, but he shall say, I tell you I know you not, whence you are; depart from me all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you your selves thrust out. And they shall come from the East, and from the West, and from the North, and from the South, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God. This is the door that was shut here in my text, to wit, the door of Christs marriage Chamber, that is to say, an entrance and admittance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Pet. 1.10, 11. Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail, for so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly, into the everlasting Kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
1. Meditation. That all persons, especially Virgin-professors ought to prepare, and to be ready, when Christ the Churches Bridegroom cometh.
To this end, 1. Sinners, you must get Jesus Christ, if you will not receive and entertain Christ into your hearts, by faith, a true penitent and lively faith, he will not receive and admit you into the Marriage Chamber of his Kingdom, when he comes as the Bridegroom. If sinners will not let Christ live in them, and reign in them, in the Kingdom of his grace now, Rom. 15.20, 21. they shall not live and reign with him in his Kingdom, Rev. 20.4. Christ will shut the door of his Kingdom against them that shut the door of their hearts against him.
Therefore Sinners, whilest Jesus Christ stands at the door, open the door of your hearts to Christ, and let him come and set up the Kingdom of his Grace in your hearts according to his gracious promise, Rev. 3.20, 21, 22. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me. —To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne. He that hath an Ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches.
2. Saints, you ought to prepare and be ready to meet Christ the Churches Bridegroom, when he cometh, and therefore consider what you have to do ere you and Jesus Christ meet in his Marriage Kingdom. O gracious and precious Saints, have you not something to do ere you dye? Can you heartily desire and earnestly pray to be dissolved and be with Christ before you have overcome the world, 1 Joh. 5.4, 5. go the victory over sin, 1 Cor. 15.56.57. and resisted, vanquished, and made a conquest over the Devil, 1 Joh. 2.13, 14. and in all these to be more than Conquerours through Christ Jesus our Lord? Rom. 8.37. Can you expect to inherit all things, Rev. 21.7. until you have overcome all things? our Lord Jesus Christ overcame before he sate down with the Father in his Throne. And will Jesus Christ grant you to sit down with him in his Throne, untill you have also overcome? Rev. 3.21, 22.
Again consider Saints, are you prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband? Rev. 21.2, 3. Are you cloathed in fine Linnen, white and clean, Rev. 19.8. and so made Ready for the Marriage of the Lamb? Rev. 19.7. Or do not some of you stand in need to w…sh your Robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, Rev. 7.14, 15. before you can put on your beautiful garments, Isa. 52.1, 2. and adorn your selves with Ornaments as a Bride, Isa. 61.10. or as the Bride-maidens, the Virgins her Companions? Psal. 45.9, 13, 14.
The LORD first washed his people with water, yea, he throughly washed away their blood from them, and anointed them with Oyle, and then he cloathed them with broidered work, girded them with Linnen and covered them with silk. He decked them also with Ornaments, Bracelets, Jewels, chains of Gold and Pearl about their neck, and at last he put a beautiful Crown upon the Churches head, and they prospered into a Kingdom, Ezek. 16.9-14. So the Apostle testifieth, That Jesus Christ gave himself for his Church that he might sanctifie it, and cleanse it with the washing of water by the ward, 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. O beloved and blessed Virgin Saints, how much cleansing, purging, sanctifying work is there yet to be done in your souls by the spirit, and word of God in the lively and powerful applications of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, Heb. 9.14. and Heb. 13.12. and 1 Joh. 7.9.
Once more consider saints, O ye wise Virgins, are your Vessels full of Oyle? Are your hearts full of Grace, have you perfected holiness in the fear of God? 2 Cor. 7. And are you come in the Unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man? Eph. 4.13. If not, you are not yet so prepared, nor are you yet so ready as you should desire and endeavour to be, and may be through the Communication of the exceeding riches of the grace of God, Eph. 2.7. and the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ, you may attain to be ere the Bridegroom come.
2. Meditation. Whilest some foolish and negligent Virgin-professors are seeking too late to get, and endeavouring too late to buy the spiritual Oyle of Grace to supply their Lamps, Christ will come, and shut the Door of his Grace and Kingdom against them, And the Door was shut.
Some Professors being careless and negligent when they enjoy powerful means of Grace, (as the foolish Virgins were when they first went out to meet the Bridegroom,) content themselves and are satisfied with some spiritual gifts without grace, and the form of Godliness without the power of it (as the foolish Virgins did that took their Lamps, but took no Oyle with them.) And so go on in the broad way of an outward customary and formal performance of holy duties and partaking of Gospel Ordinances all the Day of Grace, until the night of security, ease and darkness overtake them, and they begin to slumber and fall fast asleep in their formality, or in their Apostasie, until in some midnight dispensation, a Cry with a loud voice from the Lord, from the City or from the Temple, awaken them and affright them; And then they perceive that their Lamps are gone out, and that they themselves are in a state of darkness, wanting Christ and Grace in their souls (as the foolish Virgins who wanted Oyle in their Vessels and went to buy it.) So some formal Professors, when it is too late, seek for Grace and enquire after Christ; saying as Balaam did, Let me dye the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his, Numb. 23.10. But their day of Grace being past, Christ shuts the door of Grace, saying, He that is unjust let him be unjust still, and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still, Rev. 22.11. And Christ will when he comes as the Bridegroom shut the door of his Kingdom against those foolish Virgin-professors, who refused the Offers, Call and Invitations of the Gospel in the day of Grace, read Prov. 1.20. to the end of the Chapter. Vers. 24, 25, 28. Because I have called and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. —But ye have set at nought all my Counsel, and would none of my reproof. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. And as doth plainly appear in the 11 and 12 Verses of this Chapter.