Trembling for the Ark of God
By Edmund Calamy - 1662

(A sermon of ’The Great Ejection’ as reprinted by The Banner of Truth Trust
and now reproduced by Christian Watch ( (P0 Box 2113, Nuneaton, CV11 6ZY)

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Note: Edmund Calamy, born in 1600 was the son of a London citizen. He studied at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge and became a Fellow of Pembroke. He became a lecturer at Bury St. Edmunds in 1627 but after ten years’ faithful ministry, he was driven from Bury by Bishop Wren’s articles which enforced uniformity and ceremonies. In 1629 he was chosen to minister at St. Mary’s Aldermanbury and he became a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. At this time Calamy was established as a Presbyterian leader and he commonly presided at the meetings of the city ministers.

Although he favoured reform in the church, Calamy opposed the execution of the King and after Cromwell’s death he was one of those who took the initiative in recallng Charles II. At the Restoration he seemed to be in favour at Court and was offered the bishopric of Lichfield and Coventry - but refused. He was one of the commissioners at the Savoy Conference and contended that the settlement should include the Puritans, but his hopes were dashed and he was duly ejected. He continued to attend the services at Aldermanbury and, on 28th December 1662, when the preacher failed to appear, was persuaded to fill his place. The sermon he preached now follows. As a result of this sermon, Calamy was arrested for disobeying the Act of Uniformity, but was later released by command of the King, because of the disturbance caused by his imprisonment. In 1666 Calamy drove round London and was brokenhearted at the havoc wrought by the Great Fire. He never recovered, and died in the same year.

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And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside,
watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God.
(I Samuel 4:13)

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That you may better understand these words, you must know that whatsoever God threatened against old Eli, in the second and third chapter, because he did not restrain his wicked sons from their lewd courses, is executed in this chapter. Therefore we read that there were four thousand Israelites slain by the Philistines. The elders of Israel met together to consult how to repair this great loss; and they confess it was the Lord that had smitten them. For, they say, ‘Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us tToday before the Philistines?’ And they conclude, the way to repair this their loss was to fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and carry it into the battle. Whereupon they appointed Hophni and Phinehas to fetch it, for they imagined that the presence of the ark would save them from ruin.

But herein they were miserably mistaken. For this judgment came, not because the ark was not in the camp, but because their sin was in the camp. The ark of the covenant would not preserve those that had broken covenant with God. And therefore there was a great slaughter of the Israelites; thirty thousand men were slain, Hophni and Phinehas were also slain, and the ark itself was taken prisoner. But what was old Eli doing?

He was ninety and eight years old, and was not able to go to the battle, but sits upon a seat by the wayside near the battle…and there he sits, thinking 'what shall become of the ark?’ ‘And lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside, watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God,’ for fear lest the ark should be taken. He was not troubled what should become of his two sons, or what should become of the people of Israel, but what should become of the ark of God. In the words of the text are three parts:~

1. Eli’s concern for the ark,
2. Eli’s trembling for fear of the ark,
3. Eli’s preferring the safety of the ark before the safety of his two sons, wife and children.
   

‘He sat upon a seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God.’

But what was the ark of God?

Why should old Eli’s heart tremble for fear of the ark?

I answer, this ark was the holiest of all the things of God; it was so holy that it made every place holy where it came. ‘And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharoah, out of the city of David, into the house that he had built for her, for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come,’ II Chron. 8:11. This ark was the dwelling-place of God, it was the habitation of God.‘The Lord reigneth…He sitteth between the cherubims,’ Ps. 99:1. Now these cherubims were placed over the ark; it was the speaking place of God, He met His people there, and there He gave an answer to them. ‘And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee: and there I will meet with thee, and 1 will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel,’ Ex. 25:21, 22.

This ark was God’s foot-stool, and all the people of God worship Him before the foot-stool of God. ‘Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His foot-stool, for He is holy,’ Ps. 99:5. The ark was also the glory and the strength of Israel. ‘And he delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand,’ Ps.78:61. It was the terror of the enemies of God, and therefore when the ark came into the battle, the Philistines were afraid, and said, ‘Woe unto us, for God is come into the camp.’ And indeed this ark was called Jehovah. ‘And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, “Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered”; and when it rested, he said, “Return, 0 Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel”,’ Num. 10:35. In a word, the ark was a pledge and visible sign of God’s gracious presence with His people. As long as the ark was safe, they were safe; and when the ark was with them, then God’s presence was with them. But when the ark was gone, God was gone - His comforting presence, and His preserving presence. It is therefore no wonder that this good old man sat watching here for fear of the ark. I call him good old man, although many are of the opinion that he was not good, because he suffered his sons to be wicked; and indeed his fault was great.

But surely he was a good man, and I have two reasons to prove it. First, in that he took the punishment of his iniquity so patiently: ‘It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good.’ And secondly, he was a good man, as his care for the ark shows: ‘He sat trembling for the ark.’

Now the ark was a type of three things:

First, it was a type of Jesus Christ; for as God spake from the ark, so God speaks to us by Christ.

Secondly, it was a type of the church of Christ; for as the ark was the preserver of the two tables of the law, so the church of Christ is the preserver of the Scriptures.

Thirdly, the ark was a type of the ordinances of Christ; for as God did communicate Himself by the ark, so God by His ordinances communicates His counsels, comforts, and grace unto His people.

Thus I have showed you what the ark was.

I will now gather two observations arising from the words of my text:

1. When the ark of God is in danger of being lost, the people of God have thoughtful heads and trembling hearts.
2. A true child of God is more troubled, and more anxious what shall become of the ark, than what shall become of wife and children or estate.

I shall begin with the first doctrine, namely, that when the ark of God is in danger of being lost, the people of God have thoughtful heads and trembling hearts. Or, if I may put this doctrine in a gospel context: when the gospel is in danger of being lost, also when gospel ordinances and gospel ministers are in danger of being lost - then it is that the people of God have trembling heads, and concerned and anxious hearts about the situation.

Mark what I say. I say not when the ark is lost; for that was death to old Eli, that broke his neck, and it cost the life of Eli’s daughter-in-law. When the ark of God was taken, she took no comfort in her child; although a man child, she regarded it not. For ‘the glory is departed from Israel, the ark of God is taken.’

I say not when the ark of God is lost; but I say when it is in danger of being lost. When the gospel is in danger, the ministers of the gospel in danger, and the ordinances in danger of being lost, then the people of God have thoughtful heads and anxious hearts.

When God threatened the Israelites that He would not go with them, they were troubled for the loss of God’s presence, and would not put on their ornaments. ‘I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no man did put on him his ornaments,’ Ex. 33:3,4. ‘And it came to pass while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long, for it was twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord,’ (I Sam. 7:2) that is, lamented after the presence of God, speaking from the ark. In II Samuel 11:10,11 David would have had Uriah to go down to his house and make merry.

But Uriah said unto David, ‘The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my Lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.’ In I Kings 19:10 Elijah says, ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, and 1, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away.’ Thus you see when the ark is in danger, the people of God mourn and are sorrowful. There are four reasons why the people of God are so much troubled when the ark of God is in danger.

Because of the great love they bear to the ark of God. As ‘the Lord loveth the gates of Sion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob,’ Ps. 87:2, so the people of God love the ordinances of God, and the faithful ministers of Christ. ‘Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth.’ Ps.26:8. ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple,’ Ps. 27:4. Now love stirs up the affections, as young Croesus who, though he were dumb, yet seeing his father likely to be killed, cried out, ‘Do not kill my father.’ Such is the love of the saints of God to the ark, that they cannot be silent. They cannot but tremble when the see the ark in danger. For Zion’s sake, they cannot hold their peace. They cannot be silent unless and until the Lord make ‘the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.’ Is. 62:1.

The people of God are troubled when the ark is in danger because of the personal interest they have in the ark of God. Now interest stirs up affection, just as when a man is concerned when a friend’s house is on fire. There was a lamentable and sad providence during this last week, and it is not to be forgotten - how suddenly in all our feastings, God may dash all our mirth. Now consider how affected they were that had an interest in those that were burned; so also the people of God have an interest in the ark. God is the haven of the children of God, the portion and inheritance of the children of God; and when God begins to forsake them, they cannot but be afflicted and troubled.

The ordinances of God are the jewels of a Christian, and the treasure of a Christian: and the loss of them cannot but trouble him. And Jesus Christ is the joy of a Christian, and therefore when Christ is departing, he cannot but be much afflicted by it.

he people of God are much troubled when the ark is in danger, because of the mischiefs that come upon a nation when the ark of God is lost. … Woe be to that nation when the ark is gone! The heathen Greeks had the image of Apollo, and they conceived that as long as that image was preserved among them they could never be harmed, but must be preserved. The Romans had a buckler, concerning which they had a tradition, that as long as that buckler was preserved, Rome could not be taken. I will give a hint of what happens when the ark of God is lost.                 

When the ark of God is taken, ‘the ways of Zion mourn, and none come to the solemn feasts,’ Lam.1:4. This was the complaint of the church and a matter of sadness.

When the ark of God is taken, the ministers of Christ are driven into corners. This is a matter of heart trembling.
When the ark of God is taken, the souls of many are in danger. When the gospel is gone, your souls are in hazard. There is cause for sadness.

When the ark of God is taken, the enemies of God blaspheme, and are ready to say. ‘Where is your God?’ Then do the enemies of God triumph. ‘As with a sword in my bones mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?’ Ps. 42:10. and the ordinances of God are defiled and trampled on; and then blasphemy and atheism come in like an armed man.

The people of God must needs tremble when the ark is in danger, because they share the responsibility for the losing of the ark. It was this which made old Eli so much troubled, because he knew it was for his sin that God suffered the ark to be taken. He knew that his own guilt in not punishing his two sons, was one cause of that great slaughter the people of Israel met with; and that made him tremble. There is no person here in this congregation, but his heart will tell him that he has contributed something towards the loss of the ark. None of us is so holy but our consciences must accuse us. We have done some-thing that might cause God to take the ark from us, and therefore as Mr. Bradford, that blessed martyr, said in his prayer, ‘Lord, it was my unthankfulness for the gospel, that brought popery in Queen Mary’s days; and my unfruitfulness under the gospel that was the cause of the untimely death of King Edward the Sixth.’

Again, those that fled in Queen Mary’s days sadly complained that they were the cause of God’s taking away the gospel from England. O beloved, it is for your sins and my sin that the ark of God is in danger; and therefore the Lord gives us trembling and burdened hearts as to what shall become of the ark.

I come now to the application of all this.

If it is the mark of a true child of God to be concerned when the ark of God is in danger, and to have such a trembling heart for fear of the ark, then this is a certain sign there are but few that are in truth the children of God.

O where is the man, and where is the woman, that like old Eli sits watching and trembling for fear of the ark? And the reasons for watching and trembling are these:

Firstly, the many sins in this nation. For let me tell you, there is not one sin for which God ever took away the ark from any people, but it is to be found in England.

Did not the church of Ephesus lose the candlestick, because they had lost their first love? And have not we lost our first love to the gospel and to the ordinances?

And did not the church of Laodicea lose the candlestick, because of luke-warmness? And are not we lukewarm?

Did not the people of Israel, as here in the text, lose the ark because they abhorred the offerings of God? And do not you do so?

Are not the sins of Israel amongst us? And the sins of all other nations about us? And is there any man here before God this day, in this congregation, who can consider the great unthankfulness of this nation, and its great profanity and wickedness, yet not conclude that the ark is in danger, and that God may justly take the ark from us?

I might tell you of the drunkenness, adultery, covetousness, injustice, uncharitableness, and suchlike sins, that abound among us. I might tell you of sanctuary sins, profanation of Sabbath and sacraments, our unthankfulness, and unfruitfulness, and unworthy walking under the gospel. And you of this place, God may very well take the ark even from you; and indeed it was out of the great concern I have for you and out of the great affection and respect I have for you, that I would not send you home this day without a sermon, and let you go without hope. How can any of you in this congregation claim that it would be unjust of God to take the gospel from you?

The second reason for trembling is the discontents and divisions of the nation. As Christ says, ‘A nation divided against itself cannot stand’; but I leave these things to your consideration. I believe there is none here but will confess the ark of God is in danger of being lost. But now where are our Eli's to sit watching and trembling for fear of the ark? Where is the wife of Phinehas who would not be comforted, because the ark of God was taken? Where are our Moses, our Elijahs, our Uriahs?

Where are they that lay to heart the dangers of the ark? You complain of taxes, decay of trading, of this civil burden and that civil burden, but where is the man or the woman that complains of this misery, the loss of the ark? Most of you are like Gallio; ‘he cared for none of these things’; if it had been a civil matter, then he would have meddled with it; but for religion, he cared not for that.

Every man is troubled about mine and thine, and about civil matters; but who lays to heart, and who regards what shall become of religion? There is a strange kind of indifference and lukewarmness upon most people’s spirits. So long as their trading goes on, and their civil burdens are removed, they care not what becomes of the ark.

Now I shall show you what a great sin it is not to be affected with the danger that the ark of God is in. Consider but these three particulars:

First, it is a sign you do not love the gospel. If you had any love to it, you would be troubled more for the danger of the ark, than for any outward danger whatsoever.

Secondly, it is a sign you have no interest in the gospel, for interest will stir up your affections. It is a sign you are not concerned in the gospel, for if you were concerned in it, you would be affected with it, as even it was with those that were interested in those persons that were in that lamentable fire last week; it was impossible that they should be unaffected. And so it is a sign you have no interest in God and Christ, if your hearts do not tremble for fear the ark be lost.

Thirdly, there is a curse of God pronounced against all those that do not lay to heart the affliction of Joseph. ‘Woe to them that are at ease in Sion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria. …ye that put far away the evil day…that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches: that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall: that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music. …that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.’ Amos 6:1-6. Woe be to you that enjoy your fullness of outward things, and make merry therewith, and never consider the afflictions of God’s people, and the danger of the ark.

Let me, by way of exhortation, beseech you all to hear me, you whom God by His providence has so unexpectedly brought together this day. I say, let me beseech you all to declare you are the people of God in deed and in truth, by following the example of old Eli, to be very concerned for the ark of God. Let me now exhort you to these particulars:

First, let me persuade you to believe that the gospel is not entailed upon England; England has no Letters of Patent of the gospel; the gospel is removable. God took away the ark and forsook Shiloh, and He not only took away the ark, but the temple also. He unchurched the Jews, He unchurched the seven churches of Asia, and we know not how soon He may unchurch us.
I know no warrant we have to think that we shall have the gospel another hundred years. God knows how to remove His candlestick, but not to destroy it. God often removes the church, but does not destroy it. God removed His church out of the East; the Greek churches were famous churches, but God removed them.

Secondly, I would persuade you that England’s ark is in danger of being lost, even were it only for the sins of England, those prodigious iniquities amongst us and that strange unheard of ingratitude that is in the land. But I will say no more of that, because I would speak nothing but what becomes a sober minister of the gospel.

Thirdly, I would persuade you, and O that I could raise you up to old Eli’s practice: ‘He sat watching; for his heart trembled for the ark.’ He had a thoughtful head and an aching heart for the ark of God that was in great danger. That I might move you to this, consider what a sad condition we are in, if the ark is taken. What good will your estate do you? Or what good will your business do you if the gospel be gone?

What is the glory of England? Is it not Christianity? What is the glory of Christianity but the gospel? If the gospel be gone, our glory is gone. Pray remember Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas. She hearkened not, though a man child was born, and would receive no comfort, but called his name Ichabod, for ‘the glory is departed from Israel; the ark of God is taken.’ O, when the glory is gone, who would desire to live? I am loth to tell you the story of Chrysostom; he was but one man, yet when he was banished from Constantinople, the people all petitioned for him, and said that they could as well lose the sun out of the firmament as lose Chrysostom from among them.

Fourthly, let me persuade you not to mourn immoderately, neither be discouraged. I would willingly speak something to comfort you before I leave you. I know not by what strange providence, I came here this day, and the Lord knows when I shall speak to you again: therefore I would not send you home comfortless. 0 therefore mourn not as without hope, for I have arguments to persuade me that the ark of God will not be lost, though it is in danger. And they are these:

Because God hath done great things already for this nation. I argue like Manoah’s wife; Surely, if God had intended to destroy us, He would not have done what He has done for us. He who has done so much for us will not now forsake us. And therefore though our hearts tremble, yet let them not sink within us.

I argue from the abundance of praying people that are in this nation. There are many that, night and day, pray unto God that the ark may not be taken; and let me assure you, God will never forsake a praying and reforming people. When God intends to destroy a nation, and take away the ark, He takes away the spirit of prayer; but where God gives the spirit of prayer, there God will continue the ark. You all know that if there had been but ten good men in those five cities of the Plains, God would have spared them. We have many hundreds that fear God in this nation, that do not give God rest, but night and day pray unto God for this land.

And who knows but, for their sakes, God will spare the ark?

Christian Watch Comment:
May The Lord grant that this sermon be used to awaken many professing Christians in the UK tToday to this same urgent need for persistent "wrestling prayer" that the "ark of God" may not be removed from us. If a God-given spirit of prayer is withheld, the consequences will be most solemn.

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