MATTHEW 23:37, C. H. Cayce “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” We have often heard this text used by the Arminian world, though they usually quote it wrong. They often change it to read “How often would I have gathered thee together.” And there is another sermon that a few years ago was preached among us, called the hen and chicken sermon, in which the application was, seemingly, somewhat twisted. The old hen was so anxious to gather the chickens under her wings, but the chickens would not— so the sermon ran. The chicken was made to represent the child of God outside the church, and we suppose the hen was to represent the church. The Arminian world applies it to the alien or unregenerate sinner.
It seems to us the language is very plain. The Saviour was talking to Jerusalem, who had killed and stoned the prophets. As a result, her children were scattered and not gathered together. This Jerusalem was God’s chosen nation, and they disobeyed the law, and her children were not gathered together.
Verses 38 and 39 read, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” With national Israel, Jerusalem, this was literally fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem— “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” National Israel was typical of spiritual Israel; in this language we have a type of the church, so that it may now be rightly applied to the church of Christ, and to her only, when she kills or stones one of the Lord’s servants whom He sends unto her. Sometimes they do stone the Lord’s ministers— not with literal stones as they formerly did, but they do stone them in different ways, by lightly esteeming them as God’s servants and in not caring for them, and in not helping them to bear their burdens. And when a church thus stones one of the Lord’s servants they will suffer for the same. Not only so, but their children are not gathered together as they would otherwise be, for the Saviour says “ye would not.” Their house is finally left unto them desolate. They suffer for their wrong doing. Sometimes an humble servant of God is stoned, because a church thinks he is not a good enough preacher for them, he is not as able in expounding the doctrine as they want— which appears that they think they are too good for such an insignificant man to preach for them. Sooner or later their house is left unto them desolate. The Lord will not allow them to go unpunished. He will take away the manifestation of His presence, and they shall not see Him henceforth, till they say, blessed is be that cometh in the name of the Lord. When they are ready to say. and do say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” then may they see once more a sweet manifestation of His work and presence. The Primitive Baptist, August 7, 1907