DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 20, 1880,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. And when
Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of
that place Mahanaim." Genesis 32:1,2.
"And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the
son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon and Machir the son of
Ammiel of Lodebar and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, brought beds
and basins and earthen vessels and wheat and barley and flour and
parched corn and beans and lentiles and parched seeds and honey and
butter and sheep and cheese of kine, for David and for the people that
were with him, to eat, for they said, The people are hungry and weary
and thirsty in the wilderness." 2Samuel17:27229.
LET us go even unto Mahanaim and see these great sights. First, let us
go with Jacob and see the two camps of angels and then with David to
observe his troops of friends. Jacob shall have our first
consideration. What a varied experience is that of God's people! Their
pilgrimage is over a shifting sand; their tent is always moving and the
scene around them always changing. Here is Jacob, at one time
contending for a livelihood with Laban, playing trick against trick in
order to match his father-in-law. Then he prospers and determines to
abide no more in such servitude. He flees, is pursued, debates with his
angry relative and ends the contention with a truce and a sacrifice.
This unseemly family warfare must have been a very unhappy thing for
Jacob, by no means tending to raise the tone of his thoughts, or
sweeten his temper, or ennoble his spirit.
What a change happened to him when, the next day, after Laban had gone,
Jacob found himself in the presence of angels! Here is a picture of a
very different kind–the churl has gone and the cherubs have come–the
greedy taskmaster has turned his back and the happy messengers of the
blessed God have come to welcome the Patriarch on his return from
exile! It is hard to realize, to the full, the complete transformation.
Such changes occur in all lives but, I think, most of all in the lives
of Believers. Few passages across the ocean of life are quite free from
storm, but the redeemed of the Lord may reckon upon being tossed with
tempest even if others escape. "Many are the afflictions of the
righteous." Yet trials last not forever–clear shining comes after
rain.
Change always works. We pass from storm to calm, from breeze to
hurricane–we coast the shores of peace and then we are driven upon the
sandbanks of fear. Nor need we be surprised, for were there not great
changes in the life of our Lord and Master? Is not His life as full of
hills and valleys as ours possibly can be? We read of His being
baptized in Jordan and then and there visited by the Spirit who
descended upon Him like a dove–then was His hour of rest. Who can tell
the restfulness of Jesus' spirit when the Father bore witness
concerning Him, "This is My beloved Son"? But, we read directly
afterwards, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted of the devil." From the descent of the Holy Spirit to dire
conflict with the devil is a change, indeed!
But another change followed it, for when that battle had been fought
out and the triple temptation had been tried upon our Lord in vain, we
read again, "Then the devil left Him and behold, angels came and
ministered unto Him." In a short space our Lord's surroundings had
changed from heavenly to diabolical and again from satanic to angelic.
From Heaven to the manger, from walking the sea to hanging on the
Cross, from the sepulcher to the Throne–what changes are these! Can we
expect to build three tabernacles and tarry in the mountain when our
Lord was thus tossed to and fro?
Beloved, you will certainly find that the world is established upon the
floods and is therefore ever moving. Never reckon upon the permanence
of any joy and thank God you need not dread the continuance of any
sorrow. These things
come and go and go and come–and you and I, so far as we have to live
in this poor whirling world, must be removed to and fro as a shepherd's
tent and find no city to dwell in. If this happen not to our
habitations it will certainly happen in our feelings. From of old "the
evening and the morning were the first day" and, "the evening and the
morning were the second day." The alternation of shade and sunshine, of
setting and rising are from the beginning. Dawn, noon, afternoon,
evening, darkness, midnight and a new morning follow each other in all
things. So must it be–there is a need for clouds and showers and
morning glories, "until the day break and the shadows flee away," when
we shall be fitted to bask in the beams of everlasting noon.
In the case before us we see Jacob in the best of company. Jacob, not
cheated in Mesopotamia, but honored in Maha-naim. Jacob, not trying to
outwit Laban, but gazing upon celestial spirits. He was surrounded by
angels and he knew it. His eyes were open so that he saw spirits who,
in their own nature, are invisible to human eyes. He became a Seer and
was enabled by the inward eye to behold the hosts of shining ones whom
God had sent to meet him. It is a great privilege to be able to know
our friends and to discern the hosts of God. We are very apt, indeed,
to realize our difficulties and to forget our helps. Our allies are all
around us, yet we think ourselves alone. The opposition of Satan is
more easily recognized than the succor of the Lord. Oh to have eyes and
hearts opened to see how strong the Lord is on our behalf!
Jacob had just been delivered from Laban, but he was oppressed by
another load–the dread of Esau was upon him. He had wronged his
brother and you cannot do a wrong without being haunted by it
afterwards. He had taken ungenerous advantage of Esau and now, many,
many years after it, his deed came home to him and his conscience made
him afraid. Notwithstanding that he had lived with Laban so long, his
conscience was sufficiently vigorous to make him tremble because he had
put himself into a wrong position with his brother. Had it not been for
this, he would have marched on to his father, Isaac's, tent with joyful
feet!
Dreading his brother's anger, he was greatly distressed and troubled.
These angels came to bring him cheer by helping him to forget the
difficulties round about him, or lose his dread of them by looking up
and seeing what defense and succor awaited him from on high. He had but
to cry to God and Esau's 400 men would be met by legions of angels! Was
not this good cheer? Have not all Believers the same? Greater is He
that is for us than all they that are against us! If, this morning, I
shall be enabled by the Holy Spirit to uplift the minds of the Lord's
tried people from their visible griefs to their invisible comforts I
shall be glad. I beg them not to think exclusively of the burden they
have to carry, but to remember the strength which is available for the
carrying of it.
If I shall cause the timorous heart to cease its dread and to trust in
the living God who has promised to bear His servants through, I shall
have accomplished my desire. The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of
Jacob is our refuge and therefore no weapon that is formed against us
shall prosper and even the arch-enemy himself shall be bruised under
our feet. In treating of Jacob's experience at Mahanaim we will make a
series of observations. First, God has a multitude of servants and all
these are on the side of Believers. "His camp is very great," and all
the hosts in that camp are our allies. Some of these are visible agents
and many more are invisible, but, none the less, real and powerful. The
great army of the Lord of Hosts consists largely of unseen agents–of
forces that are not discernible except in vision or by the eyes of
faith.
Jacob saw two squadrons of these invisible forces which are on the side
of righteous men. "The angels of God met him," and he said, "This is
God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim," (two
camps), for there a double army of angels met him. We know that a guard
of angels always surrounds every Believer. Ministering spirits are
abroad, protecting the princes of the blood royal. They cannot be
discerned by any of our senses, but they are perceptible by faith and
they have been made perceptible to holy men of old in visions. These
bands of angels are great in multitude, for Jacob said, "This is God's
host"–a host means a considerable number and surely the host of God is
not a small one.
"The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels." We
do not know what legions wait upon the Lord, only we read of "an
innumerable company of angels." We look abroad in the world and
calculate the number of persons and forces friendly to our Christian
warfare, but these are only what our poor optics can discover–the half
cannot be told us by such means. It may be that every star is a world,
thronged with the servants of God who are willing and ready to dart
like flames of fire upon Jehovah's errands of love.
If the Lord's chosen could not be sufficiently protected by the forces
available in one world, He has but to speak or will and myriads of
spirits from the far-off regions of space would come thronging forward
to guard the children of their King. As the stars of the sky, countless
in their armies, are the invisible warriors of God. "His camp is very
great." "Om-
nipotence has servants everywhere." These servants of the strong God
are all filled with power–there is not one that faints among them
all–they run like mighty men, they prevail as men of war. A host is
made up of valiant men, veterans, troopers, heroes, men fit for
conflict. God's forces are exceedingly strong–nothing can stand
against them. Whatever form they take, they are always potent, even
when God's host is made up of grasshoppers, cankerworms and
palmer-worms, as in the Book of Joel, none can resist them and nothing
can escape them.
They devoured everything! They covered the earth and even darkened the
sun and moon. If such is the case with insects, what must be the power
of angels? We know that they "excel in strength," as they "do His
commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word." Rejoice, O
children of God! There are vast armies upon your side and each one of
the warriors is clothed with the strength of God! All these agents work
in order, for it is God's host and the host is made up of beings which
march or fly according to the order of command. "Neither shall one
thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path." All the forces
of Nature are loyal to their Lord. None of these mighty forces dreams
of rebellion! From the blazing comet which flames in the face of the
universe to the tiniest fragment of shell which lies hidden in the
deepest ocean cave–all matter yields itself to the supreme Law which
God has settled.
Nor do unfallen intelligent agents mutiny against Divine decrees, but
find their joy in rendering loving homage to their God. They are
perfectly happy, because consecrated. They are full of delight, because
completely absorbed in doing the will of the Most High. Oh that we
could do His will on earth as that will is done in Heaven by all the
heavenly ones! Observe that in this great host they were all punctual
to the Divine command. Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met
him. The Patriarch is no sooner astir than the hosts of God are on the
wing. They did not linger till Jacob had crossed the frontier, nor did
they keep him waiting when he came to the appointed rendezvous–they
were there to the moment! When God means to deliver you, Beloved, in
the hour of danger, you will find the appointed force ready for your
succor.
God's messengers are neither behind nor before their time. They will
meet us to the inch and to the second in the time of need, therefore
let us proceed without fear, like Jacob, going on our way even though
an Esau with a band of desperadoes should block up the road. Those
forces of God, too, were all engaged personally to attend upon Jacob. I
like to set forth this thought–"Jacob went on his way and the angels
of God met him." He did not chance to fall in with them. They did not
happen to be on the march and so crossed the Patriarch's track. No, no!
He went on his way and the angels of God met him with design and
purpose. They came on purpose to meet him–they had no other
appointment. Squadrons of angels marched to meet that one lone man! He
was a saint, but by no means a perfect one–we cannot help seeing many
flaws in him, even upon a superficial glance at his life and yet the
angels of God met him.
Perhaps in the early morning, as he rose to tend his flocks, he saw the
skies peopled with shining ones who quite eclipsed the dawn. The
heavens were vivid with descending lusters and the angels came upon him
as a bright cloud, descending, as it were, upon the Patriarch. They
glided downward from those gates of pearl, more famed than the gates of
Thebes. They divided to the right and to the left and became two hosts.
Perhaps the one band pitched their camp behind, as much as to say, "All
is might in the rear, Laban cannot retain; better than the cairn of
Mizpah is the host of God." Another squadron moved to the front as much
as to say, " Peace, Patriarch, with regard to Esau, the red hunter and
his armed men–we guard you in the van."
It must have been a glorious morning for Jacob when he saw not one, but
many morning stars! If the apparitions were seen in the dead of night,
surely Jacob must have thought that day was come before its time! It
was as if constellations mustered to the roll call and clouds of stars
came floating down from the upper spheres. All came to wait upon Jacob,
on that one man–"The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that
fear Him," but in this case it was to one man with his family of
children that a host was sent. The man, himself, the lone man who abode
in covenant with God when all the rest of the world was given up to
idols, was favored by this mark of Divine favor. The angels of God met
him!
One delights to think that the angels should be willing and even eager,
troops of them, to meet one man! How vain is that voluntary humility
and worshipping of angels which Paul so strongly condemns. Worshipping
them seems far out of the question–the fidelity lies rather the other
way–for they do us suit and service and are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to them that are the heirs of salvation?
They serve God's servants. "Unto which of the angels said He at any
time, You are My son?" But this He has said, first, to the
Only-Begotten and then to every Believer in
Christ! We are the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty and
these ministering ones have a charge concerning us! As it is written,
"they shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against
a stone."
I have shown you that Believers are compassed about with an innumerable
company of angels, great in multitude, strong in power, exact in order,
punctual in their personal attention to the children of God. Are you
not well cared for, oh you sons of the Most High? Those forces, though
in themselves invisible to the natural senses, are manifest to faith at
certain times. There are times when the child of God is able to cry,
like Jacob, "The angels of God have met me." When do such seasons
occur? Our Mahanaims occur at much the same time as that in which Jacob
beheld this great sight. Jacob was entering upon a more separated life.
He was leaving Laban and the school of all those tricks of bargaining
and bartering which belong to the ungodly world.
He had breathed too long an unhealthy atmosphere. He was
degenerating–the heir of the promises was becoming a man of the world.
He was entangled with earthly things. His marriages held him fast and
every year he seemed to get more and more rooted to Laban's land. It
was time he was transplanted to better soil. Now he is coming right
away. He has taken to tent life. He has come to sojourn in the land of
promise, as his fathers had done before him. He was now to confess that
he was seeking a city and meant to be a pilgrim till he found it. By a
desperate stroke he cut himself clear of entanglements, but he must
have felt lonely and as one cast adrift. He missed all the associations
of the old house of Mesopotamia, which, despite its annoyances, was his
home.
The angels come to congratulate him. Their presence said, "You are come
to this land to be stranger and sojourner with God, as all your fathers
were. We have, some of us, talked with Abraham, again and again and we
are now coming to smile on you. You remember how we bade you goodbye
that night, when you had a stone for your pillow at Bethel? Now you
have come back to the reserved inheritance over which we are set as
guardians and we have come to salute you. Take up the non-conforming
life without fear, for we are with you. Welcome! Welcome! We are glad
to receive you under our special care."
Then was it true to Jacob, "Verily I say unto you, there is no man that
has left house, or brother, or sister, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands for My sake, but he shall receive an hundred-fold
now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and lands, with persecutions and in the world to come eternal
life." This brotherhood of angels must have been an admirable
compensation for the loss of the fatherhood of that churlish Laban!
Anything we lose when we leave the world and what is called, "society,"
is abundantly made up when we can say, "We have come unto the Church of
the firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven and unto an
innumerable company of angels."
Again, the reason why the angels met Jacob at that time was, doubtless,
because he was surrounded with great cares. He had a large family of
little children and great flocks and herds and many servants were with
him. He said, himself, "With my staff I crossed this Jordan and now I
am become two bands." This was a huge burden of care! It was no light
thing for one man to have the management of all that mass of life and
to lead it about in wandering style. But look! There are two companies
of angels to balance the two companies of feeble ones. If he has two
bands to take care of, he shall have two bands to take care of him. If
he has double responsibility, he shall have double assistance.
So, Brothers and Sisters, when you are in positions of great
responsibility and you feel the weight pressing upon you, have hope in
God that you will have double succor and be sure that you pray that
Mahanaim may be repeated in your experience so that your strength may
be equal to your day. Again, the Lord's host appeared when Jacob felt a
great dread. His brother Esau was coming to meet him armed to the teeth
and, as he feared, thirsty for his blood. In times when our danger is
greatest, if we are real Believers, we shall be specially under the
Divine protection and we shall know that it is so. This shall be our
comfort in the hour of distress. What can Esau do with his 400 men, now
that the hosts of God have pitched their tents and have assembled in
their squadrons to watch between us and the foe?
Can you see the horses of fire and chariots of fire around about the
chosen servant of God? Jacob ought to have felt calm and quiet in heart
and I suppose he was when he saw his protectors. Alas, as soon as he
lost sight of them, poor Jacob was depressed in spirit again about his
brother, Esau, lest he should slay the mothers with the children! Such
is the weakness of our hearts! But let us not fall into the grievous
sin of unbelief. Are we not without excuse if we do so? In times of
great distress we may expect that the forces of God will become
recognizable by our faith and we shall have a
clearer sense of the powers on our side than ever we had before! O Holy
Spirit, work in us great clearness of spiritual sight!
And, once again, when you and I, like Jacob, shall be near Jordan, when
we shall just be passing into the better land, then is the time when we
may expect to come to Mahanaim. The angels of God and the God of angels
both come to meet the spirits of the blessed in the solemn article of
death. Have we not, ourselves, heard of Divine revealings from dying
lips? Have we not heard the testimony so often, too, that it could not
have been an invention and a deception? Have not many loved ones given
us assurance of a glorious revelation which they never saw before? Is
there not a giving of new sight when the eyes are closing? Yes, O heir
of Glory, the shining ones shall come to meet you on the river's brink
and you shall be ushered into the Presence of the Eternal by those
bright courtiers of Heaven who, on either side, shall be a company of
dear companions when the darkness is passing and the Glory is streaming
over you! Be of good cheer! If you see not the hosts of God now, you
shall see them hereafter when the Jordan shall be reached and you cross
over to the promised land.
Thus I have mentioned the time when these invisible forces become
visible to faith and there is no doubt whatever that they are sent for
a purpose. Why were they sent to Jacob at this time? Perhaps the
purpose was first, to revive an ancient memory which had well-near
slipped from him. I am afraid he had almost forgotten Bethel. Surely it
must have brought his vow at Bethel to mind, the vow which He made unto
the Lord when he saw the ladder and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon it. Here they were! They had left Heaven and come down
that they might hold communion with him. I like the dream at Bethel
better than the vision of Mahanaim for this reason, that he saw the
Covenant God at the top of the ladder–here he only sees the angels.
Yet there is a choice pearl in this latter sight, for whereas at Bethel
he only saw angels ascending and descending, he here sees them on the
earth by his side, ready to protect him from all harm.
How sweetly do new mercies refresh the memory of former favors and how
gently does new Grace remind us of old promises and debts. Brother,
does not your Mahanaim point to some half-forgotten Bethel? Judge for
yourself. Should our glorious God give you, at this time, a clear view
of His Divine power and of His Covenant faithfulness, I pray that the
sight may refresh your memory concerning that happy day when you first
knew the Lord, when you first gave yourself up to Him and His Grace
took possession of your spirit. Mahanaim was granted to Jacob, not only
to refresh his memory, but to lift him out of the ordinary low level of
his life. Jacob, you know, the father of all the Jews, was great at
huckstering–it was his very nature to drive bargains. Jacob had all
his wits about him and rather more than he should have had, well
answering to his name of "supplanter."
He would let no one deceive him and he was ready at all times to take
advantage of those with whom he had any dealings. Here the Lord seems
to say to him, "O Jacob, My servant, rise out of this miserable way of
dealing with Me and be of a princely mind." Such should have been the
lesson of this angelic visit, though it was ill-learned. Jacob was
prepared to send off to Esau and call him, "My Lord Esau." He was ready
to cringe and bow and call himself his servant. He went beyond the
submissiveness which prudence suggests into the abject subjection which
is born of fear. The vision should have led Jacob to stand upon higher
ground. With bands of angels as his bodyguard, he had no need to
persist in his timorous, pettifogging policy.
He might have walked along with the dignified confidence of his
grandfather Abraham. There is something better in this life, after all,
than policy and planning–faith in God is far grander! A coward's
scheming never becomes the favorite of Heaven. Why should he fear who
is protected beyond all fear? Esau could not stand against him, for
Jehovah Sa-baoth, the Lord of Hosts, was on his side! O for Grace to
live according to our true position and character–not as poor
dependents upon our own wits or upon the help of man–but as grandly
independent of things seen because our entire reliance is fixed upon
the unseen and eternal! Jacob as a mere keeper of sheep has great cause
to fear his warlike brother, but as the chosen of God and possessor of
a heavenly guard he may boldly travel on as if no Esau were in
existence!
All things are possible with God. Let us, then, play the man. We are
not dependent on the things that are seen. Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God shall
man live. Cursed is he that trusts in man. Trust in God with all your
heart. He is your infinite aid. Do right and give up calculations.
Plunge into the sea of faith! Believe as much in the invisible as in
the visible and act upon your faith. This seems to me to be God's
objective in giving to any of His servants a clearer view of the powers
which are engaged on their behalf. If such a special vision is granted
to us, let us keep it in memory.
Jacob called the name of that place Mahanaim. I wish we had some way in
this western world, in these modern times, of naming places, and
children, too, more sensibly. We must either borrow some antiquated
title, as if we were too short of sense to make one for ourselves, or
else our names are sheer nonsense and mean nothing. Why not choose
names which should commemorate our mercies? Might not our houses be far
more full of interest if around us we saw memorials of the happy events
of our lives? Should we not note down remarkable blessings in our
diaries to hand down to our children? Should we not tell our sons and
daughters, "There God helped your father, Son." "Thus and thus the Lord
comforted your mother, Daughter." "There God was very gracious to our
family."
Keep records of your race! Preserve the household memoranda! I think it
is a great help for a man to know what God did for his father and his
grandfather, for he hopes that their God will also be his God. Jacob
took care to make notes, for he again and again named places by the
facts which there were seen. Jacob named Bethel and Galeed, and Peniel
and Mahanaim and other places, for he was a great name giver. Nor were
his names forgotten, for hundreds of years after, good King David came
to the same spot as Jacob and found it still known as Mahanaim and
there the servants of God of another kind met him, also!
This brings me to my second text. Angels did not meet David, but living
creatures of another nature met him who answered the purpose of David
quite as well as angels would have done. So just for a few minutes we
will dwell upon that second event which distinguished Mahanaim. Turn to
the Second Book of Samuel, the 17th chapter, 27th verse. David came to
Mahanaim and was met there by many friends. He stood upon the sacred
spot accompanied by his handful of faithful friends, fugitives like he
was. There apparently was not an angel about that day, yet secretly
there were thousands flying around the sorrowing king.
Who is this that comes? It is not an angel but old Barzillai. Who is
this? It is Machir of Lodebar. They bring with them honey, corn,
butter, sheep, great basins by way of baths and cooking utensils and
earthen vessels to hold their food. And look, there are beds, too, for
the poor king has not a couch to lie upon. These are not angels, but
they are doing what angels could not have done, for Gabriel himself
could hardly have brought a bed or a basin! Who is yonder prominent
friend? He speaks like a foreigner! He is an Ammonite! What is his
name? Shobi, the son of Nahash, of Rabbah, of the children of Ammon. I
have heard of those people–they were enemies were they not–cruel
enemies to Israel?
That man, Nahash–you remember his name? This is one of his sons. Yes!
God can turn enemies into friends when His servants require succor.
Those that belong to a race that is opposed to Israel can, if God wills
it, turn to be their helpers! The Lord found an advocate for His Son,
Jesus, in Pilate's house–the governor's wife suffered many things in a
dream because of Him. He can find a friend for His servants in their
persecutor's own family, even us He raised up Oba-diah to hide the
Prophets and feed them in a cave–the chamberlain to Ahab, himself, was
the protector of the saints and, with meat from Ahab's table, they were
fed!
It strikes me that Shobi the Ammonite came to David because he owed his
life to him. Rabbah of Ammon had been destroyed, and this man, probably
the brother of the king, had been spared. This act of mercy he
remembered and when he found David in trouble, he acted gratefully and
came down from his highland home with his men and with his substance.
Many a good man has found gracious help in his time of need from those
who have received salvation by his means. If we are a blessing to
others, they will be a blessing to us. If we have brought any to Christ
and they have found the Savior by our teaching, there is a peculiar tie
between us and they will be our helpers. Shobi of Rabbah of Ammon will
be sure to be generous to David, because he will say, "It is by him I
live. It is through him that I found salvation from
death."
If God blesses you in the conversion of any, it may be that He will
raise them up in your time of need and send them to help–at any rate,
either by friends visible or invisible, He will cause you to dwell in
the land and verily you shall be fed. Here comes another person we have
heard of before, Machir of Lodebar. That is the large farmer who took
care of Mephibosheth. He seems to have been a truly loyal man who stuck
to royal families even when their fortunes were adverse. As he had been
faithful to the house of Saul, so was he to David. We have among us
Brothers and Sisters who are always friends of God's ministers–they
love them for their Master's sake and adhere to them when the more
fickle spirits rush after new comers. Happy are we to have many such
adherents!
They helped the preacher's predecessor–they like to talk of the grand
old man who ruled Israel in the olden times and they are not tired of
it. And they are the entertainers of the present leader and are equally
hearty in their help. God fetches up these Brethren at the moment they
are needed and they appear with loaded hands. Here comes Barzillai, an
old man of 80 years and, as the historian tells us, "a very great man."
His enormous wealth was all at the disposal of David and his followers
and, "he provided the king sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim." This
old nobleman was certainly as useful to David as the angels were to
Jacob and he and his co-helpers were truly a part of God's forces.
The armies of God are varied–He has not one troop alone, but many. Did
not Elisha's servants see the mountain full of horses of fire and
chariots of fire? God's hosts are of varied regiments, appearing as
horse and foot, cherubim and seraphim and holy men and holy women.
Those who are of the church of God below are as much a part of the host
of God as the holiest angels above. Godly women who minister unto the
Lord do what they can and angels can do no more. On this occasion
Mahanaim well deserved its name because the help that came to David
from these different persons came in a most noble way, as though it
came by angels.
The helpers of David showed their fidelity to him. He was driven out of
his palace and likely to be dethroned, but they stood by him and proved
that they meant to stand by him. Their declaration was in effect, "Your
are we, you son of Jesse and all that we have." Now was the time of his
need and now he would see that they were not fine weather friends, but
such as were true in the hour of trial. See their generosity! What a
mass of goods they brought to sustain David's troops in the day when
they were hungry and thirsty! I need not give you the details–your
verses read like a commissariat roll of demands. Every actually
necessary form of provision is there. How spontaneous was the gift!
David did not demand–they brought before he asked!
He had not sent his sergeants around to levy upon the outlying villages
and farms–there were the good people– ready-handed with all manner of
provisions. Their thoughtfulness was great, too, for they seem to have
thought of everything that was needed and, besides, they said, "The
people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness." The
heartiness of it all is most delightful. They brought their
contributions cheerfully and joyfully, otherwise they would have
brought only a meager sort and with less variety of gifts. I infer from
this that if at any time a servant of God is marching onward in his
Master's work and he needs assistance of any sort, he need not trouble
about it, but rest in the Lord and help will surely come, if not from
the angels above, yet from the Church below.
Will you look at Solomon's Song, the 6th chapter and 13th verse,
"Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon
you. What will you see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two
armies," or Mahanaim, for that is literally how it stands in the
Hebrew. In the Church of God, then, we see the company of Mahanaim–the
saints are the angels of God on earth as the angels are His hosts
above. God will send these upon His errands to comfort and sustain His
servants in their times of need. Go on, O David, at the bidding of your
Lord, for His chosen servants here below will count it their delight to
be your allies and you shall say of them, "this is God's host!"
And now, to close. While I have shown you God's invisible agents and
God's visible agents, I want to call to your mind that in either case
and in both cases the host is the host of God. That is to say, the true
strength and safety of the Believer is his God. We do not trust in the
help of angels. We do not trust in the Church of God, nor in 10,000
Churches of God all put together, if there were such, but in only God
Himself. Oh, it is grand to hang on the bare arm of God, for there hang
all the worlds! The eternal arm is never weary, nor shall those who
rest on it be confused. "Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord
Jehovah there is everlasting strength."
I said last Thursday night to you that faith was nothing but sanctified
common sense and I am sure it is so. It is the most common sense thing
in the world to trust to the trustworthy–the most reasonable thing in
the world to take into your calculations the greatest power in the
world and that is God–and to place your confidence in that power. Yes,
more, since that greatest power comprehends all the other powers–for
there is no power in angels, or in men, except what God gives them–it
is wise to place all our reliance upon God alone. The Presence of God
with Believers is more certain and constant than the presence of angels
or holy men. God has said it–"Certainly I will be with you." He has
said again, "I will not leave you, nor forsake you."
When you are engaged in Christ's service you have a special promise to
back you up–"Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the
world." What are you afraid of, then? Be done with trembling! Let
feeble hearts be strong. What can stagger us? "God is with us." Was
there
ever a grander battle cry than ours–the Lord of Hosts is with us?
Blessed was John Wesley to live by faith and then to die saying, "The
best of all is, God is with us." Shrink? Turn your backs in the day of
battle? Shame upon you! You cannot, if God is with you, for, "if God is
with us, who can be against us?" Or if they are against us, who can
stand for an hour? If, then, God is pleased to grant us help by
secondary causes, as we know He does–for to many of us He sends many
and many a friend to help in His good work–then we must take care to
see God in these friends and helpers. When you have no helpers, see all
helpers in God! When you have many helpers, then you must see God in
all your helpers. Herein is wisdom. When you have nothing but God, see
all in God–when you have everything, then see God in everything. Under
all conditions keep your heart only on the Lord. May the Spirit of God
teach us all how to do this.
This tendency to idolatry of ours, how strong it is. If a man bows down
to worship a piece of wood or stone, we call him an idolater and so he
is. But if you and I trust in our fellow men instead of God, it is
idolatry. If we give to them the confidence that belongs to God, we
worship them instead of God. Remember how Paul said he did not consult
with flesh and blood? Alas, too many of us are caught in that snare. We
consult far more with flesh and blood than with the Lord. The worst
person I ever consult with at all is a person who is always too near
me. The Lord deliver me from that evil man, myself The Presence of the
Lord Jesus is the star of our night and the sun of our day! He is the
cure of care, the strength of service and the solace of sorrow! Heaven
on earth is for Christ to be with us and Heaven above is to be with
Christ.
I can ask nothing better for you, Brothers and Sisters, than that God
may be with you in a very conspicuous and manifest manner all through
this day and right onward till days shall end in the Eternal Day. I do
not ask that you may see angels, still, if it can be, so be it! But
what is it, after all, to see an angel? Is not the fact of God's
Presence better than the sight of the best of His creatures? Perhaps
the Lord favored Jacob with the sight of angels because he was such a
poor, weak creature as to his faith. Perhaps if Jacob had been perfect
in his faith, he would not have needed to see angels. He would have
said, "I need no vision of heavenly spirits, for I see their Lord."
What are angels? They are only God's pages to run upon His errands–to
see their Lord is far better!
The angels of God are not to be compared with the God of angels! If my
confidence is in God, that He is my Father and that Jesus Christ has
become the Brother of my soul and that the Holy Spirit dwells in me
according to His own Word, why need I care, although no vision of the
supernatural should ever gladden my eyes? Blessed are they that have
not seen and yet have believed. "We walk by faith, not by sight," and
in that joyous faith we rest, expecting that in time and to eternity
the power of God will be with us, either visibly or invisibly, by men
or by angels! His arm shall be lifted up for us and His right arm shall
defend us.
My heart is glad, for I, too, have had my Mahanaim and in this my hour
of need for the work of the Lord to which He has called me I see the
windows of Heaven opened above me and I see troops of friends around
me. For the Girls Orphanage now to be commenced I see Providence
moving! Two camps are around me, also, and, therefore, do I preach to
you this day of that which I have seen and known! May the Angel of the
Covenant be always with you. Amen.
PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Genesis31:43-55; 32:1,2; 2
Samuel17:27-29; Psalm 23.
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–708, 34, 674.
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God Glorified By Children's Mouths