WRITTEN AT MENTONE,
BY C. H. SPURGEON.
"And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto
her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a
vessel more. And the oil ceased."
2 Kings 4:6.
So long as there were vessels to be filled, the miraculous flow of oil
continued and it only ceased when there were no more jars to contain
it. The Prophet spoke no word to stop the multiplying process and the
Lord did not set any boundary to the bountiful marvel–the poor widow
was not lacking faith in God, but in her supply of empty vessels!
Nothing else in the universe restrained the flow of oil, but the need
of vessels to receive the oil stopped it at once. The vessels failed
before the oil–our powers of receiving will give out long before God's
power of bestowing! This is true in reference to our PROVIDENTIAL
CIRCUMSTANCES. So long as we have needs, we shall have supplies, and we
shall find our necessities exhausted far sooner than the Divine bounty.
In the wilderness there fell more manna than the tribes could eat and
there flowed more water than the hosts could drink. And as long as they
were in a desert land and required this provision, it was given to
them, but when they reached Canaan and fed on the old corn of the land,
the special supplies ceased–but not till then. In the same manner the
Lord will feed His people till they need no more. The widow's apparent
source of supply was only one pot of oil, but this continued to stream
forth as vessel by vessel was placed underneath it! So shall the little
with which the Lord endows His poor people continue to be sufficient
from day to day, till the last day of life, like the last vessel, shall
have been filled.
Some are not content with this, but would have the oil run beyond the
last vessel, even after their deaths, never resting till they have
hoarded their thousands and have buried their hearts in gold dust. If
the oil will but run till the last vessel is full, what more do we
need? If Providence secures us food and raiment till we end this mortal
life, what more can we require? Doubtless in the dispensation of wealth
and other talents to His servants, the Lord considers their capacities.
If they had more vessels they should have more oil. The infinitely wise
God knows that it is better for some men to be poor than rich–they
would not be able to bear prosperity and so the oil does not flow,
because there is not a vessel to
fill.
If we are able to receive an earthly gift, it will then be a good thing
to us and the Lord has declared that He will not withhold any good
thing from those who walk uprightly. But a talent which we could not
receive so as to use it properly would be only a curse to us and,
therefore, He does not burden us with it. All that we can hold we shall
have–all that we really need; all that we shall be sure to employ to
His Glory; all that will minister to our highest good–God will pour
forth from His inexhaustible fullness and only when He sees that the
gifts would be wasted by becoming superfluities, or burdensome
responsibilities, or occasions for temptation, will He restrain His
power and the oil shall cease.
Rest assured that God's bounty will keep pace with your true capacity
and, "verily you shall be fed." The same principle holds good with
regard to THE BESTOWAL OF SAVING GRACE. In a congregation, the Gospel
is as the pot of oil and those who receive from it are needy souls,
desirous of the Grace of God. Of these we have always too few in our
assemblies. Many are the vessels of oil, filled to the brim and
fastened down–the full Pharisee, the self-satisfied professor and the
proud worldling are such–for these the miracle of Grace has no
multiplying power for they are ready to overflow even now. A full
Christ is for empty sinners and for empty sinners only! As long as
there is a really empty soul in a congregation, the Word of God will go
forth as a blessing, but no longer.
It is not our emptiness, but our fullness which can hinder the
outgoings of Free Grace. While there is one soul conscious of sin and
eager for pardon, Grace will flow. Yes, while there is one heart weary
of indifference and anxious to be wounded, Grace will flow. "I feel,"
says one, "exceedingly unfit to be saved." You are evidently empty and
there is room in you for the oil of Grace. "Alas," cries a second, "I
feel nothing at all! Even my own unfitness does not distress
me." This only shows how utterly empty you are and in you, also, the
oil will find space for its flow. "Ah." sighs a third, "I have become
skeptical! Unbelief has made me hard as the nether millstone." In you,
also, there is large storage for Grace.
Only be willing to receive! Stand like the oil jar with opened mouth,
waiting for the oil to pour forth from the miraculous pot. If the Lord
has made you willing to receive, He will not be long before He has
given you Grace upon Grace. O that we could meet with more emptied
souls! Why should the Lord's wonders be cut short for lack of persons
who need to have them worked upon them? Are there no needy souls about?
Have all men waxed rich, or is it a vain presumption which possesses so
many hearts?
Hidden away in corners where they weep their eyes out because they
cannot weep and break their hearts because their hearts will not
break–and cry before the Lord because they feel they cannot pray, or
feel, or hate sin–hidden away in corners, I say, there are truly empty
souls and for these the heavenly oil is still running, is running now!
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be filled." No exception in the narrative before us was taken to
any vessel so long as it was empty. There was one qualification and
only one–the power to receive indicated by emptiness. Come, then, you
needy souls, come to the eternal Fountain and receive a wealth of
blessing, freely given because you need it and because the Lord Jesus
loves to bestow it!
The same is true with regard to OTHER SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS. All fullness
dwells in our Lord Jesus and, as He needs not Grace for Himself, it is
stored up in Him that He may give it out to Believers. The saints with
one voice confess, "Of His fullness have we all received." The limit of
His outpouring is our capacity to receive and that limit is often set
by our faithless prayers–"we have not because we ask not, or because
we ask amiss." If our desires were more expanded our receipts would be
more extended. We fail to bring empty vessels and, therefore, the oil
is stopped. We do not sufficiently see our poverty and do not,
therefore, enlarge our longings. O for a heart insatiable for Christ, a
soul more greedy than the grave itself which is never satisfied! Then
would rivers of the heavenly oil flow in upon us and we should be
filled with all the fullness of God.
Frequently we limit the Holy One of Israel by our unbelief. Nothing
hinders Grace like this impoverishing vice. "He did not many mighty
works there because of their unbelief." Unbelief declares it to be
impossible that more oil should come from the oil pot and so refuses to
bring more vessels under the pretense of a humble fear of presumption
and thus robbing the soul and dishonoring the Lord. Shame on you, you
mother of famine, you drier up of flowing wells! What shall be done
unto you, you lying traitor! What coals of juniper are fierce enough
for you, you wicked unbelief? We mourn that our joy is departed, that
our graces languish, that our usefulness is restrained. Whose fault is
this? Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened? Are these His doings? No,
verily, we have stopped, ourselves, the bottles of Heaven! May infinite
Mercy save us from ourselves and lead us, now, to "bring here vessels,
even empty vessels not a few."
Pride also has a horrible power to stop the Divinely-given oil. When on
our knees we feel no pressing necessity, no urgent need, no special
danger and, on the contrary, we feel we are rich and increased in goods
and have need of nothing, do we wonder, then, that we are not refreshed
and feel no delight in the holy exercise? Have we not heard the Lord
saying, "Bring Me another vessel"? And as we have answered, "There are
no more vessels," can we be surprised that the oil is ceased? May the
Lord save us from the parching influence of conceit! It will turn an
Eden into a wilderness! Poverty of soul leads to fullness, but carnal
security creates barrenness! The Holy Spirit delights to comfort every
hungry heart, but the full soul loathes the honeycomb of the Spirit's
consolations and leaves it to itself till it is famished and cries out
for heavenly bread.
Of this one thing let us be sure–there is an abundance of Grace to be
had as long as we hunger and thirst after it– and never shall a single
willing heart be forced to cry, "The oil is ceased," so long as it has
an empty vessel to bring. The same Truth of God will be proved in
reference to THE PURPOSES OF GRACE IN THE WORLD. The fullness of Divine
Grace will be equal to every demand upon it till the end of time. Men
will never be saved apart from the Atonement of our Lord Jesus, but
never will that ransom price be found insufficient to redeem the souls
that trust in the Redeemer–
"Dear dyingLamb, Your precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till
all the ransomed Church of God Is saved to sin no more."
Neither will His intercession lose any of its prevalence for those who
come to God by Him. To the last hour of time it shall never be said
that a single sinner has sought His face in vain, or that an empty
vessel has at last been found which Jesus cannot fill!
The power of the Holy Spirit to convict, convert, console and sanctify
shall also abide the same to the end of the age. Never will there be
found a weeping penitent whom He cannot cheer with a lively hope and
lead to Jesus for eternal salvation! Never will there be a struggling
Believer whom He cannot lead on to certain and complete victory!
Perfection, itself, He shall always be able to work in all the saints,
even meetness for their holy heritage above. None of us should despond
when we discover anew our own natural inability and deadness. Our hope
was never based on created power–a lively hope has its foundation in
the Omnipotence of the Holy Spirit–and that cannot be the subject of
question or of change. For the salvation of all the elect, the sacred
Trinity will work together till all shall be accomplished.
Whatever remains behind as to the purposes of God, He has power to
achieve. If there should stand before us a row of empty vessels bearing
the names of Babylon overthrown, the Jews converted, the nations
evangelized, the idols abolished and so forth, we must by no means be
disheartened, for all these vessels of promise shall be filled in due
time. The Church of the present day is feeble and her supplies are
quite inadequate to the enterprise before her, yet as out of one pot of
oil many vessels were filled which were far greater than itself–so by
His poor and despised Church, through the foolishness of preaching–the
Lord will fulfill His august designs and fill the universe with praise!
"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give
you the kingdom."
With this assurance, believing men may boldly go forth among the
heathen! The nations are empty vessels and there are not a few of them!
God has given us His blessing upon our cruse of oil and all we have to
do is to pour out and continue to pour out till there is not a vessel
left. We are very far from that consummation–even in our congregations
all are not saved–even in our families many are not converted! We
cannot say, "there is not a vessel left," and, blessed be God, neither
may we suspect that the oil will cease! With hopeful earnestness let us
bring the empty vessels beneath the sacred outflow that they may be
filled!
How glorious will be the consummation when all the chosen shall be
gathered in! Then there shall not remain a seeking soul to be saved,
nor a praying heart to be comforted, nor a wandering sheep to be
sought! Not a vessel shall be found throughout the universe needing to
be filled and then shall the oil of mercy cease to flow and Justice,
alone, hold her court. Woe unto the ungodly in that day, for then the
empty vessels shall be broken to shivers! As they would not receive the
oil of Love, they shall, each one, be filled with the wine of wrath!
May infinite Grace preserve each one of us from such a terrible doom.
Amen.
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Two Sorts Of Hearers