“The Oil of Joy for Mourning”

"The Oil of Joy for Mourning"

(No. 3341)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1913.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"The oil of joy for mourning." Isaiah 61:3.

MOURNERS in Zion ought to be doubly comforted, for here, in this
gracious promise, is a second gift of Divine Love to them–a second
exchange of loss for gain. The varied expressions of this choice
Scripture show the manifold loving kindnesses of the Lord to His
afflicted and the plentiful devices of wisdom by which He ministers
consolation. It was not enough to give the sorrowing ones, "beauty for
ashes"–He must add an oil with which to enhance the beauty and take
away, not only the ashes, but the mourning which lay beneath them!
This, also, illustrates the exceeding fullness of the blessings which
are stored up in the Lord Jesus–in Him we have everything which heart
can wish–a rich variety of joyful blessings never to be exhausted! It
also shows us the marvelous fitness of our Lord Jesus, since solely
because of His coming as the Anointed of the Lord, there is healing for
the wounded, liberty for the captives, eyes for the blind, comfort for
mourners, beauty for the disfigured and oil for fading countenances! He
meets every need of the soul and fills the heart to overflowing with
contented gratitude. Let it be repeated and gratefully remembered that
all these good things come by the Anointed Savior alone. There can be
no traffic with Heaven except by the crimson road of the atoning blood!
No channel for Divine Favor except by the Christ of God on whom the
Spirit of the Lord forever rests! To Him be Glory forever! Blessed be
His name–He is the channel of Divine Grace and in Him is no straitness
or shallowness! A Divine riches of glory flows to us by Christ Jesus–

"Immortal joys come streaming down, Joys, like His griefs, immense,
unknown." If our Redeemer were not what He is, what would we do? But
being what He is, there is no necessity which He cannot supply, there
is no grief which He cannot relieve and there is no right desire which
He cannot satisfy. Let us drink of the river of His fullness and sing
to His praise!

Notice, also, at the outset of our present meditation, the effectual
way in which the blessings which Jesus brings are bestowed upon
mourners. We have often heard doubting ones say, "Yes, there are
promises, but we cannot reach them. We know that there are abundant
consolations and rich and free comforts, but we do not feel their
power, nor dare to take them to ourselves." Now, in this place we see
the condescending Lord, Himself, applying the oil of joy in exchange
for mourning! His own right hand pours the precious oil upon the bowed
head–He, Himself, causes the face to shine and banishes woe! A man may
lie bleeding on the battlefield and there may be liniments close at
hand, but in his weakness and agony he may be quite unable to bind up
his own wounds, or reach the cordials–he may die because he is not
able to stretch so much as a finger to help himself to remedies which
lie by his side! It is an unspeakable mercy that our Lord gives His
Grace to us in such are effectual manner that His mourners actually
obtain the help they need! He is a very present help, a real
Comforter–the oil of joy is not shown us in an unbroken alabaster
vase, nor merely offered to us in a vial, but it is actually and
effectually applied to the soul!

Let us now come to the consideration of this second of the three great
blessings bestowed upon the mourners in Zion–and may we all enjoy a
portion thereof while we meditate thereon. In working out the metaphor
we shall observe

that–

I. OUR LOVING LORD BRINGS HIS MOURNERS TO SIT AT A FEAST.

This is clearly intended, for oil was largely used by Orientals upon
festive occasions. The oil which makes man's face to shine was
associated with the bread which strengthens man's heart, and the wine
which makes glad the heart of man,

(Psa 104:15), because these are the chiefprovisions of a banquet.
Before the feast, or during the entertainment, the guests were
refreshed with perfumed oil which would be either poured upon the head,
or furnished for anointing the face. It was part and parcel of a great
feast. Hence we read of those who "drink wine in bowls, and anoint
themselves with their chief ointments." Therefore our first thought is
this, that the Lord Jesus brings mourning souls to a feast of love at
which they sing, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies, You anoint my head with oil." How great will be our joy if we
can feel that our Lord has brought us into His banqueting house and
that we are now reclining there! Now, to all Believers, this is truly
the case. Our hunger now is relieved, for He satisfies our mouth with
good things. That fierce, wolf-like hunger which we once felt, is gone
forever, for it is written, "He that eats of this bread shall never
hunger." Our craving, all-consuming thirst is ended, for he that drinks
of the water which Jesus gives him shall never thirst! Many of Zion's
mourners are sitting under the Word, longing for Divine Provision and
praying, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." The bread is theirs and a
Voice cries to them, "Eat, O Friends! Drink, yes drink abundantly, O
Beloved!" Your deadly famine of heart is gone and the spiritual hunger
which you now feel is a pleasant appetite which gives a zest to
heavenly food–an appetite which you long to have increased to the
utmost! Even at this moment, though you feel a blessed hunger and
thirst after righteousness, you are filled with royal dainties. You are
no longer starving in the streets, nor famishing under the hedges and
in the highways, but, by Divine Grace you have been sweetly compelled
to come in and you are at this moment the guests of the table of
boundless mercy where the name of Jesus is as ointment poured forth, so
that all around you the oil of gladness is shedding a Divine Perfume!
You are no longer feeding the swine, but resting at the Father' s
table–the oxen and the fatlings are killed and you are actually at the
supper. Believe this and act accordingly!

And what a feast it is! For who is your Host? The Lord of Life and
Glory, Himself, ordains "the feast of fat things, of fat things full of
marrow, of wines on the lees well-refined." "The King sits at His
table." It is His table and He sits at it! It is a great thing to dine
with a king, but what must it be to be daily eating bread at the table
of the King of kings? Let the joy bells ring in your soul at the very
thought, for you are already come to the great feast which the King has
made for His Son! He comes in, Himself, to see the guests!

It is the feast of the universe. There never was such another and there
never can be its like! It is the antepast of the great Supper of the
Lamb. What provisions are put upon the table! Men do eat angels' food
when they come here. Yes, they eat viands better than the bread of
angels, for the body of Christ has become the meat and the drink of His
mourners. Poor Souls, you feast upon Incarnate Deity! Speak of oxen and
of fatlings? These are poor types compared with the wondrous provision
of celestial Grace with which the Infinite Jehovah has loaded the table
of the Covenant! And all these things are yours. You may have as much
as you will. There remains no need to eat bread by weight, or to drink
water by measure–He will satiate your soul with fatness and nothing
shall be withheld from you! Ought you not to bless Him that you are now
a guest at such a table and that such food is at this very moment
spread before you?

Think of your fellow guests. Look around you and inspect the company.
Remember where you were a little while ago–you were strangers and
foreigners, yes, you were as dogs in the street! Where are you now? You
are permitted to sit with the children of God, with the saints of the
Most High! Does it not bring the water into your eyes to think that
you–you who long refused to come and despised the feast of Grace–are,
at last, brought in? No, not only are you sitting here at the feast of
love with God's people, but the saints above are your comrades–for
"you are come to the general assembly and church of the first-born,
which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect." We sup with the glorious company of
the Apostles, the goodly fellowship of the Prophets, the noble army of
martyrs and the holy Church throughout all the world! Now, also, have
we fellowship with angels. We have come unto Mount Zion and to an
innumerable company of angels. Better still, we have fellowship with
Jesus. "Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant," is the center of the
whole! It is His wedding feast and we are glorifying Him by partaking
of His Father's bounty. We cannot at this moment actually put our heads
upon Jesus' bosom as John did, nor need we wish for that visible and
physical delight, but our heart rests upon His breast and enjoys an
unspeakable bliss in so doing! Jesus, Immanuel, we are safe in Your
arms, and our heart is at perfect rest in You! We are even now abiding
in You, while at Your Passover we keep the feast. We are feasting with
the great Father, Himself, for, Beloved, when the glorious Sacrifice
becomes a meat offering, God Himself delights therein and partakes with
us in the satisfaction made by His Son! Oh, the satisfaction which God
the Father finds in Jesus! It is a theme upon which we dare not attempt
to speak,

but this we know–the Lord rests in His love. He smells a sweet savor
in the Person and work and Sacrifice of His dear Son. If we love Jesus,
so does the Father! And if we rest in Jesus, so does He! And if we
would glorify Jesus, so would the Father! Thus are we brought to feast
with God, the Judge of all, when we come to "the blood of sprinkling,
which speaks better things than that of Abel." Here the oil ofjoy is
most befitting. Is it not most natural and proper that it should be
poured out at such a festival?

We cannot linger, but must pass to the next observation, which is
this–

II. BEING AT A FEAST, IT IS BECOMING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE PRESENT JOY.

Hence the text speaks of "the oil of joy for mourning"–the mourning
was present enough, the joy should be equally so. At feasts, the
perfume poured upon the heads of the guests was a seemly and
appropriate thing. It suited the feast, it made the guests feel at home
and it gave refreshment all around as the delicious perfume sweetened
the air. Come, Beloved, we have at this moment reason for joy–let us
use it! Let every child of God feel that he has the oil of joy in the
fact that he possesses present blessings. Our best things lie on the
other side of the Jordan–we are looking for our full bliss at the
coming of our Lord, but we have much in the present. The oil of joy is
on our faces now, our locks are even now bedewed with the sacred
anointing–and it will be well for us to turn our thoughts towards that
Truth of God!

For, first, let all Believers recollect that we have today the joy of
the Atonement''By whom also," says the Apostle, "we have received the
Atonement." The Atonement will be no more ours in Heaven than it is
now. "We have redemption by His blood." Our sin will be no more put
away in Glory than it is at this moment, for our iniquity is even now
cast into the depths of the sea! Our Substitute has finished
transgression and made an end of sin. And having believed in Him, we
know that for us the full Atonement is already made and the utmost
ransom forever paid! "It is finished." "Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God." "There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus." Having believed, we know that our sin
is as far removed from us as the east is from the west! We also know
that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us and that it covers us
from head to foot. This is a Divinely sweet ingredient of the oil of
joy which now distils upon us from the head of our glorified Aaron and
perfumes even those who are as the skirts of his garments!

Besides that, my Brothers and Sisters, at the present moment we live in
the love of God. I t may not be at this moment sensibly shed abroad in
your heart by the Holy Spirit, but still, "the Father Himself loves
you." If you are a Believer in Christ, He will not love you more when
you are in Heaven than He loves you now, for He loves you Infinitely at
this instant! You are even now, "accepted in the Beloved." "Beloved,
now are we the sons of God." Infinite love, eternal love, unchanging
love, almighty love is the present possession of the children of God!
Hence comes our safety, hence comes the certainty of the supply of all
our needs–hence, indeed, flow all our joys! At this moment, despite
our spirit depression and soul battling and heart strife, the Lord has
set His love upon us and rests in that love! Should not this make our
faces shine?

At this time, too, we possess the Divine Life within us. Having
believed, we have been regenerated and the Spirit of God dwells in us!
Yes, within these mortal bodies does the Godhead dwell! He has made our
bodies to be the temples of the Holy Spirit. And what a favor is this,
for this indwelling is the witness of the Spirit within us, the
perpetual seal of Divine Grace. God has put into us a new life, a life
like His own–He has created in us a superior principle, unknown to
flesh and blood, for we are not born-again of the will of man, nor of
the will of the flesh, but of the will of God! A supernatural life has
been implanted in us which cannot die because it is born of God! We
have this and we know it–and because of it we greatly rejoice.

And not only so, but because we are the sons of God, we are heirs
according to the promise, since it is written, "If children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." Is not this oil to
make the face shine? What better delights can your imagination conceive
than the Divine joys of Adoption? O, you mourners, have you not here
the oil of

joy?

Further, we have the present joy of a high calling i nvolving the
exercise of sacred functions. You are at this hour, Beloved, as many of
you as believe in Him, made kings and priests unto God! You are
consecrated to the service of Him who has bought you with a price. The
mark of the blood is upon you and "you are Christ's." At this moment
you are a living sacrifice bound with cords to the horns of the altar.
Your Lord has sent you into the world, even as the Father sent Him

into the world, to proclaim His Truth and to do His will among the sons
of men. Is not this cause for delight? Does not your Divine vocation
anoint you with the oil of gladness?

With this we have special privileges. There is one privilege I prize at
this moment–I cannot tell you how much. It is this–the liberty to
pray, the power to pray, the promise that I shall be heard! Take the
Mercy Seat from me and poverty, faintness and anguish would seize my
soul! As long as there is a Mercy Seat and a torn veil, and the Voice
that bids me draw near and tells me that if I wait upon the Lord I
shall renew my strength, I have a joy worth worlds! What? Have you lost
a child? Is your property melting before your eyes? Does health
decline? Do friends forsake? Yet the Throne of Grace is accessible–fly
there and lose your grief! There burdens are light. There crosses bud
with crowns and tears sparkle into diamonds! Come here, you mourners,
even with the load of your doubts and fears–supplication will quicken
you and for mourning you shall obtain the oil of joy!

Time would fail me if I were to go through the whole catalog of the
sources of the Christian's present joy. Ah, you worldling, you know and
we confess it is true, that our chief joys are yet to come! But
notwithstanding, we have enough today to make us more than a match for
you! You may display your present mirth and carnal delight if you
will–and laugh at us who weep now–but we can endure your ridicule
with calm complacency because we have a secret peace and a deep
fathomless repose of heart which make us even now as far from envying
you as an angel from envying a mole! We are not of all men the most
miserable, but of all men the most blessed! Our eternal hopes revive us
amid the sorrows of this fleeting life. The harvests of Heaven shale
out and drop golden grain from above, upon which we feed even now! To
have Jesus for our Brother, God for our Father and the Spirit to be our
Comforter is a better portion than the richest, the proudest, or the
most famous of worldlings can possibly possess! The oil of joy is not
made in the presses of earth–it drops upon us through the golden pipes
of the sanctuary, flowing from the sacred olive trees which the Lord
has planted! Passing on from that observation, we would offer a third,
which is implied in the text, namely, that–

III. THIS JOY COMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

This is clear, since evermore when we read of oil we have before us in
Scripture the Divine influence of the Holy Spirit. The first part of
the Chapter before us runs thus–"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me
because the Lord has anointed Me." The oil with which Christ was
anointed was the Holy Spirit–and the oil of joy with which we are
anointed is the same Spirit! It is He who gives us joy in the Lord!

The Holy Spirit brings joy to Believers thus–first, He clears the
understanding and enables us to comprehend the deep things of God. Many
poor souls know but little of the precious gifts which the Lord has
bestowed upon them. As yet, though they are the Lord' s elect, they are
not aware of it. Though they are the redeemed of the Lord, they
perceive it not. There is the Light of God about them and yet they
cannot see, for their eyes are not yet opened beyond the power to see
men as trees walking. Let us be grateful if we have passed beyond this
stage. Through Infinite Mercy the Holy Spirit has visited some of us
and while He has painfully made us see our ruin, He has also most
blessedly led us to comprehend something of the remedy–and has enabled
us to understand with all saints what are the heights and depths, and
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge! We have an anointing
so that we know all things. Now are the mysteries opened and the hidden
things laid bare and, therefore, we have joy in the Lord, for our
renewed understanding floods our heart with rivers of delight!

The Holy Spirit also gives us joy as He enables us to exercise an
appropriating faith You that have faith, do you bless God sufficiently
for it? Do we not fail to adore the Divine Mercy which has worked this
Grace in us? We ought to blame ourselves when we find our faith to be
weak, but we must never commend ourselves when faith is strong. The
weakness of faith is ours, but the strength of faith comes of the Holy
Spirit and of Him alone. Let us bless Him that He has enabled us to
take to ourselves what the Lord Jesus has provided, so that now we do
not only see His Grace to be excellent, but we grasp it as our own!
Here is oil of joy for us, indeed!

The Spirit also, very graciously, sanctifies us, and this is joy. It is
a part of His work to discover sin in us and to excite a holy hatred of
it. He burns in our soul like flames of fire consuming evil. Now, the
destruction of sin is the destruction of sorrow and, as a child of God
grows in likeness to Jesus, he grows in solid peace of mind. If you
will follow your doubts and fears to their roots, you will find that
they grow from the dunghill of your sins–and when the Lord cleanses
out the evil of our hearts and creates a new spirit within us, the oil
of joy perfumes the soul and we are glad in His salvation.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit graciously quickens His people and what a
wonderful effect quickening has upon our joy! Whenever we are slothful
in the things of God, we miss the delights of healthy spiritual life
and, before long we mourn. But when the Holy Spirit comes and makes us
feel lively and energetic and sensitive, then we begin, also, to
rejoice in the Lord and the power of His might within us works in us a
leaping of holy joy! Those who not only have life, but have it more
abundantly, are a highly favored people and know how to exult in the
Lord! Beloved, long for no joy but that which the Holy Spirit gives
you! Thank God for the comforts of this life, but do not let them
become your idols, as they will be if they become your exceeding joy.
Draw from the upper fountains, fill your pitcher at the eternal
springs–ask neither for the cinnamon nor camphor of this world's
gardens, but let your chief spices be the fruit of the Spirit which are
joy and peace through believing! We may now, in the fourth place,
remark that–

IV. THE JOY WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US IS A GREAT PRESENT GIFT.

I once heard a person say, very wickedly, indeed, as I thought and
still think, that sin could do the Believer no harm. But he added,
"Except that it destroys his comfort." I thought, "Well, that is a
terrible 'exception,' indeed! That surely is quite enough to fill us
with holy fear! If anything robs the Christian of his joy, surely the
loss is great enough to set him upon his watch tower!" Yet I fear that
many Christians do not consider this. They dream that it can be well
with their souls when the joy of the Lord is gone, but, Brothers and
Sisters, it is not so! The healthy condition of a child of God is a
state of peaceful rest in the Lord. It is amazing how full Scripture is
of comfort for mourners because the Lord's objective is that the
mourner may be comforted. "Comfort you, comfort you, My people, says
your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem." Our Lord desired that we
might have His joy fulfilled in ourselves and He said, "Let not your
hearts be troubled." "Rejoice in the Lord always," said the Apostle
and, as if that were not enough, he added, "and again I say, rejoice."

Hear me, you mourning ones–the maintenance of a cheerful, happy frame
of mind is of the utmost importance to you, and that for many reasons
which may be drawn from the metaphor of oil.

Oil is refreshing, and so is holy joy. It puts new life into the soul
and renews its youth like the eagle's. When the man is faint with long
pursuing, he revives if he perceives he already possesses present
blessings in which he may rejoice. The joy of the Lord is our strength!

Oil was intended to also make each guest agreeable to his neighbors.
When his head was anointed with the sweet perfume, those round about
him were gratified. Happy Christians are pleasing to those about
them–and thus they become a means of attracting souls to Jesus. We
ought to be so happy that others ask, "From where have these men their
joys?" If so, you can clearly see why we should exchange our mourning
for the oil of joy. It would be evil to frighten men from the glad
tidings by drawing long faces and using doleful tones.

Besides, Brothers and Sisters, you all know how weak you are in the
service of God if your heart runs down into despondency. But when holy
joy comes back, you feel that you could face a lion, or the old roaring
lion, himself! Joy makes us brave. "The spirit of a man will sustain
his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Give me the joyful
Christian for his Master' s service, for he will break through a troop
and leap over a wall!

How gloriously does sacred joy lift us up above the sorrows of the
world! No, more–how it lifts us up above earth's joys! The man who has
once drunk the old wine of the Kingdom does not desire the new and sour
wine of earth. He who knows the joy of the Lord will despise the joy of
the world. Earthly comforts are small concerns to the heavenly mind. He
receives them gratefully as matters of ordinary gifts from his Father's
hands, but his heart cries, "The Lord is my portion, says my soul." He
who has eaten the white bread of Heaven has his mouth put out of taste
for the black bread of earth. He who has feasted at God's table and had
the oil ofjoy poured upon his head by the Holy Spirit has risen above
the fascinations of the hour! What can charm a man who has gazed on the
beauties of Jesus? What can delude us into idolatry when we have once
beheld the Glory of the Lord? The joy of the Lord is a grand safeguard.
Earnestly could I wish that all God's people were flooded with
it–there would then be no fear of angry tempers, harsh speeches, or
murmuring words. Full of the joy of the Lord, deeds of injustice in
trade or of grasping at the world would be disdained by you! Suffering
would be endured with patience and labor performed with diligence!
Railing would never be returned for railing, nor proud looks given to
the poor. The joy of the Lord makes a man so calm, so quiet, so
heavenly, that he lives above the world. What a grand life is that of
Abraham! He has his trials and some of them are intense, but he walks
along the

road of history with an almost noiseless tread, gliding along as though
all were smooth! The record says, "It came to pass that the Lord had
blessed Abraham in all things"–and yet in the previous pages we read
of trials with Lot, with Hagar and Ishmael–and the grand ordeal with
Isaac! Faith made his trials blessings, and his inward joy, like
Aaron's rod, swallowed up all the rods of his afflictions. The same
road is open to us and we have the same reasons for walking in it since
the God of Abraham is our God forever and ever! He who can live by
faith shall have a constant supply of the oil of joy poured upon him by
the Holy Spirit–and his mourning shall flee away. Our last observation
is–

V. THE JOY WHICH GOD GIVES HIS PEOPLE IS BEST SEEN AND FREQUENTLY BEST
FELT IN FELLOWSHIP.

We began with noting that oil is connected with festivity. Sweet spices
are for banquets where men feast together. Oh mourners, you will often
find your souls made joyous when you assemble with your Brothers and
Sisters! Bread eaten in secret is sweet and morsels behind the door are
delicious, but still, the choicest and most abundant provisions are
brought forth when the king's household gather around his table and
realize that "they, being many, are one bread." Speaking personally, my
happiest times are spent with my Brothers and Sisters in Christ in the
high festivals, when the multitude keep holy day. Draw a circle around
my pulpit and you have hit upon the spot where I am nearest Heaven!
There the Lord has been more consciously near me than anywhere else. He
has ravished my heart while I have been trying to cheer and comfort His
mourners. Many of you can say the same of your pew where you are known
to sit–it has been a Bethel to you and the Lord Jesus has revealed
Himself to you in the midst of His people. Let us remember what
delightful times we have had in prayer together. We have come into the
sanctuary heavy of heart and while one Brother after another has
approached the Throne of Grace for us, we have been unburdened and
helped to joy in God till the Prayer Meeting has seemed to be a Heaven
below, an antepast of the eternal meetings above! Thus the oil of joy
is poured out in the assembly of fellowship.

Ofttimes, also, when we have been singing together some delightful
hymn, in a lively, feeling manner, we have felt as if we could leap
with delight and so the oil of joy has streamed upon our heads. Have
you not often cried with the poet–

"I would begin the music here, And so my soul should rise! Oh for some
heavenly notes to bear My passions to the skies!'

Yes, that is the oil of gladness given at the festival of praise among
the sons of God–who would not be there?

A joyous influence has also been within the house when Believers have
met to talk with one another concerning the things of God in simple,
pious conversation. Alas, how little is there of such speaking, one to
another, especially among wealthy Christians. A Christian man remarked
to me the other day that when he was a boy the good old Christian
people were constantly talking upon the Doctrines of Grace and other
things which concern the Kingdom of God, but there is little of this
now. The staunch old men of the last generation knew what they believed
and discerned between things that differed–they were, perhaps, a
little too severe in their judgments–but still they did converse on
Divine things and were refreshed thereby! But now we are so very
charitable that we are afraid to talk to one another about the things
of God, for fear we should differ! It should not be so, for when Christ
is the subject and God's people converse together, their hearts burn
within them with sacred delight, and the oil of gladness is poured upon
their heads! Holy fellowship brings heavenly joy–the conversation of
saints with each other is the source of unnumbered delights.

Lastly, the Communion Table has been to many of us, above all other
places in the world, the palace of delight There are certain of us who
never forget the ordinance for a single Lord's-Day, and years of
experience bear witness to the value of this means of Grace! It is
marvelous that so few, even among Christians, are regular in their
attendance at that thrice blessed Supper. A young girl said to me the
other Sabbath, "Jesus seems so near when we are at the Table." And she
was quite right. The emblems used at the Supper so vividly bring our
Lord before us that we think only of His passion, of the blood that was
shed and of the body which was made to suffer for our sins. Then are we
borne away with grateful emotion and feel as if we had reached the very
gate of Heaven! While we drink the wine and eat the bread, the oil of
gladness is poured upon us by our Lord Himself! You who neglect that
ordinance are losing a great privilege and besides that you are
neglecting a solemn duty. May the Lord convince you of your negligence
and bring you to delight in that ordinance which is the joyful means of
communion with Himself.

Now, all this while I have been talking to God's people and you will
say, "Have you not a word to say to the sinner?" Well, I have all the
while been speaking to the sinner, too, because all this is for you if
you repent of sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! If you will
come and have it, the Table is spread and loaded for you. No,
more–"the Word is near you, even in your mouth." What? Is the Bread of
Life in your mouth and will you not eat it? Poor, hungry, empty, needy
sinner, can you reject what God, Himself, puts into your mouth? If
angels will rejoice when you repent, depend upon it there is also joy
in store for you! Come then to Jesus, just as you are! Bring no money
with you, bring no fitness with you, bring no fancied goodness with
you–bring your sins and lay them before your Lord. Bring your hard
heart, your lack of feeling, your lack of Divine Grace and just come
and find all that you need in Christ, who is waiting to bless you! When
I was a child I remember how at a school festival the children were
instructed to bring their own mugs with them. Now that showed the
poverty of those who gave the treat, but my Master does not want you to
bring anything! He supplies everything. Come as you are, with nothing
about you except your needs and your willingness to be saved! When an
empty, guilty, lost, undone, ruined creature is coming to a great,
blessed and mighty Savior, all he has to think of is the love which
invites him and the greatness of the Redeemer who will receive him!
Come here, then, all you who mourn because of sin, or mourn that you
cannot mourn, and, by believing in Jesus you shall obtain the oil of
joy and the days of your mourning shall be ended!

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MARK9:20-41.

This miracle is one that shows the transforming power of the Savior in
a remarkable fashion.

20-21. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him and he
fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming. And He asked his father, How
long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. A
terrible case.

22-25. And ofttimes it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters,
to destroy him: but if You can do anything, have compassion on us, and
help us. Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are
possible to him that believes. And immediately the father of the child
cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help You my unbelief
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the
foul spirit, saying unto him, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you,
come out of him, and enter no more into him. That is one way in which
Christ cures. When He drives the devil out of a man, He adds, "Enter no
more into him." I believe in the final perseverance of the saints,
because I believe in the Omnipotent ejection of Satan out of men when
Christ speaks the word, "Come out of him, and enter no more into him."

26-29. And the spirit cried, and convulsed him sorely and came out of
him: and he was as one dead, insomuch that many said, he is dead. But
Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when
He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why
could not we cast him out? And He said unto them–According to another
Evangelist, it was from lack of faith. Howbeit, He added–

29. This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. God
does not give us everything in answer to one prayer. It may be
necessary for some blessings that the prayer should be reiterated–that
it should deepen–that it should grow into an aching. It may be even
necessary, in order that a blessing should come, that fasting should be
used with prayer in order to show the intense eagerness and earnestness
of the petitioner. Now notice the 38th verse.

38. And John answeredHim, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils
in Your name, andhe follows not us: and we forbade him, because he
follows not us.John in this case was like a good many people at the
present day. You notice it. They could not cast out the devils,
themselves, and when they found somebody else that did it, they forbade
his doing it because he did not follow with them. I have known learned,
eloquent, respectable ministers who cannot save sinners. And they hear
that certain poor, illiterate, uneducated men have snatched sinners
like brands from the burning–and they forbid them to do what they
cannot do themselves. It is insanity–that would stop any man from
doing what God enables him to do! And we ought to be the very last to
forbid others from doing it.

39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do
a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me. These people
were dissenters, we may say–a sort of outsiders. And John puts forth
the whole power of his

Apostolic authority to put them down–and then Jesus Christ puts forth
the full power of His Divine Authority to give them liberty to go on!

40-41. For hie that is not against us is on our side. For whoever shall
give you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to
Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward