WRITTEN AT MENTONE,
BY C. H. SPURGEON.
"The child sneezed seven times." 2 Kings 4:35.
THE child was dead. Although he had been the special gift of Divine
promise and was therefore doubly prized by his parents, yet the little
lad was not secure from the common hazards of life. He was in the
harvest field in the heat of the day and a sunstroke struck him down.
His father bade one of his young men carry him home and he died on his
mother's knees. The brave woman was heartbroken, but, being full of
energy and spirit, she rode off to Elisha, the man of God, to tell him
her sorrow and to upbraid him with the short-lived blessing which had
come to her through his prayers. She clung to the Prophet in the hour
of her bitter sorrow and he, with his whole heart, sympathized in her
motherly grief.
He hastened to the chamber where the dead child was laid upon the bed
and there, alone, he exercised the sacred power of prayer–again and
again he wrestled and at length prevailed–so that in the glad
Shunammite's case it was true that, "women received their dead raised
to life again." Such is the power of faith when it uses the weapon of
all prayer–even the gates of the grave cannot prevail against it! The
Prophet's mode of operation, when he lay upon the child and put his
mouth upon the boy's mouth, "and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands," is full of instruction.
Spiritual life is the gift of God, but if the dead are to be raised by
our means, we must enter into hearty sympathy with them. We must create
spiritual contact and become, in a great measure, identified with those
whom we would bless. The Holy Spirit works by those who feel that they
would lay down their own lives for the good of others and would impart
to them not only their goods and their instructions, but themselves, if
by any means they might save some. O for more Elishas! For then we
should see more sinners raised from their death in sin!
The first clear evidence that the child was restored to life was his
sneezing. Doubtless it greatly rejoiced the Prophet's heart. We, too,
who are seeking the good of others, will greatly exult if we are
favored to see gracious tokens in those for whose good we labor. At all
Gospel meetings earnest people should be on the look-out for persons
convicted of sin, awakened in conscience, or in any other manner made
to feel the power of the life-giving Spirit. It will be well if these
persons watch with instructed eyes, so that they do not look for what
they will never see, nor overlook that which should give them full
contentment.
Of natural life we may discern the tokens more readily than those of
spiritual life. We need practice and experience in reference to this
more mysterious matter or we may cause great pain to ourselves and to
those whom we would befriend. Possibly we may gather instruction from
the signs of life which contented the Prophet–the child sneezed seven
times. This evidence of life was very simple. Nothing is more genuine
than a sneeze. It is so far from being artificial that it is
involuntary! As a rule we sneeze not because we will, but because we
must. No instruction, education, talent, or acquirement is necessary to
a sneeze, nor even to a series of seven sneezes–it is the act of a
child, or of an illiterate peasant, quite as much as of a philosopher
or a Divine.
Yet Elisha asked no further evidence of life. He did not require the
little lad to repeat a Psalm, or walk a mile, or climb a tree. He knew
that he was alive although the act of the newly-given life was of the
most elementary kind. Just so, let us feel thankful when we hear the
first groan of distress or see the first tear of repentance!
Hopefulness is a helpful element in the success of those who have to
deal with seeking sinners. We ought not to expect too much of
enquirers. We ought not to be satisfied without signs of life, but the
faintest sign of life ought to encourage us and lead us to encourage
them.
Very little knowledge can be looked for in enquirers. Elisha did not
ask the child to say his Catechism. Very little strength will be found
in them. Elisha did not bid the child move the table, the stool and the
candlestick with which the room was furnished. No, the sneeze proved
life, though it was inarticulate and the uninstructed expression of
untrained
vitality. Repentance for sin, desire after holiness, child-like trust
in Jesus, tearful prayer, careful walking, delight in the Word of God
and intense self-distrust are among the elementary tokens of life–the
sneezes of those freshly raised from the dead. Such tokens are to be
seen in all the truly living in Zion, whether old or young and,
therefore, they are not proofs of growth, but of life–and it is life
that we have to deal with at first–growth is a later consideration.
Elisha did not leave the child upon the bed until he had developed into
a man, but as soon as he had heard him sneeze, he said to the mother,
"Take up your son." And we would earnestly say to every Church in whose
midst a soul has been born unto God, "Take up your son." Receive the
convert though he is weak in the faith! Carry the lamb in your bosom,
cherish and nurture him till life has girded itself with manly
strength.
This evidence of life was, in itself, unpleasant. To the child it was
no pleasure to sneeze. We would, most of us, prefer to be excused from
sneezing seven times! Many of the surest marks of the new life are by
no means pleasurable. The regenerate are not at once happy–on the
other hand they are often in great bitterness for their sins and in
sore anguish because they have pierced their Savior! The Divine life is
not born into the world without pangs. When a man has been nearly
drowned and animation is restored by rubbing, the first movements of
the blood within the veins causes tingling and other sensations which
are exquisitely painful.
Sin causes numbness of soul and this is attended by an absence of
sensation–this is changed when life comes with its look of faith, for
the first result is that men look on Him whom they have pierced and
mourn for Him. Some regard pleasurable emotions as the clearest signs
of Grace, but they are not so. "I am so happy," is frequently a far
less certain token than, "I am so grieved because I have sinned." We do
not think much of the song of, "Happy Day," unless it has been preceded
by the mournful ditty–
"O that my load of sin were gone!" A sneeze, again, is not very musical
to those who hear it and so the first signs of Grace are not, in
themselves, pleasing to those who are watching for souls. Our minds may
be greatly pained to see the sorrow and despondency of the stricken
heart and yet that which we see may be, none the less, a certain sign
of renewed life.
We cannot take delight in heartbreak and convulsion of soul when
considered in themselves–on the contrary, our earnest endeavor is to
apply the balm of the Gospel and remove such pains–yet are they among
the most assured marks of the life of God in the soul in its earlier
stages and we ought to be thankful whenever we see them. That which
worldlings condemn as melancholy is often to us a hopeful sign of
thoughtfulness! And the self-despair which the ignorant deplore is
cause for congratulation among those who pray for conversions! We
delight in the sorrows of penitents because of their results–otherwise
we take no delight in human grief, but the very reverse.
"The child sneezed seven times," the evidences of life were very
monotonous. Again and again there came a sneeze and nothing else. No
song, no note of music, not even one soft word, but sneeze, sneeze,
sneeze, seven times! Yet the noises wearied not the Prophet, who was
too glad to hear the sounds of life to be very particular about their
musical character. The child lived and that was enough for him. Much of
the talk of enquirers is very wearisome–they tell the same melancholy
tale over and over again. Answered a dozen times, they return to the
same questions and repeat the same doubts. If one were seeking interest
and variety, he would not look for it in the painful repetitions of
persons under conviction of sin!
But when we are watching for men's souls we do not grow weary even
though, in themselves, the utterances of the newly awakened are
frequently among the most tiresome of communications! They are often
difficult to understand, involved, confused and even absurd. They
frequently betray culpable ignorance and sinful obstinacy, combined
with pride, unbelief and self-will–and yet in them there is a secret
something which betokens an awakening to the higher life and,
therefore, we cheerfully lend our ear!
After days of exhortation and consolation we find them still
floundering in the Slough of Despond, sticking fast in the mire out of
which they seem half unwilling to be drawn! We must render them the
same help over and over again and point out the stepping stones for the
hundredth time. Better that our service should be monotonous than that
a soul should perish! The poor child may sneeze seven times if it will
and we will gladly hear it, for it is a joy to know that it lives–and
our poor neighbor may repeat his painful story until 70 times seven, if
therein we can discover traces of the work of the Spirit upon his soul!
Let us not be disappointed because at the first we get so little which
is interesting from young converts. We are not examining them for the
ministry–we are only looking for evidences of spiritual life–to apply
to them the tests which would be proper enough for a doctor of divinity
would be both cruel and ridiculous. In preachers of the Gospel we
expect variety and wish we could have more of it, but from the babe in
Grace we are quite content to hear a cry and a cry is not a subject for
musical variations any more than a sneeze!
Yet the sound which entered the Prophet's ears was a sure token of life
and we must not be content with any doubtful or merely hopeful signs.
We want evidences of life and these we must have. We long to see our
friends really and truly saved. Do but prove to us that they have
passed from death unto life and we rejoice in the lowest form of that
proof, but with less than this we cannot be quiet. Mere resolves to
reform, or even reform itself, will not end our anxiety! No fine talk,
or expressed emotion, or remarkable excitement will at all content
us–we want them to be converted–to be born again from above, to be
made new creatures in Christ Jesus!
The child might have been washed and dressed in his best clothes, but
this would not have fulfilled the Prophet's desire. The lad might have
been decked with a chaplet of flowers and his young cheeks might have
been rouged into the imitation of a ruddy blush, but the holy man would
have remained unsatisfied–he must have a sign of life. However simple,
it must assuredly be a token of life or it would be in vain. Nothing
could have been more conclusive than a sneeze! We remember a case in
which a loving watcher fancied that a corpse moved its arm, but it was
only imagination seconding the wish of affection. There could, however,
be no room for a mistake in a sneeze, much less in seven sneezes! The
Prophet might safely call in the mother and commit to her care her
undoubtedly living boy. So we, also, ask for indisputable marks of
Grace and till we see them we shall still pray and watch and feel
painful anxiety.
So far we have kept to the text and as our space is limited we can only
add these few precepts. Let the Lord's living ones believe that He can
raise the spiritually dead. Let them make the ungodly their daily care.
Let them bring them where souls are quickened–namely, under the sound
of the Gospel–and then let them prayerfully and wisely watch for
results. The more watchers in a congregation, the better. They will be
the preacher's best allies and greatly increase the fruit of his
labors.
What do you say, dear Friends in Christ, can you not attempt this
service? It requires Graces rather than gifts, affection rather than
talent. Awaken yourself to the delightful service and watch until you
see the signs of spiritual vitality. However unnoticed by others, let
them not escape your eyes and ears and heart, but be ready to take care
of the newly-quickened one, even if there is no more to be said of them
than, "the child sneezed seven times."
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Eyes Opened