Who Found It Out?
(No. 1903)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 6, 1886,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate and they
said to one another, Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say,
We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we
shall die there. And if we sithere, we die also. Now therefore, come,
let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we
shall live, and if they kill us, we shall only die. And they rose at
twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they had come to
the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise, no one was there.
For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of
chariots, and a noise of horses even the noise of a great host: and
they said to one another, Look the king of Israel has hired against us
the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon
us. Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their
tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and
fled for their lives." 2 Kings 7:3-7.
THE story of four leprous men inserted in the Book of the Kings of
Israel–is it not amazing? No, it is not amazing for the Bible. If you
were to take out of the Scriptures all the stories that have to do with
poor afflicted men and women, what a very small book the Bible would
become, especially if together with the stories, you removed all the
Psalms of the sorrowful, all the promises for the distressed and all
the passages which belong to the children of grief! This Book, indeed,
for the most part is made up of the annals of the poor and despised!
Think for a minute what space is occupied with the life of the man who
was separated from his brothers, sold for a slave and put in prison in
Egypt! What a large part of the Bible is occupied by the writings of
one who was a babe exposed on the Nile and afterwards kept a flock for
40 years in the wilderness! We could not part with the account of the
man who lost all his property and children in one day–and sat among
the ashes, covered with sore boils. We could not spare the story of the
two widows who came together empty-handed from the land of Moab, one of
whom went to glean in the fields of Boaz. Nor the history of that woman
of a sorrowful spirit and her little boy, around whom the hope of
Israel gathered in the dark days of Eli's feeble rule.
Page after page of Holy Writ is enriched with the experience of that
youth who was taken from tending the flock to become the champion of
his country and was afterwards hunted like a partridge upon the
mountain by the envious king. We could not give up the history of the
Prophet of sorrow, nor of the fugitive who was cast into the sea, nor
even the minor incidents of the widow of Sarepta and her barrel of
meal–and the Prophet's widow whose creditor was about to seize her
children for her husband's debts. Nor do lepers fall behind. We have
two stories of lepers close together– Naaman the Syrian and the four
in our text at Samaria's gate. They were wisely put forth from Israel,
but they were not put forth from Israel's God!
It is clear enough that the poor and the needy are not only observed by
our great King, but the pen of the Holy Spirit has been much occupied
in recording their affairs. You that are poor and needy, you that are
sick and sorrowful, you whose lives are spent in mourning, listen to
this discourse and may the Lord comfort your hearts! On a future day,
when the great books of history which, as yet, are only known to the
recording angel, shall be read of all men, your story will appear and
maybe it will be as memorable as that of Hannah or Joseph–and God will
get as much Glory out of what He has done for you as from any of the
deeds of His love recorded in the Inspired pages. Remember that the New
Testament runs in the same strain. Under the economy of Grace, our Lord
Jesus Christ is seen living among fishermen and peasants–and calling
the poor to be His disciples! "God has chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the
world, and things which are despised, has God chosen; yes, and things
which are not, to bring to nothing things that are." It is worthwhile
to be among the poor, the despised and the sad, to have your record on
high and to magnify the condescension of the Lord! It is in the hope
that some disconsolate ones may be cheered that I speak at this time.
Oh, that some leprous ones may go forth today and make a grand
discovery! I desire to preach, praying in the Holy Spirit that the Holy
Spirit may bless the word and move many to rise out of their despair
and say, "Why are we sitting here until we die?"
I. First, I call your attention to A GREAT WORK OF GOD WHICH WAS
ENTIRELY UNKNOWN. The city of Samaria had been shut up for some time by
the Syrian army. Famine had fallen upon the people and driven them to
horrible straits. One can hardly bear to read of mothers devouring
their own babies through stress of hunger. God sent His servant Elisha
to tell them that the next day there should be a superabundance of food
in the gates of Samaria, but the message was received with open
ridicule. No sooner was the promise given than the Lord began to carry
it out. It is the way with Him, to be true to His Word. However great
the promise, it is as sure as it is great! And so, before the sun went
down, the Lord had caused Israel's enemies to flee and had opened
magazines of food for hungry Samaria. Without human aid Jehovah had
accomplished His promise and much more!
The siege was raised from around Samaria. Armed men had stood in their
places and kept the way so that none could go in or out–but they were
all gone–not one of them is left! The troopers had fled on foot and
left their steeds tethered in rows! Captains and common soldiers had,
alike, taken to their heels in hot haste, flying helter-skelter, like
frightened sheep. No host threatened the city–it sat on its hill in
the twilight, lonely and free. Yet in the city of Samaria they thought
themselves cooped up and set their warders on the wall because of fear
in the night. Everybody who went to bed that night felt that he was
still in that horrible den where grim death seemed actually present in
the skeleton forms of the hunger-bitten. They were as free as the harts
of the wilderness had they known it, but their ignorance held them in
vile durance.
The Lord had also defeated all their enemies. They had run for their
lives! They had fled because of a noise in their ears as of horses and
of chariots. He that could first get across the Jordan and place that
stream between him and his supposed pursuers was the happiest man.
Without aid from Hittite or Ethiopian, the God of Israel had driven the
whole host of Syria like chaff before the wind! Israel had not, now,
this side of the Jordan, a single foe to attack her! And yet she knew
not that the Lord's right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the
victory. They set guards to protect them from a foe which was no longer
present and the sentinels paced up and down the walls and spoke to each
other in the hoarse voice of starving men, guarding the walls against
an imaginary foe! O Samaria, had you known the gift of God, your silent
streets would have rung with shouts of joy! Your children, instead of
cowering down in hunger upon wretched pallets, would have kindled
torches and lit up the night as they hastened to feast upon the plenty
which their enemies had bequeathed them! God works and man perceives it
not–therefore is man unhappy and God is not praised as He should be.
God had provided plenty for them. The wretched Samaritans drew the
hunger-belt more closely about them and each man hoped that he might
sleep for many an hour and forget his bitter pangs. Yet within a
stone's throw there was more fine flour and barley than they could
possibly consume! They were starving in the midst of plenty! They were
pining when they might have been feasting! They believed not God and
looked not for relief.
Was not that a strange thing? A city besieged, and not besieged? A city
girt with enemies, as they thought, and yet not an enemy left? A city
starving and yet near to a feast? See, dear Friends, what unbelief can
do? They had been promised plenty right speedily by God's own Prophet,
but they did not believe the promise, nor look for its fulfillment. Had
they been upon the watch, they might have seen the unusual movement in
the Syrian camp and noticed the absolute stillness which succeeded it.
I know a sad parallel to this. The Lord Jesus Christ has come into the
world and has put away the sin of His people and yet many of them are
complaining that their sin can never be put away! The Lord Jesus Christ
has routed all the enemies of His people and yet they are afraid of
innumerable evils! None is left to harm them, but they do not remember
that the Lord reigns! They are afraid of this and afraid of that–and
yet in one tremendous battle the Champion of the Cross has routed all
their foes! They are no longer shut up as prisoners. The Lord has
brought them liberty, but they are not aware of it by reason of their
unbelief! The Word of God has revealed all this very plainly and the
ministers of Christ proclaim it from day to day–but through unbelief
they are still sorrowful, desponding and despairing–in bondage and
woe. They will not believe and, therefore, they cannot he happy. How
sad is this unbelief which renders even the Truth of God, itself,
untrue to us and darkens our sun at midday! Our unbelief is our worst
enemy!
It is said that drowning men catch at straws–would you not have
thought that famishing men might have caught at the word of Elisha? I
grant you the promise did seem too great to be true–that lord who
scoffed at it was not the only one who judged it to be impossible of
fulfillment–and yet when men are brought so very low, they are apt to
catch at any hope. How hardened was the unbelief which refused
Jehovah's Word! Out of the whole population of Samaria, there was not
one who had such faith in Elisha's promise as to drop over the wall
from a window and go out to see whether the Lord was fulfilling His
Word! It was solemnly promised; it was grievously needed and yet not a
soul believed it! Another dreary night is closing in, Samaria is in her
pangs and yet, did she know it, her citizens might dance for joy! I do
not know whether I have given you any idea of the scene which rises so
vividly before me, but it seems to me to be a very amazing sight–a
multitude in the last stage of starvation, perishing with hunger,
absolutely dropping dead as they tried to pace the streets–and yet
food within sight and reach! They believed themselves to be prisoners,
yet no birds could be more free! They regarded themselves as surrounded
by deadly enemies, yet never was the land more clear of invaders!
Even thus are we constantly seeing the Lord's elect and redeemed ones
counting themselves rejected and fearing that they shall perish! I see
those for whom Christ has shed His blood still refusing to rest in His
finished work and rejoice in His glorious victory! Still do I see those
for whom there is laid up a crown of life that fades not away and who
are inheritors of all Covenant blessings, wringing their hands in the
destitution of unbelief and pining away in wretched fear where there
should be no fear! Their soul refuses to be comforted and yet all
comfort is theirs. Alas, the case is common!
II. When you have realized the picture of the city abiding in sorrow
though its deliverance had already come, I want, in the second place,
to remark upon a VERY SINGULAR BAND OF DISCOVERERS. A choice group of
four at last found out what the Lord had done, proved it for themselves
and made it known to their fellow townsmen. Is it not remarkable that
these discoverers were lepers? These were the first to discover that
Jehovah had gotten the victory, scattered the armies of Syria and
brought help to His people. These poor diseased beings were compelled
to live in shanties outside the city gate and to keep themselves apart
from all others. Fed from day to day with food passed over the wall, so
long as there was any to pass over, they rotted away in horrible
loathsomeness. What a wretched sight! I will not ask you to step into
their hut. There are four living skeletons and what flesh remains on
them is foul with the hideous marks of leprosy. Their bodies are
corrupting in life! They move about, poor sick things as they are, more
than half dead. They have had no food sent to them of late and they
must not go for relief. No man cares for them. The best thing that
could possibly happen to them would be to die and yet are a clinging to
life. They were outcasts, off casts. Israel had thrust them outside her
gates. Their own friends and families were obliged to be separated from
them.
These were the discoverers of what God had done! It is a wonderful
thing that those who are most conscious of sin, most despised of men
and least likely to be favored, are often those upon whom Jehovah has
fixed the eyes of His electing love. The chariot of His Grace passes by
the towers of haughty kings, but it stops at the hovel of poverty–even
at the prison of despair! The Lord looks on the chief of sinners and
says, "Here will I display My Grace. Here shall the wonders of My love
be seen." Lepers are not the only ones whom men cast out, nor are they
the only persons whom God full often stoops to bless. Some who feel
loathsome, vile and self-abhorred may be before me now, dreaming that
it is impossible for God to bless them–yet these are the characters
whom He delights to save! Ah, Grace–you are known to dwell in most
unlikely places! You would have supposed that, surely, the king would
have gone forth to see, or that yonder great lord who had ridiculed the
Prophet might have relented and gone forth to observe!
But no, there are last that shall be first and the Lord, in His
Providence and Grace, chose lepers to be the discoverers of His
marvelous miracle! Even thus the keenest observers of Grace are those
who have the deepest sense of sin. I always like to address myself to
the most hopeless grade of experience–to those who are most desponding
and despairing–for these are the people who will welcome Free Grace,
since they feel their need of it. Talk of charity to the rich and they
will spurn you. Talk of it to the destitute and they will welcome you!
Speak of Free Grace and dying love to self-righteous persons and they
are deaf to you. But those who are guilty and know it, welcome the
promise of free pardon! I have to tell this morning of pure, rich,
free, undeserved favor which God displays to the guiltiest of the
guilty! Those who are, in their own esteem, at the lowest ebb are
always the first to understand the wonders of Grace!
These men could not hope for a welcome from the Syrians. Poor objects
that they were, they would be hated as Israelites and also abhorred as
lepers–yet they went–and in that camp they found all that they needed
and much more than they expected. Am I not speaking to some who are
saying, "For me, to go to Christ would be all in vain. I can suppose
His blessing my brother, or my friend, but He never will receive one so
altogether unworthy as I am"? That was my imagination once. I believed
in the salvation of everybody except myself. It seemed to me as if a
special plague and a peculiar curse had lighted upon my nature and
withered my heart. It was not so, as I soon proved when once I went to
Jesus. But how could I expect to be accepted? I, who had sinned against
light and knowledge, and spurned the Grace of God when it came to me so
lovingly? I speak to those of you who feel that you have no right to
mercy–you are the very men who may come boldly for it, since it is not
of right, but altogether of favor! You that have no claim to the mercy
of God are the very people to come to Him through Jesus Christ, for
where there is the least of anything that is good and meritorious,
there, there is the most room for generous gifts and gracious pardons!
Remember, the Lord Jesus did not come to sell salvation–He asks
neither money nor price–but He came Himself as the Gift of God and His
own free gift is eternal life! Joseph Hart says rightly–
"Who rightly would his alms dispose Must give them to the poor."
Are you poor? Then the Lord has an alms for you! If you feel that you
are the last person that deserves to be received, you shall be received
at once–the deeper your sense of your unworthiness, the better! Even
if you lament that you have not a proper sense of need, this only
proves your deeper poverty and shows that you are without claim of any
kind. You are neither able to plead Law nor Gospel in your favor and
must cast yourself on Sovereign Grace. Do so and live! O poor Soul! I
wish I could take you by the hand and go with you, again, to my dear
Lord as I went to Him at first. I went to Him in the most despairing
fashion. You have heard the story of the English king who was angry
with the citizens of Calais and declared that he would hang six of
them. They came to him with ropes about their necks, submitting to
their doom. That is the way in which I came to Jesus. I accepted my
punishment, pleaded guilty and begged for pardon! Put your rope on your
neck! Confess that you deserve to die and come to Jesus! Put no honeyed
words into your mouth! Turn out that nonsense of self-righteousness
from your heart and cry, "Save me, Lord, or I perish!" If thus you
plead you shall never perish. You are the kind of man for whom Christ
died–the sort of man whom He never did spurn and never will spurn
while the world stands!
Another thing to be noticed about these discoverers of the Lord's work
is that they were a people who dared not have joined themselves to
God's people. They were not allowed inside the city walls–their
wretched hospital was outside the gate. They were recognized in some
sort of way as belonging to the congregation of Israel, for their place
was near the city gates, but still, Israel would have none of
them–they must not enter one of her houses to take a meal. Some of you
have been attending the Tabernacle for years, I know, but you dare not
join the Church. You would not venture to Baptism, or to the Lord's
Supper because you feel so unworthy. You hang on to us, after a
sort–you would not like to quite give up all connection with the
people of God–but yet you would not dare to say that you belong to
them! In your secret hearts, your bitter cry is that of the leper,
"Unclean, unclean, unclean!" Before God you cast ashes on your head and
cover your lips and sometimes wish that you had never been born. But
still you cannot leave the gate of the Lord's people, nor cease
altogether from their company.
These poor creatures Israel would not acknowledge and yet they were the
first to find out what the Lord had done for His people! How often does
it happen that those who are rejected of men are accepted of God! Did I
hear one ask– "Do you really mean it?" I do mean it! I mean that some
of you who deem that you are destined to be lost and yet cannot give up
hearing the Gospel, are sure to find out the Gospel! I hear you say,
"The Gospel is not for me and yet I must hear it. I can never give up
my Bible though I only read my own condemnation in its pages." You are
the sort of people to whom the Word of Salvation is sent–and you are
the most likely persons to discover what a Christ there is, what a
salvation there is, what a deliverance there is in the Grace of God!
You are the men that shall yet tell to the king's household the
victories of eternal love and assure those dull, cold Israelites inside
the walls that, after all, there is bread enough and to spare–and
treasure to be had if they will but come out and have it!
To describe these discoverers yet more fully, they were men who, at
last, were driven to give themselves up. They said, "We will fall unto
the Syrians and if they kill us, we shall only die." Blessed is that
man who has given himself up,
not to the Syrians, but to the Lord! As long as we can do something, we
keep on doing that something to our ruin. But when it is all over with
us and we can do no more, then man's extremity is God's opportunity.
The man who struggles as he sinks is hard to be rescued, but when the
drowning man has gone down twice and is just going down for the third
time–then is the opportunity for the strong swimmer to come in and
grasp him firmly–and swim with him to shore. You that are going down a
third time, you lost ones, listen to this, "The Son of Man is come to
save that which was lost." "Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief." O you self-righteous people, how can you
talk about being saved? What saving do you need? You are as full of
good works as you can be and your pride shines on your brows–how can
you be saved? They that shall be saved by Jesus are those that are, in
themselves, lost, ruined and undone. Until you know your ruin and
confess your sin, it is not likely you will ever accept a Savior! While
you feel that you can save yourselves, you will attempt it! But when
you can do no more, then you will fall into the arms of your Savior and
a blessed fall that will be!
These discoverers I would liken to Columbus, four times repeated, for
they found out a new world for Samaria! These four lepers went to the
Syrian camp and saw for themselves! Lepers as they were–they came,
they saw, they conquered! I think I can see them in the dim twilight,
stealing along until they come to the first tent, expecting to be
challenged by a picket and wondering that they are not. They hear no
sound of human voice. The horses and mules were heard to stamp and draw
their chains up and down, but their riders were gone and no noise of
human foot was heard. "There are no men about," cries one of them, "nor
signs of men. Let us go into this tent." They step in. A supper was
ready. He who had spread that table will never taste it again. The
hungry men needed no persuasion, but immediately began to carve for
themselves. They took possession of the spoils of war left on the
field. After they had feasted, they said, "To whom does this gold and
silver belong? The prey belongs to us, for our enemies have left the
treasure behind them." They took as many of the valuables as they could
carry, then went into another tent–still no living soul was seen.
Where lately a host had rioted, not a soldier remained! There was no
sound of revelry that night, nor tramp of guard, nor talk around the
fire. The lepers tasted more of the forsaken dainties, drained other
goblets and took more gold and silver. "There is more than we shall
know what to do with," they said. So they dug a hole and banked their
gains after the Oriental fashion. Who can conceive the delirious joy of
those four lepers in the midst of such abundance?
Do you see what these men did? First, they went and saw for
themselves–and then they took possession for themselves. The whole
four of them did not own one penny, before, and now they are rich
beyond a miser's dream! They have enjoyed the feast and they are filled
to the full. They are fully qualified to go and tell the starving city
of their discovery because they are clear that they have made no
mistake. They have satisfied their own hunger, gratified their own
desire and tasted and handled for themselves–and so they can speak as
men who know and are sure.
Dear Friends, he knows the Grace of God best, who, in all his leprosy
and defilement, in all his hunger, faintness and weariness has come to
Christ and fed on the Bread of Heaven and drank the Water of Life–and
taken the blessings of the Covenant–and made himself rich with hidden
treasure! Such a man will speak convincingly because he will bear a
personal witness. This man has no doubts upon the vital points, for
Christ is his life–he does not argue, but testifies! He is not a
special pleader, but a witness! The leper, fed and enriched, stands
outside the city gate and calls to the porter and wakes him up at the
dead of night, for he has news worth telling. The experienced Believer
speaks with the accent of conviction and in it imitates his Master who
spoke with authority! "Why," says the porter, "I used to speak to you
over the city wall! Are you the leper to whom I said that there was no
more food for you? I have thrown you nothing for a week and thought you
were dead–are you the man?"
He answers, "I am! I do not need your wretched rations now! I am filled
and where I have fed there is enough for you all. Come out and feast
yourselves." "I do not know you," says the porter. All four join in
saying, "No, you would not know us, we are new men since we have been
to the camp. Believe the story and tell it to all in the city, for it
is true! There is enough and to spare if they will but come out and
have it." The Lord made a good choice when he selected these lepers to
be discoverers of His great work. He does wisely when He takes those
who are saddest and fills their mouths with laughter and their tongues
with singing, for these will command attention! These poor wretches
could not have made up so amazing a story, nor feigned such
joy–sorrowing castaways could not have invented the story of Free
Grace! It must be true! Oh, that men would believe it!
How much I wish that through my poor words some gleam of hope would
fall upon weary and heavy-laden souls to whom this sermon come. You
say, "Where are they?" I do not know. I know that such persons do come
under my ministry in extraordinary numbers. I shall know that they are
here before next Sunday, for I shall hear from some of them–"I thank
God I was there on Sunday morning. It just suited me–I was diseased
with sin, my soul was starving and dying– but I went to Jesus as I was
and I discovered what I never dreamed could be true! He has done for me
exceeding abundantly, above all that I asked or even thought."
III. We have come this far by the Lord's help. I now wish to spend a
minute or two in noticing HOW THEY CAME TO MAKE THIS DISCOVERY. These
four lepers, how did they come to find out the flight of Syria? First,
I suppose, they made the discovery rather than anybody else because the
famine was sorest with them. You see they were lepers outside the gate.
In good times they received a daily portion from the town, but you may
be pretty sure that the townsmen did not deny themselves on their
account! If anybody has to go short, it will probably be those who are
dependent upon charity. Nobody in the East is excessively eager to feed
lepers in times of famine. Probably the Samaritans thought and even
said, "They are best dead–they are no good to anybody. They are
suffering and they cannot earn anything, let them die." Besides, when
the supplies within the city were exhausted, you could hardly blame the
citizens if they sent nothing to the lepers, for those who were,
themselves, without food had nothing to give.
Yet the people within the walls could do something or other to palliate
their hunger–they could even resort to horrible cannibalism–but these
four lepers were cut off from such desperate resources. They had nobody
to kill and eat and they must, therefore, die. Then it was that they
woke up. Truly, necessity is the mother of invention and the mother of
that blessed invention which finds the Lord Jesus Christ and His
finished salvation is the awful necessity of a perishing soul! Let but
some men feel the burden of sin and they will never rest till they come
to Jesus. John Bunyan says that he once thought harshly of Christ, but
at last he came to such a pitch of misery that he felt he must come to
Jesus, anyway, and he says that he verily believed that if the Lord
Jesus had stood before him with a drawn sword in His hand, he would
have rushed upon the point of His sword rather than stay away from Him.
I understand that right well. I would to God that some of you were
reduced to so great a necessity that you were driven to the only One
who can help you. Oh, that you were utterly bankrupt! Not a kind wish,
you say? Yes, it is. Our complete emptiness constrains us to seek the
Divine fullness. Look at the prodigal son–so long as he had anything
left he did not go home to his Father–but when he had spent all his
substance and had become so hungry that he envied the very hogs he fed,
then he said, "I will arise, and go to my Father." Spiritual necessity
is that which nerves the soul with courage to cast itself upon
Sovereign Grace in Jesus Christ!
These lepers were driven to go to make the discovery because they felt
that they could not be any worse than they were. They said, "If we sit
here, we shall die; and if the Syrians kill us, we shall only die."
That feeling has often driven souls to Christ–
"I can but perish if I go. I am resolved to try
For if I stay away,
I know I must forever die."
They could but die and they were sure to die if they sat where they
were. Poor Soul, are you within reach of my voice? Is your case
desperate? Well, then, try faith! You cannot be any worse and you may
be better. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If He should reject you,
you cannot be any worse, but then, He cannot reject you, for He says,
"Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out." I would pray for
mercy if I were you! Suppose you are not heard–you cannot be the worse
for praying. I would cast myself on Jesus if I were you! You could not
be the worse for doing so. Every day I say to myself–
"Though my eye of faith is dim,
I'll hold on Jesus, sink or swim." I cannot be blamed for trusting to
One who has saved so many! O my Hearer, there is no risk in the matter!
You must be infinitely better for coming to the appointed Savior! Come
and try Him! Come at this moment!
Again, these people saw that there was no reason why they should not
go, for they said, one to the other–"Why are we sitting here until we
die?" They could not find a justification for inaction. They could not
say, "We sit here because the king commands us to stay where we are."
You cannot say, my dear Hearer, that you remain ungodly and unbelieving
because the Lord bids you do so. Far from it! He bids you forsake your
way and your thoughts and turn unto Him and live! He promises that He
will receive you and, therefore, He cries, "Turn you, turn you, why
will you die?" The lepers could not say that they sat there because
they were chained, or locked in, and so were compelled to starve in
their hut. They could move to the Syrian camp and this was their one
liberty. You, also, are not compelled to be as you are. Is there any
reason why you should not pray? Is there any barrier to your trusting
the Lord except in your own heart? You are not compelled to remain
ungodly, thoughtless, prayerless, faithless. You are not compelled to
be lost! There is no compulsion put upon you to force you away from
Jesus and eternal life! Oh, that you would pluck up heart and say, "Why
should we sit here until we die?" I hope there is no deadly despair
upon you yet–certainly there should not be. These men did not feel
that it was certain that they would die if they went to the Syrian
camp. They had a little hope and on that hope they acted like sensible
men.
You remember how the people of Nineveh humbled themselves before God
with nothing to encourage them but, "Who can tell?" Jonah said, "Forty
days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And they could get no more
comfort than the question, "Who can tell if God will turn and repent
and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?" Oh, poor
troubled Heart, who can tell? There may be mercy for you and not a
little mercy, either. The full, rich, eternal mercy of the Lord may be
enjoyed by you before the sun goes down! That head of yours will yet
wear the starry crown! About your naked loins there shall yet be girt
the fair linen of Christ's righteousness! Do not believe the devil if
he says you must die. You need not die! Have confidence and venture,
now, to Christ and you shall find relief. I speak what I know and know
what I speak!
These lepers went to the camp of the Syrians because they were shut up
to that one course–"If we say, we will enter into the city, then the
famine is in the city and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we
die also." Only one road was open. I am always glad when I am in that
condition. If many courses are open to me, I may make a mistake. But
when I see only one road, I know which way to go. It is a blessed thing
to be shut up to faith in Christ–to be compelled to look to Grace,
alone. I spoke to a friend this week who is sorely sick and I said,
"You are resting in Christ, my Brother." He replied, "I have nothing
else to rest in." I said, "Your hope is in the atoning Sacrifice of
Christ," and he answered, "What other hope could I have?" While we have
50 ways of salvation, we shall be lost. But when we see that "other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ
the Righteous," then we shall build upon it and be safe!
These lepers were not the men to theorize. They were in such a plight
that they must come to prompt action. Many ladies and gentlemen treat
religion as a science and, therefore, they never know its real powers.
Many professors and learned doctors speculate upon theology as if it
were part of a liberal education, but by no means a practical matter.
People who have no sin to wash away and no great spiritual trouble to
bear, play at religion–but those who are ready to perish look on
matters in another light! We are not chemists analyzing the Bread of
Life–we are fainting men and women who feed on it with eagerness! Our
resolve is–
"I'll go to Jesus, though my sin
Has, like a mountain, rose.
I know His courts, I'll enter in,
Whatever may oppose.
Perhaps He wiil admit my plea,
Perhaps will hear my prayer.
But if I perish, I will pray
And perish only there."
These lepers discovered what the Lord had done because they did not
give themselves up to dreams and guesses, but came to downright matters
of fact. May God drive every unconverted sinner into a corner and so
compel him to yield to Divine Grace! May He bring you to act in
earnest! May He drive you by the extreme necessities of your case to
seek and to find, to search and to discover!
IV. I ask your patience for a minute while I say, in the fourth
place–MAY NOT SOME SAD HEARTS IMITATE THOSE LEPERS and make the same
discovery? "I am afraid to believe in Christ," says one, "for my sins,
my many sins, prevent me." Look at the lepers and see how much better
the Lord was to them than their fears. It is twilight and they steal
into the camp, trembling. One cries, "Softly there, Simeon! Your heavy
tread will bring the guard upon us." Eleazar gently whispers to the
other, "Make no noise! If they sleep, let us not awaken them." They
might tread as heavily
as they pleased and talk as loudly as they wished, for there was no man
there! Do you know it? If you believe in the Lord Jesus, your sins,
which are many, are all forgiven–there is no sin left to accuse you!
You are afraid they will ruin you? They have ceased to be! The depths
have covered them! There is not one of them left! "The blood of Jesus
Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." Your sins were numbered on
the scapegoat's head of old. Jesus bore your sins in His own body on
the Cross. If you come to Christ, confessing and believing, no sin
shall destroy you, for it is blotted out!
Perhaps these men feared when they were going into the tent–"A Syrian
will meet us at the tent door and cry, 'Back, what business have you
here? Lepers, be gone! Back to your dens and die.'" They entered into
tent after tent– nobody forbade them–they had the entry of every
pavilion! They were also possessors of all they saw. When I came to
Christ, I could not believe that I might take the promises, but I did,
and nobody said to me, no! I have gone on appropriating promises ever
since–exceedingly great and precious promises–and nobody has said to
me, no. I find I can make myself most free in Christ's house and, the
more free I am, the better He is pleased! His rule is–ask what you
will and it shall be done unto you! The Lord gives us full liberty to
come into his secret place, even to His Throne of Grace! Oh, that some
poor heart would come at this moment! Instead of being repulsed, you
shall find a hearty welcome, even into the most holy places!
Perhaps the leper felt some little question when he saw a golden cup,
or a silver flagon, or a well-fashioned cruet. What have lepers to do
with golden cups? But he overcame his scruples. No law could hinder his
sharing the leavings of a runaway enemy! Nobody was there to stop him
and the valuables were set before him–and, therefore, he took what was
provided for him. The lepers grew more and more bold till they carried
off as much of the booty as they were able to hide away. I take up my
parable and, without scruple, invite you to deal thus with salvation!
When I came to Jesus, I hardly dared to appropriate a promise–it
looked like stealing! I did not, could not believe that I had a right
to any of the good things provided for the Lord's people! But I took
Gospel leave and enjoyed them. I find it written, "No good thing will
be withheld from them that walk uprightly" and, therefore, I feel that
nothing is withheld from me. I venture to take what Grace has put in my
way!
I take possession of everything that I can find in Christ! I have never
yet found either conscience, or the Word of God, or the Lord, Himself,
upbraid me for appropriating the precious things laid up in the
Covenant for Believers! Therefore I grow bolder and yet more bold! One
of these days I, who am the least of all saints, expect to stand among
the bright ones near the Throne of God and sing, "Hallelujah to God and
the Lamb." I do not think that I shall be ashamed to stand there. I am
ashamed of myself for 10,000 reasons, but I shall not be ashamed at the
Lord's coming–
"Bold shall I stand in that great day." You poor lepers, you poor lost
and ruined ones, come to my Lord Jesus! Believe it, the whole land is
before you–the land that flows with milk and honey is for you! This
world is yours and worlds to come. Christ is yours! Yes, God, Himself
is yours! Everything is to be had for nothing. Heaven and all its joys
are to be had for believing! God make you the discoverers, this day, of
His wondrous Grace and to Him shall be praise forever and ever! Amen.