Smoking Flax

Smoking Flax

(No. 1831)

DELIVERED BY

C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON JUNE 1, 1884.

"The smoking flax shall He not quench." Isaiah 42:3.

I BELIEVE that the first sense of these words is not the one usually
given to them, nor yet the one upon which I intend to preach tonight.
We read in the 12th of Matthew that our Divine Lord was assailed by the
scribes and Pharisees, but He did not enter, at that time, into
controversy with them, neither did He make them the perpetual target of
His observations. Considering what hypocrites they were and what
boundless mischief they were doing, He treated them very gently,
indeed. They were, compared to Him, but as bruised reeds and as the
smoking flax, and He could, if He had pleased, have broken them up
altogether, or have altogether quenched them–but He did not come to be
a mere controversialist. He was, in truth, the greatest of all
Reformers, but He was not so much a breaker-down as He was a
builder-up. He came not so much to drive out error by reason, as to
expel it by the natural and efficient process of putting the Truth of
God into its place. So, to a large extent, He left these scribes and
Pharisees, and other opponents, alone, and He went quietly on with His
own work of healing the sick and saving the sinful–a very good lesson
to us.

We get a little pugnacious, sometimes, and seek religious controversy.
But our Savior did not strive, nor cry, nor cause His voice to be heard
in the streets–a bruised reed He did not break and a smoking flax He
did not quench. The best way to put out the twinkling light of a
smoking flax was to let the sun shine. Then nobody could see it!
Instead of talking down these bruised reeds, He set up the higher claim
of sure and certain truth, for men would not care to trust in bruised
reeds when they had once seen something more stable and worthy to be
relied upon. You and I will best put down error by preaching the Truth
of God. If we preach up Christ, the devil goes down. If a crooked stick
is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is–lay a straight
one down by the side of it and the work is well done. Preach the Truth
of God and error will stand abashed in its presence.

That is, no doubt, the first meaning of this passage, as you will see
by the connection in Matthew. It is said, "A bruised reed shall He not
break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He sends forth
judgment unto victory." When the Lord sends forth judgment unto
victory, then it will be all over with the bruised reed and the smoking
flax of the hypocrite, the Pharisee, the formalist, the legalist and
every other opponent.

Usually these words are understood to mean that Jesus Christ will deal
very gently with timid Believers and this meaning is not to be rejected
for, in the first place, it is true. And, in the second place, it is
true out of this text, also, for if our Lord Jesus, in His lifetime,
was gentle even to hypocrites, how much more will He be gentle to
sincere but timorous spirits? If it is true that He will not quench the
smoking flax even of a Pharisee, how much more true must it be that the
smoking flax of a penitent shall not be quenched! So that, if the text
does not say what is generally understood by it, it implies it and the
words so clearly run into the meaning that is commonly given to them.

I take it that there is a kind of instinct in the Church, so that even
when judged according to criticism, she may seem to misapply a passage
of Scripture. She generally does not misapply it, but only brings out a
second light which was always behind the first and which shines none
the less brightly, but all the more so, because the first was there. I
shall therefore take the text to mean something other than I have
stated. "The smoking flax shall He not quench," is a text for you
timorous, desponding, feeble-minded and yet, true-hearted Believers,
and you may appropriate it to yourselves. May the Holy Spirit help you
to do so!

I. In talking of it, at this time, I shall first enquire, WHAT STATE
THIS METAPHOR REPRESENTS. A smoking flax represents a state in which
there is a little good. The margin is "dimly burning flax." It is
burning, but it is burning

very dimly. There is a spark of good within the heart. You, my dear
Friend, have a little faith. It is not much bigger than a grain of
mustard seed, but faith of that size has great power in it! I wish that
your faith would grow to a tree, but I am very glad that you have any,
even though it is minute as the mustard seed. You have a desire, too,
after better things. You are always wanting to be more holy. You love
to be among God's people and though, sometimes, you are afraid that you
are not one of them, you would give all that you have to be sure that
you were, for you love their conversation. Having those desires, you
pray. "O Sir," you say, "it is not worth calling prayer!" Well, we will
not call it prayer, then, but it is prayer, for sometimes, when not
even a word is spoken, the desire of the heart is a most acceptable
pleading with God. "O Sir," you say, "but I do not always desire
alike!" I am very sorry that it is so. I wish you always had a strong
desire after Christ. Still, you do desire. There is a longing, a
desiring, a panting, a hungering, a thirsting–therefore there is some
little good in you.

"Do not praise me," you say. Oh, no, dear Friend, I will not praise
you! I know that you would not like it, for you have a modest estimate
of yourself and, like the publican, you cry, "God be merciful to me a
sinner." That tune suits you, does it not? I can see somewhat of good
in you since you do not think well of yourself. If you did, we might
think ill of you–but inasmuch as you even repent over your repentance
and feel as if your tears need weeping over, I am glad of it. Lowliness
of heart is a Grace very much despised in these days, but very much
valued by the King of Heaven. "To this man," He says "will I look, even
to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My Word."
There is some little good in you put there by the Spirit of God. "Ah,"
you say, "I like that word, Sir. I am sure there was no good in me by
Nature." Friend, I am sure of it, too, if you are at all like I am. The
Grace of God has put in us our first desire, our first loathing of sin,
our first wish to be forgiven, our first desire to return to our Father
from whom we have wandered. The Spirit put it there and you are like
the smoking flax because there is a little living fire in you.

You are like smoking flax, again, because your good is too little to be
of much use to anybody. What could we do with a smoking flax if we had
it here, tonight, and the gas was all out? You would, perhaps, see a
glimmer, but you would say, "It is not light, but darkness visible." I
like a soul in darkness to find that darkness visible! There is a good
point about that. Alas, you are such a poor timid creature, you could
not comfort a child of God–you cannot even comfort yourself! You could
not strengthen the weak, for you need all the strengthening for
yourself. You are not much of a soldier. You could not march in
rank–we have to carry you about in the ambulance. Well, we are not
tired of carrying you, nor is God, either! You are still a soldier, for
you would fight if you could.

Though you are an invalid, yet whenever the trumpet sounds, you wish to
be in the thick of the fight. Poor thing that you are, you would soon
be trampled down, but you have spirit enough for it, for which I thank
God. Though your courage is of no great use to anybody, yet it is of
use to you, for it proves you to be a soldier of the Cross, a follower
of the Lamb! I would to God that you had more of the Light of God that
you might light your Brother on his dreary way. I wish you had more
faith, more joy, more hope, more rest, for you might, then, be of
service to the Lord's household and the King might find in you a
willing helper. But as you cannot do that, you are like the smoking
flax–there is a little good, but that good is not great enough to make
you very useful. Yet I will tell you one thing you can do. When you
meet with another poor soul that is like you, you can sympathize, can
you not? You see, when bright and shining lights come near those who
are dim, they are apt, rather, to shame them than to comfort them–but
you will not do that. So far you may even help the despondent–at least
you will do so one of these days.

Smoking flax, then, has a little fire, but it is so little that it is
of small service and, what is worse, it is so little that it is rather
unpleasant. No one delights in the smell of a candle that is dying out.
Smoking flax does not yield a sweet savor, neither does a Christian
when he is in a mournful condition. There is a little good in him, but
there is a great deal of wrong about him and that wrong has an ill
smell. Sometimes these smoking-flax people believe a great many errors.
They do not hold the true and solid doctrine of God's everlasting love.
They favor notions that are not Scriptural and error is never sweet to
Christ, nor to any of His own people. Besides, they have a great smoke
of doubts. They doubt this and they question that–and they suspect the
other thing. There is nothing more obnoxious to our Divine Lord than
distrust of Him. It is a gracious act on His part that He puts up with
it.

One said to Christ, "If You can"–and that was a shocking thing to say
to Almighty God! Another said to Him, "If You will"–and that was a
shameful thing to say to One so kind–and yet He bore with them both.
Doubting hearts will cry, "If You will," and, "if You can," and do
anything sooner than believe. This is to make an ill savor in the Pres-

ence of the Lord Jesus Christ for, though we may reckon our doubts to
be trifling, they are no trifles to Him, but exceedingly grievous and
provoking to His heart! A dear Sister came in after service, this
morning, and told me that she was 50 years old on the same day as
myself, so she came to shake hands with me, and she added, "I am like
you in that, but I am the very reverse of you in other things." I
replied, "Then you must be a good woman." "No," she said, "that is not
what I mean." "But are you not a Believer?" "Well," she said, "I–I
will try to be." I got hold of her hand and I said, "You are not going
to tell me that you will try and believe my Lord Jesus Christ, for that
means unbelief of Him who must be true!" And I held her fast while I
added, "When your mother was about, did you say to her, 'Mother, I will
try and believe you'? No, you would believe her because she was
true–and I must have you believe Jesus Christ." She said, "Sir, pray
for me." "No," I said, "I am not inclined to do that. What should I
pray for you about? If you will not believe my Lord, what blessing can
He give you? What has He ever done that you should say, 'I cannot
believe Him'?"

She again answered, "I will try." I was not content till I had reminded
her of the Word of God, "He that believes in Him has everlasting life,"
and I pressed her to a full faith in the risen Lord. The Holy Spirit
enabled her to trust and then she cried, "I have been looking to my
feelings, Sir, and this has been my mistake!" I have no doubt that she
had done so–and a great many others are doing the same! And their
doubts are just that horrible smoke which comes from smoking flax. O,
you poor doubters, believe the Lord Jesus Christ! To say, "I cannot
believe Him," is to say, in other words, that He is a liar and we
cannot allow you to say that!

Dear Friend, if you are like the smoking flax, there is something good
in you, but that is so sadly little that there is a great deal that is
trying about you–yet the Lord will not quench you! You are full of all
sorts of fears. You are afraid of a shadow. You are trembling at
nothing at all! Why is this? You are troubled when you ought to be glad
and you make your whole family sad when there is no earthly reason for
it. May the Lord deliver you! Those that are highest in faith have
tried to comfort you and you have pulled them down instead of their
being able to draw you up. Come, Friend, I would be as gentle as ever I
can–my text bids me be so. I have no extinguisher for your smoking
flax, for my Lord has said, "The smoking flax shall He not quench."

I must add one more thing about this state and it is this, though the
good of it is so little that it is of very little use to other
people–and sometimes is very obnoxious–yet there is enough good in
you to be dangerous in Satan's esteem. He does not like to observe that
there is yet a little fire in you, for he fears that it may become a
flame. If any of you were to see a man standing at the back of one of
our public buildings lighting his pipe, I will be bound to say that you
would be half afraid of an explosion, for he might be applying
dynamite! There are times when the smallest smoke would fill the
bravest men with fear. Even so–

"Satan trembles when he sees

The weakest saint upon his knees" If he hears you groaning about your
sin, he is frightened at it. "Oh," he says, "they have begun to feel!
They have begun to mourn. They have begun to desire. They have begun to
pray and soon they will leave me!" Let a farmer perceive a little smoke
coming out of one of his ricks and I am sure that he will not say that
there is nothing at all in a smoking flax! No, he will hasten to
prevent a conflagration. So the little Grace that is in you, dear
Friend, Christ sees and He approves of it, for He knows the
possibilities of it–how little faith can grow into strong faith–how
the grain of mustard seed can become a tree and the birds of the air
may yet lodge in its branches! And Satan, also, knows what may come of
it and he is moved to quench it if he can. We, therefore, would
encourage you and fan your spark to a flame. There is the first
question answered. What state does this represent?

II. Secondly, WHEN ARE SOULS IN THAT STATE? Some are in that state when
they are newly saved–when the flax has just been lighted. Those that
are to be received into the Church, tonight, I welcome very heartily,
but they are very newly lit and some, perhaps, would have said, "Let
them wait a bit." Yes, but then our Lord does not quench the smoking
flax because it is newly lighted and nor will I. No place in the world
is so good for the lambs as the fold. No place is so good for babes as
their own home. No place is so good for young Christians as the Church
of God. So let them come!

Being newly converted, they are strange to many things. You have made a
host of discoveries. You find more depravity in your heart than you
thought was there. You find enemies where you expected to meet with
friends. All this is apt to

dampen your courage, but do not be cast down–for though it is but a
little that you are lighted–yet the loving Jesus will not quench the
smoking flax!

Sometimes a candle smokes, not because it is newly lit, but because it
is almost extinguished. I know that I speak to some Christians who have
been alight with the fire of Grace for many years and yet they feel as
if they were near the dark hour of extinction. But you shall not go
out. The Lord will not quench you, Himself, nor will He permit the
devil to quench you. He will keep you alight with Grace. "Oh," but you
say, "I am so depressed in spirit!" Yes, some of God's best servants
have been of a sorrowful spirit. Remember Hannah, whom Eli cruelly
rebuked, but who, nevertheless, got a blessing? David had to say, "Why
are you cast down, O my Soul? And why are you disquieted within me?"
And yet he was a man after God's own heart. Perhaps you are not well,
or you have had an illness that has taken much upon your nervous system
and you are depressed–perhaps that is why you think that Grace is
leaving you–but it will not! Your spiritual life does not depend upon
Nature, else it might expire–it depends upon Grace, and Grace will
never cease to shine till it lights you into Glory! Therefore be not
cast down. You may think that your light will go out in eternal
darkness, but it never shall, for the Lord Jesus Christ will preserve
the flame.

Sometimes the wick smokes when worldliness has dampened it. If some of
you never have any holy joy, I am not surprised, for you are so taken
up with the world and so fond of it. The life of God is in you, but it
is smothered! You are like an autumn fire out in the garden when they
are burning the weeds–there is a fire, but all you can see is smoke.
Yes, you smother up your piety with the things of this world and no
wonder that it smokes! What a mercy it is that the Lord does not allow,
even you, to perish! He keeps the dying flame alive though hidden away.

At times a wick burns low because a very strong wind has blown upon it.
Many men and women are the subjects of very fierce temptations. The
place in which they live is a trial to them and their natural
constitution furnishes them with a host of temptations–and so the flax
scarcely burns, but smokes and smolders. We do not wonder that it
should be so.

There are many other reasons why we grow dim at times–reasons, but
none of them sufficient to be an excuse. If we were what we ought to
be, we would always be burning and shining lights–and there would be
no times in which we would be like the smoking flax. But then we are
not what we ought to be–we fall short of the true standard–and we
become feeble Believers.

III. I desire to finish with a word of promise. WHAT DOES JESUS DO WITH
THOSE WHO ARE IN THIS

STATE? He says that He will not quench the smoking flax. What a world
of mercy lies in that Word of God! Everybody else would quench us but
Christ! I am sure that some Christians get into such a state that the
most loving Christian friends find it hard to bear with them and fear
that such a state of mind cannot be consistent with Grace at all. Thus
your friend would give you over as lost. But Jesus Christ says that He
will not do so.

He will not quench you, first, by pronouncing legal judgment upon you.
He will not say, "You have broken My Laws and I have done with you." If
He did, our only answer could be, "Enter not into judgment with Your
servant, for in Your sight shall no man living be justified." If the
Lord were once to come to that, He would quench us all! Not only some
few of the tremblers, but the strongest among us must go to the wall!
The Lord Jesus Christ has not come to condemn, but to save.

He will not quench you, dear Friend, by setting up a high experimental
standard. Certain deep divines will say, "You must have felt so much of
this and so much of the other, or else you cannot be a child of God."
Who told the good man that? Who made him to be a judge? The Lord Jesus
Christ does not quench even the feeble, faint desire, or the trembling
faith of His servants, though they fall far short of that experience
which ought to belong to a child of God.

He will not judge you, dear Friend, by a lofty standard of knowledge. I
have known persons who have thought, "If that convert is not better
instructed in the doctrines, he is no child of God." The Lord has some
of His children whose heads are in a very strange state and if He first
puts their hearts right, He afterwards puts their heads right. But for
you and for me to say that a man is not a child of God because he does
not know all that the advanced saints know, is a very wicked thing! I
am sure that your little child, who cannot read or write, is pressed to
your bosom, dear mother, with just as much affection as that brave son
of yours who has just been winning the first prize at school. You do
not say, "I will not love the little one because he is not a man" or,
"I will not love my little daughter because she is not grown up to
womanhood." Oh, no! The Lord loves the little ones. If you can say,
"One thing I know, whereas I was blind, now I see,"

you are taught of God! If you know these two things–yourself a sinner
and Christ a Savior–you are scholar enough to go to Heaven!

And the Lord Jesus Christ will not quench you by setting up a standard
by which to measure your graces. It is not, "So much faith and you are
saved. So little faith and you are lost." Oh, no! If you have faith as
a grain of mustard seed it will save you. If you believe in Christ, you
are saved! That woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment with her
fingers and then tremblingly slunk back was truly healed–slight as her
touch was! Even Simeon, who took the Savior up into his arms, and said,
"Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace," cannot more surely be
said to have had a saving faith than that poor woman who came behind
and touched the hem of the Master's garment!

Come along, you little ones–you trembling ones! Be not afraid! Jesus
will not quench you by any of these means. I will tell you what He will
do with you and that is, instead of quenching you, He will protect you!
He will blow upon you with the soft breath of His love till the little
spark will rise into a flame! You young folks do not know what trouble
some of us used to have 45 years ago, when we got up in the morning and
had to strike a light in the old-fashioned way. There we were, with a
flint and a steel–striking away in a tiresome manner till we spied a
little spark down in the tinder–oh, such a little one–and then we
gently tried to blow it into a flame! How we used to prize a spark on a
cold, frosty morning, when our fingers were pretty well frozen! We
never put out the sparks by shutting the lid on the top of the tinder,
but we tried, if we could, to light our match.

Now, the Lord Jesus Christ will blow softly upon you with His gentle
Spirit. He will bring to your mind exceedingly great and precious
promises. He will bring to you kind friends who shall tell you their
experience and try to comfort you. I should not wonder, my dear
Brother, that one of these days I shall hear you pray a strong, brave
prayer! I should not wonder if you, before long, come forward and made
an open profession! And if you have done so already, I feel pretty sure
that you will honor it and grow stronger till, one day we shall say,
"Who is that bold witness for Christ? Who is that burning and shining
light?" He is the man who was once likened to the smoking flax!

I have had the portraits of my two boys taken on their birthdays–from
the first birthday till they were twenty-one. The first year the little
fellows are sitting, two of them in one baby carriage. At 21 they are
doing nothing of the sort– they are men full-grown! Yet I can trace
them all along, from the time when they were babes, till they became
little boys, and then youths, and then young men! I should not have
been pleased to have seen them wheeled about in the baby carriage for
21 years! In that case, I would have thought myself a most unfortunate
father. And so I do not want to have any of you remaining in spiritual
infancy–we long to see you come to the fullness of the stature of
perfect men in Christ Jesus!

Life is precious, but we look for growth. A spark is fire, but we
expect flame. Grace is priceless, but we long to see it daily increased
by going on unto perfection! Despise not the day of small things, but
advance to greater things than these. Be comforted, but not
self-satisfied. Rest, but do not loiter. The table of the Lord is
spread and it is a feast not for men, alone, but for babes in Grace.
Come here, you that love the Lord, and you that trust Him, however
feeble your trust. However faint your courage, come and welcome! My
Lord's table is not for giants, only, but for infants, also. The viands
are not strong meat, but bread and wine, fit food for the faint and
feeble. Examine yourselves, you sincere tremblers, but do not let the
examination end in your staying away! Rather, mark how the text says,
"let a man examine himself, and so let him eat"–not, "so let him
refrain from eating" Ho, you that hope in His mercy, your Lord invites
you to His own feast of love! You may come and welcome! If you have
come to Christ, Himself, by faith, come to His table and remember Him
tonight. The Lord bless you, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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