sidering that all "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." The other instance of his infirmity is not so easily to be excused; he will not, indeed, worship any god beside the Lord; but, that he may keep his place, and pay due respect to the king his master, he asks permission to bow himself in the house of the idol Rimmon, though he seems sensible that such an act had, at least, a bad appearance, and might be construed into an acknowledgment, on his part, of the idol's godhead. All things considered, this, in the case of one so ignorant of true religion as Naaman then was, might admit of some apology, though it can by no means be justified. However, as his promise to offer sacrifice to no God save Jehovah only, was a great point gained with one who had been born and bred a heathen; and as he showed symptoms of ingenuousness and right convictions, which gave hopes of his improvement as he should acquire further knowledge, the prophet takes a fair leave of him, and bids him "Go in peace." He does not authorize him to do as he desired; but he waives the question, and gives him his blessing in general terms; being unwilling, as it should seem, and thinking it imprudent, to press him too far in the first outset of his religious course. All that we can safely collect from the prophet's conduct is, that young converts must be dealt with tenderly. If Elisha may be imitated, it must be with caution and strict attention to circumstances. Beginners cannot be complete at once: and if we see them wanting, it may be wise to defer some things we have to say to them for a season; praying for them in the mean time, and trusting in the Lord to enable them to see more perfectly. However, we must not affect actually to dispense with men's obedience in the least jot or tittle; and where it is perfectly clear to us that such or such a thing is our own duty, we must not ourselves desire it to be dispensed with; for, saith our Lord, "Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven"." Such is the history of Naaman: let us see whether it may not be applied to our own case as sinners. We all labour by nature under a worse disease than the leprosy of Naaman. Sin, whether we will think of it or no, (and they are not the least sinners who are least apt to think of it,) renders us amenable to the curse of God's righteous law, and makes it impossible, in the nature of things, that we should dwell with Him in heaven. From this disease and its awful consequences there is one way of escape, but only one. As nothing would avail Naaman till he came and stood like a suppliant at the door of the house of Elisha, so nothing shall avail us, till, like humble, ignorant inquirers, we sit at the feet of Jesus to hear his word. How beautiful, then, are the feet of them that bring the good tidings of this Saviour to us! and seeing we do not commonly resemble Naaman, in the deep sense he had of his malady, how blessed is that warning voice that disturbs our spiritual slumbers, saying, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!" Would God, my brethren, ye were all of you with the Prophet of Nazareth, Christ Jesus, for He would recover you of your leprosy! He would eradicate the poison from your hearts; He would cancel the handwriting of condemnation which is against you; He would make a perfect cure; He would receive you as alive from the dead. And you need no letter of commendation unto Him; his kind offices are not to be purchased with gold and silver; He hath not required any such costly offerings at your hands that ye should tread his courts. "Ho, every one that thirsteth," He says, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine 66 2 Matt. v. 19. 3 Eph. v. 14. ន and milk without money, and without price." The Lord loveth the occasions of glorifying his compassion. Therefore, says our blessed Lord, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out"." But here, in the first place, take warning from the case of Naaman, that ye be not ruined, as he had wellnigh been, by your own self-conceit and pride. When ye shall come to inquire of the Lord Jesus, What ye must do to be saved? there is a plain answer for you. The directions you are to receive, indeed, are such as pride may not relish, but they are such as sincerity cannot misunderstand. Christ died for sinners, He rose again, and “ever liveth to make intercession for them." Trust wholly to his atonement for forgiveness. Trust wholly to his promise of spiritual aid to sanctify you. Search the Scriptures if you would know your Saviour thoroughly, for they are they which testify of Him. Hear the word preached, for it is written, "Faith cometh by hearing"." Believe just what God tells you, do just what He commands you; and when, upon trial, you find that of yourselves you can do nothing, then come boldly as He commissions you, to the throne of his grace by prayer. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you? 8 " If you will not take God's word for it, that these means of his own appointment are, through his blessing upon them, as available as He says they are, then you make God a liar, and disinherit yourselves of the mercy He would have you taste. If, not relishing his prescribed methods, and rebelling in your carnal hearts against his just and good requirements, you choose to cry," Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?" May I not better expect to be saved by my own righteousness, than by trusting to another's merits? May I not wash my heart from wickedness and be clean, through 4 Isa. lv. 1, 2. 5 John vi. 37. 6 Heb. vii. 25. 8 Matt. vii. 7. the purifying powers of my own right resolutions? May I not square the directions given me in such or such manner better to suit my own particular feelings and convenience? Will it not be sufficient, if I go so far in renouncing the world, and crossing my own appetites, though I should choose to go no further?— If you will argue and act in this way, then you must take the consequences. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life";" but if you wish for a broader way, for more room and more liberty, there is such a way indeed, and it hath its varieties not a few, but the one end thereof is death. Remember, I beseech you, you are the sinners, God is the Judge; you are the starving beggars that ask for charity, God the sole proprietor of that treasury in which all good gifts are lodged. You might be cast into hell, you might be left to starve without any impeachment at all of your Maker's justice. Surely, then, it is God who is to mark out the path by which you may approach unto Him, and if He has marked out any path (though He should have beset it all along with nothing else save thorns and briars), it must be your part to walk in it with thankfulness, seeing you are entitled to no way of escape at all. But your Almighty Lord hath not dealt thus harshly with you; He hath given his own Son to be the way, and "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young 10 " "Come unto me," therefore, he says, "all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light'." There is salvation in no other. There is salvation by Him only according to his own method. But implicitly follow his plain directions, and it is not possible for the end to be separated from the means. 10 Isa. xl. 11. Matt. vii. 14. 1 Matt. xi. 28-30. Though your souls should be more leprous than the flesh of Naaman, you shall be as thoroughly cleansed as he. For He will put his spirit within you, and whom He sanctifies here, He glorifies for ever. However, ye do not hear these things for the first time to-day. Perhaps, therefore, ye have already despised this great salvation, and are still despising it. Like Naaman, when he went away in a rage, ye are doing despite to the spirit of grace. But why will ye die, O house of Israel? Are there any that would kindly expostulate with you? whose words of soberness and tender consideration would smite you friendly and reprove you? Oh learn, if there should be such, to know your friends. If you did but know your danger, if the eye of your faith could but be enlightened thoroughly, to perceive how your feet are going down to death, and your steps taking hold on hell, what great thing, what hard thing would you refuse to do, so you might but escape the pit? How much rather, then, when He saith unto you, "Wash, and be clean!" How much rather, when God requires no more than the surrender of sin, that false friend, that venomous deceitful viper, and says, "Believe not lying vanities, but that tried true Friend that died for you!" This is what all who know what is good for you, and love you truly, would advise. If pride and selfish passions have misled you hitherto, let them not mislead you still; but suffer ye the word of exhortation whilst it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Let me entreat you all, that whilst you decidedly choose the good, you would as decidedly eschew the imperfections of Naaman's example. Let us not hear you say, with him, The Lord pardon thy servant in this thing, or in that, for your case is not parallel to his. You cannot plead ignorance, as he might have done. You have better light; and God looks for it from you that ye should "walk as children of light"." |