subjected himself to reason and wisely s aw t h at if he would have the salvation of God he must heed the commands of his prophet, e. He took his way to the Jordan, he con- temned and dipt once, twice, six times,— he did not faint; full surrender was fol- lowed by conscious salvation. His "flesh came again as a little child's for he trusted and obeyed as a child, f. Filled with won- dering gratitude, he turned back, fifty miles from his straight course, and took a straighter course—to give t h a n ks for his cure. g. Elisha refused his gifts. Cour- teously, no doubt.' iFreeljf he received as freely he gave. . He was' steward of ( the < grace of God; of a King, not a merchant; who gives b ut does not sell or barter. • •••h; Naaman was cured,— not of the leprosy of the flesh merely, but of the spirit and of idolatry. Jehovah alone henceforth he would serve. If he bowed attending his master in S i mmo n 's house he would, not bow in R i m- mon's honor. I. Elisha dismissed him with a benediction. J. There was a happy little maid who waited on a happy mistress in Damascus, and there is joy among, the evan- gelists and the angels over a leper saved. ' V. And there was Gehazi! the J u d as of his day; the Ananias of the Old T e s t ame n t; the Simon Magus Senior in Samaria. Sold ; for a mess of pottage. He had the shekels and fine clothes, "but he was a leper!" artifice of man h as been able to remove the simplest stain of sin from the conscience. Sin is against God and only He Himsielf can provide a 'cure. Carnal 'greatness, posi- tion, possessions only. aggravate the enorm- ity df ma n 's sins a na sinks him deeper in the mire. The agency which God employs . in pointing to , the place of healing seems ' insignificant; a mere cijjld. 1 The method which God uses ¿or cure" is singular in the simplicity: "wash and be clean"—"Look and live"—-"Taste and see"—"Come and rest"—"Believe and be saved." The de- mand of God is definite and Involves a com- plete surrender of the will. All preconceived notions and ideas mu st be put aside; all prejudices mu st be abandoned; the lepor .must bow his will 'neath the waves of Jor- dan. Six times is not sufficient when God says' seven. The man who shrinks from the .Oospel of the BLOOD, who battles against the atonement of God's beloved Son, must; die in his sin. A^banofl, the golden stream like the system of the sages m ay appeal to the senses, b u t j t he gashing 1 by the blood of the Son. is God's/ ordained ordinance, and he only can be washed white who will- ingly yields to the/ will and Way of a loving God. thev would be content with a "Log College" and. a most hopeful fact, each man was willing to "lend a hand," vv. 1, 2. One un- lucky wight, whose axehead, which he had begged, not "borrowed," fell into the river; in his distress he appealed to the prophet. Who "cast" or t h r u st a stick into the place, where it lay and "the iron did swim." The Lord who walked t h é' waters, Jno. 6:19, 'co'ild make the ir,o 4 n .swim as easily as m y 'will can lift, the w e i g h t, of my h a n d .' 2. By this miracle all may see t h at He who counts the hairs Of ovlf 'heads, Matt. 10:31?,
right; only God could cleanse a leper, for leprosy is the symbol of sin, and Joram w as himself a conspicuous sinner. The sinless alone can make sinless. 2. At the prophet's door. a. Elisha was king In that day. The m an of faith is al- ways the royal character. He has the courage of convictions, the m a j e s ty of the godlike, the authority of the truth. Elisha rebuked the King of Israel and summoned the Syrian captain suppliant to his door. b. N a a m a n 's splendid pageant drew up at the humble cell of the man of God, and looked for him to come forth to do obeisance. But meek and lowly in his private capacity, so they despise the simplicity of the Gos- divine majesty, he sent his servant to in- struct the servant of Benhadad w h at to do. c. "Go, and wash (dip) in Jordan seven times." The proud prince turned away in a rage. J u st so men refuse to acknowledge their moral degradation; their spiritual help- lessness; their absolute poverty of soul. J u st as they despise the simplicity of the Gos- pel; the efficacy of the Blood; the humility of confession; the foolishness of baptism; the offence of the cross. Wh e r e as the sov- ereign Savior will have nothing from princes or paupers but t r u st and obedience, d. The Servants, a t t e n d a nt nobles, remonstrated with their angry lord, who in nothing showed his worthiness of his high military station than in the conquest of his own spirit. He NAAMAN. We have today a strangely sweet and simple story, one of the most picturesque in the Old Testament. There are five chief characters—a little lass, a great general, a sinful sovereign, a peerless prophet and a sacrilegious servant. There are six different scenes. In t he house of N a ama n, at" the palace of Ahab, twice at the humble home of the prophet, at the river Jordan, and on the road to Syria. Every incident is suggestive of large lessons. The simplicity of faith in the heart of the captive child; the unbelief of the King of Israeli, the faith and faithful- ness of the prophet of Israel; the test arid testimony of N a a m a n; the covetoUsness and condemnation of Gehazi. The lessons are so obvious and numerous t h at they need b ut little amplification. Leprosy is God's chosen type of sin. N o case of leprosy was cured save by the interposition of God's power. Sin is universal and incurable. No a rt or THE LORD OUR HELP IN TROUBLE. Lesson II—2 Kgs. 6:1, 7:21. I. THE LORD IN LITTLES. ¿1 1. The last axehead. The schools of the prophets flourished under the lead of Elisha. They, were obliged to seek more roomy ouar- ters. A happy circumstance for schools and churches. In their poverty, which is no drawback to men of God, and, we are inclined to think, to schools and churches,
PITH AND PIVOTv
Lesson for April 9, 1911
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