The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 99

bes_t co1111sel ~ 5::ught before a step was taken. These sone of the prophets went to Ehsra an~ said, Let ~s_go, _we pray thee, unto Jordan." Though they were young, perhaps with all the stu~ng impulses of youth, they were conscious of their need of c?unsel, a~d they sought it. In these modern times in England-we spea.k from exten- srve _expenence--churches a?d c~apels are often built from ignorant zeal and a spirit of nvalry. How unmanly 1s this! 2. Each man set to honest work in thti matter. "Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a bea.m, a.nd let us make us a place there, where we ma.y dwell." Matthew Henry quaintly says, "When they wanted room they did not speak of sending for cedars, and marble stones, and curious artificers, but only of getting every man a beam, to run up a plain hut or cottage with." Each man, it would seem, felled his bealll, carried and adjusted it. How right, manly, aud honest all this I They never thought of putting up a grand place at other people's expense. Ah me l how far we are fallen in spirit from them I To erect modern churches and chapels, what means do we use? Fawninii; entreaties, a<ld.reased to moneyed ignorance and stupidity, bazaars with their questionable pro- cedures, their displays, their raffles, and their flirtations. IIL 'rhis Church-extension enterprise ENOOIJNTEBED DIFFIOULTIES IJNEXPEOTED. "And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water : and he cried, and said, Alas, master I for it was borrowed." Why this distress of the woodman? Was it because the axe was borrowed and he had not the wherewith to pay, or because he was checked in his operation? Perhaps both were reasons for his distress. The former I trow the greater. In all worthy enterprises on this earth difficulties crop up unawares. Perhaps the best enterprises encounter the greatest difficulties. "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." But difficulties are in truth blessings in disguise. They challenge the courage and rouse the forces of the worker. They bring out his manhood. They are to the true worker what tempests are to young trees-they deepen the roots and strengthen tke :fibres. Besides, there is no consciousness of virtue in doing that which involves no struggle. IV. This Church-extension enterprise OBTAINED SUPERNATURAL HELP WHEN NEEDED, When the man who had lost his axe was crying out in distress, Elisha, the " man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it." Elisha here, by raising the axe and making the iron swin, overcame a law of nature--the law of gravitation. Up to this point in this enterprise there does not seem to have been any supernatural interposition. They prosecuted their journeying, they cut down the timber, they carried their beams, all by their own natural skill and force. They did not require supernatural aid. But now one of them did, and it came. We must not expect any special power from heaven to do that which we have the natural force to accomplish ourselves. "As thy day, so thy strength shall be.''-D. T. Vere. 8-23.-The King of Syria and Elisha. " Then the King of Syria warred against Israel," etc. In these sixteen verses we have four subjects worth looking into -wickedness thwarted, timidity dispelled, supernatural power manifested, and revenge overcome. L WrmrEDKESB THWARTED. The King of Syria had determined on an enterprise ~f bloodshed and wickedness. He had made all arrangements, :fixed on the place for his camp. "In such and such a place shall be my camp." Bat Elisha thwarted the bloody purpose of the Syrian king by informing the Israelitish monarch, J ehoram, of the very place where the Syrians had determined to encamp. His words are, " Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down." The king attended to tLe prophet's directions, "and saved himself there, not once nor twice." Terrible was the disappointment of the Syrian monar~b. "The heart o~ the King of Syr~ was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the King of Israel? Anu one of his servants said, Kone, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the Ki!1g of ltirael the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber." Observe: 1. That w1c~ed men are most secretive in their purposes. lt wuuld 1:,eem tl.w.t the plans of the King OH, VJ, 1-33.] 'l'HE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 137