2 Kings 7:9-11 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace… You are not surprised to find that, when those four lepers outside the gate of Samaria, had made the great discovery that the Syrian camp was deserted, they first satisfied their own hunger and thirst. .End quite right too. Who would do otherwise? It is true that they were bound to go and tell other hungry ones; but they could do that with all the louder voice, and they were the more sure of the truth they had to tell, when they had first refreshed themselves. It might have been a delusion: they were prudent to test their discovery before they told it. Having refreshed and enriched themselves, they bethought them of going to tell the besieged and starving citizens. I would advise every soul that has found Christ to imitate the lepers in this matter. Make sure that you have found the Saviour. Eat and drink of him; enrich yourself with him; and then go and publish the glad tidings. Personal enjoyments of true godliness assist us in our testimony for truth and grace. But the point I desire to bring out is this: if those lepers had stopped in the camp all night, if they had remained lying on the Syrian couches, singing, "Our willing souls would stay in such a place as this"; and if they had never gone at all to their compatriots, shut up and starving within the city walls, their conduct would have been brutal and inhuman. I am afraid that some of my hearers have never yet confessed the work of God in their souls. It should not be a matter of one solemn occasion, but our whole life should be a witness to the power and grace which we have found in Christ. I. TO HIDE THE DISCOVERY OF DIVINE GRACE WOULD BE WRONG. 1. For, their silence would have been contrary to the Divine purpose in leading them to make the discovery. Why were these four lepers led into the camp that they might ]earn that the Lord of hosts had put the enemy to the rout Why, mainly that they might go back, and tell the rest of their countrymen. 2. Thee people would not only have been false to the Divine purpose, but they would have failed to do well. They said one to another, "We do not well." Did it ever strike some of you that it is a very serious charge to bring against yourselves, "We de not well?" "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." 3. Besides this, had those lepers held their tongues, they would actually have been doing evil. Suppose that they had kept their secret for four-and-twenty hours, many hundreds might have died of starvation within the walls of Samaria: had they so perished, would not the lepers have been guilty of their blood? 4. Again, these lepers, if they had held their tongues, would have acted most unseasonably. Note how they put it themselves: they say, "We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace." O, has Jesus washed your sins away, and are you silent about it? 5. One thing more: silence may be dangerous. What said these men? "If we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us." That morning light is very close to some of you. If you tarry till to-morrow morning before you have spoken about Christ, some mischief may come upon you. II. If we "have made the blessed discovery of Christ's gracious work in routing our enemies, and providing for our needs, and if we have tasted of the fruit of that glorious victory ourselves, WE OUGHT TO MAKE A VERY EXPLICIT AVOWAL OF THAT DISCOVERY. It ought to be confessed very solemnly, and in the way which the Lord himself has appointed. 1. This ought to be done very decidedly, because our Lord requires it. 2. Next, if you have found Christ, the man who was the means of leading you to Christ has a claim upon you that he should know of it. 3. Next I think the church of God has a claim upon all of you who have discovered the great love of Jesus. Come and tell your fellow-Christians. Tell the good news to the King's household. The church of God is often greatly refreshed by the stories of new converts. 4. Besides that, a testimony decided for Christ is due to the world. If a man is a soldier of the cross, and does not show his colours, all his comrades are losers by his want of decision. III. THIS DECLARATION SHOULD BE CONTINUALLY MADE. ( C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. |
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