Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2853
“Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, and did hastily catch it.” 1 Kings 20:33.
You know the circumstances to which these words refer. The boastful Syrian king had been utterly defeated and his army destroyed. He himself had fled into an inner chamber in desperate fear of his life, but, being informed that the kings of Israel were merciful, he sent certain of his attendants, in humblest fashion, with sackcloth on their loins and ropes about their necks, to beg that he might be spared. When they came in before Ahab and began to plead with him for Ben-Hadad, they watched every word that the king uttered—“The men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him.” And the moment he said, “He is my brother,” they caught at the expression immediately. They were in such anxiety about their king that even half a word that indicated tenderness and mercy brought joy to their hearts!
I think that this narrative contains a great deal of instruction for those who desire to be reconciled to God. If, dear Friend, you are conscious of your guilt and are afraid of being destroyed on account of it, the wisest thing that you can do is to come before the Lord in the attitude of submission. These men put sackcloth upon their loins and ropes around their necks to show that they deserved to die. And you must, spiritually, do the same. Go to God and humbly confess your transgressions—acknowledge that you are absolutely in His hands and that if He destroys you, He will be just. If He calls you to account for all your iniquities, and even casts you into Hell, you cannot impugn the justice of His decision. Yet, while you do that, imitate these messengers of Ben-Hadad when they came to Ahab. “The men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, and did hastily catch it.”
I. My first observation in turning this incident to a spiritual use, is that IT IS A PITY THAT AWAKENED SINNERS DO NOT COPY THE EXAMPLE OF THESE MEN.
For, first, there is far too little of diligent observance of what God says in His Word. Dear Friend, if you want to have the pardon of your sin and deliverance from its consequences, it is God alone who can do this for you! Therefore, you ought to endeavor to know all that is to be known about God in order that if there is anything encouraging and hopeful to one in your circumstances, you may know it. Hence, every anxious enquirer ought to be a diligent searcher of his Bible. If I did not know the way of salvation, I would read that blessed Book from morning till night—and if I had read it through and yet had not found a verse that spoke peace to my soul, I would resolve to read each chapter, over and over again, with this constant prayer to God, “Lord, show me something that will meet my case, some kind assuring word from Your own Inspired Book that may remove my fears and give me peace.”
How can some of you who say that you are seeking the Lord, be at all surprised if you do not find Him, as you are neglecting the diligent searching of His Word? I pray you to read it through and through, again and again, and try if you cannot find a sentence, somewhere or other, that will breathe comfort to your troubled heart. For remember that all your hope lies there—within the covers of this Book is “the glorious Gospel of the blessed God”—therefore, be you well acquainted with it and diligently observe if anything has come from the lips of the Lord which may bring deliverance to you.
The same thing ought to be done when you are hearing the Gospel preached, for God has been pleased, in order that His Truth may be brought home to your hearts, to choose certain of His servants to speak His Word. And, so far as they
speak in accordance with His mind and will, they speak for God to you. It is a blessed thing when we have hearers who diligently observe whether there is anything in the sermon that will meet their case and remove their distress. I know some congregations where they are diligently observing whether there is fine oratory. I bless God that I hate oratory from my very soul! To speak His Truth clearly and simply, is all I aim at. So, if you want the beauties of rhetoric, you must seek them elsewhere. There are some preachers who are always looking out for scraps of poetry, or something quaint or curious that they can weave into their discourse, but all this is as the chaff to the wheat. The sincere seeker after the Truth of God continually prays, “Lord, give me something that I may lay hold of. Give me a safe anchorage for my storm-driven vessel. I am in sore trouble of soul, be pleased, O God, to breathe peace to my heart through something that the preacher shall say under the gracious guidance of Your Holy Spirit!” I do not think there will be much preaching in vain when hearers diligently observe what comes from the preacher’s lips in the hope that, by God’s Grace, it may be blessed to them!