Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 3264
“And it shall be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 1 Kings 17:4.
WHAT a mighty master of the art of prayer was Elijah the Tishbite! He was one of those who had the power to shut up Heaven so that it did not rain. He did not merely prophesy, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain but according to my word,” but he prayed that it might be so—so that he was not only the messenger of the drought, but in some sense, the cause of it. It was his act that stopped the bottles of Heaven! It was his prevailing prayer which brought down that heavy chastisement upon the sinful people.
But perceive dear Friends, that though Elias was mighty in prayer, and could prevail with God, yet he did not therefore escape from suffering—no, his very prayer in its answer, brought him into suffering. If there should be a drought throughout all the land, he himself must feel the pinch as well as the rest of the people. If the brooks are dried up, they shall be dried up for him, and if there is no corn in the land, there shall be no corn for him, unless God shall be pleased to especially interpose on his behalf. Elijah suffers, then, in the common evil. The effect of his own prayer is, as it were, to bring down the house of the Philistines upon his own head, as well as upon theirs.
Let us learn from this, dear Friends, that the highest degree of Grace cannot save us from affliction, no, that it even includes it! We may grow in Grace until our faith never staggers. We may progress in the art of wrestling with God until we know how to grapple with the Angel as Jacob did at Jabbok with, “I will not let You go except You bless me”—but the impartial hand of trial will knock at our door as well as at the door of the chief of sinners! We must still tread the path of sorrow. Still shall we have to go under the rod of the Covenant and feel Christ’s yoke upon our shoulders. The child of God cannot escape the rod even though he is an Elijah. He may call down fire from Heaven to consume the sacrifice, but no fire from Heaven can consume his trouble! He must bear it, he must pass through it as well as the weakest and most common of God’s people! Let us, therefore, settle it in our hearts to be resigned to this. If it is the common lot of God’s people, why should we repine? If the Prince, Himself, once went through the Valley of Humiliation, why should we murmur at following in His footsteps? God had one Son without sin, but never a son without affliction. Let us not ask to be the first, but be content to share the position of those whose inheritance is to be ours forever in the Paradise of our God.
Tonight, and God grant that it may be for our profit, we shall talk of our text, handling it in three ways. First, you will perceive that God is at no loss to supply the needs of His children. When we have talked of that, I would have you notice, secondly, that God has power to make all creatures obedient to His will And then thirdly, I shall ask you to notice that there is a possibility of a creature in some way serving God and yet remaining an unclean creature—just as the ravens fed Elijah, but were still unclean ravens, so you and I may be serviceable in the Lord’s cause to some extent and yet, after all, be utter strangers to the things of Christ!
I. First, then, we certainly gather from the whole incident related concerning Elijah here, and, indeed, from the whole of the Prophet’s life, that GOD IS AT NO LOSS TO SUPPLY HIS SERVANTS’ NEEDS.
This narrative seems to tell us, first of all, that God’s people shall always have enough Do they need drink in a parched land—they shall “drink of the brook.” Do they need food, “I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” Elijah never had short commons. He had no luxuries—just bread, meat, and water—but these were enough. No doubt, Jezebel’s priests fed much more sumptuously and many of God’s servants not as well, for we read of Obadiah that he took
the Prophets of God and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them bread and water. Now Elijah did get on better than this for he had bread and meat while they had only bread. God, however, was not pleased to give Elijah dainties. Delicate things are not promised to the children of God—and His Prophets, at any rate—should not seek after them. They that fare delicately and are clothed sumptuously are in kings’ houses and are often nothing better than reeds shaken by the wind. Let us learn, then, from this, that although God will provide for the needs of His people, yet He has never promised to give them more than enough. The promise runs, “Your bread shall be given you, and your water shall be sure,” but it goes no further. We are instructed each day to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” which means, “Give us a sufficiency.” And, indeed, if God’s Inspiration had not taught us so to pray, wisdom would teach us to do it, for Agur’s prayer is one which philosophy might justify as well as Grace—“Give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me.” It is that middle path of the, “enough,” which is, perhaps, the most pleasant, and certainly the most safe. “Having food and raiment let us therewith be content.”—