_THE ONE DRAWBACK_ ‘But he was a leper.’ 2 Kings 5:1 I. HOW OFTEN IS IT SEEN, IN HUMAN EXPERIENCE, THAT A CONDITION, OTHERWISE OF PERFECT PROSPERITY, HAS ONE ALLOY, ONE DRAWBACK, WHICH DAMAGES OR SPOILS IT FOR ITS POSSESSOR.—We need not confine our observation to lives of great men—written in hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_‘O, HOW UNLIKE THE COMPLEX WORKS OF MAN, HEAVEN’S SIMPLE, EASY, UNENCUMBERED PLAN!’_ ‘But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.’ 2... [ Continue Reading ]
_GREAT THINGS AND SMALL_ ‘My father, if the prophet had did thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?’ 2 Kings 5:13 I. HOW MANY PERSONS ARE THERE SUFFICIENTLY DESIROUS OF SALVATION TO HAVE BEEN TOLERANT OF A VERY BUR... [ Continue Reading ]
_BLESSED ASSURANCE_ ‘Behold, now I know.’ 2 Kings 5:15 Yes, Naaman saw things differently now. Religion had ceased to be a mere matter of opinion, it had become a matter of personal experience and conviction. In place of ‘Behold, I thought’ (_v._ 11), words which we are all ready enough to use on... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE COMPROMISES OF LIFE_ ‘When I bow myself in the house of Rimmon.’ 2 Kings 5:18 Here we find Naaman making an excuse, it is said, for dissembling his religious convictions, and Elisha accepting the plea. He is convinced that Jehovah is the true God, but is not prepared to make any sacrifice fo... [ Continue Reading ]