CHAPTER XX.

MORE THAN CONQUERORS.

"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel."-2 KINGS vi. 17-23.

THE question, "How shall we do?" is one so frequently wrung from sorrowing hearts, that it could not remain. unanswered in the Bible. The Lord Jesus came to answer the questions of anxious hearts, and though they be of our weakness, yet even that weakness, when not allied with wilful unbelief, finds sympathy and help. For He has listened to the prayer, "Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief." Often sorrow comes with such fearful suddenness, that it is difficult to realise anything other than that a terrible blow has fallen. Only yesterday we met, and parted so happy and joyous. Life seemed without a cloud. Now all is changed. A letter, a sentence, an accident, and the whole fabric which we had reared is utterly swept away. With what we have lost

all seems lost. Life has nothing more for us. Is there no escape? "How shall we do?" To sink were to perish; and yet there seems no help for us anywhere. It is at such times that we ought joyously to cherish the conviction, that one comfort is still left. It consists in realising that Christ is identified with us. We are not alone in this Dothan; the Master is also there. No-it is not merely an idea; it is a fact. Nothing can befall us but through Him and with Him. And thus, even without further explanation, so soon as the burdened heart realises a present Christ, the question, "How shall we do?" answers itself. "Stand still and see the salva

tion of the Lord!"

These convictions ought alone to be sufficient for us; yet in our weakness God often condescends to us, and in compassion grants sight where faith should have been enough. "The Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." We should be satisfied to labour even without visible encouragement, to bear without visible deliverance, and to trust without visible token for good. But the Lord adapts Himself to our frame, and no temptation assails us greater than we are able to bear. With the temptation He also maketh a way to escape. He says, "Fear not;" but He never says it without at the same time pouring gladsome light into our hearts. On this occasion the prophet prayed, "Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see." And immediately the denser medium parted, like a misty curtain rent by the rays of the sun. What before had seemed empty air was peopled; on the height, up its sloping sides, far as he could see, every place was occupied by another army-"horses and chariots of fire"-the same host of which one of the outposts had taken Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind. Truly might Elisha say, "They that be with us are more than they that be with them."

And can we not still say the same? Heaven and hell are indeed in conflict. All unseen to us, the air is peopled with principalities, powers, and dominions. Of the contest we know little beyond the fact, that the Lord encompasseth His people. The ministry of His angels will only be fully understood when our eyes shall have been opened, and when we shall hold personal converse with them in another state of existence. This, however, we are assured, that His Name is above every name that can be named, whether in heaven or on earth. Without drawing sword or bow He conquers, leading captivity captive, and we, identified with Him, are more than conquerors, through Him Who has conquered.

One and only one sore battle was there in which the Divine Redeemer bled and died; and the conquest of redeeming love has been for ever achieved. Look around and mark it: all has been accomplished and provided. Both our present and our future safety are ensured. Though the Syrians should encompass us, the mountain is full of horses and of chariots of fire. Sin, sorrow, and death have been swallowed up in victory. When in distress, let us pray that our eyes may be opened. It only needs this to remove our fears, whether caused by temporal or spiritual dangers. If we saw more than what appears to the eye of sense; if our minds were spiritually enlightened to discern things as they really are, our apprehensions would speedily give place to assurance. Christ died for us, yea rather, He is risen again, and sitteth at the Right Hand of God. Spiritual enlightenment would at once remove all doubt by removing ignorance or misapprehension. When the women, deeming Him dead, mourned for the supposed removal of His body, and failed to recognise Him, His voice in a moment banished their sorrow. When we cannot see the Lord, and mourn over an absent Saviour, His word of grace recognised will change our sorrow into

gladness. When, like the disciples on their way to Emmaus, we are perplexed, unable to understand the ways of the Lord, and feeling as if our hope were passing, like that sunlight at even, He will make Himself known to us in the breaking of bread. And when certain destruction seems to await us on the morrow, an Angel may waken us to liberty as he wakened Peter. So noiselessly do the chains drop, and the massive gates open and again close, so light are our footsteps that not one of the many sleepers around shall perceive it; that to ourselves it may appear like the vision of a dream, and yet we are free. But a little longer-and we shall be free! The prison-house, the chains, the guard and warders, the night and fear, all left behind-and golden sunlight on the hills around Zion! Nay, we are already free, for "they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

The vision of such help at hand immediately removed the fears of the young man. He was now content to follow the prophet even to meet the hosts of Syria. The joy of the Lord is our strength. If we have assurance of His Presence, we shall be prepared to encounter any foe or to undertake any labour. What we need is full conviction. Firmly convinced that our sins are really forgiven, we have boldness of access unto God. Fully believing that none shall pluck us out of His Hand, the spiritual contest is no longer uncertain, and need not be feared. Certain that the Lord will give that which is good, the issue of future events is no longer doubtful, and we banish alike care and anxiety.

But

The host of Syria met the two unarmed Israelites. Elisha had prayed, and the same power which had opened the eyes of his servant, now closed those of his persecutors, or covered them with a film of delusion. The student of history knows how often this miracle has seemed repeated in times of public persecution, when they, who were sent to

slay, were in some unexpected manner led in another direction, to the wondrous deliverance of those who appeared doomed to die. Most of us also, if observant, may have learned how often determined enemies, who had come to take our Dothan, have been smitten apparently with blindness, and taken their way to Samaria. Attacks upon Divine truth, measures which threatened the existence of the Church, or the spread of His Word, have thus been rendered harmless, and they, who went to capture our Elisha, have wakened to find themselves captives in the citadel of Israel.

"This is not the way, neither is this the city," Elisha could most truthfully say to the blinded host of Syria. They had not come to destroy Dothan but to take the prophet, and the way to Dothan no longer led to that result. “I will bring you to the man whom ye seek." But what a terrible discovery will it be when he is found. They shall meet him face to face, but in circumstances far different from what they had expected. There is yet another application of this. The hostile armies of Syria shall meet the Master, but, oh, how differently from what they had imagined—as Judge and Lord in the midst of His own city. Judicial blindness has fallen upon many. They imagine that Elisha may easily be captured. By their arguments they will compass and storm Dothan, and lead him away. For nearly nineteen centuries has host after host made the attempt. Every age has produced its new objectors and its fresh objections; and every host has been alike confident of success. They think that those who before them had gone to the attack, had not striven to beset every gate and postern. But they deceive themselves and are deceived. Every point of attack has been attempted and has failed. Now the authority of the Old Testament, then that of the New, has been called in question. At one time we have been confidently assured