VERSE 3 (CONTINUED)
Before passing on to the fourth verse of our Psalm, which gives a still deeper shade of wilderness trials and sorrows, we would turn for a moment to another use and application of "a tree," which may be for our edification.
In 2 Kings 6:1-71And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. 2Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 3And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. 4So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 5But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. 6And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. 7Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it. (2 Kings 6:1‑7) we have an account of "the sons of the prophets" going to the banks of Jordan to cut down trees to make beams for the purpose of enlarging their dwelling place. "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye." The young prophets, very wisely, secure the presence of Elisha with them. He consents to go, and works a miracle there, which saves them from the loss of the head of the borrowed ax. "And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.”
Some have thought that there is a deep typical meaning in this apparently unimportant incident; others have been afraid to press it as such. But surely, at any rate, it is a striking illustration of resurrection-life and power. As to the typical meaning of Jordan, all are agreed. It is the type of death. And as to "the ax head," it lay as lost and dead in its depths. And what is deeply interesting, and instructive too, in connection with this miracle, is that Elisha was, typically, the resurrection-life prophet. He passed through the river of death in company with Elijah and started on his ministry of grace and resurrection-power from the point of the ascended prophet. (2 Kings 2.) Elijah's ministry, on the contrary, was judicial in its character. He started, we may say, from Sinai, which stamped its character on his miracles. He shut the heavens over a rebellious people, "and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." James 5:1717Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. (James 5:17). And he called down fire from heaven on the captains of the idolatrous king of Israel. At Horeb he became linked up with the broken law, and the responsibility of the people, so that his ministry called for judgment.
But Elisha starts from resurrection-ground and with his eye, as it were, on the ascended man. This is the place of God's measureless grace—the place of the risen Christ Himself and the saved myriads that joyfully cluster around Him. Scarcely had the two prophets crossed the Jordan when Elijah proposed blessing to Elisha, according to the desires of his heart. Not now, observe, according to law or earthly promise, but according to his heart's desire. "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." 2 Kings 2:99And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. (2 Kings 2:9). They had left the land of law and earthly promise behind them; and death, the judgment of God against sin, was past, so that He was free to bless. This is grace, and most significant as to the character of Elisha's mission, and of God's way in grace, through the death and resurrection of Christ down to the present time.
Here pause for a moment and meditate on this instructive scene. God begins His work where sin, Satan and all evil cease from theirs. He quickens the dead. No evil can ever cross the grave of Christ. The path of life, and holy, happy liberty, is beyond the domain of death. Elisha, observe, now returns to Israel; but all is changed. He acts in grace, according to the new condition of things. Sweet foreshadowing of the risen Jesus, who died for us and for God's glory so that His grace flows forth freely to the children of men now and will do so abundantly to Israel in the latter day. Elisha tarries at Jericho, the place of the curse; but he brings in the power of God in blessing and removes the curse and heals the spring of waters so that there would be no more death or barren land. "And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake." 2 Kings 2:19-2219And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. 20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. (2 Kings 2:19‑22).
Salt is a well-known symbol in Scripture. Here it represents the healing power of grace, as flowing through the death and resurrection of Christ. The whole scene is richly and permanently blessed. Evil is overcome; the curse is removed from the ground—the world—and especially from His people Israel; and the spring of waters—the fountain of blessing—secured forever. The "new cruse" may shadow forth the renewed condition of all things under Christ in the latter day. The prophet next proceeds to Bethel, which, we know, speaks of God's unchangeable faithfulness to Jacob and to his seed forever. Now he links the people with the sovereign counsels of God's love and grace towards them. From thence the prophet goes to Carmel, which tells us of the fruitful land, thus connecting the people with the faithfulness of Jehovah and the abundance of the land. What grace! The curse removed—evil put away—the scene purified—the spring of waters healed—the God of Bethel known and enjoyed; and the blessings of Carmel covering the land like a fruitful field. Nevertheless—oh, most solemn and weighty warning for the present moment, as well as for all time—if the testimony of the grace of God be despised and His messengers mocked, judgment must take its course. (vv. 23-24.)
Thus, in my meditations, have my thoughts traced, and retraced, the mystic path of these two great servants of God in this wonderful second chapter, though professedly meditating on the miracle in the sixth. But the ground we have gone over sheds wondrous light on the miracle. It now looks more like a passage in Ephesians or in 1 Peter. "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Eph. 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:33Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3).
There is no power to save the lost or to quicken the dead soul but the cross of Christ. When the tree is cast into the waters, the iron swims. The moment the cross is seen by faith and applied by the Holy Spirit, the soul is quickened together with Christ, raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. All this takes place in virtue of our union with Christ, when we believe in His name and trust in His cross. But, alas, till then, the soul, however light, gay and active or otherwise, is morally and spiritually in the place of death. Oh, that poor, thoughtless, Christ-less souls would think of that now! What a condition to be in! The place of death—the cold depths of the river of death! What a lowering, what a sinking, of an immortal soul—a soul that grace can render capable of enjoying God and His Son and the full glories of heavenly blessedness forever.
Where, O where, let me ask, is my reader at this moment? In the depths or on the heights? It must be either the one or the other. There is no middle place. To die in the former state is to be there forever, in the depths of anguish and despair. There can be no change after death. And wilt thou, O thoughtless one, sell thy eternal happiness for a moment's present gratification? Why be so unreasonable, so cruel to thine own soul? Was it wise for Esau to sell the whole land of Canaan for a mess of pottage, because he could enjoy the latter at the moment? Wouldst thou call this manly, noble or high-spirited? And is it wise for thee to sell the heavenly Canaan for that which can be enjoyed only for a moment in this world? Do think of all this, my dear fellow sinner. Thy present life is most uncertain; and what an agony to those left behind were there no hope in thy death! And what an eternity thine—! What could sweeten such a bitter cup as this, or change its wormwood and its gall? Oh, then, from every consideration, look to Jesus now—just now—before laying down this book. Let thine eyes and thine heart be lifted up to Him. "Look unto Me," He says, "and be ye saved." Isa. 45:2222Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22). The great work of redemption was finished on the cross; there is nothing for thee to wait for. "It is finished!" John 19:3030When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30). Only look to Him believing this, and thou art surely and forever saved.
“When the harvest is past, and the summer is gone,
And sermons and prayers shall be o'er:
When the beams cease to break of the sweet Lord's Day
morn,
And Jesus invites thee no more;
“When the rich gales of mercy no longer shall blow,
The gospel no message declare;
Sinner, how canst thou bear the deep wailings of woe?
How suffer the night of despair?
“When the holy have gone to the region of peace,
To dwell in the mansions above;
When their harmony wakes, in the fullness of bliss,
Their song to the Savior they love;
“Say, O sinner, that livest at rest and secure,
Who fearest no evil to come,
Can thy spirit the wailings of sorrow endure,
Or bear the impenitent's doom?”
But some, I know, are ready to say, by way of excusing themselves, that if they are as dead as the iron at the bottom of the river they must be entirely passive in the work of conversion. There is some truth in this remark, but it is far from being the whole truth. The soul is dead as regards God and spiritual things, but it is all alive as regards this world. There is no heart or energy for Christ and His salvation, but there is plenty of both for present things; and Scripture presses, in innumerable places, the responsibility of the sinner. It assures him that the work by which alone he can be saved is finished and that he has only to believe it on the sure testimony of God Himself; and, thus believing it, he is saved and finds present and eternal rest in Jesus. "Wilt thou go with this man?" (Gen. 24:5858And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. (Genesis 24:58)) is a plain question. And where is the sinner—active and intelligent as to present things—who cannot answer, "Yes," or "No"?
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31). "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:1919And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19). "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness [or, testimony] in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son." 1 John 5:9-109If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. (1 John 5:9‑10). "WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rom. 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13).
Thus we find in types and shadows, truths and substance, that there is no virtue for the soul apart from Christ—from Christ crucified. The knowledge of Jesus, His love, His cross, quickens the dead sinner and gives him a place with the risen Jesus. It strengthens the weak saint—upholds the fainting spirit— comforts those that are in trouble and bowed down. It destroys the power of the waters of Jordan and sweetens the waters of Marah.