Homilist 2 Kings 2:19-22 And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, I pray you, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees… I. LIFE AS IT IS. That is, with the pleasant and the painful associated. Now, this is a picture of every man's life. 1. It is so materially. How much we have in this material world that is pleasant to our senses, and healthful and strengthening to our bodies; but amidst all there is the painful. There are malarial swamps, pestilential winds, roaring earthquakes, and poisonous minerals and plants, etc. etc. 2. It is so intellectually. There is much in the region of intellect that is pleasant — bubbling springs of thought, tempting regions of inquiry, bright visions and hypotheses bespangling the heavens. But with all this there is much that is painful — dense clouds of ignorance hanging over the scene, hideous doubts howling in the ear, terrific chasms yawning at the feet. 3. It is so socially. How much in social life is pleasant — the friendly grasps, the affectionate greetings, the sweet amenities of those with whom we meet and mingle. But with all this there is much that is painful — social unchastities, hypocrisies, frauds, insolences. 4. It is so religiously. The religious, where the idea of God fills the horizon, there is the infinitely pleasant But in this wonderful region how much of the painful do we experience, what temptation to doubt, what infidelity and blasphemy often assail us, and bring over us the horror of a "great darkness". II. LIFE AS IT MIGHT BECOME. The painful and the pleasant separated. Elisha here separates the painful from the pleasant. Two remarks here. I. The separation was a happy one. He did not take away the pleasant from the painful, but the painful from the pleasant. 2. The separation was a supernatural one. "And he said, Bring me a new cruse," etc. The Gospel is the true" cruse" for separating the painful from the pleasant in the experience of human life. Thank God for the pleasant in your life. Seek earnestly that Gospel cruse whose salt alone can rid your life of all that is deleterious and distressing. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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