Again, dear friends, by the help
of God, I bring before you the word that we considered this
morning, the eighth chapter in the second book of the Kings.
And we read verse six again. Verse six in the eighth chapter,
the second book. of the kings. Verse 6. And when the king asked the woman,
she told him. So the king appointed unto her
a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the
fruits of the field, since the day that she left the land. even
until now. Well, this morning we endeavoured
to open this word with regard to the literal case and the literal
condition that prevailed in Israel at that particular time with
this godly woman and her husband and her son, her household. And of course it's very important
to consider these things because we all have to live in this world
in an honourable way and manner and the way of man is not in
himself The Lord's leading, the Lord's guiding, the Lord's direction
is seen in our providential pathways. And rightly so, because we are
the Lord's and He has bought us with a price, therefore we
are to glorify God in our daily lives. And so there is a direct
bearing here as we endeavoured to bring before you this morning
the literal fact. But I want this evening, as the
Lord shall help me, to open it up with a spiritual dimension. Because if we are the Lord's
people, then there will be that divine spiritual path You cannot
separate the two. They're joined by God. And what God has joined together,
let not man put asunder. This godly woman, this great
woman in Shunem, was blessed with living faith. She was blessed
with spiritual understanding. She was blessed with perception. She was a dear mother in Israel,
an elect vessel of mercy. And when Elisha sent Gehazi to ask the
question, is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And what did she say? She answered,
it is well. And yet, the child had died. But it was well with him, it
was well with her, and well with her husband. And in adversity,
friends, it can never be well apart from the presence of God. One destitute of the presence
of God in the day of adversity will be left to complain, to
rebel against the God of heaven. But there was no rebellion here
in her heart. She still retained her spiritual
desires and her spiritual stability. and her spiritual standing in
Christ. And friends, this is a very wonderful
thing, because the grace of God is all sufficient, whatever the
circumstance will be. And so we see her in spiritual
prosperity and the language that came from her lips, came from
her heart, and it demonstrates without fail her spiritual condition. The days of spiritual espousals,
the day of the Lord's rich blessing, the Lord's presence, yea, the
Spirit of God abiding with her. Now, friends, cannot you look
back to a time, a season when this was your blessed experience,
this was your pathway, this was your case and condition as before
God and you rejoiced in the Lord. Then some distress overtook you. some calamity overtook you. And yet, by the grace of God,
you were enabled to hold on your way, and to trust in the Lord,
and to continue. Well, what a divine favour, the
favour of the Lord. By this I know that thou favourest
me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. But in the purposes of God, then,
as we mentioned this morning in the opening part of Chapter
8, she had to go into a heathen
land, wheresoever thou canst sojourn. We are sojourners, friends,
as all our fathers were. We're sojourning through this
wilderness. And yet, in the purposes of God,
mysterious as they are at that time, And yet the Lord makes
known His purposes in due season. You have need of patience because
you need to wait upon the Lord to see the fulfillment of His
purposes toward you. So she had to go down as commanded
into the land of the Philistines. Well, the land of the Philistines
was a heathen land and they didn't worship the true God of Israel. They worshipped Dagon. And Dagon could never deliver. Dagon could never help. Dagon fell before the Ark of
God because the Philistines took the Ark from Israel. and brought
it into their temple. And friends, it couldn't stand
before the ark of the testimony of God's truth and love that
the Lord gave to Israel to conduct them through the wilderness. And then when the temple was
built in Jerusalem, it was placed in the holy of holies. Well, the ark was taken. And
what was stated? Ichabod, Ichabod, the glorious
departed from Israel. Whatever could they do? Nothing
without the Ark. And when Eli heard the Ark was
taken, his two sons were slain. The Ark was taken by the Philistines. He was sitting on the seat and
we read, he fell backward and broke his neck and died. The effect of the Ark being taken,
because he trembled for the Ark of God when it was taken. Then, how can I put it, the reality
of it? The shock of it, the effect of
it, the distress of it. He fell backward and died. So this godly woman from Shunem
goes down into this sojourns in the land of the Philistines.
Now, I realize that wherever a child of God may be placed
in the earth under the exercise of grace, they will manifest
and live a godly, gracious life. Dear Daniel did. He was in the
court in Babylon, but friends, he maintained a true spiritual
life there in that heathen land in Babylon. This was a dear child
of God here from Shunan. But being in the influence of
the ungodly, in the influence of worshipping an unknown God,
it had, and it has today, an effect upon our spiritual life. friends I've known this myself
when I was so involved in business as well as the ministry I felt
my spirit impoverished because of all the legal the lawful responsibility
that one had in a business and my spirit was truly impoverished. And it grieved me. And it affected
my ministry. I didn't feel to be able to enter
into the truth like I had formerly. I felt a measure of darkness
upon my spirit. I felt sometimes to be like that
poor man who went down to Jericho from Jerusalem, who fell among
thieves, stripped him of his raiment, left him half dead. And it greatly exercised my soul
and the Lord made a way and I had to come out of that so that I
could be in a position whereby I could devote more time to the
ministry of the word and waiting upon God day by day. I felt it friends in my spirit. and the influence of this world
has a diminishing effect to some degree upon our spirit. You can think of in Elijah's
day, the people, the Lord's people, there in Israel, but there was
Baal because Ahab, the king of Israel, introduced Baal worship
into the land. And friends, what happened? It
influenced the Lord's people. They were horting between two
opinions. And Elijah said to them, how
long hort ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, worship him. If Baal, worship him. The people couldn't answer a
word. They could not, they were ashamed. But the influence of
Baal had an effect upon the spirit of the Lord's people at that
time. And this is why the Lord demonstrated
that wonderful sacrifice that Elijah performed when the fire
came down from heaven. and devoured all the water and
the sacrifice. And then, you see, in direct
contrast to Baal, they sacrificed, they called upon their God, Baal,
and he didn't answer, didn't speak, didn't deliver. And Elijah
mocked him and said, well, perhaps he's on a journey. Peradventure
he sleepeth and must be awake. But you see, Israel's God was
demonstrated by Elijah. Now, when the people saw that,
what did they do? What did they say? The Lord,
he is God. The Lord, he is God. They were restored. They were
restored from that. Lukewarm state and condition. And friends, what does the Lord
do with those that are lukewarm? I would that you were cold or
hot, but because you are lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth. The Lord hates a lukewarm spirit
in his people. Hot or cold, friends? And naturally,
naturally, you don't like anything lukewarm, and nor do I. If you have a meal and it's lukewarm,
you don't want it. It's got to be either hot or
cold. And it's the same with the Lord.
His dear people have to be either hot or cold. In a lukewarm state,
Really, it's like serving God and mammon. You cannot serve
God and mammon. No, you can only serve the living
God. So even the Lord's dear people
and his saints, you see, the influence of the world has an
effect. I often think of the dear young
people in the workplace, the children at school, and all the
things that are taught them that are unscriptural, and all the
vain talk and conversation in the workplace. Oh, friends, what
a deadening effect it has upon one's spirit, how grievous it
is. But you see, although we're in
the world the Lord said not to be of the world and so we see
how this can affect the Lord's dear people you see David himself
knew what this was and he prayed restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation. Now, a child of God can never
lose salvation. It's impossible. The Lord has
never lost one for whom he gave his precious life. But you can
lose the joy that salvation brings. Friends, perhaps you understand
what I'm saying. You've known in your life something
whereby the Lord was grieved and the joy that you possessed
was removed and taken away. And it was very solemn to you. And this is why David prayed,
restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and take not thy Holy
Spirit from me. That came from King David, friends. And so the Lord's people need
these restorations spiritually. So this godly woman then had
every need providentially supplied. And yet it brought leanness into
her soul. And friends, the Word of God
declares this. The Lord gave the people what
they wanted but lean us into their soul. Now this constitutes
a conflict in the heart of a believer because she did what she was
instructed to do and yet you see it was in a heathen state
and it constitutes a conflict and the Lord's people know this
conflict. dreadful conflict from time to time within your heart
you're in a situation that you did not look for you did not
want it's come upon you it's overtaken you it's left you so
dependent and so something has to be done and it is done the
Lord understands But it's not for your spiritual prosperity. It's spiritual adversity. And the Lord's dear people know
spiritual adversity. And the Lord has set one above
the other. The Lord has set one above the
other to the end that man may find nothing after himself. But friends, even in adversity
in your soul, The Lord knows you. He knows you. The psalmist could say, the Lord
knoweth me, knoweth my soul in my adversities. Now that was
spiritual adversity. The Lord knew his soul in adversity. And the Lord will never be able
to say to that soul, I never knew you. Depart from me. The Lord can never say it. Because
the testimony from his own sacred heart and mouth and lip, the
oath and promise of God is he knows your soul in those adversities. But the down sittings, the uprisings,
These are the pathways that the Lord's people know. Casting me
down. Lifting me up. Weeping my endure
for a night. Joy cometh in the morning. Friends, you won't live on mountaintops
all your spiritual days. You have to come down into the
valleys. You have to pass through. the
waters of affliction, the water of affliction, the bread of adversity,
to hear the word of the Lord speaking to you. This is the
way walking in it. Turn not to the right hand nor
to the left. Go straight on. So, dear friends,
this is the path of the Lord's people. Dear Naomi, you see,
down in Moab, who went with her husband Elimelech because of
the famine. But you see, she went out full. The Lord hath brought me home
empty. Why call ye me Naomi? Call me Mara, for the Almighty
hath testified against me. What a child of God she was.
God has testified against her, brought me home empty. What a
mysterious path. Was she to die in that? No. No, the Lord restored her. The Lord restored her spirit. And she came back to Bethlehem,
Judah, at the appointed time. And the Lord wonderfully restored
her spirit and gave her twice as much as she had before spiritually. Spiritually. Because, you see,
dear Ruth had Obed, a restorer of thy life, a nourisher of thy
spirit. You see, friends, the Lord gave
that child Obed. And Obed, you see, leads to Jesse,
and Jesse leads to David, and David leads to Christ. Well,
what a restoration she had, with that dear babe in her heart,
a babe in her arms. That was Christ in her heart. The hope of glory. Restoration. Indeed it was. But you see the conflict that
went on in her heart. Call me not Naomi, call me Mara. Bitter it means, bitterness. But you see, the Lord made the
bitter sweet. He sweetened the bitter cup.
And the Lord sweetened the bitter cup. Friends, we're the Lord's
people. When in the wilderness they came to Mara, they could
not drink of the waters of Mara, for they were bitter. They were
bitter. What made them sweet? Oh, that tree that was cast into
the waters made them sweet. What tree was that, friends?
That wasn't the bay tree. The bay tree speaks to the wicked.
That tree was the tree upon which Christ was crucified, whom they
killed and hung on a tree. This is the tree, friend. This
is the cross of Christ. And that sweetens the bitter
cup. And that restores you spiritually. Nothing less than the cross of
Christ. will suffice so she came back
from the land of the philistines and she felt she'd lost everything
lost everything oh friends do you feel have you ever felt in
your life you've lost everything in your poor soul's experience
Destitute, dark, know not hardly where you are. Yes, that which
you hope the Lord had done, there seems to be a cloud over it. You cannot see your signs. You
feel you've lost everything. Satan's come and the great robber
and taken everything away. Friend, Blessed be God. There's King Jesus. And the unsearchable
riches of his grace can never be exhausted. And he grants those
fresh supplies of grace. And he grants that gracious renewing,
reviving, restoring of that which was lost Now we read this evening
in the Samuel regarding David and the men at Ziklag. A literal loss. A literal loss. And what a loss it was. What
a loss. He wept until he couldn't weep
anymore, friends. The people thought of stoning
him because their soul was vexed. Oh, dear friends, what a state
and condition they were in. But the Lord gave to dear David
as he inquired of the Lord. The Lord promised him that without
fail they shall recover all. And David did. And the Lord used
means through that young Egyptian And telling David where the people
were, he heard say that they'd been and destroyed Ziklag, burnt
it with fire and taken the wives and so on, hostages as they were,
captives. Well, everything was restored. Everything was restored. Friends,
How wonderful it is, the Lord's work, His ways are past, find
Him now. But that was a literal fact. Here in our text now, you see
the King, King Jesus appoints an officer. King Jesus has appointed
apostles and elders and ministers of the word. He's appointed them
in the gospel field to restore all that was hers, yes, and the
fruits of the field. What is this field, friends?
Well, it's the gospel field. This is where it is. This is
just what it is, the gospel field. And this is where the child of
God is restored. In the gospel field. Because
the fruits of the field. And what are these fruits in
the gospel field? They are the precious fruits
of the Spirit of God, and they restore perfectly, blessedly,
yea, twice as much as you had before, spiritually. You see, dear friends, she came
back, but she desired a restoration of all that was hers, all that
was hers, all that was hers by divine right as being a child
of God, of being a chosen vessel of mercy. It was her right, all
that was hers. If the Lord has called you by
His grace, He's your King. He is your all and in all and
you are his child you are his child he's our father he's the
elder brother born for adversity he's the friend that sticketh
closer than a brother this is king jesus friend All that was
her, spiritually, all that I've done in her soul, cannot be lost
eternally. None of them is lost, save the
son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. A child of
God cannot lose what God has done. That is indefinitely. Never. Never, never. Because what God has done is
done forever. Nothing can be added to it and
nothing taken away. And so restore. This is what King Jesus commanded. Here's the authority of the King. And through the means of the
ministry, The Lord's people are restored, spiritually considered. Oh, and as I looked at this,
the fruits of the field, I could see in a moment, this was the
Spirit of God in those precious fruits, which enrich and adore
the child of God. and restore them wonderfully
and beautifully to their former day of espousals, to their former
day of the Lord's divine favour to them. Friends, what the Lord
has done can never be lost. It's too precious. It's too precious. His grace is too precious. It's not superfluous because
it's too precious, but it's all sufficient day by day. That's
the secret, friends, and the secret of the Lord is with them
that fear him and he will show them his covenant. So restore
all that was hers and all the fruits of the field since the
day that she left the land. even until now. Nothing to be wanting, nothing
to be lacking. Now, oh the mercy of God and
the goodness of God, I will restore unto you, the Lord said through
the prophet Joel, the years at the locusts of Eden, the caterpillar,
the palmy worm. My great army, that I sent amongst
you. And why did God send that amongst
them? Because of their sin. Because of sin. But I will restore. Why? Because they were his chosen
people. They can't be lost. The oath
and promise of God is at stake, friends. They can't be lost. To the Lord restore. And this
is why David said in the 23rd Psalm, He restored my soul. If ever this dear woman knew
that, indeed she did. The Lord restored her soul to
that former spiritual glory. Oh, the riches, the unsearchable
riches of God's grace. restores all to the child of
God. Friends, these are the deep things
of God. They're the precious fruits of
the field, the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, faith, peace,
long-suffering, meekness, temperance, Against these there is no law. No, the liberty of the Spirit. Now, where the Spirit of God
is, there is liberty. And so she cried Unto the King. Oh, dear friends, and the Lord's
people, you see, they have to cry unto the Lord. Oh, dear friends, have you not
cried with David? Restore unto me. the joy of my
salvation. And also, you see, for her house
and for her land, for her household. I believe this embraces all those
that were with her, her house. And it says household. There's no mention of the husband
here. Whether he was still alive or
whether he died, we don't know. It's her household. And they
were the recipients of this restoration. Friends, what a word that is
of comfort and consolation to one who may have one at this
time who is in nature's darkness. And you have that promise that
the Lord will bring them into life. Bring them into light. A person said to me yesterday
concerning one, they said he's 63 years of age. He left chapel
when he was 18 and he hasn't been to the house of God for
45 years. Can the Lord restore one? Indeed
the Lord can. There should be his holy name.
The Lord can bring them back to their father's house, the
house of God. That word in the Proverbs, bring
up a child in the way that he should go. When he is old, he
shall not depart from it. So dear friends, this beautiful
truth of restoration is upon my spirit. Nothing lost, nothing
lacking, even until now. Oh, dear friends, the Lord knows,
he sees, he understands, and he has all power in heaven and
on the earth. And in a moment, the Lord can
restore your soul by the power of the Spirit. Suddenly, The day of Pentecost,
suddenly, the mighty Russian sound of a mighty wind and the
cloven tongues of fire set upon each of them, the apostles. Suddenly, the Spirit came. The work was accomplished and
still goes on today under the power of the Spirit. Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel, beginning at Jerusalem
and go right through the world. That's the last thing that Jesus
said to his apostle before he ascended. And friends, it's going
on today. And the Lord is quickening his
dead elect. He's restoring the church. As
old sheep are taken home, lambs appear in the fold. Just think,
friends, the Lord had never restored the church with lambs. All the
sheep had gone. What would be left? Nothing.
But God will always have a church. He'll always have a people. He'll
always have a witness in this time state. He's never been without
witness and he never will be. He'll always be a little remnant
according to the election of grace. to testify to his prose. You see the same in the case
of Job. He lost everything, naturally
speaking. He lost his family. Oh, who can
comprehend Job's loss? But friends, the Lord restored
him spiritually, I know that my Redeemer liveth, that he shall
stand upon the earth at the latter day. He saw the second coming
of Christ. Restoration. Indeed it was. And then the Lord gave him twice
as much as he had before. Literally. Restoration. Now as we come to the close,
there's another word, a wonderful word in the psalm. Then restored I that which I
took not away. That Psalm speaks of Christ. And the Lord Jesus restored that
which he took not away. What was that? The law of God. Sinful man took away the law
of God. Our first parents violated the
law of God, and the law was broken. And then the Lord condemns and
the law curses the lawbreakers, and we're all lawbreakers. But
the Lord Jesus came to honor the law and to fulfill it. And
so He restored it. We took it away, but He restored
it. And friends, if He had never
restored it, There wouldn't be one soul saved. We'd all be lost. But he restored
the law by keeping it and honouring it. And, in so doing, he turned
the curse of the law to a blessing. Because he restored it by dying
the cursed death. The death of crucifixion which
removed the curse. from the church of God. And so Christ restored a broken
law for you and me, friends. If that law had never been restored,
we'd be under the curse of it eternally. But no, Christ came
and restored the law of God. He honored it, and he said by
prophecy, that was spoken by prophecy concerning Christ, that
I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law is within my
heart. Blessed be God, he fulfilled
it, restored it, and thus he turned the curse into a blessing. And there's salvation, there's
restoration, friends, in the fullness of it. O the glory of
God in the person of Jesus Christ, this King in our text is none
less than the King of Kings and the Lord. of Lords. Well, the time has gone this
evening, dear friends. May the Lord own and bless his
own words. The Lord's Word, the Lord's Word,
friend, is not mine. The Word of God, it liveth and
abideth forever. And may we be within those whom
the Lord restores and honors and blesses. Then, at that great
day, He'll say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. Amen. Let's sing in conclusion from
Gadsby's hymn number 551. 551. Jesus Christ, the sinner's friend,
loves his people to the end, and that they may safe abide,
he's the rock in which they hide. 551, tune 515. Jesus Christ, Christ, the Son
of the Father, loves his people to the end. ? Of the radiance here and now
? ? Such a rock is Christ to thee ? ? High and safe with thousands
sweet ? ? Children in this world beside ? In this tower, Lord, go with
me forevermore. And now, most gracious God, we
thank thee for this Lord's Day, and being with our dear friends
here in this cause of truth, and we pray that all that hath
been attended to may be to the glory of God and for our spiritual
prosperity. Do dismiss us with thy favour,
grant journey and mercies in peace and safety. And may thy
grace, Lord Jesus, the Father's love, the communion of thy Holy
Spirit, be with us all this night and forevermore. Amen and amen.