Well, the scripture that I'll
bring before you this evening is found in the second book of
Kings, chapter 6, and the 16th verse, 2 Kings 6, verse 16, and
he answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than
they that be with them. And he answered, Fear not, for
they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
These are the words of Elisha to his servant. Now, we're not told the name
of this servant, but we do know that it was not Gehazi. In the
previous chapter, we read of how Gezahi was struck with leprosy
as a result of his covetousness and his lying, and he was dismissed
from the prophet's service, and he went out from his presence
a leper. as white as snow." It seems that
Elisha now has a new servant, or minister, as the word is in
the margin of verse 15. And when the servant, or minister,
of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, an host
compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his
servant, or minister, said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall
we do? And he answered, Fear not, for
they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Elisha's servant, whose name we do not know, was afraid. He
had risen early in the morning, he'd gone outside, and he saw
this great army of the king of Syria surrounding the city with
horses and chariots. They had come to take his master. They had come to take Elisha. And the reason for them coming
to take Elisha we read of earlier in the chapter from verse 8. And then the king of Syria warred
against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, In
such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent
unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such
a place, for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of
Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned
him of, and saved himself there, not once, not twice. The king
of Syria was again and again thwarted in his purposes against
Israel. Whenever the king of Syria encamps
against Israel, that is, against the king of Israel and his forces
in some hidden place in order to ambush them, it seemed that
the Israelites had some intelligence and so they avoided the spot. The king of Syria thought that
he must have a spy in his court. Therefore the heart of the king
of Syria was sore troubled for this thing, and he called his
servants and said unto them, Will you not show me which of
us is for the king of Israel? He thought he had a spy in his
court. Well, it seems that one of the king's servants knew of
Elisha. And one of his servants said,
None, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet that is in Israel.
Telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy
bedchamber. Perhaps he had heard of how Elisha
had known what was in the heart of Gehazi, his wicked servant. Well, However this servant of
the king had heard of Elisha, it was clear that he regarded
him as a prophet. But Elisha, the prophet that
is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou
speakest in thy bedchamber. It's also clear that the king
accepted his servant's explanation. And he said, go and spy where
he is, that I may send and fetch him. He too must have heard of
Elisha. Remember, again in the previous
chapter, Naaman, who was the captain of the host of the king
of Syria, he had been healed of his leprosy by Elisha. Well the king is informed of
Elijah's whereabouts and it was told him saying behold he is
in Dothan. Now Dothan was about 12 miles
from Samaria, 12 miles north of Samaria. Well, these are the
reasons then the king of Syria sent to take the prophet Elisha. Therefore sent he thither horses,
and chariots, and a great host, and they came by night and compassed
the city about. Now, as always, when looking
at a historical narrative of the Old Testament, we want to
apply these things to ourselves and to our own situation. for
whatsoever things were written of foretime were written for
our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope. Well, this evening I'll consider
with you, I trust with the Lord's gracious help and blessing, firstly,
the furious rage of the enemies of Christ, and then secondly,
the fainting fits of the Lord's servants, and then thirdly, the
fear not which is given to those who serve the Lord Christ. Firstly
then, let's consider the furious rage of the enemies of Christ. See here, the furious rage of
the king of Syria. He sends a whole army to take
one man. Behold, and host compassed the
city, both with horses and chariots, all just to take Elisha. I'm reminded of the furious rage
of King Herod, who, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise
men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from
two years old and under, he sent an army to seek and to destroy
the infant Christ, to destroy one baby. You remember, two more than forty
men conspired to take the apostle Paul, They bound themselves under a
curse, we read, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till
they had killed Paul, 40 men. Bound under a curse to kill this
one man. Throughout its history, the real
church, the true church, has been in the minority. Jesus said,
Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way
which leadeth unto life. and few there be that find it. The real church, the true church,
has always been, and it always will be, in the minority in this
world. There were just eight souls saved
in the ark when the judgment of the worldwide flood came.
Just three souls were saved from the destruction of the city of
Sodom and the other cities of the plain. The church is that
remnant spoken of by Micah, and the remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers
upon the grass that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for
the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall
be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people as a lion
among the beasts of the forest. It is that remnant, you know,
it is that remnant whose sins are forgiven. Who is a god like
unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? And this small company The remnant,
according to the election of grace, has often felt the threat
of its enemies and the fury of the oppressor. Before Elisha,
there was Elijah. Do you remember how he complained?
Lord, they have killed thy prophets and digged down thine altars,
and I am left alone, and they seek my life. The psalmist complains
of the furious rage of the heathen in the second psalm. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and
cast away their cords from us. And when we come to the book
of the Revelation, we see the church's enemies gathering together,
or rather being gathered together. Revelation 16 verse 13, And I
saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of
the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth
of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils.
working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the earth and
of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great
day of God almighty. And we see in chapter 19 that
it is against Christ and against his church that they are gathered
together. Revelation 19 verse 19, and I
saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gather
together to make war against him that sat on the horse and
against his army. That's Christ and his church. In chapter 20 of the Revelation
verse 7, we see the extent and the strength of the opposition. And when the thousand years are
expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go
out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the
number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up
on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints
about and the beloved city. And that beloved city is the
New Jerusalem which John sees in the next chapter coming down
from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. It's the gospel church. And do
we not even now see the church surrounded by her enemies? What
is it that the dragon, and the beast, and the false prophet
all have in common? What is it that atheism, and
Romanism, and Islam all have in common? Well, they are all
haters of Christ. They hate his person, and they
hate his work, and they hate his gospel, and they hate his
church. And the revolt against God is
worldwide! It's worldwide! Now here in Britain
it's largely expressed by the unclean frog-like spirit of atheism. It's interesting to note the
ingratitude of the Syrians. Here in 2 Kings chapter 6. They had forgotten, hadn't they,
the kindness shown by Elisha to Naaman the Syrian. Elisha
had healed Naaman, the captain of the host of Syria, of his
leprosy. But now this king sends horses
and chariots and a great host against him. Oh, the ingratitude! The ingratitude! And is this
not the same as the atheists and the humanists and the secularists
in our country? who would mock Christians, prosecute
Christians, demote Christians, cut their salaries, force them
from their jobs and close down their businesses. You know, Christians
healed this land of the leprosy of slavery. Christians healed
this land of the leprosy of inhumane prison conditions. Christians
healed this land of the leprosy of child labour. Christians healed
this land of the leprosy of illiteracy among the poor. Indeed, Christian
charities fed and clothed the poor. It was the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ which put an end to human sacrifice, including
child sacrifice, in our own nation and throughout the nations of
the earth, when Satan was bound for a thousand years. Oh, the
ingratitude of the Syrians! And how illogical are their thought
processes! If they did not believe that
Elisha had this supernatural power, then why send an army
against him? But then on the other hand, if
they did believe that Elisha had this supernatural power,
then why send an army against him? If he could tell the King
of Israel the words that the King of Syria spoke in his bedroom,
would he not know of the plan of the King of Syria to take
him? Of course he would. But in their furious rage they
cannot think logically. And so it is with the enemies
of the gospel. In their furious rage today,
their thought processes are illogical. That's clearly to be seen in
their ridiculous theory of evolution, called in the scripture oppositions
of science, falsely so-called. is to be seen in their undermining
of and their opposition to marriage and the family, in their overt
encouragement of fornication and sodomy, in their refusal
to discipline children and to punish criminals, in their sparing
the lives of those convicted of murder while permitting the
wholesale slaughter on an industrial scale of innocent unborn babes. is to be seen in their promotion
of euthanasia. Now I spell that word with a
Z, euthanasia, because it was Nazi Germany which first legalized
euthanasia, the murder of the sick, the disabled and the elderly. Their twisted reasoning is to
be seen in their ideology of political correctness. They speak
of tolerance, and equality, diversity. But what do these things mean?
What is the practical outworking of this ideology? Well, tolerance
is the supposition that all lifestyles and beliefs within reason are
valid and must be accommodated. Under the regime of tolerance,
anyone who disagrees with this supposition is not tolerated. Tolerance then becomes intolerant. Equality, similarly, views all
lifestyles and belief systems as equally valid, and therefore
should be treated equally. Under the regime of equality,
anyone who does not share that same conviction is not entitled
to be treated equally. And so, in a government department,
for example, and this is my experience, the circulation of LGBT material
is allowed, but there is a ban on the circulation of any Christian
material. That is not allowed. Now this
is equality, apparently. Diversity recognizes and celebrates
and welcomes differences in belief and lifestyles. But it does not
recognize or celebrate or welcome any belief or practice that does
not conform to its own lofty ideal. The diversity regime actually
hates true diversity. This is the twisted thinking,
you see, of those who are currently opposing the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. They do not consider, they don't
remember what happened to the atheistic Soviet Union, which
had the same ideology, which persecuted the Church for approximately
70 years, until it finally crumbled. The Soviet Union, that is, not
the Church. All the folly, of the furious
rage of the Syrians against Almighty God and against His dear elect. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision, then shall
He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure. Oh, but when we see such opposition
against us, are not our hearts liable to sink within us? We
fear for the cause of God and truth. We fear for the future. We fear for our children and
for our children's children. What sort of a world are they
going to be brought up in? Well, let us consider in the
second place the fainting fits of the Lord's servants. How the
servant of Elisha was afraid. Alas, my master, how shall we
do? Alas, my master, how shall we
do? Many times have the Lord's people
lifted up their voices in fear and anxiety and perplexity. Think of King Jehoshaphat. Now Mr Saint was considering
this the other day on a Thursday evening, wasn't he? The King
Jehoshaphat 2 Chronicles chapter 20. We read, and it came to pass
after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon,
and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Joshua
to battle. Then there came some that told
Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee
from beyond the sea on this side Syria. And behold, they be in
Hazazontamar, which is in Gedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, we read. And Jehoshaphat feared. We read
his prayer in that chapter. O our God, wilt thou not judge
them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh
against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon
thee. Think of the perplexity of the
city of Shushan. when the decree was issued to
destroy, to kill, and of course to perish all Jews, both young
and old, little children and women, in one day, throughout
all those 127 provinces of King Ahasuerus. How Mordechai rent
his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into
the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry, And
there was that great mourning among the Jews and fasting and
weeping and wailing. We read of these things in the
book of Esther. Oh, the psalmist cries out to God, doesn't he?
In Psalm 74, Arise, O God, plead thine own cause. Remember how
the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. Forget not the voice of
thine enemies, the tumult of those that rise up against thee
increaseth continually. Do we not feel that in our day,
that the tumult of those that rise up against God increases
continually? The latest thing now is gender
identity, as Mr Sam was saying this morning. It causes us to cry out, doesn't
it, to God. Surely if the Spirit of God is
in us. Think of Peter, Simon Peter, when he walked on the
water to go to Jesus. He had stepped out in faith.
The Lord had bitten him. Oh, but when he saw the wind
and the waves boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to
sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. Oh, when faith is at
a low ebb, Christ recedes from our view. We see more of the
opposition and more of our troubles, more of our problems than we
do of Christ. And we begin to sink in our feelings. We read that Jacob was greatly
distressed. Jacob was greatly afraid and
distressed when he heard that his brother Esau was coming to
meet him with 400 men. These things do make us afraid
when we see the opposition. But you know, it's not only the
opposition from without that vexes the true Christian's heart.
It's the opposition from within, and perhaps more so. But those
things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart,
and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. And the true Christian, as he
is enlightened by the Spirit of Christ, sees something of
the defilement of his heart by sin. The law of God is applied
to his heart and to his conscience by the Spirit of the living God.
And he sees that it is in his heart that the problem lies. The problem is here, in my heart. That's why the publican when
in prayer when he prayed God be merciful to me a sinner he
beat on his breast because that's where the problem lies it's in
the heart and so David when he was under conviction of sin he
was brought out to cry he was brought to cry out creating me
a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me there
must be a work within It's not enough that we come to chapel,
that we wear the right clothes. We must have a work within. Or people say we're judgmental.
Well, we are. We are judgmental. We judge ourselves,
and we judge ourselves to be sinners, and we are brought to
cry out like that public in the gospel, God be merciful to me,
a sinner. God be merciful to me, a sinner.
We judge ourselves. to be the very worst of sinners.
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am
chief. That's the acceptable saying,
the faithful saying It's not just that Christ came into the
world to save sinners. No, it's more than that. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. We daily feel the opposition,
both within and without. Mine enemies would daily swallow
me up, for they be many that tried against me, O Thou Most
High. We're so prone to fainting fits. We sometimes feel that we could
give up, ready to halt, like David in Psalm 38. For I said, hear me, lest otherwise
they should rejoice over me. When my foot slippeth, they magnify
themselves against me, for I am ready to halt, and my sorrow
is continually before me, for I will declare mine iniquity.
I will be sorry for my sin. But mine enemies are lively,
and they are strong, and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries, because
I follow the thing that good is. Or the fainting fits of the Lord's
servants, Then thirdly, consider the fear not which is given to
those who serve the Lord Christ. And he answered, fear not, for
they that be with us are more than they that be with them. There are many fear nots sprinkled
throughout the Holy Scriptures for the people of God. There
are 10 to be found in the Book of the Evangelical Prophet. In
fact, I think there's 11. Such as Isaiah 35, verse 4. This I thought was the first
one, but then I found another one before this. Isaiah 35, verse
3. Strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. And
again, in verse 51, sorry, Isaiah 51, chapter 51, verse seven, Harken unto me, ye that know
righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye
not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm
shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be
forever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Fear not Fear not, it seems to
me, is the central message of the whole Bible to the people
of God. Yes, I know that essentially
the Bible is about sin and salvation, that the Lord Jesus Christ is
the sum and substance of the Holy Scriptures, for they testify
of Him. But you know, the Son of God
came into the world with a fear not. Remember the word of the
angel to the shepherds, And the angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. The gospel comes to those of
a fearful heart. Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, Be strong, fear not. The Lord Jesus said to his disciples,
and he still says to those who follow him and who serve him,
fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. And speaking of the conflict
which his people would have in and with the world, he says in
Matthew's gospel, and fear not, Mark the words, and fear not
them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.
Rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for
a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without
your father, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, They are
of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess
Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is
in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before
men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.
Oh, let us not be afraid then of confessing His name before
men. Rather, let us be afraid of not
confessing His name before men. fear not for they that be with
us are more than they that be with them we said before that the church
is and always will be in the minority but you know that's
not strictly speaking true is it for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them it's only true as far as flesh
is concerned It is true from a natural point of view. As we
survey the scene with the natural eye, it certainly seems to be
the case that we are in the minority. What we need is faith, to see
the situation from a spiritual perspective. That is what the
servant of Elisha needed. He was looking things only from
a natural perspective, with his carnal eyes. And so we read in
verse 17, 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. or if the Lord were to open our
eyes, if he were to give us faith, we would see the same, I believe,
as that young man saw. Our experience would be like
that of David in Psalm 34. This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The
angel of the Lord encompeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them. Who is the angel of the Lord?
Who is the angel of the Lord? It is Christ himself. As the
mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his
people from henceforth even forever. When puny Peter would defend
the Lord Jesus Christ with his sword, you remember the word
which the Lord spoke to him thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to
my father and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions
of angels for the Lord Jesus Christ is now ascended up to
the right hand of the majesty on high do you not realize that
even now he is able to send more than 12 legions of angels for
the defense of his blood-bought church all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth he said for he shall give his angels
charge over them to keep thee in all thy ways. Omnipotence,
joined with everlasting and boundless love, is engaged for the defence
of the elect of God. Infidels may laugh, Pharisees
gainsay or rail, here's your tenure, keep it safe, God's elect
can never fail. Fear not, for they that be with
us are more than they that be with them is the same as the
Apostle John says in his first epistle ye are of God little
children and have overcome them because greater is he that is
in you than he that is in the world remember how Hezekiah encouraged
the people of God when the Assyrians came against Jerusalem. Be strong
and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed, for the king of
Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him, for there be
more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh,
but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles,
and that people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king
of Judah. Or cannot we rest ourselves upon
the word of the living God? And what is to be the Christian's
attitude to the current pandemic, which seems to be sweeping the
world? Of course, we are to take all reasonable precautions. We
don't want to become infected and we don't want to infect others.
But ultimately, we stand on the Word of God. Consider another
fear not from Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 8, verses 11 to
14. For the Lord spake thus to me
with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in
the way of this people, saying say ye not a confederacy to all
them to whom this people shall say a confederacy neither fear
ye their fear nor be afraid sanctify the Lord of hosts himself and
let him be your fear and let him be your dread and he shall
be for a sanctuary Martin Luther said If Christ
shed his blood for me and died for me, why should I not expose
myself to some small dangers for his sake and disregard this
feeble plague? If you can terrorise, Christ
can strengthen me. If you can kill, Christ can give
life. If you have poison in your fangs,
Christ's mouth has far greater sweetness and medicine. Should
not my dear Christ, with his precepts, his kindness and all
his encouragements, be more important in my spirit than you, roguish
devil, with all your false terrors in my weak flesh? God forbid! Get away, devil! Here is Christ,
and here am I. Let Christ prevail. Amen. The words of Martin Luther. He
goes on to say though, after speaking of the necessity of
visiting the sick, even of those who have the plague, he goes
on to say, use medicine. take potions which can help you
fumigate house, yard and street, shun persons and places wherever
your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and
act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What
else is this epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood
and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way.
very well by God's decree the enemy has sent us poison and
deadly awful therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect
us then I shall fumigate help purify the air, administer medicine
and take it. I shall avoid places and persons
where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated
and thus perchance infect and pollute others and so cause their
death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me,
he will surely find me. and I have done what he has expected
of me, and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the
death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however,
I shall not avoid place or person, but will go freely, as stated
above. See, this is such a God-fearing
faith, because it is neither brash nor foolhardy, and does
not tempt God." That, I believe, is very sensible
advice. Well, as we draw to a conclusion, it's interesting to note that
while the eyes of the servant of Elisha were opened, the eyes
of the Syrians were blinded. Verse 18. And when they came
down to him, Elisha prayed unto the people and said, 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. What a
picture! There is here of the remnant
according to the election of grace, whose eyes are opened
to discern spiritual things, and of the reprobate, who are
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them because of the blindness of their heart. What a solemn word that was that
was spoken by Christ. And Jesus said, for judgment
I am come into this world, that they which see not might see,
and that they which see might be made blind. will finally notice the kindness
of Elisha toward his enemies. It was within his power to have
them all slain. All he had to do was give the
nod. The king of Israel was very keen to have them all put to
death. Verse 21, and the king of Israel
said unto Elisha when he saw them, my father, shall I smite
them? Shall I smite them? He asked
the question twice, he's so keen to have them all slain. But what is Elisha's reply? Verse
22, and he answered, Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldst 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 we read of how the king prepared
great provision for them. I'm reminded of the gospel precept
given by the apostle in Romans 12. Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written,
vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger,
feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good. May the Lord grant us grace so
to do. Isn't that what the Lord teaches
us in the Sermon on the Mount? But I say unto you, love your
enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute
you. We are to overcome evil with
good, and for that we need grace. You see, this is the mark of
true faith. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Or may the
Lord bless his word to us this evening. May the word preached
here at Salem Chapel engender faith. For the scripture itself
declares, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. May we hear the word of God then
for the good of our souls and for our comfort and for our consolation. Fear not. For they that be with
us are more than they that be with them. Amen. Let us sing as our concluding
hymn, the hymn number 332. The tune is Duke Street 326. And now let the feeble all be
strong, and make Jehovah's arm their song. His shield is spread
over every saint, and thus supported who shall faint. Hymn number
332.