THE MINSTREL – Charles Spurgeon
The Minstrel
“But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.” 2 Kings 3:15.
The text is a somewhat singular one, but I hope it will suggest a profitable idea. Elisha needed that the Holy Spirit should come upon him to inspire him with prophetic utterances. “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” We need that the hand of the Lord should be laid upon us, for we can never open our mouths in wisdom unless we are under the Divine touch. Now, the Spirit of God works according to His own will. “The wind blows where it will,” and the Spirit of God operates as He chooses. Elisha could not prophesy just when he liked—he must wait until the Spirit of God came upon him—and the Spirit of God could come or not as He pleased. Elisha had noticed that the Spirit of God acted upon him most freely when his mind was restful and subdued. He found himself best prepared for the heavenly Voice when the noise within his soul was hushed and every disturbing emotion was quieted.
Having ascertained this fact by observation, he acted upon it. He could not create the wind of the Spirit, but he could set his sail to receive it, and he did so. At the particular time alluded to in the text, Elisha had been greatly irritated by the sight of Jehoram, the king of Israel, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. In the true spirit of his old master, Elijah, the Prophet let Jehoram know what he thought of him—and having delivered his soul, he very naturally felt agitated, distressed, and unfit to be the mouthpiece for the Spirit of God. He knew that the hand of the Lord would not rest upon him while he was in that state and, therefore, he said, “Bring me a minstrel.” The original Hebrew conveys the idea of a man accustomed to play upon a harp. Listening to the dulcet tones which were produced by a skillful harper who, very likely, sang one of David’s Psalms to the music, the Prophet waited awhile and then the hand of the Lord came upon him. Under the influence of soothing music his mind grew quiet, his agitation subsided, his thoughts were collected, and the Spirit of God spoke through him. It was a most commendable thing for him to use the means which he had found, at other times, helpful, though, still, his only reliance was upon the hand of the Lord.
It would seem, from a passage in the First Book of Samuel, that Elisha was not the only Prophet who had found music helpful, for we read, “You shall meet a company of Prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy.” Elisha, like his predecessors, only used a natural means for putting himself into readiness for receiving Supernatural help. Let us see if we can bring forth the practical lesson which this incident may teach us.
I. The Lesson for Those Who Wish to Serve God
First, here is a lesson to those who wish to serve God and to speak in His name: Let us strive to be in a fit state for the Lord’s work. If we know of anything that will put our mind into such a condition that the Spirit of God is likely to work upon us and speak through us, let us make use of it. Elisha cried, “Bring me a minstrel.” Let us also say—bring me that which will be helpful to me. The harper could be of no service to Elisha for bringing him Inspiration—but by putting him into a calm, equable state of mind, he prepared Elisha for the heavenly communication and removed from his soul that which would have hindered the Divine working.
It is very evident that we, too, like the Prophet, have our hindrances. We are, at times, unfit for the Master’s use. Our minds are disarranged, the machinery is out of order, the sail is furled, the pipe is blocked up—the whole soul is out of gear. The hindrance in Elisha’s case came from his surroundings. He was in a camp—a camp where three nations mixed their discordant voices! It was a noisy, ill-disciplined camp and a camp ready to perish for thirst. There was no water, and the men-at-arms were perishing. The confusion and clamor must have been unbelievable! Prophetic thought could scarcely command itself amid the uproar, the discontent, the threats from thousands of thirsty men! Three kings had waited on the Prophet, but this would not have disconcerted him had not one of them been Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. What memories were awakened in the mind of Elijah’s servant by the sight of the man in whom the proud dame of Sidon and her base-minded consort lived again! Naboth’s vineyard must have come to his mind and the stern threat of Elijah—“The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.” “For there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up.”
Elisha acted rightly and bravely. When he saw Jehoram coming to him for help, he challenged him thus—“What have I to do with you? Get you to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” When the king humbly and with bated breath confessed that he saw the hand of Jehovah in bringing the three kings together, the Prophet scarcely moderated his tone, but exclaimed, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you.” It was fit that he should be in that temper; the occasion demanded it. Still, it was not a fit preface to the inward whisper of the Spirit of God, and the Prophet did not feel ready for his work. The circumstances were not soothing, or elevating, and so he said, “Bring me a minstrel.”
Do you not occasionally find yourself in an unhappy position? You have to preach, or to teach a class in school, or to carry an edifying word to a sick person, but everything distracts you. What with noise, or domestic trouble, or sinful neighbors, or the railing words of some wicked man, you cannot get into a fit frame of mind. You have had a duty to do which has caused you much pain and disquietude, and you cannot get over it, for everything conspires to worry you. Little things grieve great minds. The very sight of some individuals will throw a preacher off track. I know that the height of the pulpit, the thinness of the audience, the sleepiness of a hearer, or the heaviness of the atmosphere may put the preacher’s heart out of tune and incapacitate him for the blessing. Yes, we have our hindrances even as Elisha had!
II. Using Means to Obtain the Touch of the Divine Hand
Elisha’s hindrances lay mainly in his inward feelings—he could not feel the hands of the Lord upon him until the inner warfare had been pacified. He burned with indignation at the sight of the son of Jezebel and flashed words of flame into his face, and, as I have already said, he was justified in doing so. But still, the excitement marred the holy peace in which he usually lived and he did not feel in a right condition to speak in the name of the Lord. Anger, even if it is of the purest kind, is a great disturber of the heart. It ruffles all our garments and makes us unfit to minister before the Lord. I know of nothing that is more likely to put a man out of order for the communications of the Spirit of God than indignation. Even though we may be able to say, “I do well to be angry,” yet it is a very trying emotion. The unruffled lake reflects the skies, but if it is tossed with tempest, even the purest water becomes a broken mirror. Even so, in the quiet of the soul, the thoughts of God’s Spirit are reflected, while in the rush of indignation they are broken and confused.
Doubtless, also, the Prophet’s spirits were depressed. He saw before him the king of Edom, an idolater; the king of Israel, a votary of the calves of Jeroboam, and Jehoshaphat, the man of God, in confederacy with them! This last must have pained him as much as anything. What hope was there for the cause of the Truth of God and holiness when even a godly prince was in alliance with Jezebel’s son? This burdened the heart of the man of God. Everything was wrong and getting worse and worse! The warnings of Elijah and his own teachings seemed to go for nothing. The honor of God was forgotten and the cause of evil triumphed. Moreover, the servant of God must have been the subject of a fierce internal conflict between two sets of thoughts. Indignation and pity strove within his heart. His justice and his piety made him feel that he could have nothing to do with two idolatrous kings! But pity and humanity made him wish to deliver the army from perishing by thirst. Like a patriot, he sympathized with his people, but, like a Prophet, he was jealous for his God. The men of Judah and Israel, whatever they might be in character, were the Lord’s people by Covenant. He could not let them die, yet they had broken that Covenant and how could he help them?
The Prophet was perplexed and his heart grew heavy. How can we do the Lord’s work when we are cast down in spirit? The joy of the Lord is our strength and when we lose it, our hands are feeble. When the heart is torn with inner conflict, how can we speak words of comfort to those who are weary? We have need to escape from this inward strife before we can become sons of consolation to others. While torn with conflicting feelings, there was no rest in the Prophet’s spirit and the hand of the Lord did not come upon him. Most wisely he did not attempt to speak in the name of the Lord, but sought for a means by which his excitement could be quieted. In the face of many hindrances, we shall be wise if we imitate him. When we feel ourselves encumbered with much serving, we shall act discreetly if we pause in it and take Mary’s place, for a while, at least, and sit at Jesus‘ feet. Or, if the service must be done at once, it will be well to use the most ready means for preparing the mind for doing it.
It may be that some simple natural means will be helpful and, if so, we must not be so ultra-spiritual as to disdain to cry, “Bring me a minstrel.” It is often pride which makes us decline the use of natural means. David went against Goliath in the name of the Lord, but he took his sling and his stone with him! Even our Lord, who could open men’s eyes with a word, did not refuse to use clay, or to send His patient to the pool of Siloam to wash. If you and I are out of order, we must do our best to get right. If I go to do the Lord’s work with a vexed or distracted mind, I shall do it badly. Perhaps I shall do more harm than good. I shall spill the cup of consolation if I am all in a tremble, myself! God’s servants should serve their Master well—the best we can render falls short of what He deserves—but it would be a pity to do less than our very best! Occasionally we are quite out of form, we cannot think, or feel, or speak aright—we have to confess that we are all in confusion—and, what is worse, we dare not even expect God to come and help us till we are in a less excited condition. I know what I mean better than I can tell you. Some of our Brothers are always even and calm, but others of us go dangerously up and sadly down and are, at times, unfit either to receive the heavenly word or to convey it to others. At such times let us remember our text. The Prophet said, “Bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.”
III. The Role of Holy Music in Our Lives
But what are our helps when we are pressed with hindrances? Is there anything which, in our case, may be as useful as a harp? “Bring me a minstrel,” said the Prophet, for his mind was easily moved by that charming art. Music and song soothed, calmed, and cheered him—
“Through every pulse the music stole,
And held high converse with his soul.”
On the wings of melody his mind rose above the noisy camp and floated far away from the loathed presence of Jehoram. The melting mystic strain laid all his passions asleep and his soul was left in silence to hear the Voice of the Lord. Well did Luther say, “Music is the art of the Prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul. It is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”
Among our own helps, singing holds a chief place. As says the Apostle, “Speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Note how he connects it with peace in his Epistle to the Colossians—“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts… teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with Grace in your hearts to the Lord.” “I cannot sing,” says one. You need not sing as sweetly as Asaph and Heman and other sweet birds of paradise whose names we read in Scripture, but we could all sing better if we sang more. Those with cracked voices would be kind if they would not sing quite so loudly in the congregation, for they grievously disturb other people—but they might get alone and have good times with themselves—where nobody could complain of their strong voices and lusty tones.
It is good to sing praises unto the Lord and a part of its goodness lies in the comfort which it brings. It is not without significance that after supper, before our Lord went to His great Sacrifice, He sang a hymn. Did not even He find refreshment in that holy exercise? My mind dwells sweetly on a season which I have often mentioned to you—when a new lie had been forged against me—a lie of peculiar bitterness and it vexed me. I was never particularly pleased at being slandered, though I have had my fair share of it. Well, I went alone awhile, and sung over to myself in my own poor way—
“If on my face, for Your dear name,
Shame and reproaches be,
I’ll hail reproach and welcome shame,
If You remember me.”
By that means the sting was removed and I felt merry again. “Bring me a minstrel.” The restoring means may be a little thing, but if you do not look to the linchpin of a wagon wheel, the wheel may come off and down will go the wagon— and what is the poor horse to do then? If you can get your mind right again by such a simple thing as singing, pray do not neglect it!
Conclusion
Suppose, however, that singing has no such power over you? Let me recommend to you the quiet reading of a chapter of God’s Word. Go upstairs and open the Book and think upon a few verses. If you are much perplexed, read that blessed chapter which begins, “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me.” Those verses act like a charm upon many minds! Many and many a time a storm has subsided into a calm by the reading of those words. Some such passage read quietly will often operate as the harper acted upon Elisha. If time is pressing, see what is the text for the day in the almanac, or choose out some one precious promise which in other days was sweet to you. It is amazing, the effect of a single verse of Scripture when the Spirit of God applies it to the soul! There is music to a miser in the jingling of his money bags, but what music can equal this—“All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”?
If you are in poverty, what melody lies in this—“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and verily you shall be fed.” What power would come upon the soul to calm and quiet it and make it ready for the hand of God if we would grasp a single line of Scripture and suck the honey out of it till our soul is filled with sweetness!
You will find it equal to bringing a minstrel and, perhaps, even more efficient if you will get alone to pray. That horrible Rabshakeh’s letter—you read it and then you wished you had never seen it. You put it behind the glass, but you fetch it out again and read it again, and cry, “What a trial is this! Who can bear it?” There is a kind of basilisk power in an abominable letter, so that you feel compelled to read it again and again. Can you not break the spell? What is the wisest course? Go upstairs, open it wide, spread it before the Lord and say, O Lord, You have seen letters like this before, for Your servant, Hezekiah, showed You one.” I would say of every sorrow, “Pray over it.” An old divine, after he had heard a young minister preach a poor discourse, said to him, “Sir, I beg you to try and pray that sermon over.” He replied that he could not pray it over. Now, a sermon that cannot be prayed over ought never to be preached at all! And a trouble that you cannot pray over is a trouble which you ought not to have. It must be a grief of your own making—it cannot be a trial of God’s sending. Tell the Lord your affliction and the bitterness of it will be past. And you will go back to your daily service calm and quiet, fitted for the hand of the Lord to be laid upon you. Men will wonder from where your joy has come and what makes your face shine so! The secret is that you have waited on the Lord and renewed your strength.