Now friends, would you turn with me to that portion of God's word that was read in your hearing? 1 Kings chapter 19. 1 Kings chapter 19. I wish us to consider as the Lord would enable us this morning, words that we have quoted here before, but I wish to open up as the Lord would lead. 1 Kings chapter 19 and verse 7. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said, particularly these words, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. Now I'm sure that it is so. We're very familiar this morning with the life of Elijah as it is brought before us in the Old Testament. He's one of those men that the Lord raised up in times of difficulty and trial, and he used them to minister onto a kingdom that had no desire to hear his word. Elijah was set apart as a prophet of God. He was set apart, you will remember, as a prophet being the one who would bring the voice of God unto the people. Not like the function of a priest who was, by his ministrations, to bring the people, in a sense, to think about God. The prophet would bring the thought of God unto the people. And right throughout his ministry and right throughout his life, though he suffered the trials and the difficulties, nevertheless, the Lord had given him tokens of his grace and of his mercy along the way. And we have read about one of those at the very end of chapter 19. there was the provision and the raising up by the Lord, the setting apart onto the prophetic office of Elisha. And you will remember that there, Elijah, as he threw his mantle over Elisha, he was throwing, as it were, the hands of an ordination over the prophet. And he will be remembered for that. But you know, perhaps the thing that we remember most about Elijah is this. We remember that he's mentioned in the gospels. And we remember that there he is upon the Mount of Transfiguration. And there he is with Moses. Ah, but there he is with the Messiah himself. God in our nature, and he's speaking with the Messiah. Oh, he would come and he would preach in types and shadows about that Messiah to come. But now he was speaking with the Messiah. And what were they discussing? Oh, we are told that they were speaking about the death of Christ. They were speaking about the work of atonement. They were speaking about the application of redemption. Oh, they were speaking about the very fundamental truth of salvation itself. That atonement, that there was one who would be our substitute and one who would bear the price. for our sin upon that cross of Calvary. That's what they were discussing. What a precious thing to speak about. And friends, what a precious thing to remember. And if the Lord in his mercy and in his will brings us to the Sabbath day to come, We will see in types or in symbols, we will see that broken body and that shed blood of the Lamb of God. We will see what it represents. We will see the broken body in that bread. that sustenance, we will see the wine of the covenant poured out for us. And as we partake of those emblems, we will let the sight go. We will let the taste go. We will let the smell go. Oh how important as we shall see in a moment those things are, we will let them go and we will feed in faith upon him to be low. But you know Elijah was a man who had his weakness. Elijah was a man that had his frailty. Elijah was a man, friends like you and me today, who needed strengthening. I wish us to consider, as the Lord would enable us this morning, just two things. The first thing is this, the Lord's benevolence, and secondly, the Lord's command. The Lord's benevolence and the Lord's command. Now we see in verse 5 as well, and as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him and said unto him, arise and eat. In the words of verse 7, the angel came the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee." This is a striking, a striking benevolence, a striking gift that the Lord has given onto Elijah. Now let us just for a moment this morning place this in the context of what has taken place. You will remember that Ahab, the king, had taken Jezebel, a Baal worshiper, onto his wife. She had totally removed every sight possible of the things of the Lord in the land. And she had enticed Ahab away. And you will remember in chapter 18, there's this great confrontation, this public confrontation on Mount Carmel. And Elijah shows, as he mocks the prophets of Baal, he shows the power of God. Now Elijah comes down after that victory from Carmel. And what would you expect that would be in the experience of Elijah? As the Lord had given him this token, as he had demonstrated before the hosts of Israel, the power of God, you would have expected Elijah to be encouraged. And in a sense he was. You would expect that Elijah would have that sense that here there was an assurance that God had not forgotten him. And there was. But you know, friends, very often in our own experience, at the times of blessing, then those are the times that we are open to attack. Now, I know that what we have here before us in chapter 19, Elijah under the juniper tree, it's generally taken as almost a spiritual depression coming into Elijah. And I think that there is something of that. I'm not convinced that it's total depression that he has, but nevertheless, there is a spiritual cloud has come over him. And this spiritual cloud that has come over him, I suppose has something to do with the fact that Jezebel is still pursuing him. But you will remember what he's going to do. He's going down to Jezreel to anoint his zeal to be king over Syria. And he comes aside, and he's cast down, and here he is, he's under this juniper tree, and he's asleep, as he's on this journey through this desert, through this wilderness. And the Lord comes and he brings him a heavenly benevolence, a heavenly benevolence. Press down with a shadow over him. And the Lord comes and he's giving him this benevolence. And as he sleeps under the juniper tree, behold, the angel touches him. Imagine that this morning, friends. Imagine an angel coming and touching. Imagine an angel coming and saying, arise, eat. But he touches him. He says unto him, arise and eat. Now you'll notice there, there was a difference between verse five and verse seven. Verse five ends with arise and eat. The second time, after Elijah had refused to eat, after he would not take the benevolence and the care of the Lord, this angel comes unto him the second time the second time and says, arise and eat. And now this time, there is an explanation because the journey is too great for them. This is a heavenly benevolence. The Lord knew the weakness of Elijah. You see, Elijah had been commissioned. Elijah was now heading And he knew what he was going to do. He knew that he had this commission. But you see, the Lord knew something else. The Lord knew Elijah's weakness. And friends, this morning, the Lord knows your weakness and he knows my weakness. You know, faith, faith is that which apprehends the grace of God to the soul. Faith is that which takes and receives the provision of the Lord, the benevolence of the Lord. But you know, faith is something that no man is so strong in his faith that when he once receives it, that he needs nothing else to support that. The Lord is mindful of our weakness as he was mindful of Elijah's weakness. And you see, you have been given tokens to strengthen your faith. Remember what faith is, it's the substance of things not seen. You can't see what your faith is set upon. We cannot see now with the naked eye the Lamb of God who was in the midst of the throne. We believe. But you see, we're weak. And so what the Lord does, he gives us that to strengthen our faith. And so when you come around the table of the Lord, that is why you have been given bread. Bread to remind you of the need for the sustenance of the body. It's that which you can taste physically. It's that which you know strengthens. It's that which you feel as you taste it. You feel its texture. You see it with the eye. And then there's the wine. Oh, you have the aroma of the wine, the aroma of the cup, long before it comes in front of you. You see it's coming to the senses. And then when you see the wine, you smell the wine, you're taken by its color. And then the mind becomes expanded and the faith is strengthened. Why? Well, friends, this journey here is too great for you. It's too great for you to go without the tokens and the benevolence that the Lord has given. Notice at this stage, Elijah's in the wilderness. A hostile place. A place where he was prone to attack. A place that was inhospitable. Where was the water? Where was it? Well, you see, there's not a picture of the world today. Friends, I ask you the question today. Can you find refreshment here below? Can you find satisfaction here below for your hunger? Can you find, is this world providing you a water that satisfies your soul? That satisfies your very being? Well if it is, if it is, then you have no place at the table of the Lord. You have no place at the table of the Lord. It's only when we have no place to find satisfaction in, do we see the satisfaction in this heavenly benevolence. The angel of the Lord comes. You notice here, It's the angel of the Lord. You'll notice in your Bibles that that word, Lord, it's a capitalized word. And that's important because it reminds us that the word underlying that is Jehovah. It's the angel of Jehovah. Who is the angel of Jehovah? Well, the angel of Jehovah angel of the Lord that we believe is Christ himself. That's how he always appears elsewhere. And this was a theophany or a Christophany, whatever we like to refer it as, and he comes this second time onto him. Where does he come from? Comes from the place of heaven. He comes from this city, as it were, this celestial place, and he comes with blessing and a fellowship of the Lord's day to come. We're to remember that this is a benevolence, a provision that the Lord has given that we come around this table. And the servant here was hungry, he was weak. The Lord comes with benevolence. This was a heavenly benevolence, but you'll notice it was a desert benevolence, and we have said something about that already. This benevolence here, it was provided for this journey. It was provided for this journey. It wasn't provided for a time when Elijah would be taken up to be with the Lord. It was provided for this journey here below. And as we said, the desert wasn't a pleasant place. And yet here, there was the very provision of the Lord in the midst. It is a place where you as a Christian will find nothing that will satisfy your soul. And you will, in the words that we have sang in Psalm 57, you will have something of this, I'm sure, in your own experience. My soul among fierce lions is. I firebrands live among men's sons whose teeth are spears and darts. A sharp sword is their tongue. Well, that was the same kind of a terrain that Elijah was in. It was a rough place. And the Lord, you will remember, as the children of Israel came up out of Egypt, And they were going on to that land of promise. They were going through the wilderness. Instead of bread, he had given them manna. Oh, that was a precious thing. That was a precious thing. You will remember that we are told about the manna. That it was one of those foods that. Well, we might say that it was. It was a dexterous food. You could boil it. You could fry it, you could cook it in the ovens, you could do all manner of things about it. Ah, but you see, after a while, what are we told of the children of Israel? Well, we're told that their minds went back, they went back to Egypt and they were crying out for the onions and the garlics and the cucumbers of Egypt. Here they were, They were in the desert, in the wilderness, 70 miles away from the nearest water, and they were looking for fish. Even the children will know that that's an impossibility. But that's our nature. That's our nature. You see, friends, here there is a provision, and this provision is for our weakness. And this provision is to strengthen us. It was a heavenly benevolence. It was a desert benevolence. The third thing was, it was a merciful benevolence. Elijah deserved nothing at all. Elijah was a sinner by nature. And the Lord out of his free, sovereign, unmerited grace brings this provision, this benevolence. Our friends this morning, how merciful the Lord is, how gracious he is. You know, when we come at a time like this, we're not merely to think that it's half year since the last communion and that a communion is something that is set up and set forth and we are to come without thought. No, we are to think about the hand, and we're to think about the mercy, and we're to think about the grace of God behind it in this provision. You see, Elijah comes, and he was on the path to duty, and he is cast down. A Christian often becomes cast down. That is how we are. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Well, that's a question we might ask, but it's proof that it happens. And he comes, and the Lord provides. The Lord is drawing close unto Elijah, and he's given him a token, every bit as great. as the token on Carmel in the chapter before. And friends, that is so with you and with me today. As we prepare to come around this table on the Sabbath to come, the Lord is conscious of your weakness, and he's conscious of your frailty, and yes, it might have been wrong, and we're not saying it was right. It might well have been wrong, and we believe it was, for Elijah to be cast down, but the Lord remembered his weakness. And the Lord comes with this to strengthen them in the midst of that weakness. And he comes in a particular way because he brings the angel of Jehovah to minister unto the heirs of salvation. Isn't that a wonderful thought this morning? That it's the angel of Jehovah that ministers on to the children of salvation, the heirs of salvation. No wonder that we read that the angels desire to look into these things. What is it that we have been taken from? We've been taken from this world. What are we being taken to? to adoption, to adoption. Heirs, joined heirs. That is something that the unfallen angels have not as a status. The unfallen angels are not the sons. They're ministering, and here they're ministering. How they come, It says, arise and eat. Now, of course, this is not the first time that the Lord sends to Elijah food. You will remember that he sends the ravens with meat. Why did he not send an angel? You will remember that he feeds of the barrel, out of the widow's barrel. Why did he not send an angel? Well, you see, the first time it was a matter over setting forth nature. You remember the context. And so the Lord sends the ravens, those birds that would normally devour everything of a meaty substance, as a sign that God is the one that rules nature. And he comes with that barrel of food and not an angel. to remind Elijah that his word is the word that sustains. But now, you see, Elijah needs this other sustenance. He needs a sustenance that's going to encourage a soul because here is where he is. He's cast down in a soul. And so the word, it would seem, is not exactly strong enough for him. You see, his faith is dimming because the journey is too great for him. And so he sends this angel. Oh, what a great honor it is, an angel going to the prophet. Imagine being fed by that. Remember Mary? Mary goes to the tomb. And she sees the tomb, and the tomb is empty. Then she sees one that she supposes is the garden. Well, you see this obviously there is a striking lack of recognition because Christ is now in a resurrected body. And it's not until Christ speaks to her And he says, Mary calls her by name. She'll have heard that often called from the lips of Christ before. She recognizes the voice. And she says, Rabboni, Rabboni. Now, that I at the end of Rabboni, it means something in the original. It's the possessive. She says, my master, my master, not the master, but my master. She possessed them. She holds them. Oh, he was gracious unto her. He was gracious unto her. He had given her this gracious benevolence. But of course, this is an open benevolence. There was no obstacle for Elijah to come. He merely had to see the love of God. And that is the truth of the gospel, isn't it? This morning, that is the wonderful truth of the gospel. Come ye, buy without money, without price. Oh, if the gospel was something that was sold, men would be queuing up to buy it. But you see, it's not. It's out of grace and out of mercy and out of benevolence. It's out of the love of God. Come, eat, drink. Drink abundantly. So it's open, it's an open benevolence. And then of course, and I have touched on this and I'm not going to develop it any further, there is the priest and the benevolence. The priest and the benevolence. That is the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ himself. And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baking on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again." The provisions of Christ, satisfaction in him. So there is the Lord's benevolence, but secondly, and we'll not be as long with this one, there is the Lord's command. You'll notice the command of the Lord. The command of the Lord is to arise and eat. And this is the command of heaven, arise and eat. The first thing we would say is this, that this command, it's not an optional. This is not optional. The command is to arise and eat. The angel comes the second time. And he says, arise and eat. There was something that Elijah had to do. Elijah had to arise and he had to eat. You see, there was a blessing that had been provided. There was a benevolence that had been provided. There was a, if you like, there was a banquet had been provided for Elijah, and now he must eat. The will of the Lord, this table will be furnished on the Sabbath to come. But what is that? What is that a foretaste of? What is that a picture of? What does that demonstrate to us? Well friends, it speaks of the marriage supper of the lamb. When we shall sit at that table with Christ and have uninterrupted fellowship with him. And we will sit at that table and we will never rise from that table again. You know, we come to the table and we arise from the table and that's a reminder to us, isn't it? That here we have a non-settled citizenship. Here this is a long journey and it's a great journey and it has obstacles. But you see, it points to the great provision that has already been made in Jesus Christ. And we are to participate in this. Now, we know, we've heard the fencing of the table in one form or another for many years. And let me say this to us this morning. We must not ever lose sight of who is to come to the table of the Lord. That is right. And there has so often been this argument drawn up, and it has been a one-sided argument about who should not sit at the table of the Lord, and that has been the false dog. And of course, no one who is in open sin, not no one who, sins because we all sin, but an open sin should be at the table of the Lord without repentance. But neither should anyone who has that work of grace in the heart stay away from the table of the Lord. You remember how Paul deals with it in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. He says, let a man examine himself. And he doesn't stop there. See, so often we quote that verse and we stop there. And you know what it said, if you take a text out of its context, it becomes a pretext. No, the verse says, let a man examine himself. And what's the purpose? And so, let him eat. And so, let him eat. That's why we're to examine ourselves. And so, to eat. This is not optional. And someone who stays away from the table of the Lord, where that work of grace has been in their heart, is somebody who's in a state of disobedience. They're in a state of disobedience. They are not fulfilling what we read in the Song of Solomon. They are not casting their crowns before Christ in the day of his espouses. See, this provision, this benevolence, the command to take this provision is because we are weak, not because we're strong, not because we're strong. So this was not optional. But you'll notice in the second place that this met the need. This met the deed. Elijah, arise from your sleep. Elijah, arise from your despair. Elijah, arise from your despondency. Elijah, arise from the spiritual cloud that is over you. Arise from where you are. Arise and eat. This is your duty. This is necessary. And who comes? Well, it is the angel of Jehovah. And friends, we are engaged in a spiritual rebellion, a spiritual insubordination if we reject the command of God. This met the need. But this was, of course, this was purchased because it's pointing forward, isn't it? It's pointing forward. Why will we have the broken bread? Why will we have the poured out wine? It's pointing forward to the purchase redemption. This has been bought. Ah, friends, when we come around the table, And we remember how the Lord has dealt with us. We remember surely that it was without money and without price. It was free to us, but it was not free. It was not free. The Lamb of God was upon the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ, God in our nature, was upon the cross of Calvary. He was spat upon. He was ridiculed. He was amongst the malefactors. Who shall believe our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? The crown of thorns is the crown of curse. I was a crown for you. That's a crown for me. And he bore it. He bore it. This was purchased. But this was also practical. You notice the cakes were made. The cakes were going to be that which would sustain him upon the journey he was going down to anoint his zeal. And he lacked the journey. He had nothing with him. We have nothing but as friends. We are going on a journey and we have nothing but His apart from Jesus Christ and our faith in Him. And for our weakness and for our frailty, He's given you these tokens. When you sit at the table of the Lord, the Sabbath to come, do so looking at the symbols. I know it's a time when we come with reflection and it's a time when we come and we think of our own hearts and we ask questions of the hearts. We do that mainly on a Thursday and a Friday. But when we come around the table of the Lord, there is a purpose in the bread and there is a purpose in the wine. That we see, that we see, that we see the bread being broken. and we remember Calvary, that we see the blood being poured out and we remember his covenant with his people, that we see these things. The angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee. It's a long time, but it may be a long time till we reach the shore. So we're to arise, and we're to eat, and we're to be sustained for the journey ahead. May the Lord bless His Word. Let us pray. O gracious and eternal Lord, We draw before Thee this morning, we thank Thee for Thy mercies to us. We thank Thee for the tokens of those mercies. And we pray that Thou would prepare us in this week ahead. We thank Thee that even though the journey is difficult and the terrain is uncomfortable, that Thou hast equipped us for that journey. We thank thee, Lord, for thy mercy and for thy consideration of us. And we pray that thou would bless us, even as we bless thee, in Emmanuel's name and for his sake. Amen.