1 Thessalonians 5:19 Quench not the Spirit. Several years ago I was called to visit a young man who was said to be sick, and wished to see me. Approaching him as he was lying upon his bed, I remarked that he certainly did not look as though he was ill. He replied, "I am not sick in my body, but in my soul. I am in deep distress." Asking him the cause of his distress, he said, "During the revival in our Church, I have not only resisted its influence, but I have made sport of the young converts, I have ridiculed those who were seeking the salvation of their souls, and I feel that I have committed an unpardonable sin, and there is no hope for me." I said to him, "Your sins are indeed fearfully great; but if you sincerely repent, and will now believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will pardon you." I referred to the Saviour's compassion to the thief on the cross, and to other cases that might awaken some hope in his mind. But everything that was said failed to reach his case. His reply to every argument, or appeal, or passage of Scripture that was quoted, was the same, "There is no hope for me." After an earnest prayer for his salvation, and commending him to the mercy of God, I left him. Calling the next day, I found he had passed a sleepless night, and the state of his mind was unchanged. Again, after pointing him to the promises of the Scriptures, and praying with him, he expressed the same feeling of utter despair. Not a ray of light crossed the dark cloud that hung over his soul. The third day on entering his room I found him in a raging fever. His mental agony had taken effect upon his body. Without any indications at first of physical disease he was now lying in a most critical condition. I pointed him once more to the bleeding Saviour on the cross, and pleaded with him at the throne of grace. But with him the harvest was passed, the summer of hope was ended. He had quenched the Spirit, not only by his personal resistance, but by hindering and laughing at others who were seeking to escape eternal death. The next day I found that his reason was dethroned. His fond mother was bathing his temples with ice water. On my addressing him, he replied in an incoherent manner. He was beyond the reach of any gospel tidings. That night his soul passed into eternity. (Rufus W. Clark, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Quench not the Spirit. |
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