Elijah’s Plea (sermon 1832)

Elijah's plea was simple: "Let it be known that I have done all these things at your word." Spurgeon turns it in two directions. First, to obedient saints, it is a firm ground for prayer. He considers the labouring minister, a whole church, an individual Christian, and—departing slightly from his main heading—he asks how it would be used by a seeking sinner. Second, to those who cannot say that they have acted according to God's word, it is a solemn matter for question, a means of self-examination. As he sometimes does, he puts the question to the same categories as under his first heading from the different angle: to the worker he asks about our preaching and our living; to the church, he asks about our motives and our holiness; to Christian people, he inquires about arrogance and hypocrisy. He gives more time here again to the seeking sinner, with a couple of hints to those who may be converted, urging them to embrace the will of God in those things which lead to peace. Spurgeon shows us here how to preach a sermon on two levels to a mixed congregation, blending both comforts and challenges to various kinds of hearers. The result is a striking call to humble obedience, applied across the board.