Thomas Boston as quoted in sermon notes by Charles Spurgeon. 1884
The sermon outline was “Where is the God of Elijah?”
1. The God of Elijah gave him the sweet experience of keeping warm and lively in a very cold and dead generation; so that he was best when others were worst.
….. But where is the Lord God of Elijah in these dregs of time, wherein professors (believers) generally are carried away, with the stream of impiety, from all their liveliness and tenderness that aforetime have been among them, when the more wickedness sets up its head, the more piety is made to hide its head? It is a sad evidence that God is gone from us, when the standard of wickedness makes advances, and that of shining holiness is retreating, and can hardly get hands to hold it up.
2. The God of Elijah gave him the sweet experience of the power of prayer: James 5:17…
….. But where is the God of Elijah, while the trade with heaven by prayer is so very low? Alas, for the dead, cold, and flat prayers that come from the lips of the professors (believers) at this day, so weak and languishing that they cannot reach heaven!
3. The God of Elijah gave him the experience of the sweet fruits of dependence on the Lord, and of a little going far, with his blessing: I Kings 17:16
…..But where is the God of Elijah at this day, when what we have seems to be blown upon, that it goes in effect for nothing? Our table is plentifully covered, yet our souls are starved; our goodness sometimes looks as a morning cloud, it blackens the face of the heavens, and promises a heavy shower, but so quickly proves as a little cloud, like unto a man’s hand, which is ready to go for nothing; yea, this generation is blinded by the means that have a natural tendency to give light. Ah! “Where is the God of Elijah?”
4. The God of Elijah gave him the experience of a gracious boldness to face the most daring wickedness of the generation he lived in, though it was one of the worst. This eminently appeared in his encounter with Ahab: I Kings 18:1
…..But where is the God of Elijah now, while the iniquities of our day meet with such faint resistance, while a brave brow for the cause of God, a tongue to speak for him, and a heart to act, are so much wanting? The wicked of the world, though they have an ill cause in hand, yet they pursue it boldly; but, alas! the people of God shame their honest cause by their cowardice and faint appearing in it. If God give us not another spirit, more fitted for such a day, we shall betray our trust, and bring the curse of the succeeding generation on us.
5. The God of Elijah gave him the experience of a glorious and powerful manifestation of himself, in a solemn ordinance, even at the sacrifice on Mount Carmel, which was ushered in with the spirit of prayer in Elijah: I Kings 18:37-39
…..But where is the God of Elijah when so little of the Spirit’s influences is found in ordinances, even solemn ordinances? Here is the mantle, but where is the God of Elijah? Here are the grave-clothes, in which sometimes the Lord was wrapt up, but where is he himself? Communion days have sometimes been glorious days in Scotland, and sometimes the gospel hath done much good, so that ministers had almost as much to do to heal broken hearts as now to get hard hearts broken; but where now is the God of Elijah?
6. The God of Elijah gave him the experience of being enabled to go far upon a meal: I Kings 19:8
…..But where now are such experiences, while there is so little strength in the spiritual meals to which we now sit down? This is a time wherein there is much need of such an experience; the Lord seems to be saying to his people, “Rise and eat, for the journey is long”; and what a hard journey some may have, ere they get another meal, who knows? Oh, for more feeding power in the doctrine preached among us!
7. The God of Elijah gave him the experience of the Lord’s removing difficulties out of his way, when he himself could do nothing at them: Jordan divided. So Peter had the iron gate opened to him of its own accord: for when the Lord takes the work in hand, were it never so desperate as to us, it will succeed well with him. Sure we have need of this experience this day. How is the case of many souls so embarrassed at this day that they cannot extricate themselves, by reason of long and continued departures from God, so that all they can do is that they are fleeing and going backward! Ah! where is the God of Elijah, to dry up those devouring deeps? Enemies have surrounded the church, and brought her to the brow of the hill, ready to cast her over; where is the God of Elijah, to make a way for her escape?
My Sermon Notes, Genesis to Proverbs, p. 88-90
Charles Spurgeon
8thDay4Life 
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