Hebrews 11:34

Quenched the violence of fire,....

The advantages that we have in the gospel for the exercise of this grace above what those had who lived in the times of the Old Testament,

Quenched the violence of fire - As in the case of the three faithful Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who, for their steady attachment to God’s worship, were cast into a fiery furnace, in which they were preserved, and from which they escaped unhurt. Dan. 3. Escaped the edge of the sword - Moses, who escaped the sword of Pharaoh, Exo 18:4; Elijah, that of Jezebel; and David, that of Saul: and many others. Out of weakness were made strong - Were miraculously restored from sickness, which seemed to threaten their life; as Hezekiah, Isa 38:

Quenched the violence of fire-- (Da 3:27). Not merely "quenched the fire," but "quenched the power (so the Greek) of the fire." Da 3:19-30 and 6:12-23 record the last miracles of the Old Testament.

SOME kinds of weakness are of God's appointment and necessarily incident to manhood. They are not sinful, and therefore we may continue to be subject to them without regret. In reference to such weaknesses it may be that after beseeching the Lord even thrice to remove them it may be for our good that they should remain. Then will our gracious God give us, in place of removing the weakness, this reply, "My grace shall be sufficient for you."

SOME kinds of weakness are of God's appointment and necessarily incident to manhood. They are not sinful, and therefore we may continue to be subject to them without regret. In reference to such weaknesses it may be that after beseeching the Lord even thrice to remove them it may be for our good that they should remain. Then will our gracious God give us, in place of removing the weakness, this reply, "My grace shall be sufficient for you." This is a case of in weakness being made strong, and there are many of God's saints who daily experience so blessed a privilege. They are weak, and continue weak. They have infirmities which they once wished to have removed but which now they are content to bear, for now they are of the same mind with the Apostle—they glory in their infirmity because when they are weak they are strong. But, dear Friends, there is another kind of weakness which is sinful—a weakness which springs not from nature but from fallen nature—not from God's appointment, but from our sinfulness. And out of this we should desire to be delivered. We cannot pray for strength in sinful weakness, but must earnestly plead for strength to come out of it and to be made strong. This seems to me to be the particular blessing which faith is said to have obtained in the text, "out of weakness were made strong." It is the inestimable privilege of many a Christian to be strong in weakness when the weakness is only one of infirmity, but it is an equally precious gift to be made strong out of weakness when that weakness is of a sinful kind. Looking round the Church at large, with as impartial an eye as we can summon, we are afraid that for the most part it is nowadays comparable to a huge infirmary rather than a camp filled with brave soldiers. Both ministers and private members of the Church are very generally weak in one way or other. They are living, but they are sickly.

THOSE who out of weakness were made strong are written among the heroes of faith and are, by no means, the least of them. Believers "quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong." Who shall tell which of the three grand deeds of faith is the greatest?

THOSE who out of weakness were made strong are written among the heroes of faith and are, by no means, the least of them. Believers "quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong." Who shall tell which of the three grand deeds of faith is the greatest? Many of us may never have to brave the fiery stake, nor to bow our necks upon the block, to die as Paul did, but if we have Divine Grace enough to be out of weakness, made strong, we shall not be left out of the roll of the nobles of faith—and God's name shall not fail to be glorified in our persons. Brothers and Sisters, as Believers in the Lord Jesus, we are called to two things, namely, to do and to suffer for His name's sake. Certain saints are summoned to active marching duty and others are ordered to keep watch on the walls. There are warriors on the field of conflict and sentries in the box of patience. Both in doing and in suffering, if we are earnest and observant, we soon discover our own weakness. "Weakness" is all we possess. "Weakness" meets us everywhere. If we have to work for the Lord, we are soon compelled to cry, "Who is sufficient for these things?" And if we are called to suffer for Him, our weakness, in the case of most of us, is even greater—many who can labor without weariness cannot suffer without impatience. Men are seldom equally skilled in the use of the two hands of doing and bearing. Patience is a Grace which is rarer and harder to come at than activity and zeal. It is one of the choicest fruits of the Spirit and is seldom found on newly-planted trees. The fact soon comes home to us that we are weak where we most of all desire to be strong. Our longing is to be able both to do and to suffer for our Lord—and to do this, we must have strength from above— and that strength can only come to us through faith.

Quenched the violence of fire - As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did; Dan 3:15-26. “Escaped the edge of the sword.” As Elijah did when he fled from Ahab, 1Ki 19:3; as Elijah did when he was delivered from the king of Syria, 2Ki 6:16; and as David did when he fled from Saul. Out of weakness were made strong - Enabled to perform exploits beyond their natural strength, or raised up from a state of physical infirmity, and invigorated for conflict. Such a case as that of Samson may be referred to, Jdg 15:15; Jdg 16:26-30; or as that of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20 who was restored from dangerous sickness by the immediate interposition of God; see the notes on Isa. 38. Waxed valiant in fight - Became valiant. Like Joshua. Barak, David, etc. The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings supply instances of this in abundance. Turned to flight the armies of the aliens - The foreigners - as the invading Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, Assyrians, etc.

God promised. They held on. God delivered. Just like it is supposed to be.