_He arose and went for his life._ THE FLIGHT INTO THE WILDERNESS This is a sad sequel to the triumph on Mount Carmel. Elijah had forgotten Jezebel. Not present herself on Mount Carmel, she had received with sceptical scorn the reports which had reached her. The fire from heaven she looked upon as a... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life._ ELIJAH’S SINGULAR REQUEST These words every way are remarkable. They proceed from a certain state of the mind, which is not common. The words are remarkable, considering the person who uttered them. They were uttered by the bold and brilliant Elijah.... [ Continue Reading ]
_As he lay and slept under a juniper tree, then an angel touched him._ LOVING-KINDNESS BETTER THAN LIFE We have, in this incident, four thoughts of the love of God. I. God’s love in its constancy. It is a fact which we all admit; hut which we seldom realise in the moments of depression and darknes... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee._ THE WEARY CHILD 1. Now, what is all this but the Lord nursing His own child? Elijah has come to one of those crises which occur in every one’s life, when he stands in need of special tending and treatment; and the Father which is in Heaven... [ Continue Reading ]
_And went in the strength of that meal forty days._ ELIJAH’S REPAST I. The prophet’s repast. 1. The sacramental feast is alike simple and plain. 2. Yet is this a mysterious repast. II. The peculiar unworthiness of the prophet on this occasion. 1. The Lord’s Supper is a repast prepared for sinn... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he came thither into a cave._ GOD MANIFESTING HIMSELF TO MAN We may learn three things from the passage before us. I. God investigates the motives that govern human conduct. “The word of the Lord came to him, and said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?” 1. When God investigates the mot... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts._ IMPATIENCE OF RESULTS In moments of depression the wisest may fall into it, but it is nevertheless a mistake, as the following observations by Dr. Storrs suggest: “I do not see the cathedral as yet, when I go into the confused quarry-yard and se... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord._ ELIJAH’S VISION I. The man himself. A great craggy soul that towers above the men of his age--his head wreathed in the glories of heaven. But though standing out from the age in which he lives as one of God’s Elect--yet a man with... [ Continue Reading ]
_A still small voice._ THE STILL SMALL VOICE I. This vision ought to teach us that God is often more really present in little things and in quiet and unostentatious agencies than in things that seem to us great, and agencies that we think the most impressive. We are apt to look for God in the storm... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord said unto him, Go, return._ “GO, RETURN” It is a very solemn thought, that one sin may for ever, so far as this world is concerned, wreck our usefulness. It is not always so. Sometimes--as in the case of the Apostle Peter--the Lord graciously restores, and re-commissions for His work,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel._ THE UNKNOWN QUANTITY We cannot know what a man is merely by what he does. He may be a painter showing to us his pictures; that sight gives no idea as to whether he is inwardly beautiful. He may be a tradesman with whom we deal; that does not tell us wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_And found Elisha._ THE HUSBANDMAN OF ABEL-MEHOLAH I. A marked characteristic of Elisha was, contentment with his position and willingness to fulfil its duties, however humble. How few, possessed of gifts, are willing to wait the call of God; how few, even without gifts, or else who imagine they h... [ Continue Reading ]