Pith and Pivot—T. C. H.
with the consciousness t h at our God,, will s t a nd the test. C o n t r a st E l i j ah with - the palavering priests of- Baal. Compare! their prayers. T he m a n who h as the key:'.to heaven knows where thè fire is a nd how to ' bring it down. T he ffiìsè priests pfayed their p a rt well, they pranced a nd prayed, they cried and called, they p e r f o r m ed and prophecled, b ut t h e re was nothing doing. H ow vain, how foolish, how empty, It' all is when the spectacular of falsé systems is over. The h u n g ry heart,,, is left without comfort and cheer, when the, soul seeks some confirmation of its f a i th to have n o t h- ing b ut the chill. Of silent, Speechless goda of stone. God compels m a n to a choice. Behind -every false god is the face of , the f a t h er of lies, and it is a l w a ys a nd only a question of serving God or Satan. T h a nk Gpd for • every incident or occasion t h at forces m en a nd women t o show their colors a n a to declare their faith. Wh en m en test their gods they will know w h e t h er they a re t r ue or false. Our God will honor oùr f a i th befòre an unbelieving world if we give H i m the opportunity. drives for his life.. It sepms as if E t e r n al Righteousness• can scarcely keep its hand off him; and a t least will n ot spare .without a, scare. 6. "Ahab told Jezebel." (1) W h at " E l i j ah had done,"—why not w h a t Jehovah had done? (2), " H ow he h ad slain all the prophets,"^-why. not how we had slain all the imposters? Because t he i n f a t u a t ed m an preferred to accuse r a t h e r. t h a n , e x c u se the prophet. , It,, FLYING FOR 1 LIFE. 11 Again Elijah is in flight.' Jézebèl bound herself with a g r e at cursë; ;, -Aeti3 23:14,'to send him a f t er t he . prophets of Baal, and E l i j a h ' d id not stop till breathless he Oast hifnself u n d er a desert s h r ub ninety miles away, and wished, like Jonah, ~ to' die', : Jon. 4:3. And it s e e ms for mu ch the same reason, the failure of his testimony. B ut WV are' to preach a n d leave our réputation and' our success with H im who sends us. 2. Did Elijah flee this time (1 Kgs. 17:2, 3) without orders? It looks so. No' wonder he is in despair, and ; Without ah o b j e ct in 'life. Wh e re w a s t h at Elijahic faith t h at alone could h'ave averted a panic? May wè have wis- dom to seek the ephod a t every crisis, 1 Sam. 30:7, ,8 (but see 21:12). '2. But lest we wrong a faithful man: N a t u re itSelt in- structively counsels flight where no" clear reason a p p e a rs for s t a n d i ng our ground. "Flee ye to a n o t h e r ," said the Lord, Matt. 10:23;,.and H e did so, L u ke 4:30; and Paul fled from place to. plaSè," Aàts 'It: 10. ' " H e whô fights and r u ns tiWay lives ' t ô fight a n o t h er day." III., LONGING TO DIE. The prophet sèems to have becqme thor- oughly disheartened. Most preachers, h a ve their "blue Mondays." B ut the ablest, and bravest of men have beep s u b j e ct tip oc- casional despondency. . E v en "Christian" and "Hopeful," at that, are liable to. fall into the h a n ds of " t he . Giant Despair." There ; did iseçm >to be reason ,in .Elijah's ease. If so g r e at a. demcmstratipn, ,,an& so u n a n i mo us and h e a r t y ,a confession'did nôt
F r om the day t h at Cain built an altar of hewn s t o n e s - a nd presented to t he Lord , a bloodless' offering, down to this day, the devil h as been busy Inventing s h am religions a nd setting u p false' gods. T he devil is God's ape a nd is always found at t he old stand, doing business in the old fashioned devilish way. Men seem to enjoy being hoodwinked. T he h e a rt of m a n t u r ns n a t - urally ' from the God of all grace to the gods of all grades; - E l i j ah compelled a crises in Israel. H e issued a command to Aliab which forced a contest of faith. Elijah wen t u p a g a i n st the king, the princes, the prophets a nd the people. H e staked his all on a single test. There Is something splendid in holy boldness. You see it in Moses before P h a r a o h, Samuel before Saul, Daniel before the King, P e t er before the Jewish, leaders and P a ul before Agrippa. We ought to see it often in these days w h en t h e r e' are ,',so m a ny opportunities to prove t h at J e h o v ah Is the u n c h a n g i ng mighty One. * " ' , . , , S Men and womeii of God ought to be able to challenge the whote tribe of " i t e s" f r om Cainites to- t h e Eddyites to a t r i a l. of f a i th .FROM . CARMEL TO HOREB. Kgs. 18:41: 19:18. I. THE DROUTH BROKEN. >1. Agreat victory over Baal had been won. By this bannered s i g n, the prophet con- quered, " E l i - J a h - H u ," " J e h o v ah He is God!" T he Lord accepted: the, confession a s a renewal of t he broken covenant. H e poured out the showers of material bless- ing. T h at confession is Peter's, " T h ou art\_ the. Christ!", Matt. 16:16; It is our entrance;'; into the- covenant, Matt. 16:18; It will be ; Israel's confession preceding the end of their, long drouth, Acts 2:15-24. 2. Elijah's Word to ,Ahab, v. 41.' W h en a m a n gets right with God it .is his privilege to "eat, drink a nd be me r r y / '. L u ke 15:32; for a b u n- dance of grace is to follow. A h ab w as not right,- b ut it is the sequel t h at shows that. God took him a t his word so far. 3. "There is sound of abundance of rain,". F a i th not only sees thè invisible, b ut it h e a rs the in- audible. Elijah k n ew w h at we should all know: t h at to fulfill , the Lord's conditions is a sure g u a r a n t ee t h at H e Is about to, ful- fill His promise, Lev., 26:42. 4. While they feasted Elijah, climbed the promontory to greet the coming blessing:; to w a t ch a nd pray. Six t i m es he bowed in p r a y e r; t h e seventh time his servant reported a - "cloud like a m a n 's h a n d ." It w as the Lord's' h a nd a nd as f r om the p a lm a nd fingeis of the s t a t ue a t the public fountain in Cincin- nati it poured" t he blessed waters. Oh, for t he a p p e a r a n ce of such-a, sign today. Wh o se p r a y er is a s Elijah's? Wh o se e y e ' i s like his servants? 5. "Prepare!!'. Once more Ahab obeys t he p r o p h et of thè ] Lesson for February 18, 1911
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