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finds fertile ground in every downcast heart for the sowing of the noxious seed of doubt. It is good to know that not only is the adversary aware of our hours of weakness but the Lord takes note and is swift to succor His needy servant.—Holden. Self pity and unbe lief can make a mighty man a whimp ering weakling.— Frost. v. 5. Angel touched him. He re stored Elijah’s nerve force by needed sleep and food before He tenderly ex posed to him his folly and declared to him his removal from his position. It would be well if we, when we have to deal with some erring brother, would treat him as tenderly and wisely as Jehovah did Elijah and not seek to re buke his sin when he is in a condition of utter nerve exhaustion and when he needs strengthening before he can ap preciate rebuke and correction.— Tor- rey. v. 7. Arise and eat. Body and soul are closely connected. Remember 1 Cor. 6:20.— Sei. v. 8. Forty days. The number of probation.— Comp. Bible. Heaven-fed men are good goers.—McNeil. v. 9. What doest thou here? Per haps this is a question that needs to come to many of us. Are you in a place where you can have no spiritual growth or service?— Johnson. What doest THOU here? Is not the very signifi cance of the name Elijah, “ Jehovah, He is my God?” Is He to be the God but of one fugitive?— Farrar. v. 10. I have been very jealous. You can be sure a man is backslidden when he is talking of his own zeal.-^— Sel. In the days of victory he had not been in the habit of talking about his zeal for the Lord but of showing it by his actions.— Torrey. I only am left. We have some things to learn and some things to unlearn. The cause won’t go down just because we do.— McNeil. v. 11. Stand upon the mount. This is the best place for a discouraged man. Get where you can see from God’s view point. i Don’t live in Ecclesiastes but in Ephesians.— Lewis. When we are liv ing on earth’s low levels, we fail to catch the inspiring visions of God. Come out into the sunshine. Make the as cent of the mountain and discern those evidences of God’s power which are al ways available for the recreation of faith and courage.— Holden. Lord was not in the wind. The Lord was not in the windy tempest, the shattering
earthquake or the blinding fire. You may see and know God's power in na ture. You can never know and under stand Him there. You may see His footsteps. You may behold the smit- ings of His power. You may be assured of His omnipotence, but you cannot find Him in nature. It is but the highway along which He has passed, but God Himself was in the still small voice. That still small voice is the Word of God energized by the Holy Spirit. Bv His Word alone can you get an intelli gent relation with God.—Haldeman. v. 12. Still small voice. The forces of nature spoke to Elijah’s varying moods. In the fire, the earthquake and the tempest he heard the voices of his own soul. Then the accents of th.e still small voice fell upon his ear, calming, quieting and soothing. Best of all, the voice of God commissioned him once more with the words, “ Go and return.” —Meyer. Still small voice is literally “ sound of a gentle breeze.” The hurri cane, the earthquake, the lightning were all tokens and agencies of God, but none disclosed Him so convincingly as the peaceful calm that followed the tempest. He came to realize the true value of patience and forbearance in the furth erance of the divine purposes.^—Dum- melow. He had lived in a tempestuous atmosphere. Lightnings had played around him and his voice had been as thunder. Elijah had gloried in that zeal which exhibited itself in fierce and terrible vengeances. He must know that what is appropriate at one time is in appropriate at another. The church needs Elijahs, it also needs Elishas, for Elisha was a man of gentle mein.— Stoughton. v. 15. Anoint Hazael. Hazael king of Syria, Jehu the rude captain and Elisha the young farmer. Each was as different as possible from the other, yet each had his special sphere in dealing with the idolatries and impurities that were destroying the chosen race. God’s nets are not all constructed with the same size of meshes. Men may escape some of the bigger ones who will be caught by the smaller ones.— Devo. Com. v. 16. In thy room. It is a bitter pill to have to anoint one’s successor, but it is a good way to be cured of self importance.— Eliot. Pictorial Questions Where were Ahab and Jezebel at the
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