Beloved reader, how is it with you in reference to this great question? Are you living by faith? Can you say, "The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of G.o.d, who loved me and gave Himself for me?" Do you know what it is to have the living G.o.d filling the whole range of your soul"s vision? Is He enough for you?
Can you trust Him for everything--for body, soul, and spirit--for time and eternity? Or are you in the habit of making known your wants to man in any one way? Is it the habit of your heart to turn to the creature for sympathy, succor, or counsel?
These are searching questions; but we entreat you not to turn away from them. Be a.s.sured it is morally healthful for our souls to be tested faithfully, as in the very presence of G.o.d. Our hearts are so terribly treacherous, that when we imagine we are leaning upon G.o.d, we are really leaning upon some human prop. Thus G.o.d is shut out, and we are left in barrenness and desolation.
And yet it is not that G.o.d does not use the creature to help and bless us. He does so constantly; and the man of faith will be deeply conscious of this fact, and truly grateful to every human agent that G.o.d uses to help him. G.o.d comforted Paul by the coming of t.i.tus; but had Paul been looking to t.i.tus, he would have had but little comfort.
G.o.d used the poor widow to feed Elijah; but Elijah"s dependence was not upon the widow, but upon G.o.d. Thus it is in every case.
What raised the wondrous thought?
Or who did it suggest?
"That we, the Church, to glory brought, Should WITH the Son be blest."
O G.o.d, the thought was Thine!
(Thine only it could be,) Fruit of the wisdom, love divine, Peculiar unto Thee.
For, sure, no other mind, For thoughts so bold, so free, Greatness or strength, could ever find; Thine only it could be.
The motives, too, Thine own, The plan, the counsel, Thine!-- Made for Thy Son, bone of His bone, In glory bright to shine.
O G.o.d, with great delight Thy wondrous thought we see, Upon _His_ throne, in glory bright, The bride of Christ shall be.
Sealed with the Holy Ghost, We triumph in that love, Thy wondrous thought has made our boast, "Glory WITH Christ above."
PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS
ON THE
LIFE AND TIMES
OF
ELIJAH.
_By C. H. M._
NEW, REVISED EDITION.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 5
SECTION I.
THE PROPHET"S FIRST MESSAGE 9
SECTION II.
THE PROPHET IN RETIREMENT 21
SECTION III.
THE HOUSE OF AHAB 50
SECTION IV.
THE PROPHET ON MOUNT CARMEL 60
SECTION V.
THE PROPHET ON MOUNT h.o.r.eB 81
SECTION VI.
THE PROPHET"S RAPTURE 106
CONCLUDING REMARKS
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH 125
PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS
ON THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF ELIJAH THE TISHBITE.
INTRODUCTION.
The exercise of prophetic ministry in Israel, of old, was always a proof of the nation"s decline. So long as the great national inst.i.tutions were maintained in their vigor, and the machinery of the Mosaic economy carried out according to its original design, there was no need of anything extraneous, and therefore the voice of a prophet was not heard; but when failure had set in--when those laws and inst.i.tutions which had been enacted, and set on foot by G.o.d Himself, ceased to be carried out in their pristine spirit and power, then there was a demand for something additional, and that something was supplied by the energy of the Spirit in the prophets.
There were no materials in the whole range of Levitical rites and ceremonies for the formation or maintenance of such a ministry as that of Elijah the Tishbite; there was too much of the carnal element in them for that. The message of a prophet could only be delivered in the power of the Holy Ghost, and therefore, so long as the Levitical inst.i.tutions fulfilled their end, the Spirit had no need to put forth any fresh energy. There was no need of such a minister as Elijah in the days of Solomon"s glory and greatness; all was in order then--the whole machinery was in a sound condition--every wheel and every screw worked effectually in its own place--the king on the throne wielded the sceptre for the maintenance of Israel"s civil interest--the priest in the temple discharged in due order his religious functions--the Levites and the singers were all at their respective posts: in a word, all moved on in such a measure of order as to render the voice of a prophet unnecessary.
However, the scene soon changed; the mighty tide of evil soon set in, and swept away the very foundations of Israel"s civil and religious system: unG.o.dly men, in process of time, ascended the throne of David, and sacrificed the interests of the people of G.o.d at the shrine of their own vile l.u.s.ts; and to such a height did wickedness rise, that at last the wicked Ahab, with his consort Jezebel, occupied that throne from which Solomon had administered the judgment of G.o.d.
Jehovah could no longer forbear; He could not allow the tide of evil to rise any higher, and He therefore sent forth from His quiver a polished shaft to pierce the conscience of Israel, if haply He might bring them back to their place of happy allegiance to Himself. This shaft was none other than Elijah the Tishbite--the bold and uncompromising witness for G.o.d who stood in the breach at a moment when every one seemed to have fled from the field of conflict, unable to stem the overwhelming torrent.
But, before we proceed to the consideration of the life and ministry of this remarkable man, it may be well just to make one observation upon the twofold character of prophetic ministry. We shall find, in considering the ministry of the prophets, that, not only had each prophet a distinct ministry committed to him, but that, also, in one and the same prophet, there was a double purpose carried out: the Lord dealt with the conscience about present evil, while He pointed the eye of the faithful one to the future glory. The prophet, by the Holy Ghost, brought the light and truth of G.o.d to bear upon the heart and conscience--he laid open fully and faithfully the hidden chambers of evil within--he spoke plainly of the people"s sad declension and departure from G.o.d, and removed the foundations of that false religious system which they were erecting around them.