The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1877-05-24
The sunday School.
sgrp.r M.tai. 2Krsas XII isaE

ExsHk's Rfyas ssxSEss Tie great
prophet hsd csc more patte service Il
rsedsf A pssioa q forty years bad
passed SINCE he last recorded pablis
scs q his Thsrs i 10 proof however,
that dsr5ng this tine be had remained
ia obsesrisy. TAe Bible never attempt,
70 gre the diaries u The Saints. II
records taose acts add sayings which,
fof ons reason or other, are most signi-
dcaht and Instructive, Elisha was now
ever ninety years q age. His pre-em.
ibeni services 10 The kingdom Ia times
pas, were not forgotten. The young
king Joash o. Jehoasb was the grand
son Of d Jthu lie wAs Dow 10 trouble.
He was threatened with another wide.
wasting Syrian invasion. Probably ],
was lhis impending peril which made
him ihihk Of the aged man Of God.
Aien ia sudden jeopardy will fall 10 the
knees Ia prayer who at other times
wahtonly blaspheme. Joash knew bis
own dagger. and bad heard Of the
prophets sickness. Would be obtain
his ialofcession and blessing. be must
10 il soon Like Esau at the death
bed Of Isaac. the king Is ready TO cry
out, Bless me, 0 my father bless even
rae
The KING ComsG DowS TO rHg
PRoiBEr In one sense il waa ICON.
ing down." for the king 10 come to pay
a visit TO Elisha, only private citizen.
Yet even the king was deeply impress.
ed with bis own interiority. personally.
70 the prophet. The men Of God
are the stability and the protection Of
any nation. The worst enemies, threat
euingsthe life and peace and prosperity
Of a country, are the ignorance and lack
Of character among the people. Men
like Elijah and Elisha are 10 their
measure. saviors of the nation. 1t was
no mere extravaganza when king Joash
weeping at the couch Of the dying
prophet cried ont. o my father, my
father, the chariot Of Israel aud the
horsemen thereof
At this the man Of God, epieebled
though he was with age, was reused
once more. The unspent fires of youth
burn within him afresh. The ancient
founts Transportation well up through all
bis being yet. Seized with the spirit
Of prophecy be rises to bis feet. BY
two symbolcal acts, which could
neither be misunderstood nor forgotten,
lie will teach the king lesson--a
lesson too for all time. act First: 10
ILL., Acts they say, speak louder than
words Ii was not unusual for the
prophets to deliver their messages that
way A kind Of gesture language. 1t
might need some verbal explanation /;
but, after that, the act would tell more
than words could. The Bible abounds
in this sort Of symbol.language. Els
pecially is this the case with the proph-
eticaI parts. To take them literally
would make only nonsense and contra
dictions. The arrow of the Lords de.
liverance from Syria. What did that
mean Plainly, that it must be the
Lord who should deliver him from the
Syrian.
And yet the transaction between the
/ prophet and the king meant more than
that. There were two scenes to the
act The first described 10 verses
1917 the second, in verse IS. Note
the difference between them. The ar
row of the Lords deliverance-
arrow Of deliverance from Syria is used
alike ia both. That was to say from
FIRST to last the king must recognize the
fact OF bis entire dependence upon the
Lord for success. That was the first
lesson to learn. The second lesson,
that God helps those who, while trus-
ting 10 him. help themselves Without
faith, il is impossible to please God.
OF course il must be so. Not to have
/ faith is TO make God liar. But, then,
1 faith means more than mere trust 1t
implies also the disposition Of active
obedience. That was precisely the les
son the venerable man OF God would
teach this young king. The king must
trust but he must, also, do. He must
put the two things together. A hard
lesson to learn, now as then. We are
prone either to trust supinely. indo-
lently; or else to push forward, untrus-
tiugly, in our own strength.
The supreme lesson of life is well
nigh learned when we have learned
the lesson Elisha meant Joash to learn.
When the king put his hand to the bow
and its arrow, then the prophet puts
his hands upon the kings hands.
Backed by the man Of God, permitted
10 WELD the arrow Of the Lords deliy.
eraace. how strong the king should
have felt bis cause to be The majority
truly was on his side What courage,
what an incentive now 10 take hold or
the work before him. For thou shalt
smite the Syrians in Aphek ill thou
80 ...s Al -. Has,.toto -