Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-07-27
9nttrnatiunal gessolrs.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VI, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 7.

NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 7.
Text of the Lesson, II Kings II, 6-15.
| Memory Verses, lila - Golden Text,
Luke ri, 13-Commentary by the Rev.
d. NJ. stearns.
8. "And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I
pray thee, here, for the Lord hath sent me
to Jordan. And be said, AS the Lord liv-
eth and as thy soul liveth, will not leave
thee. And they two went on. The man
who had wanted to die was not going to
die, but was going to be taken by a whirl-
wind up to heaven (verse y. He had said
to Elisha both at Gilgal and at Bethel,
"Tarry here, I pray thee" but in each
case Elisha had with the same words re-
fused to leave him. They make us think
of the words of Ruth to Naomi and of Ittai
to David, in Ruth !, 16, II, and II Sam. XIV,
81, and of the advice Of Barnabas to the
believers at Antioch, that with purpose OF
heart they wonld cleave unto the Lord
(Acts Ii, 23). Our eternal safety depends
upon the faithfulness Of the Lord Jesus
and His cleaving unto US, as it is written
in Gen. ii, 24-the man shall cleave unto
his wife-and in Eph. V, 81, 80, Paul says
he speaks concerning Christ and the
church. AS to His faithfulness see such
passages as Cor. /, 8; Z, 13; Thess. v,
So, "a.
z. "And fifty men of the sons Of the
prophets went and stood to view afar off,
and thsy two stood by Jordan" Gilgal,
Bethel, Jericho and Jordan are suggestive
of stages in Christian experience, but there
is no place where we should ever be con-
tent to stop. We must ever be going and
growing QI Sam. v, 10, margin). Gilgal
suggests salvation, the reproaoh rolled
away and the passover kept (Joshua Y, 9,
1O); Bethel reminds us of visions of glory
(Gen. xviii, 19); Jericho had pleasant
situation (verse 19), but in none OF these
may we rest as matter Of attainment
8. "Aud Elijah took his mantle and
wrapped it together and smote the waters,
and they were divided hither and thither,
SO that they two went over on dry
ground" Thus for these two men God did
what He had done before for millions
when He took the whole nation across this
river on dry land. Jordan cannot be sug-
RSSUlN6 VI bOi Sohooh Va
heaven, for when Israel crossed Jordan
| into Canaan it was to encounter many
enemies and do much fighting. Jordan,
which means river of Judgment, seems
rather suggestive of that judgment OF self
which henoeforth practices constant de-
NAL of self that the life Of Jesus may be
made manifest in our mortal flesh.
9. "And it came to pass when they were
gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha,
Ask what shall do for thee before / be
taken away from thee And Elisha said,
T pray thee let double portion Of thy
spirit be upon me-" The greatest thing
for redeemed soul is to be filled with the
spirit Of God for His service; dead with
Christ, risen with Christ, one with Him
for whatever He may please Of service, If
only we can be q comfort to Him, vessel
meet for His use.
10. "And he said, Thou hast asked a
hard thing. Nevertheless II thou see me
when am taken from thee it shall be 30
unto thee but If not it shall not be SO. !"
To be filled with the Spirit means readi-
ness for whatsoever God may appoint that
He may be glorifed. According to the
story Of the Acts of the Apostles, it might
mean such service as was endured or rem
dered by any of the apostles or deacons; 1t
might mean serving tables or preaching
the gospel, winning souls or enduring I'M
prisonment, scouHging or death; 1t might
mean to be used in great revival or sent
to desert place to reach one person. To
be filled with the Spirit means grace to
say under all circumstances, "My Jesus
as Thou wilt" or, "Ycs, my Father, this
is so, because that Thou hast found 1t
good" (Math. xi, 26).
| II. "And it came to pass as they still
went on and talked that behold there ap-
peared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
and parted them both asunder, and Elijah
went up by q whirlwind into heaven. !"
They still went on. This suggests the only
thing for the believer day by day that he
still goes on growing in grace and In the
knowledge Of OUT Lord and Saviour (1I
Pet. Iii, 1S).
10. And Elisha saw it, and he cried,
My father, my father! The chariot of Israel
and the horsemen thereof! And he saw
him no more, and he took hold of his own
clothes and rent them in two pieces. " Not
for a moment did he take his eyes off him,
and he was rewarded by seeing him taken.
The one great difficulty with believers Is
that we allow so many things to take our
eyes off the Lord, yet we know that our
instructions are to run with patience, look
ing unto Jesus, and to consider Him lest
we be weary (Heb. xii, 3, 81. There is no
other way of rest. Although Elisha saw
him no more for the present, he knew bet
ter than to imagine that he was on any OF
the mountains round about oversees 16, 10
He knew that he was as really in heaven.
1S. He took up also the mantle OF Eli
jah that fell from him and went back and
stood by the bank Of Jordan" We are
instructed to put on the Lord Jesus and
make no provision for the flesh to fulfill
the lusts thereof (Rom. xiii, 14), to put on
the new man, which after God Is created
in righteousness and true holiness (Eph.
iv, ~. We who receive the Lord Jesus
and are saved by Him and delight to soy
Elijah (my God Is Jehovah) should take
equal delight in saying Elisha (Iny God Is
Saviour), and in making it manifest that
He does save US from ourselves and from
all self pleasing or self seeking. mot l,
but Christ" in all our daily life.
IA. "And he took the mantle Of Elijah
that fell from him and smote the waters
and said, Where is the Lord God of ElijahP
And when no also had smitten the waters,
they parted hither and thither, and Elisha
went over" Thus the Lord did for one
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