Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-09-15

Comment, by William T. Elli..
TRIUMPH Ut SLIDER

tHiOMFH Ut n oIlulEE
Never judge unfinished work." is an
I'D saying full OF wisdom. The win
lers cannot be known till the race Is
over. The proof of n Journey Is Its
and. The successful life Is the II
hat closes in triumph. The defeats.
detection and h%ardships which 1t may
rave known are small matters when the
End is victory and glory. So HI inn
preston of Elijah. the flaming prophet
IL the wilderness. in his various expert
noes of persecution. exile. poverty,
1unger ana loneliness. is lost iii the tinal
spectacle ct his translation. borne on a
" hirlw;na as on a conquercr's car. n
with the chariatry of heaven for his
aSco~t.
a DRAMATIC CAREERS sPkc1Ac-
ULAR CLOSE.
This prophet of fire had experienced
a tempeStuous career. Re W3S II OF
Gods soldier saints. The field of con-
Niot was his sphere of life. h siren
uous lot OF the refollner had been his
portion. Enemies he had by the legion.
end at times he thought himself with
out a single friend. The relentless hate
IF the most powerful woman iii the ma
ion. before whom the king and his
ministers We're but puppets. haunted
JIfl 10 Lte cl.U. Inc NilGtilcSS NsNS
lis home, and famine often his portion.
He had stood ON Mount Sinai, where
once Moses had stood. and heard the
voice of Jehovah speaking to him.
He had confronted hostile kings with
out fear. and had pronounced their
doom to their faces. On Mount Carmel
ne had brought down fire from heaven
TO Vindicate himself and his Master.
Again he had called down fire to con-
sumo q hundred messengers of a king
who had sought his life. Now we be-
hold the dramatic climax of the most
spectacular life in the cid testament.
Here was a vindication create" than
that q m Mount Carmel. 1t irresistably
suggests Il comparison with the end OF
his enemies who had been SO powerful
In life. Ahab died in unkingly dis
gujse and in defeat, according to Eli
iah's prophecy. Jezebel. in seclusion
awaited the terrible doom, soon to fall,
which he had predicted. Ahaziah,
Ahab's successor. had died, impotently
raging, against death, and after having
Seen the fearless face of this prophet
whose life he had threatened. The
flower of the priests of Baal had been
humiliated in the eyes of the nation by
Elijah and had afterwards been slain
at his viii. Verify, God takes his w
time, but he always asserts his OWL
supremacy.
And Elijah had been much alone In
life. while his enemies had been sur
rounded by courtiers; but at the close
of his earthly mission he had the hosts
of God to do him honor, and a true
friend to stand by his side. Yes. it was
worth while to be Elijah.
AN OLD MANS YOUNG FRIEND
One of h new tasks appointed Eli
jah on Mount Horeb had beer the an
noting of his own successor, Elisha, q
prosperous young farmer. In most re-
spects quite the antithesis of himself
This young nan had proved a strong
staff to lean Upon. They were bOunC
together by the two-fold tie of master
and pupil, friend and friend. The
younger man vas possessed of an en
thusiastic admiration for the older; tn
older saw, in the glowing spirit ant
sincere purpose of the other, possibili-
ties of mighty service to the cause o
Jehovah, and his was made glad
Only Il veteran and lonely worker car
know the comfort it was to Elijah t.
realize that the work was to go or
His. Il. I only. am left" vas never
again heard from his lips after he me
Elisha. He might die. but he still wOult
live through Elisha, his disciple. 1t was
not given him to know that he woul'
also live again in John the Baptist am
in the whole shining company of God:
brave servants since. Thank God, tn
spirit of Elijah is still in the church
Possibly the latest conspicuous mani
f~estation of his is the unwaverinl
courage and devotion to ideals will
which the United Free Church of Scot
land is facing the loss of more thai
for the sake of a principle. 1t Is wortl
all these millions to know hat tn
Elijah spirit still lives in thousands o
Christians.
Happy is the man with a message o
with a work who has found his Elishs
Thus the new life is linked to the old
and the one is kept reverent and for
and progressive, while the one caus
prospers. There would be less clashin
of doctrines and methods If Elijah an
Elisha always kept together, and bot
realized that upon the younger man
shoulders the burdens of the olde
must eventually fall, and that there
always a work for Elisha to do whic
THE LAST JOURNEY TOGETHER
Somehow. the news was known t
those interested that Jehovah woul
take Elijah home. But the two me
spoke not a word concerning it as the
walked together; the subject lay to
deep for words. The closest FRIEND
know a communion which has no nee
of speech. They were up at Gilgal or
day when the old longing to be alor
with his problem came to Elijah and /
babe his disciple tarry there. while h
went on to Bethel. Possibly he wante
to spar, Elisha h pain of a partinI
or he may have wanted to test I'll
young man. to see whether he wOul
accept this way u of an imminent Oh
deal. But Elisha was a stand-byer. A
Ruth to Naomi. as David to Jonatha
he chung to his master and friend, de-
termined to share his every eXperienc
no matter how hard. This attitut
toward life-a willingness to face II
inevitable and a determination to shil
nothing because 1t is hard-is one 81
cret possessed in common by mo
strong characters.
Down at Bethel, also at Jericho, W;
a school of the prophets, a sort Of the
logical seminary: and 1t is thought tn
this last journey Of Elijah was for Il
purpose of making "A farewell tour
these. AT any rate the students hail,
elisha with IL greeting of elphantil
sympathy, 'KnOweSt h that JehOv;
will AXE away thy master from Il
head today?" Know 1t! 1t was t
deepest thought OF his heart, too sacr
to talk about v with Elijah; b
here were these crude fellows pawn
over his griefs like a peddler's war,
III think I have met some of the gra
Mates of those theological seminar
1T Bethel and Jericho: Preachers w
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