Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-03-16


save herl Give her back to mev'
prayer you uttered when the doctor
opened the door and put his head out
OF the room and said: ''She Is all right
Everything is all right"
This was the feeling Of relief and
gratitude OF yender mother OF Zare-
phath when she knew that her boy was
not going to starve to death. The dan
ger of starvation was past. We can
see the boy growing fat and plump.
The mothers step has become strong
and elastic. As the lad plays before
her door we can see her smile as she
hears his happy laugh. Methinks, per-
haps, she has been growing q little
careless and forgetful OF late toward
God, as some OF us do when we are
surrounded by many apparently per-
manent blessings. Suddenly the long
arm Of death reaches through the OPEN
ed window Of this woman's hut. The
arm may be covered with flesh. The
ton, hut 1t Is the arm Of death. With
in a few hours the child is dead. At
once the widow goes to Elijah and begs
Of him. by the power of God, to re-
store unto her the life OF her boy. Eli
jah, by Gods power. does so. What Is
the practical observatlon3 Cannot you
grasp It? In every drought OF Zere-
zphsth there Is. q fnmiRee within a famine,
there Is Always a death Within death.
B q tcsbRthtione withinsa temptation. II
you midi afe,ever going to be spiritnal-
III ssfewe npst always keep living near
80 God else the second death via beas
|-bads as the frst death -. ~ +
= Wheas the FIRST moral or spiritual
dangers OF life are past it Is easy to
blind our eyes to the second and the
third and the fourth and the tenth and
the twentieth peril. Let him that
tbinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall" Here, for instance. is a man
who for years has been addicted to In
toxicating drink. He has fought it and
fought it until at last by the grace Of
God he has triumphed. But though for
years he has never tasted a glass OF
liquor he has become so absorbed in
making money that he has gradually
drifted away from walking with God.
One day he has an awful awaken
ing. He finds that his faith In Jesus
Christ is gone or that his only boy. who
is now more to him than his life is a
| drunkard, n Ebertine or thief. This
is a danger he never dreamed about
or guarded against. Famine within
famine; death within death. And SO,
my friends. no matter how many dan
gers God has rescued us from In the
past, that is no reason why we should
turn our backs upon God now. Like
the poor widow OF ,Zarephath, we must
live and continue to live close to God
| for there are moral and spiritual dam
gers everywhere we turn and eyerysl
where we look.
LASTED N Long m Needed.
But did you ever stop to consider
how. long this supply OF meal and oil
lasted2 Just as. long as the. famine
lasted. No more, no less. No sooner
did the rain descend upon the earth
and the orchards began to give forth
their fruits and the gardens their vege-
tables and the fields their harvcsts
than this miraculous supply OF food
stopped as suddenly. as the mamma OF
the wilderness ceased when the chill
dren OF Israel passed over the Jordan
into the promised lind. When man
can help himself God always expects
him so to do. God never takes care of
a man who is not willing to help take
care OF himself. - :,
Methinks l. can hear n converse ton
between two lazy men OF the Israelit-
ish army the day after they had passed
over into the promised land. Joshua
was sending forth his foraging parties
to provide food for the, encanpment.
Oh says one OF these men to the
other, "there may be lots OF rich grapes
around here and lots Of deer and birds,
but guess Twill not hunt after them.
Hunting always makes me tired. Come,
let's go out aud get he, MAMMA Tbe
mamma is good enough for me-. We do
not have 20 work for that" And so
they go forth TO collect their daily, sup
ply. What has happened? For the
first week day In over forty years the
ground issbare. God never helps a
man when he can help himself. And
so methinks / can see this poor Wild
ow after the gardens are moistened
with the rain say to her son, SCENE,
my, boy, let US go out and get the din
ner." But when she looks into the
barrel 1t Is empty. Then she looks
into the CRUISE, and the Oil is gone. God
] safe ts.'he barrel of meal shall not
waste snotz the cruise Aof oil fail until.
1.-THE day TIE Lord sendeth rain upon
4 the psrth. ~ God. -nevsp helps q man
when he Is able to help himself.
Standing by Xarephath of the east,
are you ready to go to work In Gods
4 vineyard and do the best you can for
dcdf~ Showers of blessings are fall
Ing everywhere around us. Are you
ready to give up your life to the sery-i
Ice OF the Master? Remember that
when this poor widow gave to Elijah
Of the little she had there was not only
enough for the Tishbite, but also
enough left for herself and. her boy
Are you ready to give your. oil for
Christ and trust him that he will care
and provide for you? Areyou ready to
give Of your portion to help others who
need 1t soreiy, like those poor farmer
folk In famine stricken Japan7 The
reason some OF us do not grow In spir-
| itual life Is because we expect God to
do all, and we are not willing to give
all.
| Is thy cruise of comfort failing?
Rise and share 1t with another
And Through all the years Of famine
1t shall serve thee and thy brother;
Love divine will MI thy storehouse
Or thy handful still renew q
Scanty fare for one will often make
A royal feast for two. 49, s .cz.-
And who was this zarephath wo-
Hr- q WY
believer intthe true God? Oh, no; not