Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-02-08
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SUNDAY SERMON :
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z A Scholarly Discourse By =
. Rev. DR.. S. s. Roche.
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Brooklyn, N. Y.-At st. Marks p. 4.
Church, the Rev. DR.. Spencer Summer.
field Roche, the rector, preached Sun
day on lessons From Elijah's Life"
The text was from l. Kings, xiX:9:
"And he came thither, unto cave"
DR.. Roche said:
The lessons present quite fully the
life of that grand old prophet Elijah
the Tishbite. From a sublime scene III
his life | shall attempt to draw such
lessons as may fit the hour. Let us Sc
lcct NE moment when his soul yearncd
to be on Horeb, the mount of God.
Give your thoughts to this statement
And he came thither, unto cave.'
l shall speak of the coming and of
the cavern; of the grief the journey
brought to view. and the glory the cav
ern revealed. Throughout we must re-
member that we study a typical case
of Almighty Gods dealing with His
discoura Ged servants. What the Lord
said and did to Elijah, He would have
us believe He says and does to our
selves.
From one of the most striking situa
tiOnS in history we are to see Elijah
hurled in an instant. The occasion of
his fall was one of the slightest Of in
cidcnts. as whcl an avalanche which
carries down the side of mountain is
started by the waves of the air aroused
by tourists halloo. Ahab talked with
his wife. We have seen greatness of
character in reticcncc as when to the
numerous interrogatories of rilatc the
Son of Man "ansWrred him never Il
seen often in that easy flow of words
which lets out everything. A Wife
may tell her husband what he has no
business TO know: a man may make
himself contemptinle blabbing every
thing TO his wife. "Ahab told JoZcbel
all that Elijah had done and withal
how he had slain the prophets with the
sword" | do not understand he spoke
in wrath or mal."c: quite the contrary;
he knew ne had Il tigrcSS to deal with
and used all the tact his lean wit could
summon. He was afraid TO tell her
that he himself had abandoned the
sinking cause of the BGaliteS. He di-
Vided his matters, putting the small
things nrSt: last of all--her beloved
ministers of falSehoO' and fraud were
slain. The tGross rolled her angry
eyes and showed her cruel teeth. She
sent this message 10 Eli" The gods
do so 10 me and more also if | make
not thy life rs the life of one Of them
by tomorrow about this time" .Icza-
bel's blood was up. He arse and
went for his life" The man who had
confronted the king and his armed re-
tain2rs fled terrified from woman.
There is lesson her" for all Lifc'S
victories only lift lis to new battleiieldS
One Of Eliiah'S mistakes was his sup
position that all would 90 well if one
event resulted favorably. lie succeed
cd beyond his wilu st Dir ans only to
find his real troubles yet to begin.
So we regard thc Office to which we
hope to be elected, The partnership we
are anxious to form, the fifty or hun
drcd thousand we are striving for.
When the great achievement is won
we are simply like the army landed on
4 hostile shore under the guns of the
feet. Shut up for weeks in narrow
quarters. tossed by the sea, fed on
ships fare. the men long for the land
with its fruit and forage. The joy of
thc landing is quickly exchanged for
the sense Of insecurity and the fear of
sudden attack.
day or so after Carmel, Elijah was
at BCerShCba. Even there he was fun
of alarm. lie fled into deeper solitude.
The farther he fled the lower sank his
spirits. See his awful CONSERVATION
in his Inconsistency with regard to life.
He had run away TO save 1t. Under
the juniper tree he begged it might be
taken. SO low is Elijah fallen! Nc :
for the second stage of TIE journey.
The prophC is broke down. He
thinks the end has come. See how God
cheered His disconsolate servant
First He took care of Eliiah's body.
The prophet was fatigued, famished,
spent. Natural law carrying out di-
vine purpose caused the pining and
signing to bring slumber.
The discouraged Christian can often
do worse than lie down and take a nap.
When the world is too much for us,
when the strain and worry seem as if
they would never cease. when the dis
appointment is bitter when the letter
comes destroying our hopes, when be-
reavement leaves the heart desolate,
heaven guides the afflicted soul to calm
t''ih ftlNt, tllNt p'tNt VI
$50 He giveth His beloved sleep"
Next God fed Elijah. "An angel
touched him and said: Arise and eat
And behold there was at his head
cake baken on the Goals and a cruise of
water" Our depression has at times
an intensely physical basis. Our Lord
fed the multitude before He instructed
them. A full stomach is not always
the sigh of pure heart, but who
doubts that if we could give one good
meal TO the wretchcd creatures infest-
ing the streets of cities we might begin
In some of them the salvation from sin.
Elijah slept and ate, and slept and
ate again. The rcpOse was natural, tho
repast supernatural, but the lessons are
universally applicable. Gained and
strengthened his holy spirit reasserted
itself. He would see Horeb the Mount
of God.
"And he came thither, unto cave"
Notice the parallel with Moses. These
two who were united in a post-mortem
communion OH the Mount of Transtig-
uraton, We're in life granted the most
inspiring visions Of Jehovah in per-
haps the same identical spot. How of
ttll III tIc oltl ltStuilehL uii'i III th'
New, as well as in the later history Of
II redemption. we are reminded that God
grants additional favors and merces
in the place where prayer is wont to be
made. Places in the lapse of time ac-
qulre redoubled sanctity. This church
was rebuilt over the spot where God
had for many years listened to His peo-
pies prayers and praises. We see 1t
again this morning after an interval OF
several months, changed, but the same;
not yet in the final form of beauty
which we shall see in few weeks and
which will justify unusual services and
unusual gladness, but already brighter
and fairer than we have ever seen it