Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1908-07-08

3ayinG mat the prophet Elisha va
dying and that he wished to see hin.
there swept over him q realization Of
what the nation would lose with the
passing away of this man OF God. He
had had a contempt for his religion.
but not for the stirring part he had
played In the history OF the nation
from before his grandfather Jehu's
time down to the present The story
OF how the prophet Elisha hal sent
the word and the amounting oil xhich
had encouraged Jehu to seize tlse k.ug.
dom from the house Of Ahab had osen
told him over and over again by ais
grandfather as he had stood at his tnee
when a boz. and now as word cxme
that the prophet was dying there
swept over him a sense of loss 20 the
nation which almost made him treu<
Bile. Thus moved, he had gone,
What a scene and experiep ce tina,
had been. With the memory o. the
| death Of his own father fress In his
mind he had gone to the death els am
Der or the prophet expecting 30 End
again that gloom. that despair. that
hopelessness which he had son.yAaw
come to think was always part OF the
death scene, but instead he had ft,und
cheer instead OF gloom. expectancy
and hopefulness instead OF despair ard
| hopelessness. Physical weakness theis
was, and 1t was plain to see that thu
sands of life were running out fast,
put there was moral strength there
which told only too plainly that that
| Meeting life was conscious of beinR
linked with the eternal and that
though earth was passing the things
which the life had stood for would 20
| on after he had passed away.
King Joash had run over In his mind
! the comforting things he would try
to say, but as he had entered the
| room where the old prophet lay and
| had felt those quiet, earnest. search
ing eyes fixed upon his face. he had
forgotten everything except that here
was a man who rose above physical
weakness, and in that instant there
came to his mind faint realization
that 1t was the character behind a
man after all, and not physical
strength or worldly position, which
| counted.
lntuitively he felt that the true
man stood revealed in the presence
| or death, and in that first moment
IN the prophets chamber there swept
over MIN the contrast between his own
rather. fearful and helpless, and I'm ter.
ror OF death, and this man of God
who. Just on the borderland of eter.
nity' gave no sign that he feared for
himself, but rather that he was NOT
only master OF himself but of others.
| There was that quiet serenity and con.
| hdence which betokened a mysterious
source of power, and instead of the
King commiserating with a dying sub
Ject and speaking words of comfort.
he rather felt like a child I'm the pres
ence OF its teacher receiving instruc.
| ton.
To relieve the tenseness of that mo-
ment, he burst out with the cry:
%, my father. my father, the char.
lot OF Israel and the horsemen
thereof"
And throwing himself by the side
OF the couch he gave way to weeping.
He wept, but not for the prophet,
| as he had expected, but for himself
| There came to his heart a sense of
personal weakness and need which he
had never felt before. but which the
morally weak, stripped OF superficial
| sef-confidence, always feel i'm the
presence of goodness and moral
strength. He remembered afterwards
thinking that If the coming into the
presence of the prophet of God could
AFFECT him so, what would IL be To
come into the very presence of God?
But that it was not time for idle
tears was evident, for in commanding
voice the prophet babe him rise. and.
| pointing to the corner of the chamber
said, sternly:
Take the bow and arrows"
Submissive as a child obeying it's
parent, the king reached forth and
took the bow and arrows I'm his hands.
and turned and looked at the prophet
with wondering eyes
Put thine hand upon the bow"
He did so. and the prophet raising
! himself upon his elbow, laid his griz.
zled old hand upon that OF the young.
er man, and then with sudden earn.
est intensity he exclaimed:
open the window eastward and
shoot"
In mechanical sort of way the
king shot, little sensing the signifi.
canoe of the act until the prophet
cried, eagerly:
THE arrow Of the Lords deliver.
ance. and the arrow OF deliverance
from Syria; for thou shalt smite the
Syrians in Aphek till thou hast con.
sumed them"
The prophet eyed him with
searching look and seemed disappoint.
ed that the king did not manifest an
enthusiastic spirit, for almost impa,
tiently he exclaimed:
Take the arrows and smite upon
/ tho ground"