The farmer and mechanic., 1911-02-14
IN TIE RELIGIOUS WORLD
What Church Folk Are Think
ing kbont and Doing
WHEN 4 WOMAN CHASED fhoi III
The International sunday >citooi Ifee"'
for FEBRUARY Ie j, "Elijah> Flight ah'
Keturu" 1 King. IS:i-i9::l
nv VILLAS! +. ELLIS.

success DETECTION follows nara upon i"
ton. The day after Is wen uh'if.I uhf.a ,I.
proyerhial phrase: reaction comes altei a.
lion and in CORES pondins degree Inc SioI
Of Elijah, uhen he turned t;!! anu ii ~
from Queen Jezebel, squares WIN tht w
underStood laws Of psychology. nat tA'
man who had feartessIv defied King Ahap
and the four hundred and hltE pIlesi9
Of BaaI. and the whole back-Sldden ~,
tion Of Israel. should nee IKE :" tlIe,''
from a yvoman'S threats. is quite cohfFt-
Lansible Look in the next morning upo1,
the man who has made great speech, anu "
you will find him vowing to take TO ,ne
plough and never encumpef puplic Pi''-
form again.
Shall we therefore say that we belong
20 the goodly fellowship Of the prophets
when we are discouraged or shaH We
rather say that the prophets 1T times JOIN
the unloyely fellowship Of the blue funks
Because down heartcdness is common II IS
not therefore right. There Is IN man i ine
capacity to overcome natural tehdehcles.
Elijah was his worse and weaker sell Wheh
he went scooting over the desert hhe il
rock partridge He should have STAYED
and had it out with Jezehel to the pet,rI
ment Of the future history of Israel Inc
man who submits TO, or runs froIG. Il nag
ging wife is only multiplying troubles Tor
her, for himself and for the family: Ditn-
culties and dangers. little and big are
best met sqnarely front face.
The Men Who Give Up.
Happy is the man who has never sat
under Juniper tree and wished to die
The public prints tell Of il long list OF
snicides-and how many OF them are at
tributable to some .Jezebel. But they do
not record the far longer roll OF those
who would take the same route out OF
their troubles if their moral sense would
permit. Many Of these are the apparently
Successful and the leaders Of their fellows.
A preacher committed suicide not
long ago; "melancholia," form of tnsan-
ity, it was charitably called. those near TO
the facts understand il as Il case OF EllJah
juniD per tree over again.
A whole school of cheer up literature
has been brought into being by the days
epidemic Of despair. 1t has done good,
but the whole it is too thin. The mere
exhortation to a man to look the bright
side Of things when his eyes can find no
bright side is not going to transform
him. Nor will forced cheerfulneSs
suffice. A joke book is poor medicine for
a man whose soul IS nigh unto death.
Bairnly songs about sunshine will not do.
either
Two Cures for The EIues.
Elijah and all who follow in his train,
need several things. One is less self-cen- :
terednesS. There is i sense in which some
persons are given to overnuch introspec-
ton. "Weren't you nervouSI" his mother
asked little boy who had performed cred
itably in an entertainment mo, l was
too busy thinking about my part TO think
aud remember your work II is bad 60
take ones self too seriously. the persons
are uniformed and small visioued who cry
never was SORROW ike unto nv sorrow.
Probably that smiling man across the way
has plumbed depths Of grief YOU never
suspected. and is carrying a burden in
conceivable to you. When Elijah cried Il
even | only. am left" the Lord rebuked his
pious egotism by mentioning seven thou
sand who had never bowed the knee to
Raal fl
Another cure for discourag cement admin
istered TO Elijah was a reminder of the
omnipotence Of Jehovah Faith in God is
the best remedy for the blues yet discov
cred. Lonely? God is near Hungry G oG
has ministering angels even in the desert
places. Afraid? God has re-enforcements
which he has never yet called into play
Is some jeZebel i'll the place of power
Jehovah is on the throne OF heaven. Weary
God provides rest here and hereafter for
the disciple who does not grow panic
stricken or lose his faith. Incompetent!
God has never yet clearly called person
TO q work for which he has not provided
the equipment. DISCOURAGED PerhaDs tha,
IL really only the loss OF some wholesome
conceit. and now there will be room foI
saner thoughts Of Gods place and power
his greatness and glory. IN word when
In Wilderness and Mountain.
In extremities, the city man takes to the
city. the wilderness man to the wilderness
InStinctively, when he fed from JeZebel
Elijah turned to the wilderness, which is
nowhere very far from Palestine ON the
edge of the desert grows the needle yeC
juniper tree | have seen many large
sun. and have myself rested in their shade
The panlc-Stricken prophet lay down here
on the ground. for he commonly slept OF
the ground. or at best. upon the floor The
real simple life Is that of the deser
rover. Here. apart from men. In the spirit
stimulating Solitudes. the Lord miniStere(
TO his soul by giving him Il square meal
Many peSSlmlStIc persons think they ar,
''spiritual when they are only dySpeptic
they fatter themselves that their souls are
in ferment when really it is merely tha
their StOmachS are out of order. Fnougt
sleep, and Il lei>urely dinner will turn
more than one peSSimiSt into an optimiSt
After 4 quiet. re>tful time under the iuui
per tree EHlah was made fit for the Ions
desert trlp 10 Horeh. Sinai. | know
the Joy ne felt his own leg; carried hiI,
buoyantly over those flinty Solitudes
he very idea of g solitary walk to Sina
strikes horror into those of us who hay,
been debIlitated by our steam hea led civil
Eatlon. | confess TO having been of thoS
who attempted to diSSuade 4 pilgrim
Russian army officer whom met In or,
east of the Jordan. not far from Jaricbn