The farmer and mechanic., 1911-02-28
BY William T. Ellis.

The man who dares and who for
gets himself in a great loyalty is
man to be implicitly trusted. This
morning there called upon me
grizzled Arab who wanted to serve as
cook on a long expedition I am
making through the scenes Of the
Sunday school lessons of the year. 1t
is a notoriously dangerous region, and
! asked him half-Jestingly, what he
would do if we were attacked by Be
douins. Il do not care for my life. I
stand by my master. The result is
with Allah The man spoke the
truth. as letters from friends whom he
had stood by in perilous places proved,
and of course l engaged him. From
Engdad to Damascus the man is
known for his fine loyalty; and hon
ors and rewards have been heaped
upon him by grateful employers
That is the style Of man Elijah was.
He had only one idea: Loyalty TO his
master True, his heart failed him
once, but that was largely the physl-
cal depression of an overstrained and
hungry man Mostly he fearleSsly con-
fronted Ahab and the priests Of Baal
and the degenerate hosts of Israel,
and the perils OF the wilderness with
unblanc face. He was brave SIM
ply because he was loyal. In his i'm
,nersion in the cause he forgot him
becoming great or heroic that / know.
Self lf-consciousness is the foe of cour-
age and bigness The triumphal entry
~into glory s for the persons who have
:. iinitless capacity for loyalty to
high duty.
The Man Who Outfaced Kings
The business of confronting kings
and a nation in their sins with the
judgments of Jehovah was no pleas
ant one. The Christian iconoclast
does not enjoy his task. The reform
er who must smite the evil as we'll as
erect the good has no delight in
making enemies. DO you suppose
that Eljan, Of whose sensitive spirit
We have at least one glimpse. was any
more Indifferent than other fine
grained men to the slanderous stories
that were told about him. and to the
constant persecution Of his enemies?
AS he rebuked Ahab and AhaZiah, it
no doubt required a special summon
ing of moral courage in each instance.
Probably he had that same lump in
his throat which comes to the best of
us as We try to say the necessarily
hard words of duty.
God send our day more Elijahs.
With all our elaborate excellent
schemes for reform, we have no need
pressing as the need for men.
Clever men, learned men, urbane and
cosmopolitan men we have in plenty;
but our need of needs is for men in
the grip of a passionate devotion to
The cause of God and righteousness.
Such will never lack for place or
pulpit
The Last Times.
Only those who have undergone a
great parting, one of those unspeak-
able experiences " hich rend the heart
can understand the sacredness OF tie
last things-the last walk, the last
words, the last glance Of the tear
allied eyes. Elijah had come to this
tender experience His summons to
q higher post had been received. The
promotion was acceptable to the
weary man: but before he went to
heaven he wanted a last look upon the
scenes associated with great events
III his life.
And he wanted to go alone. There
are times when the presence OF even
dear ones is an intrusion. In this last
tong walk through the land he hao
served, Elijah planned to have no
other company than his memories
and his comnunings with the Master
whose summons he had heard. Even
Elisha, his beloved disciple, who hau
ministered to him so atentiveiy ana
faithfully, should remain behind.
There are some passionate souls
Niioo, ioNc VIII HoN NC dCIiSA. =
devotion that moves heaven was thal
which the old men encountered in the
younger when he bade him remain
at Gjlgal. There may have been
been routine work for Elisha to do in
the school of the prophets there; but
there sometimes arise, once or twice
1t may be in q lifetime, occasions
which set aside all lesser obligations.
Such an hour had struck for the
young man who, long before had left
hls ploughing at Elijah's bidding, and
who now loved him with passionate
devotion as friend, teacher, master and
father. AS Jacob at Penie1 clung to
the angel, SO Elisha held fast to Elijah
and tramped in sympathetic silence
beside him as they covered the miles
TO Bethel. Here, too, and at Jericho,
the he