PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. V
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 106,040 words · 147 reading sections
Part 121
It is always well to wait patiently, and allow evil and error to find their own level. Time will surely bring the truth to light; and let error array itself ever so carefully in the venerable robes of antiquity, yet will time strip it of these robes, and display it in all its naked deformity. Elijah felt this, and ther…
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Now in Elijah the Tishbite we have an example of the power of faith in the promise of God at a time when everything around him seemed to stand opposed. It enabled him to rise above all the evil and sorrow around him, and to build an altar of twelve stones with as much holy confidence and unclouded assurance as did Josh…
737 wordsSECTION 123THE PROPHET ON MOUNT HOREB
There are few who have taken a prominent place in the history of the Church of God whose course has not been marked, in a special manner, by vicissitude: of such, as of "those that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters," it may be said, "They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the dep…
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Such is the spirit and tendency of the age, and all that is needed is that a Jezebel spirit should arise and lead men on along the path upon which they have manifestly entered--a path which will most assuredly end in the blackness of darkness forever. Solemn, most solemn thought! Again I say, "He that hath ears to ear,…
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How different is the spirit breathed in the following words of the apostle Paul! "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is _far better_. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is _more needful for you_. And having this confidence, I know that _I shall abide and continue …
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Those who thus retreat prove that it was not with God and His eternal truth, but with man and his circumstances, that they had to do. If God's truth be the basis of our acting, we shall not be affected by man's mutability and failure. Man may, and assuredly will, fail in his very best and purest efforts to carry out th…
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The Christian must make up his mind to meet with nothing but trial and disappointment here. We may often dream of rest and satisfaction in some condition or other here; but it is only a dream. Elijah had no doubt hoped to see a mighty moral change brought about by his instrumentality; and instead of that, his life was …
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Now, the sovereign remedy for both these maladies, that is, for unbelief in important truth and disappointment as regards our ministry, is to keep the eye simply and steadily fixed on Jesus. If, for example, we see men professing those two grand and all-important truths--the unity of the Church, and the abiding presenc…
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Thus the prophet was taught that he must be satisfied to be an agent, and one of many. He might have thought that all the work was to have been done by him. Coming, as he did, with all the terrible vehemence of the mighty wind, he supposed he should have carried off every obstacle, and brought the nation back to its pl…
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All this is most instructive. The silence of Elijah, after he hears of the seven thousand, is most remarkable. He had learnt a lesson which mount Carmel could not teach him--a lesson which neither Zarephath nor Cherith had taught him. In these places he had learnt much about God and His truth, but on Horeb he had learn…
676 wordsSECTION 131THE PROPHET'S RAPTURE
From the moment that Elijah had cast his mantle upon the shoulders of Elisha we may consider his prophetic career as almost ended. He delivered a message or two, as has already been noticed; but as regards his ministerial connection with Israel, it may be looked upon as closed from the moment that Elisha the son of Sha…
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Bethel, therefore, was a spot of deep interest to the heart of an Israelite. But alas, it had become polluted! Jeroboam's calf had effectually obliterated the sacred principles of truth taught by Jacob's ladder. The latter conducted the spirit from earth to heaven--it led upward and onward; upward to God's eternal purp…
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Through all the above places, then, our prophet passed in the energy and elevation of a heavenly man. His destination lay beyond and above them all. He would seek to leave Elisha behind him while he pressed onward along his heavenward path; but the latter clings to him, and accompanies him as it were to the very portal…
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But let us observe the path pursued by our prophet as he journeyed toward the scene of his rapture. He retraced the path of the camp of old. Israel had journeyed from Jordan to Jericho, but Elijah journeyed from Jericho to Jordan. In other words, as Jordan was that which separated the wilderness from the land, the prop…
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Such, then, was the end of our prophet's course. A glorious end! Who would not say, "Let my last end be like his"? Blessed be the love that so arranged it that _a man_ should be thus honored! Blessed be the grace that led the Son of God--the Prince of life--to stoop from His glory in the heavens and submit to a shamefu…
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How profoundly interesting, therefore, was the subject of converse upon the mount of transfiguration, in the midst of the excellent glory! It was interesting to earth, interesting to heaven, interesting to the wide creation of God. It forms the centre of all the divine purposes and counsels; it harmonizes all the divin…
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How long, O Lord? May this be the continual inquiry of our hearts as we pass along to that rest and glory which lie before us. "Time is short," and eternity, with all its divine and glorious realities, is at hand. May we live in the light of it! May we ever be able, by the eye of faith, to see the bright beams of the m…
287 wordsSECTION 138CONCLUDING REMARKS
Although, in the character of his ministry, Elijah the Tishbite much resembled John the Baptist, as has been already observed, yet looking at him personally, and considering his unearthly and pilgrim path, and specially his rapture to heaven, he stands before us as a remarkable illustration of the Church, or heavenly f…
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Then, again, in the ministry of John the Baptist we observe the same thing. We have the sum and substance of his testimony in these words: "Repent, for _the kingdom_ is at hand." He came as the great precursor of the Messiah, and sought to produce moral order amongst all ranks. He told the people what they were to do i…
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We infer, therefore, that the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles by the mouth of Peter was not the development of _the great mystery_ of the Church, but simply the opening of _the kingdom_, agreeably to the words of the prophets, and also to Peter's commission in Matt. xvi.: "And I say unto thee that thou art Pete…
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To him was committed what he emphatically styles _his_ gospel. But, as has been remarked, it was a question whether things were ripe as regards the divine counsels respecting Israel, for the public development of this gospel. The apostle felt this to be a momentous question: hence his caution in communicating it _sever…
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If this be a sound view of the conduct of our apostle in the matter of the vow, etc., it places him before us in a most truly interesting point of view, and also brings out very distinctly the two features of his character, namely, as the participator in the divine affections towards Israel, and also as the depositary …
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[26] It is a thought full of interest, in connection with the subject before us, that Paul's voyage to Rome gives us the history of the Church as regards its earthly destinies. The vessel sets out in due order, as a compact and well regulated thing, framed to endure the violence of the stormy ocean over which it had to…
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And now let us see what this "mystery," this "gospel," this "salvation," really was, and wherein its peculiarity consisted. To understand this is of the utmost importance. What, therefore, was Paul's gospel? Was it a different method of justifying a sinner from that preached by the other apostles? No; by no means. Paul…
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[28] A letter has been put into my hand, from a dear and valued servant of Christ, from which I extract the following statements, which are well worthy of attention: "The Holy Ghost came down from heaven to form one body on the earth; 'for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.' This is the unity we are respo…
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To understand all this requires a larger measure of spirituality than is to be found with many Christians.[29] The question naturally arises in the mind of the inquirer after truth, "What is the most scriptural form of Church government?" "To what body of Christians should I attach myself?" The answer to such questions…
767 wordsSECTION 147C. H. M.
* * * * * Transcriber's note: Archaic spelling and variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained except in obvious cases of typographical error.…
21 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.