Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel.
Elijah’s creed
Let usconsider the creed of this “loftiest, sternest spirit of the true faith,” as Dean Stanley called him. We may glean its articles from that prayer made under circumstances which would have tried the soul even of a sterner man than he. Three things may be read in this prayer:
1. A formula--“Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel.”
2. A personal relation between God and the prophet--“Let it” be known this day that I am Thy servant.
3. The fulfilment of a Divine purpose through the deeds of the man--“And that I have done all these things at Thy word.” Taking the prayer itself as a creed, we see embodied in it the formal, the personal, and the practical elements. Notice, first, that the prophet used a formula to express the foundation of his belief. He may have done it unconsciously, full of the idea for which it had stood now six hundred years. Had he not read it in the Law, heard it from the lips of priest and rabbi, and himself used it times without number? No one supposes that the prophet used the formula lightly or ignorantly. In this we might set him in contrast with ourselves. But no creed is complete which does not involve a personal relation between him who utters it and God. So, in this prayer, the relation between God asLord and Elijah as prophet is clearly drawn. God was invoked to prove this very thing. As a servant, Elijah had taken his life in his hand long before. A man tells you he believes in God. Ask him what essential change of character would be produced by his parting with his belief. His servantship had already been proved by his implicit obedience to every command of God. Now he hid by the brook Cherith, and now tarried at Zarephath. A further element of faith involved in this formal supplication is that of co-operative work. In and through His servant God is fulfilling His purposes; “Let it be known that I have done all these things at Thy word.” We are not, of course, to make the Lord responsible for everything a good man does. “A perfect trust” does not shield the human agent from the just charge of misdemeanours. Every servant of God does the will of God. He starts or sustains a tendency, works destruction here, rescues life there, goes to the wilderness, returns to the town, is silent now, again thunders forth, as the Spirit wills, to bring to pass the true conception of God working in the world, without ceasing, to establish and maintain righteousness. So the war goes on, and will go on until the whole earth bows down before Him. Now, all this is made extremely simple in the prayer of the prophet: “God is. God has a servant in me. God through me works His will.” Let all men believe this, let their belief take hold of their life as it took hold of Elijah’s, so that not to believe is death, and a new earth is in process, and the universal reign of Jehovah is visibly begun.
What have we more than had Elijah?
1. We have a new insight of the personality of God. Did not Elijah believe in God as a Person? We must insist that he did. But our vision is clearer. He felt the power of the Person in the “still, small voice.” That was his gospel. We know it in the conquering soul of the Christ. We behold the glory of the Divine Personality, and through Him know ourselves as individual members of the Divine household.
2. Again, we realise a new order of mercy. Once there was the relentless call for sacrifice. Elijah was an avenger. He could slay hundreds in one act. It would have been impossible for him to conceive of avenging justice turned into mercy. We, on the other hand, hear a voice pleading for infinitely worse offenders, “Father, forgive them.” The Divine expiation is sufficient to cover every sinner. It is ours to make the word of deliverance ring around the world, “Come unto Me,” and be free from condemnation.
3. Once more, the duty of every man is now more clear than it could have been in Elijah’s day. Can any one, it may be asked, understand his duty more perfectly than did the prophet? Still, duty with us takes on the nature of universality and of privilege. (C. R. Seymour.)
Let it be known that I have done all these things at Thy word.
Elijah’s plea
I. A firm ground for prayer.
1. You are a minister of God, or a worker in the cause of Christ, and you go forth and preach the Gospel with many tears and prayers, and you continue to use all means, such as Christ has ordained: do you say to yourself, “May I expect to have fruit of all this?” Of course you may. You are not sent on a frivolous errand “you are not bidden to sow dead seed that will never spring up. But when that anxiety weighs heavily upon your heart, go you to the mercy-seat with this as one of your arguments, “Lord, I have done according to Thy word.”
2. Next, I would apply this teaching to a whole church. I am afraid many churches of Christ are not prospering. The congregations are thin, the church is diminishing, the prayer-meeting scantily attended, spiritual life low. If I can conceive of church in such a condition which, nevertheless, can say to God, “We have done all these things at Thy word,” I should expect to see that church soon revived in answer to prayer. The reason why some churches do not prosper is, because they have not done according to God’s word.
3. The same principle may be applied also to any individual believers who are in trouble through having done right.
4. I would like to apply this principle to the seeking sinner.
II. Self-examination as to whether or not you have done all these things at God’s word.
1. Let every worker here who has not been successful answer this question--Have you done all these things at God’s word?
2. Did you preach it rightly? That is to say, did you state it affectionately, earnestly, clearly, plainly?
3. And another question--Has there been an example to back your teaching?(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Whom to please
Ona very cold night a gate-keeper at a railway depot demanded that each passenger show his ticket. Several bitterly complained of the delay and inconvenience. “You are a very unpopular man to-night,” said a spectator. “I only care to be popular with one man,” he replied, “and that is the superintendent.” In the same way Christians should take care that their actions are pleasing to God, and if they have to displease man, they must remember that “we ought to obey God rather than men.”
Obeying implicitly
“I have stood,” said Mr. Scott, “on the deck of a ship while she was toiling up-stream, with wind and water against her, and I have gone up to the man at the wheel, and said, ‘Jack, why don’t you ease her off a point or two? You see how it would relieve her.’ But the answer was, ‘No, I can’t luff; that is the point of the compass the captain gave me, and I must keep her to it.’ ‘But, man,’ I remonstrated, ‘if you keep her as she is, soon the bulwarks will be stove in, and there is every chance that under this fearful strain she may spring a leak.’ ‘That is none of my business; it is the captain’s look out. All I have to do is to obey his orders,’ was the man’s answer. The captain, however, understood his business, and we arrived safe in harbour. Sometimes, if we do exactly as Christ commands, it appears as if our business would be ruined, our reputation lost--as if, indeed, we should be totally wrecked. That, however, is the captain’s look out. All we have to do is to implicitly obey.”
