can we hope to obtain power with God and with man, and to prevail.

And now Elisha stood once more by the bank of Jordan, this time alone, about to make his first trial of the prophet's mantle. Shall it prove in his hands also the means of dividing the waters? There is a time in the history of each. of us when we make, as it were, the first trial of our faith; when for the first time we kneel down to plead the promises and to pray, believing that all which is written is literally true, that we are accepted in Christ and shall be heard for His sake. Shall the waters divide as we also strike them with the mantle of Elijah? Is He our God, or only the God of the departed prophet? But before we attempt the trial, a most important question has yet to be answered. Have we beheld the vision of the Lord, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof ? Do we know Him as our God in Christ, reigning, and encompassing His people? Oh that the God of Elijah would open our eyes in faith to behold the spiritual vision of Christ! Then shall we no longer stand "afar off," but "see Him as He is," behold His glory, and receive that double portion of His Spirit, even "grace for grace."

CHAPTER IV.

ELISHA AND THE FIFTY STRONG MEN.

"And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?"-2 KINGS ii. 14-18.

THE circumstances in which Elisha was left were, indeed, of peculiar difficulty. Although the vision vouchsafed was pledge of a double portion of Elijah's spirit, and the prophet's mantle had descended to him, yet he was alone, and without any special directions. No audible voice from heaven, no inward communication, indicated his path of duty. He was really cast upon his former general instructions, and his first act must be one of personal decision; or, as in the case of each of us, of personal faith. Perhaps the most trying moments in the life of Elisha were those in which he retraced the short distance from the place of Elijah's ascension till he reached the brink of Jordan. A whole life of faith was again to be summed up in one experiment of God's faithfulness. Once more he stood on the bank of the river. Only a miracle could open a way for him through its waters. He was now to put it to the test,

whether by an act of special interposition God would own. him as His prophet. He was also to put it to the trial, whether the mantle had divided the waters because it had been Elijah's, or whether its power depended neither on Elijah nor on any other man, however honoured, but on the ever-present help of that God, of Whose commission to His servant this mantle was the symbol. The truth to be exhibited for all time was, that prophetic or apostolic descent depended on the descent of prophetic or apostolic truth and commission. It was not merely as the mantle of Elijah, but as the symbol of God's presence, that it was now to divide the waters. We also must learn to trace our ministerial succession high up, higher even than to the Apostles we must trace it directly to Christ Himself. "He gave some Apostles and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." The true evidence of our ministerial commission lies in the attainment of its object, in "the perfecting of the saints," in "the work of the ministry," and in "the edifying of the body of Christ."

Most fully did Elisha realise this, and most ample evidence did he give that his prayer for a double measure of the Spirit had really been granted, when, in smiting the waters, he exclaimed, "Where is now the Lord God of Elijah?" He looked no longer to Elijah, but to Elijah's God, for help. and preparation. He had learned to distinguish between. the mere instrument and Him Who is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." We can almost imagine what feelings would agitate the heart of Elisha, as he was now to learn the reality of his ministry, as of power and of God. Alternately looking up to heaven and down into Jordan, he smote its waters. And, lo, obedient they part, and the prophet passes to the other side. What bearing on all his after-history must this event have had, and what encourage

ment must it have afforded him in all his labours and trials! He could never forget the assurance conveyed to him at the commencement of his ministry. He could now speak of the power of the Lord, not as of a theory or speculation, but as of experience and personal knowledge. There is a certitude flowing into the hearts of Christians from the experience of answered prayers, a strength derived by the soldier of Christ from a sense of the presence of his Captain, against which no amount of outward difficulties or seeming impossibilities can prevail. Literally, all things are possible to him that believeth. And herein lies the explanation of the practical character of the doctrine which we profess. A joyous Christian, or one who has experienced the help of his God, must be an undaunted labourer, and a fearless soldier of the Lord Jesus. But trembling hands can neither guide the plough nor handle the sword.

It has been well remarked that the last work of Elijah was also the first of Elisha, as if to indicate that the one took up the work precisely where the other had left it. Ministers change, but the work remains unchanged. None of us is really needed. Jehovah reigneth, and He will carry on His own work by whom and as He appointeth. We often mourn and fear when some great instrument for good has been removed, or when what we deemed needful for His cause is taken away. Surely the Lord still remaineth, and He is nigh to all that call upon Him.

The prophet has passed through the trial of his faith; he must now pass through that of his patience. Even in ordinary life not unfrequently one of our chief difficulties comes from the presence of unbidden, uncongenial, and unsuitable advisers. It were far better to be left alone than to have the aid obtruded of those who are morally incompetent to the task. This holds specially true in works of a

D

religious character, when intrusive zeal is too often prompted by want of deeper insight or experience. We distrust those who have a ready explanation and a ready remedy in every difficulty. Too often it is only the outcome of spiritual ignorance or of superficiality. Yet in the interest of peace it may be needful to bear with them. All this is painfully illustrated by the history about to follow.

On the other side Jordan, the sons of the prophets who had come "to view afar off" were in waiting for Elisha. No doubt they had most earnestly endeavoured to see what would happen. Yet it is evident that they had perceived but little of what had passed. They had not seen Elijah's ascent; but they had beheld the waters parting at the bidding of Elisha. And, impressed with the obvious meaning of this miracle, they came forward to bow before Elisha. "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." They had seen something of the working of Elisha, but nothing of that of Elisha's God; they recognised the spirit of Elijah, but they were ignorant of the Spirit of God. Yet even so it was well that they should have been made to recognise the superiority and the office of Elisha. There is a large class of persons who acknowledge only one claim on their respect that of power. They will own us if we possess, and reject us if we seem to lack it—and this quite irrespective of the source whence our power may be derived. Of this it is well to be aware, since both danger and help may come from it. Danger—since it may tempt to religious (not to say worldly) unscrupulousness in seeking to obtain this power by any means; yet, on the other hand, also help—since it may put at our disposal sources of indirect strength. When Israel goes out of Egypt in triumph, a "mixed multitude" will follow their steps. Under one aspect, however, the matter possesses a most serious present interest. Too often