Homilist 1 Kings 19:9-12 And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What do you here… This strange narrative serves to illustrate the following things: — I. THE FALLIBILITY OF AN EMINENT SAINT. Elijah was undoubtedly an eminent saint. His teachings, miracles, prayers, and the testimony of God's word show this. But he was not perfect, and the fact of his fleeing to the cave shows this. Why did he retire to solitude? 1. The want of success. We are not judges of success. Nor is success the right rule of life. 2. The corruptness of his times. The very reason why he of all men should be out in public life. 3. The fear of persecution. II. THE MINUTENESS OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE. God knew where he was. 1. God knows everything about the individual man. Jacob at Bethel, Jonah on the sea, Moses at Midian, John in Patmos, and now Elijah in the cave. 2. God demands from individual man an account of himself. "What doest thou here?"(1) Thou art a reasonable being, and must have reasons for thy conduct. What are they? (2) Thou art a moral being, and art responsible to Me for thy conduct. Providence has to do with the most minute as well as the most vast. III. THE ORDER OF DIVINE PROCEDURE. This terrible manifestation came first. Then came the "still small voice." 1. This is a type of God's dispensations with the race at large. First came the terrible, and then the more pacific. Judaism is the terrible — Christianity the mild. "Ye are not come to the mount that might be touched," etc. 2. This is a type of God's dealing with His people individually. There must first come the storm, earthquake, and fire of moral conviction; and then the "still small voice," etc. IV. THE FORCE OF PACIFIC AGENCY. 1. The pacific is most manifestly Divine. "The Lord was not in the wind," etc. But He was in the "still small voice." God is a "God of peace." Nature shows this. Storms are exceptions. The history of Christ shows this. "He did not cause His voice to be heard," etc. The influence of His Gospel shows this. 2. The pacific is most morally effective. Neither the thunders of civil law, nor the fulminations of a heartless declaimer, can touch the soul. Nothing can travel to her seat but the gentle message of the truth in love. "Thy gentleness hath made me great." (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? |
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