pr
The Commoner
VOL. 22, NO. 3
$
-kipr'fn'tVf
or; but WoJ can understand all that is nocosiary
to our salvation. Wo can wash in His blood and
bo clean. Wo can accept Him, follow Him and
enjoy tho abundant lifo which Ho revealed.
THE UNSEEN HOSTS OP RIGHT
By WILLTAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR FEB. 2G
(II Kings, C:8-17)
tflien tho king of Syria warred against lscaol,
and took counsel with his servants, saying, .In such
und such a place shall by my camp.
And tho man of God sent unto tho king of Israel,
saying. Bowaro that thou pass not such a place;
for thither tho Syrians aro coming down.
And tho king of Israel sent to tho place which
tho man of God told him and warned him of, and
saved himself there, not once nor twice.
Therefore tho heart of tho king of Syria was
soro troubled for this thing: and ho called his
sorvants, and eald unto them, Will yo not shew mo
which of us is for tho king of Israel?
And ono of his servants said, None, my lord", O
king:' but Elisha, tho prophet that is in Israel,
tolloth tho king of Israel tho words that thou
speakost In thy bedchamber.
And ho said, Go and spy whore ho Is, that f may
send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying,
Behold, ho is in Dothan.
Thoroforo sent ho thither horses, and chariots,
and a great host: and they camo. by night, and
compassed the city about.
And when tho servant of ,tho man of God was
risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host, com
passed tho city both with horses and chariots. And
his servant said unto him, Alas, my master!, how
shall wo do?
And ho answered, Fear not: for .they that bo
with us aro moro than they that bo with thorn.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee,
open his oyos, that ho may see. And tho Lord
opened tho eyes of tho young man; and ho saw:
and, behold, tho mountain was full of horses and
chariots of lire round about Elisha.
Today's Bibld Talk deals with, a notod incident
In the lifo of the prophet Elisha, again and again
described in tho Bible as "tho man of God."
But first a fow words about the fate of a faith
less servant.
Naaman, captain of tho .icing's', host, , and a
groat man in Syria, had been healed of leprosy
by Elisha. He had importuned his benefactor to
to accept the rich gifts which ho had brouglit
with him out of Syria, and Elisha had fetead
fastly. refused. , . i(.r f
BjUj whqn Naaman andl(hjs rej;lnuo,Md de
parted a little way, the plan came to Gehazi,
Elisha's servant, to turn to his own advantage
tho gratitude that tho Syrian captain felt toward
lite, master. Ho ran after Naaman and, making
.up a lie, represented the prophet as having re
considered his refusal to the extent of accepting
n talent of silver and two changes of raiment for
two sons of the prophets who had arrived unex
pectedly. Of course, Naaman was only too glad to com
ply with the request, supposedly from Elisha.
He gave Gehazi tho two changes of raiment, and
he, Urged upon him two talents of silver instead
o.f one.
When Gehazi returned, Elisha greeted him
with a question that showed ho knew what had
beon done, and then he called down upon Gehazi
and his posterity the leprosy of which Naaman
had beon healed. "And ho went out from his
presence a leper as white as snow."
LEPERS OF MODERN LIFE
The lesson of Gehazi is obvious. He who be
trays a trust brings harm not only to himself
but to the innocent as well. As no man can
live unto him self, so none can sin unto him
self. The business man who lies to gain an advan
tage ovor a competitor; tho banker who misap
propriates funds entrusted to his' keeping; the
public servant who uses tho people's confidence
in him to line his pockets with graft all are
Gohazis of modern lifo. And tho terrible pun
ishment that is theirs when," their sins at last
found out, they stand in the presence of those
they betrayed as ldpers white as snow!
And it canie to pass that the king of Syria
warring against Israel, discovered that all of his
plans became known to the king of Israel. When
ever Benhadad called his captains together and
plannod the campaign for tho next day, Elisha
would communicate the plans of tho enemy to
the Israolitish king, and with this knowledge ho
was able to escape from the traps sot for him.
Benhadad naturally concluded that there was
a traitor In his camp and called his servants
together that he might And out the guilty nartv
5P'Sf W, slants explained that Elisha was
ajilo to toll the kng of Israel even tho words
spoken in .the bedchamber of the king of Syria
' 2. B.oahadad started out to capture thd
prophet. He sent horses and chariots and a
4 i
great host; by night they encamped about the
city in which Elisha dwelt.
A MEMORABLE ANSWER
In tho morning Elisha's servant saw that the
city was surrounded and went in alarm to his
master with the question, "How shall wo do
Elisha answered with these memorable words,
"Foar not, for they that be with us are more
than they that be with them."
This is the faith that saves from fear. It is
the perfect trust that casteth out fear; it is the
secret of that courage which nothing can shake;
Elisha prayed that the eyes of his servant
might be opened. "And the Lord opened the
eyes of the young man; and he saw;" and, behold,
ho mountain was full of horses and chariots ,ot
Are round about Elisha." ,
This is just such a defense as David speaks
of in the thirty-fourth Psalm, "The Angel oftho
Lord encampeth round about them that fea,r
Him, and dellvereth them."
Elisha's servant had made his calculations on
tho basis of the things that wore visible his
were the estimates that are common to those
who lack faitli in God's justice, in God's power,
and in God's willingness to succor those who
fight His battles.
Pharaoh was as blind as Elisha's servant; it
never occurred to him that thoro was any way
of escape for the Children of Israel. The Red
Sea was before them and the Egyptians were
following, with horses and chariots., ,
To every eye except the eye of faith the end
seemed near for GodJs chosen people, ljiit
Pharaoh was ignorant of tho plans of Jehovah
so ignorant that his soldiers followed -the flee
ing Israelites when the sea opened for their
escape. Destiny was not disclosed until Moses
and his followers had reached the farther shore
and the waves closed over their pursuers.
THE UNSEEN HOSTS OF .RIGHT
Time and again that which" seemed to be des
tiny has been turned into disaster, and that
which looked like defeat has been converted in
to victory by some unexpected happening. A
storm scatters the Spanish. Armada and the his
tory of Europe is changed fox centuries; a sunk
en road at Waterloo turns the tide of battle and
Napoleon goes to St.. Helena instead of becom
ing the military master of tho world.
Hero is an important less'on of our Talk un
seen hosts fight On the side of righteousness;
God's invisible army waits in reserve to bring
victory to His side.
Not in great crises in history only, but every
day and in every life, faith can, in man's ex
tremity, summon light and reinforcements from
the Almighty's exhaustless storehouse.
"Faith in the wisdom of doing right" is a
practical virtue. It 'is this faith that leads God's
servants to attempt the seemingly impossible;
they rely upon infinite wisdom, love and power.
That is why one with God shall chase a thou
sand and two put ten thousand to flight.
We 'are traveling toward the dawn when we
walk in God's way. He is our pillar of cloud
by day and our pillar of firo by night. He gives
us strength for every hour of need.
"THOU SHALT NOT SMITE THEM"
Elisha prayed that the Syrian army, sent to
take him for betraying Benhadad's moyements to
the king of Israel, might be smitten with blind
ness and, his prayer being answered, he went
among the troops and offered to lead them to
the man whom they were seeking.
They followed him until they were in Samaria,
the capital of Israel. Then their eyes were
opened and they found that they were sur
rounded by tho enemy's army.
Israel's king, elated at tho success of Elisha's
ruse, wanted to kill the Syrians. "My father
shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?" he
eagerly asked. Note the answer of the prophet-
"Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldest thou
smite those whom thou hast taken with thv
sword and with thy bow? Sot bread and wa'ter
before them, that they may eat and drink and
go to their master."- '
He made "great provision" for them and sent
them away indebted to him for their lives as
well as for food and drink. 3
-WS3S V2sr,3& ttffii,SK!
iaSndloheibs?aned.!"0 am D "
Solomon put self-restraint above nilhtirv
aoWevemontB "Ho that is slow to anger is bet
tor than the mighty; and he that rSleth hfe
spirit than he that taketh a city." The woriS
never needed more than It does today the mirrJ
wUh which Elisha conquered the Lemies of
THE ONLY FOUNDATION FOR PEACE
If the king had been permitted to carry on f
his plans of slaughter, there would have been
retaliation and retaliation in return, and so n
generation after generation. The only wav f
put an end to war is to invoke tho spirit iw
Elisha manifested, the spirit that Christ exemnii
11 ed the only spirit that can insure peace
It is not a question of punishing the tins nf
the past; there has been sin enough to justify
any amount of punishment. But this story show
that the security of the future depends upon
change in the spirit of the world, and that
change must begin with the substitution of love
for hatred. .
Friendship and co-operation .are the only
foundations upon, which universal and perpetual
peace can reBt'.
The old inethpd ah eye for an eye has been
tried and found wanting'.
The method that the prophet of God employed
nearly 3,000 years ago the1 method that Christ
taught in His life is the only one for today
He proclaimed it from the cross when He prayed
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do."
THE POWER OF REPENTANCE
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR MARCH 5
(Jonah 111:1-10.)
And tho word of the Lord camo unto Jonah tho
second time, saying.
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and
preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, accord
ing to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an
exceeding great city of threo days' journey.
And Jonah began to enter into tho city a day's
journqy, and ho cried, and said, Yet forty days,
and Nineveh .shall be overthrown.
So thd people of Nineveh belioved God, and pro
claimed, a fast, and nut on sackcloth, from tho
greatest of them even to the least of them.
;For word camo Unto tho king of Nineveh, and
lie ardse from his throne, and hq laid his robo
f torn him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and
sat In ashes.'
And lie caused it- to be proclaimed and published
through Nineveh by tho d,ecreo of the king and his
'nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd
nor flock; taste anything: let them not feed, nor
drink water: ' .
But let man and beast bo covered with sackcloth,
and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn
every one. from his evil way, and from the violence
that is In their hands.
Who can tell If God will turn and repent, and
turn, away from His fierce anger,, that we perish not?
And God saw their works,, that they turned from
their evil way; and God repented of tho evil, that
IIo had said that Ho would do' unto them; and Ho
did it not.
Who is the first missionary of .whom tho Biblo
gives us an account?
Jonah; and, like all Bible biographies, his
sets forth both his virtues and his faults.
The story, contained in the four short chap
ters of the Book of Jonah, begins with, "Now
the word of the Lord came unto Jonah tho son
of Amittai, saying, 'Arise go to Nineveh, that
great city, and cry against it; for their wicked
ness is come up before me.' "
But Jonah, instead of obeying the call, fled
from the presence of the Lord, and at Joppa
took ship for Tarshish. There follows the ac
count of the storm sent by the Lord, "so that
the ship was like to be broken;" the fear that
came upon the sailors; the casting of lots, and
the selection of Jonah as the one to blame for
tho tempest.
It must be said to. Jonah's credit that in tho
hour of trial his conscience resumed command.
He admitted his sin and was willing to he cast
into the sea. The sailors hesitated, but Anally
choosing between the sacrifice of Jonah and
their own safety, cast him overboard.
THE BIBLE'S MOST DISCUSSED VERSE
Then follows the one verso in all the Biblo
most frequently quoted by tyiose who. reject tho
miracles recorded in the Bible. If there is one
miracle at which the skeptics scoff, it is tho
miracle that saved Jonah. .
"Now the Lord had pr.epared a great fish to
swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the bony
of the fish three days and three nights."
Thus the first chapter of Jonah's biograpny
ends. .
"Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his Goa
out of the fish's bellyV' Thus the second chap
ter, which gives his prayer, begins; and it con
cludes with this verse: . ,f
"And the Lord spake unto the fish, and u
vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Tho texts of our Talks so far this year have
contained a record of numerous miracles, anu
the rejection of ono is hardly possible except
upon grounds that would lead to the rejocuo"
of all. , Acceptance ,of some of these miraciw
requires a much stronger faith than is necessary
4&
- ...
..tl-W. it.
