ELISHA AT DOTHAN.

(2 Kings vi:8-23.)

I. The Analysis.

1. The Perplexity and Wrath of the King (verses 8-13). —The world is often puzzled by the deliverances of the Lord's people. Be sure back of the event is ever the hand of God.

2. The Unseen Resources of the Saints (verses 14-17). —See ''The Heart of the Lesson."

3. The Power of God and the Prayer of Faith (verses 18-21).—Elisha called upon the unseen God and the answer came.

4. The Pity of the Saintly Heart (verses 21-23).

II. The Heart of the Lesson.

The unseen, but none the less real, resources of the man of God—that, obviously, is at the core of things here. It is a timely lesson. Never before in the history of the church have the forces of anti-supernaturalism been so numerous, never before have their assaults at every point been so determined and continuous.

Probably the projection into the thought of the world of the hypothesis of evolution began the battle; probably this hypothesis is back of every assault. It seemed to eliminate God, if not as the remote first Cause, at least from every succeeding step of causation in the universe. Then the whole ground of supernaturalism became a battlefield. Miracle was declared to be a scientific absurdity; the inspiration and authority of the Bible were first questioned, then denied, and now, as Dale of Birmingham predicted thirty years ago, the storm is gathering ''above one sacred Head," in the philosophic evaporation into nothingness of the virgin birth of our Lord, and the denial of His physical resurrection.

With these negations as weapons of open and avowed adversaries of supernaturalism we have been long familiar— the peril of to-day is that those weapons are in the hands of avowed friends.

And yet it remains true that Christianity is essentially supernatural, or else it is false. Paul's triumphant challenge cannot be eliminated from Christianity without destroying it. "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Nay, he makes the whole system to hinge, not upon its ethical beauty, as is the present day fashion, but upon the physical fact of Christ's resurrection: "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in yours sins."

And the Christian ethic is as supernatural as the Gospel history. "Christianity," said an acute and not unfriendly critic, "is the impossible religion. No man can be as good as Christianity requires all men to be." And no truer thing was ever said if there are no supernatural powers encamped round about the believer. Christian character includes morality, but rises heaven high above it. Christian character is "love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," and not one of those graces is indigenous in the natural heart; they are all exotics. But the "mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire round about" the Christian. The whole power of God is round about and within him. He that is for us is ever and always more than they that be against us. Prayer is as practical a force as electricity or steam. The angels still live and still serve. The Holy Spirit has lost no whit of His power. God is still faithful who promised, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape. Christ still lives to make intercession for us, and is still able to keep to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. He is still touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and still able to succor us when tempted.