there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? "And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away. "And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. * * * "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 1 Kings, xix. 9—15; 18. THE slaughter is over by Kishon's dark stream, And the stern scene has passed as a terrible dream. But the banks are all gory, and purple the tide, For the blood of the victims its water has dyed; And there lie the bodies unsheltered and bare, For the beasts of the forest, and fowls of the air, Who hover around them, and search for their prey, With no hand to molest them, or scare them away. The prayer has been heard, breathed on Carmel's high mount, By Elijah the Tishbite, and lo! the deep fount Of Heaven is opened, and thick falls the shower, Restoring the verdure of foliage and flower; But alas! for man's frailty, the prophet has fled From the face of a woman, in cowardly dread. And afar in the desert his steps have been roaming, In the brightness of day, and by twilight's dim gloaming; He stood by a cave on the mount of the Lord, And awaited in slience the breath of His word. A wind rent the mountain, and brake the tall rock, In its fierce sweeping vengeance and furious shock; Loud rattled the thunder, and strong swept the blast, And tore up the deep-rooted trees as it past; And a great earthquake shook the firm ground where he stood, With its heaving convulsions; a bright fiery flood Fill'd the sky with its glow, as it roll'd through the air In a volume of flame, but the Lord was not there. Then a voice still and small struck the listen ing ear Of the prophet, "Elijah, what doest thou here?" F Thine altars are rent, and the land is bereft Of all the Lord's prophets, I only am left." Again the still voice in its melody stole, Like a calm flowing stream, through his passionate soul, And soothed the stern tumult that raged in his breast, As an infant is lulled to its peaceable rest. "Still, still have I left me a resolute few, Whose hearts have been faithful, unswerving, and true; Return to Damascus, no harm shall betide thee, Mine eye is upon thee, my Spirit shall guide thee." And forth from the desert Elijah must go, And strong in his weakness, he trusts in the AFFLICTION. "Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. Micah vi. 9. FATHER, I hear, and bless the hand That sends this grief to me; Nor would I ask for one drop less, It is Thy hand that deals the stroke, And freely pours a healing balm Into my wounded heart. |