Scripture Verse

There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. 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. 2 Kings 2:11–14

Introduction

portrait
John Newton (1725–1807)

Words: John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­iv­er, 1779), Book 2, num­ber 19. Eli­sha’s man­tle.

Music: Bap­tism Pe­ter C. Lut­kin (1858–1931) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

Elisha, struck with grief and awe,
Cried, Ah! where now is Is­ra­el’s stay?
When he his hon­ored mas­ter saw
Borne by a fie­ry car away.

But while he looked a last adieu,
His man­tle, as it fell, he caught;
The Spir­it rest­ed on him too,
And eq­ual mi­ra­cles he wrought.

Where is Eli­jah’s God? he cried,
And with the man­tle smote the flood;
His word con­trolled the swell­ing tide,
Th’obe­dient wa­ters up­right stood.

The won­der work­ing Gos­pel, thus
From hand to hand, has been con­veyed
We have the man­tle still with us,
But where, O where, the Spir­it’s aid?

When Pe­ter first this man­tle waved,
How soon it melt­ed hearts of steel!
Sinners, by thou­sands, then were saved,
But now how few its vir­tues feel?

Where is Eli­jah’s God, the Lord,
Thine Is­ra­el’s hope, and joy, and boast!
Reveal Thine arm, con­firm Thy Word,
Give us ano­ther Pen­te­cost!

Assist Thy mes­sen­ger to speak,
And while he aims to lisp Thy truth,
The bonds of sin and Sa­tan break,
And pour Thy bless­ing on our youth.

For them we now ap­proach Thy throne,
Teach them to know and love Thy name,
Then shall Thy thank­ful people own
Elijah’s God is still the same.

illustration
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
Gustave Doré (1832–1883)