most blessed surprises of that day will be that expressed in the wondering words, "Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee, or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?"

What sunshine and joy must have burst upon the heart of Jehoram's servant when he heard the reply, "The word of Jehovah is with him!" A ray of hope also broke upon the soul of Jehoshaphat. Jehoram followed him moodily to the prophet; the king of Edom wonderingly. At any rate all three are now in earnest, and Elisha, no doubt directed of the Lord, is in waiting for his strange visitors.

"And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: and they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burntoffering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land."-2 KINGS iii. 13-27.

IT was, indeed, an intense relief to find Elisha in the immediate neighbourhood of the camp. We could have scarcely expected him there-as little as we look for God's

mercies to follow so closely, as they do, upon His judgments. Yet Elisha was there, and the word of Jehovah was with him. And when troubles are around, and we see no way of escape, when our consciences condemn us for backsliding from the Lord, what comfort to discover that the precious Word of God is still near us, with its message of pity and forgiveness, ever meeting our wants.

And Elisha, what has he to say for God and to these three monarchs? Before him stands the proud, idolatrous son of Ahab and Jezebel, the abashed, pious Jehoshaphat, and the wondering, perplexed deputy-ruler of Edom. Of this one thing we may feel certain, that there will be no compromise on the part of the prophet. He will preach to this select audience of three kings as he would to the humblest in the land. He will not study what may conciliate them. There are those who, even when they speak the truth, speak it almost as if it were a falsehood, or else with bated breath and humble demeanour, as if, so far as God's truth is concerned, we were not all equal. Surely there cannot be a different method of preaching to rich and to poor sinners. If we believe that our message is sent by God, then let us speak it fearlessly; if otherwise, let us forbear. Nor let the truth be put before others in such manner, as that what small amount of it is doled out can scarcely be disentangled from the misleading platitudes with which it is overlaid and enwrapped. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech"-before Felix, before Festus, before King Agrippa, as well as before every one, be he Jew or Gentile.

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The king of Israel and the prophet of Israel are apparently here meeting for the first time. How will each bear himself? In accordance with his true character. Before anything could be done, it was indeed necessary that matters should be placed on their proper footing. Elisha was not a

magician to do or to foretell miracles at pleasure, in order to suit a king's caprice or necessity. God delivers His own people. If the wicked share in the blessing, let them not imagine that there is no difference between good and evil. The king of Israel was not only the descendant, but the spiritual representative of that Ahab who daily caused Israel to sin. "What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother." A most truthful and appropriate address. If your religion has been real, let it help you to the end; if otherwise, why hold by it? It is noteworthy that in trouble and in the hour of death men often change their views on religion. What formerly they had denounced as fanaticism, they now seek as of truth and importance. So far from resorting to the Word of God, they had derided it, while now they demand its consolations. If religion is to be called in for our deathbed, why set it aside in the time of our health? Or, again, if men would shrink from the thought of being surrounded, in the hour of their supreme need, by all the pomp of their worldliness, why give their soul and strength to it, while the outgoings of the heart are prompted by choice, not by fear? Oh, that it may never be too late! God forbid, that we should narrow the exercise of those mercies which we all so much need. Yet there may be a time when it may be too late, when only gloom, thickening into outer darkness, will close around.

Such, then, was the bearing of Elisha, not defiant, but truthful; not despising dignities, but faithful to his trust, and conscious of a higher dignity than this world could confer. And what was the bearing of Israel's king? If at any time, it is under the pressure of adversity that the real character of a man appears. He is not confident nor boastful now; only abject fear and utter misapprehension of

the real state of things characterise the reply of the king of Israel. "Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab." It is as if he said to the prophet: You are concerned in the matter, for Jehovah your God hath entangled us as in a net, in consequence of the old controversy between you and our house. In truth, the words of Jehoram were substantially the same as those with which Ahab had, under somewhat similar circumstances, met Elijah: "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" For, it is the custom of a certain class to represent what is really rebellion against the Lord as merely a difference of opinion for which men cannot be held responsible before God. It is a question of differences between individuals, not of sin against God. They are as religious and as good as others; only that on certain subjects they hold different views. We say that such things are acts of worldliness, and incompatible with true religion, which requires a new heart and a right spirit. They differ from usthat is all; and they trust they are as good and religious people as others, though they may not take such exaggerated and unpractical views as those who profess more. But, after all, how are we to decide such questions? Comparing ourselves with ourselves, we are indeed foolish. The all-important test in this, as in other matters, is, What saith the word of the Lord?

At first sight, it may seem strange that Jehoram should have acknowledged Jehovah at all, or owned His power. But then the Jewish idolaters of those days did not deny the being of Jehovah. Only, instead of serving Him as the Living and True God, they recognised Him as only a national deity, by whose side other national deities, such as those of Zidon or Philistia, existed. Accordingly, it was rather a trial of power between them, and, perhaps, between their prophets, which of these deities would prove the strongest.