resources, and human calculations! All things are possible to him that believeth. Given a work for God and living faith, and nothing is impossible or improbable; all things are certain. Do we believe this, and are we prepared to act upon it? Or shall we continue to live beneath our privileges, trusting in uncertain riches instead of the Living God?

The reasons which determined Elisha not to give the widow any directions about the disposal of the oil, leaving her to come back to him, are easily understood. To have foretold the full result might have interfered with the exercise of her simple faith. On the other hand, to make her tell the story of her deliverance would draw out her love and gratitude to the Giver of all. Nor does God ever give us directions for the morrow. He guides His people from day to day-surely, but not beyond the day. For duty and for trial, for faith and for hope, the day is ours; the morrow is His. The first direction of the prophet, "pay thy debt," is one which may not inappropriately be pressed on those who set light by everyday duties, as if beneath the scope of their religion. Yet, in these common engagements we are bound to take the Word of God for a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Having done this first needful duty, she and her children were to live of the rest. Here, then, was sudden relief, complete relief, lasting relief. Man might fail, but in any hour of future need, the same God Who had fulfilled His promise would be still near, and mighty to deliver her. This God is ours also, our Father in Christ Jesus. To Him we will go with our empty vessels, and in our every need. According to our faith it shall be unto us. The measure of our faith is alone the measure of His blessing; nay, He will do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."

CHAPTER X.

THE GUEST-CHAMBER AT SHUNEM.

"And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head! And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again, And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel."-2 KINGS iv. 8-25.

THE character of a nation is best learned, not from abstruse study, but by mingling with the people in their everyday life. How events have in the course of history moulded the national mind; how the constitution and laws under which

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they live have affected their relations and habits; and how the religion which they profess has influenced them, can only be seen in the homes and by the hearths of the people. we endeavour in this manner to make ourselves acquainted with Jewish life in those days, and, besides, to learn how the mission of the prophets affected, not only the nation at large, but families and individuals, we shall be able to form a better estimate of the polity which God had instituted, and of the religion which He had given.

The plain of Jezreel presented to the eye perhaps the richest tract in the land of Israel. The soil was particularly fertile and well cultivated. Although too often the battlefield of the nation, and drenched in blood, at the time of which we write it was smiling in peaceful beauty and laden with the treasures of husbandry. Far as the eye could reach spread rich fields, till the distant horizon was bounded on either side by the heights of Tabor and Carmel. About midway between these two points lay the quiet village of Shunem. If the people of that district could not boast of the wealth of commerce, their simple wants were easily supplied in their own homes; if they engaged not in extensive enterprise, they possessed in their fields and flocks all that they could wish. They were an exclusively agricultural population, whose primitive habits recalled the ancient days of Israel. Territorial aristocracy, of course, there was none, nor could there be, where, after a certain term, the land reverted to its original owners. But there were "great people" nevertheless; those whose sturdy industry had, with the blessing of God, brought them such wealth as there was, and whose position and character gave them influence in the district. Shunem also had its "great family," and to this home and household the footsteps of the prophet were now to be directed.

So far as we can infer, Elisha had at the time no fixed dwelling-place. Most frequently, indeed generally, he was to be found by Mount Carmel. In this grand solitude he could retire from arduous work within himself, or hold communion with his God. Those employed for God, indeed all busily employed, need seasons and places of retirement. It is a saying of Cecil's, that a business which does not allow of leisure for retirement and meditation, cannot be proper for a Christian. It certainly seems incompatible with the Lord's direction: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God." The busier the life the greater the need for such retirement, and that not only on the Lord's Day, nor at certain times, but at a certain time every day, since daily grace and strength must be sought for daily work. It so happened that Elisha's way to Carmel lay through Shunem. On his frequent journeys to and fro the prophet had not remained unobserved. There was that in his appearance and bearing, which commanded attention and respect, even if his office were unknown, as at first it seems to have been to the Shunammites. The "great woman" of Shunem, as Scripture designates her, resolved to bid such a pilgrim welcome to her home. We know not why she is so singled out--whether because she was an heiress and proprietress in her own right, or because she, rather than her husband, represented the household. The latter may sometimes be necessary, and may be the case without implying either want of deference and respect to a husband, or obtrusiveness and self-assertion on the part of a wife. In truth, this Shunammite was one of the representative women of Israel. If her outward appearance corresponded to her character and conduct, it would not be difficult to imagine the picture. Gentle and respectful towards her husband, as when she afterwards sought his permission to use one of the beasts of burden for her lonely

ride to the prophet; loving her own with all the ardour of a genuine and generous nature; frank, free, independent in mind we had almost said lofty, if that term were not so often confounded with pride-yet so kind, tender-hearted, with such true womanly instinct, and, withal, so thoroughly and simply pious, this strong-hearted, soft-hearted woman would have deserved the title of "great" had she been the veriest beggar in the streets of Shunem.

General as the practice of hospitality was in Israel, whereby some entertained angels unawares," hers was no ordinary invitation to the prophet. It is said, "she constrained him to eat bread." It was not the pressing and oppressing bustle which wearies rather than refreshes; nor was it, on the other hand, the stinted condescension which makes one feel, and perhaps rejoice in feeling, that one is only a guest. Elisha had not known her at the time, as he afterwards did, and he was unwilling to turn aside into her house. The "great house" and the "great woman "had no attraction for him. But, as at a later period Lydia, so the Shunammite constrained him. And the feast was simple and homely. It was an ordinary meal, but one at which a prince in Israel sat down at the board of an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile. Let us here also learn a lesson. True hospitality bestows its favours, not as giving, but rather as receiving favour. It is the hospitality of the heart, not of conventionalism, of pride, of selfishness, nor of what is called "society," which ever seeks back its own with tenfold interest.

That word "Society" has a dangerous sound to many among us. Too often it is the idol to which is sacrificed that which is most precious. Let us be truthful with ourselves. Why do we desire this kind of society? Is it from pride, or because we think it due to our station, or, perhaps, because we would like it to be due to our station? Mostly we