ing by, "constrained him to turn into her house, and eat bread;" and, conceiving a high opinion of him as a man of God, "she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God that passes by us continually let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, 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," 4 Kings, iv.

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This is the description which the Scripture gives us of the hospitality and charity of this good woman, and of her regard for those whom she believed to be servants of God. The prophet was not insensible of her kindness; and, desiring to show his gratitude, called to ask what he could do for her in return; and understanding by his servant that though she was a woman of condition, and well provided for, yet she had no child, and that her husband was advanced in years, he immediately prophesied that within a year she should have a son, which was fulfilled accordingly; "for the woman conceived and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her," verse 17; and thus the blessing which of all others her heart desired, was bestowed upon her in a miraculous manner, in reward of her hospitality and charity to God's servant.

The divine goodness to her did not stop here. This very child, being grown up, fell sick and died, and, at the prayer of the prophet, was miraculously restored to life—as in the case above mentioned, a still farther confirmation of how agreeable her conduct was to Almighty God, and how ready He is to reward acts of charity and mercy. Again, when Almighty God had resolved to send a famine upon the land, which was to last for seven years, Elisha foretold it to his benefactress, advising her

to leave her country during that time, which she did accordingly. And after seven years were passed, and plenty restored to the land, the goodness of God so ordered that, Elisha being then dead, his servant was relating to the king the wonderful actions of his master, and especially the raising this woman's son from the dead, at the very instant of time when the woman and her son, being returned to their own country, presented themselves to the king to petition that their lands, which had been seized in their absence, might be restored. "And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." Such an effect had this providential concurrence of favourable circumstances upon the king, that "he appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field, since the day she left the land even until now," 2 Kings, viii. Observe here what a chain of benefits is miraculously bestowed upon this woman in reward of her charity, as the more immediate end proposed by them, but which at the same time most admirably displayed the infinite power and goodness of God, and cannot fail to produce the most excellent effects in the hearts of all who believe them.

VIII. The deliverance of the three children from the fiery furnace, and of Daniel from the lions, belong also to this class. The confidence which the three holy youths had in God is plain from their heroic answer to Nebuchadnezzar, when he ordered them, under pain of being thrown into the fiery furnace, to fall down and adore the idol which he had erected, adding this impious vaunt, "And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Dan. iii. 15. To this they replied, “Our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from thine hand,

O king," verse 17. And their constancy in the service of their God they express in the following verse in these beautiful words: "But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy god, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up." That their miraculous preservation was intended directly as a reward of these their virtues, is acknowledged by the king himself, when, after calling them out of the furnace, he said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God," ibid., verse 28.

As to Daniel, when the king came next morning to the den of lions, and cried to him, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Daniel immediately answered him, "My God hath sent His angel, and hast shut the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me," Dan. vi. 20, &c. And upon this, by the king's command, "Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God,” verse 23.

IX. To the third class belong all the examples in holy writ where the immediate end was only to supply the various bodily wants of particular persons, and that sometimes in things so unimportant as to unassisted natural reason might seem trifling and unworthy of divine interposition. Samson is employed by Almighty God to deliver His people from the yoke of the Philistines, and to fight their battles against these their enemies. For this purpose he is endowed with amazing strength, with which he performs wonders. He goes out against

his enemies all alone. With no other arms than the jaw-bone of an ass, he enters the battle, gains an entire victory, and kills a thousand men with his own hand. But, scorched by the heat of the day, and exhausted by fatigue, he is upon the point of perishing himself of thirst. Does the Almighty forsake His servant in this extremity? By no means. He even works a miracle to

relieve him; for upon his crying to Him for help, He "clave a hollow place that was in the jaw-bone of the ass," which he had thrown out of his hand; and lo! it sends forth a stream of water to quench his thirst and refresh him.-Judges, xv.

X. The great Elias is ordered to flee to the desert from the face of his persecuting enemy, who sought his life only on account of his steady adherence to the service of his God. This may be thought to have been only flying from one death to another, from the sword of Achab to famine in the wilderness. But God is his protector, and works an unheard-of miracle to sustain him. He commands the wild ravens to provide for His servant, and accordingly they bring him every day a piece of meat and a loaf of bread, whilst the brook supplies his drink; and this miraculous provision continued to be brought him daily so long as he remained in that desert. At another time the same great prophet was again in the wilderness, destitute of all human assistance, and an angel is sent with a cake of bread and a bottle of water to feed him, and such strength communicated to him by this miraculous food that he needed nothing more for the space of forty days thereafter.

XI. A poor widow is oppressed by her husband's creditors, and having nothing wherewith to pay, they seize upon her two sons to carry them off for bond

slaves. In her distress she flies to the prophet Elisha, and reminds him that her husband had been a good man, as he himself knew, and one that feared the Lord. The prophet, moved with compassion, asks what she had in the house, and she answered she had nothing but a pot of oil. Then he said, "Go borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels ; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and thou shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full." Accordingly they proceeded, and the oil was so multiplied in her hands that it continued to flow in abundance, and never stopped till they had no more empty vessels. Then the prophet told her to sell this miraculous oil and to pay her debts, and that she and her sons might live upon the rest. -4 Kings, iv.

XII. Again, "The men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth; but the water is very bad, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein; and they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barrenness. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake," 4 Kings, ii. 19.

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XIII. In the time of a great dearth the same holy prophet came to Gilgal, and a number of the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered there of wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into