In the Church, the Saviour's garden- All deriv'd alone from thee. But, above all gardens precious, Every want and wish supplies. There, the foot no thorn e'er pierces; Nov. 21.-" Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father! my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" 2 Kings xiii. 14. ELIJAH was spared the common doom of mortality, and was taken to heaven, in a chariot and horses of fire, without dying. But Elisha, who had honoured God so much longer, goes the way of all the earth. Why was this difference? Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. But he does not die of natural infirmity. Neither does he die suddenly-He had fallen sick. This mode of dissolution was less desirable, with regard to comfort; but it was more favourable to usefulness. It afforded him opportunity for glorifying God, and instructing and impressing his attendants. And "the chamber where the good man meets his fate," has often been to others, as well as to the dying individual himself, the house of God, and the gate of heaven. We are therefore glad to find Joash the king of Israel with Elisha in this situation. Such a scene is generally very uninviting to persons in the upper ranks of life. They love not, in the midst of flattery and dissipation, to be reminded of the days of darkness. Yet "it is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning: but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better,"-more serious, and more soft. But who was this Joash? "He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein." Who would have looked for such a man here? Yet see the trouble he takes. He does not send to enquire after the dying prophet, but personally visits him. See his condescension and humility, in entering "a little chamber on the wall, with a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick." See his tenderness, in hanging over the expiring saint, and weeping. See his knowledge of the value and importance of Elisha-"Ah! what shall I do, and what will my people do, when thou art gone?-My father! my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" How much like a pious man does Joash now appear! How little can we judge of men by particular conditions, events, and feelings! Who has not had powerful convictions? Who has not often exclaimed, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his? Who has not, like Felix, trembled, under the preaching of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come? Of whom has it not, in some period, been said, as it was of the young man in the Gospel, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God? What brings Joash here now? He had disregarded and despised Elisha before. But Elisha is now going. "How mercies brighten, as they take their flight!" How an undutiful child prizes a parent, when he is following him to the grave! How many would listen to the voice of the preacher, when they can hear him no more! Even the Jews, who so often would have stoned Moses, mourned for him many days and sincerely, too. Who would have thought that all these fine impressions would have worn off? But Joash leaves the dying room, and the honoured prophet, and enters ordinary life, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he wasenters the tempting scenes of greatness; and his iniquities, like the wind, take him away! And who would have thought, that, after the wreck of all his worldly substance; or the loss of Joseph and Benjamin; or the taking away of the wife of his bosom with a stroke; or the awfulness of a disease that led him down to the gates of death, and induced him to cry, Oh! spare me a little longer! -who would have imagined, that, after such lessons-any man could turn again to folly, and walk more eagerly according to the course of this world! "O Ephraim !" says God, "what shall I do unto thee? O Judah! what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. The devotion of natural men depends upon external excitements. They pour out a prayer when God's chastening hand is upon them: but they do not delight themselves in the Almighty-they do not always call upon God. The summer-brook may, by a storm, be swelled into a flood; but, having no permanent source, it soon rolls off, and the bed is dry. A Christian's devotion may be aided by outward helps; but it does not depend upon them. His practice flows from principle: and he exemplifies the promise-"The water that I will give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life." And "he only that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." Nov. 22.-" And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." 2 Kings xiii. 19. ELISHA was now on his dying bed; and being visited by Joash, the king of Israel, who was deeply affected with the interview; he gave him two orders, the one to shoot, and the other to smite-Both these were doubtless delivered under a prophetical impulse; and though they may seem strange to us, they were well understood by the parties. "And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt For smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them." The Romans were accustomed to declare war against an enemy by shooting an arrow into their territory. Alexander also did this when he entered Persia. This order, therefore, was an intimation of war. Accordingly, it was discharged "eastward;" that is, towards Syria. But the man of God arose and stood behind him, while he held the bow-and put his left hand upon the king's left hand, and his right hand upon the king's right hand. what purpose? Elisha was the representative of God, in whose name he now spake; and he thus teaches the king-that though he should use means, he should not depend upon them-that the excellency of the power was not of the weapons, but of Godand that, if his bow abode in strength, the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. It is therefore called the arrow of the Lord's deliverance; and by which the Syrians were to be vanquished in Aphek. 66 And is it not so with us? When we work, God must work with us. If his hand be not with us for good; what is our prudence, our resolution, our energy? Not by might, nor by power; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." Thus the apostles went forth, preaching; and the "hand of the Lord was with them; and many believed and turned unto the Lord." And he took Again, he said, "Take the arrows. them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six timesthen hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." Joash was conscious that the action was a sign, or he could not have been blameable. The action, therefore, betrayed remissness, and lukewarm |