leather about his loins." This portrait was well known to the king. "Yes," says he, with constrained and assumed composure, "I thought so; it is Elijah the Tishbite!" his Lord. He opens his mouth, and with a faith that would have said to mount Carmel, "Arise, and be thou cast into the midst of the sea!" and should have been done, if necessary, he exclaims, "If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty!" And scarcely had ceived by the Lord above, and the sleeping thunder and lightning are awoke; Jehovah has heard his words, and to prayers which only desire His glory and honour he cannot deny his yea and amen! The heavens become red with fire, the clouds burst asunder, the flames descend with thunder, and, behold! the captain and his fifty are struck dead at the feet of the prophet. The king gives a sign to his messengers, and they retire. "Send me hither one of my captains!" cries he, with suppressed rage and fury. The cap-he pronounced these words, than they are already retain appears in the sick chamber, and already reads in the countenance of his lord the nature of his business. "Go," says Ahaziah, "seize Elijah the Tishbite, and bring him to me!" The captain bows his head to the ground, and hastens to perform the royal commission. What monstrous presumption and defiance do we behold thus displayed by the sick monarch! he knows who the man is against whom he sends his armed force; he has seen the great deeds with which Jehovah had legitimated and borne testimony to him. It is known to him how God had listened to the voice of this man, and how this mighty champion had even the Almighty himself for his ally; and that the thunder, lightning, and fiery flames of heaven, had stood at his command. Yet, all this does not deter him from venturing to attack him, and in reality to declare war against the King of Kings. Thus, does impiety render him frantic, and the violent fever of his rage deprives him of his reason. A handfull of chaff would now contend with the fire, and a passing mist wage war with the storm. Thus, we see that now there is in this no longer any thing natural. A strong delusion rests upon the soul of this senseless transgressor, and his horrid obduracy became evident in his satanic daring. When this fearful event was made known to the king of Israel, he becomes scarcely is it to be conceived- -so completely mad with rage that, instead of perceiving at once what kind of power he was warring against, he sends forth a second captain with his fifty, one more desperate and daring than the first, and threatens him the severest punishment if he does not bring the hated prophet to Samaria. The captain finds Elijah still on the same spot, and with maddened rage he advances with his fifty to the servant of the Lord, and with unexampled presumption, even in sight of the dead around him, summons him in arrogant and mocking terms like his predecessor: "O man of God," he cries out, "thus hath the king said: 'Come down quickly!"" "Ah," thinks the prophet, "yet will ye not bend your stubborn necks? Still, with daring front will you ask in your hearts, 'Who is the Lord, that we shall obey His voice?"" And he again, a se cond time, answers, "If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty!" And scarcely are the words pronounced, ere the dreadful scene is repeated-the fire of God came down, and consumed the captain and his fifty. The captain with his fifty men have set set out upon their commission, and it is not long before he finds his enemy. On the summit of a mountain probably that of Carmel-they meet the prophet. There he sat, solitary and silent, absorbed in solemn meditation; but he sat there, like a king upon his throne, secure in his God, and surrounded by an The news of this second defeat, it would be preinvisible barricade. And, as he raises his eyes, the sumed, must have produced other thoughts in the mighty champion beholds the host approaching him mind of king Ahaziah, and have moved him to conwith glittering arms, and easily suspects who has clude a cessation of arms in this unparalleled and imsent them, and the object of their visit. He is, pious war: but, no! he will not yield! his rage however, not afraid of them, in his secure and im- reaches now its summit, his insolence becomes more pregnable citadel; he feels quite able to meet them glaring, his madness more terrific; and he resolves under the banner of his God, and quietly permits to proceed, at the sacrifice even of his whole army, them to advance against him. They thus approach nay, at the risk of losing his crown, his kingdom, nearer and nearer to surround their prisoner; but even life itself! He is determined to go to the utthe truly majestic bearing with which the prophet, most, and to fight out the fatal battle to the very last, rising from his seat, advances towards them, toge- at every price! Accordingly, he sends out a third ther with the awe-striking composure which is captain with his fifty, and commands him to bring the shed around his whole appearance, startle them, and prophet prisoner to him. The captain departs with deprives them at least of the courage to lay their his company of soldiers, and we already tremble at hands upon him. It is as if they had a presentiment the fearful prospect of the wrathful judgment being of danger of being enveloped in a cloud of thunder repeated for a third time. Elijah is still seated in -if they ventured to seize him. The captain, there- the same place upon his eminence; he is not disfore, is contented with declaring, in harsh and threat-posed to flee, or even to offer peace to the enemies ening words, his own and his master's hatred towards of his Eternal King. He is not afraid even of many him. "Thou man of God!" he exclaims, in scorn- thousands; for he knows that in the might of his ful and despising manner- as if he would say, the Lord he has a sufficient number of chariots and sacred halo around thy head shall not intimidate us horsemen with which, without any farther aid, he from our office-"follow me; the king hath said, can lay the army of a whole world in the dust. come down." "Ah!" thinks Elijah, ye know then When now the third captain, at the head of his that I am a man of God. It is written before your troop, arrives at the mount, and beholds the man of eyes, in characters of fire; and yet, in spite of this, God, with the dead bodies strewed around him, you harden your hearts, you venture to treat, in me, sitting on his rock in proud composure, like a the God of all Gods, with such contempt and scorn?" champion from another world, he is overcome with The heart of the holy man burns with sacred indig-fear and reverential awe, which he tries in vain to nation, and his whole soul is on flame for the glory of subdue. He feels as though a wall of fire flamed around this man, which no power could break were past, and that those of a milder dispensation through; he feels that it is against heaven, nay, had appeared. It was no longer the correctional against the Almighty himself that he is bearing system of mount Sinai that bore the sway; but arms, when doing so against his ambassador; and patience and love. "Elijah was the herald of divine overpowered, even before the attack, by the impres- holiness, and therefore he must necessarily appear sion which the presence of the holy man makes with lightning and thunder on his lips. Ye are, upon him, and by the presentiment that Elijah's is however, messengers of grace, who must gain the the true God, he returns his sword into its scab-hearts of sinners by the Gospel of the tender mercy bard, and approaching the prophet with reverence, of God; and thus it behoves that your feet should bows his knee to the earth before him, and exclaims be beautiful upon the mountains."" And, as the imploringly and with the deepest veneration: "O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty, thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties, with their fifties; therefore, let my life now be precious in thy sight!" Oh, how must it have rejoiced the heart of Elijah to see this homage before the living God, which saved him the painful necessity of vindicating the honour and glory of his Lord for a third time with consuming flames of fire! For, indeed, his soul, like the soul of his God, felt no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but it was his delight, as it was also the delight of the Lord, that the wicked should turn from his ways and live. No doubt, he suffered no little pain himself, when he was compelled to draw the sword of the Almighty from its scabbard, and to call for his fire from heaven to descend. But when this did happen, his divine office, the divine purpose of his mission required it, for the extirpation of idolatry and the worship of the devil, and the re-establishment of the despised law of God, and the extinct faith of the fathers. The weapons, too, of Elijah's warfare, were not carnal; they were a fervent love to God and his cause, and wielded in the service of a holy zeal for the glory of his name. The cancer of idolatry having already eaten so deeply into the vitals of the chosen people, it was necessary that such painful means of cure should be adopted to promote the recovery of the people. At the same time, we should always recollect, in considering such narratives as that now before us, that the times of the ancient covenant or law were very different to those of the new covenant or of grace; and that much which it was proper for an Elijah to do would by no means become a subject of the New Testament. You all know, my brethren, the cheering words of Luke, in which the Saviour himself expresses himself significantly on the distinction between the old and the new dispensation, especially in reference to the divine manner of procedure towards sinners. Assuredly the anger of the disciples against that Samaritan village which denied reception to the Lord of Glory, considered in itself, was holy and righteous; only the way and manner in which they displayed their zeal for the honour of their Master was not throughout in accordance with the station they occupied as disciples of the Son of Man. They wished, as you know, to tread in the footsteps of Elijah, saying, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to fall from heaven, and consume them even as Elijah did?" But what said the Lord? His reply shows that in this desire they completely mistook the character of their time and their vocation: "Ye know not," says He, "what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of Man is not come into the world to destroy men's lives but to save them!" By this he meant to say that the days of severity *Chap. ix. 55. patience wherewith the vessels of wrath are endured, has been manifested that a hand pierced directs the sceptre of the government of the world, and that a friend of sinners sits upon the thrown of dominion; so ought the New Testament, in an essential manner, resemble a faithful mirror of the gentle and patient Lamb of God, in whose blood they have become clean, and who, through suffering and forbearance enter into glory. The sweet image of the compassionate and benevolent Son of Man ought always to be beheld in its members, and the heart-winning splendour of His compassionate and gentle nature vividly reflected in the little community of His friends. Therefore, as followers of the Lamb, it infinitely more becomes us to pray for good towards the enemies of the righteous cause than to conjure lightning from heaven upon their heads; infinitely more befitting our state is it, in patience and meekness, to heap coals of fire on the heads of our adversaries, and to conquer them by the power of love, than to call down the anger of the Almighty upon them. In short, in the whole of our manner and doings, it should be manifested that we are the disciples of a Saviour, "who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them;" and that, for our poor hearts, a fountain of love was opened under the cross of that Saviour, by which we are taught to bear all things, to believe all things, and to endure all things; and whose fervour many streams cannot quench. III. "O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight!" Thus spake the captain, beseechingly and upon his knees, and thereupon he and they were spared. For only against the proud and obstinate does God resist; to the humble and lowly He granteth grace. Jehovah said to Elijah, "Go down with him; be not afraid of him." What a charge was this! What a mission! He was now to penetrate even into the very camp of his enemy, and, face to face, repeat to the enraged lion, at Samaria, the judgment of heaven. But the "fear not!" of his God raises him, as on eagle's wings, above all care and fear. He feels himself armed completely, and with joyful feeling he leaves the lonely hills, and hurries, by the captain's side, on to the royal city. Like a conqueror, when entering the gates of a captured citadel amidst the waving of the banners of victory, thus did Elijah also make his entrance into the city of Samaria. He was aware that, in the thronging multitude assembled in the streets as he passed along, he beheld but few that were not his bitter foes and adversaries; but, nevertheless, he proceeds onwards and walks past them, with a majesty and dignity which place, as it were, a curb in the mouth of the most daring and insolent blasphemer, and strike all with such awe that they are rendered incapable of even giving utterance to an offensive word. Meantime, the king, stretched upon his couch, is writhing with rage and fury, and hasty inquires, every moment, whether no intelligence has arrived yet from his messengers, when, behold! the found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, art to be feared; and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God; let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he is terrible to the kings of the earth." Hallelujah! To Him be the glory and the kingdom for ever and ever! Amen. THE EVE OF THE FESTIVAL. SACRED history also, my brethren, is a divine -which shall contain within its circle all nations Thus then the prophet now saw himself in complete possession of his royal foe, and nothing was in the way to hinder him from retaliating upon his head his hatred and persecution to his heart's desire. But, no! from his mouth is heard no harsh word, no sound of triumph! He feels that in this ungodly man he nevertheless beholds his sovereign and the anointed of the Lord. Elijah knows that the crown is sacred, and thus we see, even when standing before an Ahaziah, he will in no manner whatever infringe upon the respect commanded by the royal dignity. He regards himself merely as the mouth-piece of Jehovah, and throws aside altogether the individual personality. He strictly adheres to the words of the message entrusted to him by the Lord, and, without adding to or abridging them, he addresses the king in serious and measured lan-patriarchs will rise "Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou guage: hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron; is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die!" Saying which, Elijah departed. But the words he had pronounced remained behind in the royal apartment. Like the last sounds of a clap of thunder, they echoed in the ears of the king, until his thoughts became confused, and the crashing tones reverberated in his maddened brain. The heart of the tyrant broke-" He died," says the sacred historian, "according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken." The Church of God on earth had one destroyer less, and hell one victim more! "In Judah is God known," sings the holy psalmist; "his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep; and none of the men of might have all the sweet and happy creations that we meet with in the wide expanse of sacred history, will transform themselves anew in more glorious and heightened splendour. The silent world of the once more in renovated Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and the rest, will appear strength and beauty. The great men of God, again in their glorified prototypes. The epoch of the harp-players and psalmists will return anew with notes more sweet. The more elevated resemblance of the Solomonic period of peace will once again bless the whole world; and even the birth of the Son of God will be repeated in a manner spiritual and miraculous; or you have never read of the woman clothed with the sun, and of the man-child" that she shall "bring forth, and who shall rule all nations with a rod of iron." How otherwise but with dejection should we still be able to wander through so many a sweet garden, so many a happy jubilee-year of past ages, if not blessed with this promise-beaming light. abounding in hope; for we know in the past there But now we travel through them with a joy is mirrored only a more perfect future, towards which we are hastening. May then this comforting reflection attend us to-day also, when, on the side of our Tishbite, we shall approach one of the most glorious creations that the divine grace ever called into existence be- prophet, and penetrated his mind with renewed fore the Christian era. 2 KINGS, I, 1–6. "And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el! And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.' So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?' And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, 'Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.' And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?' And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.' And Elijah said unto him, 'Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.' And they two went on." The prophet has finished his work on earth. A beauteous evening, already wondrously illumined by the golden light of a blessed eternity, receives the weary pilgrim in its solemn, omen-teeming calm, and pleasing images from his native home sport lovingly and invitingly around his longing soul. Like the mariner who, after a long and stormy voyage, at length in sight of the haven, begins, with contented and delighted heart, to strike his top-masts and furl the sails, he wanders yet a few days around, thoughtful and moved amid the pealing, as it were, of heavenly sabbath-bells, that he may bask in undisturbed enjoyment of the produce of his labour, which only now unfolds itself to him in its full extent; and to these peaceful days, in which the enigmas of his life are solved, completely and satisfactorily, and the seeming discords thereof melt away in the sweetest harmony, the gospels lead us, which we have next to consider, and which from their quiet, tender, and sincere character, contrast so pleasingly and beneficially with the past. In our reading for to-day, there are three points which are especially worthy of a closer examination: I., How Elijah sought retirement. II., How he came to the schools of the prophets; and, III., What reception he found there. Let us pause a few moments to meditate on these scenes and traits of character. I. Elijah had left the noisy capital, and retired to the quiet valleys of the Jordan. We find him now in the small town of Gilgal, not far from Jericho, upon that memorable ground where Joshua of yore, after the miraculous passage through the waters, set up those twelve stones, and consecrated them as an enduring monument of divine mercy and faithfulness. "When your children," spake the leader of Israel, "shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? then shall ye let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which be dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty:" and if ever these ancient words deeply moved our vigour, it was assuredly so now, when his position looked so strikingly like that of his forefathers at that epoch, in more than one respect. If those mossy stones still stood there, how must he have felt on beholding them? He could still place his Ebenezer by their side, and consecrate it with a tear of blissful and reverent thanks. For through how many a Jordan, in the depths of which he thought he saw certain destruction and the inevitable grave of his sweetest hopes, had these same Almighty arms led even him dry-shod. Like to the world of dreams, all now lay behind him; the boisterous tide, whose billows had so often filled him with alarm, and the chain of mountains, which in moments of dejection he had deemed insurmountable. The warp of his life which crossed itself many a time so mysteriously, and apparently schemeless and entangled, had been made, like the prospect now before him, to weave itself, notwithstanding, in the fulness of art, into the sweetest web of godlike love and wisdom, and the direction in which, at many seasons, the changing game of capricious fortune seemed to manifest itself, appeared, at this moment, viewed onwards from its commencement, as a gloriously-arranged, admirable whole, interwoven from beginning to end with the name of Jehovah, and inwreathed with a radiant chain of divine truth and mercy. The stones at Gilgal excite in me a wish. We have one Bible in the Word, we have a second in nature; could we but possess a third in statuary and monuments! The spot where the bones of a highly eminent man of God repose against the great harvest-day, the place where a martyr won for the cause of Jesus the blood-stained crown; the country in which the arm of the Almighty stretched itself forth from the clouds, in a manner both imposing and gracious; whether to aid or direct, were not places such as these, and every land and every province has such to show, worthy of being superelevate by symbols which, after the fashion of Israel, might rescue the memory of the saints from the inundations of the stream of time, and perpetuate from generation to generation the mighty acts of God intuitively, approximate, and livingly present to the mind? Who knows not the wonderful magic-like and hundred-toned language of the heart, which, of all languages the most universal, expresses in one word all the creations of the thoughts and the emotions of the soul? Here then art might also prosecute her divine vocation, and meet with her rightful sphere of action. Again would she be what she originally was, and shall yet be,-the proclaimatrix of the name of the Lord, the hand-maiden of the kingdom and of the sanctuary. Our prophet then has now accomplished his pilgrimage. He knows it by a divine revelation. The horses of fire and the flaming chariot stand even now ready behind the clouds for his celestial transit, and even this distinguished manner of his homejourney the Lord has not concealed from him. With this mighty secret in his strangely-agitated soul, Elijah sets out now from Gilgal to Beth-el, there to say a last farewell to his dear children, the sons of the prophets. He hoped to make this journey alone; but, lo, there, scarcely had he seized his pilgrim's staff when Elisha appears, to connect himself with him as a fellow-pilgrim. However 11 How conceivable, my brethren, must it appear that, under such circumstances, the companionship even of his dearest and most confidential friend was still too much for the man of God in his journey to Jericho and to Jordan. The craving of his spirit was directed to something quite different from human intercourse, however holy. Ah! particularly when he reflected, too, what he was, that upon him such distinction should fall, and when, with the distinction bestowed upon him, he likewise recollected his past life, which with all the glory wherein the Lord arrayed it, was still nothing but the life of a poor sinner, blackly ingrained with many sins and failings; how completely must indeed these thoughts have impelled him to be at once alone with his God! Much, assuredly, and much variety of event had his spirit already experienced, since he had entered the service of Jehovah ; but his soul never yet felt itself so transported from all the paths of ordinary life as at this moment. This tension of the mind, this awe of expectation, this ecstasy of hope, this sorrow-fraught bending before the God of Gods, all, all too gigantic was this, too overflowing for a poor human heart. A sea, exhausted upon a drinkingcup, a tempest spent upon a reed. What wonder that this suppressed tide of feeling sought a channel into which it might flow. But where? The compass of the bosom of a human friend was too limited for him. To the Almighty alone did the prophet feel himself urged to pour out his soul, to which the quiet solitude appeared as welcome as does the calm-looking creek of the distant haven to the mariner in the tempest. What all had he not to reflect upon, to confess, to give thanks for, and to offer praises! Did Elisha perceive this or not? I know not. He would have rendered his master a great service, had he given a hearing to his request, and remained behind. But to that, however, naught nor nobody could persuade him. He was fixedly determined not to leave his side, even at the extent of a foot's breadth. inopportune at this moment such companionship of fire. The ties which bound him to the earth are was to our prophet, yet too dear did he hold his loosened, all within him soars heavenwards, like the trusty, well-meaning friend, to be able thus abruptly flame of the burnt offering, and there is no longer and at once to cast him off. Thus, they journeyed in tarriance for this eagle of the sun. All-powerful company. Not far, however, had they travelled on-magnets attract himhe must go. wards together in silence, ere Elijah felt he could no longer dissemble from his friend the urging, grow ing desire of his heart for solitude. Benignly, therefore, he steps forth before his companion, kindly takes his hand, looks him affectionately in the face, and says: "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el." But no! for this once Elisha cannot comply with the wish of his revered master. “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth," replied he, calmly and with amiable firmness, "I will not leave thee,"-and they went farther on their way together. Twice again, at Beth-el, namely, and at Jericho, Elijah repeats his request, each time more pointedly, each time more earnestly: "Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho, the Lord hath sent me to Jordan!" But no entreaty and no supplication then availed. Elisha persevered in saying, "I will not leave thee!" and stirred not from his side. This urgent desire of our prophet to see himself left now alone is not difficult to be explained. You all know what high reward was intended for him by the Lord. Only on one occasion before had a saint of the Most High been thought worthy of the distinction which now stood before him, and what was even Enoch's triumph compared with that of the Tishbitę? It was not alone that Elijah, in the high road to the gates of death, was to be translated into heaven; but this translation was also to take place visibly and amidst a glory never yet beheld. Thunder and lightning were to attend it; nay, a yoke of fiery steeds from other worlds were to bring the prophet home in a celestial car of victory, in a way hitherto unheard of. Elijah knew the day and hour when this would come to pass. Imagine to yourselves this, and you will only wonder that he did not sink under the weight of such an expectation. Heavens! how must he indeed have felt, when he turned his eyes upwards to the zenith, and saw the stars over his tent, and thus said to himself: "Lo, not many days hence and thou wilt be journeying there, beyond Orion, and the Pleiades, onwards in a path of light far above the sun and the moon, and then-ah! then, straightway through the curtain thou shalt penetrate into the divine sanctuary, and into the everlasting light of day, where the angels melodiously sweep their harps, and the patriarchs dwell in their tabernacles of peace. Then shall thou behold them, Noah and Enoch, Methuselah and Melchisedec, and the father of the faithful, and Moses and the minstrel after God's own heart, and amidst their tents stands thine own. Reposing then with them, under colonnades of palm-trees, thou hearest them tell of the days of their hoary age, and the thousand miracles of God's love, yea, and thou thyself wilt see-ah! the Lord of Lords, Jehovah himself!"-Ah, tell me, then, if, busied with such thoughts-and where else could be his soul henceforward but amidst those images of heaven-all trammels of sensation in the depth of his whole being having burst asunder, and like a burning ocean his heart was boiling with agitation, the compression of feeling threatened to rend his breast, can we feel astonished? He is in a whirlwind of the Spirit. He has already to a certain extent ascended the chariot There was, however, still something besides that at this moment made Elijah decline the company of his beloved friend; a something which, if this chosen man of God had not already won our hearts, must indeed claim our affection now. The divine intimation of the glorious exaltation of which he was found worthy had attuned his mind to a tone such as is not always wont to prevail amongst us, under similar circumstances. Should we, think ye, if such a distinction were promised to us, as it stood before Elijah, share with him this modest shyness of witnesses, this urgent craving for concealment ? I fear much we could have no rest until our secret were divulged through the journals of the day, and, instead of deadening the noise produced by the hoofs of the fiery horses, we should rather hang gingles and bells about their necks, that also from the clouds on high they might announce our triumph to the wondering world. How much ringing of bells of this kind discovers itself to you in our days, conveying so many a notice from the kingdom of grace, and what an ostentation is there not carried on, by many of our fellow Christians, with their spiritual experience, prayer-hearings, successful attempts at conversion, |