him. And, as long as it pleases Jehovah, the walls of rock, and the verdant shelter and couch, are good enough for the man of God. There sits Elijah on his bench of stone, and thinks, the Lord will provide. The sooty messengers faithfully perform their office, prompting him to psalms and hymns of praise at morn and eve; and the brook Cherith pursues its course in full and rippling play, a wonder which is the more striking, as formerly this brook dried up far more quickly than all the rest, in consequence of which it bore also the name Cherith, which, in the original, signifies dryness. But now we behold the scene shifting, and presenting a change which, in its beginning, appears most unexpected and painful; in its farther progress, mysterious and incomprehensible; yet most gratifying to the prophet in its issue, while it was calculated to promote the glory of God. We have three points to consider: Elijah's distress; his setting out; and his glorious delive rance. I. First of all, let us take a general view.-For the space of a whole year, as we know, Elijah was provided for and supported by a miracle. But a miracle that continues for any length of time soon ceases in our eyes to be one. Duration accustoms us to look upon it as something which must be so, and cannot be otherwise. It soon loses its effect with us; and the hand, work, and presence of God, in the miracle, is soon for gotten and overlooked by us. You know the oriental story of a boy who requested his teacher to prove to him the doctrine of the existence of a God by a miracle. And the priest, as tradition relates, procured a vessel filled with earth, into which he put a kernel, in the presence of the boy, and desired him to pay attention. And, O wonder! in the place where the kernel was deposited, there suddenly springs up a green twig, which grows to a stem. The stem puts forth branches with foliage, which soon spread themselves over the whole room. Between the leaves there appear buds and blossoms; the blossoms fade and are transformed into golden fruit; and in the course of an hour a beautiful tree stood where before there was nothing save a paltry and scarcely visible kernel. Whereupon the youth marvelled much, and, overcome with astonishment, he exclaimed, "Yes, now I know that there is a God, for I have seen his power." But the priest smiled and said, "Thou silly youth, believest thou only now? What thou hast seen here thou beholdest occurring, around thee thousands of times in each succeeding year, only somewhat slower, and without intermission. But is the miracle on this account lessened?" Yet such silly children are we. Were we to rise one morning and find a loaf of bread in our cupboard, which was put there neither by us nor any other human being, it would be an easy thing for us to recognise the hand of the Lord. Now we do find the bread every morning in our cupboards; and you will confess God has placed it there, but because he has done it by a slower and less extraordinary process, by strengthening our powers, by blessing our labour, and because we see it there continually, it becomes a matter of dificulty for us to perceive in it God's providence, his power, and loving kindness. Yea, if he really treat us even in a manner not common to the general rule, so that we are forced to exclaim, "Behold a miracle of God!" still such treatment must not continue too long, otherwise we soon forget the miraculous, and not unfrequently together with the divine, power. For one or two occasions manna in the wilderness is certainly a wonder in our eyes, and we praise the Lord God. Yet, manna every day becomes an habitual occurrence, and we soon grow accustomed to look upon it as a matter of course; and it is the manna that remains in view, and not He who showers it upon us. For once water out of the rock, and then again heat and scarcity, teaches us indeed to give honour to the Lord. But should that rock be always ready to flow and yield water without cessation, and we were not to be oppressed with want, it would not be productive of good to us. The Almighty would soon be forgotten, notwithstanding the wonder he might daily bestow on us. We will not however assert that our prophet exhibited the same symptoms at the miracle of the brook Cherith. Far be it from us to entertain such uncharitable notions respecting him, without justifiable and definite grounds. But, St. James says, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are;" and thus to a man like ourselves it could indeed easily happen that, by length of time, that which is essentially miraculous, which strengthens faith, enlivens and comforts man, and elevates the thoughts, might have become somewhat indifferent to him; and, as well as his fellows, in the course of time, he might perhaps be brought to think, "Surely the brook Cherith flows like other streams; namely, as long as there is water, and the spring is in action." Thus are we all wont to do, with no other purpose in the world than to try the forbearance of God; and, were it possible to exhaust it, and stimulate it into displeasure. But to the many troublesome offices which the loving God has taken upon himself for the sake of his children, belongs also that which he mentions in Isaiah, xlvi. 4: "Even to hoar hairs will I carry you." And we are indeed sufficiently burdensome to him. Therefore since he knows how easily a continued blessing ceases in every respect to be regarded by us as such, his fostering love leads him to take proper measures against the want of variety and change in our life; and to make our guidance a constant succession of summer and winter, of day and night, of rain and sunshine, of perplexity and help, of affliction and deliverance, and of deliverance and affliction. And thus we remain steadily in the practice of spiritual exercise; and our thoughts cannot so easily wander from his threshold, because there we have constantly something to do with him; either to pray for something, or to thank for something; now to cry for help, now to humble ourselves unto his will, now to watch and to wait, and the like. For this reason the Almighty also suffered the way of our prophet to remain so intricate, so full of twists and turns, and constant change. How varied does the life of Elijah appear! It is not woven out of one material, nor threads of the same colour. It is composed of thousands of afflictions and deliverances; but on this very account it is a life of so many bounteous and eternal blessings. "And it came to pass after a while: " thus commences the present part of our history. From this, "after a while," it might be concluded that Elijah remained but a very short period in the wilderness by the brook Cherith. But this was not the case. Immediately after the narrative of the births of Cain and Abel, we are told, "And after a while Let it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the circumstances, and secure possessions, and, accordground an offering unto the Lord." Here it is a ing to our firmest conviction, through the loving matter of course that the expression "after a kindness of God alone; and suddenly, and contrary while " signifies not a short period, but one of to all expectation, we are driven from them again, several years duration. In our present history, the so that gratitude dies as it were upon the tongue, words "after a while" must be taken for a whole and is changed into sounds of lamentation. Thou year thus long did Elijah dwell in the wilderness. art in trouble and domestic embarrassments. For by the mouth of our Lord Jesus, † as well as by us suppose thou art in debt, and obliged to pay or be the Apostle James, ‡ we are informed that the dearth sent to prison. Thou wrestlest with God, that he lasted for three years and six months. We also may help thee. He grants thy prayer; the amount read, that at the time when the dearth ceased the of the debt is unexpectedly sent into thy house in prophet was at Zarephath, in the third year, namely, the most marvellous manner. Thou art dissolved two years and a part of the third, consequently two in praise and gratitude: "Surely, now I know the years and some months; six in all probability. Lord liveth and heareth our prayer! But what Where then could he have passed the remaining follows? During the night thieves break into thy year? Where else but by the brook Cherith? house, and steal thy property, and on the morrow the But this calculation is merely by way of explana- gates of the gaol are closed upon thee. Take antion to those who seemed to regard our recent asser- other case. After great anxiety and hard labour, tion, that Elijah remained in the wilderness for a thou hast at length so far succeeded as to rent an whole year, as a vague supposition. Now this year acre of land. Thou bendest the knee and prayest, was completed, by the help of God, alternately in "Lord, let the soil bring forth fruit, that I may faith and in contemplation, and certainly under sustain myself and my children;" and, behold, it many difficulties; but, upon the whole, a thousand bears beautifully. "This comes from the Lord," thou times better and more agreeable than Elijah could thinkest: "I plainly see that he is faithful, and has have even dreamed of at its commencement. How mercy on his creatures." But, whilst thou art thus long he had yet to remain there, he knew not? He full of adoration and gratitude, and wouldest exclaim left it to God. For as yet he neither felt nor had a to every body, "Now look at my crop, and see how want in any thing. The ravens performed their munificent is the Lord!" the smiling field of duty, the brook still continued to flow; and, "As it thine, together with the fields of others, is transhad streamed this year, why should it dry up the formed into a desert by a few days drought. What next?" perhaps, thought our prophet on the eve of dost thou think and say to this? Yes, these are the ensuing year. But he was destined soon to heavy trials, and they are the more so, as the mischange the strain of his ideas. Disastrous event! fortune comes in such an ordinary way. Were A short time had scarcely elapsed, when the appear- the money thou hast so marvellously obtained ance of a decrease of water in the brook forces itself suddenly melted and consumed in thy coffer by a upon his sight. He would fain mistrust his eyes. lightning flash, or had it disappeared out of the For God had said, “Thou shalt drink of the brook," chest in the most incomprehensible manner; then the and, with that, promised him he should have no thought of Job inight have pressed upon thy mind, want of water. Yet, what avails it? He measures, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; he sets marks. True enough, the brook recedes and the, "Praised be the name of the Lord," might from hour to hour; its bed rises upwards, and, easily have found access to thy heart. For in such where the water purled, a layer of pebbles only is a case thou wouldest still say to thyself, "Well, I soon displayed. "What means all this? O Lord, see the Lord is concerned in it; his hand is not reshall I quench my thirst with pebbles?" Yes, Elijah, mote from me, and he will take it upon himself to now do as thou canst. Water is nowhere to be assist me." But, on the contrary, as thy property found. O, how mysterious is God, how strange the is taken from thee in the most ordinary, yea, ungodly guidance, how severe the trial! "What is all this?" manner, through despicable thieves, the thought Elijah may have thought. "So long preserved, and occurs the sooner, "The Lord has not taken it; now abandoned ? Such an unequivocal assurance, consequently he may not have given it; otherwise, and what an issue? How shall I reconcile all this? why should he not have preserved it to me." Am I no longer his prophet? Have I sinned against it certainly appears as though the Lord gave himself him, that I am now forsaken ? Does he repent but little trouble concerning us, and thou art in him for having had sught to do with me?" Thus, danger of forming the idea that thou hadst only perhaps, he thought; and who knows what besides deceived thyself in ascribing to God the benefit may have entered into the mind of the old man, which, if really conferred upon thee in so singular and caused him even to murmur, and to open his a manner, must, notwithstanding, be but an accidenmouth to all manner of grievous speech, and per- tal occurrence, and in connexion with the common verse counsel. Elijah was in a great emergency, not course of things. Thus also was the trial of faith, only outwardly; for the danger of perishing from with regard to our prophet, greatly aggravated, thirst already stares him in the face; but more so in- for the brook did not dry up suddenly, or by a wardly, for the temptation to misjudge the Lord was miracle, or by any mysterious and incomprehennigh, and it seemed as if his faith was like to be ex-sible means: had it done so, it could have been hausted, and to dry up with the brook. Here more easily discerned that the same Lord who Yes, my beloved brethren, it is unquestionably allowed it to stream caused it also to dry up; but one of the hardest and most severe trials that can overtake us, when, with emotions of joy and gratitude, we behold ourselves but just placed in comfortable + Luke, iv. 25. * Gen. iv, 3. § 1 Kings, xviii. 1. 1 James, v. 17. it was drained by degrees in the most ordinary way, like other springs, through incessant drought, and the heat of the sun. And in this instance it certainly seemed as if nature were more God than the Job, i. 21. с Lord. The cause of the brook Cherith drying up is expressly pointed out in history, with the words "The brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land." Indeed, a very common and natural cause. And the reason why it is so expressly mentioned by the Holy Spirit, you may easily conjecture; namely, that we might picture to ourselves most impressively the whole weight of the trial which befell Elijah. : This tribulation must have distressed our prophet not a little. He did not escape without much conflict, lamentation, and shedding of tears. A bitter self-accusation was, as we may suppose, the first object to which this catastrophe led him; for the thought, "Thou sufferest this on account of thy sins," was very natural. And the torturing consciousness of abandonment in all probability failed not to put his soul upon the rack. His old man gave him also his full share of trouble. For how could he remain quiet in a situation such as this; here he had to weigh what was human, and not that which was divine it could not do otherwise than murmur, instigate the prophet to blaspheme, and deride his faith, and counsel him, "Now arise and help thyself, for there is no reliance upon the Lord:" and what other suggestions might it not have pressed upon him. But Elijah prevailed, believed himself in safety, and gained the victory. He had a faithful weapon in his hand against all these temptations. This was the word of his God, "Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook." "Lord, thou hast said it. Here am I according to thy bidding. The water is now dried up: but, O Lord, as thou art faithful and true, thou wilt not let me perish from thirst, for the sake of thy name and thy sure promises." Thus thought Elijah, and abandoned not his station, and in his faith became silent before God, and waited in faith; and through this faith crucified his flesh with its lusts and desires. whom the Lord directs his whole attention, and on whose account Eternal Love descended from heaven in order to dwell on earth? Who is the child of his affections, towards whom the bowels of his mercy yearn? Is it not thou, Jacob? Therefore, "fear not, thou worm, Jacob, and ye men of Israel: I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."* All this does not include things temporal merely, but, also, things spiritual. If the brook Cherith drys up for one of us, it is by no means agreeable. How afflicting is it when every joy departs from the heart, and all zest is exhausted; when zeal becomes abated, and devotion lukewarm and negligent; when we cannot pray because of the immense inward dearth, and when the spirit that would hymn praise and thanksgiving is, so to say, lost in the sand of a barren heart, notwithstanding the Lord having said that he will water his vineyard at all times, and will not let us want in any good thing. These are also trials. But be of good courage, God keeps his word; and this inward drought which you feel, believe me, is at that very moment a fertilizing moisture for you; and in the dearth lies the blessing and the source of good. His word he keepeth; but, concerning the how, the the clay must not presume to be at strife with the potter. He may act as he pleases: we must ever conclude, "Lord, thou art faithful, but we must blush for shame." II. Elijah remained where he was, and waited patiently, for the Lord's sake, who had directed him thither. Admirable conduct! Wilfully to abandon a station where the great Lord of Hosts has placed us, would ill become a champion under the standard of the cross. Elijah bore his condition with resignation, and the helper arrived. But, how did he arrive? Entirely different to what Elijah might have expected. Did he come with water, refreshment, and comfort? No; but with a charge which, I will not gainsay, might have suited faith, but never could be pleasing to flesh and blood. "Arise," he was told; "get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." O ye brother-sufferers with Elijah, by Cherith, and in the wilderness; ye wailing children of God, by exhausted springs and dried up rivulets, O if ye were only silent and waited patiently, how strong Here, reason was again obliged to quit the field. would you be; if ye but believed, ye should see He is to go to Zarephath, into the land of the Phethe glory of God. If one only considers what kind nicians; to undertake a distant journey, and not less of promises you have received, one ought to be ex- toilsome than distant, through wild deserts and sandy ceedingly wrath and angry with you for your heavy wastes; and, moreover, at a time of general scarcity, sighs and startling fears, ye discontented mistrustful and beneath the most scorching heat of the sun. people. What cause hast thou to despair, Israel?" Get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon!" And thou, Jacob, what hast thou to fear? "Yes," Thus, he is to depart from the land of Israel to the you think, "what wouldest thou say, should heavy boundaries of heathens and idolaters; into the land afflictions overtake thee?" But, my brethren, what whence sprang Jezebel, his bitter enemy; into the is crooked shall be made straight, as St. John the territory over which Jezebel's father ruled, an atroBaptist says. "Yes," you think, "but what wouldest cious tyrant, who, in alliance with Ahab, his son-inthou say, shouldest thou experience things so appa- law, doubtless failed not to issue warrants against rently in direct opposition to the promises of God?" Elijah. "And a widow woman shall sustain thee My brethren, such things never happen. You de- there." Strange consolation this. A woman who ceive yourselves. For the things are contrary only herself had lost her supporter; a Phenician widow; to your own wishes, and never to the word of God. thus, in all probability, a heathen, against whose You have already framed within yourselves how idols he so vehemently inveighed in his zeal. And, and in what way the Lord is to fulfil his promises what widow ? How is the right one to be distintowards you; and because it does not happen so, guished amongst so many widows in the country? you begin to think that God does not perform what Truly, this is again a very singular direction, and he has pledged himself to do. His promises shall veiled in utter darkness. But, peace, my brethren. assuredly become, "Yea and Amen;" but the Most of the ways by which the Lord guides his chil"how" leave to his wisdom and his love: have pa- dren may be likened unto the day which, born of tience, be silent, leave every thing to Him; for all night, first appears in dim twilight, but things shall end well. For, say, who is it upon * Is. xli. 14. soon changes this garb into the roseate hue of the morning; and, gradually advancing, expands its light and splendour until the tides of noon. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon; " and, we may add, is situate midway between that place and Tyre, which was also a town of commerce. By translating the names of these towns, we gain a very pleasing and comforting idea. Zarephath signifies a smelting-house. But, in spiritual sense, a smelting-house is where the flesh of man is mortified and crucified, and the vain heart humbled, and brought to the dust. A smelting-house is where man gains a new insight into the depths of his misery, and where his impotence appears before him in renewed clearness. A smelting-house is where the hot waters of affliction gush over our head, and the fiery flames of temptation exercise us in the naked faith. There is Zarephath; there is the smeltinghouse; where whatever of self-confidence may yet cleave unto us is destroyed; and where every staff that is not Christ crumbles to pieces in our hands. "Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Behold, I will melt them and try them; for, how shall I do for the daughter of my people?"* But when the gold is in the crucible the melter is nigh. Close by Zarephath is situate Tyre, which means a rock; and who does not know the Rock we mean? There is but one Rock in which to place reliance, and which shall stand firm in the great consummation of all things; this rock is CHRIST JESUS, of whom Malachi says, " And he shall sit"-namely, by the smelting-furnace,-" as a refiner and purifier of silver."+ How consoling is it that Zarephath is situate so near Tzor or Tyre, the great rock! On the other side of Zarephath, at an equally short distance, lies Zidon. Now, Zidon means "rich prize." And, truly, there is no lack of rich and precious prizes in the melting-houses of the children of God. "Behold," saith the Lord by Isaiah, "I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." And David sings, "In humbling thou hast lifted up." And, in Jeremiah, we read, "The people which were left of the sword found grace." And where did they find grace? In the wilderness. St. Paul also says, "Now, no chastening for the presents seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." This is the rich prize. Let us rejoice, therefore, that the situation of Zarephath is not so retired and solitary, but immediately between Tyre and Zidon. eth down mountains and stilleth the waves of the sea; and thus all apprehensions were needless. III. Elijah reaches his destination sooner than he expected. Zarephath lies before him upon the rocky hills, with its glass-houses and iron foundries, which gave to this town of industry its name. "O Lord, how now? where bend my steps?" Have patience, Elijah, and be silent. The Lord has already been here, and prepared and arranged every thing for thee. Elijah goes slowly onward. His road leads through a forest close to the town, where, by accident, he espies, behind a bush, a woman in mean apparel, gathering a few branches and sticks for fuel. "This is the widow," whispered his heart; "this the widow?" he thinks; "this povertystricken object who, herself, seems starving from want, and most likely sustains herself by alms?" "But," he farther reflects, if it is the woman that has to provide for me, she will surely have wherewith to do it. He who fed me for a whole year through ravens, at yon small brook, will find nothing impossible. "And is it not the manner and way of God to help contrary to reason and expectation, and to save through means which, in themselves, admitted no hope for preservation, in order that he may have the honour, and his name be glorified?" Thus, Elijah might have soliloquized within his heart. Yes, he is confident that his Lord, if he willeth it, can easily appoint this poor woman to maintain him; and the worthy man of God is humble enough, in simplicity of heart, to believe that the hut of the beggar-woman, amongst the bushes, may really become his sheltering habitation for the future; and is not in the least disconcerted at this prospect. He must, however, see first how the woman will be disposed towards him. "My good woman," -he therefore thus addresses her,"fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink, for my journey has made me thirsty." The woman looks at the stranger, leaves her sticks by the bush, and is about to haste to the town, in order to bring what he has desired. This ready attention very agreeably surprises Elijah, and makes him feel almost convinced that this is the widow. Thus encouraged, he asks for another favour. "Bring me, I pray thee," he calls to her, "a morsel of bread in thine hand." But this request opened at once every wound of the poor woman's heart, which hitherto she had suppressed; for it reminded her of her condition. She can no longer conceal her stifled grief, nor withhold her sorrows; she must unfold her troubles to the The whole mission to Zarephath appeared to our stranger. "As the Lord thy God liveth," she says, prophet also as one sent into the smelting-house. weeping, "I have not a cake, but a handful of meal But it was a mission of God. It is the will of the in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise: and, behold, Lord. Away then in his name! The prophet, per-I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and haps with sorrow, bids the last farewell to his peace- dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and ful habitation, for he had grown familiar amongst die." Truly, this is a distressing and heart-rending the rocks. He blesses the spot where he had experienced so many favours; for the Lord was the help of his countenance; and, wrapping his garment around him, he takes the staff with which he used to journey, even the staff of the Divine word, into the hand of his faith, and sets out for the land of the Phenicians. There were no lions to devour him on this road of faith, and no serpents to sting him. It was certainly no path strewed with roses, but a way of renunciation: yet He was with him who plough confession. She has not a single cake. A handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse are her whole possession. Of these, in the last extremity of despair, apparently, of any fresh supply, and in utter recklessness of heart, she is about to make something for herself and her son; and then, hopeless of life, lie down and die from hunger. Oh, what woeful and affecting tidings! Well might they move any one to tears. Now, Elijah, what sayest thou? Dost thou still think it is the widow? -Yes, he does; he is certain of it. He has clearly perceived from her words that son, she is a widow, for she spoke of herself and her but said nothing of her husband. The extreme poverty of the woman does not make him uneasy. "If she be that widow woman," he thinks, "God will provide for the rest." And what manner of speech is that, "As the Lord thy God liveth?" What an unusual and sweet sound in this land of strangers and idolaters. She knows the Lord, is a secret worshipper of the living God, a rose amongst briars, a dove hidden in the crevices of the rocks, a converted soul, one of the few in the midst of heathens, whom the word of God has reached. one for each of you." The poor widow woman could not help being surprised at these words. Gracious God," she might have thought, "how shall 1 bake three cakes out of my small supply." But, when the Lord saw that the trial was too great for the strength of her faith, he urged his prophet to call unto her, "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." This invigorated her faith; she went with a light and cheerful heart, and did according to the saying of Elijah. The three cakes were really produced, and Elijah, and she, and her house, did eat; and thus all were helped in the most wonderful and glorious manner. O, happy discovery! Who can describe the joy of our prophet?-He has found a sister in the land of Meshech; and hear what she says, "As the Lord thy God liveth." "The Lord thy God! Whence does she O thou blessed path of faith! Behold the man know that I am also a servant of the living God? Who of God now sitting in the solitary hut, not far from has told her so? O marvellous disposal of the eternal the sea-shore, where, according to tradition, the love of God! O glorious meeting and precious habitation of the poor widow stood. There he acquaintance!" Yes, Elijah comprehends now why dwelleth in cheerfulness, and the whole house greatly she paid such ready attention when he begged a rejoices in him, less on account of temporal gifts little water from her, and why she claimed a kind of than of spiritual blessings. Israel has lost him; a acquaintance by her friendly look at him. Now he poor beggar-woman has gained him. But thus it easily guesses why she so unhesitatingly unfolded fares in the end with a people who refuse to turn her whole heart to him, and why she grieved so unto the Lord, and will not walk uprightly, in spite much for possessing only a handful of meal in a of every exhortation. The bread is taken from them, barrel, and a little oil in a cruise. Yes, truly it is and given to the poor dogs that are languishing the widow, he knows it now; and, if history does not without. Of this instance, the Lord Jesus Christ even expressly inform us, we may safely add, and himself pointedly reminds the people, saying, "But, Elijah stepped aside into the forest, bent his knees I tell you of a truth, many widows were in the days to the ground, and wept aloud for joy, and in grati- of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years tude to God, and in admiration at the ways of and six months, when great famine was throughout Jehovah; nor could he speak for sobs and inward all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, emotion. Yes, whoever has experienced it, knows save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman how highly delightful it is, when cast away into a that was a widow." There he passes his time in land of strangers, where the roads to Zion lie desolate, joy and comfort. Distress has vanished from the and when thrust into the circle of the children of the family. The barrel of meal wasteth not, neither world, close to the rushing waters of Babylon, we doth the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of unexpectedly meet, in the midst of the wilderness, the Lord. And there is also a constant supply of a countryman from Galilee, a brother or a sister in spiritual food. O how happy is the poor woman! the Lord. It is an unbounded joy; and though it she can daily sit at the feet of the pious man, and be be but a single person, the desert blossoms forth-instructed by him concerning heavenly things; and with, and the fields are strewed with lilies. In the like cases, it becomes manifest that the love of the regenerated is not so badly off as some would have it; that the love of which the Lord says, " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another," is really in them; that although it be occasionally hid, yet still is it in existence, and is proved by a variety of instances. And this very joy of Elijah is tasted to this day in the world. Thank God, we also can trust that the Lord has his sheep and hidden doves at all places, even where hirelings and wolves feed the flock; and the sheep that graze on scanty pastures often bear the finest wool. And wonderful it is how easily children of God find and know each other. Elijah, being convinced that this was the widow woman of whom the Lord had spoken to him, did not hesitate to console her in the most impressive manner. God commanded he should do so. "Fear not," he exclaimed; "be calm and comforted; neither thou nor thy son, nor I also, shall die from hunger. Go and do as thou hast said; but," he added, "make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son." But, Elijah, shall the few drops of oil and the handful of meal suffice for three cakes?" "Yes, even for three thousand if requisite; for the Lord himself will now distribute our food. First a cake for me, and then 66 how willingly does Elijah open his mouth to this sincere and simple sister in the faith of God. They pray together; they read together out of Moses and the Prophets; they discourse concerning the promised Messiah, and his coming, and occasionally sing together hymns and psalms to the praise of the Lord; and their time passes away in gladness. Surely, the angels of God rejoiced at this little church in the wilderness, and found pleasure in looking down upon it. Behold, behold, my brethren, this is the result, and the end of a path which commenced in so deep a darkness. Thus the Almighty always leads his children, both in things temporal and spiritual, to a most glorious end. "And he went," says the history of Elijah. Splendid testimony! May it be also said of you, my brethren, to wherever the Lord shall call you, "And he went." Be the way ever so irksome, arise and go. Depart, comforted by faith; be resigned, and wait; the end will always be a time for rejoicing. Whoever has launched the bark of life upon the bidding of the Lord, and is now cruising on the boundless ocean, let him not tremble, but let him cast his anchor into the ground of God's faithfulness and upon the rock of his eternal promises, and be of good courage, and say with the royal minstrel, Luke, iv. 25. |