seed begging their bread." Rather would God maintain them by a miracle, than that the widow and children of his servant, should perish with hunger. True, vital godliness hath, as the apostle declares, "the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come,' and He who hath not withheld from us His Son, His only Son, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? daily bread with daily grace, and at least a sufficiency in time, as well as an infinite inheritance when time shall be no longer. Let, then, those among you who are not blessed with a large portion of worldly goods, learn to trust more simply and entirely to our heavenly Father, even for the supply of this world's necessities. He, without whom not a sparrow falleth, never will, and never can desert the work of his own hands, and if you go to Him in a manner of childlike dependence, and confidence, asking bread, most assuredly He will neither "give you a stone," nor send you empty away.

If we may legitimately gather thus much for

* 1 Tim. iv. 8.

our support and consolation as regards the things of time, from the narrative before us, surely it ought not to be without its encouragement in reference to the more abiding possessions of eternity. How beautiful a picture does it present to us of God's dealings with the poverty-stricken soul! How plainly can we see in it, the humble approach of such a soul in the depths of its destitution, and in the consciousness of its own emptiness, to our great and blessed Intercessor. The same confidence in his tender compassion and loving-kindness, which marked the approach of the widow to the prophet; the same humble determination to leave all to Christ, to plead nothing before him but poverty and emptiness, trusting for the remedy, entirely to His mercy and love, who alone can know the extent of the disorder, and alone can minister the cure. While to the question, "What hast thou?" every faculty of the truly convinced and converted soul, also must acknowledge in reply, “I have not any thing" that I can call my own, but my numberless transgressions, my countless sins,

which have degraded myself, and have dishonoured thee. Again, as we follow this poor and helpless widow, and behold cask after cask, and vessel after vessel filled from the never-failing cruse, the oil never ceasing, never even diminishing, so long as one vessel more remained to be supplied, how powerfully are we reminded of Him "out of whose fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." What encouragement for yourselves, brethren; not one member of the spiritual Church of Christ, and not one grace, one virtue in that member which shall not be filled up, by that adorable Saviour, who "filleth all in all." Betake yourselves, then, to Him this day, with a deep feeling of your own utter emptiness and insufficiency, drawing largely upon Him, for all your need; carry to Him your imperfect prayers, your miserable duties, your defective services, all utterly empty of themselves, all valuable only as we are "fulfilled with His grace and heavenly benediction."* collect for your comfort, that so long as one

* Sacramental Service of the Church of England.

Re

vessel remained empty, the oil never ceased to flow, and the vessels were exhausted, before that cruse had failed. So shall it be with you; again and again may you find all that you need, and more than all that you can ever need, in the infinite sufficiency of a Saviour's power, the incalculable merits of a Saviour's blood and righteousness, and the unsearchable riches of a Saviour's love.

Time has not seen, and time shall never see the hour when that well shall fail you, when that fountain shall run dry, so long as there is one thirsting heart to be satisfied, one empty soul to be filled, one penitent and believing sinner to be

57

LECTURE III.

2 KINGS iv. 26.

"Run now, I pray thee, to meet her; and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well."

In the last discourse, we took occasion to remark upon the advantages of religious seclusion, to qualify us for the more ostensible duties of public usefulness; of the truth of this, the life of our blessed Lord, of Elijah the Tishbite, and of the prophet, whose history we are now considering, afford us many and striking examples. Elisha's time, indeed, appears to have been chiefly divided between the solitudes of Mount Carmel, and the thickly-thronged capital of Israel. Upon his road between the two, and about five miles from Mount Tabor, stood the city of Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, through