up yourselves to God, guard against every thing that may cause you to waver in your purposes. Your dearest friends and relatives will be ready to say, " Spare yourself:" but you must not yield to any such entreaties. They will tell you, " That you will injure your worldly prospects :" but so did Elisha — " That there are few who approve and countenance such conduct :" but so Elisha found it, there being not one, excej)t his master Elijah, that openly espoused the cause of God — " That you will subject yourself to persecution :" but it was in a season of bitterest persecution that Elisha joined himself to Elijah. As to the manner of conducting yourselves towards your parents or superiors, we again say, Behave with meekness, with modesty, with love : " Kiss your father and your mother :" but do not prefer them before your God^ There are two extremes against which you must guard, namely, a rough, petulant, self-willed determination to follow your own way, without any regard to the feelings or sentiments of your superiors, on the one hand ; and an easy complying temper that sacrifices duty to interest, on the other hand. The union of meekness with fidelity, and of love with firmness, is that at which you must aim ; combining " the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove."]
1 Matt. X. 37.
1 Kings XX. 1 1 . Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that 'putteth it off.
HOWEVER blinded men are in reference to their own sins, they can easily discern sin in others, and declare sagaciously enough what true wisdom re- quires. We should certainly not have expected Ahab, of all men, to become a monitor : the dictates of wisdom seem but ill suited to his lips. But the counsel, which he here gave to the king of Syria, was excellent, and is deserving of all the attention that can be paid to it.
In considering this counsel, it is my intention to point out,
I. The wisdom of it —
It may be noticed either.