not the aouud of his master's feet behind him 1 ehnrtly Arrived. Tho king waR, of cnurse, Elisha adcls this us e. renson why the elders admitte,l, e.ncl, being admitted, took the should stop the messenger. He could not word, a.n,l ea.id, Behold, thie evil is of the in a geuore.l way hnve expected them to Lord; what-rather, why-should I wait reeiet the king's will e.e decla.red ~ hie for the Lord any lo11ger1 Jehoram had, representa.tivo; but he might reasonably ask apparently, to some extent repentecl of hie a short respite, if the king wa.e just about hasty message, and he.d hurried after his to arrive a.t tbo house, to confirm the order meeRenger, to give Elisha one further that he had given, or to revoke it. chance of life. We must understanrl that Ver. 33.-And while he yet talked with they had been in communication previously them-i.e, while Elisha yet talked with the on the subject of the siege, and that Elisha elders, endeavouring probably to persuade had encoare.ged the king to "wait for" e.n interposition of Jehovah. The king now them to stop the messenger-behold, the urges that the time for waiting is over; messenger came down unto him: and he said. matters a.re e.t the last gasp ; " this evil " - The narrative is very compressed and ellip- this terrible suffering which can no longer tical. Some suppose words to have fallen be endured-" is of the Lord,"· has come out (ae 1•1nN ';j?z:in1 after 1'?N); but this is from him, is continued by him, and ia not unnecessary. The rellder ie expected to relieved. What use is there in his " wait- supply missing links, and to understand ing" any longer? Why should he not that all he.ppened ae Elisha had predicted break with Jehovah, behead the lying and enjoined-that the messenger came, that prophet, and surrender the town? What the elders stopped him, and the.t the kiug has Elishe. to ee.y in reply?
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-7.-Mutual love and help the best bond of religious communities. "Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, brethren, to dwell together in unity I It is like the precious ointment upon the head, ihat ran down unto the beard, even unto .Aaron's beard, and went down to the skirts of bis clothing; like as the dew of Hermon, which fell upon the hill of Zion" (Ps. cxxxiii. 1-3). In religious communities it bas been too often the practice to govern by fear. An autocratic authority has been committed to, or assumed by, the head, who has exacted from all the other members an entire, absolute, and unreasoning obedience. Vows of obedience, of the most rigid character, have been taken ; and it has been inculcated on all that the sum total of virtue lay in obeying, without a murmur or a question, every order issued by the superior. An iron rule has characterized such institutions, and a cold, unloving temper has pre•ailed in them. How different is the picture drawn in the beautiful passage before us I How sweet and pleasing is the commnnity-life of Elisha and his prophet-disciples I Though bound by no vow of obedience, they undertake nothing without their master (vers. 2 and 3). They require e.n enlargement of their dwelling-place, but they will not commence it without his sanction. Even his sanction is not enough; they ask his presence, his superintending eye, his guiding mind. And he complies willingly, cheer- fully. No trouble is too much for him. "Go ye," he says; but when they object and plead, "Be content, I pray thee, llnd go with thy servants," he at once consents, and says, "I will go." He goes, he looks on with sympathy, he guides, he aids. At the firHt touch of misfortune, his sympathy blossoms into help. How charming is the childlike confidence and communicativeness of the disciple, who, on losing his axe- head, immediately reveals hie loss to the master, and tells him why it was so especially grievous to him-" And it a borrowed one I" And bow admirable the kindness and fellow-feeling, which uttered no reproach, made no suggestion of carelessness or of stupidity in selecting a tree so near the stream, b,,t thought only of finding a remedy. Natural means being unavailing, the prophet deems the occasion no unsuitable one for the exercise of his miraculous powers, which he is as willini to exert on behalf of a. humble prophet-student a~ on that of a great Syrie.n general. The terms on which Elisha and his disciples live are evidently those of mutue.l confidence e.nd affection, of protection and fatherly care on the one hand; of appoal, regard, and childlike lov~ on the other; and the result is a community which it is delightful to contemplate, and which increases and flourishes, in spite of the contempt and persecuticn of the world- lover, ao that its place is "too strait for it," 126 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [ en. vr. 1-33.