Vere. 24-33.-Subfects worth considering. ".And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria." etc. These verses, brimful of the wicked and the horrible, press the following subjects on our attention. I. THE INHUMANITY OF wAR. ".And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dun~ for five pieces of silver." The inhumanity of the Syrian king and his host in invading Samaria is seen in the shameful disregard of the kindness which the Samaritans had previously shown them. In the preceding verses we read that the Samaritans bad not only allowed them to escape entire destruction when they were at their mercy, but, at the interposition of Elisha, supplied them with abundant provisions to appease their hunger and to invigorate their frames. Notwithstanding this, they now came to work ruin on their very saviours. War has no gratitude, no sense of right, no senti- ment of kindness; often it dehumanizes human nature, transfor!Illl the man into a fiend. " How all minor cruelties of me.n Are summed in war, conolusive of all crimes!" (' Festlll!.') II. THE TERRIBLENF.SS OF HUNGER. To such absolute destitution did these ruthless warriors reduce the inhabitants of Samaria, that not only did the ravenous hunger drive them to obtain food from the "ass's head" and from "dove's dung," but from human flesh-mothers from the children of their womb. "And as the King of Israel was pass- ing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, 0 king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barn floor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee ? And she answered, Thie woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. So we killed my son, and did eat him," etc. Here is a tragic tale, a tale that m:i.kes tbo heart quail, and the nerves quiver with horror. !lunger in itself is a blessing, it implies health e.nd stimulates to action; it is in truth the mainspring that k011ps the human machinery of the world in action. But when it becomes intense and unappeasable, it sets all moral comm11ndments at defiance, it will break through stone walls, shatter thrones, and break up empires. It is amon~ the primary duties of rulers to keep the hunger of the people appeased. Alas I everywhern in England we hear its groans ; may not these groanings be the mutterings of nature before the volcanic eruption? 1-12 THE SECOND IlOOK OF 'l'HE KINGS. [OH. VI, 1-33,
rn. THE MrnDIRECTION o!' PASSION. The tale of the famishing woman, l\nd the !'<'volt.mg scenes he beheld, pierced the heart of the King of Israel. His feelinas at first seem to have be~n those of great humiliation and deep sympathy. ".And it came to pass, when the kmg heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes." nut they soon became th~se of raging wrath against Elisha. "Then he said, God do so and more also to me, 1f the bead of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day." . If Elisha bad,_ from a malign spirit, really brought all this distress upon the ~m:mtan p_cople, this ":rath might have been justified. .Anger against wrong is right. But 1t WRS not Ehsha. that brought the calamities; it was themselves-their idolatries, their sins. Elisha was their greatest friend. '!'he misdirection of human indignation is no uncommon evil. How often men are angry with one another without a cause! Passion misdirected put to death the Son of God himself. IV. THE CALMNESS OF GOODNESS. Whilst all these revolting scenes were ta.king place, and the king burning with rage against Elisha, was resolving on his destruction, where was Elisha? " But Elisha sat in his house and the elders sat with him." With his disciples, fellow-citizens, and "elders" Elisl;a sat, without anxiety or alarm. Mark: 1. l t was not the calmness of servile submission. ThouOah he knew the tbrent of the king, he had no idea of making an apology or seeking to appease unreasonable inciignation, or yield with stoicism to his fate. No. Whilst he sat calmly, the pulse of manhood throbbed stronger in every vein, and when he heard the king's messenaer approach the door of his house, he said to the elders, " See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head?" It is grand to hear men give others their proper title, even though they be kings. Were all men thus honest, many of those who are now called "right honourables" would be "right abominables." 2. It was not the calmness of irresolution. It was not a state of unnerved indifference ; on the contrary, there was in it a resolute power. "Look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door." For the man's own sake hold him, do not let him contract crime by committing murder. Probably a.t this moment Elisha saw the king himself hurrying towards him, to revoke his murderous decree. Conscious goodness is always calm. He is "kept in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the Lord." 3. It was the calmness that conquers. The king himself, it would seem, was soon at the door. He had relented, and hurried to prevent the execution of his murderous comm~nd. ".And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?" 'l'his utterance is that of the king, and it would seem it was a response to the prophet's exhortation to " wait for the Loru." And he meaus to say, "This evil is not from thee, Elisha, but from the Lord, and it is hopeless; ' what should I wait for the Lord any longer?'" It is not likely that such a humili- ating utterance as this would have fallen from the lips of the king, harl he met Elisha in a state of furious excitement. No doubt it was the moral majesty of calmness that struck the heart of the monarch.-D. T.