"An ass•~ head was ~old fo~,fourscore pieces of silver,'' etc. Hunger is one of the most ?ommand~ng of appet!te~. In every land and in every age the first and most interest- mg question the mRJonty of men have to practically solve is, • How are we to get bread ? ' ~fan's social, moral, and spiritual welfare turns to an incalculable extent on that 9uest10n. Throughout all history, sacred and profane, this great want has been swaym~ _and_ moulding as a first power the nations of men, Hence the significance of the pet1t1on m the centre of the Lord's prayer,• Give us this day our daily bread.' It may seem at first sight a comparatively small petition, overshadowed and dwarfed by the great, spiritual petitions both before and after it; but he who knew what was in I?an, knew what a powerful influence the question of daily bread had upon his whole hfe and welfare; and when we ourselves consider what a power it is in the world we see something of the reason for placing such a petition in the centre of a mod;l of prayer" (F. Ferguson). 3. Natuml affection destroyed. The shocking episode narrated in vers. 26-29 illustrates the previous remarks (cf. Deut. xxviii. 53-57). 'l'be king wa& stopped when passing by on the wall by a woman appealing to him for help. With not unnatural bitterness he replied, "If the Lord do not help thee whence shall I help thee?" '\Vas it out of the empty bamfloor, or the dry winepress'? He then inquired into her complaint, and beard from her her revolting tale. A woman bad proposed to her that she should give her son for food to them both that day, and she would give her son next day. The complainant had fulfilled her part of the bargain, and now the second woman bad hidden her son. One asks-Could human nature, in its direst extremity, ever descend to such revolting deeds? Alas I the instances in history are not few. We have reason to thank God for hie goodness in preserving us from such extremity and such temptation. II. Gun.T LAID AT THE WRONG DOOR. L The tokffi of humiliation. The woman's dreadful story, revealing such depths of horror in the city, stung the king to the heart. His first act was to rend his clothes, and, as the people looked, they saw that secretly he had been wearing sackcloth upon his flesh. The commentators, perhaps, hardly do justice to Jeboram in this act. The next verse shows that his religion did not go very deep ; but various circumstances suggest that there was a measure of sincerity in his penitence. He had evidently thus far listened to the counsels of Elisha, and tried to "wait on the Lord" for deliverance. He does not show badly in hie sympathy with the people. 'l'he very secrecy of his wearing of sack- cloth distingui;;hes it from the act of an ostentatious formalist. He probably, like his father Ahab, really "humbled" himself for a time, "and went softly" (1 Kings xxi, 27, 29). If, in hie outburst of passion., he uttered a threat of death against Elisha, it appears to have been no sooner spoken than it was repented of, and he hastened after his messenger to counteract it. It is good when God's chastisements lead to humiliation of the soul. We can at least make Jehoram an example in the unostentatiousness of his exercises of penitence (Matt. vL 16-18). 2. The threat and its reception. Carried away by his anger and his feeling of the intolerableness of the situation, the king swore an oath that toot very day the head of Elisha should be taken from him. It was a wicked and inexcusable utterance. The reasons of it may be thus assigned: (1) Elisha had apparently urged him to patience and repentance, assuring him that help would come. That hope had been disappointed. (2) He fixed the responsibility of the delay of help on Elisha, as one who had power with God, and had not exercised it. (3) Be was angry with God himself, and was moved to wreak his vengeance on God's ministers. Had he properly considered the matter, he would have reflected that Elisha, like him- self, could but present his desires to God, and wait God's time; that the prophet had unweariedly been doing this, and was the one hope and saviour of the people; and that, if guilt lay at any one's door, it was his own wickedness, and that of his associates, that was bringing these calamities upon the nation. Wicked men, however, are seldo~ willing, except in a very limited degree, to take home guilt to themselves. They will ble.me God, their fellows, their spiritual counsellors, any one but themselves, for their miseries. It is a very different picture we have of Elisha. He sits composedly in his house, with the elders of Samaria around him, no doubt exhorting them and strengthen- i.g them to wait on God. By that prophetic clairvoyanC6 of which we have so many instances, he knew of the king's threat as soon as it was uttered, a11d bade the elder., shut the door again Rt this messenger of" the son of a murderer," and detain him till tlil' OB, VII, 1-20,] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 1!47
king himself came. 3. Why wait longer on the Lord 1 Jeboram soon a~rived, and hie first words to 1!:lieha were, "Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?" That be had departed from his threat may he presumed from Elislia answering him as be did. But his words show bis radical misconception of religion. 'ro wait on the Lord was not a duty to be done from regard to its own right- ness e.nd propriety. It wne, he thought, a means to an end. If benefits were to be gained from it, it was to he done; if not, it was to be set aside. Service of God which springs from this principle is not true service. It is disguised self-interest. It has no real spring of love, devotion, or worship. The spirit is kindred with that of the fetish- worsbipper, who prays to his gods for re.in, and beats them if he does not get it. But why blame Jehoram, as if he were specially impious? Does not the same spirit show itself in multitudes among ourselves? While the sun shines on them they are willing enough to be religious. If adversity comes, there is unbelief, murmuring, impatience, rebellion at the Divine ordering. "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job ii. 10). It is not enough to acknowledge that evil is from the Lord, we must humble ourselves under his band, submit to him, own the justice of his dealings, and seek to profit by his chastisements. \Ve must not faint, or grow unbelieving, but be assured that, in protracting the hour of deli verancc, God is but waiting to make the deliverance more signal and glorious (Heh. "J:ii. 5-11).-J. 0.
EXPOSITION.