was the greal ambition to be king. He has yielded to that long since. It has taken com['lete po~sossion of his mind. Then there came the temptation to carry a false me.,sage to his mnstor, who had reposed such confidence in him. He yieldeJ to that. Then there came the temptation to ta!ce away his master's life. It was a stmncr one no doubt. 'l'here was but that weak, helpless king, upon a bed of sicknesH, betwee~ him and the throne. One little act, which no one would suspect, and the ohject 0f his ambition would be attained. But if he had resisted the other temptatioM, this one might never have assailed him at all, or, if it had, he would easily have resisted it. The reason of his fall was the want of a suificient force within. We need somethin"0 ruore than human to conquer the Satanic power of sin. "What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?" Hazael had no restraining power to check his own evil tendencies, no resisting power to stop the temptation at the door, ere it entered and took possession of his heart. He seems to have had a feeling of shame, as when he became confused before Elisha's steady glance. But shame, by itself, with no other superior influence to sustain it, is easily vanquished. Lust, covetousness, ambition, intemperance,-every one of these is able to put shame to flight. The immoral man-he has long since trampled on shame. The miser, the covetous man-he will stop at nothing that will increase his possessions. The ambitious man-he will not allow shame to hinder him in the desire for power and place. The drunkard-shame has long since ceased in his besotted mind; no blush is seen upon his bloated face. No; if we are to resist evil, if we are to conquer sin, it must be in some power stronger than poor human nature can supply. Hazael did not know that power. He trusted in his own sense of shame, in his own sense of what was right, and that failed him. He who had said, "What is thy servant, this dog, that he should do this great thing?" on the morrow took his master's life. Contrnst Hazael's exclamation with J oseph's when he was tempted: "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God 1" Ah I there was something there to which fiazael was a stranger. There was the personal presence of a personal God; there was the fear of offending that holy God; there was the fear of grieving that loving heavenly Father who had watched over Joseph when his brethren had forsaken him, and who had provided for all his wants. Bazael's feeling is more like that of Peter, "Tbough all men forsake thee, yet will not I "-the expression of wounded pride, of boastful self. security. Yet Peter fell into the very sin of which he had expressed such horror only e. few hours before. It is not such self-confidence, but a humble feeling of our own weakness and e.n attitude of entire dependence upon God, that will really keep the door barred against temptation. One or two practical applications. 1. Be on your guard against the beginnings of evil. If you yield to one temptation, no matter how small and insignificant it may be, others are sure to follow in its wake. 2. Be charitable toward the fciults and failings of others. When we know what possibilities of evil there are in our own hearts, how can we have the presumption to sit in judgment upon others? If others have fallen and we are secure, perhaps it was because we were not exposed to the same temptation~. We are to consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted. 3. If yon have not yet ,xperienced the forgiveness that is in Christ Jesus e.nd the power of Divine grace, seek them now 1 Let it be your earnest prayer, "Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a ri,?;ht spirit within me." If you would be safe from the possibilities c;f evil that are in your own heart, and from the temptations of a godless world, then your prayer should be now and always," Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."-C. H. I.
Vers. 1-6.-Topicsfor reflection. "Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son ho had restored to life," etc. 1n these verses we have an illustration of the reward of kindness, the ignorance of royalty, and the influence of godliness. I. 'l'BE REW ARD OF KINDNESS. "Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn where- soever thou canst sojourn : for the Lord hath called for e. famine ; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. Ami the woman arose, and did after the sayiug of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land ol the Philistines seven years." Through Elisha this Shunammite woman obtained thrco 180 THE SECO~D BOOK OF THE KINGS. [oa. vm. 1-29.