of soldiers and their captains, whom Ahaziah had sent to apprehend him; and then, he himself went to the king, and foretold him of his death, which happened after Ahaziah had reigned two years. He was succeeded by Jehoram his brother.

Reflections after reading the chapter.

In this chapter we may observe, I. That the threatenings God denounced against king Ahab, began to be executed in the reign of his son Ahaziah. The Moabites rebelled against him, and he had a fall, which proved mortal, of which he died, after he had seen two of his companies destroyed by fire from heaven. II. That that prince, instead of growing better by his sickness, and by the corrections of the Almighty, arrived at such a pitch of wickedness, as to consult idols. God chastens sinners to bring them to himself; but when they take occasion, even from his corrections, to offend him with new crimes, this denotes the last degree of obstinacy and incorrigibleness. III. It is to be observed, that though Elijah consumed by fire from heaven, the captains and soldiers whom the king had sent to take him, he did not do it out of a spirit of revenge, nor of his own accord, but by a divine impulse and command; this appears in God's displaying his omnipotence, and making fire to fall from heaven at the word of Elijah. God wrought this miracle to secure the prophet, and to punish the idolaters: to put a stop to the fury of Ahaziah, and to teach that prince and his subjects to fear the true God. So that this action of Elijah does not justify revenge; as our Lord teaches his disciples, when, in imitation of Elijah, they would have caused fire to come down from heaven upon the Samaritans who had refused to receive them. After a very short reign Ahaziah died; and his death happening according to the prediction of Elijah, may be looked upon as a just judgment from God on that wicked and idolatrous prince.

CHAPTER II.

THE prophet Elijah is taken up into heaven. II. Elisha, his disciple and successor, receives his spirit, and works several miracles; which showed that God had appointed him to be a prophet in Israel, as Elijah had been.

Reflections.

pre

THE taking up the prophet Elijah into heaven, is a wonderful event; in which we see how God was pleased to reward the extraordinary zeal of this great prophet; and to teach us at the same time, that he reserves in heaven a blessed state for those that shall have served him faithfully. It appears from the circumstances of this history, from what preceded, and what followed the ascension of Elijah, that it was known, not only to Elisha, but to a great many of the sons of the prophets, who were on the other side of Jordan, when Elijah was taken up. Besides this, we have in the ascension of Elijah a type of that of Jesus Christ; which is yet a stronger proof to us, that there is a better life after this pared for the righteous. Elisha's perseverance in following Elijah, that he might be witness of his departure, and his earnest request that he might receive a double portion of his spirit, is a proof of the zeal and faith of Elisha; which he was rewarded for ; since he saw his master taken up, and was endued with the same gifts as he had been. We ought, with the same zeal and perseverance, to seek for the necessary gifts of God's Holy Spirit; and if we apply to Jesus Christ for them, he will grant them to us in an abundant measure. The miracles wrought by Elisha, immediately after the ascension of Elijah, dividing the waters of Jordan, and healing those of Jericho, tended to assure him, that God would be with him as he had been with Elijah; and to convince the sons of the prophets, and all the people of Israel, that

Elisha was a prophet, in an extraordinary manner sent by him. The death of the forty-two children of Beth-el, who were devoured by two she-bears, was designed by God, to confirm the calling of Elisha among an idolatrous people; to terrify the king of Israel and his people; and to punish the inhabitants of Beth-el, the place where idolatry was publicly practised, and where the prophets of the Lord were despised and rejected. It was expedient such examples as these should now and then be made, and that God should give proofs of his wrath in a kingdom where the worship of idols was supported by a public authority.

CHAPTER III.

I. Jehoram, the ninth king of Israel, assisted by Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom, makes war upon the Moabites, who had revolted from his brother Ahaziah. II. The army of these three kings being ready to perish for want of water, Elisha procured them water, and promised them the victory. III. The Moabites were defeated, and their king offered his son a sacrifice upon the walls of the city of Kir-haraseth, whither he had retired, after which the war ended.

Reflections.

In this history we are to observe, I. That Jehoram was not so bad as Ahab his father, since he put down the idolatry of Baal; but he preserved the worship of the golden calves, which Jeroboam had introduced. This prince had some good notions; but had not piety nor resolution enough, to abolish idolatry entirely. Jehoram represents those sinners who are willing to do something for God, and renounce some sins, but retain others, and cannot resolve to renounce them all. II. The army of the kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom, wanting water, Elisha was called for, and God gave them water by the ministry of that prophet; after which they defeated the Midianites. As the

sacred history informs us, that God granted Jehoram this victory for the sake of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who feared the Lord; we see that God does often do good to those that are unworthy of it, for the sake of pious persons, in love to whom, he displays his power and his goodness, even for wicked men. It may likewise be added, that God favoured Jehoram upon this occasion, because he was not so bad as his father Ahab, or his brother Ahaziah, and had put down the worship of Baal. God is so gracious, that he even rewards the little good there is in sinners, and by that mean shows, that if they did sincerely turn to him, they would feel the effects of his love. The victory, which God vouchsafed to Jeroboam by the prophet Elisha's means, should have induced Jeroboam to have rooted out idolatry entirely, which he did not; but by persisting in his sins, he drew upon himself the divine vengeance. The horrible and unnatural action of the king of Moab, who sacrificed his own son, is a very remarkable circumstance; which shows, that among those idolatrous nations, all sense of humanity and tenderness was lost; and that rage and despair hurry on wicked men to the most detestable actions. wicked usually give themselves up to excess of grief; whereas those who know God, and fear him, have always recourse to him with resignation and submission, in the greatest troubles, and the most disagreeable events.

CHAPTER IV.

The

THIS chapter contains the relation of several miracles of Elisha. I. He multiplied the widow's oil. II. Going to lodge at the house of a woman of Shunem, he promised that God would give her a son; which son dying, he raised him to life again. III. He made the pottage wholesome, which before could not be eaten. IV. He fedan hundred men with twenty loaves of barley, and some ears of corn.

Reflections.

I. IN the several miracles wrought by the prophet Elisha, we ought to take notice of, and to admire the power of God, and at the same time, his goodness towards the Israelites; since all those miracles tended to restore them to the worship of the true God, and to recover them from idolatry. II. We are to observe, that if Elisha multiplied the oil of a widow, who was distressed by her creditors, and if he obtained a son for the Shunamite, and afterwards raised him from the dead, it was because these women and their husbands feared the Lord; so that it appears very clearly from these examples, that God displays his power in favour of those that fear him, and that he delivers them from their distress. Observe, III. That God after he had given a son to the Shunamite, was pleased he should die, that he might restore him to her again by a miracle. The proceeding of this woman, who, as soon as her son was dead, went immediately to seek for Elisha, shows her surprising faith, and her hope, that the same prophet who had promised the birth of the child, would restore him to life; and she was not disappointed of her hope. God often afflicts his children in the most sensible manner, that he may afterwards give them stronger tokens of his love, by delivering them and giving them a happy issue out of their afflictions, and making them serve to confirm them in the faith, and in the fear of the Lord. IV. We must consider, that though the miracles of Elisha were many and great, yet they are much inferior to those of Jesus Christ, who, by a word alone, and in an instant, healed the sick, and raised the dead: and that if Elisha fed an hundred persons with twenty loaves of barley, our Lord fed several thousands with a few barley loaves and small fishes, as is recorded in the Gospel.