wrought by his own power; "He spake, and it was done." "Young man, I say unto thee, arise !"-" Talitha cumi.". "Lazarus, come forth!" Prophets and apostles all speak in the name and by authority of God, or of Jesus, but Jesus himself is dependent upon none. In his own name, and by virtue of his own power, he raises the dead, imparts sight to the blind, restores to tranquillity the foaming billows and the raging tempest.

Was the prophet presumptuous in sending Gehazi with his staff? Had he such a conceit of his power with God, that he needed only to send his servant with his staff, and the miracle would be performed? If so, he was properly rebuked. Let all, whether ministers or private Christians, be admonished of the propriety of due humility in the discharge of their duties; especially during revivals of religion, when the spiritually dead are raised to life, should all be ready to exalt God, and hide themselves. But have not revivals, in some cases, been retarded, and, perhaps, cut short, by the pride of ministers or people? Have they not sometimes magnified their own importance, or the importance of some one or more measures, which they themselves have suggested? Have they not leaned upon their own staff, rather than upon the power of God? or set greater value upon some balm of their own preparation, than upon the balm of Gilead? Let it never be forgotten, that he that exalteth himself, when God only should be exalted, will be humbled.

But, perhaps, tne prophet, in the fullness of his sympathy, and in the haste of his heart to impart relief to the pious Shunammite, neglected to consult God; neglected to pray and humble himself, before he sent his staff. If so, who will not say that he was signally in fault? He might feel for the woe of one who had shown such kindness as had the pious Shunammite; but, in his ardor to help her, he should not have forgotten the honor due to God; he should not, by the

very means by which he would have extended relief, have retarded it.

In like manner, let not ministers and Christians, in their zeal and sympathy for sinners, or for the furtherance of a revival, neglect those means, which, alone, can secure their object. Has it not often, however, occurred that, while souls have been anxious; while spiritual distress has been prevailing on every side, and inquiries have been pouring forth from the bosoms of hundreds, has it not often happened that a throne of grace has been nearly neglected, and dependence has been placed on some staff of Elisha? on some new and extraordinary measure? on some human expedient, by which to raise the spiritually dead to life? We should never lose sight of the real power by which sinners are made alive unto God. Whatever instrumentalities are employed, ministers and Christians must get behind the curtain, and pray. Pray first-pray fervently: then go yourself, if you are able; but if, in the providence of God, you cannot go, you may then safely send Gehazi.

Finally, ministers may well sympathize with parents who have children dead in trespasses and sins. Oh! ye servants of the living God, know you what joy you may convey to the parental bosom by your prayers for a beloved child! For every child whom, by the grace of God, you shall raise to life, you shall receive the grateful love of father and mother here, and will add to the brightness of your crown of glory in the world to come.

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II. KINGS.

PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH AGAINST SENNACHERIB.

Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, &c.— 2 Kings xix. 16, 18-20, 32, 35, 36.

On the accession of Hezekiah to the throne of Judah, he commenced an extensive reformation among the people. Idols had been set up in various places, and even incense had been burned in honor of the brazen serpent which Moses had made, and which, to this time, had been preserved. This, however, was now broken in pieces; the other idols were destroyed; the high places removed, and the land purged of idolatry.

A few years following this reformation, Hezekiah, in token of having shaken off the Assyrian yoke, refused to pay tribute. 187. In the fourteenth year of his reign, however, Sennacherib, king of Syria, invaded Judah, many of whose fenced cities fell into his hands. Hezekiah, it would seem, offered no resistance; but, with a strange want of courage, and confidence in God, he makes his submission to Sennacherib, who requires from him the immediate payment of a sum equal to nearly a million of dollars. To meet this demand, with great impropriety, he takes the golden plates from off the doors and pillars of the temple.

In consideration of the above tribute, Sennacherib, it was expected, would withdraw his forces. But, instead of this, Jerusalem itself is soon besieged by a formidable army, headed by Tartan, Rabsasis, and Rabshakah. Hezekiah is invited by them to a personal interview, which, however, he declines, but sends three commissioners to represent himself, and to treat with the officers of Sennacherib.

Previous to, and during this interview, Hezekiah is insulted by Rabshakah; God is blasphemed; and the soldiers are menaced, and invited to mutiny. The condition of Hezekiah and his capital was, consequently, sufficiently gloomy; but from what quarter can he look for deliverance?

Like a prudent man, instead of depending upon human wisdom, or resorting to human expedients, he repairs to the house of the Lord, to meditate and pray; at the same time, he sends Eliakim and Shebna in sackcloth to Isaiah, to solicit his prayers in this "day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy."

Isaiah replies, by direction of God, that Hezekiah has nothing to fear from the insolent and blasphemous Sennacherib. "I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return into his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”

Rabshakah delivered his message; but, receiving no answer, he left his army before Jerusalem, under command of the other generals, and went himself to attend the king, his master, for further orders. Sennacherib, on learning the state of things, sends messengers a second time to Hezekiah, to induce him to surrender. In his message at this time, the haughty Syrian himself mocks and insults God; and, with great insolence, intimates to Hezekiah that no one will be able to deliver him out of his hands.

Hezekiah, however, had been instructed by Isaiah in whom to confide; and, believing the promises of God, he repairs to the house of the Lord, to lay before him his case, and to pray for divine guidance and protection; showing that even with the divine assurance of safety, we are still to pray.

The honor of God had been insulted. The power of Him who dwells between the cherubim had been defied. The covenant people of God had been reproached for their confidence in the divine protection. "O Lord," says Hezekiah,

"bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine

eyes, and see and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God." The best pleas are those which are taken from God's honor. These are the pleas of Hezekiah, and they prevail.

Isaiah is sent to Hezekiah with a gracious answer to his prayer: "That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib I have heard." That same night the utter ruin of the Syrian army was accomplished.

Like the leaves of the forest, when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset are seen;
Like the leaves of the forest, when autumn is flown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn.

For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast,—
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the breath of the sleepers grew deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever were still.

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It was indeed a night of death; and the morning which ensued was a morning of surprise and consternation. hundred and eighty-five thousand lifeless bodies lay scattered upon the field.

What an answer to prayer! How fearful for the enemies of the children of God to force them to a throne of grace! There, those children have more power, than if they were to summon to their aid the armies of the world! If God be for them, who can be against them? What are the insolent threats of the proudest monarch! What if his legions be innumerable, and he have inspired them with his own infuriated zeal!-See!-one solitary individual retires to the house of the Lord-there he bows before the altar of Godthere humbles himself-there pleads-there points to the honor of God insulted-his power defied-points to Jerusalem, where his covenant people dwell, and asks, "Lord, wilt thou not spare thine own consecrated city-and thy people