many miracles of mercy, surrounded by the crowds who on such occasions usually attended him, a certain poor, diseased woman came behind Him, and touched only the hem of His garment, and immediately was made whole; yet at that very moment hundreds of others also were crowding around the Saviour as he passed along; for St. Peter said, "Master, the multitude press thee and throng thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?" How perfect must have been the knowledge which could discriminate that single touch of faith! How perfect the power, as well as the love, by which its unuttered prayer was known and answered! Who shall doubt, then, that the same wonderful attribute is, at the present hour, exercised with regard to the feeblest petition which faith can offer, to the faintest aspiration which confiding love can breathe. Surely not one, but shall, through the merits of our ever blessed Intercessor, ascend to the abode, and enter into the cars of the Lord God Almighty.

The king of Syria, finding that all his plans

were frustrated by the supernatural intelligence of Elisha, resolved upon suspending his attack against the king of Israel and turning his arms entirely against the prophet. "And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots." Panic-stricken at the appalling sight, the terrified servant hastened back to his master and said unto him, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Gehazi had, as you will remember, been lately dismissed in disgrace, and the prophet's present servant had filled the office but a short time; he could not, therefore, have been expected to be very well acquainted with the wonder-working powers of him he had served, and this will readily account for his easily awakened fears, and his deeply desponding inquiry, "What shall we do?" Brethren,

we can make every allowance for the fear of the new servant, but it would have been dishonourable to himself, and disparaging to his master, if the same despondency had been manifested, the same want of confidence evinced, after years of servitude had been passed beneath the prophet's roof, and multitudes of miracles had been witnessed there. What shall we say, then, of ourselves? And I speak now to such of you as have not newly been numbered among the servants of God; you who have often received comfort within His house, and long lived happily in His service, and found His yoke easy and His burden light, and are ready cheerfully to aeknowledge that He is a good, and kind, and merciful master, and who do not and cannot deny the many miracles of which you have been the daily witnesses, for surely goodness and mercy have followed you all the days of your life; and yet the moment that unexpected difficulties assail, or unthought of dangers threaten you, how often has your"soul been melted because of the trouble," and you are "at your wits' end." Is it not too

true, that even among sincere Christians we frequently witness this evidence of faithlessness, this unworthy distrustfulness of God; as if they had never been in trouble before, or being so, had never been relieved. It seems as if there were almost a stunning effect produced upon the mind by great and sudden calamities, which for the moment appears to deprive faith of its ascendency, and even prayer of its power. Wave after wave passes over us, and each seems more likely than the former, to wash us from our restingplace, and to carry us out into the dark and dreary ocean of despair. It is not till time for recollectedness is given, time to call to mind those 'exceeding great and precious promises," the true sustenance of the Christian, that our faith can regain her firm and steady anchorage upon the Rock of Ages.

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And Elisha answered his servant, "Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." It was in vain to tell him this, the young man looked around, and saw visibly enough, the chariots and horsemen of Syria,

which were sent to capture them, but he saw no defenders; Elisha and he apparently stood helpless and alone; and what were they against so many? It is useless to assure the man whose eyes are closed to the great and wonderful things which even here God has prepared for those who love Him, that "as his day, so shall his strength be;" but once let him behold them with the eye of a true and living faith, and every fear shall vanish he sees a hand the world can never see, he hears a voice they cannot hear.

"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man : and he saw, and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Yes, brethren, prayer will succeed, where reasoning fails. When the prophet had prayed, "open his eyes," when the Lord had answered, and the young man's eyes were opened, then his defenders were made visible to him, and he who found himself at once surrounded by the hosts of heaven, no longer feared the horses and chariots