sneeze and to yawn-a sign of returning life; and, after having sneezed seven times, he opens his eyes, looks at the prophet with a lively and cheerful countenance, and— lives. Elisha immediately calls Gehazi, and says to him, "Call this Shunammite." Gehazi fulfils his commission, and says to her, "The master calleth thee." The happy mother starts up exultingly from her seat, and all the strings of the harp of her heart begin already to resound to the joyful words, "Bless the Lord!" for she has no doubt that she is called to receive her favourite again. She rushes in, almost breathless with joy. Her hopes have not deceived her. The prophet meets her at the threshold of his chamber, holding by the hand the beauteous boy, smiling in all the rosy bloom of vitality, and says to her, briefly and brokenly-for the agitated feelings of his deeply-affected mind will not suffer him to say more"There, take up thy son!" The sight of the boy, and the falling at Elisha's feet, which she waters with a flood of joyful tears, is the action of one and the same moment. One hallelujah after the other ascends up from the depth of her affected soul to the throne of Him who has done such great things for her. She has not only her son again, but also her God. The restored boy is a new proof of Jehovah's favour; a living monument, with the inscription, "Fear not; for I am the Lord, I am with thee !" And he is still more than this to her, infinitely more. Imagine what Isaac must have been to Abraham, after having been offered up! Her favourite is now all this to the happy Shunammite.

"And she took up her son, and went out," as the narrative informs us in conclusion. We may well suppose whither; but this time we cannot follow her. The relation closes the chamber after her. We walk past it with

noiseless steps, and hear within a sobbing, as it would seem, at one time for joy, at another for confusion, and broken words are heard between-words of supplication, adoration, and grateful thanksgiving. We will now leave the unspeakably affected woman. She lies at the Lord's feet, with an overflowing heart, along with her child. She renews the resignation of her heart to the God of her salvation. She devotes her child to him for an eternal possession; and lays down her all at the steps of his throne. Sacred and important moment! But let us pass on, my friends! such moments must not be secretly listened to. Let us, however, rejoice that the Lord glorifies his name in such a manner amongst the children of men, and that his mercy endureth for ever towards those, whose names stand written in the Book of Life.

VII.

DEATH IN THE POT.

You are
Christ.

of the num

WHO never saw death, and yet died? A strange question, it must be confessed. To be dead, without having seen death, seems folly, contradiction, and absurdity. Certainly, he who is an entire stranger to the mysteries of the Gospel will not regard it in any other light. And yet the question is not so foolish as it seems to be. It is only an enigma; nor is there any want of a key to it. The solution is wonderful and glorious. What! are there really persons who have died, although their dying-hour has not arrived? Yes, such there are. Probably they died in a dream? No, in reality. They actually died, although they still live amongst us. Who are these wonderful people? ber, as many of you as have put on the Apostle addresses the words in dead!" O, how wonderful! You have survived yourselves; not merely your friends, but you yourselves stood by your dying bed, and are able to visit your own grave -nay, if you will to preach your own funeral sermon. What I am now saying of you probably seems not a little strange to you, and you reply, " Where did we die; where was our dying bed; where is our tomb?" And do you really not know? Know you not the mount on which your Head suffered death, the death place of the second Adam? And have you again forgotten how the Scriptures are wont to call those who belong to Christ, "crucified

It is to you

Gal. iii. 3, "Ye are

with him," and "dead and buried with him?" "And is the matter to be understood thus?" Certainly, in its primary signification. Look to Calvary. What is it there that falls upon the Holy One of Israel? It comes like a monster on the wings of night. It comes with a thousand terrors, horrors, and torments; the wrath of the Almighty is its escort, exulting devils are in its train. It rushes on without bit or bridle. It can do as it pleases with the man on the cross. No consoling angel stands at the side of him who is thus assaulted; no shield from on high defends him against the rage of the goblin. He is forsaken of God and of all the world. In this horrible situation, he sees the hideous monster assail him. It extinguishes the light of his eyes, breaks his heart, shrouds his limbs with icy paleness, and amid the triumphant cries of hell, tears body and soul asunder. What horrible being is this? With what name shall this dreadful destruction of the eternal Son, this bloody catastrophe and desolation, be designated? Death is its name. "And whose is the death which Christ dies?" It is not Christ's death; it is thy death and mine. It is the death of the curse, which was sworn against us sinners. But a holy Mediator endures it. He endures it for us, in our stead, and in our name. We therefore endure it in him. We are dead in him, actually and legally dead; and that in such a manner, that we have once for all paid in Christ these wages of sin; dead in such a manthat dying, with respect to what is to be feared in it, can no longer befall us; that were we once to die, in the dreadful sense of the word, the justice of God would be forfeited-so dead, that we can now inscribe our old man in the book of the dead, and with a "Quiescat in pace! and an "adieu for ever!" can reckon him amongst those things which no longer exist in the sight of God, but are

ner,

See, my

committed to the deep gulph of eternal oblivion. friends! this is the ground on which we triumphantly exclaim, "Death, where is thy sting! Grave, where is thy victory!" If we only firmly occupied this position on the rock of truth, we should see the king of terrors lying trodden down beneath our feet, and the horrors of death and the grave would be dispelled with respect to us. Death lies behind us. "We are dead."

2 KINGS iv. 38-41.

"And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

"And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds, his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

"So they poured out for the men to eat: and it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot; and they could not eat thereof.

'But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot."

Though the narrative we have just read does not appear so attractive and pregnant with subjects for consideration as the one we have lately meditated upon, yet the words of the Apostle are also confirmed in it, that "all Scripture, given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, and for correction in righteousness.' The narrative leads us to truths and ideas, which, abstractedly considered, are of high importance, but which are doubly interesting to us from the circumstances of the