14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: 15 and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, as all good servants should do, and was gone forth to his work, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant, terrified at the sight, ran to his master, and said unto him, Alas my master! how shall we do? This servant was but newly come to his master, and perhaps had seen but few of his miracles, 16 and was therefore the more alarmed. And he answered, Fear not for they that [be] with us, [are] more than they that [be] with them; but the young man could not believe this, till he had 17 clear information. And Elisha therefore prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD

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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, of angels in that appearance, God's host, who then became visible, as they did at Christ's resurrection.

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness, such a dazzling of their sight,as that they could not distinctly see the men they sought for, according to the word of Elisha. Then they inquired of Elisha where the 19 prophet was; And Elisha said unto them, This [is] not the way which you must go, neither [is] this the city where you shall meet with him: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. This was literally true; but instead of this, by a stratagem which did them no harm, and might produce the greatest 20 good, he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they' were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these [men,] that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, [they were] in the midst 21 of Samaria, surrounded with the king and soldiers. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, with great eagerness, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite [them?] shall I smite [them?] 22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite [them] wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow in cold blood ? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master, and tell him what kind23 ness they have received. And he prepared great provision for them and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel that year, as the Hebrew word may signify.t

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And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

The Syrians had thus a proof of the power of the God of Israel, in confounding their senses: of his mercy, in sparing their lives; and had such an opportunity of knowing him, and such obligations to serve him, as might have made it the happiest day in their lives.

Either this band came no more, out of gratitude; or, they came no more in this clandestine way, till they brought their whole army sometime after, perhaps upon some new Provocation.

$5 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was [sold] for fourscore [pieces] of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five [pieces] of silver. They were reduced to the last extremity, so that an ass's head, which was forbid to be eaten, was sold for near ten pounds, and less than a pint of fetches or tares, which was only fit for doves to eat, the worst of vegetables, was sold for about 26 twelve shillings and sixpence. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, to examine the guards and view the works, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O 27 king. And he said, probably in a violent passion, If the LORD. do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barn floor, or out of the wine press? can I fill the barns and store28 houses out of nothing? And the king said unto her, when his passion began to cool a little, What aileth thee? And she answered, telling him a sorrowful tale indeed; This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will 29 eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him, and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him and she hath hid her son to save his life, or to eat him alone. Thus was that terrible threatening fulfilled, Deut. xxviii. 53.

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And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, [he had] sackcloth within upon his flesh, he appeared in public in deep mourning. 31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day; either because he did not let him destroy the Syrian bands, or he thought he had deceived him by assuring him of help, which did not come ; 32 or he thought he could have saved them, but would not. But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; he was reuding lectures to the students, or to some of the magistrates who came to him, exhorting them to courage and patience; and [the king] sent a man from before him to execute Elisha: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer, this son of wicked Ahab, hath sent to take away mine head? he knew his intention before he came; look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door, let him not enter; [is] not the sound of his master's feet behind him? he immediately follows to contradict the order. 33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him and he, that is, the king, said, Behold, this evil [is] of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer? Probably Elisha had promised the king relief, but he thought he had deceived him, and that it was better to deliver it up to the Syrians, than be starved and ruined; therefore in the beginning of the next chapter, Elisha fixes the time for their deliverance.

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REFLECTIONS.

1. T is a great comfort to good men, that the schools of the prophets increase; and we should pray that they may do so more and more. It is a good hearing that there is not room for them; it bodes well to the church. And therefore we should pray the Lord of the harvest, that he would incline them to prepare for the work, that the harvest may be furnished with numerous and suitable labourers.

2. Hence we are taught a useful lesson, to be careful of that which is borrowed. Many neglect this and abuse the kindness of their friends, their horses, goods, or books. There are those who either never return, or abuse, what they have borrowed: this is highly base and ungrateful, as well as dishonest, and is contrary to that golden rule of doing to others as we would be done by.

3. How desirable is it to have God on our side, when we are engaged in military affairs! He can discover all the secret stratagems of the enemy, and bring confusion upon their plots and designs.

4. How happy are the servants of God in having angels for their guard; and what a constant source of consolation is it in times of danger, that greater is he that is with them, than all who are against them. If God be for us, who shall be against us? When without are fightings, and within are fears, angels are our guard; he gives them charge concerning us, to keep us in all our ways. Happy those who can by the eye of faith see this.

5. See the dependence of the human mind upon God, and his power of infatuating it at pleasure. He can take away the senses and understanding in a moment. Have we not therefore the greatest reason to bless him for the continuance of these, and to remember that it is in him we live, and move, and have our being.

6. See what a lovely virtue clemency is; and how well moderation and mercy become all, especially the Lord's prophets. It is prudent even upon secular principles, to be gentle toward our enemies, when we have them in our power, especially when resentment is sacrificed to religion; agreeable to such repeated advices as these; if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom. xii. 20.

7. How much are we indebted to God for plenty and security! We here see the terrible consequences of famine; they were glad to eat the vilest things, and were obliged, (lamentable necessity) to boil even their own children for food. Humanity and natural affection were lost in the cravings of appetite. Blessed be the Lord, who maketh peace in our borders, and feedeth us with the finest of the wheat; that there is no breaking in of enemies, and no such complaining as this in our streets.

8. The judgments of God often make the wicked worse, and lead them to the most absurd, instead of reasonable conclusions. v. 31. Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of

Had he rea

Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. soned thus, I will pull down the calves, and destroy the prophets of Baal; I will reform the idolatry and vices of the country; he had reasoned wisely. But nothing would serve him but Elisha's head, the best man in the kingdom; the greatest friend and benefactor to the whole country. All this proceeded from pride and passion. He said, This evil is of the Lord; and it was a good remark; but he drew a most absurd consequence from it. Thus

do sinners often fret against God. May we endeavour to guard our hearts and govern our tempers, especially in afflictive seasons, lest we should charge God foolishly. He is always wise and righteous : but we may see every day, that the foolishness of man perverteth his way, and then his heart fretteth against the Lord.

CHAP. VII.

Elisha in this chapter prophesieth incredible plenty in Samaria ; which is brought about by four lepers venturing into the Syrian camp, and reporting to the king their flight; in consequence of which the king, upon receiving intelligence from the men he had sent to inquire into the truth of the account, spoils their tents; the proph➡ ecy is fulfilled, and the unbelieving lord trodden to death. This should be the conclusion of the former chapter, from which it is rather improperly divided.

'T HEN Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Thus saith the LORD; notwithstanding your profaneness and the idolatry of the court, God will deliver you; Tomorrow about this time [shall] a measure of fine flour [be sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria; there shall be great plenty, and sold at a low rate in the 2 public market place. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned, a particular favourite, who was always near him, answered the man of God, and said, with great contempt, Behold, [if] the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? do you think to see it rain corn tomorrow? He valued himself on being a freethinker, and laughing at the ministers of God. And he said, Behold, thou shalt see [it] with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it came to pass; the next day the Samaritans were relieved, and this lord destroyed, v. 17.

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And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate; some say, Gehazi and his three sons; and they said one 4 to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine [is] in the city, and we shall die there, the city can supply us no longer and if we sit still here, we die also, the besiegers have destroyed all the food without. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians if they save us alive, we shall live; perhaps they may VOL. III. S s

have compassion upon us when they see our miserable circum. stances; and if they kill us, we shall but die; and it is better to die suddenly by the hand of the enemy, than die a lingering death 5 with hunger. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; they set out in the dusk of the evening, and came to the trenches; and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, [there was] no 6 man there. For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, [even] the noise of a great host, made by angels, or a sound in their own ears; by his almighty power, he struck a panick into them; for neither the Israelites nor the lepers heard it and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, who lived in the adjacent country, and the kings of the Egyptians, or Ethiopians from Africa, to come upon us. This was very unlikely, for how could the king of Israel send them intelligence? but they feared where 7 no fear was. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, which carried their baggage, even the camp as it [was,] and fled for 8 their life; they thought of nothing but saving themselves. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid [it ;] and came again and entered into another tent, and carried thence [also,] and went and hid [it ;] they first satisfied their hunger, and then hid the treasure; this was quite consistent with Gehazi's covetous 9 temper. Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day [is] a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace; it is cruel in us not to inform our distressed brethren; if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us; the Syrians may return, or the king of Israel may punish us for concealing this important discovery: now therefore come, that 10 we may go and tell the king's household. So they came and

called unto the porter of the city and they told him, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, [there was] no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses 11 tied, and the tents as they [were.] And he called the porters, the king's guard, and they told [it] to the king's house within; thus the intelligence came to the king himself.

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And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we [be] hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city; forgetting or disregarding the prophecy of Elisha, he thought it was a stratagem to draw them out, and then surprise 13 them. And one of his servants answered and said, Let [some] take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they [are] as all the multitude of Israel