must have wrought fuch a mixture of self-interest into the motive of her compliance, as must greatly have allayed the merit of the action. But this, I fay, does not appear, but rather the contrary, from the reflection fhe makes upon the whole in the last verse of the chapter: Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

Befides, as she was an inhabitant of Zarephath (or, as it is called by St. Luke, Sarepta, subject to Zidon, the metropolis of Phoenicia, without the bounds of God's people), fhe had been brought up in grofs darknefs and idolatry, in utter ignorance of the Lord God of Ifrael: or, if she had heard of his name, which is all that feems probable, fhe had been taught to difbe lieve the mighty wonders of his hand, and was ftill lefs likely to believe his prophet,

Moreover, the might argue, If this man by fome fecret mystery of his own, or through the power of his GOD, be able to procure fo preternatural a fupply for me, whence comes it to pafs, that he now ftands in want himself, oppreffed both with hunger and thirst.

It appears, therefore, that the must have been wrought upon by an unmix'd principle of humanity. -She look'd upon him as a fellow partner almost in the fame affliction with her felf. She confidered he had come a weary pilgrimage, in a fultry climate, through an exhaufted country; where neither bread or water were to be had, but by acts of liberality.

That he had come an unknown traveller, and as a hard heart never wants pretence, that this circumftance, which fhould rather have befriended, might have helped to opprefs him. She confidered, for charity is ever fruitful in kind reasons, that he was now far from his own country, and had ftrayed out of the reach of the tender offices of fome one who affectionately mourned his abfence-her heart was touched with pity. She turned in filence, and went and did according as be faid. And behold, both fbe, and be, and her boufe, did eat many days; or, as in the margin, one whole year. And the barrel of meal wafted not, neither did the crufe of oil fail, until the day that God fent rain upon the earth.

Though it may not seem neceffary to raise conjectures here upon this event, yet it is natural to fuppofe, the danger of the famine being thus unexpectedly got over, that the mother began to look hopefully forwards for the reft of her days. There were many widows in Ifrael at that time, when the heavens were shut up for three years and fix months, yet, as St. Luke obferves, to none of them was the prophet fent, fave to this widow of Sarepta : in all likelihood, she would not be the laft in making the fame obfervation, and drawing from it fome flattering conclufion in favour of her fon.

Many a parent would build high upon a worse foundation." Since the GoD of Ifrael has thus fent

bis own meffenger to us in our diftrefs, to pafs by fo "many houfes of his own people, and stop at mine, to... "fave it in fo miraculous a manner from deftruction;

doubtless, this is but an earneft of his future "kind intentions to us at leaft his goodness has "decreed to comfort my old age by the long life "and health of my fon:-but perhaps, he has fome"thing greater ftill in ftore for him, and I fhall "live to see the fame hand hereafter crown his head "with glory and honour." We may naturally fuppofe her innocently carried away with fuch`thoughts, when she is called back by an unexpected diftemper which feizes her fon, and in one moment brings down all her hopes for his fickness was fo fore that there was no breath left in him

The expoftulations of immoderate grief are feldom juft. For, though Elijah had already preserved her fon, as well as herself, from immediate death, and was the last cause to be fufpected of fo fad an accident, yet the paffionate mother in the firft tranfport challenges him as the author of her misfortune;—and as if he had brought down forrow upon a house which had fo hofpitably sheltered him. The prophet was too full of compaffion to make reply to fo unkind an accufation. He takes the dead child out of his mother's bofom, and laid him upon his own bed; and he cried unto the Lord, and faid, O Lord my God, baft thou brought evil upon the widow with whom I fojourn, by flaying her fon? "Is this "the reward of all her charity and goodness? Thou haft "before this robbed her of the dear partner of all her "joys and all her cares; and now that she is a widow, "and has most reafon to expect thy protection, behold "thou haft withdrawn her last prop : thou haft taken

away her child, the only stay she had to reft on.". And Elijah cried unto God, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee let this child's foul come into him again.

-The prayer was urgent, and bespoke the distress of a humane mind deeply fuffering in the misfortunes of another ;moreover his heart was rent with other paffions- -He was zealous for the name and honour of his God, and thought not only his omnipotence, but his glorious attribute of mercy, concerned in the event: for oh! with what triumph would the prophet retort his own bitter taunt, and fay, his God was either talking, or he was pursuing, or was in a journey; or peradventure be lept and should have been awaked!. He was moreover involved in the fuccefs of his prayer himfelf;- -honeft minds are moft hurt by fcandal.— And he was afraid, left fo foul a one, fo unworthy of his character, might arife among the heathen, who would report with pleafure," Lo! the widow of Za"rephath took the meffenger of the God of Ifrael "under her roof, and kindly entertained him, and fee "how he is rewarded; furely the prophet was un"grateful, he wanted power, or, what is worse, he "wanted pity."

Befides all this, he pleaded not the caufe of the widow; it was the caufe of charity itself, which had received a deep wound already, and would fuffer ftill more should GoD deny it this testimony of his favour. So the Lord bearkened unto the voice of Elijah, and the foul of the child came unto him again, and be revived. And

Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah faid, See thy for liveth.

It would be a pleasure to a good mind to stop here a moment, and figure to itself the picture of fo joyful an event.- —To behold on one hand the raptures of the parent, overcome with furprise and gratitude, and imagine how a fudden ftroke of fuch impetuous joy muft operate on a defpairing countenance, long accustomed to sadness.-To conceive, on the other fide of the piece, the holy man approaching with the child in his arms——— -full of honeft triumph in his looks, but fweetened with all the kind fympathy which a gentle nature could overflow with upon fo happy an event. It is a fubje&t one might recommend to the pencil of a great genius, and would even afford matter for defcription here; but that it would lead us too. far from the particular purpofe, for which I have enlarged upon thus much of the story already; the chief design of which is, to illuftrate by a fact, what is evident both in reafon and Scripture, that a charitable and good action is seldom caft away, but that even in this life it is more than probable, that what is fo fcattered shall be gathered again with increase. Caft thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days. Be as a father unto the fatherless, and inftead of an bufband unto their mother; so shalt thou be as a son of the Most High, and he will love thee more than thy mother doth. Be mindful of good turns, for thou knoweft not what evil shall come upon the earth; and when thou falleft thou