bereaved of a promising child, in whom all his hopes and expectations centered,-or a wife were left deftitute to mourn the lofs and protection of a kind and tender husband, Seneca or Epictetus would tell the penfive parent and difconfolate widow-that tears and lamentation for the dead were fruitless and abfurd; that to die was the neceffary and unavoidable debt of nature;—and as it could admit of no remedy,-'twas impious and foolish to grieve and fret themfelves upon it.

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Upon fuch fage counsel, as well as many other lesfons of the fame ftamp, the fame reflection might be applied, which is faid to have been made by one of the Roman emperors, to one who adminiftered the fame confolations to him, on a like occafion,-to whom, advising him to be comforted, and make himfelf eafy, fince the event had been brought about by a fatality, and could not be helped, he replied, "That this was fo far from leffening his trouble,that it was the very circumstance which occafioned it." -So that upon the whole- when the true value of thefe, and many more of their current arguments, have been weighed and brought to the teft,-one is led to doubt, whether the greatest part of their heroes, the most renowned for conftancy, were not much more indebted to good nerves and fpirits, or the natural happy frame of their tempers, for behaving well, than to any extraordinary helps, which they could be fupposed to receive from their inftructors. And therefore I should make no fcruple to affert, that one fuch

inftance of patience and refignation as this, which the Scripture gives us in the perfon of Job, not of one most pompously declaiming upon the contempt of pain and poverty, but of a man funk in the lowest condition of humanity, to behold him when ftripped of his eftate, his wealth, his friends, his children-cheerfully holdingup his head, and entertaining his hard fortune with firmness and serenity;—and this, not from a ftoical flupidity, but a juft fenfe of God's providence, and a perfuafion of his justice and goodness in all his dealings-fuch an example, I say, as this, is of more universal use, fpeaks truer to the heart, than all the heroic precepts, which the pedantry of philofophy has to offer.

THE CASE OF ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH CONSIDERED.

↑ KINGS, XVII. 16.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the crufe of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which be Spake by the prophet Elijah.

HE words of the text are the record of a mi

TH

racle wrought in behalf of the widow of Zarephath,, who had charitably taken Elijah under her:

roof, and adminiftered unto him in a time of great scarcity and distress. There is something very interesting and affectionate in the manner this story is related in holy writ and as it concludes with a second still more remarkable proof of GoD's favour to the fame perfon, in the restoration of her dead fon to life, one cannot but confider both miracles as rewards of that act of piety, wrought by infinite power, and left upon record in Scripture, not merely as teftimonies of the prophet's divine miffion, but likewise as two encouraging inftances of GoD Almighty's bleffing upon works of charity and benevolence.

In this view I have made choice of this piece of facred history, which I fhall beg leave to make ufe of as the ground-work for an exortation to charity in gene. ral: and that it may better anfwer the particular purpofe of this folemnity, I will endeavour to enlarge upon it with fuch reflections, as, I truft in GoD, will excite fome fentiments of compaffion which may be profitable to fo pious a defign.

Elijah had fled from two dreadful evils, the approach of a famine, and the perfecution of Ahab, an enraged enemy: and, in obedience to the command of God, had hid himself by the brook of Cherith, that is before Jordan. In this fafe and peaceful folitude, bleffed with daily marks of God's providence, the holy man dwelt free from both the cares and glories of the world: by a miraculous impulfe the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and be drank of the brook; till by continuance of

drought (the windows of heaven being shut up in those days for three years and fix months, which was the natural cause likewife of the famine) it came to pass after a while that the brook, the great fountain of his fupport, dried up; and he is again directed by the word of the Lord where to betake himself for fhelter. He is commanded to arife and go to Zarephath, which belonged to Zidon, with an affurance that he had difpofed the heart of a widow woman there to sustain him.

The prophet follows the call of GOD: the fame hand which brought him to the gate of the city, hadded alfo the poor widow out of her doors, oppreffed with forrow. She had come forth upon a melancholy rand, to make preparation to eat her last meal, and share it with her child.

No doubt fhe had long fenced against this tragical event with all the thrifty management which felf-prefervation and parental love could infpire; full, no doubt, of cares aud many tender apprehenfions teft the flender stock should fail them before the return of plenty.

But as she was a widow, having loft the only faithful friend, who would beft have affifted her in her virtuous ftruggle, the prefent nece lity of the times at length overcame her; and fhe was just falling down an eafy prey to it, when Elijah came to the place where fhe was. And be called unto her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a veel, that I may drink. And as he was going to fetch it, he called unto her, and faid

Bring me, I pray thee, a morfel of bread in thine hand. And She faid, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a bandful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cṛuse: and behold, I am gathering two fticks, that I may go in and drefs it for me and my fon, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah faid unto her, Fear not, but go, and do as thou haft faid; but make me thereof a little cake firft, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and thy fon. For thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, The barrel of meal fhall not waffe, neither fhall the crufe of oil fail, until the day that the Lord send rain upon the earth.

True charity is always unwilling to find excufeselfe here was a fair opportunity of pleading many : fhe might have infifted over again upon her fituation, which neceffarily tied up her hands-fhe might have urged the unreasonableness of the requeft ;-that she was reduced to the lowest extremity already—and that it was contrary to juftice and the first law of nature, to rob herself and child of their laft morfel, and give it to a ftranger.

But in generous fpirits, compaffion is fometimes more than a balance for self-preservation. For, as God certainly interwove that friendly foftnefs in our nature to be a check upon too great a propensity towards selflove-fo it feemed to operate here. For it is obfervable, that though the prophet backed his request with the promife of an immediate recompence in multiplying her stock; yet it is not evident, she was influenced at all by that temptation. For if she had, doubtless it