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how he had slain all the prophets slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away.

with the sword; then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

6 And the LORD said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the 2 And when he saw that, he arose, mountains, and brake in pieces the and went for his life, and came to rocks before the LORD; but the Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, LORD was not in the wind. And and left his servant there; but he after the wind an earthquake; but himself went a day's journey into the LORD was not in the earththe wilderness, and came and sat quake. And after the earthquake a down under a juniper tree: and he fire; but the LORD was not in the requested for himself that he might fire. And after the fire a still small die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.

3 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

voice: and it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave.

7 And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain 4 And the angel of the LORD thy prophets with the sword; and I, came again the second time, and even I only, am left; and they seek touched him, and said, Arise and my life, to take it away. And the eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

5 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold,

LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: for I have yet left me seven thousand in Israel, knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and mouths which have not kissed him.

Legend of Elijah's death.

the word of the LORD came to him, AND it came to pass, when they

and he said unto him, What doest

were gone over, that Elijah said thou here, Elijah? And he answer- unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for ed, I have been very jealous for the thee, before I be taken away from LORD God of hosts: for the children thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, of Israel have forsaken thy cove- let a double portion of thy spirit be nant, thrown down thine altars, and upon me. And he said, Thou hast

asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if asunder; and Elijah went up by a thou see me when I am taken from whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha thee, it shall be so unto thee; but, saw it, and he cried, My father, my if not, it shall not be so. father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his

2 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and own clothes, and rent them in two horses of fire and parted them both | pieces.

HEBREW SCRIPTURES.-NEHEMIAH.

SELECTION I.

The patriotism and piety of the Fews in rebuilding Ferusalem, under the leader ship of Nehemiah.

THE

wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews; and spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

HEN said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a re- 4 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was proach. And I told them of the hand by him, and he said, Even that of my God which was good upon me; which they build, if a fox go up, he as also the king's words that he shall even break down their stone had spoken unto me. And they wall. said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

5 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the 2 When Sanballat the Horonite, Ashdodites, heard that the walls of and Tobiah the servant, the Am- Jerusalem were made up, and that monite, and Geshem the Arabian, the breaches began to be stopped, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, then they were very wroth; and and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build.

3 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the

conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night.

6 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that

we are not able to build the wall. the work, and the other half of them And our adversaries said, They shall held both the spears, the shields, not know, neither see, till we come in and the bows, and the habergeons; the midst among them,and slay them, and the rulers were behind all the and cause the work to cease. And house of Judah. They which buildwhen the Jews which dwelt by them ed on the wall, and they that bare came, they said unto us ten times, burdens, with those that laded, From all places whence ye shall re-every one with one of his hands turn unto us they will be upon you. wrought in the work, and with the 7 Therefore set I in the lower other hand held a weapon; for the places behind the wall, and on the builders, every one had his sword higher places, I even set the people girded by his side, and so builded. after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

8 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And from that time forth, the half of my servants wrought in

9 And he that sounded the trumpet was by me and I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another and in what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight

for us.

IO So we labored in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof, for the people had a mind to work.

HEBREW SCRIPTURES.-JOB.

SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOK OF JOB.-Probably -Probably a Hebrew version of an ancient Persian or Brahmanical story in dramatic form, designed to illustrate the alternating experiences in every truly devout life, of doubt and faith, fear and trust, dejection and hope.

SELECTION I.

Showing how we ought to trust in the wisdom and goodness of God, whatever may come.

T HERE was a man in the land of

Uz, whose name was Job; and

that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand

sheep, and three thousand camels, 7 Then Job arose, and rent his and five hundred yoke of oxen, and mantle, and shaved his head, and five hundred she asses, and a very fell down upon the ground, and great household; so that this man worshipped, and said, Naked came I was the greatest of all the men of out of my mother's womb, and naked the east. shall I return thither: the LORD

3 And there was a day when his gave, and the LORD hath taken sons and his daughters were eating away; blessed be the name of the and drinking wine in their eldest LORD.

brother's house: and there came a 8 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them and the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

4 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burnt up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

5 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

6 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their cldest brother's house; and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

9 And again the messenger of evil went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown; and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes.

10 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? II In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

12 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for

they saw that his grief was very yet man is born unto trouble, as the great. sparks fly upward.

SELECTION II.

5 I would seek unto God, and Providential sorrows to be received and unto God would I commit my cause: borne as the chastisements of love.

who doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: who sets up on high those that be low that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

THEN Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; thy words have upholden him that was the falling, and thou hast strengthened not the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

2 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

6 He disappointeth the devices of crafty, so that their hands canperform their enterprise; he taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong; so that they meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

7 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty: so the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

8 Behold, happy is the man whom 3 Now a thing was secretly God correcteth, therefore despise brought to me, and mine ear re- not thou the chastening of the Alceived a little thereof. In thoughts mighty: for he maketh sore, and from the visions of the night, when bindeth up: he woundeth, and his deep sleep falleth on men, fear came hands make whole. He shall deliver upon me, and trembling, which thee in six troubles, yea in seven made all my bones to shake. Then a there shall no evil touch thee; in spirit passed before my face, the hair famine he shall redeem thee from of my flesh stood up: it stood still, death, and in war from the power of but I could not discern the form the sword. thereof an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker?

4 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

9 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh; at destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth; for thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of

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