manded to go to Damascus, and anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in Elijah's place; for these three persons God had chosen to punish idolatrous Israel.

It pleased God also to comfort his servant Elijah, by telling him that he was not, as he supposed, the only worshipper of the true God in Israel; but that he had there seven thousand men who bad never bowed the knee to Baal. This, no doubt, was joyful news to Elijah ; and I dare say he learnt from it never again to judge hastily of his fellow-creatures.

E. Did the prophet leave Mount Horeb directly, mamma?

M. Yes; he set off directly for Damascus; and as he went, he anointed Elisha to be prophet after him in Israel. And Elisha left all that he had very gladly to follow the servant of God, to whom he was ever after a companion and a friend.

I believe you know already, Edward, that Damascus is a town of Syria ; but you may look at it on the map if you like.

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY EVENING.

THE VINEYARD OF NA BOTH.

M. WE left Elijah, last Sunday evening, on his road to Damascus, where he was going, by the command of the Lord, to anoint Hazael and Jehu. We do not find any account in the Bible of his visiting king Ahab again for about six years after this,

But though God did not send Elijah to Ahab, he does not seem to have left him quite to himself, to go on just as he chose in his own wickedness. No: God seems rather to have tried once more to bring Ahab to repentance by kind and gracious dealings towards him. For, during the time that Elijah was absent from Israel, Benhadad, the king of Syria, and thirty-two other kings with him, with chariots and horses, and a vast multitude of men, came up and warred against Ahab, and tried to take the city of Samaria.

The king of Israel was greatly alarmed, as well he might be; for Benhadad, knowing that Ahab could not stand against his immense armies, treated him with the greatest insolence, telling him that his silver and his gold, his wives and his children, and the best of all that he had were his; and that he would send his servants to search his palaces, and the houses of his people, and to carry away with them whatever they liked to have.

And now, what would have become of the wicked Ahab, had God left him to himself? But it pleased the God of Israel to humble the haughty Syrians, who mocked at his holy name; and to give Ahab a fresh proof of his great power, and his still greater patience towards him, that he and his people might, if possible, be brought at last to throw away their idols, and worship the Lord alone.

The people of Israel, therefore, instead of giving up all that they had to Benhadad, went out to fight against him; although their army, when pitched before their enemies, looked like two little flocks of kids; whilst the Syrians covered the country.

E. But we have often seen before, mamma, that immense numbers of people are nothing against God.

M. We have, my love; and so we shall find it now. The children of Israel, few as they were, slew a hundred thousand of the Syrians in one day; and twentyseven thousand more, who made their escape, were killed by the falling of a wall in the city to which they had fled.

E. I hope Benhadad was killed too.

M. He would have been, but for the false pity of Ahab, who very perversely spared his life; though he knew that he was a very wicked heathen, who mocked the God of Israel, and that in saving his life he was acting against the will of the Almighty. And there came a prophet unto Ahab, who said unto him, thus saith the Lord, “Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter' destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.”

E. Was Ahab very sorry, when he found that he had offended God so much; just, too, as he had saved him from such dreadful enemies?

M. We read of no sorrow, my love, but that he went to his house heavy and displeased. Neither the wonderful miracles, the mercies, nor the punishments of the Lord, seem to have done Ahab any good: he went on still in his sins, till he at last brought down the vengeance of the Almighty uponi his head.

I shall be glad when I have done talking about this wicked man; but there is one more story written of him in the word of God, which teaches us a very useful lesson ; and, therefore, I must not pass it over.

Do

you remember what the tenth commandment forbids us to do?

E. It tells us that we must not wish to have any thing that belongs to another person.

M. Well, if you listen to the story I am going to tell you, you will see how kind it was in God to give us such a command as this, and how very dreadful the consequences may be of breaking it. In king David's history, we have one sad instance given us of the great danger of wishing for what does not belong to us; we learn the same lesson again in reading the life of Ahab.

You know already, that Ahab was a great king; as such, you can easily suppose, that he had plenty of riches and possessions of his own; as many palaces, and gardens, and vineyards, as a wise man could possibly desire; but he was not contented and happy he was not thankful for the blessings which he had, nor inclined to enjoy them: we do not wonder that he was not happy; for we know that he was wicked; but we do not understand his being discontented; because, as I said before, he was a mighty king, and, no doubt, possessed a great abundance of worldly riches.

E. How did he show his discontent, mamma?

M. I will tell you; one of his royal palaces was at Samaria, and another of them was at a city called Jezreel, not far from Samaria. A subject of the king's, called Naboth, who seems to have been a good man, had a vineyard in Jezreel, which was very close to, or adjoined, the king's palace. I dare say this vineyard was not to be compared to the king's gardens; but Ahab wished much to possess it, that he might