had gone down to take possession. You remember the awful words which pierced the heart of the wretched king. 66 'Behold, because thou hast set thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring evil upon thee, and in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs eat thy blood, even thine the dogs also shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

You remember how these words came to pass as far as concerned Ahab himself, at the time that the dogs licked his blood out of the chariot in which he had so miserably died. You will now see how exactly they were also fulfilled towards his family.

Jehoram met Jehu, as I said before, in the field of Naboth, in hopes of making peace with him; but the first words Jehu spoke in answer to the king's question, "Is it peace, Jehu ?" were such as to convince Jehoram that he saw before him a bitter enemy. For Jehu asked him how there could be any peace in Israel, so long as his mother Jezebel was allowed to vex the country with her wickedness and idolatry. When the king heard these words, he turned round and fled; but Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, so that he sank down in his chariot and died. Then his body was thrown to the dogs by the command of Jehu, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he had died. Nor did the impious Jezebel escape. Jehu, you know, was bound by the command of the Lord to bring the whole of this evil family to ruin, and he went on immediately into Jezreel, where this hea

then queen dwelt. Now Jezebel had heard of his arrival, and hardened to the very last in boldness and wickedness, she painted her face, and dressed her hair, and placed herself at a window which looked into the street where Jehu was passing, and spoke to him in the most insulting language, as if to dare and provoke his anger.

E. What did Jehu say to her?

M. He lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" And there looked out to him two or three of her people. And he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and he trod her under foot. A little while afterward, he sent some of his people to look for the body of Jezebel, and to bury it, but there was nothing to be found of her but the scull, and the feet, and the palms of the hand, for the dogs had eaten the flesh of Jezebel, in the portion of Jezreel! Nor was the sentence of the Lord against Ahab and his family entirely completed yet. There were seventy of Ahab's sons in Samaria, and Jehu sent and beheaded them all, "even all that remained unto Ahab, according to the saying of the Lord, which he spake to Elisha." So dreadfully was the vengeance of the Lord poured out upon Ahab and all that belonged to him, because none had ever sold themselves to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord as he had done, while he followed the directions of his heathen queen, and did all the abominable wickedness which she led him to do.

E. Oh! mother, these are shocking stories!

M. They are, indeed, my son; and we will not dwell upon them longer than we can help, but it is important that we should notice how the word of God is fulfilled, and his vengeance sure in the end to overtake the wicked. After Jehu had put the whole family of Ahab to death, which was one of the great purposes for which the Almighty had raised him up, he determined to destroy also all the prophets, priests, and servants of Baal. But he did not set about this work in such a manner as God would approve; he acted very deceitfully, and in a way not becoming one who was employed by the most high God, to execute his vengeance against a wicked and idolatrous people.

E. Tell me how he put the prophets of Baal to death, mother?

M. Instead of telling all the people that he hatedidolatry, and that he was obliged by the law of Moses, as well as by the express command of God, to put an end to it to the very utmost of his power, he pretended to be himself a worshipper of Baal, saying before all the people, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him more. Now, therefore, call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting he shall not live." And this Jehu did, as you know, deceitfully, just that he might better gather all the worshippers of Baal together to destroy them. Then all the worshippers of Baal throughout all the land of Israel gathered themselves together in the house of Baal; there was not one VOL. III.-G

who was not there: so that the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. But for fear any servants of the true God might be there, Jehu desired all the people to search and see that there were none of the people of the Lord among them, but the worshippers of Baal only." And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offerings, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, "Go in and slay them, let none come forth."

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Thus was the worship of Baal utterly rooted out of all Israel.

But though so zealous in performing thus far all the commands of God, though so violent to all appearance against idolatry, Jehu himself was far from being a good man. He took no heed to walk himself in the law of the Lord God of Israel, but bowed before the images which Jeroboam had set up in Bethel, and in Dan, instead of going with his people to worship the Lord God in his own temple in Jerusalem. Thus he encouraged idolatry in the land, while God had so expressly appointed him to root it out; and although the Lord allowed him and his children to sit on the throne of Israel, because he had fulfilled his commands against Ahab, yet did Jehu lose the favour and blessing of the Almighty, which could alone have made him happy in his greatness and not only this, he ran a great risk of losing his eternal reward in heaven. He witnessed too many of the evils which Hazael, king of Syria, brought upon his unhappy country; for, "in his days the Lord began to cut Israel short; and Ha

zael smote them in all the coasts of Israel, and took from them all the country beyond Jordan."

May we not suppose, that when he saw how bitterly his people suffered because of their idolatry, he felt a deep regret at not having done all he could himself to keep them in the right way.

E. Mother, was the prophet Elisha alive when Jehu destroyed the family of Ahab, and all the worshippers of Baal?

M. He was, my son, and lived several years after Jehu's death; but at length the time came when he had finished his pilgrimage on earth, and was about to follow his master Elijah to heaven.

E. Did God take him up into heaven without dying?

M. No; it pleased God that his servant Elisha should die like other men; and that he should be prepared by sickness for the blessed change which awaited him. But there can be no doubt that the Lord was with him to support and comfort him on his sick bed, and to give him cheering thoughts of that blessed world to which he was hastening. And Elisha died; and they buried him. And God was pleased to do great honour to the memory of this holy man, even after his death: for he worked a miracle by him then, even greater than any of those for which he had been so distinguished in his lifetime. I will tell you how this was. Very soon after Elisha had been buried, some persons had been preparing a grave close to his for a young man among them who had died; but while they were at