Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-04-15

corrupt yourselves, :. ard evil will befa Won in
the latter days
Moreover the outline Of their misconduct was
sketched through reach Of anticipated centuries,
and the curse that should descend upon them, de-
lineated with terrific strength aud particularly.
Among other things, Moses affirmed that they should
come under the power Of invading armies, and suf-
fer extremites in SIEGE so that the tender and del
icate woman among you, which would not adven-
ture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for
delieateness and tenderness her eye shall be evil to-
wards her children, for she shall eat them secretyJ0
rant Of al things IN the siege"
Now the day arrives. Six hundred years have
rolled by. Israel is apostate. Samaria besieged.
Her king is walking by on the public promenade
upon the ramparts, when faint female voice ar
rests him:
"Help, my lord, o king"
"If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall help
thee? Out Of the barn floor, or out Of the wine
press?"
The woman was silent.
4"WLat aileth thees" demands the king. And it
is the voice not of wolf, but of woman tender
and delicate, that replies:
This woman said unto me Give thy son that we
may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to-mor
row." 50 they boiled my son, and did eat him, and
said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that
we may eat him. and she hath hid her SON. ''
AT this horrible revelation, the king rent his
cothes-and it was seen that he wore sackcloth
within upon his flesh.
A T.. 4 4
yout. He may be expected to develop godly fruits
under the chastisement of the Almighty. He will
bethink him Of the impurities and atrocities of Ahab
and Jezebel. He will recognize the existence Of
the national sin unrepented Of He will perceive
that to renounce Baal in favor of the golden calves
Of Jeroboam, is not real return to Jehovah and
his covenant. He will call for the prophet of God
and anxiously inquire how the nation may be truly
purged and brought back to her ancient faith and
manners So at least we should expect by the sack
clOth-that outward garb Of humiliation. But
hold Hark! What il it that the solemn and
sanctifed penitent is saying?
"God do so and more to me, if the head of Elisha
the son Of Shaphat shall stand on him this day I"
All the Jezebel was awake at that moment in her
offspring. The old tgress-instinct of carnage stir
red in the whelp apparently tanned and docile Oh,
mott not lsraels fault, all this public caanl-
ity. The idea that political and social disasters
should be recognized as direct providences of God
in fulflment Of his own threatnings six centuries
recorded, was preposierous in the views of this i'm
perial devOtee. The idea that the existing relig-
ion not acceptable enough above, especially as
it had made so many concessions to the scruples
of bigots, and receded so far from Baal-the idea
that the royal sackcloth had no virtue and the en-
tire cutaneous remorse of the whole court no valid
ity to expiate the foundations, witchcrafts, and
murders of al ancestry scarce yet digested by the
dogs that gnawed their bones,-wss altogether in
furious to lawful authority and religion. No, no !!
Elisha was at the bottom of the whole affair. He
was an impracticable fellow. Nothing would sat
isfy him. TiTescourt had done everything TO please
him-but in vain.
The court had not prosecuted him as they did
Elijah. They had not murdered him as they did
the prophets in Elijah time They had concluded
it was best to let the anatica wretch exist and 60
his own way Nay they had even thrown sops to
Csrberus-in the shape of some court influence and
favor. Elisha had been so far recognized as
power in society, that his word of recommendation
might be supposed valuable. There had come to be
a certain availability about the creature which it
was best on the whole to recognize and make the
most Of. Nay, the prophet should be even styled
my father" and consulted with respect. Yet it
all made no impression. He was not bit grateful.
He was as impolite and incendary as ever. Nay,
he had even gone and got up this invasion, and
siege, and famine by his prayers and dvinations;
and he never would rest till the country was ruined.
Let him die.
Now Elisha understood human nature. He saw
through all court intrigue and manoeuvering. And
he knew Just how things were feImenting in the
royal brain. We see him sitting quietly in his OWL
parlor with some of the elders, at the very moment
that the kings message of vengeance draws nigh.
"See ye," he exclaims, chow this son of q muir
derer hath sent to take away mine head7 Look
when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and
hold him fast at the door; is not the sound OF hi;
masters feet behind him."
Filled with awe at this exercise Of a prophetic
presience-sO august, so manifestly divine endow
ment, the elders obeyed. 1t was this fullness o
the prophetic vision that gave the true prophet hi
sublime ascendency over the gravest and the bes
of the faithful in Israel and made his a power OF
earth mightier than thrones or armies.
And while the words were yet on his lips, tn
messenger appeared. and instantly following him
the king, leaning upon one Of the lords of his re
| tnue.
And at the sight, the feelings of the prophet seen
| to have arisen to an uncomfortable hight, and t
escape from restraint in the form Of brief solile
guy: "Behold- this evil isof the LORD. WHERE
fore should wait for the Lord any longer?'
| As if Elisha had thus unused: "They are angr
with me, as if had had any part in producing ii
| existing calamities. i did not cause them. | di
not pray for, nor even foretel them. They can
from God of his own spontaneous choice. NJ
have ever ioreshown the time of their cessation
though clearly revealed and close at hand. l hay
rather kept silent to wait for the LORD to speak
the event itself But why not speak and rebul
their profane unbelief?"
"Hear We the words Of the Lord" be exclair
aloud. "Thus saith the Lord: tomorrow sbo
this time shall measure of fine -four be sold for
shekeI, and two measures of barley for q shekel,
the gates of Samaria."
Then laughed the scornful courtier on whose ar
the king leaned-and cried disdainfully, "lf the Lo
would make windows in heaven, might this THU
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