COL. GEORGE WASHINGTON FLOWERS 
 MEMORIAL COLLECTION 
 
\ 
 
ELN ATHAN, 
 
 ILLUSTiiATl¥K,OF THE, MANi^EU>; mi. 
 
 " Thee, Sion, and the flow'ry brooks bencalii. 
 That wash thy halknv'd feet--'* 
 
 VM.I^IUCA>^ oUiNDAY SCHOOL UNION, 
 
 r}fi.LADELrH!'2 
 148 Che^. 
 
Univercity Ijbraiy 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 In tlie following pages, an aiienipt is made 
 to present to the reader, in the form of a nar 
 lative, a few of the more interesting notices 
 which remain to us of the manners of the cii* 
 cient Israelites. 
 
 The liabils and customs of that wondciiLii 
 ptoplc are highly worthy of oi; 
 uoi mci cly as yielding a pleasing 
 to our curiosity, but as often lielping to il 
 ''istrate the Scripuires themselves, by show 
 iu^. us the incomparable aptness and beautv 
 jf (lie similitudes there used. 
 While, among us, manners chan 
 
 dcu passing generation, the manner; 
 eastern nations remain abnost always l 
 : ame. Like the birds of the air, tliey buil! 
 1- . houses, and cat their food, and hold iu 
 ' f LOurse with each other, after I; 
 
 in=j;i thai thfMr ancc^^t*' : 'lid 3! 
 vra! . • ;ven of 
 
 ' ' 1 iU': I'Cf'ple of 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 these countries by intelligent men who have 
 sojourned among them, correspond, in a re- 
 markable degree, with the allusions made to 
 the same things in the sacred volume. It is 
 from comparing these accounts of things, as 
 they exist in modem times, with the Scrip- 
 tui'es, and from the works of old Jewish wri- 
 ters, that whatever is known respecting the 
 manners of the ancient Israelites, is derived. 
 And, though we cannot be confident that all 
 the knowledge of the subject thus attained, 
 is corri^et, yet we may be satisfied that, m 
 many instances, it comes very near the truth. 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Servant of God, well done; well hast thou fought 
 
 The better fisht; who, single, hast maintained, 
 
 Against revolted multitudes, the cause 
 
 Of truth; — for this ivas aUtW care, 
 
 To stand approved in sight of God, though worlds 
 
 Judg'd thee perverse. Miltov. 
 
 Samaria, the ancient capital of tlie king- 
 dom of the ten tribes of Israel, who, under 
 Jeroboam, revolted from the house of David, 
 v^as a large city, and fortified with walls and 
 towers. It stood upon a mount, of a ^ong 
 oval form, in the midst of a rich valley, cloth- 
 ed with corn fields and vineyards ' )- d 
 this valley^ on every side, rose o i)f 
 
 agh hills, whose green tops "^vere covered 
 itFi herds aiid numerous tlocks; and, mi 
 
 lieir wooded sides, where the olive, autl liie 
 pomegranate, ami i\vi citron waved their 
 
8 
 
 ELNATHAN 
 
 [niitful bougbs, stood numerous itltle vilia 
 ges, of small white flat-roofed houses, the 
 habitations of the owners of different little 
 inheritances into which the land was divided. 
 Among these hills rose many streams, which 
 were sometimes hid in their course amid the 
 spreading trees, and again seen bursting in 
 cascades over the white rocks, while the re- 
 freshing waters, which they poured into |he 
 valley, wwe conducted, by a thousand shiii 
 ing streamlets, through the fields^ spreadiiig 
 every where fertility and beauty. But the 
 iiihabitanls of this fair land, dwelling amid 
 ail that could charm the sight, or gladden the 
 heart, had forsaken the God ot their life for 
 li] i , of wood and stone, the abominable work 
 :i hands, 
 
 i., riH, vvliirh priF lUtfr tale giveb 
 , i . : : US intorm 
 
 bOii of Oiiiii-, vvho then 
 vjusoc situaiioii !>:i^^: 
 
 Uf[)rH.i:n, 
 
 \ 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 9 
 
 that were before him. And so baleful had his 
 example been, and so universally had the peo- 
 ple of Israel corrupted themselves, ttiat, ^^vlien 
 Jezebel sware by her idols that she would 
 destroy Elijah the prophet, he fled into the: 
 wilderness; and, sitting down under a juni- 
 per tree, he desired that he might die, for he 
 thought that he only was left alone of all the 
 servahi;s of the true Godi 
 
 During the reign of this wicked king, on 
 a serene and lovely evening in the month Ijar, 
 after the sun had just set, an old man, an 
 Ephraimite, whose name was Elnathan, hav- 
 ing returned from his labour in the fields, 
 came out to the door of a house which stood 
 on the west side of the hill of Sariiaria, and 
 began to employ himself in plaiting a basket 
 with the leaves of the palm-tree. 
 
 The dress and appearance of ti 
 were peculiarly simple and interestm^. l > c 
 a shirt of wool he wore a close-b^d'ied frMcl ^ 
 tunic, or ccat," as it is named 
 Testament, having sleeves, and rea clnus 
 0 hil f<eet. It was made of coloured ' 
 i»id round the border of it was the woollen 
 ff%^e r'bbon of blue enjr^^'w 1 fUe law, 
 
10 
 
 ELNATHAN, 
 
 that he might look upon them, and remembci 
 all the commandments of Jehovah, to do them 
 On his feet he had sandals, or soles of strong 
 leather, which were bound on with latchets; 
 but his legs were bare, their only defence 
 from the weather being the long loose gar- 
 ments which he wore. On his head, which 
 was now bald with age, he wore no covering, 
 but only a narrow fillet bound round his tern 
 pies, to keep his hair from being troublesome^ 
 and his few remaining locks, and his long 
 beard, were white as the blossom of tlie al- 
 mond tree. 
 
 While this old man sat employed as wc 
 liave said, the last rays of the closing day, 
 which fell upon his venerable head, served to 
 [how a countenance wHch had once been 
 manly and handsome, but which was now 
 pale and wrinkled, yet full of sweetness and 
 intelligence. Though Ms'hands were busily 
 employed, it s»:emcd as ifiihis mind was otlier- 
 wise engaged; for, from time to time, a tear 
 stole over his white beard, and once or t^^vir c 
 he appeared to smile : but there was some 
 thing about that smile so resi^iiied and so sub 
 t]>aod— it fold sa«:h a tale o[ i iiincd hope;?, aiid 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 II 
 
 of abidiiig sorrowsj tliat aii observci' oiiglit 
 have wished rather to see an ordinary man 
 weep, than this old man smile. It appeared 
 that there was no person in the house before 
 which he sat, and he frequently looked south- 
 ward, as if he expected the approach of some 
 one. 
 
 At length he saw his grand -daughter, a 
 young maiden, coming by a path which wind- 
 ed up the side of the hill, be^iring an earthen 
 pitcher of water upon her shoulder. • Her face 
 and arms were embrowned by expos'", re ^: > 
 the sunj but her eyes were as soft ar^: 
 liant as those of the antelope, and her ^Acp 
 as light and free as the foot of the same crea- 
 ture npon the mountains, so that it was im- 
 possible to look upon her, as 1(C cai'ic alorig, 
 singing in the gayety of her hear t, witliou t 
 feeling interested and delighted w'p.li he* pi e 
 sence. She seemed to be l^ie \ ' 
 the old man's eyes? for, no s(;0-.. 
 her coming, than he brusiieil awsi / 
 fhat were ready to iall, and trie.: 
 ■ler with a cheerful and pleasant smile. Iluz 
 she saw that he had h-''''a '?)!Towfui| and; 
 putting her pitcher on ih. \ ^m'l, phe f .ime 
 
RLNATHAK 
 
 and Mi 
 him 
 
 had hea^rid the 
 
 )i}\^t jnaulfens gayaag. id tlu; fountain. ,Yet., 
 m spite of hersself, lier lieart became heavy 
 oppressed;, and she s&id, with a tremu- 
 lous and anxious voice— '^^^iSiir el father, (?ur 
 
 r^eriV-' 'ire. nil T-j^st now,, and our enemies will 
 
 OKI US all that we. had. 
 ?nir ns to live as servant? 
 UF' kinsman, without casting us into 
 
 A-iaF, Fif'ial) i"' said the old man, tron- 
 blesal'^ oUt? ^ - us at the time, when v ^' 
 
 rj'ore.. Since they 
 
 friend 
 
 -^v, they knoM^ tb.at he is th«^ only 
 ^^w left to us."" 
 
 liG'pe theiii ; 
 
 I fear ovtr k'rasmar-i 
 
 gone ■■•^ 
 
 nryio-'. Hast thou 
 
 iviv u.) the fouHii^is 
 
 'mV^ ''ime. the youn^?- 
 
 iiling, ao'd 
 lather 
 
 yiu Ik ■ 
 do; br, 
 
 from tit 
 
KLNATHAiV- IS 
 
 ! 
 
 [ 
 
 coming towards theui their kinsman, ikrao, 
 who was th^ owner of the him^e before which 
 they sat; a|i(i he was accompanied by three 
 young nien^ who were his sons. Azriei« tht 
 ;'oungest, seemed pale and downcast. But 
 it was not so with the others: Their dress 
 was soiled and in disorder, and their face> 
 had the fierce look of men who, having com - 
 mitted some great crime, afterwards indulge 
 in intemperance to drown, for a moment, the 
 thoughts of their guilt. When the old man 
 rose up and saluted them, saying, Peace be 
 unto you," they answered not his salu%ti<>n, 
 but Ocran, with a rough and scornful, vf)i;;f ; 
 told him that he and his sons had that day 
 oflfered sacrifices upon the altar of Baal, and 
 had chosen him for their god, and received 
 his name and image on their right hand;. 
 Then raising his voice still louder, he added 
 — " I tell thee, Elnathan, thou shalt no moj e 
 go up to Jerusalem to worship, nOr mak ar 
 offering there;; and if thou art not content, 
 depart from my house, and see who. i 
 niaria, dare receive thee,-' 
 
 And one i»r tne young men, his so; 
 '/IV-' i^i thai has*' of spin f'^- ^^•ht» a; 
 I'. 
 
14 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 only in evil, but, to do good, are the greatest 
 cowards in the creation; he, being elated be- 
 cause he l.ad been able to quiet, for a time^ 
 all feai of the sublime authority of that law 
 which so often made him tremble in the midst 
 of his wickedness, forgot the reverence due 
 to the hoary hairs of his aged kinsman, and 
 ventured to reproach him, saying — " Have 
 not all thy family, save that poor trembling 
 maid, beeii carried to untimely graves? Is 
 not thine inheritance taken from thee and 
 given to a worshipper of Baal? Are not thy 
 days spent in toil, and thy slumbers broken 
 with grief, and even thy miserable life itself 
 threatened? Thou fool——" But here the 
 father of this man of Belial interrupted him, 
 for his heart was touched for a moment by 
 the desolate sorrows of his aged friend; and 
 he said to Elnathan — " Thou hast heard my 
 purpose. If thou choosest to cease from go- 
 ing up to Jerusalem to worship, and to make 
 mention of the name of thy God, thou and 
 thy daughter may dwell with us, for thou ft> t 
 our kinsman; but not otherwise. 
 
 When Elnathan heard these impious aiuj 
 ii'uel wordsj he was filled with a^" ton ish merit 
 
ELNATHAN, 
 
 15 
 
 and grief. For though he had long seen that 
 the hearts of his kinsmen were estranged 
 from the true God, and that, moved by fear 
 of the anger of Ahab and his wicked queen, 
 and a desire to be freed from the restraints 
 of conscience and the holy law of the God of 
 Israel, they longed for nothing so much as an 
 opportunity to throw otF all acknowledgment 
 of God, and to join with the king and people 
 of Samaria in the service of Baal, and in all 
 the impure ntes of that unhallowed worship, 
 yet he did not think that their apostasy would 
 have been so sudden, and it was some time 
 before he coiild reply to the grievous tidings^ 
 At length he said, in a voice faltering witli 
 emotion— Since it is so that ye will not 
 permit me to obey the commandment of my 
 God, in going up to his temple to worship. I 
 may no loiiger remain with you. My heart 
 hath regarded, with too fond an ciJlbctioii, the 
 dwellings c»f my fathers^ for I sliil ho| cd that 
 there would arise in Israel a king wlio should 
 bring bacl<. this people from their miserable 
 idolatries to the holy worship of the only God, 
 and so unite the tribes of Jacob into one 
 : ^> i, .igain:— Bui it hath not been so. 
 
16 
 
 sLNATIIAN 
 
 Tlxough I leave behind me the remains of ab 
 that I have ioved, yet will I go forth from 
 mine own people j for the swjeetest charm 
 which united me to them is broken, seeing 
 thej have forsaken the Lord thiiir God.'^ 
 
 Helah all this while stood hqllding her fa- 
 ther )>j the arm, as if she weite afraid that 
 any one should separate him it-om her, and 
 weeping with grief and perplexity; for her 
 gentle heart was wrung by the <|;ruel ty of her 
 kinsmen, and because Azricl dl&o had gone 
 with them in their wickedness* That night 
 when she lay down, as she was w^ont, at thfe 
 feet of her (ather, she could not sleep, but 
 spent the night in tears for the mew load of 
 ailii* tion tliat had fallen upon mmj and her 
 a\vit feebleness to help him, and pecause Az- 
 riel, w^ho had done them so many! kindnesses, 
 and whom she ever esteemed so fap and good, 
 had despised them, and befcome an idolater; 
 for she knew not that his fatte hiid compel-1- 
 to appear mn associate 
 
 ed • hirt: , 
 in the., 
 . Ne!i> 
 lore the ii 
 her hearts 
 
 3, than, arose be^ 
 ttwii, aiiU;: shiuuii^ii^ lip Y 
 ^lie wipe;;! away her tes'rs, ami es- 
 
ELNATIIAN, 
 
 IT 
 
 sayed to comfort him with the thought that, 
 wherever they were driven, in all their jour= 
 neyings they should still have the God of l'^ 
 rael for their friend. So they resolved to go 
 up together to Jerusalem, and wait there till 
 some good Israelite, who feared the Lord, 
 should take them for hired servants, and per 
 mit them to wait upon their God in the as 
 semblies of his people, in that sanctuary which 
 he had chosen to put his name in. So after 
 they had, in a simple yet fervent prayer^ 
 committed themselves to the care of their 
 lieavenly Father, they needed little other 
 preparation for their journey. Over the dress 
 which he wore the evening before, Elnathan 
 put on a hyke,"* as it is now called in that 
 country, or upper garment," as it is named 
 in the Scriptures. It was of brown woollen 
 cloth, several yards long, and five or six feet 
 wide, so that it might serve him either for a 
 garment by day, or for a bed and covering ai 
 aight— like the plaids of the Highland shep 
 herds, to which it had a close rescnibiaoie 
 'ic pu4 it about, twice across his left shouldei, 
 and brought i' ' ■ ' ■ ■ ' ^ ■ - '•■ 
 
IB ELNATHAX. 
 
 ! 
 
 body, joiniiig the two upper ends tol^ether hy^ 
 :) wooden bodkin. The outer fold hiJiRgdovviJ 
 and served him instead of an apron g^y lap, in 
 which he liiight gather iierbs, or, if n^ed were, 
 carry a measure of corn. It was a very trou- 
 blesome piece of raiment, easily disai^'rangedj 
 and falling to the ground, so that ait every 
 step he would have needed to tuck itltij) and 
 fold it round him anew, had he not kept it 
 close, and prevented it from encumbering him, 
 by means of his girdle, which he put Several 
 times round his loins, and which wa^ made 
 of worsted, artfully woven into a variety of 
 figures, having an opening at one of .the ends 
 to serve for a purse. After girding himself, 
 he put some dried figs, a little meal, and a 
 small leathern bottle of water into his scrip, 
 or bag, which was made of goat skin, and 
 hung by a belt across his shoulder. Then 
 taking Heiah by the hand, who had put on an 
 upper garment similar to his, but finer arui 
 more tastefully arranged, he went forth froii? 
 the house of his kinsmens and they, ijecausc 
 they fell his righte.ius and upright xjonduc; 
 iis a rcproacli cast upon thcmsclvcH, hai'deuctt 
 
ELNATHAXr 
 
 19 
 
 depart with his daughter, destitute and uu- 
 ii'iended, to the inheritance of anotlier tribe. 
 
 As they descended the hill of Samariay 
 with slow steps and in silence, to begin their 
 journey, the light fleecy clouds, spread along 
 the morning sky, were fast disappearing be- 
 fore the rising sun; and the plentiful dew that 
 had fallen during the night, and hung, in large 
 drops, from every bough, was quickly passing 
 away. It being, as we have said, the montli 
 Ijar, the heat of the advancing season had 
 oot yet wholly dried up the verdure; and the 
 fresh morning breeze was tilled with the 
 odorous smell of the citron, and the myrtle, 
 and the palm-tree, and the olive, and innu- 
 merable flowers. The fig-tree put forth his 
 green figs, and the vines, with the tender 
 grape, gave a good snielL Barley-harvest, 
 too, having already begun, it was a time of 
 gladness over all the land. They met various 
 little bands of reapers going to tiicir labour, 
 followed by young maidens and children t«j 
 ^lean after thetn. The men had put oft"thc»' 
 ipper garments, and left thcni brhind in tlicii 
 ■uniscsji ■'.!<■'! r^in'Ml --^nit- [>rf)Vi--ion~ 
 
20 
 
 l^LNATHAN. 
 
 gourd tilled with water. Some of these iiien, 
 as was once usual with them in their purer 
 days, expressed the joj of the time, not un- 
 mixed with piety, as they made to the old 
 man and his daughter this salutation: " We 
 bless you in the name of the Lordj" — to 
 which he replied, as was the custom — The 
 blessing of the Lord be upon you." 
 
 When they had passed by the suburbs of 
 Samaria, they came to a cottage embosomed 
 amid some aged fig-trees, and surrounded by 
 several little fields j this was the inheritance 
 which had been wrested from Elnathan by 
 the unjust judgment of Ahab, because he had 
 been known to. go up to Jerusalem to worship, 
 and it was now possessed by an idolater who 
 was his enemy. As the faithful old man stood 
 by it, he v/as deeply moved; not because of 
 the wealth of which he had been so cruelly 
 deprived, but because he was now forced to 
 leave, periiaps for ever, that place, the mc 
 mory of which was so dear to him. While 
 he remained lingering '^i^|||||Mnarking the 
 various objects, whichlipipe to him monument^- 
 of enjoyments he couTd never ta^:|e agaiii; 
 he $aid, mournriill V, <o lus ;:j_rand ffau^;'''^' ' ^ 
 
ELNATHAJi. 
 
 ^;How often have I heardj from the door of 
 /that house, and from these fields, the glad 
 voices of my children welcoming my ap- 
 proach! In that green bower we oftered wp 
 our evening prayers — undet these fig-trees 
 we assembled on the Sabbath, while I related 
 to my son's the gracious things which God had 
 done for our fathers in the time of old, and 
 the holy laws which he had ordained us 5 with 
 them, by this clear-running spring, how often 
 with joyfol hearts hav<a,we spread our repast 
 In the days of harvest t'' And, as these sad 
 remembrances passed through his mind* he 
 could not refrain from weeping; and Helah, 
 though slie had no remembrance of the place, 
 having left it with her own father when an 
 infant, and though she had in herself a hidden 
 cause of grief, which absorbed almost every 
 other, yet she could not keep from shedding; 
 tears of sympathy with him. And, as they 
 wept, Elnathan lifted up his hands towards 
 Jerusalem and prayed; saying, ''Let our 
 hearts be strong in the unchanging love of 
 the God of .Israel! He will be more to us 
 ^han Itomc >0|r kindred, for true and good is 
 his wotd for ever. Th.c everlasting God, the 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 rock of Jacob, is our shield and our salvation 
 for evermore." And when he had breathed 
 Corth this short and fervent prayer, in which 
 Helah joined with her whole heart, they found 
 that blessed relief from sorrow, which faith 
 in our redeeming God alone can bring; and 
 a tide of happy feelings, and bright prospects 
 pointing heavenwards, flowed upon their 
 minds, so that they went on their way with 
 serener countenances and a lighter step than 
 they had done before. 
 
 Having journeyed southward for some time, 
 their road turned eastward, and entered a 
 narrow valley having Mount Gerizim on the 
 right hand, and Mount Ebal on the left, witli 
 a fine rivulet running through it. When they 
 had gone on in that valley for about an hour 
 and a half, sometimes under the cool slutde 
 of spreading trees, sometimes on the brink of 
 precipices^ which the rivulet in its perpetual 
 course had cut in the rocks, and at other 
 liitics through richly cultivated fields, con- 
 tiiuially regaled as they went by the gratel'ul 
 fragrance of ten thousand aromatic hcrb^<. 
 thev came to Sychem> or Sychar^ which wa- 
 built alont ' ' Gerizim, Uci 
 
KLNATHAN. 
 
 23 
 
 , it.was where Jacob pitciied his lent, and rear- 
 ed an altar when he came from Padan-aram; 
 and here the children of Israel buried the 
 bones of Joseph. After passing through Sy- 
 chem, and journeying for some time longer 
 through that narrow valley, which was scarce - 
 ly above a furlong broad, they came to Ja- 
 cob's well, which was dug deep in the firm 
 - rock, and about four cubits wide at the mouth; 
 here tlie?valley opened into a wide field, ex 
 ceeding green and fruitful. And passing a 
 little onward, about the sixth hour of the day, 
 they came to a wood upon the skirts of a very 
 extensive and fertile plain, and, being wearied 
 with walking and the increasing heat of tlie 
 :un, they turned aside and entered within 
 the covert of that wood, intending to rest 
 tli€re till the noon-day heat was past. 
 
 When they had gone a little way among 
 the trees, they saw two beautiful dark brown 
 antelopes, or " roes," lying sleeping among 
 (he wild flowers. Hearing the sound of their 
 footsteps, these timid and watchful creatures 
 took alarm, and, starting up, they glanced at 
 them with their soft eyes^ and instantly 
 bounded away, casting from time to time a 
 
•t.sATKAX. 
 
 look behind; and, thinking iheniseives pur- 
 sued, thej laid their horns backward, almost 
 upon their shoulders, and fiew along the 
 neighbouring hills with incredible swiftness, 
 their delicate limbs scarcely seeming to touch 
 the ground. 
 
 Advancing adittle further into the wood, 
 thej saw a young herdsman reclining by the 
 side of a fountain, and a flock of goats lying 
 scattered around him, ruminating in that 
 shady place. When the herdsman saw El~ 
 nathan and his daughter, he rose up, in ve- 
 neration and honour of the aged man, and 
 bowed his head to them with his hand upon 
 his breast, and saluted them, saying, " Peace 
 be unto you." And Elnathan answered him, 
 " With thee, my son, be peace, and the mer- 
 cy and blessing of God." And the herdsman, 
 seeing that they were wayfarers, said to them^ 
 " Sit down by this fountain, I pray you, and 
 eat of this parched corn; for the place is cooL 
 and ye are overwearied with your journey. 
 So Elnathan and Helah sat down upon tlie 
 grass, and the herdsman gave them half r- 
 ears of wheat, roasted, to eat; and h^- 
 and milked one of the shd-goats, and huv, 
 
ELNATHA!^. 
 
 9.5 
 
 them the milk to drink, which was sweet and 
 well -tasted. 
 
 As thej sat together upon the green grass, 
 EInathan said to the herdsman: " While rest- 
 ing with thy flock bj^the side of this still 
 fountain, surely thy meditations are often 
 upon the God of Israel, and thine heart im- 
 pressed with the thoughts of his holiness and 
 love- Thou dwellest much in private, and 
 seekest for thyself sweet places of solitude; 
 but spend not thy time as the sluggard, m>\: 
 thy days in trifling and inactivity. St^* ' v t] 
 holy law of the Lord thy God, and v.. 
 its purity and extent. - Let the awe oi iiih 
 presence affect thine heart, and the know- 
 ledge that his eye sees thee, repress the very 
 thought of sin. Thy days are passed far frotrj 
 the rage and vanity of the wicked, and th* 
 ^•iT.ploi ment is retired and lonely? ' 
 thy communion be w ith God, and cojIVcis* 
 with thine own souL If thou make the love 
 of God the supreme motive of thine actions-, 
 and his will the rule and the guide of thy 
 life, then shalt thou experience in him, even 
 amid thy solitude, a joy above all othi 
 aud, because thy t»'ust in him shall 
 c 
 
26 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 bounded, holy contentment ana repose shall 
 delight t^i soul. " 
 
 Thu. xi addressed himself to the 
 
 herdsm:. , , .j listened with attention and 
 rev^^^J|^|"i>r he also feared the Lord. When 
 t>.ev ..ad spent some time in this manner, the 
 good Old man and his daughter, being greatly 
 fatigued \vlth their journey, yielded to the 
 hei? "le silence ^f the place, 
 
 I?! -- _ imrmeiits about them, 
 
 they iuiu themselves down under the shade 
 of a gourd, and fell asleep. The young herds- 
 man continued to sit beside them, for he was 
 much struck with ElBatlian's discoisrse, and 
 h-s holy and venerable appi •; ^r 
 
 The fast-growing gourd., ■ 'xiesQ 
 
 ; ' 'ills lay asletp, had v/ithi?i.a 
 - ■ ''['^ and was already come 
 to maturity. I. about six cubits high, 
 having a kiiO tty and hollo¥/ stem,, bearing at 
 ^I'-e t-^rj £ r:co-"mon of thich-s^ir^ad'ng branch - 
 
 : : ; L:g green, 
 
 : til coii)i»r. 
 
 the rine tree and the 
 're stately oak 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 liage. Among tliem grew the almond h-co, 
 whicli flourishes almost before the winter is 
 gone, and had already brought its fruit to 
 perfection. From the midst of a heap ot 
 barren stones grew some fig-trees, laden 
 with little stalks of green figs, which they 
 seemed to shoot forth almost along wiili their 
 blossoms, and before their rough and prickly 
 leaves. Not far from where Elnathan and 
 Helah lay asleep, grew an evergreen citron 
 or " iipple tree," the fairest of the trees of 
 the wood, perfuming thie air with its odour , 
 stretching forth a deep and refreshing shade, 
 and in its season laden with " : a 
 golden colour. Round the trTriJ'L ) " 
 
 the trees, the wild vine. ';;:,'^r ' 
 plants had da.s|)ed tlieir pliar.t hands. Anci, 
 amouc: the wild flowers which «;rew at their 
 roots, the sweet-smelling lily of th 
 raised its elegant form, beari- '^^ ■ ' ■ ^ ;u.k 
 ten or twelve spikes of bloor Ste 
 petal s-^- of which were markt 
 streak of bright purple.down 
 mandrake, too, sprea'i thei; ■ 
 and smooth leaven upon tl^ 
 berries of a saffron ro!o!! '; rr . 
 
.^8 
 
 F.LNATHAN, 
 
 On the border of the fountain grew some 
 mjrtle trees intermixed with roses: their 
 green branches, that spread upward to the 
 height of six or seven cubits, were covered 
 with white Howers, which were bordered with- 
 in v/ith a purple edging, and emitted a p,er- 
 fume more sweet than the rose itself. 
 
 When Elnathan awaked he was grea?tly re- 
 freshed! ^ut Helahy having spent the former 
 niglit in tears, and being w^eaker and mor<e 
 fatigued, continued asleep, lulled in her soft 
 slumber by the sound of the rill that issited 
 from the fountaiii. At last she awse from 
 her grassy pillow, and, it being about the 
 ninth hour of the day, the time of the even- * 
 ing sacrifice, they kneeled down together, 
 with their faces to Jerusalem, and prayed: 
 For the ancient Israelites believed, that the 
 sa,crifice and incense, offered mqrning and 
 evening in the Temple, were designed, in a 
 special manner, to render God propitious to 
 their praj^ers; they therefore chose those times 
 for their devotions, well knowing that there 
 could be no acceptance for the prayers of 
 sinners, bu t through an atonement. After - 
 w 11(1. Elnathan and Helah went on their wn y , 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 29 
 
 and the herdsman gathered together his goats, 
 and led them along toward the side of Mount 
 Ebal, to pastures fragrant with sage, ros-- 
 mary, and thyme. 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 " By God the strang-er and the poor are seut^. 
 And what to thosfe we give to God is lent, ' 
 Then food supply, and i^ ithe his fainting- limks, , 
 Where waving shades obscure the mazy streams." 
 
 0%i'i-. Pope.. 
 
 ■Aftkr Elnathan and his daugiiter came 
 out of the wood, they entered upon an exten- 
 sive and beautiful plain, stretching away 
 southward to a great distance ' -■^re them. 
 When they had gone abou . : across 
 
 it, they came to a low mount covered wiih i 
 dark grove of thick-spreading oak trees, from 
 wbeilce they heard a confused t oise of sing- 
 ing, and wild cries and lam t 
 drew nearer to it, they p-^/ 
 men and women danci .he 
 oak trees, before :\\\ imag to! 
 V. 9. 
 
30 
 
 ELNATHANo 
 
 was in the form of a bull, painted with vei 
 milion, and adorned with ornaments of silverv, 
 ;i nd goM; and embroidered garments, the of- 
 fc rings of the deluded worshippers. Thej 
 saw some of these miserable idolaters cutting 
 themselves with knives and lances, and run- 
 ning franticlj round the image, uttering fear- 
 mi cries; others getting the name and like- 
 ness of the idol stamped upon their hands 
 with hot iroa*: some had cut off their hair as 
 an offerings others lifted up their hands to 
 their mouths and kissed them, and then, 
 rln^^ching them out, threw, as it were, the 
 the idol, and prostrated themselves 
 ijCkire it; and mothers they saw casting their 
 youiig cliildren through the flam&s which rose 
 ii'oni that horrid altar, to purifj them and 
 ensure the favour of tlic jdol, and to devote 
 them to its service. 
 
 Elnatljan and Helah, as thej. looked upoo 
 'hf cr *! ■ n |t?pt With grief and- shame for 
 and degradation of tlieir people, 
 ana U)cy )iaatened away from the view of a 
 place 6!A :'rFa«iriiL - ; 
 
 Whc = \ i<i fi'ave]-< Hie plain ^ 
 
 ■ • / ■ ■ i much u^'^r£ 
 
ELNAfHAN. 31 
 
 mountainous and rocky than that which they 
 had passed through. By this time the sun 
 was going down, but they continued to jour- 
 ney onwardj for, in Canaan, at that period 
 of the year, the evening was tlie most agree- 
 able season for travelling, and they met many 
 way-faring men who had chosen that time for 
 their journeyings rather than the day, that so 
 they might escape the toilso/ne and parcliing 
 heat of the sun. And, going forward, they 
 entered a very narrow valley, between two 
 high and rugged hills, at the further end of 
 which they came to Bethel, where Jacob's 
 stony bed was blessed with the vision of God, 
 and of the angels ascending and descending 
 between heaven and earth. But the}^ passed 
 by it; for there th.e golden calf now wasj^ 
 which Jeroboam the son of Nebat had iet tip, 
 lo turn the Kear^f ihe^people of Israel from 
 th6 ordinances thdi- God. Near this piace^ 
 they crossed ov^y^^ J:he limits which separated 
 the inheritance of Epliraim from thai of Ben- 
 jamin, and the kingdom of Israel fr- 
 So, going on linl" further, 
 • x'lilage, neai -ok ■Chfritb,' 
 
 ^vithui ih': border o'' E 
 
32 
 
 EL NATHAN, 
 
 Now. in those days, tlicre \\ ere neither 
 inns nor caravansaries: but the waj-faring 
 man, if he had no friends in the place, sat in 
 the gate of the city, or by a well, or waited 
 in the street till some one invited liim to a 
 lodging. Elnathan and Heiah, after waiting 
 for some time in the street of this village, 
 passed along through it, but no one invfted 
 them to come to their house to lodge. So 
 ttiey went and sat down on a bank by tlie 
 way-side, under the shade of a sycamore tree; 
 for a row of tliese trees was planted along the 
 street of the village, that their v/ide-spreading 
 boughs might screen the inliabitants from the 
 parching heat of the sun. From the trunks 
 of tliese sycamores grew a number of little 
 stalks, bearing bunches of young sycamore 
 figs. Elnathan saw, on the tree under which 
 they sat, a bunch which ha^l re.hained since 
 the time of the last ripe ligs, (for the tree 
 does not observe any particular season;) so 
 he pulled down the biii ra vsth his staff, and, 
 dividing them with li v b%an to eat 
 
 thosesweetand waten V i ;4;s, intending, 
 if they could get no other sh-citer, to pass the 
 night under that tree; but, in a little while. 
 
ELNATHAN, 
 
 35 
 
 the heavy dews of evening began to fall, and 
 it became exceeding cold; for, in^'alestine, 
 though the traveller is consumed by the heat 
 in the day-time, it is often cold, and even 
 frosty by night; and, unless a gracious Pro- 
 vidence had thus tempered the drought of the 
 day by the cold and dews of night, tlie land 
 would have become a dry and parched desert. 
 Now, a widow woman, whose ..iittle square- 
 roofed house, or cottage, stood upon a sloping 
 bank on the opposite side of the way, and 
 was encircled witli vines, saw them throngli 
 the twilight as she stood by her door, and she 
 beckoned them to come near. When thej 
 came, she said to them, " Whence are ye? 
 and why sit ye so late under that tree? If ye 
 are travellers, and without a home, come in 
 hither, I pray you, and I will give you Ipdg- 
 ing and refreshment." Elnathan replied to 
 her, Thy servants are indcQd straiigers., 
 jqurneying from Samaria to Jerusalem, that 
 we may worship the God of our fathe 
 Huldah, for that was the widow'V 
 brought them into her house, and ga\ 
 water to wash tlieir feet, because, we^uu^ 
 only sandals, their feet wertt covered with 
 
S4 ELNATHAK. 
 
 the mire and dust of the way. and she spread, 
 on the floor soft goat-skins for them to sit 
 upon. Then she kindled a fire of sticks upon 
 the hearth, which was almost in the middle 
 of the floor, the smoke going out bj a hole in 
 tfee roof, between the rafters, which were 
 blackened with soot^ for there were no chim- 
 neys in those days. Having done this, she 
 brought forth a w^ooden bowl or " kneading- 
 tro^igh,'' containing leavened doitgh, and, 
 fai'ming the dough into small thin loaves, she 
 put them upon the hot stones of the hearth to 
 toast? for then bread could not be kept longer 
 than a day, and was therefore baked as it was 
 
 : and always eaten new. Then she 
 i. piece of flesh, and, cutting it into 
 ; amii; piec^?, ^he put them into a pot along 
 >vith some Jierbs '"'li ' roeal, and set it upon 
 the fire io mak 
 
 AiiSHH-uidaii called ij^iicliama. her little son. 
 her- only 'child. Hs hhd an open, sun-buriit. 
 and ruddy nee. his long black hair 
 
 hanging in eiu.. '_':l-its u[K>n 'his shoul- 
 
 ders? .^nd-.'as ' ■• b -ved Krrnsplf to 
 
 El: 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 55 
 
 third part of what we now have, and it is 
 likely that only a few of the principal fami- 
 lies in Israel possessed full copies even of 
 those. Elnathan then, like every other Is- 
 raelite that feared God, had treasured up in 
 his memory large portions of the Divine 
 Word, which he had heard and been taught 
 in his youth, before the Ephraimites had gone 
 astray from the ordinances of their God. 
 These Scriptures, wliich he had thus laid ur^ 
 .11 his heart, were dear to hira, as furnishing 
 osifhiupl food for holy meditation and prayer^ 
 ;vei e also dear to him, as connected , 
 ilk remembrance, w^it.h the |)iety a.nd ten- 
 der affection of his inotlier Azubah, who had 
 taught him — speaking of them while they sat 
 in the house, and when they walked by the 
 way, and when they by d'>^yn, and wlien they 
 rose upi 1 'f whose beloved 
 
 voice had s.:. ... cj^va lul^ iiis heart,- with the 
 truths' which slie taught him,itid become as- 
 sociated with all his purest and holiest feel- 
 ings, It was in obedience, tl , ^he coin- 
 maiidments of God which sb ht hiirif 
 
 and in-conforniity v: . -^aw|He, jfchat'he: 
 now to-i': :¥ictO'.» . v n fv's khe^^ m<l 
 
36 
 
 ELNATHAN- 
 
 related to hiiu the liistory of tlie patriarch 
 Joseph, the father of the tribe to which he 
 himself belonged. . 
 
 So he began and told him how Joseph's 
 brethren sold him for a slave to the Ishmael- 
 ites, from envy, because his father loved him, 
 and had made him a vesture of honour — a 
 coat of many colours— and because he dream- 
 ed that they should bow down to him; and 
 hcfW he was carried away into Egypt, and 
 made a servant in the house of Potiphar: and 
 of all his integrity while a servant, md how 
 he feared to sin against God, and was cast 
 into a dungeon because of his purity and ho- 
 tiu'essi and how God, who gave him this in- 
 tegi itj of heart, gave him also faith to perse- 
 vere, and eidowed him with divine wisdom, 
 and sljuwed hiai mercy, and gave him favour 
 in the siglit of the keeper of the prison; and 
 how the chief butler, whose dream he inter- 
 preted, remembered not Joseph, but forgot 
 hSm* fill, at the end of two long years, l^e 
 was brought out of the dungeon to stand be- 
 fore I%araohj and how, when the king told 
 bifli the report tliat he had heard of his un 
 dtrstaiiding to interpret dreams, with what 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 3T 
 
 true humility Joseph said, ]t is not in mey but 
 God will give Pharaoh ar* answer of peace: 
 And that, having declared to the king his 
 dreams, he, delighted witii such heavenly 
 wisdom, took oft' the ring from his own handj 
 and put it upon Joseph's hand, and put a gold 
 chain about his neck, and made him ruler 
 over all the land of Egypt. And Elnathaii 
 went on and related, to the attentive boy, 
 Joseph's wisdom in the government of Egypt^ 
 and how, when the. famine was sore in all 
 lands, his ten brethren came down to Egypt 
 to buy corn; and that, when they caaie and 
 bowed down themselves before liim, v/ith their 
 faces to the earth, he remembered the dreams 
 that he had dreamed of them. Then Elna- 
 than told all the policy of Joseph li. prove bis 
 brethren, and that, when he saw Eenjamm^ 
 his mother's son, he made haste, for his hoM'- 
 els did yearn upon his brother, anu 
 whereto weep, and entered into his ciia^i i^o; 
 and wept therej—and that, v/hen he hear^, 
 the earnest and afPectio .ence ofJu- 
 
 dah, in behalf of "fiis fai^Oi . .d Benj&niir^, 
 and the leTider remembrance that Ms father 
 rM^ined of him, and Judah oifering'to remaiii 
 
ELNATHAK. 
 
 a bdndmari instead of Beujainm, he couid 
 not refrain himself, but wept aloud, and made 
 himseif known to his brethren, saying, I am 
 Joseph, doth mj father yet live? And how he 
 forgave his brethren, because he had seen the 
 good hand of God in all tlie evil that they did 
 to him? And that Joseph, though he was great, 
 yet valued the approbation of his aged and 
 pious father above that of all the world be- 
 side, and made his brethren haste up and tell 
 Jacob that God had made him lord over all 
 Egypt, and to tell him of all his glory in 
 Egypt, and of all that they had seen; and 
 then, how he fell upon Benjamin's neck and 
 weptj and kissed all his brethren, and wept 
 ypon them, and sent presents of tlie good 
 things of Eg3'pt to Ids father 5 and that, when 
 Israelis sons came and showed him all this, 
 h>e said. It is enough, Joseph my son is yet 
 alive, I will go down and see him before i 
 die. Then Elnathan related how Israel rose 
 up and came into Egypt, and how Josepl^ 
 made ready his chariot, and went up to meei 
 Israel his father, and presented himself to 
 hMy, and fell on his neck, and wept on hh 
 neck\a good whilei and how If-rael said to 
 
ELNATHAN. 39 
 
 Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen 
 thy face, because tliou art yet alive! i- 
 
 Here Elishama, over wliose face the tears 
 and smiles had been all along chasing each 
 other, like the clouds and sunshine of an April 
 day, could command himself no longer, but 
 burst out and wept aloud. As lor Elnathan, 
 he related this history without making any 
 comment, or attempting any explanation. It 
 had awakened the sympathies of the boy, and 
 so needed none^ and he made no effort to en- 
 force it upon his attention, save by the tears 
 which he shed as he narrated it, for who could 
 tell such a tale without tears? 
 
 After Elnathan - had told Elishama all the 
 rfest of this incomparable history, he laid his 
 hands upon his head, and besought the Lord 
 for a blessing upon him. The pottage and 
 loaves being now ready, Huldah put the pot- 
 tage into a wooden bowl, and set it upon a 
 low table, with the loaves, and some oil and 
 . inegar, to dip their bread in; and she auvi 
 her little son sat down with Elnathan ?pi\ 
 Helah to supper. 
 
 As they sat togeiiier after ptiipper, Jlulduii 
 f'aid to Elnathan, •* When tlk>ii reiiu-iiesf '.vifh 
 
40 
 
 1BJ, NATHAN, 
 
 thy dau£:;hter from Jerusnlen's to thine own 
 country, come ihis ^vay, I pray thee, and 
 locige again in my house." 
 
 '^h - ii Elriathan told her of all the wicked- 
 the king and people of Samaria* and 
 that liis oun family were all dead save Ile- 
 lah* his grand-daughter, and that tiieir inhe- 
 ritance was taken from them; and liow their 
 only remaining kindred, with whom they had 
 lived as servants, had corrupted themselves 
 and becoiiie idolaters, and had forbidden them 
 to worship any more the Lord their God; and 
 that they had left their own people, and their 
 country, and were going toward Jerusalem^ 
 that tlioy might worship the Lord in the courts 
 of his own house, in the way tliat he had or- 
 ■ ' to their, Others. 
 
 'itn Huldah hcird this, she spake kindly 
 to ihem, and comforted the good old man, and 
 formed them of all the peace they jnjojed 
 
 if" > IhK under the v^'r'n of rood Jehrsai:>hj;l; 
 
 of the I. 
 
 and who had sec 
 
 4 them tc ^;!d^.:: '\tar vx 
 
E1,N A Tl t AN. 
 
 41 
 
 Lurd, faitlitiil! V, and with a pcifc':! Iseart; 
 ■;in(! ihiit tlie Lord liad given liira great (rea- 
 suresj- and the fear of tlic Liord had fallen 
 upon all the nations round aboii (, so that the}'' 
 made no war upon hini. After telling him all 
 liiis, she said, " I have tliree little fields, and 
 the vines that grow round nij iiouse, and a 
 few sheep; and my husband is dead, and I 
 hii.ve no one save an hired servant wlii> ia- 
 bi^iirs 'for me: Wilt thou not then slay with 
 !is, and manage our aflairs for us, and be as a 
 father to my son and nie? and lie!;?!; 
 iive with us, and we will sei-ve Die ' 
 Qod together in peace.'' 
 
 Eiuathati replied — " Klc^iscd hv, Ihc i^mi 
 of Israel, who hath not ff»rsakc?} vh in <}'\v time 
 of -orrow, nor foigotl aath 
 put it into thine hcarl i ~ 
 n^ss. But I may net reit!:' , 
 I must go to Jerusalem to offer • 
 ing L^rd our God; fV- 
 
 aga 5 that I hav--- 
 
 ' his wui 
 
SLKATHAN" 
 
 iambj theD, from our little flock for a sacri 
 fice, and go up to Jerusalem; and Helah will 
 abide with me till thou retui-ii; and may the 
 Lord accept thine oft^ring, and fulfil thy 
 prayer. 
 
 So Elnathan and Helah agreed to do as the 
 good widow had proposed, and, when she had 
 put her cottage in order, they went to the fur- 
 ther end of it to the sleeping chamber; for 
 me end of the floor of the cottage, which con- 
 sisted but of one apartment, was raised about 
 two cubits and a half above the rest, having 
 steps leading up to it, and separated by a 
 curtain or vail. On tins raised place, or 
 bed." Huldah spread, along the Mde of the 
 mattresses of thick quilted cloth, with 
 pillows, for ' . nd his daughl'er, their 
 upper garme"; ■ :■ hem for coverings. 
 
 And after sh ihe " candle,*' or 
 
 ■^^f^fjd Oil the iii. \ v;K?.:h nh^'3VS 
 
 long wooden stalk 
 
 - ning during th^^ 
 Uttie him lay down to 
 
 her 
 
ft' 
 
S'ifibin in the Emt. 
 
CHAPTER IIL 
 
 ^ — — After him a cumbrous train 
 Of herds and flocks, and numerous seryitade? 
 Not wand'ring- poor, but trusting all Kis wealth 
 With God. i see liis tents 
 Pitched about Shecbi*^->;, ? ih--* nei?hb'r!ngpl&ir. 
 Of Moreb. " " >Hton. 
 
 Next moriiiD;^. Eltii'fnar. a «u H^'rJv ej:S. 
 their kind hosieiBs and h r !i 
 tlie dawn; and wlien it was :ib<iUi the tim:. oi 
 the moniing sacrlnbe. they knelt dowr. tog-e- 
 ther, and ane\\ cornfiiitted then, 
 Almighty Shepherd of Israel, and uaor^^.. his* 
 holy name. Then ilnidah,'. as was the cm- 
 tom, begr. e tire moinii 
 
 - she set bdore i;.„-,ri b. 
 
 fri shmg wHer; :aa:toj 
 • rter ihi:^ had eaten, she ga-ve Elna- 
 , c provision in his scri|>5 for the ^vay^ 
 
46 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 and a iamb for an offering; and, having made 
 him again renew his promise to come and 
 dwell with her, it being now well on in the 
 dav, he departed on his journey, carrying the 
 lamb under his arm. 
 
 Toward noon, he saw a shepherd, who was 
 leading his flock down the side of a hill to 
 bring them upon the highway; and he walked 
 hastily forward and saluted the shepherd, 
 ^^'ko was a Kenite. He did not follow his 
 sheep, but walked before them, carrying in 
 his hand a long rod or staff to keep his flock 
 in order, and defend them, and to number 
 them when they returned from their wander- 
 ings at the close of the day. .rVnd from time 
 to time he looked round to call to his sheep 
 \- 1 -^'1 Hiey lingered behind or went out of tl\e 
 
 JO 
 
 wj:)-; for he had given to each of them names, 
 and th^y were obedient to his voice, and fol- 
 lowed hii7i whitliersoever he chose to lead 
 them. And he said to .Elnathan that h'^ " 
 going a little distance to a valley v - 
 master had pitchediiis tent, beside a 4 
 water, there to water his Fi6ck, and re^t dv» 
 ing the heat of noon. . For the Kei 
 dwelt under tents, and wimdered aboii 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 47" 
 
 the cities and villages of Canaan, feeding' 
 their flocks wherever thej could find pasture. 
 
 In a short time they came to a little vallej, 
 which was a wilderness or uncultivated place, 
 where Elnathan saw a few shepherds' teiit?, 
 of ft bla ck or dark brown colour, pitched to- 
 gether in the form of a circle. Thej were of 
 a long form, supported by one or two poles 
 in the middle, according to their size, ar.d 
 divided within, by a curtain, into t\vo apart- 
 ments, one of which was appropriated ^^Ik^e 
 women. Their covering on the outaii^^tiis 
 cioth made of goats' hair, wliich tv; . kepc 
 firm and steady by being tied at the e 
 with cords fastened to liooked pins v l 
 were driven into the ground; and th' 
 space within the circle of tents se 
 fold for their flocks in the night. The shep - 
 herds were sitting by i^ic doors of their tents 
 or under shady trees, surrounded with their 
 fl!ocks of sheep and goats, waiting (ill a'^ their 
 companions were assembled, bef( ai^ 
 tlie stone which covered the -ii o ^ oi the 
 well, and prevented it being filled up witii 
 sand and dust; for enemies often took ie- 
 ■-,Y stopping up anu ■ - the 
 
48 
 
 ELSATHAN. 
 
 wells of those whom they hated. And wheB 
 the shepherd who accompanied Elnathan had 
 arrived, they removed the stone from the 
 well, and drew water v>'ith leathern pitchers, 
 and poured it into troughs for their flocks to 
 drink. 
 
 After the young man whom Elnathan had 
 met on the wa^', had given his flock in charge 
 to one of his brethren, he brought the good 
 old man to his master, who was sitting under 
 the shade of his tetit door, enjoying the cool 
 breeze, and observing the conduct of his 
 shepherds; and as soon as he saw Elnathan, 
 and tlial he was a stranger, and marked his 
 % enerable appearance, he rose np and came 
 io meet him, accompanied by several of his 
 neople. And when he had saluted him, he 
 requested him to be his guest, and to remain 
 with hhn that day and the next, which was 
 the Sabbath. But Elnathan answered—*' I. 
 woiild Oiily e,;^T a morsel and. go forward, for 
 I gt'eatly desire to be in Jerusalem," So (he 
 mascer of the shepherds, whose, name was 
 Heber, brought Elnathan into liis own teiit. 
 And he sent to Rachel his wife~!-w}io-, liTce 
 Sarah and Rebecca, occupied a separate teut^ 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 49 
 
 and was employed with her daughters In 
 spinning wool — and she made ready meat and 
 bread. For, as we have said, food in that 
 warm climate can only be prepared in. anal! 
 portions as it is needed; and this is the rea - 
 son why Abraham, though he was so rich, 
 had to make ready to set before the angels 
 who came to his tent on their way to Sodom. 
 
 When the food was prepared, they spread 
 on the floor of the tent a round mat neatly 
 made of straw^ and on it they placed several 
 wooden bowls, in which were flesh, boiled 
 and cut into small pieces, and bread, and 
 new cheese, and sour curdled milk, and feat* 
 ter which had been churned in a large leath- 
 ern bottle, shaken to and fro. And Heber 
 caused Elnathan to sit down, alons with him- 
 self and those who were with him, around 
 that simple table, and he divided to Elnatlian 
 a larger portion than tlie rest, as a mark of 
 kindness and regard. These plain shep^ 
 used no spoons, but, in taking the 
 dipped their hands into the wooden di.- 1 
 which held it, and snprx'i'd the '^urd out cf 
 their palms. 
 
 After ther had enaed irieir repasi, tlie 
 
50 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 joung shepherd who had brought Elnathan 
 thither, took a harp, and, sitting down under 
 the green boughs of a great oak tree, with the 
 other shepherds around him, he began to play 
 a sweet and solemn air, and, accompanying 
 it with his voice, he sung — 
 
 " The Lord is our shepherd, no want we shall know ; 
 
 We feed in green pastures, safe-folded we rest ; 
 He ieadeth our souls where the still waters flow, 
 
 Restores us when wand'ring, redeems when opprest. 
 
 Through tiie valley and shadow of death though we strafe 
 Since thou art our guardian, no evil we fear ; 
 
 Thy rod shall defend us, thy staff be our stay ; 
 Ko harm can befall with our Comforter near. 
 
 In the midst of afiiiction our table is spread — 
 Yvith blessings unmeasured our cup runneth o*er ; 
 
 : "Ith perfume and oil Thou anointest our heads ; 
 t~ r at chall we ask of thy providence more ? 
 
 I.etgoo ncsj and mercy, our bountiful God, 
 Stiil folic vv our steps till we meet Thee above; 
 
 We seel-' -by the path wliich our forefathers trode 
 Through v-ie land of their sojourn— thy kingdom of 
 
 ■ - ; , „r-^9d shepherd- 
 
 he - . oon; for, like 
 
 of Jesse, many of rh;»m were cunning 
 | : the harp, and doli^^htA-^ 'r ' 
 
EL NATHAN. 
 
 51 
 
 ing those inestimable lays which, by the Di- 
 vine Spirit, David composed for the worship 
 of the God of Israel, And when the heat of 
 the day was past, Heber gave Elnatban a 
 little honey as a present, and so he departed 
 on his journey toward Jerusalem. 
 
 Elnathan's journey all that day, and in- 
 deed ever since he left the border of Ephraira, 
 had been exceeding rough and toilsome, ow- 
 ing to the rocky and mountainous nature of 
 the country through which he passed, which 
 rendered his progress extremely slow. As 
 he proceeded, the ruggedness of his path 
 seemed to increase, leading him now from 
 the bottom of valleys to the top of hills, and 
 from the top of hills to the bottom of valleys, 
 yet the cultivation every where was rnarvel- 
 lousj- and the hills, as they continually chanc - 
 ed, with respect to him, their levels and s'- 
 tuationS;, presented him almost, at ^ 
 with new forms and new beaut 
 white rocks and the valleys of Judal 
 veredwith corn fields and plantation^ of Ogs, 
 and vines, and olive trees, and «^cn?'s"^]y a 
 single spot seemed to be neo-; The 
 l^ls, from their bases to the".r uh..C'^ mm- 
 
5$ 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 mits, were cultivated like gardens^ and the 
 industry of the numerous inhabitants had 
 tarried the faces even of the. most barren in- 
 to fruitful fields. They had gathered up the 
 loose stones with which they were encumber- 
 ed, and built low walls stretching along their 
 stdrile sides. By these stony borders, they 
 supported the earth,; which they brouglit from 
 a distance and spread upon their sides, from ' 
 tumbling down or being washed away, ana 
 formed so many hanging fields, bearilg '^brn, 
 melons, and cucumbers, rising gradually one 
 above another from the bo]^()m to the top of 
 the hills. And oii the mds|: steep and rocky 
 parts of all were planted^ vines atid olive 
 trees, which delight to extract tlie one its fat- 
 ness, and the other its sprightly juice, from 
 such dry and flinty places. The air was 
 light, pure, and serene, and the clear blue 
 heavens without a cloud ; and he met every 
 where with tov^rns and villages full of people. 
 But it is vain to attempt forming a desmp- 
 tion of the past richness and beauty of that 
 venerable and glorious land, which now lies 
 a yellow and barren waste. Nor can we ever 
 ebtain a nobler conception of its excellency 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 than that which the language of inspiration 
 conveys — A land flowing with /milk and lio- 
 nej — a field which tlie Lord hath blessed — 
 God hath given it of the dew of heaven, and 
 of the fatness of thelfrth, and plenty of corn 
 and wine. 
 
 And when Elnathaii was yet distant from 
 Jerusalem more than eighteen furlongs, he 
 felt hims€if so fatigued that he could proceed 
 no further; and so he gave up his purpose of 
 reaching the city that evening. He was near 
 ^ little range of hills, almost covered wdth 
 olive trees that w^ere now in full bloom, and 
 laden with branches of pale yellow flowers. 
 They were of a moderate height, their trunks 
 knotty, but tlie bark smooth and of an ash 
 colour^ their leaves shaped like those of the. 
 willow, of a dark green on the upper side, 
 and white under; and their flowering branch 
 es, stretching out around, gave to these f ruit- 
 ful olives a form of peculiar grace and beaut}'. 
 
 At the foot of Ihc nearest of ihn hills stood 
 a village, wliirh v;as almost Iw- ' 
 sight by the m in tit ii do of olive ■ 
 surrounde^t i'- .^-'d nn' 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 of the village, Elnathan saw a well which 
 was overshadowed by a number of palm 
 trees, and little companies of young women 
 going thither with pitchers on their shoulders 
 to draw water.' So he*^ent and sat down 
 near the well, under the shade of the palm 
 trees, and there waited till some one would 
 invite him to a lodging. The well was hewn 
 out of the solid rock, and the women went 
 down by steps cut in the-rock to the water, 
 which bubbled out from a cievice in the side 
 of the well. The lofty and embowering palm 
 trees that hung over it, were a shade from 
 the heat of the sun, and so preserved the 
 grassy turf around always- green, and ren- 
 dered it a cool and refreshino; resting place 
 for the wearied tro veller. These palm trees, 
 the symbols of constrmcy and victory, love to 
 grow by the side of a brook, or well of iiving 
 water, and resisting all attempts to. press 
 them downwards, spring- up directly toward 
 heaven. And Elnathan continued waiting 
 there for some time: for, although many of 
 the women, after they went down into the 
 well and had filled their pitchers, stood still 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 55 
 
 and looked at him, yet no one spake to hinij 
 nor asked him to come to their house and 
 lodge. * 
 
 At last there came a little maid, clothed in 
 a long robe of blue linen embroidered with 
 various colours, and having her long tresses 
 of dark hair adorned with flowers. And she 
 bowed her head to Elnathan, with her hands 
 folded upon her breast, and saluted him. 
 Then raising her soft eyes, she said, " Surely 
 thou art a stranger in this place: tarry not in 
 the fields ^11 night, but come with me to the 
 house where I dwell, and wash thy feet and 
 eat bread, and abide with us till thou mayest 
 again go upon thy journey." And Elnathan 
 replied, I am indeed a stranger, come from 
 Samaria on my way to Jerusalem, to offef* 
 sacrifice to the Lord God of our fathers. " So 
 he rose up and followed her. And she brought 
 him to a small white summer-house which 
 stood in the midst of a garden, and vi'as en- 
 Tironed with vines, and shaded with fig-trees 
 and olives, with a beautiful fountain of wsder 
 before it And Zillah, for that was the name 
 of the little maid, said to ZipporaH, an aged 
 woman who was her nurse, and whom she 
 
56 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 loved as a second niother, This stranger 
 was travelling toward Jerusalem, and it is 
 now near the Sabbath, and he had nowhere 
 to lodge, and I have brought him hither if he 
 maj stay with us, till he go again upon his 
 joiirney." Then Zipporah welcomed Elna- 
 than, and led him into the house, and set be- 
 fore him cream and honej, and little loaves 
 of bread, for his refreshment; and Zillah took 
 the lamb that he had with him into the gar- 
 den to browse. And as soon as the sun was 
 set, the Sabbath began, and all labour instant- 
 ly ceased. 
 
 Early next morning, Zillah, and her nurse, 
 and Elnathan, went to a green hill side at 
 about six furlongs, or a Sabbath-day's jour- 
 ney, distant, where a number of Israelites 
 were assembled together for prayer. It was 
 a retired and solitary place, enclosed by a 
 grove of lofty trees, whose calm shadows lay 
 upon the green grass, and, while they served 
 as a shelter from the sun, disposed the mind 
 to peace and contemplation. And it being 
 the time of the morning sacrifice, they stood 
 with their faces toward Jerusalem and pray- 
 edy each one apart for h!m:;elf. There was 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 59 
 
 in the midst of them one of the sons of the 
 prophets. His dress was extremely simple, 
 being only a rough garment of coarse shaggy 
 hair-eloth, tied about with a leathern girdle. 
 He? looked liKi one wli0 spent much oC^>i^ 
 time in meditation and prayer: the under ftit 
 of his face was covered by his long beard, but 
 his pale forehead, and serene eyes, had an 
 almost angelic appearance of softness and 
 purity. And he stood up and opened a roll 
 of painted linen, on which was writteria copy 
 of the books of Moses, and he read=^^ut of it 
 to the people, and explained it to them, and 
 exhorted them. And, again in the evenings 
 Elnathan, and Ziilah, and her nurse, went to 
 that place of prayer, or holy convocation. It 
 was in this manner, v/ith humility and gra- 
 titude, that the ancient Israelites sanctified 
 the Sabbath, as a memorial of the creation, 
 and of their deliverance from 
 Egypt J and as a type of th^ ^ 
 .ind tov/ard the close 
 ^pporah, and T'' ' 
 , in -i'lii-^ fjnrrlf-' 
 
60 
 
 ELNATHAX. 
 
 the grassy turf before them. Arid Zillah said 
 to Einatban, I know that thou art going to 
 take this little lamb to-mGrri>w to JeruMlem, 
 to offer it for abiirnt-ofFeririg to the Lord our 
 God| tell me, I praj thee, what is signified 
 by. this statute in Israel?" 
 
 Then Eljiathan told her, how God had cre- 
 ated Adam in innocence and uprightness, and 
 of the covenant that he had graciously made 
 with him; but that he listened to the tempta- 
 tion of the serpent, and did break the cove- 
 nant of God, and so fell from his state of up- 
 rightness, and brought sin and death upon 
 riimself and all his children. Nov/, Zillah," 
 ntinued, *'it is because we are thus 
 . and continually doing iniquity, that 
 vve need sacrifices and offerings. As the 
 Mood of the sacrifice is poured out and its 
 body burnt, so justly ought our blood to be 
 pouy^ed out and we ourselves destroyed, be- 
 : of our sin. But God ha^i appointed 
 -acrifices, that, our guilt beinir tr.ir>s- 
 'i8m, they might suffer and dk^ in 
 ' .; r.;-. I'hink nou however, rav d-. ' 'f-T. 
 that, by any Oilering we can iiiiai'. 
 able to render ourselves righteous in. the 
 
51 
 
 of God; or that thete sacrifices can take, awav 
 our sins, or satisfy for the smaliest of our 
 transgressions. 0 no! as such, God doth not 
 desire them. Thev, indeed, may cleanse us 
 and make us pure in the eyes of men; but the 
 righteousness which God requires, is that of 
 the heart—a perfect purity from sin-— a spot- 
 less righteousness; and I, Zillah, and thou/ 
 and all the children of Adam, are partakers 
 ; ©f a:iiepraved nature, and altogether corrupt* 
 and utterly indisposed, of ourselves, to obey 
 the holy an J spiritual law of the Lord < ^' 
 God; and, li^t obeying, we m\ux die. 
 
 And whea the little maid heard, 
 could not refrain from wee]:i)tu"o for she felt 
 in herself how true it was. Wliich Elnaihaii 
 seeing, while he withheld not from weepMg^ 
 with her, he thence showed her how great 
 was her need of some higher atonement than 
 the Wood of lambs or goats; some better right- 
 eousness than ought that she was able to do 
 could ever procure. And then, he told her 
 of that promise of infinite grace, which, iSktd 
 made io Adam, that there should come s 
 Seed wi.o should bruise the head of the ser- 
 
EI.XATHAX. 
 
 pent, that is, destroy sin aiulu?ath; and how 
 this promise of a Saviour, ind salvation by 
 him, was renewed and con-iFmed to Abraham; 
 that israei in liis dying blessing had prophe- 
 sied of the coming of this'Shiloh: — " This," 
 Elnatijrji went on, thi&lls the Star which 
 Balaam ff>retells shall come: out of Jacob— this 
 js the Redeemer, the as?^iirance of whose 
 t the latter day upon the earth, 
 Job amid all his griefs — -thi^ is the 
 'i<*: at the right h'and of God, the 
 f of whom Bavid sings; and it 
 ed seed, tlvis divrne deliverer, 
 HHces point and fefer. in 
 . i less: it is only when 
 
 :.u^<i.iiie lo boa. - ' 
 " Now," s^id Zillali *with a smile, ihough 
 'listened with tears, *'now I 
 V;^ Zipporah told me; 
 our guilt, and par 
 .e liid it not fm^ our good 
 o^lVrin^ or sacnii- 
 'tbo^elher worOilei^j' 
 
ELNATHAX. 
 
 6^ 
 
 but he di4 it for liis own nauie'S sake. O, 
 that I may always walk in his statutes, iwid 
 do whatis pleasing in his eyes I'' 
 
 " God giveth to thee, my daughter," said 
 Elnathan, " his Holy Spirit, to renew thy 
 heart and soul, and ta make thee willing to 
 eschew all sin, and walk in his command- 
 ments." And, uhen he had said this, tj^t 
 he might the more impress her mind with her 
 dependence on this blessed aid and its sufti- 
 ciency, he took her by the hand, and led lier 
 to a large rose bush wliich was covered with 
 roses, and, pusb.ing aside some $hel>i;anc].\c.s 
 with his ariTs^Jie sl-K>wed her ;^ ro i w&h haxi 
 withered on tlie stalk Tv^i4ii<r^ ^-^ni^i^^g to m 
 turity. Tell me, now, Zrllah." he said, 
 " what is the reason that t Kit 
 flourished like the rest?" 
 
 I suppose it is be* 
 iVam the sun." 
 
 Thou h:^^'- ri-vl •] - 
 
 unfold the beaucy ui i^ivse >iQ^.^'x<^. y 
 quiekeuing power of the S>T'^'tt TTf c^ 
 sanctify and enlighten, tliv ; 
 my daiifrhter. to the Oo^' j-ravej-, 
 
64 ELNATHAN, 
 
 ' ^ ■ '-.n hunsbie faitli, in all Ihv duties, and m 
 ae efforts after holiness and purity, that 
 ; v uphold thee by his free Spiritj other- 
 , though thy performances may be many, 
 thou wiit only resemble this ujntimely rose; 
 beitig deprived of the siili, is without 
 and without beauty." 
 i- r am various precepts of Scripture, it is 
 k "' rliat it was in this manner the young 
 a of the ancient Israelites acquired 
 religious knowledge. They possessed 
 moroiB copies of the Scriptures, and 
 upon ev ery subject, as we do, and their 
 IfMiblic teachers w ere few; but the ©eremonial 
 part jaf th^ir religion, rcqiiired so many things 
 to be done which addressed themselves to the 
 fteTiSes— things which differed so greatly from 
 the actions of comvnon life, that the curiosity 
 (of t!|^ j-t>ung would be kept perpetually awake 
 ' • V the meaning of the testimonies, an«l 
 \ites, whirh the liord. their God had 
 . .'.fiorded the happiest, 
 >'jji|>cn'. 0 t.v-i aged of pouring instruc - 
 
 tion i^!'.- 'ho mi"i.dfl of their children. An m- 
 t \r.g person, in these days* v/ould 
 
 Ic. i , . , opportunity of inquiring at the af- 
 
ELXATHAN. 
 
 fectibnalo and venerated iips of his ^nirents,^ 
 0; of the elders of the place where hC; dwelt;, 
 and, though the knowledge he would thus ac-, 
 quire might be small when compared with 
 what the youiig in our days caii at^n* vc v 
 surlly, it would be very impressive and verji 
 precious. We cannot imagine a more inter- 
 esting sight, than some ruddy boy, like tliat 
 young shepherd, who kept his father's flocks 
 on the plains of Bethlehem, sitting listening 
 at the feet of an aged and pious heixlsman v.-bo 
 iiad himself been an eye-witncsa or, art actor 
 in the judgments which he related. And we 
 can hai'dly think of a mo^te t leji 
 more fitted to keep al?""^ tht^ ^ \ 
 of the teacher and tlie 
 
 that they neglected all i - a . . .. .. ^ , .. ,: i 
 
 fell into the most degrading igi; ; : :e. <> 
 let His then beware that Vf% sftiju.- 
 greater facilities which we eojoj- 
 
 When the sun had gone down, and :'-e 
 Sabbath was ended, and tl>ey had returij^ed 
 into the house, EHnatiian said:" I must 
 from this^lace to-merrow momii^, long jbe- 
 fore the dawii, thrtt I may be in JcnisaleRi at 
 thf i\c>'' of the nifr -in- -a^'-iHre," A^id 
 
66 
 
 ELNATKAJx'. 
 
 Zillah asked him if he had my one m Jeru 
 salem to lodge with while he remained there; 
 and he said he had no one. Then she said to 
 him, ' ' I, too, must go to Jerusalem to-mor- 
 )o w., for -on the fourth day of the week my 
 sister Esther is to be marrkd to Obed the 
 son of Nathaofah, and I will tell my mother 
 of tliee: So, after the evening ser-vdce in the 
 * ' if thou wilt stand by the Valley- 
 will come to thee, and bring thee to 
 ler's house, and thou wilt be our guest 
 r. er-au return again to thine own country,'^ 
 .: Now the little maid sprjke all thi?^ in her 
 M^^iiv^s iiairo; rho ar - 
 
 s '■■ tes, a hu »ba «J|e 
 
 jiAon.g' ' o'-'i and tb "^^^^^ > 'r.nhisaf- 
 akened: The 
 . romed tomakf 
 ■ipal object of the^i 
 and ue see, in the io* 
 " that the children of 
 th'- - each otiier wrr'"- ?. 
 
 ^ ' leifi' h ''f>re dicy weni 
 
 :\HiatH- .9 maid -• 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ——Such deliriit hath God in mm 
 Obedient to his Filij that he vouchsEfes 
 Among them to set up his tabernacle, 
 The holy One with^ mortal rnan to dwell— 
 
 ■ - -informing them, by types 
 And shadovrs, of that destined Seed to bruise 
 The serpent — by what means h.s fihall achier© 
 Mankind's deliverance." 
 
 MUimi. 
 
 The following morning, Elnatliaii ■: 
 earl J, before the dawn; and taking the joutig 
 iamb under his arm, he went on his waj to= 
 ward Jemsalem. His road lay along^ tm^ &f 
 those causeways of stone, made ' ■ J So- 
 lomon to manifest the gran fleur ^ . 
 and government, leading toward . J 
 on tha east side. And whe-n i - 
 top of the chain of little 1 
 olive trees,, which on the e = 
 daj bounded his v\f -// h : ] 
 
 Stretched our 
 Kedroiij and the mook m ikedrm rAaiim^^- 
 through it. And, m the ©pp<>site gid® of 
 
68 
 
 this vallej, at the distance of about eight or 
 nine fiiriougs, he «aw tlirec liills, wliich, as 
 the dawn adyanced, he could jicrcehe were 
 eurrounded by a wall and ( > v- and cov- 
 ered with buildings. Hr lusalem. 
 On the firstj or southmost oi tr.ese iiiils, call- 
 ed Mount Acra, stood the citj. On the se- 
 cond, or Mount Moriah, where in ancient 
 days Abraham had . offered up his son Isaac, 
 the Temple of Jehovah r.ow stood, the centre 
 of aipj and the place of his rest. 
 
 Th;v v;,.:V.:. v'-:^ n>^^:*- nortkerlj of these hills, 
 was named David. andr> Mount 
 
 ^fem or the lioij liii:. ' the ark- of the 
 
 c wenanl had thr -'^ der tlie t^nt 
 
 whtek B<avid pit':, iiill was 
 
 cbfeiiJed by high towers ■..vid lalwurks; and 
 ' n ' ' s'ood the kin^r'^ liause, and Millo, where 
 ^js princes met lo^^t'i'-' in council. 
 £ iym ibis hfli there was made, bv king 
 lomon, a paved road, passing across the val- 
 ley which, separa J the -hill on which 
 the Temple .stood ^ ■ ' c^" ■■ ]- = : n^jad 
 13 pla-Q ted a row of lo: ees. 
 These three liills lay not: I.;, a slraighj; line; 
 
m 
 
 iie 'otlier two aortk_ and south, Motirit 
 bemg the highest^ 
 
 And Elnathati stood still for a while t© 
 look upon that citj-— Jerusalem— the city of 
 God/ where the thrones of the house of Da- 
 ^id were set, and to which the Shiloh shotsM 
 come: That city? the beauty and glory of 
 which had been the theme of his earliest ad- 
 " miration and -delight? — in wh.ps€ solenm as-' 
 semblies the holiest and happiest moment*i &i 
 his life had been spent, and which stocsd a- 
 mid the dark and fierce idolatries of the hea- 
 then nations, as the wells and palm trees ©f 
 Elim amid the siirrounding desert. ■ And- El- 
 nathan ■ lifted up his handsj amd ble- ■ ''"S: 
 Lord his God who had brought- l;'^ 
 more within sight of his holy T' 
 he. hastened on his w^"tiif>iig an. vmitf 
 Kedron, jaedittff&g, as he went, - on 
 —-gfacious things which God had, dors; 
 people Israel, 
 
 And passing by Absalom's P'\ 
 King's dale, wliere tlie pillar s^- 
 rebeliioas prince reared iv 
 t»f himself, bscauge he had 
 
TO 
 
 ET_. NATHAN. 
 
 Site the h?'l -^i jiich the Temple sfood. And 
 after brook Kedroii, where H is 
 
 joii^ed by its sister brook EivRogel, oi* S-ilo- 
 am. V ;^ - .v ibuiitaiii rises at flm loot of 
 M' }, he entered the city of Jenisa- 
 
 Water-gate^ here the waters. of 
 1 were used in the Temple, pass- 
 themseives into the brook Ked - 
 ;e the Gibeonites dwelt^ vvhos^ b«- 
 to liew wood, and draw water, 
 . . : service of the Sanctuary of ; the Lord, 
 /..fid when he bad gone a little way along 
 the slreet of ^he W;^t'^r-«:ate," he saw two 
 poor wome? y the door of 
 
 'v:'«use gEiiiUii:^: ..-.rii 5;.- milj; for itwas 
 . ■ -'^r of the woi-^verij &c Ruud-servantSj to 
 ; mornin^g as :much meal as would 
 servb . d)e dar. -.Qne of the ^worajen 'sat 
 ei^osite tlie .other, iia¥inj"lt5=''miits^ be- 
 ; k their Tight hand they push- 
 i''- f€ 'the uprser lmi!-sf'j!^>^ 
 ;iplt)yed 
 
 with cor a as tast as U wa^^ around; anu >.aev 
 accompanied their lab^sur ^ v.-i'ih a s^/ns:.' Kl- 
 natlian went to them, an 
 
 1 «traB2;er, gding up ' iu^^-^ : i'- 
 
?1 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 worship, and asked them to keep the Iamb 
 which he had with him till he should return 
 again. And they promised to do this, and 
 he left it with them. 
 
 So he went onward, and ascended Mount 
 Moriah, and drew near to the eastern gate 
 of the outer court of the Temple, called the 
 King's Gate, which was framed of wood, and 
 overlaid with plates of brass. The wail of 
 the court, w^hich was partly of wood, and 
 partly of stone, was on this side supported 
 upon a great terrace, raised up with huge 
 stones from the deep valley of Kedron below, 
 in order to enlarge the space on the top of 
 the hill, and make it equal to the plan which 
 Solomon intended. And when the sun began 
 to rise, the gates of the Lord's House were 
 opened by the porters, to the sound of silver 
 trumpets; and Elnathan entered into the 
 outer court, or court of the people, along with 
 the multitude who had come from the city to 
 worship. He advanced toward the steps of 
 the east gate of the inner court of the Tem- 
 ple, called the higher gate of the Lord's 
 House. And, looking through this gate, he 
 saw before him the lofty and magnificent 
 
ELNATHA^^ 
 
 porch of the House of God, or Sanctuary^ 
 one hundred and twenty cubits high» built of 
 beautiful white stones, which had been hewn 
 in the neighbouring mountains^ — behind this, 
 on! J half its height frorn.fjie ground, but of 
 tqml altitude, being bmlt on a hill, stood the 
 Temple, or Sanctuary, itself; consisting of 
 the Holy Place, and Holy of Holies, sur- 
 rounded by three stories of chambers, each 
 fiur cubits square. And, within the court, 
 he saw the brazen altar, and the molten sea, 
 and the priests passing to and fro, barefooted^ 
 and clothed in long white linen garments, 
 having girdles embroidered with blue, purple, 
 and scarlet, and bonnets of white linen upon 
 tlieir heads. And, lying upon the ascent to 
 the altar, he saw the lamb already slain and 
 prepared for the morning sacrifice. And El- 
 nathan put oft" his sandals, and covered his 
 head with the corner of his garment, as un- 
 worthy to lift up his eyes in the divine pre* 
 sencei and so he went and stood in his place 
 among the congregation of Israelites who had 
 come to worship. 
 
 Two priests now began to ascend, with 
 great solemnity, the steps which were before 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 the door of the lofty and beautiful porch of 
 the Lord's House, to offer incense upon the 
 golden altar, within the Holy Place. One of 
 them carried a censer with live coals taken 
 from the fire, which burned continually upon 
 the brazen altar; and the other had in his 
 hand a golden censer full of frankincense. 
 Two other priests walked before them, who 
 had already been in the Holy Place, trimming 
 the golden lamps, and cleansing the altar of 
 incense. And when they had all entered the 
 Holy Place, the two priests, who had been 
 there before, took up the golden vessels which 
 they had used in their service, and then, af- 
 ter worshipping toward the most Holy Place, 
 they came out and stood in the porch. And 
 he who carried the censer of coals, after 
 kindling the fire on the incense altar, also 
 worshipped, and came out and stood with the 
 two others in the porch, leaving the priest 
 who was to offer, alone in the Holy Place. 
 Every thing being now ready, the incense 
 was kindled upon the golden altar, and the 
 Holy Place was filled with the odour, and all 
 the congregation without bowed their heads, 
 
7'n 
 
 el>'Ati;an. 
 
 with their faces to ihe earth, and l.licir hands 
 upon their breasts, and prayed:— 
 
 Appoint peace, goodness, and blessing- 
 grace, mercy, and compassion for us, and for 
 all Israel, thj people. Bless us, 0 our Fa- 
 ther, even all of us as one ma.n, with the light 
 of thy countenance^ for in the light of thy 
 countenance, thou, O Lord our God, hast 
 given us the law of life, and loving mercy 
 and righfeousn^, and blessing and compas- 
 sion, and life and peace. Let it please Thee 
 to bless thy people Israel at all times. In the 
 book of life with blessing, and peace, and 
 sustentatlon, let us be remembered and wTit- 
 ten before Thee, we, and all thy people, the 
 house of Israel."* 
 
 And when the prayers were endedy the 
 priest, whose lot it was, took the lamb which 
 had been slain for the morning sacrifice, and 
 laid it upon the fire which was burning upon 
 the brazen altar. After this was done, the 
 
 * This prayer, tlie date and authority of which. are un- 
 certain, the Jews tell us, ^\ as composed by Ezra, and so 
 is not so ancient as the time we have v,- , lured to ascribe 
 to it above. 
 
ELNATHAX, 
 
 81 
 
 *'*Liflup your heads, O ye gatee; 
 And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; 
 And the King of Glory shall come in." 
 
 Upon which the other half asked, 
 
 "Who is this King of Glory?" 
 
 And the first answered them, 
 
 The Lord strong and mighty, 
 
 The Lord mighty in battle. 
 
 Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates: 
 
 Even lift them up, 3"e everlasting doors; 
 
 And the King of Gloiry shall come in. " 
 
 The other half asked again, 
 
 "Who IS this King of Glory?" 
 
 And the first replied to their., 
 
 "The Lord of hosts, 
 He is the King of Glory." 
 
 Upon which the whole baod united and 
 sung in loud chorus — 
 
 " Praise ye the Lord;" 
 
 while the priests sounded their silver tnun- 
 pets, and the people bowed their heads aiid 
 worshipped. 
 
 Thus ended the morning service in the 
 Teinple, the people afterwards dispersing to 
 their d i ft e r e n t h abit a tion s . 
 
82 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 Elnathan returned to the two women, with 
 whom he had left the lambj and one of them 
 stood by the door of her house, and she be- 
 sought him to come in, and she set bread and 
 milk before him. When he had eaten, and 
 rose up to go again to the temple to offer his 
 burnt-offering to the Lord, one of the women, 
 who was the oldest, and was indeed the mo- 
 ther of the other, said to him, when thou 
 returnest from the Temple again, at noon, 
 come hither, I pray thee,' and eat bread with 
 mJ^ For though she was poor herself? she 
 yet esteemed it a duty to relieve and befriend 
 the poor but devout stranger. And Elnathan 
 premised to return againi and so he left them. 
 
4 
 
 r 
 
CHAPTER y. 
 
 — There are blessed inhabitants of earth, 
 
 Partakers of a new ethereal birth, 
 Their hopes, desh-es, and purposes estranged 
 From things terrestrial, and divinely changed, 
 Their very language, of a kind that speaks 
 The soul's sure interest in the good she seeks.— — " 
 
 Coicper, 
 
 Elnathan again entered the Temple by 
 the eastern gate; and, passing onward into 
 the inner court of the Lord's House, carrying 
 the lamb for a burnt-olFering in his arms, he 
 brought it before the priest on the north side 
 of the brazen altar. Now, the doors of the 
 pojch of the Temple being open, which was 
 overlaid within with pure gold, it shone in a 
 glorious manner in the sun; and Elnathan 
 stood with his face thither, looking toward 
 the Most Holy Place; and, laying his hands 
 upon the head of his sacrifice, he confessed 
 his sins, saying: 
 
 ••I have sinned: I have done perversely: 
 1 have rebelled in mylieart against thy t€«^-; 
 
86 
 
 ELVATHAX. 
 
 mandments, 0 my God: I have ihimght it an 
 hard thing that 1 should suffer thy reproach; 
 I have kept thy precfipts grudgingly, and have 
 not done and borne thy will with an humble 
 and contrite heart: but I return by repentance 
 before thee, and let this be my expiation." 
 
 Then the priest took that milk-white lamb, 
 and bound its feet, and laid it upon the mar- 
 ble pavement of the court, and killed it: and 
 he received its blood into a sacred vessel, and 
 carried it to the altar and sprinkled it thereon, 
 and that which remained he poured out at the 
 f:)ot of the altar. In the meantime, a priest, 
 ^vhose office it was, hung up the lamb upon 
 an iron hook, and, removing the skin, he 
 opened the Iamb and pierced its heart, to let 
 the remaining blood Sow out. Afterward, he 
 divided the body in pieces, which were car- 
 ried by another priest to the ascent of the al- 
 tar, and sprinkled with salt, and given to a 
 priest that stood there for that purpose, who 
 laid them in order upon the great fire wliieh 
 was upon thfe altar^ that they might be con- 
 sumed. When this was done, Elnathan pre- 
 Eenttd to the priest the meat-oifering of the 
 Bacri€ce, which was of fine flour mingled with 
 
V 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 87 
 
 ©ill aiid also the wine for the drink -offering j 
 and the priest carried the meat-ofFering to the 
 altar, and took an handful of it, and salted it, 
 and burned it upon the altarj and the drink- 
 offering he poured out at the foot thereof. 
 
 While the sacrifice was offering, EInathan 
 continued in prayer to God— for he rested 
 not in ceremonial conformity to the law: He 
 had felt its spirituality and its extent^ — ^that 
 it reached to the thoughts and intents of the 
 heart — and so had been convinced, that a 
 sinner might for ever despair to obtain purity 
 of conscience and holiness of heart through 
 the blood of lambs or goats. With earnest 
 faith, then, and holy joy, he looked forward 
 to that better offering, tliat worthier sacrifice, 
 of which those offered by the law were but a 
 shadow — to that Divine Seed, and the inef- 
 fable blessings with which ail the kindreds of 
 the earth were to be blessed in him. 
 
 When his offering was ended, he retiiraed 
 to the house of the two women, which was by 
 the Water-gate. And, Sfs it was now ab' at 
 sn hour before noon, the common tbne of 
 dinner, they set before him bariey bread 
 newly baked, and pottage made of meal and 
 
8S 
 
 ELNATHAN, 
 
 herbs. And, after they had eaten, they sat 
 conversing together; for, during the heat of 
 noon, all labour was suspended. 
 
 And Elnathan said to them, " Ye are hap- 
 py, my Irieuds, seeing ye dwell in Jerusalem, 
 the city which the Lord hath chosen out of 
 &li the tribes of Israel, to put his name in; 
 '" ixml do continually wait upon our God in his 
 holy ordinances, in security and peace. " 
 
 Deborah, for that was the name of the mo- 
 ther, replied, We indeed account ourselves 
 happy in the enjoyment of this* great mercy. 
 But it was not always so with us. I and my 
 daughter are widows; my husband was sold 
 i or a bond -servant by his creditoj:, . and died 
 of labour and grief; and the husband of my 
 daughter was slain wlien all Israel besieged 
 Terza, ^vhere Zemri burnt the king's house 
 over himself with fire and died. So we were 
 left poor and desolate, and the streams of all 
 our earthly comforts were dried up. We then 
 experienced the misery of those who are with- 
 out God, and whose only well-spring of joy 
 is the troubled and ebbing fountain f>f worldly 
 good. Then were we constrained to return 
 to God who had afflicted us. and to seek hint 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 89 
 
 with our whole hearts i and in his abundant 
 mercy he heard us, and made us to under 
 stand his loving-kindness and his truth; and 
 cau^e4'us to hope in his salvation. Then did 
 joj break upon us as the morning, and a light 
 arose , in our souls, which shall never be 
 quenched till we arrive in the presence of 
 our God. Before this we had broken his 
 commandments without remorse, and had 
 been careless about his ordinances and his 
 temple: but to keep his statutes was now^ur 
 delightj and we were unhappy because we 
 dwelt far from His house, and could not go 
 up to worship with the congregation of his 
 people. So we left our dwn couiit^^y where 
 we had now no duties to perform, and came 
 to Jerusalem j and Abidon. the HesroniteV a 
 rich man, and a true Israelite, gave 4s ^iis 
 house to dwell in, an'? h" f < ervp-rji 
 
 to work in his field ? - 
 
 gather in contentment md p'- ,..ce:, and wdik 
 in the strength of th^ Lonl nr\fn iki-^ 
 
 day 
 
 '' Blessed be, the name of thp Goo Is 
 rael,'' said Elnathan with emotion, **- wii"® 
 H .3 
 
90 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 hath led jou, my friends, io seek and find 
 rest and consolation in himself alone." 
 
 Then Achsah, the daughter of Deborah, 
 said, '*We are sometimes distressed, because 
 we do not always feel our times of drawing 
 nigh to God in his Sanctuary so precious and 
 delightful as when our opportunities of doing 
 so were more seldom." 
 
 Elnathau replied to her, " Cherish in thy 
 heart, my daughter, the same deep sense of 
 the mercy of God and thine own unworthi- 
 ness, and the same anxious diligence in do - 
 ing his will, felt by thee when first thou knew 
 the name of the Lord, and put thy confidence 
 in him| so shalt thou keep away that coldness 
 in the offices of religion which cometh upon 
 tlie heart even of God's own children when 
 they live in quietness and free from trouble." 
 
 At tKe ninth hour, Elnathan and these two 
 women went iip to the Temple together to 
 the evening sacrifice. And, when it was 
 over, he bade his two friends farewell, v/ho 
 returned again to their labour | and he went 
 and stood by xhe Valley-gate, and waited for 
 the coming of Ziliah, 
 
i 
 
92 
 
^-LNATHAN. 
 
 9S 
 
 This, like the other gates of the city, had 
 an open space before it, which was a place of 
 general concourse : here he saw merchandise 
 of all kinds, exposed for sale in booths, or on 
 stalls — multitudes of people passing to and 
 fro, conversing; on business or the news of 
 the time, or engaged in dispute; and several 
 of the elders of the city sitting in the gate, 
 to bear witness to bargains and covenants, 
 and for settling differences. 
 
 In a little while Zillah came; she wore a 
 long white veil wliich covered her whote per- 
 son, but vvithout concealing her light and 
 beautiful form: this part of dress was laid 
 aside by the ladies of Israel when 4n the 
 house, but always used when they wefit 
 abroad. And she saluted Elnathan, and re- 
 quested him to come with her to her mother's 
 iiouse. So he went ^\ith. her; and, after pass- 
 ing through several of the sti'eets of Jerusa- 
 lem, which are very narrow, irregular, and 
 steep, and in many places choked with mire 
 and dust, they came to the house of Zillah's 
 jMttents, which stood in a place more open 
 Ju'in the - est, near the top of Mount Acra. 
 I u as b lilt, like the houses of the rich among 
 
94 
 
 ELXATHAN, 
 
 the people J in the form of a square, and was 
 two stories high, and the roof fiat On the 
 outside, the appearance of this little sqaare 
 of buildings, or "wide-house,*' as named in 
 the Scriptures, was extremely plain and duUj 
 it having only a low door, and a small latticed 
 window toward the street. So they entered 
 by this door, EInathan stooping as he went, 
 into the porch, which had benches on each 
 side. And Abidon, Zillah*s father, w^as sit- 
 ting there, as was the custom, with several of 
 his friends, receiving visits, and transacting 
 business, not many having further admission 
 into the house. And EInathan bowed.him^elt 
 to Abidon, who rose up and .saluted him, for 
 he had heard iVom his daughter of his piety 
 and faithfulness^ and he was moved also by 
 his venerable appearance: and he spake kind- 
 ly to him, and permitted his daughter to con- 
 duct him into tlie house. 
 
 So she brought him into the court, which 
 was paved, and vv^s surrounded on tl^e four 
 sides by a piazza, the height of the first story 
 of the house.; and a stah", which vv^as entwined 
 and almost hid by the bran' he^ of a ]u;sLuriant 
 vine, led from the court up to a g-dlery which 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 95 
 
 was over the piazza, and had a latticed -work 
 of wood going round it^ to prevent those wLo 
 were walking in it from falling into the court 
 below. The various apartments in the house 
 had no communication with each other but by 
 latge doors that opened into the piazza below 
 and gallerj above | and the windows, of which 
 there were many on the inside, were latticed 
 with wood, and large, to admit the free air. 
 Zillah conducted Elnathan into one of the 
 chambers in the lower story, which was the 
 ordinary dwelling-place of the famiij^, their 
 chief rooms being above. By the windows, 
 and behind the doors of this chamber, were 
 several large square-headed nails fixed in the 
 wall, on which hung veils, and curtains, and 
 baskets, and other household utensils. At the 
 upper end, the floor was raised about a cubit, 
 and covered with cloth; on this raised place 
 sat Sarah, Zillah's mother, and her sister 
 Esther, who was beautiful and well-favoured, 
 with several maid servahts, employed in 
 weaving of a very simple kind, using scarcely 
 any other instruments than their nimble fin- 
 gers, with which they pjissed the thread from 
 
96 
 
 F.LNATHAN. 
 
 one side of the web to the other. And Elna- 
 than bowed himself to Sarah, and, having 
 broiight a little honey in his hand as a pre- 
 sent, he advanced to the raised place, and 
 presented it to her, which was a usual honoui: 
 rendered by those who visited their superiors. 
 And Sarah made Elnathan come up on the 
 raised place, and sit on a couch in the cor- 
 ner, winch was the place of distinctionf for 
 she respected him, because of what her daugh- 
 ter had told her concerning him. 
 
 In the evening, Abidon made Elnathan sit 
 down witii him to supper, and told him that 
 his daughter Esther was to be married to 
 Obed, the son of Nathaniah, and kindly en- 
 treated the good old man to remain to bless 
 them, and be present at the marriage-feast. 
 And Elnathan consented, and promised to 
 remain. Then he told Abidon of the tw^o 
 women who dwelt by the Water-gate, how 
 they feared God, and of the great kindness 
 which they had shown toward him. And 
 Abidon said, They are my hired servants, 
 and have done well.^' So he cbmrnandeci 
 Adahj one of the maidens, to take a double 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 97 
 
 portion of what remained of the supper to 
 Deborah and her daughter; because he was 
 well pleased with their kindness to Elnathan. 
 
 And, after their supper w^as ended, they 
 conducted Elnathan to repose in the " guest- 
 chamber." or the room which was kept for 
 the accommodation of their friends, when 
 they assembled in Jerusalem, on the three 
 great festivals. And he abode with them till 
 the day after the mamage of their daughter, 
 attending on the service of the Temple, and 
 having great kindness and fat^'Sf^own him 
 by these good and hospitable H6s' oniic^. 
 
 I 
 
—by thee, 
 jure. 
 
 .ploys, here lights 
 his^purple wiass." 
 
 Mtton. 
 
 had onlj at- 
 the day on 
 J. uiid Obfsd his 
 'j.eteentb. l'^ ]iad espoused J*er about a 
 i piece of silver in 
 Is. The dowry 
 father-in-law, had 
 ::rn!tut'e for his. bride, Ab> 
 hi^a:, of his <5Wn^iib»ral: 
 sent home to 
 
 rerernonj and dispiay 
 ne fourth day of the wee 
 
93 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 101 
 
 v/hich maidens were wedded, early in the 
 morning, Esther was led by her female com- 
 panions, without her veil, and with dishevel- 
 led iiair, into tlie dressing chamber: her com- 
 panions singing marriage sav.gs before her as 
 she went. There thej placed her upon a 
 beautiful seat, and anointed her hair with oil 
 of cassia, and disposed it in flowing ringlets, 
 and thej dressed her in robes of fine linen, 
 with a long close-vest of w hite, v. rou trl t with 
 embroideries of gold; and they put purple 
 shoes upon her feet, and encircled her waist 
 with a girdle of yellow silk, elegantly wrt i;,rht 
 with needle work by lier sister Zillah, and 
 fastened before with a golden clasp. They 
 decked her also with ornamciM 
 bracelets upon her hands, and a ; i: . . ; . 
 neck, to which was appended a small golden 
 box of perfume, or, bundle of myrrh," which 
 hung down upon her breast: -^'m- v^f 
 jewel on her forehead, and 
 in her ears; and having thus .^i id^ea ut;r la 
 her wedding attire, and prepared and adorned 
 her for her husband, toward e cuing they 
 veiled her, like Rebecca, amid 0 son^j and 
 rejoicings of her companions, 
 ' I 2 
 
10£ 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 'Wii/jii the evening was come,. Eliiathan 
 went aloiig with th^ friends of the bride and 
 sto jd in the porch of the house, waiting for 
 die coming of the bridegroom. At length he 
 carae, splendidly clothed in scarlet, and ac- 
 companied by his friends, the " children of 
 the feride-chamber/' who bore with theni a 
 canopy or banner," supported by four poles, 
 that he and his bride might walk home under 
 it to his father's house.* And when they had 
 vvelcomed him and his friends by exclain^ing, 
 "'Blessed is he who cometh!*' they led him 
 1 1- to, the court which was spread all over with 
 carpets. And Esther came forth, veiiled from 
 kead to foot, and stood on his right hand. 
 Tliere. under the serene evening sky, and 
 .'-uiTOuaded by her fnemls and kindred- her 
 f »Oi^>r' '(ook her !''t' 'the hand, and presented 
 - li husband, saying, ***Be~ 
 <ii)iu-» ulivc lierj aiter the law of Moses, -aBd 
 lead her anav.-- and then he blessed them; 
 and their ■ crowned them with raar- 
 
 :xed- plate r , 
 exactly coi-r : 
 iii ^ . "ut does in ir^ : 
 
ELXATHAN. 
 
 105 
 
 And Elnathan, being appointed, as the most 
 venerable elder in the company, pronounced 
 over them this solemn and beautiful benedic- 
 tion as a ratification of all that had been 
 agreed on: — ''The Lord make the maidea 
 that is come into thine house like Rachel and 
 like Leah, which two did build tlie house of 
 Israel; and do tfiou worthily in Zion and be 
 famous in Jerusalem: and let thy house be 
 like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare 
 unto Judah, of the children which the JLord 
 shall give thee of this maiden." And all tlieir 
 kindred and friends said, Amen." 
 
 After tliis they began to prepare for going 
 to the house of the bridegroom. And, as they 
 were about to depai t, Abidon gave a young 
 female bond -maid, named Adah* to his daugh- 
 ter, for a bond-servant and companion. Then 
 the marriage procession went forward in this 
 manner : — First went a person carrying a cup 
 of wine, then ten young men, each bearing a 
 wooden stave, on the top of which was a larap 
 to give light to the company: then came Obed 
 and his veiled bride, walking togetlier under 
 the canopy, or "banner," and accompanied 
 bv their friends and kindred, who carried 
 
1E.LK-ATHAN, 
 
 branch€i of mvrtle and palm tree in their 
 haMls, and srattered flowers, and swR'atmeats, 
 and small piecp? of monev as they went along 
 the streets, everyone ing place to the pro- 
 cession; and matrcus. r 1 maids, slaiuling by 
 tkeir doors, or on their ilat housetops, to en-^ 
 joy the show. And, as they proceeded, Zillah 
 led out the other nuiideiis. the co;npa«ions of 
 the bride, and danc ed with them as tliey went 
 to the sound of the pipe and the harp; they 
 inaitatijig her various steps, and keeping exact' 
 time with her- And, as she danced, she sung 
 with her fellow-maidens, in a %f»ft and lively 
 air* the praises of the bridi 
 
 " She hath no need of paint or di,u.ii: a, ' 
 No plaiting of hair nor anv such ihlw/, 
 For she is of herself most beautiful." 
 
 And having reached rhe house of Natha- 
 niah, the father of the bridegroom, they en- 
 tered tlie couri. and ascended the stair which 
 led from it to 'rallerv. The door, which* 
 led to the cli. Mrriage-feasi 
 was to bf^ cpK j half-opened, 
 and one stood there to none entered 
 
 bwt those who were invk- o. Klnathan W3v 
 
 * A black prinHzr for paisi 
 
adnatted through this strait gate" with the 
 friends ofv the bride; and passed with them, 
 along a narrow passage, into a chamber where 
 a number of wedding garments were hirng up 
 that h^d been prepared by the bridegroom, 
 that each of the guests might put on one; and 
 if any had neglected to do so, it would have 
 been esteemed a great dishonour. Elnathan, 
 having put on one of those garments, entered 
 with the rest into the chamber where the ban- 
 quet was prepared; for it was not an uncom- 
 mon thir>i>',.iu those days, for the rich to ad- 
 mit t^e-^oor to then' table when they gave an 
 entertainment. And, as among the ancient 
 Israelites, the vvoine'n were not permitted to 
 associate with the men at their feasts, the 
 bride with her maidens, and female kindred, 
 retired to her own apartments, where a sup- 
 per was prepared for them by themselves; 
 and where it was required of the bride, that 
 she should remain in silence, fixed to the spot 
 where she had been seated. 
 
 The bridegroom and his friends being as- 
 sembled in their chami^er, Nathaniah, the 
 iaaster ot the house, rose up and shut to the. 
 door. The chamber was large ajid spacious, 
 
im 
 
 ELNATHANc 
 
 being the whole length of one side of the 
 tomt; it was ceiled and pannelled with wood, 
 and illuminated bj a number of lamps. The 
 table consisted of three parts placed in the 
 form of three sides of a square : one part was 
 placed along the upper end of the chamber 
 crosswajs, and the other two along the sides 
 of the chamber, having their ends joined to 
 the opposite extremities of that part which 
 was placed crosswajs. TJie middle of the 
 chamber was left thus unoccupied, that the 
 attendants might conveniently serve those 
 who sat at meat 5 for round the tables on the 
 outside, next the wall of the chamber, were 
 placed the couches on which the guasts re- 
 rlined while tliey were at supper. These 
 coiiclies were covered with tapestr j, and sup- 
 ported on richly ornamented frames of wood, 
 having each a footstool at the end for going 
 up to it. IVlien the master of the house had 
 assigned tu everj one his proper place, Elna- 
 than, after putting ofif his sandals, ascended 
 ©ne of these couches along with the other 
 guests, and lay witli his feet stretched out 
 behind the person who lay below him, and 
 wkoie head lay almost in Elnathan's bosom. 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The rest of the guests lay in like manner^ 
 each leaning on his left elbow, with the 'apper 
 part of his body raised. After they had all 
 taken their places, the servants brought water 
 and poured it on the hands of the guests t© 
 wash them 5 and then Natlianiah began the 
 entertainment by asking a solemn blessing on 
 the bread and wine. During the banquet, 
 which was accompanied with music, the 
 bridegroom, as was usual, remained silent, 
 while the honours of the table were done by 
 Abidon, who was chosen governor o^ithe feast, 
 and appeared the most pleasant and agree » 
 able person in the company: he saw that every 
 thing was done in proper order, gave direc- 
 tions to the servants, distributed the wine to 
 the guests, first tasting it himself, and taking 
 care that none should have more than was 
 good for them; and, as a reward for his assi- 
 duities, he was crowned with a WTeath of 
 flowers. The guests eat theii- food with the 
 thumb and two fore fingers of their right hand, 
 and afterward wiped them on the soft part of 
 the bread, or " crums," which wei e then given 
 to the dogs. As the eniei tainmeiit went on, 
 many congratulations passed on the happiness 
 
• many lalc^ ueic told. i.. , 
 
 ^he i:lo5c, Nathauiali, to show 
 " * 'lis guests, caused his servantb 
 their heads with precious ointments^. 
 ] ^. _ perfume the chamber bj burning 
 mjrrh and frankincense. Every thing was 
 done by these bond -servants with great order., 
 "T- in deep silence: they stood at the bottom 
 • chamber with their hands joined before 
 ihcm? and, as if they dared not look on the 
 fficc of thc'r misters, their eyes were cast on 
 the gr 1 on his hands, watchuip; 
 
 the. least ugDii oi his pleasure. 
 
 ^^nf\. at the end of the supper, Nathaniali 
 d a cup to be filled with wine., and 
 1.^ it up, said, "Let us biess him 
 benefits we K.ave been partakingf • 
 and the guests replied-, Blessed be he who 
 liath heaped his favours upon us, and by his 
 goodness bat"i\ now fed us." And afterward. 
 Nathaniah sent portions of what remainody to 
 those A'iends who, by affliction or otherwise. 
 • i) d tuined from the entertainment- 
 VVheo Elnathan had returned hoPK ' ; 
 Abidon and his friends, the gf»od lie ■ 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 113 
 
 besought him to tarry with them during the 
 week of the marriage," for then the weddmg 
 feast histed seven days, and the bride was 
 called by that name for twenty-three days 
 more. And Elnathan said, I may not do 
 so now, for the wheat-harvest is at hand, and 
 I must return, as I promised, to the widow 
 and her son of whom I told thee, and labour 
 with them in getting in their harvest. " Then 
 Abidon said, When thou comest up again 
 to Jerusalem at ' the feast of harvest,'* to ap- 
 pear before the God of Israel, and with the 
 assembly of his people thankiully to acknow- 
 ledge his goodness, and beg his blessing on 
 the bounties of his providence, by offering the 
 first fruits of thy wine, thy oil, and thy wheat 
 to him— come, I pray thee, to my house, and 
 lodge again in my guest chamber.-^ 
 
 * Or Pentecost, 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 '* Ahl where 16 now the loved and living bloom 
 That the young flower in summer beauty dresi? 
 Death, sin's dread blight, hath o'ei' its sweetness come. 
 And soil'd in dust its oright and budding crest." 
 
 Ns^xT da-v, Elnathan, after having attended 
 at the Rooming sacrifice in the Temple, bless- 
 ed the good Hesronites who had shc>wed him 
 so much kindness, and departed from them. 
 
 And he passed again through the Water- 
 gate of Jeriisaleffi* riding on a strong and 
 handsome ass-colt which Abidon had given 
 him to carrj hira on kis journey. It was of 
 the f ommon dun colour of those animals in 
 Canaan, and for a saddle had only a kind of 
 rug girded to its back; for saddles and stir- 
 rups, such as wc now have, were then un- 
 known. There were passing through tlic gate 
 at the same time, several merchanis going 
 eastward to Arabia, mi»uhted on camels. 
 Each of these mild and patient animals was 
 
ELNATilAN. 115 
 
 loaded with two large coveied batil.clh, con- 
 taining merchandise and provisions lor the 
 way. and the merchant himself, seated be- 
 tween the baskets or furniture " When 
 • they came to the brook Kedron, they stopped 
 to water their camels, who, before drinking, 
 went into the water and disturbed it with 
 their feet, and then thrust in their heads a 
 great way abdve the nostrils, and drew up as 
 much water as would serve them for many 
 d2.ys; and Elnathan passed by tliem, and 
 went onward through the valley of Kedron. 
 
 And, as he rode along, he heard from ihw: 
 to time, from the hills around wiii 
 rocks were shaded by the green bou^ii.. oi 
 the vine and the olive, the cheerful song, and 
 the shouting to each other, of the vine-fjiresS" 
 ers employed in checking the loose stiaggUng 
 boughs of the vine, in clearing away tlie su 
 perfluous leaves, and laying open the youii.«: 
 grapes to tlie sun. In some of these vineyards 
 were watch-towersj in others little lodges of 
 wood covered witli reeds and branches, for 
 the watdirnrs' ir Awf!l sn \v)>n f^if;!!d<^«? the 
 npe fi'ui' i'hc 
 wine pieb^toj wlu 
 
J16 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 lu'ihjw pLicco dug ill the ground, and lined 
 with siiason work, into which the grapes when 
 ripe were cast; and men, having their feet 
 and legs bare, trod upon them, and so press- 
 ed out the juice. 
 
 Having passed along the valley of Kedron=; 
 he ascended that chain of little hills running 
 nortli and south, which lay on the east side 
 of Jerusalem^ and he turned round to look 
 again upon that closely built city, whose prin- 
 c'pal streets were of the same white-coloured 
 siorte which the Temple was built of, and 
 made a noble appearance, rising one abo^'e 
 another, the whole surmounted by the lofty 
 and beautiful porch of the Sanctuary, and *llie 
 lowers and palaces of Zion. Here we may 
 n-A. forbear to mention, that it was these lulls, 
 named in the New Testament the Mount of 
 Oliver, to which, long after the time of which 
 p, c have been speaking, our blessed Redeemer 
 so ( ftt u leti'ed out of Jerusalem in the even- 
 im^ n'sUi \ih diyajM*' to avoid the snares and 
 Sr^. ^niciiiits. . It was while sitting 
 : _ vM ci one rtf liUls, witli the 
 iilv Ml view hd\ '-At he fi-^L'x'lxl. 
 
 ( J ' , , _ ■ ' ■ '■ " '•[['['■""' " '" 
 
ELNATUAN, 11 7"' 
 
 sot rows which they Ihemselvcis should endure, 
 and his own second coming in glory. It was 
 at the foot of thes(> hills, when riding in meek 
 and lowly triumph to Jerusalem, that the 
 multitudes met him with branches of palm 
 trees in t^icir hands, and brake forth intj) 
 joyful acclamations, " Hosanna to the son of 
 David: Blessed is he who cpmeth in the name 
 of the Loi#^^Hosanna itt^thc highest!" To 
 these hills he retired on the night he was be - 
 trayed, after having eat the passover^ and it 
 was amid their serene silence and solitude 
 that he made those discourses to his disciplce, 
 and that divine address to God the Father* 
 which arc recorded by St. John. At the foot 
 of these hills, also, lay that garden of Geth- 
 scmane, where he endured his agony^ and 
 was betrayed. And it was from this Mount 
 Olivet, after having accomplished the glorious 
 work of our salvation, that ic&us ascended in 
 the sight of the "men of Galilee," and en- 
 tered with glory and triumph into heaven,^ 
 And when out good Israelite ba(4 reinaiKc J 
 for some time gazing upon JerUbafleHaj^^Jiink- 
 rig of those glorious thirias which; wl^ ye s^>t 
 l>cn of ir, and looking- ho[-^ .?,n\i 
 
118 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 joy to those still more glorious things which 
 God, bj his liolj prophets, had declared 
 should be revealed and accomplished there, 
 and placing himself, in idea, amid all their 
 blessedness, he turned and went again upon 
 liis journey. 
 
 And about the sixth hour of the day, the 
 time when the noontide heat obliges the tra 
 veller to seek shelter and repose, Elnathan 
 came to some fields enclosed by a hedge of 
 rose bushes and wild pomegranate shrubs, 
 which are full of prickles. And in one of 
 those fields there was a family of Benjamites 
 sitting under the spreading branches of a fig- 
 tree, with their men-servants and maidens, 
 making merry. When Elnathan looked upon 
 this pleasing sight, he thought. Surely God 
 taketh pleasure in such kindness and honour 
 done to servants, in reward of their labour 
 and fidelity. And as soon as they saw him, 
 they called on him to come and rest himself, 
 and join with them in their banquet.. So he 
 alighted and came to them, and the master 
 (hAed ooe of the young men to give proven- 
 clr I to hh asSj and brought Elnathanj and 
 in iilr him sit down upon the green bank im- 
 
ELNATHAN- 
 
 119 
 
 der the fig-tree with them. At their mral 
 feast, they had a piece of seethed goat*s flesh, 
 and milk, and a basket of dried figs, and 
 bread newly baked, and sprinkled witli coii- 
 ander seeds, to give it a more agreeable fla- 
 vour; tiiey had also an earthen jar filled with 
 wine; and at the foot of the bank where they 
 sat, ran a clear sti-eam of wholesome water, 
 which they drank out of smooth and capacious 
 flagons, made of the dried gourds. Their 
 house stood at a little distance in the midst 
 of their inheritance, which was laid out with 
 scarcely any attention to method or regula- 
 rity; little fields of wheat, whose waving 
 stalks were almost the height of a man, aaid 
 were now fast rii>ening, and plots of barley 
 which had been already cut down, were in- 
 termixed with olive and fig-trees, and vine?, 
 and beds of herbs. But, notwithstanding this 
 want of order, there was every appearance of 
 fertility and abundance; and the natural beau- 
 ty and serenity of the place seemed to open 
 and elevate the hearts of the possessors, and 
 kindle in them grateful and generous feelings. 
 After iheir little banquet wag ended, and 
 
H!;'- ■ harlcj. And it being upon hia 
 
 .i.iaUuiii accompanied them to the place- 
 ■ ; a circiilai" area upon a. rising gnmnilj 
 ic^;cikx! and made hard fur the purpose 
 T'vn'bcr they had brought their ripe sheaves 
 ;.hc iichls, and they spread them out 
 ■ ' jfoor,'" and drove oxen round and 
 them J who trode out the grain 
 hoofs: others of the iamilj em- 
 iiiemselves in winnowing the grain 
 R already trodden out, by throwing ii 
 ,nist the wind with a shovel, or " ixin,''* 
 i.c chaff was driven away with the 
 . the- barley only remained. 'After 
 
 *vard, diey put the gruro into secure garner? 
 ui'ider ground;, and the chaff which ' -^^ ''u ':; : - 
 iercd around they burned up 'with I' . '■ 
 Klnathan blesRcd tiie-c hospitab'le.E- - 
 kff il^em-: 1hey ";i»d to hirr 
 
ELNATHAN, 
 
 123 
 
 ancient plough was a simple frame, and so 
 light that it did little more than scratch the 
 surface of the ground, and clear away the 
 rubbish that might encumber it. The plough 
 share was a flat piece of iron, not very large, 
 which tipped the end of the shaft, and might 
 easily have been converted into the short 
 sword used by the warriors of those days, 
 and, when the battle was done, turned into a 
 ploughshare again. And Elnathan made his 
 ass go quickly, till he overtook the husband- 
 man, and he saluted him, and tliey travelled 
 onward together, conversing by the way. 
 
 And they came to a solitary place by the 
 way side, where there was almost nothing 
 growing, the parched ground being covered 
 with sand and stones. Here stood a clay- 
 walled cottage, covered with long tufts of 
 withered grass, and full of rents, the frail 
 structure seeming fast crumbling to decay. 
 Wlien Elnathan and his fellow-traveller came 
 to it, the door was open, and they saw, wth 
 \ in, the dead body of a you^ boy lying strc U:] - 
 cd out upon a table, with a linen cloth ujider 
 it and the face covered, and a woman sittisig; 
 
ELNATHAN, 
 
 low on the ground beside it, witli lier gar- 
 ments torn, and her head covered, and beat- 
 ing her breast, and uttering loud lamenta- 
 lions. Elnathan was moved with the extre= 
 mity of her sorrow, and he alighted fi om his 
 ass, and stood with the husbandman over- 
 against the door, waiting, as was the custom^ 
 till the mourner should speak tothem^ for he 
 longed to comfort her distressed heart. And 
 t^he lifted up her eyes upon them, and cried, 
 Have pity on me, whoever you are, for I 
 am sore afHicted-— my husband hath been slain 
 in Samaria by the servants of Ahab, and my 
 son, my Ruben, hath died by the way, far 
 h m Beer-sheba, where our kindred dwells" 
 ■jiid she turned herself aside from the .place 
 where her dead child lay, and bowed her 
 head io the dust, and wept aloud. When the 
 two saw this, they rent their upper garments, 
 as was usual, in token of their friendly sor- 
 rovv^! and Elnathaii iot refrain from 
 
 iCriru while he Ga? . . . comforted, my 
 daughter— it is God who hath takeii away thj 
 child: ' . - • • ■ best— this 
 
 sf'paiii- .*inot return 
 
125 
 
 to us, but we shall shortly go to him— should - 
 est thou repine because thy child hath ceased 
 for ever from sin and grief, from pain and 
 care? — -Wouldest thou recall him from the 
 presence of God and the eternal joys which 
 are at his right hand? — 0 my- daughter, be 
 comforted, for our Redeemer liveth, and he 
 shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; 
 and though worms destioy this body, yet in 
 our flesh we shall see God; whom we shaP 
 see for ourselves, and not another, though our 
 reins he consumed within us." But tlie be- 
 . ,aved mother Refused to be comforted; ^nd 
 the words of sympathy and consolation which 
 Elnathan spoke, seemed only to open and 
 augment her grief. 
 
 Then the poor old woman, to whom the 
 cottage belonged, who had given the mother 
 and the child slielter, and had washed the 
 body, and laid it out on the table, said, " It 
 i?> now more than time that the child was bu- 
 ried, for he huth been dead aliiioit < w:; days, 
 and wc have no ntic her€ [o »l 
 for us. " 
 
 Then Elndthan and the h^sbandniaii 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 to, an old and withered oak tree, which stood 
 at a little distance in this sterile place, and 
 under it they dug a grave. When they rc» 
 turned, the old woman had put round the 
 body the piece of linen cloth on which it lay, 
 and placed it pn a bier, or plain wooden 
 framei and Elnathan took it up in his arms 
 and walked softly with it to the grave, fol- 
 lowed by the mother, barefooted, and bovv cd 
 down with fatigue and sorrow, leaning on the 
 old woman, and weeping and lamenting as 
 bhe went. And, when they came to the pk;cc, 
 they took the body off the bier, and laid it iii 
 the gravel and filling it up, the mother saw 
 her beloved boy consigned to the dust cf 
 death: andj after they had raised up a stone 
 to mark the spot, they returned d.'xp-hi to the 
 cottage. 
 
 When they had entered the cottage again^ 
 Elnathan gave to the old woman, " out of his 
 own penury,'- a small leathern bottle of wine, 
 and some pieces of silver money, having the 
 figure of a iamb stamped upon them, and be- 
 sought licr to take care of her distressed com- 
 pnnb'> And, seeing thai this afflicted mo- 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 thcr had no neighbours nor friends lo visit 
 her, and send in provisions, as was the cus- 
 tom, to make a feast after the burial, he and 
 his fellow-traveller remained with her till the 
 evening, trying to assuage her sorrow, and 
 lead her to submission under, the stroke of 
 her righteous Father. Afterward they de- 
 parted, and when they came to the further 
 end of that desert place, the husbandman left 
 Elnathan and went another way. 
 
CONCLUSIOK 
 
 The sun set beyond the Great Sea? 
 and the stars were slj^rnhig before Elnathan 
 reached the village vvlicre HuldaH dwelt. At 
 length, after passing the brook Clierith, the 
 liltle thickets on the banks of which weic 
 lUlecT with nightingales in full chorus, he 
 came to tlie place. Now, for several days, 
 Elishama, the widow's little son, had been so 
 desirous of his return, that he had gone up 
 every day at eventide to the house-top to 
 ^vatch for his approach. And that night he 
 had been very anxious, and was beginning to 
 lliink that surely he should never see that 
 aflfld)le old man, who had such stores of pleas- 
 inp^ \v'3rds, any ntore,'' when, to his great do- 
 hgbt, he ;;aw him, daik though it was, com 
 *oa; riding along the street of the 
 And he in;?t(intly ran don^i into the h 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 129 
 
 and told his mother, who came out with him 
 to the door, and, with great joj, welcomed 
 Elnathan, who took Elishama up in his arms 
 and kissed him, saying, " God be gracious to 
 thee, my son," and entered with them into 
 the cottage, where a new cause of joy and 
 gratitude avvaited him, which it is now time 
 to explain. 
 
 When Helah, his grand -daughter, left Sa- 
 maria with him, she was very grieved, wc 
 have said, because Azriel, the youngest of 
 the sons of Ocran, had gone with his father 
 and brothers in their wickedness; for she 
 knew not that by violence his father had 
 compelled him to appear an associate in their 
 sin. It was indeed only in appearance tliat 
 he had been guilty of their idolatry; for nei- 
 ther force nor threatening, nor the ensnaring 
 t^iderness of his father', \Vhom he loved and 
 honoured, could prevail wiili him for a mo- 
 ment to deny his God. or to contaiiiinatc 
 himself with their intempei.) '"A Ih^^ 
 had forced him to yield so 1 . . 
 
 pany them. Nest day, when tins young mart 
 found that Elnathan and H<:1 ^ m ^^^m. 
 
130 
 
 ELNATHAN. 
 
 lie became sad and verj thoughtful. Remeni' 
 bering the meekness and serenity of the old 
 man when his father and brother spake so 
 cruelly to him and reproached him, and how 
 his daughter stood beside him trembling, yet 
 not fearing to be a partaker in his dangers 
 and griefs* — -he began to be ashamed, and to 
 hate himself for having yielded, for tbe sake 
 of his own safety and peace, to associate with 
 his idolatrous kindred, and had not rather 
 taken part with Elnathan and his daughter, 
 when they stood alone for the cause of God. 
 Finding no rest in himself, and displeased 
 with all that was about liim, he left his fa- 
 ther's house, and went to a thicket of dark 
 yew-trees growing in a deep valley in the 
 neighbouring mountains. Seeking the darkest 
 part of it, where scarcely a single ray of light 
 penetrated, he cast himself down among tiig 
 long rank grass and weeds. But God had 
 opened his eyes upon his own heart, and it 
 was in vain that he sought the deepest shades 
 to hide himself fiom tlie sight. As he lay 
 hes e dl!id.Mninf: himself, and shedding'- ^-'iivr 
 - all the inslmiccs ■ 
 
ET.XATHAK. 
 
 131 
 
 iul compliance with his kindred were recalled 
 to his memory, and how he had omitted the 
 * ordinances of God for fear of them, and had 
 suffered the words and the commandments of 
 God to pass carelessly out of his mind, anil 
 had almost wholly forgotten God: and now 
 he felt that he could not return to him, and 
 that he could not pray, and he w^as over- 
 whelmed with despair. He knew not wh^ 
 to do5 but, rising up, he returned hastily to 
 his father and brothers, and began i6 entreat 
 them, with tears, that they would renounce 
 their idolatry, and return to the God of Is- 
 rael. But they scorned him, and despised 
 his words, commanding him to keep such 
 thoughts to himself if he wished not to be 
 Alrjven out to follow Elnathan. 
 \ Azriel saw' that it was now his duty to de- 
 part from his father's home a.nd his country) 
 but then he loved his father and brothers 
 mth the tehderest affection, and he struggled 
 longi and shed many tears, before he could 
 bring himcelf to think of 1> : vino thew^ But 
 he knew that if lie reniained with them he 
 would lose his hope and his God tor ever^ 
 
13£ 
 
 F.LMAT HAL 
 
 and fecliiig that then he miisi be eternally 
 niiserable, he tried to pray to his heavenly 
 Father lo blot out all his sinsj and to guide 
 him: and then he felt himself willing and re- 
 solved to leave his kindred, even though he 
 ' hould never see them more. 
 
 Next morning, before his father and bro- 
 tliers went out to their usual employment, he 
 tried once again to speak to them of their sin, 
 but they, after mocking and reviling him, be- 
 came so enraged against him that they drove 
 him from their houses while, like the i<lola- 
 tcrs in the days of the Psalmist, they asked 
 him tauntingly, Where is now thy God?" 
 
 Azriel suffered their injustice and their 
 violence silently, and without resentment, for 
 he was filled with sorrow because they had 
 forsaken the Lord their God for idols^ his 
 heart, too, reproached him with having con- 
 tributed to their apostasy by yielding to go 
 with th.em to the temple of Baal, and he 
 smoto his breast, and wept while lie departed 
 from til em. 
 
 He kn^w ihni FAmAhmi :mff H^^lah h-id 
 
ELNATHAN. 
 
 diately set forward to follow theiiij almost 
 destitute as he was; desiring, yet scarcely 
 daring, to trust his all with God. He now 
 remembered the kind instructions and admo- 
 nitions that Elnathan had addressed to him, 
 and all the instances of tendeniess and friend- 
 ship that he and his daughter had shown to- 
 ^vard each other, and to himself, and to all 
 around them, and their holiness and piety, 
 and upriglit deportment in all things; and he 
 said in his heart, " I will join myself to El- 
 nathan, and labour for him and serve him as 
 a son, and take a part in all his sorrows. '^^ 
 And so he went onward, inquiring for them 
 every where by the way. 
 
 It was near sunset when he entered the 
 village where the good widow dwelt, who had 
 entertained the old man and his daughter. 
 He soon traced them to her house, for their 
 arrival had already become known in the vil- 
 lage. Helah he found assisting Huldah in 
 her household cares; and, advancing w*th 
 shame and diffidence, he told her his grief for 
 what he had done, and what, threugh the 
 strength and in the name of the G^d of Is= 
 
 M 
 
134 
 
 ELNATIIAN. 
 
 rael, Ue- now puipospcl to do^ and then he in - 
 quired for Elnathiin. 
 
 The sight of Azriel, and his lovely wordSj 
 seemed to Helah more than a recompense for 
 all her griefs, and she could scarcely speak 
 for jojlwhile she told him of the kindness of 
 Huldali, and that her father had gone up to 
 Jerusalem to offer a burnt-offerilig, and would 
 soon return, 
 
 Huldah, as soon as she knew who Azriel 
 was, bade him welcome to her house; and he 
 having consented to remain and help to gather 
 in their harvest, his coming at that time was 
 esteemed by her as a blessing. 
 
 When he had been some days with them, 
 Helah saw that he was still pensive and 
 deeply grieved with the remembrance of his 
 sini she, therefore, endeavoured to lead him 
 to take assured hold of the mercy of their 
 God, and to rely alone upon his salvation. 
 She was thus employed, essaying to raise 
 again his broken heart to life, and Azriel sit- 
 img at her feet wondering at the heavenly 
 f^nsolation that came from her lipS; when 
 
ELNATHANe 
 
 135 
 
 Elnathan entered the cottage, carrying the 
 widow's son in his arms. 
 
 We may not attempt to describe his joy at 
 ihc sight tliat he saw, and his ardent grati- 
 tude to God. It is enough, now, that we tell 
 how, after the feast of harvest, Helah was 
 beti'othed to Azriel, and that, before tlie se- 
 cond return of Pentecost again, God having 
 greatly prospered them, their wedding-feast 
 was held — ^Elnathair^iving away his daugh- 
 ter, and Huldah putting on their heads the 
 marriage crowns. And of their future life, 
 let it be added, that, hearkening diligently 
 to the commandments of the Lord their God, 
 and observing to do them, tliey were blessed 
 in their basket and their storey blessed ia 
 their coming in, and blessed in their going 
 out, and in all that they set their hands to do. 
 
 In a few years Elnathan saw these, his 
 children, obtain, even in this world, a better 
 portion than that which tliey had been de- 
 prived of, and lived to a blessed old age, sur- 
 rounded and beloved by their children, while 
 Huldah they rewarded for her hospitJiliiy by 
 a continued exercise of kind offices. 
 
166 
 
 ELNAlHANc 
 
 As i'or Ocran and his sons, thej lived to 
 experience the awful fulfilment of that threat- 
 ening which the Lord made, by the prophet 
 Elijah, against the idolaters of Samaria, " Him 
 that escapeth the sword of Hazrael shall Jehu 
 slay: and him that escapeth from the sword 
 of Jehu shall Elisha slay." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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BIOGRAPHY, 
 
 The American Sunday School Union wiii 
 shortly add to their extensive catalogue of 
 books for children and youth, memoirs of 
 the following distinguished individuals, viz. 
 
 Memoir of Rev. John Newton, preparing for 
 the press. 
 Rev. Joseph Alleine, in press. 
 Rev. Henry Martyn, published 
 Rev, Claudius Ufuchannan, do. 
 Rev. Christian Frederick Swartz, 
 
 published. 
 Miss Jane Taylor, preparmg for 
 the press. 
 
 Life of Joseph, published, with numei?ou§ en- 
 gravings. 
 
 Philip Melancthon, preparing for the 
 press. 
 
 Martin Luther, do. 
 Memoir of Col . John Hutchinson, do. 
 
 CoL Gardiner, dtt. 
 Rev, Cotton Mather, do. 
 Dr. Watts, do. 
 Thomas Scott, do, 
 Thomas Spencer, do 
 
 To the above list it is intended to a ■ 
 '^loirs of several distinguished pious Ft. _ 
 vHh the lives of other servants i>f Gt)d, miich 
 lil makeaboat thirty volumes of Micd Bw-- 
 ^ifdphyfor Sunday School nnd othtr Jicvm^ 
 libraries. 
 
 S 
 
THE TEACHER'S MANUAL, 
 
 By W. F, Lloyd, m pages, 18mo. 
 
 EXTR.\CTS FROM REVIEWS. 
 
 This book contains much wholesome ad- 
 vice that may be well worth the attention of 
 numerous teachers who have been long in of- 
 fice, and abounds in precepts, which, if redu- 
 ced to general practice, would greatly improve 
 our Sunday schools." — Imperial Magazine. 
 
 ' ' To all (teachers) we recommend this vo- 
 lume, which is a concentration of theoretical 
 and experimental knowledge on the subject [of 
 Sunday schools.] Mr. Lloyd has produced a 
 work peculiarly adapted lor Sabbath school 
 teachers. The directions he has laid down 
 may be studied with advantage, and followed 
 with success" by Sunday school teachers, 
 " and therefore we earnestly recommend this 
 little volume to their careful perusal." — Sab- 
 bath School Magazine for Scotland. 
 
 " Out of the voluminous materials which the 
 improvements in conducting Sunday schools 
 have furnished, it was no easy task to select, 
 and judiciously arrange, in a small compass, 
 the miost essential rules i^tod principles to guide 
 the teacher in the discliarge of his important 
 duties^ and at the same time, to deliver these 
 instructions with an air of mingled kindness 
 and authority. This, however, Mr. Lloyd has 
 acGomplished in a manner, which, we think, 
 will be highly acceptable to at least a very 
 |ai:ge proportion of the * ninety thousand 
 teachers,' who might b« benefited by a peru 
 §al of his book."-^^^//?: Sioidffj/ >Sckool Mag- 
 
THE 
 
 BIBXE CATSOmSM, 
 
 Intended for the use of Sunday Schools and 
 Families, 
 
 BY We F. LLOYD, 
 
 Foreign Secretary of the London Sunday Sdbool Union. 
 
 This valuable work has been stereotyped 
 by the American Sunday School Union, and 
 is for sale at their Depository, No. 13 North 
 Fourth Street, Philadelphia. Price g6 per 
 hundred, reduced price g4 50. 
 
 Extracts from the Reviews, 
 
 **Tliere is scarcely a question which can 
 relate to life and godliness, that is r^ot pro- 
 posed in this book, and clearly answered in 
 the words of Scripture. The questions in- 
 variably relate to duty, obligation, faith in 
 Christ, experimental and practical religion, 
 and the relation in which every individtiii? 
 stands both to God and man, without taking 
 their stand on any sectarian ground. This 
 book is evidently designed foi the use of 
 schookij for which purpose it is admirably 
 adapted ; but it might also, with much advaa- 
 iage, be introduced into private familie^j 
 
where the means of instruction are but scanti- 
 ly furnished. The plan of human salvation 
 is transplanted into its pages : and he who 
 makes himself acquainted with the truths it 
 contains, and reduces them to practice, may 
 consign sectarian controversies to the moles 
 and to the bats, and solace himself with being 
 ' on a single plank thrown safe on shore.' 
 This work appears also in an abridgment." — 
 (Imperial Magazine.) 
 
 " We are always happy to see the Bible 
 made the standard of juvenile instruction, 
 and Mr. Lloyd's is certainly the fullest we 
 have seen, tilling 162 pages, and compre- 
 hending a great number of interesting texts 
 %vell arranged."— (^v«n^e/ica/ Magazine.) 
 
 "Our readers may safely commit these 
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 lowed us, to expatiate at length on their varied 
 excellences.'-— ( Christian Guardian.) 
 
 This little work appears to be elaborated 
 With ^reat care and judgment. Every con- 
 tribution of this kind, to the stores of scrip- 
 tural im iruction for the young, we hail with 
 delight^ and if the millions of children in our 
 native land were all fully provided for, we 
 mi4st remember that, in that case, we have to 
 provide for many other millions in Hindoos- 
 tan^ ifi tK^^ Sonth Sea Islandsj and in many 
 ©ther {Baptist Magazine) 
 
riEERE AH±} HIS FAMILY; or, A STORY OF 
 THE WALDENSES, by the author of ''Lily 
 Douglas."— Price 35 cents. 
 
 Extracts f rom Reviews. 
 " The reader will find in this little volume 
 a power of description, that will not suffer 
 b^jr comparison with the very (best specimens 
 01 that species of composition which are to be 
 foirad in the works above all others famed 
 for it— the ^ Waverley Novels;' while these 
 descriptions have an accompaniment which 
 the * great Magician,' as he has been affect- 
 tA\y called, is incapable of giving-— a tone of 
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 ings, of genuine Christianity, as her descrip- 
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 dered merely as a w ork of genius, it merits a 
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 tsofis of fancy, one that exhibits an imagina- 
 tion more rich, more soft and sweet, will not 
 saasily be iomx^.^^—'EdmhuTgh Christian In- 
 ^'•r.'^>r, October^ 
 
 ' are happy to meet again with the 
 aiiiliGs of the beautiful story of ' Lily Doug- 
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 have already expressed our opinion of the 
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 present performance bears ample testimony 
 to.thf^ Ju&ticc of that opinion. ^ * * It is un- 
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 reputation , - ' — ^Yri^* Evangdiml Magazine^ 
 S»pt€mber^ 1823. 
 
CALL NUMBER 
 244 
 
 E4a 
 
 Vol 
 
 Date (for periodical) 
 
 E48 
 
 167161 
 
 Universky Library