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proof of God's favour to the same perfon, in the restoration of her dead fon to life, one cannot but confider both miracles as rewards of that act of piety, wrought by infinite power, and left upon record in scripture, not merely as teftimonies of the prophet's divine mission, but likewise as two encouraging instances of God Almighty's blessing upon works of charity and benevolence.

In this view I have made choice of this piece of facred story, which I shall beg leave to make use of as the groundwork for an exhortation to charity in general: and that it may better answer the particular purpose of this solemnity, I will endeavour to enlarge upon it with tuch reflections, as, I trust in God, will excite some fertiments of compaffion which

which may be profitable to so pious a defign.

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Elijah had fled from two dreadful evils, the approach of a famine, and the perfecution of Ahab an enraged enemy : and in obedience to the command of God had hid himself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. In this fafe and peaceful folitude, blessed with daily marks of God's providence, the holy man dwelt free both from the cares and glories of the world: by miraculous impulse the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and be drank of the brook; till by continuance of drought, (the windows of heaven being shut up in those days for three years and fix months, which was the natural cause likewife of the famine,) it came to pass after a while that

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that the brook, the great fountain of his support, dried up; and he is again di rected by the word of the Lord where to betake himself for shelter. He is commanded to arife and go to Zerephath, which belongeth to Zidon, with an affurance that he had disposed the heart of a widow-woman there to sustain him.

The prophet follows the call of his GOD: - the fame hand which brought him to the gate of the city, had led also the poor widow out of her doors, oppreffed with forrow. She had come forth, upon a melancholy errand, to make preperation to eat her last meal, and shareit with her child.

No doubt, she had long fenced against this tragical event with all the thrifty management which felf-prefervation and

parental

parental love could inspire; full, no doubt, of cares and many tender apprehenfions left her slender stock should fail them before the return of plenty...

But as she was a widow, having loft the only faithful friend who would best have assisted her in this virtuous struggle, the preffing neceffity of the times at length overcame her; and she was just falling down an easy prey to it, when Elijah came to the place where she was. And be called unto her ber, and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a veffel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, be called unto her and faid, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a crufe, and behold I am gathering two sticks, that I3 I may

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I may go in and dress it for me and my fon, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah faid unto her, fear not, but go, and do as thou hast faid; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy fon. For thus fays the Lord God of Ifrael, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crufe of oil fail, until the day that the Lord fendeth rain upon the earth.

לי

True charity is always unwilling to find excufes else here was a fair opportunity of pleading many: she might have infifted over again upon her fituation, which necessarily tied up her hands;

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she might have urged the unreafonableness of the request; that she was reduced to the lowest extremity already; - and that it was contrary to justice and

the first law of nature, to rob herself and

child

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