November 18

8 Then the king of Syria warned against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, teileth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold Ar is in Dothan.

14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host; and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master: how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not; for they that Ar with us are more than they that Ar with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

The history before us is designed to show how very near all the while lies another world and another life, altogether of spirit, and heaven, and God. It needed just the opening of the eyes, and nothing more, to show this young man an whole concourse of existences and agencies unseen and unsuspected till that moment. According to the word of God, we are inmates of two worlds: a world seen and a world unseen; a world of time and a world of eternity. We may be walking blind-fold in the midst of truths and realities.

"The young man looking abroad and seeing nothing but the hills, and the fields, and the Syrian army, is a picture of a man without faith. But the young man looking abroad and seeing not only the hills, and fields, and enemies which everybody saw, but also the flaming host—the symbol of God's presence, love, and power—is a picture of a man with faith."—J. Stalker.

If we could see the spiritual world as we see the natural, we should find that every life is held in God's hand, every faculty kept for us by God's keeping, every step taken, every word spoken, and every work done in virtue of a power not our own.

Closet Promise.—Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?—Heb. i. 14.

In old days there were angels who came and took men by the hand and led them away from the city of destruction. We see no white-winged angels now. But yet men are led away from threatening destruction; a hand is put into theirs which leads them forth gently toward a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's.