." Then
Elisha came himself, and he shut the door, and laid himself beside the
little body, and put his lips to the lips of the child, and his warm
loving heart against the little dead heart, and took the chill hands in
his. Then the spirit of the child came back into him again, and he sat
up, and Elisha delivered him alive to his mother.

Now this story contains some lesson for us. And this is the short
comment on the miracle by an old writer, "Him whom the rod of terror
will not rouse, _love_ will." Or in other words, we may learn by this
that gentleness will succeed where harshness will fail.

In the time when all the north of England was heathen, there was an
assembly held at Iona to decide who should preach the gospel to the
English of Northumbria. Then one missionary was sent, and after having
laboured for some years, he came back to give an account of his
mission. And a council was held, and he said, "Those Northumbrians are
a stiff-necked, hard-hearted people. I threatened them with God's
wrath, I spoke to them of Hell-fire, I warned them of the terrors of
judgment, I denounced the vengeance of God on them, and they would not
be converted." Then one sitting in a bark seat said, "My brother, it
seems to me that you went the wrong way to work. You should have gone
in love, and not in wrath. You should have tried to win, and not to
drive." All eyes were turned en the speaker, and it was decided with
one voice that he should be sent, and he went. His name was Aidan--and
he was the Apostle of all Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire. He
had the joy to see the whole people bow their necks to receive the yoke
of Christ.

What says S. Paul? "What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or
in love, and in the spirit of meekness?" If he had come with the rod,
he would have gone back disappointed.

CONCLUSION.--Let us then, dear brethren, in dealing with the souls of
others, approach them, not with the rod, or we shall fail to awake them
to a new and better life, but in love, and in the spirit of gentleness,
and then we shall meet, I doubt not, with good success.

XLIII.

_PERSISTENCY IN WRONG DOING._

6th Sunday after Trinity.

S. Matt. v. 25.

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with
him."

INTRODUCTION.--I spoke to you the Sunday before last about the
obstinacy of persisting in an opinion after you have good cause to
believe that this opinion is unjust,