Part II: The Widow of One of the Sons of the Prophets

Addressed to the Widows of Ministers left in destitute circumstances.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my hus« band is dead and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said) Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shall shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.” — 2 Kings, iv. 1 — 7.

BY the sons of the prophets we are to understand those who were collected into a kind of colleges, where persons, called of God to the prophetic office, were trained for their future duties, under the superintendance of inspired men. Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and probably some others, were appointed to this high and responsible station. Among the disciples of these great teachers were some married men. One of these, the scripture above quoted, tells us died, leaving a widow involved in debt contracted by her husband, and with two children to support. She was sued for payment, and as the law allowed a claim for personal service, in default of any other means of discharging the debt, a claim which extended, according to the interpretation of the Jews, to a man’s children, her creditors were about to seize her two sons. Denied mercy by the claimant, she applied in her extremity to Elisha, with the hope probably of obtaining his interposition with the chief creditor, or with some other persons able to befriend her. She reminds the prophet of the godly character of her husband; of his own acquaintance with him; and of his knowledge of the truth of her testimony to his blameless conduct. From this it seems fair to conclude, that his debts had not been contracted by prodigality, luxury, or imprudence. Elisha listened to the widow’s tale of woe, and then by an impulse from God, relieved her wants by the performance of a miracle. Still it was a miracle that required some exertion on her part after the means of supply were provided. Upon enquiring into what articles of value or support she had left in the house, it was found that all which poverty had left her, was a small pot of oil, which, as is well known, was then used both for diet and as an unguent. This she was directed to produce, and at the same time, to go and borrow all the vessels which she could well get together in a short time, and in a small room. These having been procured, she was directed to pour the oil into them. She complied with the orders, and the oil continued to flow and to fill the vessels, till there was enough, upon its being sold, to pay her husband’s debts, and save her sons from servitude.

Here again was an instance of faith. She knew the word of the prophet was the word of God, and she believed it, confidently expecting the relief which she needed. Elisha, it is true, had not in so many words promised to grant a supply of oil, but she understood his command to berrow the vessels, in this light, and therefore collected them, both large and numerous ones. Anc the oil continued flowing as long as she had any empty vessels to receive it, and had her faith been greater, her supply had been raised in proportion to it. “We are never straitened in God, in his power, or grace, but in ourselves. It is our faith that stops, or fails, and not his promise. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. “And if this pot of oil was not exhausted as long as there were vessels to receive it, shall we fear lest the ’ golden oil ’ (of divine grace) which flows from the very root and fatness of the good olive tree, should fail, as long as there are any lamps to be supplied from it?” — Zech. iv. 12. How well and deservedly is faith called precious. How many has it sanctified, comforted, and saved. Why the prophet relieved her in this way, we know not, except it were to bring out her faith, her industry, and her honesty, all in one view, and in beautiful harmony. Certain it is that all these were exhibited; her faith in receiving the promise; her industry in collecting and selling the oil; and her honesty in paying the debts with the produce.

“Your fathers where are they, and the prophets do they live for ever?” All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.” — 1 Peter i. 24, 25. Yes, the word is immortal, but the preacher of it is mortal. Ministers die like other men. Life worketh in their hearers, but death in them. They not only die in their work, but often by it. They sink to the grave worn out by labour, and usually leave their widows and children ill provided with the riches of this world. Here and there an individual attains, by the bounty of Providence, to comparative wealth, but these are the exceptions: the general rule of ministerial circumstances is, if not poverty, an approach to it. To them it is given to say, with the great apostle of the Gentiles, “poor, yet making many rich.” Blessed with talents, which, in other occupations, would be sufficient to procure competence, if not wealth, they give themselves in most cases, wholly to the things of the Lord. The consequence of this is, that with the most rigid economy, they are with difficulty able to obtain support, much less to amass property. Considering their acquirements, mental capacity, and rank in life, they are the worst paid public functionaries in existence. But they look not for their reward from men, or upon earth. They serve a master infinitely rich, and infinitely generous, and amidst much ingratitude and injustice from their flocks, they can leave their services and their reward with him. It is vain, however, to deny that it costs them many an anxious hour, when breaking down under their exertions, to contemplate the moment of their removal from this world. Not that they have any thing to fear for themselves; for them it will be better to depart and to be with Christ. They are going to rest from all their labours, acd all their cares — but the prospect of leaving a widow and fatherless children, to the generosity of a congregation which was never over liberal while they lived, and is likely soon to forget them in affection for their successor, requires strong confidence indeed to suppress the fear, and even the groan of painful anxiety.

The dying fears, the last he will ever know, of the good man, oftentimes prove but too prophetic, as you his forlorn and desolate widow, too well know. You are indeed to be pitied. He who, in relation to you, united the husband and pastor, is removed; he whose love in your own house was your solace as a wife, and whose sermons in the house of God, were your comfort as a Christian, is gone for ever. You are the centre of that grief of which the congregation are the wide circle. It is pain enough to see that pulpit occupied by another, which he once and so long filled; and to hear another voice than his sound forth the message of life: but other woes aggravate this already heavy one. They loved him and valued his ministry, perhaps, while he lived, and it seemed as if he had prepared for himself an imperishable monument in every heart, and would be long and gratefully remembered by those, on whose hallowed recollections he had strong claims; and who, it might have been expected, would love to demonstrate and perpetuate their gratitude, in sympathy for his widow, and beneficence to his children. But you have proved how little reliance is to be placed upon posthumous affection. You were prepared, or ought to have been, to witness a transfer of that respect and affection which had been cherished for the former pastor, to his successor; it is right and proper it should be so: and you ought to rejoice and feel thankful that the church, for which your husband laboured so hard, prayed so fervently, and which pressed so heavily on his spirit, in his last and suffering hours, is so comfortably settled with one to follow in his footsteps, and to carry on his usefulness: — but you were not, prepared, how could you be? to see him so soon forgotten, and to hear comparisons unkindly made, and indelicately conveyed to you, between him and his successor, and to his disparagement. You were not prepared, how could you be? to find his widow neglected, his children forsaken: to feel so soon that you were left, though surrounded with numerous friends, that once were competitors for your friendship, to mourn apart and unpitied. You were not prepared, to learn how much of former attention was paid you for your husband’s sake, and how soon you would find this out when he was removed. Nor is this the last or the lowest step in the descending scale of your sorrows. When your husband died, the means of your support died with him, and you are now cast with your children, upon Providence for support. You expected a little more gene* rous and practical sympathy, from a church in whose spiritual welfare your husband wore out his strength, and are bitterly disappointed that all those professions of attachment, which it was your privilege, at one time, to hear so profusely lavished on him, hav% ended, in results, so far as you are concerned, so miserably disproportionate.

Should all this really be the case with any whose sorrowful eye shall read these pages, I recommend to them the consideration, that provided their faith and trust be equal to the emergency, the less they receive from man, the more they may expect from God. Bear this heavy trial with meekness and a quiet spirit. Do not show resentment; and endeavour to feel none. Bring no accusation and utter no complaint, much less reviling. Silent and patient submission is most likely to draw attention upon your circumstances. Many a widow in your situation, has injured her own cause by reproachful reflections upon the people of her late husband’s charge. A modest but not servile appeal, laid in confidence before some of your friends, on behalf of his necessitous children, may be properly made, and ought to be attended to; and in order to engage those friends, take care that your children be well trained. It must be confessed, that in many instances, the want of interest and sympathy for the widow and children of a minister of religion, is to be traced, not so much to the want of kind feeling on the part of the people, as to her want of good sense and good temper, and their destitution of good training, and good conduct. If she be unreasonable in her expectations, and petulant and disrespectful in the event of their not being fulfilled; or if the children be rude, refractory, and unlovely through deficiency of maternal restraint; it requires much stronger generosity or affection, than is usually met with even among professing Christians, to overcome so much that is repulsive, and to he kind to the living, only for the sake of the dead. Amidst the deficiencies or the scantinesses of human sympathy, look for it from a source where it never fails. God observes your situation, and beholds you as the relic of one whom he delighted to honour. You can go to Him with boldness and say, “Thy servant is dead who feared thee; look in pity on those whom he has left in poverty and difficulty.” If such a plea prevailed with the prophet, will it not with God? He is no debtor to you, or to your late husband; but he is a generous master to his servants, and rewards them in a way of grace, in a manner that is often surprising. If he takes care of widows and fatherless children in general, how confidently may those expect his kind interposition, who belonged to his own servants? Go then with humble boldness to the Lord Jesus, carry your children in the arms of your faith, place them in his presence, and say with all reverence and humility, but with all confidencep “Behold the children of thy departed servant.” Remember that more is expected from you than from others. The widow of a minister should be an example to all widows. Col. Hutchinson, when taking leave of his wife, admonished her not to forget her standing, and to mourn as a woman of no ordinary character How suitable is this to the widow of a teacher of religion; and how much does it become her t>” ..how, by the manner in which she bears his dea:h, how well she had profited by the instructions of his life. His sermons on submission to the will of God, should all appear embodied in her meek and pious resignation.

If there are sources of pain, peculiar to the widow of a minister, there are also sources of comfort. The memory of such a man is blessed. You were the companion of one who wore out life, not in amassing wealth, but in winning souls to God: not in enriching himself with filthy lucre, but in conferring upon otriers, imperishable wealth. Look back upon his holy and useful career. Call to recollection his labours for Christ: his trials and discouragements; his joys and successes. Think how he served his master, and how his master honoured him; with what untiring zeal, amidst what self-denial, and with what result, he pursued his holy calling. Dwell upon his blameless character, his spotless reputation, and the esteem in which he was held by the churches of Christ. Remember how often he prayed rather to die than be permitted to live and sin. He was faithful unto death, and laid down his office, only with his life. None blush for him, but all weep for themselves, before his monument. Even the tongue of slander is silent at that hallowed spot, and dares not utter in whisper a single insinuation. Oh this is a balm to a widow’s heart. And then look at the fruits of his ministry. Some have preceded him to glory, and are his joy and crown of rejoicing in the presence of Christ, while others are following him on to add new gems to his diadem, and new delights to him that is to wear it. Dwell not only on what he was, and what he is, hut on what you were to him: how you aided him in his ministry; not indeed by writing 01 preaching his sermons, but by sustaining that noble heart, which dictated all his labours, and by the impulses and energies of which all were sustained. Call to recollection, how he reposed in your faithful bosom the cares of office, and asked your counsels amidst its intricacies; how when he came home agitated and perplexed, you calmed the perturbations of his spirit; how when discouraged, you cheered him; how you suggested to him subjects for his pulpit ministrations, which had occurred to you in your own meditations, and which thus became the means in his lips of saving souls from death; how you aided him in his visitations and ministrations to the sick, the poor, and distressed; and how by your earnest prayers, you brought down upon his labours the dew of heaven; and thus, by all these means, were a help meet for him in his high embassy to a revolted world. These efforts, it is sadly true, are all suspended by his death, but to have made them is a precious remembrance. Such recollections fall not to the lot of ordinary women, and ought to be a balm for your wounded heart.

If you are happy amidst the people to whom your husband ministered, remain where you are; linger still at the pulpit in which he laboured, and at the grave where he sleeps: if they love his memory, and are kind to you and your children for your own sakes, as well as for his, where can you be more happy on earth, than in the scene of his living exertions and in the vicinity of his tomb. Where will his precious name be so frequently and so respectfully mentioned, and where will sympathy be so fully felt and so tenderly expressed, as among the people of his charge. But, then, let wisdom and circumspection characterise your conduct. A minister’s widow has sometimes aided, not a little, to disquiet the mind of his successor, and to trouble the circle of his friends. Excite no suspicions, awaken no jealousies, institute no comparisons. Do not wish for influence; be not the centre of a party; attempt not to guide the opinions of others; and avoid all private interference and meddling with church affairs. The importance of this, is in exact proportion to the esteem in which you are held. There are few women so weak, as to have no power to do mischief, for it is surprising and grievous to find what insignificance, when combined with restlessness, and a meddling propensity, may be a source of annoyance, and a cause of disquiet, especially in small communities. In some cases where for instance, there may not be the best understanding* nor much good feeling, between the widow and the flock; or where a part only of that flock might happen to be attached to her, and not equally attached to the new pastor and his wife; prudence and propriety combine to make it her duty, if not prevented by circumstances, to retire. It is a deep blot on the Christian reputation of any minister’s widow to remain in a church, only to be a nucleus of dissatisfaction and discontent, and to aid in disturbing, perhaps, dividing the society, whose peace, was one great object of her husband’s life.

After all, however, it must be confessed, that where the widow and family of a minister, meet with neglect, from the congregation, in which he laboured, and some such cases do occur, both in the Church of England, and amongst the Dissenters, the fault is, in many cases, to be traced up to a want of generosity on the part of the people.