ELISHA grew to be a very old man, and when at last he fell sick and was near his death, the king of Israel, whose name was Joash, came and kept by his bed-side. Elisha said, "Open the window eastward;" and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot;" and Joash took his bow and shot an arrow. And Elisha said, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance." Then he said, "Take the arrows; smite upon the ground." Joash struck three times on the ground, but he did not go on striking, for he did not think enough of God and His prophet to understand that if he obeyed Elisha God would bless him. So Elisha told him if he had struck many times, he would have had a great many victories over the Syrians, but as he had only struck three times, he would only have three victories. For it is when people begin by obeying in little things that God gives them a great deal. Then the great Prophet Elisha died, and was buried; and Joash beat the Syrians three times, but no more, because he had not believed and obeyed. QUESTIONS. 1. Who was dying? 2. Who came to see Elisha? 3. What did Elisha tell Joash to do? 4. What did he call the arrow? 5. What did he bid Joash do then? 6. How many times did Joash strike the ground? 7. What ought he to have done? 8. Why did he not? 9. What did Elisha promise him? 10. Why did not he have more victories? 11. If we want to do great things, how must we do little things? [Illustration: A CITY CAPTURED AND THE INHABITANTS LED AWAY CAPTIVE.] Thirty-first Sunday. _HEZEKIAH AND JOSIAH._ FIRST READING. "He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord."--_2 Kings 18:3._ YOU have heard of many bad kings. There is a good king to tell you of at last--good King Hezekiah. He cared for nothing so much as to please God. He would not have any idols, but he cleared them all away, and had the holy Temple all set to rights, and made beautiful as God had commanded; and he had all the services at the Temple at the right times, and used to go and pray there himself constantly. And he did all he could to make his people good too. But there came a great danger. There was a king of Assyria named Sennacherib, who had quantities of soldiers and horses and chariots, and he used to conquer towns, and carry all the people in them away to live far from home. He thought he would seize Hezekiah and his people in this way, and he did come and do much harm all over the country. He did not come at once to Jerusalem; but he sent three boasting men, with an army, to stand outside the walls, and call out to the people inside, that Sennacherib was coming to conquer them and carry them away, and that they need not believe their king Hezekiah when he said that God would help them, for no god had ever yet saved a country from Sennacherib.