destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether and also in Judah things went well.

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Note.-How ready the Lord is to regard those who have forsaken him when they humble themselves before him and confess their sins!

Asa against Zerah the Ethiopian. Answered immediately. 2 Chronicles xiv.-11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. 12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa, and the people that were with him, pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host: and they carried away very much spoil.

Note. We have here an example of both preparation and prayer, and both had a place in the victory that followed. The prayer gave success to the preparation, and the preparation wrought out the answer to the prayer. So let it be with us.

Jehoshaphat against the Moabites. Answered immediately.

2 Chronicles xx.-5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house. of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. 10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; 11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the

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Lord in the midst of the congregation; 15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 To-morrow go ye down against them behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

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20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come

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against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch-tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. 25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, (which they stripped off for themselves,) more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

Note.-A very humble prayer, (v. 11, 12, 13,) and a very great deliverance. The deeper our felt need of the Lord, and our felt dependence on him, the greater confidence may we have that He will hear and answer us.

Hezekiah for the unprepared for the Passover. Answered immediately.

2 Chronicles xxx.-18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written but Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one 19 that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

Note. We are not to look for the pardon of deficiencies and defects and shortcoming in God's people as a matter of course. They should be confessed, and the pardon of them asked in earnest prayer.

The priests for the people. Answered immediately.

2 Chronicles xxx.-27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwellingplace, even unto heaven.

Note.-Happy the congregation when the closing benediction is answered by a shower of blessing.

Hezekiah and Isaiah regarding Sennacherib. Answered immediately.

2 Chronicles xxxi.-20 And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria: so he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.

Note. The king and the prophet uniting in prayer for protection and deliverance from the blasphemers of Jehovah, and enemies of his people, might well expect a favourable answer. The highest and most powerful need so to pray: the humblest and feeblest so praying, will obtain the victory over the blasphemers of God and enemies of his people.