Are

their prayer, and destroyed their enemy with an utter destruction. Now, the same God that helped Hezekiah is the God that heareth prayer, and protects his people still. you a believer in Christ? Whatever your trials may be, look to the Lord. Then you will have no arm of flesh to rely on; but the mighty God himself will be on your side (v. 20).

His next trial was his sickness. In that, also, the Lord heard and wonderfully blessed him. After that he had other trials; and then we see the nothingness of man, when left to himself. It is a sad truth; but it must be told. Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit received; for his heart was lifted up. In the matter, too, of the ambassadors of the king of Babylon, God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart (v. 25, 31). Ah! who will not fear? Lord, what is man! Who can stand in his own strength? Who can say, I am not a sinner? Who must not confess, if saved at all, I am saved by the grace of God freely, without merit and without price? Thus it is that God teaches us this humbling but joyful truth. Here all are saved alike. Hezekiah, David, Peter, Paul, you and I, and all the children of God, are saved by the precious blood and rich grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, let us ponder this blessed truth! and whilst we are humbled in the review of our past services, unworthy and defective as they are; and become still more so, considering how little we have improved our many mercies; and, when we reflect upon our great proneness to be unduly lifted up, and to forget our many blessings, feel the deepest abasement of all; still let us return to the Lord; ask for his pardoning mercy; prize the riches of his grace; and live the rest of our days to his praise and glory.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

1 Manasseh's wicked reign. 3 He setteth up idolatry, and would not be admonished. 11 He is carried into Babylon. 12 Upon his prayer to God he is released, and putteth down idolatry. 18 His acts, 20 He dying, Amon succeedeth him. 21 Amon reigning wickedly is slain by his servants. 25 The murderers being slain, Josiah succeedeth him.

M he began to reign, and he reigned

ANASSEH was twelve years old when

fifty and five years in Jerusalem:

2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

3¶ For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the h ou of the LORD.

6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. 9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people but they would not hearken.

11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about 'Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.

15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

16 And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.

19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

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20 ¶ So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

21 ¶ Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.

22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;

23 And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon 'trespassed more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

25 ¶ But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

A GLORIOUS epoch for the church of God has passed away. A dark cloud now meets our eye. The man, of whom it is said, that he wrought that which was good, and right, and truth, before the Lord his God, is gone: his work is done; and he has entered into the joy of his Lord. When shall we meet with such a character again, of whom it may be affirmed, that in "every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek

his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered” (ch. xxxi. 20, 21). Do we linger over the history of such a man of God as this? Where shall we find the like? Certainly not in the person of his son who succeeds him on the throne. Alas! what a contrast between the father and the son! What alarming truths does that sad contrast teach!

Three things are here to be observed respecting Manasseh; his abominable wickedness; his astonishing conversion; and the decisive proofs which he gave of the reality of the change.

First, his abominable wickedness. Young as he was in years, how deeply steeped was he in sin! Every sort of sin was he guilty of. All the good, which his father had done, he aimed to undo. Besides his common idolatry, he polluted the house of God itself with idols. All sorts of abominations did he practise and support. The heart sickens at the recital of his guilty course. Worse than all that were before him; worse than the very heathen whom the Lord destroyed before them, were the ways and works of this guilty man. Nor did he in the least lay it to heart. God spake unto him and his people; but they would not hear (v. 1—10). The wonder is, why did not God cut off this man in his sins, and send him down quickly into hell? The question is, can such a sinner as this be saved? Can such sins be forgiven? Can such a brand be plucked from the burning? Only the word and grace of God, and the cross of Jesus Christ, can answer that question with any thing like a hopeful feeling. This leads us to,

Secondly, his astonishing conversion. Sinner as he was, he was yet converted. The grace of God reached his heart. The blood of Jesus cleansed his soul. The glorious fact stands here recorded; and not for ten thousand worlds would we darken or hide this most blessed truth. True, for a long time he went on hardened in his guilty career, sinning more and more. God spake; but he would not hear. Message after message did he thus scorn and despise. What, then, does God now do? Does he abandon him? cast him off? or give him over to final hardness and impenitence of heart? Be astonished, O ye heavens, he

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intends this man for mercy! He designs to bring him to repentance; to pardon his sins; and to save his soul! The method, indeed, will be painful and humiliating; but the issue will be blessed and glorious. He allows him to be taken captive: he is bound with fetters; he is carried to Babylon; and he is thrown into prison. There in his affliction he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto him. And the Lord was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God (v. 11-13). Such was his astonishing conversion. And who may not be saved, since Manasseh was converted unto God? Like that of the great apostle, may not the conversion of this man be considered as a pattern to all them that shall hereafter believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, unto life everlasting?" (1 Tim. i. 16.) Now, let us see, Lastly, the decisive proofs which he gave of the reality of the change. A converted sinner can no longer be the same sort of person which he was before. Old things will pass away: all things will become new. Was this the case with Manasseh? Truly it was so. During the rest of his life, he tried to undo all the evil ways in which before he had walked. He destroyed the idols. He repaired the altar of the Lord. He sacrificed thereon peace offerings, and thank offerings. He commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. He exerted all the power he possessed, during the rest of his life, in promoting the worship and service of that gracious Being, who had been so kind and merciful to him. All this was new: and all this was done because God had granted him repentance unto life.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

3¶ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the 'images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the 2 graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.

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7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.

10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:

11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and 'to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.

13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.

14¶ And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.

15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.

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17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the work

men.

18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and 10 Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,

21 Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.

22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of "Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem 13 in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.

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23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,

24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:

25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;

27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.

28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

29 ¶ Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, "great and small and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.

31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.

32 And he caused all that were 15 present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not 16 from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

only that can savingly influence the human heart. The sin of such, however, as refuse to take warning by the example of others, becomes exceedingly great; and Amon's course, as described in the concluding part of the last chapter, was very wicked indeed (v. 21-25). His father's wickedness, in his unconverted state, he imitated; but his father's repentance, when brought to know the Lord, he followed not. He humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done; but he trespassed more and more. And what became of him? Some of his own servants, wicked as himself, and, perhaps, wearied with his wickedness, conspired against him, and slew him. Such was his awful end in this world; nor is there any reason to conclude that he escaped the wrath of God after death. Who will not hear, and hearken, and learn to be wise?

After him succeeded Josiah. Young, like many others before him, when called to the throne, he soon began to display the evidences of a heart affected by the grace of God. Unlike Joash, and Amaziah, and Uzziah, and Jotham, he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and inclined neither to the right hand, nor to the left (v. 2). How very few, in the list of Judah's kings, receive this testimony from the hand of God! How very few professing Christians can receive the same commendation ? Do you follow the Lord fully? Do you follow the Lord with a perfect heart? follow the Lord continually? If so, you do not decline from his ways, either to the right hand or to the left. This proves a right state of heart. This evidences a true work of grace. Nothing short of this can prove a saving interest in Christ. All true believers abide in Christ. They follow him; they cleave to him; they neither turn back, nor fall away: they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Not that they have no faults; for they have many. But they are humbled: they grieve; they mourn; they lament; and they are pardoned,

Do you

Behold Josiah. service of God. sensations upon reading the book of the law of the Lord, which they had found in the temple. How greatly was he alarmed! How deeply was he humbled! How anxious was he to obtain mercy and forgiveness both for himself and for his people! "Go," says he, and "enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book" (v. 21). Did he not thus display a tender heart? Was he not thus greatly humbled? Were not those tears which he shed, and those cries which he uttered, the fruits of a godly and a gracious sorrow for sin? And what did the Lord reply to these supplications? Amidst the clearest denunciations of wrath upon the devoted city and people, because they had forsaken him, and provoked him to anger, so that they should not be quenched (v. 24, 25); he gave him an answer of peace; he assured him of his favour; he granted him his mercy and love; and he brought him to his grave in peace.

See his activity in the Mark his feelings and

Now, are you like Josiah in these respects? Does the word of the living God pierce your heart? Are you alarmed and humbled for your sins? Do you send up your cries to heaven for pardon and peace? Do you rely on Christ alone for these and all other blessings ? If so, there is an answer of peace for you. Whilst others, remaining hardened and impenitent, are cut off in their sins, and perish for ever; the Lord will bless you as he did Josiah; and, in due time, he will bring you down to your grave in peace.

CHAPTER XXXV.

1 Josiah keepeth a most solemn passover. 20 He, provoking Pharaoh-necho, is slain at Megiddo. 25 Lamentations for Josiah.

way.

Others do not. They stumble, or

fall, or turn aside; and so they draw back unto perdition. (Heb. x. 38, 39.)

unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 And he set the priests in their charges,