Ezra 9:5-6

Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God and prayed: “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.”

It is common both for individuals and Churches to appear hopeful before men, when a nearer acquaintance with them would furnish us with abundant cause of grief and shame.

At Ezra’s coming to Jerusalem, about fourscore years after the Babylonish captivity, he found the temple built, and the ordinances of religion statedly performed. But on inquiring more particularly into the state of those who now inhabited the Holy Land, he received such information as filled him with the deepest anguish.

We propose to consider,

I. The reason of his sorrow.

Many of the people had connected themselves in marriage both with the Canaanites and other heathens around them. This Ezra justly regarded as a most heinous evil:

1. As being a violation of an express command.

Ezra himself speaks of it in this view, verse 10-12 compared with Deuteronomy 7:2-3. It is possible that, while the generality sought only the gratification of their own corrupt appetites, “the leaders and officials, who were chief in this matter,” justified their conduct on the ground of expedience. They might urge, that, being few in number, it was desirable for their own preservation to make alliances with those whose hostility they feared.

Just so, it is certain that in this way many today set their own reasoning in opposition to God’s revealed will. But reason is altogether out of its place on such occasions. God’s authority is not to be trampled on by us. We are not at liberty to sit in judgment on his commands, and to determine how far it is expedient to obey them. When once we are told, “Thus says the Lord!” then we have no option, no alternative left. A cheerful and unreserved compliance is our bounden duty, and our highest wisdom.

2. As having an evident tendency to bring the people back to idolatry.

It was for their idolatries more especially that the nation had been sent into captivity; and a recurrence of the same evils was most likely to result from so intimate a connection with idolaters. This danger had been particularly pointed out, when the prohibition had been originally given in Deuteronomy 7:4; and their disregard of this danger showed how little they had profited by the judgments that had been inflicted on them, or the mercies that had been given unto them.

But thus it is with all who seek the friendship of the world; God has told them that “friendship with the world is enmity with God, James 4:4;” that it is impossible to maintain communion with both, Matthew 6:24, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-15; and that therefore all who cultivate the friendship of the world will be regarded and treated as the enemies of God, 1 John 2:15-17; yet they will run the risk, and for the sake of gratifying their corrupt wishes, will endanger the everlasting salvation of their souls.

O that those who are inclined to take worldly people for their associates, and especially those who are tempted to unite with them in the indissoluble bonds of marriage, would consider the guilt and danger of such measures, before they bring upon themselves the wrath of an offended God! If only they would look around them and see the injury which others have sustained in their souls by such conduct, they would pause, and not venture to purchase any imagined good at so great a price.

How great Ezra’s sorrow on this occasion was, we may judge from:

II. The expressions of his sorrow.

That which first calls for our notice, is the expression of his grief the instant he was informed of their misconduct.

This was more violent than any of which we read in the Holy Scriptures. Often have men rent their mantle and their garments; but of him alone we are told that “he plucked off the hair of his head and of his beard.” In the first paroxysm of his grief he was almost distracted; yes, he was so overwhelmed as to be incapable of speech or action; hence “he sat down astonished,” as one altogether stupefied through excess of sorrow.

Shall we think all this extravagant? No truly, if we duly estimate the evil they had committed, and the danger to which the whole nation was reduced, verse 14. We are told of David, that “horror took hold upon him,” and that “rivers of tears ran down his cheeks, because of those who kept not God’s law.” Paul appeals to God himself, that he had “great sorrow and continual heaviness in his heart for his brethren’s sake, Romans 9:1-3.” We may be sure therefore that the grief which Ezra manifested was no more than what the occasion called for.

But his humiliation before God is that which more particularly demands our attention.

“At the time of the evening sacrifice,” as if revived and encouraged by the consideration of the great atonement, “he arose from his heaviness, and fell upon his knees, and spread out his hands unto the Lord his God,” and confessed with shame and anguish of heart both his own sins and the sins of all the people. What a just view he had of national transgressions! Many would have thought, that, because he disapproved of the evils that had been committed, he had no share in the guilt contracted by them, nor any occasion to humble himself before God on account of them; but the members of the body politic are, in their corporate capacity, like the members of the natural body, all to a certain degree responsible for those evils, which generally, though not universally, prevail among them.

At the day of judgment indeed, none will have to answer for anything but what they themselves were personally guilty of; but in this world, where alone nations can be dealt with as nations, we should consider ourselves as participating in whatever relates to the nation at large.

And here we cannot but admire the humility with which he confessed the sins of the nation before God, and the fervor with which he implored the forgiveness of them. O that we felt even for our own sins, as he felt for the sins of others! However “fools may make a mock at it,” sin is no light evil; there is no contrition too deep for us to feel on account of sin, nor any earnestness too great to use in order to obtain the remission of it!

Let the view then of this holy man put us all to shame; let us blush and be confounded at the thought that our repentance from day to day is so cold and superficial; and let us tremble for ourselves, lest we be found at last to have been hypocrites and dissemblers with God. We are told plainly enough what is that repentance which godly sorrow will produce, 2 Corinthians 7:10-11; let us therefore look to it that we “approve ourselves to be clear in this matter.”

APPLICATION.

And now, methinks the evening sacrifice is just offered, “now once, in the end of the world, has Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, Hebrews 9:26.” O let our eyes be fixed on that “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Let us spread before him both our national and personal transgressions; and let us lay them all on the head of that heavenly victim; not doubting but that, “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9.”

Charles Simeon

Ezra 7:23

“Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and of his sons?”

In divine ordinances we are accustomed to sit at the feet of Prophets and Apostles, and to learn of them; but this day we will take for our preceptor a heathen monarch; in following whose directions we shall not fail to approve ourselves faithful servants to our God.

It was no less than fifty-nine years since the temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt; but still the people, who had returned there, were at a very low ebb, both in morality and religion. Ezra, who was yet remaining in Babylon, in the service of Artaxerxes, greatly lamented the lack of piety among his own countrymen; and made request to the king, that he might go to Jerusalem for the purpose of inquiring into their state, and rectifying the abuses which reigned among them. In answer to his requests, Artaxerxes issued a decree, authorizing Ezra to go there with as many of his countrymen as chose to accompany him, and encouraging all his subjects in the province of Babylon to assist him in his pious enterprise. The words before us breathe a spirit which we should scarcely have expected to find in a heathen prince; but it is remarkable that some of the richest effusions of piety in the whole Scriptures proceeded from heathen monarchs Darius and Nebuchadnezzar.

To make a due improvement of the words before us, we shall consider them,

I. In reference to the Jewish Church.

The state of the Jewish Church at this time is not unlike to that in which it was in the days of Ezra.

Though the temple worship was restored, it was carried on by the Jews without any zeal for God’s honor, or any of that spirituality of mind which is the very essence of all acceptable worship. Nor was the Law of God regarded among them with any just measure of submission; for, in direct opposition to its most authoritative dictates, they formed connections with the heathen round about them, and thus defiled and dishonored the holy seed which were separated for the service of Almighty God, Ezra 9:1-9.

Just so, at this time the Jewish people are at a very low ebb, both in respect of morals and religion. They are indeed, by the providence of God, placed in a situation in which no other people upon earth stand; for they alone, of all people upon the face of the globe, are incapable of serving their God according to the directions of their own Law, and the dictates of their own conscience. But, at the same time, they show no sense of privation on this account, nor any desire to honor God in the services which they do render; for there is universally among them, in all their synagogues, a degree of irreverence, which we would scarcely expect to find among heathens in the worship of their idols. It is impossible to behold them in their religious services, and not see how thick a veil is yet upon their hearts. Nor do they manifest any respect for their own Law, especially in its sublimer precepts. Of some superstitious rites they are observant with pertinacity and zeal; but of real holiness of heart and life they are ignorant in the extreme; and beyond the gains and pleasures of this present world, the great mass of their nation appear scarcely to entertain a thought.

But to us is given, no less than to Ezra, a command to advance their welfare.

Ezra received a commission from Artaxerxes to go and rectify the abuses which reigned at Jerusalem, and to place the worship of God on a footing more consonant with his Law, and more worthy of his divine majesty. And have we no command to seek the welfare of that degraded people? Are we not told what God’s purpose is respecting them; namely, to “raise up the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and to close the breaches thereof; to raise up its ruins, and to build it as in the days of old, Amos 9:11.”

Are we not told, also, who the builders are to be, and how strictly God enjoins us to execute his work? This is God’s express command to us, even to us, strangers of the Gentiles, “The sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister unto you; for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you. And the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted Isaiah 60:10; Isaiah 60:12.”

With their material temple we have indeed nothing to do; but for the erection of God’s spiritual temple among them we are bound to labor; removing all the obstacles to their salvation, Isaiah 62:10, and proclaiming to them the advent of their Messiah, saying, “Behold your salvation! Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him, Isaiah 62:11.” Yes, “to all the cities of Judah we should cry, Behold your God! Isaiah 40:9.”

In this work we should engage with all diligence.

It is not to be effected by good wishes merely, but by great and laborious exertions. It was not without great exertions on the part of men that the Gentiles were converted to the faith of Christ; and the same kind of efforts which the Apostles made for the conversion of the Gentiles we are to make for the restoration of the Jews to the favor of their God. We must feel compassion towards them; and go forth in dependence upon God to search them out in the cloudy and dark day, and to bring them home to the fold of the great and good Shepherd.

In this work all should engage, according to their power. As “the Jews, when scattered abroad upon the persecution of Stephen, went everywhere preaching the Word, Acts 11:19,” so should we avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded by the dispersion of the Jews, to draw their attention to the sacred oracles which testify of Christ, and to make known to them the Messiah whom their fathers crucified.

I do not hesitate to say that this is our duty. It is not merely enjoined in that general commission to “go and preach the Gospel to all nations,” but it is devolved upon us as an office which it is at the peril of our souls to neglect. God has told us, that he has made us the depositories of his Gospel, not for our benefit merely, but for the benefit of his outcast people, “As you in times past have not believed God, but have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy, Romans 11:30-31.” It is, therefore, not only a duty to rebuild the desolated Church of Zion, but our duty, even the duty of every one who has himself obtained mercy from the Lord; and it is a work in which we should engage, no less from a sense of our own obligations to God than from compassion for the necessities of our Jewish brethren.

But, as the Jewish Church was typical of that which exists under the Christian dispensation, it will be proper to consider the words of our text,

II. In reference to the professing Christian Church which is among us.

The edifying of the Christian Church should be an object near to all our hearts; and it is remarkable that Peter applies to this subject the forfeited expressions of the Prophet Amos, respecting the tabernacle of David; which, if not so interpreted, we should have been led to confine to the Jewish Church. And, beyond all doubt, it is our duty to labor in this field, and to exert ourselves both among nominal Christians and the heathen world, for the enlargement and establishment of Christ’s kingdom upon earth.

But I propose rather to limit my observations at this time to individuals among ourselves.

You, brethren, need to have God’s work advanced in the midst of you.

“You are God’s house,” as God has said, Hebrews 3:6; you also are expressly called the temples of God, in which he lives and dwells, 2 Corinthians 6:16. But in whom is God honored as he ought to be? In whom are found sacrifices so pure, so spiritual, so abundant, as God calls for at our hands? Truly there is much amiss in all of us; much evil to be rectified, and much defective to be supplied. Who has not reason for self-condemnation, when he reflects on this injunction which is given by a heathen king? Instead of being alive to “everything that is commanded by the God of Heaven,” there are many of the divine precepts which we are apt to overlook; and, instead of doing everything “diligently” as unto “the God of Heaven,” how listless are we, and heartless in the greater part of our services! And instead of living only for the Lord, to how great an extent do we live rather to ourselves! Truly the temple of our God needs to be purged again and again of the corruptions that prevail within it; and a more entire devotion of all that we have and are unto the Lord may justly be required at our hands.

I call you, then, to engage in the Lord’s work with your whole hearts.

We will suppose that you are built upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as the foundation which God has laid in Zion, Isaiah 28:16. 1 Corinthians 3:11. But there is much to be done by every one among you.

No man is contented with having laid a foundation; he proceeds to build upon it; and never considers his work as finished, until he has brought forth the top-stone. So it must be in this spiritual building which is begun within us; we must “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;” or, to keep to the figure which is more appropriate to our subject, we must come to Christ daily “as living stones, that we may be built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 2:4-6.” Our profiting ought to appear, so that every one who sees us may acknowledge that God is with us of a truth.

To this, then, would I call you; and this duty would I impress upon your minds, if ever you would honor God, or walk worthy of your high calling. And remember, I beg you, whose command this is; it is the command of the God of Heaven. Remember, too, whose work it is; it is the work of the God of Heaven. O! learn of a heathen to venerate the divine authority, and to exert yourselves to the uttermost to promote the divine glory.

And now let me call you to obey this imperial mandate:

1. In a way of personal reformation.

At the time of the Passover, the Jews swept every corner of their houses, in order to purge out from them every particle of leaven which might have escaped their more general and superficial search. And this is what we also are called to do. Alas! there are many evil dispositions which lurk within us, and which a superficial survey will not enable us to detect. Pride, envy, discontent, selfishness, sloth, are deeply implanted in our nature, and, along with many other corrupt propensities, spring up from time to time. O be diligent in “purging out this old leaven, that you may be a new lump;” since by profession “you are,” and in reality you ought to be, “unleavened!” And let spiritual sacrifices abound within you, even the “sacrifices of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”

2. In a way of ministerial exertion.

Here I come to that which the occasion peculiarly calls for, and which is more immediately referred to in my text. The efforts which are to be made for the restoring of God’s worship and service in the Jewish Church. Surely this is the duty of all; and it should be performed by us with all diligence.

In this, people of rank and influence ought to take the lead. Who can see a heathen monarch, the most powerful monarch in that day upon the face if the earth, thus interesting himself for his Jewish subjects, and not wish, that all monarchs, with “their counselors” (for all the counselors of Artaxerxes concurred with him in this act) were embarked in this holy cause, and exerted all their influence for the promotion of it?

In this the clergy, also, should be most distinguished. Ezra was what, in modern language, would be called a great divine; and he was in a post of honor at the court of Artaxerxes; but he did not satisfy himself with the luxury of strenuous idleness and learned ease; he sought to improve his talents and influence, for the honor of God, and the welfare of his people. Gladly, therefore, did he avail himself of the liberty accorded to him of going to Jerusalem for the purpose of remedying the evils which reigned there, and of establishing, on a more becoming scale, the ordinances of divine worship. It was an office of great labor; yet he willingly undertook it. Does not this show, how those who are distinguished for rank and learning among the clergy should employ their talents and influence for the Lord? Surely they could not render unto God a more acceptable service, or perform one more honorable to themselves, than by laboring, according to their respective abilities, for the advancement of God’s worship among the Jews.

The very first work of Ezra, too, may furnish them with a profitable hint; for he immediately sent forth people to find “ministers,” and “men of understanding,” who would co-operate with him in this labor of love, Ezra 8:16-18. And, truly, such instruments are wanting at this time; and, until such are found, we cannot hope for any great success in our undertakings. Let us “pray, then, to the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest;” for “the harvest truly is great; but the laborers are few.”

The readiness with which all the people of Babylon concurred in this good work shows how all classes of the community among ourselves should unite in the work that is now proposed to us. They contributed no less than eighty thousand pounds in silver, and one hundred and fifty thousand pounds in gold, besides a vast abundance of wheat, and wine, and oil, and salt, for the purpose of honoring God in his temple at Jerusalem. This was done, I say, by heathens, to honor the God of the Jews.

What, then, should not be done by us Christians, who profess to serve the God of the Jews, and to feel our obligations to him for all the wonders of redeeming love? Should not we, according to our power, be alike liberal? Should not all ranks and orders among us concur in this good work? And should not “our merchandise (whether in ‘wheat, or wine, or oil, or salt,’ or any other article,) be holiness to the Lord, Isaiah 23:18.”

Surely I shall not call upon you in vain. You will not allow the recommendations of an earthly monarch to be of more avail with his subjects than the edict of Almighty God with you. Ezra was authorized to “accept all the silver and the gold which he could find in all the province of Babylon” for this great object, and to “lay it out” to the best of his judgment “for the honor of his God, verses 16-18.” And whatever the liberality of the Christian public shall commit to the disposal of those who have the direction of this great concern will be expended, I trust, with economy and wisdom, in such a way as most to advance the glory of God, in the restoration and salvation of his outcast people.

Charles Simeon

Ezra 6:14

“So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.”

The purposes of God, whatever difficulties may seem to obstruct the execution of them, are all accomplished in due season. The deliverance of his people from Babylon, and the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, though in themselves the most improbable events, were effected with the most surprising facility. God moved the heart of Cyrus to give the orders that were requisite; and though the constructing of the temple was retarded by unforeseen obstacles—yet afterwards, through the exhortations of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, that laborious work was finished in the space of four years.

We shall offer a few remarks upon,

I. The building of the temple through the instrumentality of the fore-mentioned prophets.

Many difficulties obstructed the progress of the work.

Scarcely was the foundation laid, before an attempt was made to impede the work through the hypocrisy of pretended friends. The Samaritans offered to co-operate with the Jews in raising the intended fabric; but their design was to frustrate, rather than promote, the completion of it. And though this appears at first sight to be a strange mode of showing hostility—yet it is indeed most common, both in political contests, and in the concerns of religion. Many will profess to desire the same objects, and will offer to concur in prosecuting them to a certain point, who, if their offers were accepted, would only defeat the ends proposed. The Jews, however, aware of the snares thus laid for them, determined to prosecute their work alone, Ezra 4:1-3.

That device having failed, they were assaulted by the hostility of open enemies. Complaints were made against them to the governing powers, and they were represented as plotting to regain their liberty and independence. Their former endeavors to cast off the Babylonish yoke were referred to as proofs of their present disposition to rebel against the king of Persia, Ezra 4:4-16.

It is in this way that the servants of God have been assailed in all ages; our blessed Lord was calumniated as an enemy to Caesar; and his Apostles, as “movers of sedition;” and, if at any period of the Church an occasion can be found against the people of God, the record of it shall be brought against them in all future ages, and the evils of one party shall be made to characterize religion itself, and all who profess it; and a sense of duty and of regard for the public welfare shall be artfully pleaded as an apology for the measures, which in reality were dictated by nothing but a rooted aversion to the cause of God, Ezra 4:14.

This plan having too fatally succeeded, the Jews yielded to despondency, and for the space of fifteen years suspended the work in which they had engaged, Ezra 4:23-24. A spirit of indolence and supineness soon prevailed among them, and would have operated to a total dereliction of the work, if God had not sent his prophets to rouse them from their lethargy. And indeed this is the greatest obstacle to every good work, since the longer it continues, the more entire is the ascendant which it gains over us.

Through the preaching of the prophets, however, these difficulties were overcome.

The Prophet Haggai justly reproved them for attending so carefully to their own accommodation, while the temple and the service of their God were altogether forgotten; and bade them carefully to “consider their ways! Haggai 1:2-5; Haggai 1:7.”

The Prophet Zechariah also urged them to bear in mind how awfully their fathers had suffered for their neglect of God, Zechariah 1:1-6; and then, by a variety of images which he had seen in visions, encouraged them with assurances of success in their labors. Read attentively the four first chapters of Zechariah in this particular view.

Thus were the people stimulated to exertion. But behold, no sooner did they resume their work, than their enemies renewed their application to the government to issue again their mandate to discontinue it, Ezra 5:1-10. While they were occupied only in building ceiled houses for themselves, no notice was taken of them; but as soon as they began to serve their God, their enemies were up in arms!

And so it always is; zeal is approved in everything except true religion; but, as soon as ever it discovers itself in that, every effort will be made to repress it. This effort, however, was overruled, as similar efforts have often been, for the furtherance of the work it was intended to destroy. Compare Ezra 6:1-10 with Philippians 1:12; and in the short space of four years the edifice was completed, verse 15.

The history thus viewed leads us naturally to notice,

II. The subserviency of a faithful ministry to the erection of God’s spiritual temple.

The temple of old was a shadow of that spiritual temple which is erected for God in the hearts of men, “being built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, and Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, Ephesians 2:20-22.”

1. The erection of this spiritual temple is attended with the same difficulties.

Who that begins truly to surrender up his soul to God, does not find many impediments from pretended friends? They will profess to approve of religion, and will propose to go with us to a certain length, so that they may have the greater influence to keep us from “following the Lord fully,” and from serving him with our whole hearts.

If we are enabled to withstand their efforts, then we shall be assailed by open enemies, who will accuse us of evil designs against both the Church and State; and will call forth the power of the civil magistrate, or of our more immediate governors, to suppress our zeal. Frequently they will become our greatest foes, who by their relation to us ought rather to become our firmest protectors. And too often do timidity and sloth induce us to relax our efforts, until, if God does not by some special act of providence or grace awaken us, we lose the time for working, and, like the foolish virgins, experience forever the fatal effects of our remissness.

2. But the work of God in the soul is carried on and perfected by the same means.

God has established an order of men on purpose to carry on this spiritual building in the world, Ephesians 4:11-13. Paul and the other Apostles may be called “master-builders, 1 Corinthians 3:10;” but every pastor and teacher is engaged in the same work, according to the peculiar office that has been assigned to him. “To impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established,” and “to perfect that which is lacking in your faith,” and in every way to be “helpers of your joy,” is the great end of all our ministerial labors; and, if we would labor with effect, we must use the very same means as Haggai and Zechariah did.

We call you then, brethren, to “consider your ways!”

Consider what has hindered you hitherto; and what has been the consequence of intermitting your exertions in the service of your God. Have you not reason to blush and be confounded for the little progress that you have made in the divine life?

Consider too, as Zechariah so largely recommends, the promises of God. What assurances of success are given you by your gracious God, if only you will put your hands to the work in good earnest, “Up then, and be doing,” every one of you; and “your God will be with you.” Do not yield to discouragements of any kind; for “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” And beware how you give way to carnal ease and indolence; surely it ill befits you to be so intent, as most of us are, on earthly things, while the spiritual edifice advances so slowly. Let all inquire, what yet remains to be done in their own hearts, and, what may be done for God in the world at large; and let us, by “coming daily and hourly to Christ as the living foundation-stone, seek, as living stones, to be built up into a spiritual house, 1 Peter 2:4-5,” that shall be “the habitation of God, through the Spirit,” forever and ever.

Charles Simeon

Ezra 3:11-13

With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: “He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”

To put a fanciful interpretation on any part of God’s blessed Word is highly inexpedient; and to found a doctrine upon any such interpretation would be injudicious in the extreme. But certain it is, that there are many explanations given us by the Apostles, which we would never have admitted, if given by uninspired men; such as the termination of the Levitical priesthood, as deduced from Abraham’s giving to Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils which he had taken; and the reservation of God’s inheritance to regenerate people only, as deduced from Abraham’s repudiation of Hagar and her son Ishmael. Where these things are explained by the inspired writers, we may follow without fear; but in any interpretations of our own, the utmost self-distrust befits us.

These observations I make, lest, in the passage before us, I should be misunderstood as intimating that the construction put upon it was really designed by the event itself. I am far from intending to assert that. I merely bring forth the subject as both curious in itself, and calculated to convey important instruction to our minds, if judiciously and temperately considered. That an exuberance of joy and of sorrow should be excited at once by the same event, is undoubtedly a curious fact; and it will be profitable to show you,

I. What there was at that time to call forth such strong and widely different emotions.

The Jews, after their return from Babylon, had just laid the foundation of the second temple, and this was:

1. To some an occasion of exalted joy.

It was not the mere circumstance that a magnificent building was about to be raised, but the thought of the use to which that building was to be appropriated, that proved to them such a source of joy. The erection of it was justly regarded by them as a restoration of God’s favor to them, after the heavy judgments which he had inflicted on them during their captivity in Babylon. In this light they had been taught to consider their return to their native land; and the very song which they now sang, had, at the commencement of their captivity, been provided for them by the Prophet Jeremiah, as proper to be sung on that occasion, Jeremiah 33:10-11, as compared with the words immediately preceding the text. This event opened to them a prospect of again worshiping Jehovah according to all the forms prescribed to them by the Mosaic ritual.

In reference to this, also, the same song had been provided for them by David; in singing which they could not but “make a joyful noise unto the Lord, Psalm 100:1-5.” Nor could they fail to view it as tending to advance the honor of their God; in which view pre-eminently it must of necessity fill them with most exalted joy. As the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion, so this event also called for songs and acclamations from every creature under Heaven, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and those who dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he comes to judge the earth; with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity!” Compare 1 Chronicles 16:8-10; 1 Chronicles 16:31-34 with Psalm 98:1-9.

I think, with such views of the event before them, the people could not but shout for joy; and “if they had been silent, the very stones would have cried out against them!”

2. To others, an occasion of the deepest sorrow.

Commentators have condemned this sorrow, as expressive of discontent; and as showing that the people so affected did in reality betray an ungrateful spirit, and “despise the day of small things, Zechariah 4:10.”

But I am far from thinking such an interpretation of their conduct just. The people who manifested such pungent grief were “the priests, and Levites, and the chief of the fathers who were aged men, that had seen the former temple.” It is true, they wept, because they well knew how infinitely this structure must fall below the former in point of magnificence. Whether it was of smaller dimensions than the former, we do not know; but as, of course, it could not be so splendidly furnished as the former temple was—so, of necessity, it must lack many things which constituted the glory of that edifice, and could never be replaced. The Shechinah, the bright cloud, the emblem of God himself, was forever removed. The ark was lost, along with the copy of the Law which had been preserved in it. The Urim and Thummim too, by which God had been accustomed to communicate to his people the knowledge of his will, was irrecoverably gone; and the fire which had descended from Heaven was extinct, so that they must henceforth use in all their sacrifices nothing but common fire.

And what but their sins had brought upon them all these calamities? Would it have been right, then, in these people to lose all recollection of their former mercies, and of the sins through which they had been bereaved of them; and to be so transported with their present blessings as not to bewail their former iniquities? No! I think that the mixture of feeling was precisely such as the occasion called for; and if there appeared a preponderance on the side of grief, it was only such as the glorified saints in Heaven are expressing continually in the very presence of their God; for while singing, with all their powers, “Salvation to God and to the Lamb,” they are all prostrate on their faces with self-abasing shame, and casting their crowns down before the throne, from a conscious unworthiness of the honor conferred upon them.

But I think that the Prophet Ezekiel, and I may add too the experience of all the most eminent saints that ever lived, will put this matter in its true point of view. By Ezekiel, God says, “Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD. Ezekiel 16:60-63.”

And Job, Isaiah, Paul, yes, every real saint, in proportion as he is humbled before God—evinces precisely the feeling which was here so strongly marked; they loath themselves in proportion as they are favored and honored by God, Job 40:3-4. Isaiah 6:5. 1 Timothy 1:12-13.

That this subject is not uninteresting to us, will appear, while I show,

II. How far similar emotions befit us at the present day.

Certainly there is at this time great occasion for joy.

We are not, indeed, constructing a material temple for the Lord; but the whole nation is engaged in endeavors to erect a spiritual temple to him throughout the world. Never was there a period, since the apostolic age, when the exertions were so general, so diversified, so diffusive. To spread the blessed Word of God, and to send to every nation under Heaven those who shall impart the knowledge of it to the unenlightened, whether of Jews or Gentiles, seems at this time the one great labor of all who love and fear God. And is this no ground of joy?

But to come home more nearly to ourselves: Is there no reason to rejoice in what, we trust, is going on among us? If the Gospel is “glad tidings of great joy unto all people,” is it no cause for joy that it is brought to our ears; and that it is effectual among us, as it has been throughout the whole world, to convert men to God, and to save many souls from eternal destruction?

But, not to dwell on matters of general concern, let us bring it home to our own business and bosoms: Are there not among you, who hear me this day, some at least who have been “turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God?” Yes, I trust, there are here present some at least, who, having been taken from the quarry by the great Master Builder, are now “as living stones built up a spiritual house,” to be “the habitation of God, through the Spirit,” forever and ever. Do I speak too much if I say, that not only those individuals themselves, but all who are interested in their welfare, have reason to burst forth into songs of praise, as loud and fervent as those that were uttered on the occasion which we have been considering?

If even the very angels before the throne of God are not so occupied with contemplating the divine glory, but that they have derived a great accession to their joy from their views of every individual among you that is truly converted to God—then surely we, who are all looking for the same salvation, and hoping to be partakers of it, have reason to rejoice.

Yet is there among us abundant occasion for grief also.

The people whose anguish of heart forced from them such bitter lamentations, were those who remembered the former temple, which had far exceeded in glory every edifice which the world had ever seen.

Now, if we suppose the Apostle Paul, who witnessed the state of God’s Church in its primitive and purest age; if we suppose him, I say, to come down in the midst of us—then what would be his feelings at the present hour? That he would not “despise the day of small things,” or be indifferent about the salvation of ever so few, we are well assured; but what would he say to the state of this parish, this town and neighborhood, or of the individuals who are most looked up to in the midst of us as professing and adorning the faith of Christ? Would not his joy be mixed with sorrow? Would he, recollecting what pure Christianity is, and what the preached Gospel produced in his day, and what advantages we have enjoyed? Would he, I say, be satisfied with what he saw? Would he not rather burst out into floods of tears? Yes, as much as many are rejoicing at what exists among us, would not his lamentations equal in loudness and intensity the joys that are expressed by others in our behalf? I think that no one who knows what the Apostle was and what he himself is, can doubt of this.

On the occasion referred to in my text, the noise of the joy and of the sorrow could not be distinguished from each other, by reason of the intensity of both; and I am well persuaded, that, if an assembly of primitive saints were at this moment blended with us, they would equal in their wailings the joys which any of us feel, or which others can feel in our behalf.

It was with “weeping” that Paul contemplated many of the Philippian converts, Philippians 3:18; and for many of the Galatian Church he “agonized as in the pangs of childbirth, until Christ should be more perfectly formed in them, Galatians 4:19.” And was this from a lack of charity, or from a contempt of piety in its lower stages of existence? No, but from love, and from a desire that God should be honored to the uttermost, wherever his Gospel came, and wherever its blessings were experienced in the soul.

See then,

1. What, above all things, should interest our souls.

I do not say that anyone should be indifferent about the things relating to this present world; but I say, that the interests of piety in general, and in our own souls in particular, ought to swallow up, as it were, every other concern. As the rebuilding of the temple filled the minds of those at that time engaged in it, so nothing under Heaven should transport us with joy like the establishment of Christ’s kingdom in the world and in the soul. On the other hand, nothing should produce in us such acute sensations of grief, as a consciousness that God is not glorified in the midst of us as he ought to be.

Truly, it is a shame to the Christian world, that they feel so little on these subjects, while every vanity of time and sense is sufficient to excite in them the strongest emotions. But, Beloved, learn, I beg you, what ought to be the state of your minds in relation to the cause of God; and never cease to cry unto God, until you have obtained grace to serve him as it befits those who have received saving mercy at his hands.

2. What use we should make of our knowledge and experience.

Many would think that the unmixed joy of the younger classes was more befitting than the grief of the elder. But if, as I suppose, the cries of the elder were a mixture of joy and sorrow arising from a more enlarged view of the whole matter, a decided preference must be given to their feelings above those of their younger brethren.

It is not the fruit which exhibits the brightest colors that will prove the most grateful to the taste, but that which, under the influence of warmer suns, has acquired somewhat of a darker and more mellowed tint. So, in like manner, it is not so much an unqualified effusion of joy that is pleasing to the Most High God, as that which is moderated with shame, and tempered with contrition.

In truth, as long as we are in this world, we must have occasion for shame and sorrow; it will be time enough to lay them aside, when we have arrived within the portals of Heaven. There our happiness will be without alloy; as the prophet says, “We shall have gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!” Cultivate, then, my brethren, this depth of feeling, this tenderness of spirit, this humility of mind. Never forget your great and multiplied transgressions; but “walk softly before your God” in the remembrance of them; contented to “sow in tears, that you may reap in joy;” and to “humble yourselves now, that you may be exalted in due time.”

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 36:15-16

“The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.”

In speaking of the divine perfections, it is common to represent them all as infinite, because they do not admit of any increase; but perhaps it would be more correct to speak of them as limited, because they all so limit each other as to produce one harmonious agency in all their operations; every perfection being exercised so far, and so far only, as is consistent with the glory of the whole Deity.

Justice, for instance, never exerts itself to the disparagement of mercy. Nor does mercy ever triumph over the rights of justice. Neither does patience interpose for the arresting of judgment, any longer than consists with the claims of holiness; as soon as ever patience’s protracted influence would reflect dishonor on God as the Moral Governor of the universe, it recedes, and leaves the sword of vengeance to execute its heavenly commission.

The truth of this statement fully appears from the words before us; from which we are naturally led to notice,

I. God’s patience exercised.

God’s patience was exercised to a most astonishing degree towards his people of old.

The Scripture frequently speaks of God, not only as sending messengers to his people, but as “rising early” and sending them. This intimates, that as soon as ever they went astray, he commissioned his servants to reclaim them. Yes, many hundred years before the final execution of his judgments upon them, he forewarned them how he would proceed, and cautioned them against driving him to such extremities, Leviticus 26:14-39 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68.

When these warnings were disregarded, he sent them prophets, to bring these things to their remembrance, and to plead with them in his name. Sometimes he raised up prophets for particular occasions; at other times he continued them for many rears in their office, in order by any means to turn the people from their sins. Full of “compassion towards his people,” and averse to forsake the land which he had given them for a “dwelling-place,” God bore with all their frowardness and perverseness, “many a time turning away his anger,” when he might justly have broken forth against them, and made them monuments of his everlasting indignation! Psalm 78:38; Psalm 106:13-48.

But how did they requite his tender mercies? We are told that, “They mocked his messengers, and despised his Words, and killed his prophets.” Even against Moses himself did their resentment frequently burn, insomuch that on one occasion they were ready to stone him! Exodus 17:4. Their prophets in every successive age were treated with all manner of indignities, threatened, imprisoned, martyred, according as the wrath of their rulers was permitted to prevail! “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” said ,Stephen in Acts 7:52; and our blessed Lord, to comfort his disciples under the trials which they would meet with, reminded them, that “so had the prophets been persecuted, who were before them Matthew 5:12.”

In like manner is God’s patience exercised in reference to us.

God is yet sending his ambassadors to us, not merely to reprove and warn, or to encourage us with a hope of temporal rewards, as he did to the Jews—but to offer us redemption through the blood of his dear Son, and to beseech us to accept of reconciliation with him, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. And such is his “compassion towards us,” that he cannot endure the thought of giving us up, as long as a hope remains of converting us to himself, Ezekiel 33:11. Jeremiah 13:27. Hosea 11:8.

And what return do we make to God? Do we not act precisely as the Jews before us did? There is no faithful messenger that addresses us in Jehovah’s name, but we call him an extremist; however temperate and kind, and reasonable his exhortations may be. See particularly the temperate message sent by Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 30:6-10, we mock and deride him as “a babbler, Acts 17:18. Ezekiel 20:40,” “a deceiver, John 7:12,” and “a fellow that ought not to be tolerated, Acts 22:22; Acts 24:5.” Our blessed Lord himself; who “spoke as never man spoke,” was accounted a madman and a demoniac! John 10:20; And every faithful servant of God, from his day even to the present hour, has been made an object, though not of equal—yet certainly of similar, reproach.

One would suppose that men, with the sacred volume in their hands, seeing how the prophets and Apostles were all treated, would avoid treading in the steps of former persecutors; but the enmity of the human heart against God is the same as ever; and the messages of God are therefore treated with the same contempt as ever. If there is any difference as to the mode in which that enmity betrays itself, it is owing to the excellence of our laws, and not to any superiority in us above the Jews. Our dispositions are the same as theirs, and our abuse of God’s tender mercies is the same.

In the sequel of our text we see,

II. God’s patience exhausted.

He was at last constrained to execute upon them his threatened vengeance!

After bearing with their frowardness many hundred years, his wrath against them was kindled, and he gave them up into the hands of their enemies, verses 17-21. Every effort for their preservation had been tried in vain, and “no remedy now remained;” the people therefore were sent into captivity; and both their city and temple were destroyed.

Thus also will God do with respect to us.

If we go on incessantly “grieving the Holy Spirit,” we shall at last “quench” his sacred motions, Ephesians 4:30. 1 Thessalonians 5:19. There is a time beyond which God will bear with us no longer, Matthew 23:37-38. There is a day of grace wherein he will be found, Luke 19:41-44; an accepted time in which salvation may be secured by us, 2 Corinthians 6:2. Isaiah 55:6. There is a time when he will say, “Let them alone! Hosea 4:17;” “Let their eyes be blinded and their hearts be hardened! Acts 28:25-27;” “though they cry I will not hear, though they make many prayers I will not regard them! Proverbs 1:24-31.”

Doubtless if a person were truly penitent, he would be heard and accepted at the last hour; but it is God alone who can give repentance; and, if we continue obstinately to resist his calls, he will cease to strive with us, Genesis 6:3, and will give us over to final impenitence! Psalm 81:11-12. This he has done in unnumbered instances; and this he warns us to expect at his hands, “He who being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy! Proverbs 29:1.”

ADDRESS.

God speaks to men by his Word and ministers at this day, as truly as ever he did either by Prophets or Apostles; and our word, as far as it is agreeable to the Scriptures of Truth—is to be “received, not as the word of man, but as the Word of God! 1 Thessalonians 2:13;” and, if any man “despises it, he despises not man, but God! 1 Thessalonians 4:8.” Happy would it be if this matter were duly considered; for certainly there are many of a proud and contemptuous spirit, who instead of “trembling at the Word,” as they ought, Isaiah 66:2, and “humbling themselves before the ministers” of Jehovah verse 12, make light of all they hear, Matthew 22:5, and turn it to derision! Jeremiah 20:7-8.

But to such God says, “Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier! Isaiah 28:22.” There is great danger lest they “be held with the cords of their own sins, Proverbs 5:22,” and be given up to their own delusions! Isaiah 66:4. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

On the other hand, let not any imagine that an attachment to faithful ministers, or a love to the ordinances as dispensed by them, will necessarily prove us to be in a state of acceptance with God. For Ezekiel’s hearers were delighted with his discourses, while yet they were by no means conformed to the precepts delivered by him! Ezekiel 33:31-32.

Inquire then whether you are really obedient to the Gospel:

receiving Christ as the gift of God to your souls,

relying on him as your only hope,

rejoicing in him as your all-sufficient Savior,

and devoting yourselves to him in all holy obedience.

The tree must be judged of by its fruits alone. If your fruits are not yet such as might be wished, apply the “remedy”—go to Christ for the remission of your sins, and seek from him the gift of his Holy Spirit; then shall the Gospel have its due effect, and be “the power of God to the salvation of your souls.”

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 34:27

“Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.”

It is scarcely to be conceived how great a benefit has arisen to the Christian cause from the invention of printing. The Word of God is that whereby the work of salvation is principally carried on in the souls of men; and the multiplying of copies of the Holy Scriptures, in such a form as to be conveniently portable, and at such a price as to be within the reach of the poor—has tended more than any other thing to keep alive the interests of religion, both in the hearts of individuals, and in the community at large.

If we look back to the condition of the Jews in the time of King Josiah, we shall find it truly deplorable. Through the influence of the two preceding kings, the very remembrance of God’s law was almost obliterated from the minds of men. Every king was, by God’s appointment, to copy it for himself, Deuteronomy 17:18; yet not a copy of it was to be seen in the land; so that if God himself had not interposed in his providence to raise up to the Jews a pious king, and by him to bring back the people to some sense of their duty—it is probable that the whole nation would before long have been immersed in heathen darkness!

From the traces of divine knowledge which yet remained by means of the temple and its furniture, and through the operation of God’s Spirit on his soul, Josiah was induced to repair the temple, in order to the restoring of God’s worship there; and Hilkiah the priest, while executing his orders, found a copy (perhaps the original copy) of the Law, which had been lost amidst the rubbish and ruins of the place.

On hearing its contents, Josiah was filled with great anguish, and sent to Huldah the prophetess to know whether the judgments which God had denounced against that apostate nation might by any means be averted; in reply to which he was informed that the calamities would surely come upon them; but that, in consideration of his penitence, the awful period would not arrive until he himself should be removed to the eternal world.

From the words before us we shall take occasion to show,

I. What state of mind the threatenings of God should produce in us.

The conduct of Josiah on this occasion will serve to guide our thoughts.

1. The threatenings of God should produce in us a fear of God’s judgments.

If men can sneer “at God’s judgments, Psalm 10:5,” it is because they have never considered how tremendous they are. Let any man once think seriously of “dwelling with everlasting burnings” and we will defy him not to tremble, like Felix, Acts 24:25 and Belshazzar, Daniel 5:5-6. See also Isaiah 33:14. See also Mark 9:43-48 and Revelation 14:10-11.

Josiah “tore his clothes” with horror, when he heard only of temporal calamities; how much more therefore ought we to fear, when we hear of the miseries that will be endured in “the lake that burns with fire and brimstone!”

2. The threatenings of God should produce in us a sorrow of heart for those sins against which his judgments are denounced.

We are ready to acknowledge that those who have committed heinous sins should repent of their iniquities. But we should remember that the judgments of God are also denounced against pride, unbelief, impenitence, worldly-mindedness, and numberless other secret sins which are overlooked, or even commended, by the world. For these therefore must we “weep, and humble ourselves before God,” yes, and loath ourselves for them in dust and ashes.

3. The threatenings of God should produce in us a turning unto God in holy and unreserved obedience.

This is the true test of sincerity; fears and sorrows are of little avail, if they do not produce a radical change of heart and life.

Josiah, from the first moment that he heard the threatenings of God, set himself to accomplish a national reformation, and prosecuted it with zeal to his dying-hour. Thus must we be zealous for our God. We must not pretend to be sorry for our sins, and still continue to live in them; but we must put away the accursed thing, whatever it is, and devote ourselves to God without reserve. It is only he who “confesses and forsakes his sins, who shall find mercy, Proverbs 28:13.”

To promote such a state of mind among, you, we proceed to show,

II. The acceptableness of sincere repentance to God.

The message sent to Josiah sufficiently marks this. God assured him that his prayer was heard in consideration of his penitence. But that such a state of mind is at all times acceptable to God, will more clearly appear, if we consider that,

1. By sincere repentance, all the perfections of God are glorified.

Repentance is often called “a giving glory to God, Joshua 7:19. Jeremiah 13:16;” and the propriety of this expression is evident; for, exactly as the impenitent man pours contempt on all the divine perfections, denying the power and majesty, the justice and holiness, the love and mercy, the truth and faithfulness of God—so, on the contrary, the penitent man brings glory to them all, inasmuch as he acknowledges his liableness to the divine displeasure, and his ardent desire to obtain a saving interest in the promises of the Gospel. If then God is concerned for his own glory, he cannot but be pleased with those who, in his appointed way, are laboring to advance it.

2. To sincere repentance, all the promises of God are made.

Many are the judgments denounced against the stout-hearted; but in all the inspired volume there is not one word to “break a bruised reed.” On the contrary, the weary and heavy-laden are invited to come to Christ without any distinction on account of the particular sins with which they are burdened. God assures the contrite soul, while it is yet trembling at his Word, that he will look upon it with peculiar pleasure and delight, Isaiah 66:2. And that though a man’s conduct may have been such as to fix indelible disgrace upon him in the world, God will never despise him, provided he is of a broken and contrite spirit, Psalm 51:17.

Not even the transient humiliation of Ahab was allowed to pass without some favorable regard, 1 Kings 21:29; much less shall that repentance be overlooked which is sincere and permanent, Psalm 34:18.

It is indeed not for any merit that there is in our repentance, but for the merits of Jesus Christ, that we shall find acceptance; nevertheless all true penitents, and none other, shall be saved by him.

Inferences:

1. How desirable it is to be well-acquainted with the Holy Scriptures!

The Word of God denounces vengeance against many things that are thought innocent among men; nor will our ignorance of these threatenings avert or delay the execution of them. Let us then study the sacred oracles with an express reference to ourselves, that we may know what God says in them respecting us. Perhaps we may find many passages, which, when applied to our hearts, will give us just occasion to mourn like the pious monarch before us. It is far better to know the full extent of our sin and guilt, and thereby to be stimulated to repentance, than through ignorance of our state to continue impenitent, until the wrath of God shall come upon us to the uttermost!

2. How enviable is the condition of a true penitent!

Every prayer of a real penitent is “heard” of God. Let him “open his mouth ever so wide, God will fill it! Isaiah 55:7.” Let him but plead what the Lord Jesus has done and suffered for him, and God will never cast out his prayer. Surely then there is no man so truly blessed as he who “walks humbly with his God.” Indeed our Lord himself repeatedly tells us this, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted, Matthew 5:3-4.”

But it may be thought that such an abject state of mind would be unsuitable to a man of power and opulence. Josiah, the Jewish monarch, however entertained no such vain conceit; he judged it not unfitting even his high station to feel, yes to manifest also to all around him, a fear of God.

Let all of us then, the rich as well as the poor, seek to have “a tender heart.” Let us beg of God “to take away from us the heart of stone, and to give us hearts of flesh,” well knowing, that the more exquisite our sensibility is with respect to sin, the more pleasing will be our state before God!

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 33:10-13

“The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.”

In histories written by men, our attention is continually directed to second causes; but in the inspired records we see every event traced up to the first Great Cause of all. The rise and fall of empires or of individuals are equally appointed by God for the accomplishment of his own gracious purposes, and for the manifestation of his own glory. However casual or contingent any circumstances may appear to be, they are as much under his control, and as certainly fulfill his will, as the stated courses of the heavenly bodies.

In confirmation of this, we need go no further than to the words before us; in which we see,

I. The means by which Manasseh was brought to repentance.

King Manasseh was perhaps the most wicked of the human race. He was piously educated, yet he totally eradicated from his own mind, and from the bosoms of his people, all remembrance of the instructions which his father Hezekiah had given them.

2 Chronicles 33:2-6 “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger!” Compare with 2 Kings 21.

To reclaim Manasseh, God had sent many holy men and prophets to warn and exhort him; but “neither he nor his people would hearken unto them.”

At last, determined to overcome him, and to make him an everlasting monument of grace and mercy, God stirred up the king of Assyria against him. “Therefore the LORD brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive in manacles, bound him with fetters, and brought him to Babylon! 2 Chronicles 33:11.”

However the king of Assyria might be actuated by ambition or avarice, he was certainly no more than an instrument by whom God himself acted! Compare Psalm 17:13 and Isaiah 10:5-6; Isaiah 10:15 with 2 Kings 24:2-4; and caused Manasseh to be vanquished, to be dragged from the thicket where he had hidden himself, 1 Samuel 13:6, and to be carried as a poor miserable captive in fetters to Babylon.

This prevailed, when all other means had been used in vain. And is it not by these means that God has often subdued, and yet subdues many stout-hearted sinners to himself! 2 Samuel 24:10; 2 Samuel 24:17. How many perhaps among us must say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; for before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept your word! Psalm 119:67; Psalm 119:71; Psalm 119:75.”

We are further informed concerning,

II. The way in which Manasseh’s repentance manifested itself.

Affliction does not necessarily produce repentance. Ahaz trespassed yet more in his distress, 2 Chronicles 28:22. The wicked in Hell, so far from being softened by their pains, blaspheme their God while they gnaw their tongues in anguish! Revelation 16:10. But in Manasseh, God’s afflicting rod was effectual, through the grace of God, to bring him to repentance. In his prosperity he was hardened, Jeremiah 22:21, and would not hear, Zechariah 7:11-12; Jeremiah 5:3; but “in his affliction he besought the Lord.”

Two things more especially are noticed, “he humbled himself greatly;” and “he prayed unto God” earnestly. He called his sinful ways to remembrance and confessed his guilt, and justified God in all that had come upon him, and in all that ever should come upon him, declaring it was far “less than his iniquities deserved.” Then he poured out his soul in fervent prayer, “offering his supplications with strong crying and tears,” and wrestling, as it were, with God, to obtain a blessing. His prayer is repeatedly noticed, verse 18, 19, surely on account of its fervor.

Thus will repentance show itself wherever it is found; whether we be brought to it by afflictions, or not. Yes, whether we have committed such wickedness as Manasseh, or not—these will be the leading features of our experience, if we are truly penitent. The first mark of Paul’s repentance was, “Behold, he is praying!” and what his thoughts of himself were, we may judge from his calling himself “the chief of sinners.”

Inquire then, beloved brethren, whether you have ever been brought to humble yourselves before God; and that not a little, but “greatly?” Inquire, whether your cries to God are humble, fervent, constant, believing? Consider, “that without repentance you must all perish;” and that this alone will warrant you to conclude your repentance to be genuine and “saving.”

Its efficacy will appear from,

III. The blessed outcome of Manasseh’s severe trials and his subsequent repentance.

As horrible as Manasseh’s iniquities had been, they did not prevent his prayers from coming up with acceptance before God.

Behold the outcome of Manasseh’s repentance:

First, in respect to his TEMPORAL comfort! God restored him again to the possession of his kingdom. Just so, it may be that innumerable judgments would be removed from men, provided the offenders were duly humbled by means of them, and sincerely repented. We do not say that God will always remove the afflictions he has sent, even though we should be ever so much humbled under them; because he may see that the continuance of judgments is as necessary for our welfare as the first sending of them was; but he will convert them into blessings, and make them subservient to our best interests.

Next, observe the outcome of Manasseh’s repentance in respect to his SPIRITUAL advantage. He neither knew God, nor concerned himself about him in the day of his prosperity; but now he “knew that Jehovah was God.”

Manasseh saw that he was a just and holy God, yes, a God of truth also, who sooner or later would punish sin. Manasseh felt that he was a powerful God, “able to abase those who walk in pride,” and able also to deliver those whose situation was most desperate. Above all, Manasseh knew experimentally that God was a God of infinite mercy and compassion, since he had attended to his prayer, and given mercy to his guilty soul.

Under this conviction Manasseh strove to the last hour of his life, to remedy all the evil he had ever done, and to glorify his God, as much as he had before dishonored him.

And did ever anyone repent, and not find his repentance outcome in clearer manifestations of God’s love to his soul, and in a richer experience of his power and grace? No! As long as the world stands, “God will comfort all who mourn in Zion, and give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!”

We may learn then from hence,

1. The importance of submitting to God’s Word.

The contempt poured on God’s messengers was one principal means of bringing down those judgments on Manasseh. And does not God speak to us by his ministers, and notice how we receive the Word? And will not that “Word be a savor of death unto us, if it is not a savor of life unto life?” Lay this to heart, all you who have heard the Word in vain; and know that if you slight the message which God sends you by his ministers, he will consider you as pouring contempt upon Himself! 1 Thessalonians 4:8.

2. The use and benefit of afflictions.

Afflictions, of whatever kind they are, proceed from God! He intends then for our good, Hosea 5:15. Hebrews 12:10. They have a voice, and it is our duty to “hear the rod, and Him who appointed it! Micah 6:9.” Do not quarrel then with any afflictions that God may send to you, but receive them as tokens of God’s love, and as messengers of his mercy!

“The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God! 2 Chronicles 33:10-13.”

What reason had Manasseh to adore his God for the loss of an empire; yes, for cruel captivity, for galling fetters, and a loathsome dungeon! Without them he would now be in chains of darkness and the prison of Hell!

Just so, your trials probably are no less necessary for your eternal welfare. Improve them then for the humbling of your soul, and for the furtherance of your everlasting salvation.

3. The wonderful mercy of our God.

Who would have thought that such a heinous sinner as Manasseh could ever have obtained mercy? Yet God has pardoned him, and set him forth as a pattern, in order to magnify the exceeding riches of his own grace!

Let none then despair. If we were as vile as Manasseh himself, we should go to God with an assurance that he would not cast us out, provided we were truly contrite, and sought for mercy through the sin-atoning death of Jesus.

On the other hand, let us not presume upon this mercy, and go on in sin under the hope that we shall at last repent and be saved. Today God calls us. Tomorrow the door of mercy may be shut. May the Lord grant that we may now repent like Manasseh, and henceforth like him devote ourselves entirely to the service of our God!

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 32:31

“God left Hezekiah to test him and to know everything that was in his heart!”

There is no character so excellent but there is some “blot” to be found in it. The most illustrious saints that ever lived, not only manifested their weakness and sinfulness, but showed themselves defective in those very graces for which they were most eminent.

We must not wonder therefore that king Hezekiah, who was in some respects as distinguished a character as any that either preceded or followed him, became at last a monument of human frailty! It is probable that the peculiar manifestations of the divine favor towards him had excited an undue degree of self-delight in his mind. God therefore saw fit to test him, and, “in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who had sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land,” God left him to the natural workings of his own heart. The consequence was such as might be apprehended, he gave way to pride and vanity, and brought on himself the divine displeasure.

The words which we have read, will naturally lead us to observe, that,

I. Until we are tested, we have very little idea of the evil of our hearts!

Though we feel no difficulty in admitting that we are sinners, yet we can by no means acknowledge the truth of the sinful representations given of us in the Scriptures. If we were told that we are all by nature haters both of God and man, Romans 1:30; Romans 8:7; Titus 3:3—we would consider it as a libel upon human nature.

When we read the history of the Jews, we are ready to think that they were incomparably more perverse than we would ever be; though if we had been in their situation, there is no reason at all to believe that we would have shown ourselves in any respect more obedient than they.

If we have never fallen into any gross sin, we imagine that our moral conduct has arisen from the superior goodness of our hearts; and we suppose that we have no disposition to those heinous iniquities which are practiced by others. We are not aware that, if we had been subjected to the same trials as others without the restraining grace of God, we would have fallen like them.

How was king Hazael shocked when he was told what enormities he would commit! “Is your servant a dog, that he should commit this monstrous thing!” Yet no sooner was he tried, than he did commit all the enormities that had been foretold.

Just so, if we were told that one of us would become a thief, another an adulterer, and another a murderer, we would revolt at the idea as though we were not capable of such atrocious wickedness. But the more we know of our own hearts, the more we shall be ready to say with David, “My heart shows me the wickedness of the ungodly.” See also Mark 7:21-23 and Jeremiah 17:9. Yes, our heart is a repository of all the wickedness that is committed upon earth!

II. If God left us to ourselves, we would soon give some awful proof of our depravity.

That any are preserved from great enormities, is owing to the providence and the grace of God. It has pleased God to encompass them, so that they should be screened from any violent temptation; or else he has endued them with a more abundant measure of his grace, whereby they have been enabled to withstand the tempter. Who that sees how others have fallen, will ascribe his own steadfastness to his own goodness? We need only set before us those deplorable monuments of human depravity: David, Solomon, and Peter—and we shall need nothing more to enforce that admonition, “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” We perhaps may have maintained a good conduct for a considerable time; but can we not look back to some moment wherein we have been left by God, to follow the bent of our own corrupt hearts? We must be lamentably ignorant of what has passed within us, if we have not long ago learned our need to use that prayer, “Hold me up, and I shall be safe!”

Yet we must not view such proofs of depravity merely as insulated and detached acts,

III. For one single act of wickedness, if duly considered, will serve as a clue to find out all the iniquity of our hearts.

God did not design to show Hezekiah one imperfection only, but “all that was in his heart,” and his fall was well calculated to give him this knowledge; for in it he might see, not only his pride and creature-confidence, but:

his ingratitude for the mercies he had received,

his unconcern about the souls of those who came to visit him,

his indifference about the honor of his God,

and innumerable other evils which were comprehended in his sin.

Just so, if we will take any one sin of our lives, and make use of it as a light to search the dark corners of our hearts—we shall find out a most astonishing mass of wickedness that has hitherto escaped our observation!

Take, for instance, any single act of pride, anger, lewdness, covetousness, or even deadness in prayer—what a scene will it open to our view!

What unmindfulness of the divine presence!

What unconcern about our own souls!

What preferring of carnal ease or worldly vanities to the happiness and glory of Heaven!

What contempt of that adorable Savior who shed his blood for us!

Alas! alas! We would never come to an end, if we would attempt to declare all the evil in our hearts which by such a scrutiny we might discover.

This then we would most earnestly recommend as the means of becoming acquainted with our hearts. Let us not consider any sin as though it were unconnected with any other; but rather regard every sin as a fruit of an immense tree, or as a little stream flowing from an inexhaustible fountain!

Application.

From this dereliction of Hezekiah, and his fall consequent upon it, we may further learn,

1. Thankfulness to God for the preservation we have experienced.

None of us have perpetrated one thousandth part of the iniquity which we would have committed—if God had not restrained us by his providence and grace! Let us acknowledge that by the grace of God we are what we are, and say, “Not unto us, not unto us, but unto your name be the praise!” And let our dependence be altogether on God, that he who has kept us hitherto, will “preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom.”

2. Tenderness and compassion towards those who have fallen.

We are apt to look on a fallen brother with indignation and contempt; but if we considered our own extreme sinfulness more attentively, and how often we would have fallen if outward temptations had sufficiently concurred with our sinful dispositions—we shall find less readiness to cast a stone at others. We should rather see our own picture in their depravity, and extend that compassion to them which in similar circumstances we would desire to meet with at their hands.

3. Vigilance against the assaults of our great adversary.

Satan combines in himself the subtlety of a serpent, and the strength of a lion. Well therefore does the Apostle say to us, “Be sober, be vigilant.” If we do not watch against his assaults, we, in fact, tempt him to tempt us! Besides, we cannot expect that God should preserve us, if we do not endeavor to preserve ourselves. It will be to little purpose to pray that God will not lead us into temptation, if we presumptuously rush into it of our own accord! Let us then shun every occasion of sin!

Let us avoid the company, the amusements, the books, yes the very sights that may lead us into sin!

Let us commit ourselves continually to God’s care and protection; and beg of him never to leave us or forsake us.

In this way we may hope to experience his unremitting care, and to be “kept by his power through faith unto everlasting salvation!”

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 32:26

“Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart.”

The holiest of men are liable to fall through temptation, but they will deeply bewail any sin into which they have been betrayed.

Hezekiah was a man of very distinguished piety 2 Kings 20:3; but he was not sufficiently aware that his piety and integrity were the effect of divine grace, and not of human power. God therefore left him for a moment to the influence of his own heart, verse 31. In consequence of this he soon gave a proof of his inherent depravity; but, on discovering his sin, he instantly humbled himself for it before God.

We shall show,

I. What were the grounds of Hezekiah’s humiliation.

The sin committed by him does not in human estimation appear great.

The princes of Babylon sent to congratulate him on his recovery; he received them with all the kindness and courtesy that he could express, and showed them “everything in his dominions” that could afford them entertainment, 2 Kings 20:13.

But his conduct was exceeding sinful in the sight of God, for in it:

1. Hezekiah sought his own glory.

Hezekiah evidently thought of nothing else at that time. He wished to show how great a man he was, in order that his alliance might be courted, and his power feared. Now this would have been highly criminal in any man, Proverbs 25:27, but it was especially so in him, at that particular juncture. He had just been at the borders of the grave; and therefore should have been more impressed with the vanity of earthly grandeur, and should have seen the folly and wickedness of priding himself in things so empty, so worthless, so transient.

2. Hezekiah sought his own glory, in preference to God’s honor.

He had now a happy opportunity of magnifying the God of Israel. He might have told the ambassadors what God had done for his nation in former times; he might have recited the wonderful restoration which God had at this time afforded to himself in particular, together with the stupendous miracle with which the promise of that recovery had been confirmed, 2 Kings 20:11. It is worthy of remark, that the ambassadors were sent on purpose to inquire into the miracle wrought in the land in making the sun go back ten degrees. His neglect therefore was the more sinful. 2 Chronicles 32:31; he might have commended Jehovah as an answerer of prayer, 2 Kings 20:4-5; and in this way have exalted him above all the gods of the heathen. Surely the mercies that had been given unto him, demanded such a tribute; but he was pitifully occupied about self, and basely preferred his own honor before God’s.

3. Hezekiah sought his own glory, before the good of his friends.

The ambassadors were showing great kindness to him; Hezekiah should therefore have recompensed them in the best way. He should have instructed them in the knowledge of the God of Israel, and have told them how willing he was to become their God; thus, perhaps, he might have converted and saved their souls, and have spread the knowledge of the true God in Babylon; yes, eventually, he might have been instrumental to the salvation of thousands. But he utterly forgot the necessities of their souls, and was offering incense to his own vanity, when he should have been promoting their eternal welfare.

This was his sin—and God denounced a heavy judgment against him on account of it!

His riches were all to be taken away by the Chaldeans, his own children were to be made eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace, and the whole nation to be led into a miserable captivity!

But, if his offence was great, his humiliation also was remarkable.

He heard with trembling the judgments which God threatened to execute. Instead of palliating his sin, he acknowledged at once the justice of God in inflicting such a punishment on account of it. In concert with all his subjects, he implored forgiveness at God’s hands; and, having obtained a respite of the sentence, meekly, and even thankfully, Hezekiah acquiesced in the determinations of Heaven, Isaiah 39:8.

While we see in him much to shun, and much to imitate, let us show,

II. What grounds there are for similar humiliation among us.

Pride is deeply rooted in the heart of fallen man. We are prone to be puffed up on the slightest occasion.

We are vain of any natural endowments of body or mind.

The strong love to display their strength.

The beautiful love to display their beauty.

A penetrating mind, or a tenacious memory–are made grounds of self-admiration and self-glorification.

Any acquired distinctions also become food for our vanity. The man of wealth, of honor, or of power–assumes a haughtiness from his elevation, and demands homage from others as his due. Those proficient in any art or science or ability–court applause, and delight to have their talents admired.

Even the gifts of grace, through the depravity of our nature, become occasions of pride. An ability to speak or pray with fluency, is often exhibited more for the purpose of attracting admiration than of glorifying God!

Whatever we are or have that elevates us a little above our fellow-creatures–our proud hearts are fond of displaying it, and we are pleased with the flattering attentions which it procures for us!

“Who makes you different from anyone else?

What do you have, that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” 1 Corinthians 4:7

We indulge this prideful disposition too, to the neglect of God’s honor, and of the eternal welfare of those around us.

How many glorious opportunities have we of speaking for God! What grounds of praising him might we find in the sacred records! especially the wonders of redeeming love! How many too might we find in our own experience! And what unspeakable benefit might arise to mankind, if we carefully improved these opportunities! But how rarely is our interaction with each other made subservient to these holy ends! We for the most part waste our time in flattering attentions and unprofitable civilities, and are as intent on gratifying the vanity of ourselves or others, as if our social converse were capable of no better improvement.

How much then do we need to imitate Hezekiah’s humiliation!

However innocent we may think such conduct, it is highly criminal in the sight of God; it renders us justly liable to God’s heaviest judgments! Matthew 12:36-37. Should we not then humble ourselves before him in dust and ashes? Should not the forbearance he has exercised call forth our devoutest acknowledgments? And should we not adore his goodness even if he only delays to execute his threatened vengeance? Let us not attempt to palliate this common, but vile, iniquity, but rather unite in deprecating the wrath we have deserved.

Inferences:

1. How watchful should we be against what are called little sins!

Hezekiah at first probably intended only to show civility to his friends; but through inattention to the prideful motions of his heart, he fell into grievous sin, and brought on the whole nation the heaviest judgments.

Let us learn then to mark the first risings of sin in our hearts.

Let us bear in mind how greatly we may offend God by a neglect of our duty.

Let us remember, too, that God notices and abhors sin in the heart, no less than when it is brought forth into open act.

Let us guard especially against the workings of pride and vain-glory.

Let us entreat God to sanctify our inward man, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and never to leave us to ourselves for one single moment!

2. How great is the efficacy of fervent prayer and intercession!

The judgment denounced against Hezekiah was to have been speedily inflicted; but he and Judah sought the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, and the Lord deferred the evil until the next generation.

Thus will he do also in answer to our prayers. If we turned to him as a nation, he would prolong our national prosperity, and would blot out forever the personal guilt of every true penitent. Let us then humble ourselves for our abominations both of heart and life; so shall we find God as gracious unto us, as ever he was to his people of old.

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 31:20-21

“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”

Religion, when set before us in the precept, is thought to be extreme and impractical; but, when it is embodied in the life of some eminent saint, it commends itself to us as in the highest degree estimable, and its yoke appears to us both light and easy.

In a person like Hezekiah, at the early age of twenty-five, (when the mind is too generally carried away by thoughtless gaiety,) presiding over a kingdom, with all possible means of sensual gratification at his command, piety does indeed approve itself to us as lovely, and as worthy to be cultivated by every man. For the purpose of elevating your souls to the pursuit of it, I will propose to your consideration,

I. The character of Hezekiah as here drawn.

Many of the saints were eminently distinguished above their brethren by some peculiar grace which they exercised in an extraordinary degree. Hezekiah excelled in faith, “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him, 2 Kings 18:5.” But in the passage before us, his character is drawn more at large. We behold,

1. The objects of Hezekiah’s attention.

Placed at the head of an empire, he labored to promote the benefit of his subjects by a wise and just administration of his government. But his views were not confined to objects of temporal importance merely; he sought to repair the mischiefs of his father’s reign, and to bring back his people to the knowledge and enjoyment of the only true God. He did not neglect what was politically “good and right and true;” but he also strove to accomplish whatever was “good and right and true before the Lord his God.”

The Passover, which had been instituted to commemorate the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and had been ordained of God to be observed every year at an appointed time, had long been neglected. He therefore called the priests and Levites to the performance of their duty, 2 Chronicles 29:4-5; he ordered them to sanctify the house of God, which had been profaned by all manner of abominations, 2 Chronicles 29:15-16, and to prepare all the offerings which were necessary for the occasion; he himself setting them an example by a most munificent contribution of cattle for that end, 2 Chronicles 30:24.

Nor was he content with effecting this among his own people. He exerted his influence to bring also the ten tribes of Israel, over whom he had no control, to a sense of their duty, and to a concurrence with him in this holy work. In a word, he considered himself as a servant of the Most High God; and for the advancement of his glory he exerted all the influence which his high station gave him.

2. The manner of Hezekiah’s exertion.

This is particularly specified; and, indeed, it deserves especial notice, “in every work that he began, he did it with all his heart.” He did not satisfy himself with giving commands to others; he himself led the way, and enforced by his example, the precepts which he issued.

In the very first month after his coming to the throne of Judah, he set to work with all his might; and in the second month, the fourteenth day of the month, all was ready for the observance of the ordinance; and though his zeal brought upon him much obloquy and contempt from ungodly men, 2 Chronicles 30:10, he persevered with undiminished ardor, and kept such a Passover as had not been seen from the time of Solomon to that day, 2 Chronicles 30:26.

It was in this way that he began the work of the Lord; and in this blessed course he continued to the end of life. In fact, it was his zeal for the service of God which caused him to weep so bitterly, when he was informed by the prophet that the time was come for him to die, 2 Kings 20:1-3. It was not that he was afraid of death; for he could “appeal to God that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart;” but he saw that the reformation which he had begun was likely to be stopped as soon as he should die; and therefore he implored a prolongation of his term on earth, that he might consolidate and complete the work he had begun.

3. The outcome of Hezekiah’s labors.

In my text we are told, “And so he prospered.” The kingdom, when he first assumed the reins of government, was in a most desolate condition; subjected, in fact, to the Assyrian monarch, 2 Chronicles 29:8; from whose power, however, he delivered it, 2 Kings 18:7; and, from being grievously impoverished, he raised it to a high degree of wealth and power, 2 Chronicles 32:27-30.

The moral change effected in it was most remarkable; at the time of his father’s death, the land was wholly given to idolatry and all its attendant abominations; but in a short time, through God’s blessing on his endeavors, all the vestiges of idolatry were swept away, not only from his own dominions, but from the tribes of Ephraim also and Manasseh, who were independent of him.

Having viewed the character here drawn, let us contemplate,

II. The personal instruction we can gather from it.

Surely we may learn from hence,

1. The extent of our duty.

All of us should, doubtless, be peculiarly attentive to the offices to which, in our respective stations, we are called. From the king upon the throne, to the lowest subject in his dominions, this is required. As in the natural body, so also in the body politic, all, from the head to the foot, have their proper functions, which it befits them diligently to discharge.

But all, without exception, are bound, in the first instance, to serve their God, and to do whatever is good and right and true in his sight. “Whatever things are true,” says the Apostle, “whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is any praise, think on these things Philippians 4:8.”

Nor should our efforts terminate on ourselves; we should seek the best interests of all around us; and labor especially to bring them to the knowledge and enjoyment of God. As Hezekiah called his people to the observance of the Passover, so should we endeavor to call men’s attention to the Gospel, and to “Christ as our Passover that has been sacrificed for us.” Never can influence be used for a more beneficial end than this; and every one of us, according to the measure of influence that he possesses, is bound to exert it in this way for the Lord his God.

2. The proper mode of engaging in our duty.

“Whatever our hand finds to do, we should do it with all our might, Ecclesiastes 9:10.” It is not by listless endeavors that we can hope to succeed.

We must “strive for the mastery,” if we would overcome our corruptions.

We must “fight a good fight,” if we would subdue our spiritual enemies.

We must “run, as in a race,” if we would obtain the prize that is held forth to us in the Gospel.

All of these images imply the most strenuous exertion in the Christian life. Nor will it suffice to “begin” well; we must go on, and continue to the end, if we would secure the approbation of our God, Galatians 6:9.

3. The certain outcome of our endeavors.

Never did anyone thus labor, without obtaining a successful outcome. To those who strive to do the whole will of God, and prosecute their object with their whole heart, a failure is impossible. They must “prosper;” God will never allow such people to run in vain, or “labor in vain, 1 Corinthians 15:58.” As far as respects the benefitting of others, he may not indeed attain all he proposes to himself; but as far as respects his own soul, he cannot but flourish; he will necessarily grow in grace, “his peace also will flow down like a river;” “his joy will become unspeakable and full of glory;” and his weight of glory will be in proportion to his attainments and his services!

Reflections.

1. How rare is this character!

People attending to their worldly callings, and prosecuting them with their whole hearts, and prospering in them, are to be found in every place. But where do we find people laboring thus in spiritual things, and making “their profiting to appear unto all?” Look at the generality, and you behold no progress in them from year to year; and even among those whom, in the judgment of charity, we would call believers, there is, alas! far less of holy zeal and spiritual advancement than their profession requires.

2. How honorable is this character!

Let a person be really zealous for the Lord his God, and profane sinners will be sure to mock and deride him, as they did Hezekiah and his agents. But still they will honor him in their hearts, even as “Herod feared John,” at the very time that he consigned him to prison and to death. But if not, still, at his departure, his loss will be felt and mourned as a public calamity.

The Jews built the sepulchers of departed prophets, at the time that they persecuted and put to death the living ones. And it is no uncommon thing, in this day, to behold a repetition of that farce. As for the honor itself, it is of no value to the saints, whether dead or living; but it is a testimony for God, that his servants are indeed “worthy of all honor,” and that “the righteous is more excellent than his neighbor.”

3. How blessed is this character!

Compare Hezekiah with his father Ahaz, or his son Manasseh. They possessed the kingdom, even as he; but how differently did they exert their influence! They lived but for the gratification of their own malignant passions; whereas he lived only for the welfare of his people, and the honor of his God. Can anyone doubt which of them was the happiest? Hear the mournings of Manasseh, and they will satisfy your mind; or, if you could now behold the state of Ahaz, it would leave no doubt who is the happier man: he who lives for God, or he who lives only for himself.

Charles Simeon