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

2 Chronicles 30:22-23

“For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the LORD, the God of their fathers. The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully.”

In this chapter, and in that which precedes it, we are informed that Hezekiah, as soon as he came to the throne, set himself to repair the temple, which during the reign of his father Ahaz had been greatly neglected; and to restore the worship of Jehovah, which had been utterly superseded by the worship of idols. He lost no time in sanctifying the vessels which had been desecrated and defiled; and he appointed a feast unto the Lord, to be observed by all his people.

Now here we have,

I. A most valuable record.

That we may view it in all its parts, let us distinctly notice:

1. The feast appointed.

It was the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread which was invariably connected with it.

The feast of Passover commemorated the redemption of Israel from Egypt.

The feast of unleavened bread intimated the holiness which befit the people who had been so redeemed.

But the time for observing these feasts was past. The Passover should have been killed on the fourteenth day of the first month, Exodus 12:6; and on the same day, at evening, should the feast of unleavened bread have commenced Exodus 12:18. But it was not practical to get the temple prepared by that time; and therefore Hezekiah applied to the nation at large the liberty conceded to individuals; in case they were incapacitated for the observance of the feast at the proper time, to observe it in the second month, verse 1-4 with Numbers 9:10-11. Even this delay was not sufficient for all who were desirous of observing the feast; so that many came up to it without that measure of purification which the law required; and it was only in answer to Hezekiah’s prayer that this violation of the law was pardoned verse 17-20.

But the zeal of Hezekiah was truly commendable. Indeed, he was not satisfied with summoning his own subjects to the feast; he sought to bring also his brethren from the ten tribes to a participation of the same holy exercises and heavenly enjoyments; and, though “his messengers were laughed to scorn” and mocked by many—there were many who accepted his invitation, and availed themselves of the opportunity afforded them of serving and honoring “the Lord God of their fathers, verse 10.”

2. The observance of the feast.

A spirit of piety prevailed to a very great extent; all, king, princes, priests and people, seemed to vie with each other in their endeavors to exalt and honor God; and in their services we behold that which gives to every service its highest value—a due mixture of humiliation with their gratitude and joy, “they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace-offerings, and making confession to the Lord God of their fathers, verse 22.”

This is a point deserving of most especial notice. Humility is the characteristic feature of the worship in Heaven; for all, whether saints or angels, fall upon their faces before the throne, while with united voices they sing praise to God and to the Lamb! Revelation 5:8; Revelation 7:11. Such was the worship of all the assembly at this time; and it was productive of the most exalted joy verse 26; for every prayer they offered entered into the ears of the Lord Almighty, and descended in blessings on the heads of those who offered it, verse 27.

3. The continuance of the feast.

According to the original institution, the feast was to last but seven days; but so full of joy were their souls, that the whole assembly took counsel, after the example of Solomon, to protract it seven more days ,verse 23 with 1 Kings 8:65. And not only did Hezekiah and the princes concur in this proposal, but by their extraordinary liberality, they enabled the congregation to carry it into effect; for Hezekiah gave them one thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave one thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep. During the whole of this time, even fourteen days, were the same holy exercises continued, none grudging the time that was lost to their worldly occupations, or becoming weary of an employment so foreign to their former habits.

And who does not see in all this,

II. A most instructive lesson?

1. Surely here is a lesson for the higher ranks of society.

Behold the king and the princes exerting all their influence to diffuse throughout the land a spirit of piety; and not in their own land only, but throughout a nation that was hostile to them, 2 Chronicles 28:6; 2 Chronicles 28:8. What an example was here to all, however exalted their rank, or powerful their authority! Can wealth or power be better employed than in such acts as these? But let it not be supposed that this example is instructive to kings and princes only; whatever is the measure of our property or influence, our obligation to improve them for the diffusion of true religion is still the same; and our liberality should be “according to our power,” whether it be more or less.

True, indeed, if we engage with holy zeal in the service of our God, we may expect that an ungodly world will “laugh us to scorn and mock us.” But we should rise superior to such treatment, and rejoice that we are “counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ’s sake.” Our only thought should be how we may honor God; and, if only He is glorified, we should not regard any sacrifice which we may be called to make for so desirable an end.

2. Surely here is a lesson to the community at large.

Here we see how we should perform our Christian duties. Not that it would be advisable for us to protract them to an inconvenient length; or to neglect our worldly callings, for the sake of prosecuting beyond reasonable bounds the services in which we are engaged. There is a season for everything; and every duty should be attended to in its season. We are to labor six days, so far as the necessities of ourselves and our families may require it, and to rest on the Sabbath-day; but we may, and must, carry the spirit of religion into everything, and in that sense protract our Christian services to the last hour of our lives.

Nor should we grudge a reasonable portion of our time to Christian ordinances, whether public or private. Beyond all doubt, we should consecrate a portion of every day to the immediate service of our God; and be willing, also, to it. But it is the service of the heart which God now chiefly requires; and that can never be carried to excess. We must, however, especially take care to combine with every service a due measure of penitential sorrow. We must never for a moment forget that we are sinners; nor must we ever offer to God any sacrifice of which penitential sorrow does not form a very essential part.

And now, what shall I say to you, my brethren? Would to God that I could see you all in the very frame in which the whole people of Israel were on this occasion! And is there not abundant reason for it? Is not the restoration of divine ordinances, after so long a suspension of them, a blessing? Above all, Is not “Christ our Passover sacrificed for us? And is not this a call to keep the feast?” Let us, then, “keep it, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Then may you hope, that “your joy, like Israel’s, shall be full;” and shall be not only a preparation for future blessedness, but also a pledge of Heaven in your souls!

Charles Simeon

2 Chronicles 30:18-20

“Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written.

But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God–the LORD, the God of his fathers–even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”

Here is the fruit of holy zeal. Not a month had Hezekiah been invested with royal authority, before he set himself to repair the evils which had been committed by his father Ahaz. Almost incredible were the abominations which had been wrought by that wicked prince, “destroying the vessels of the sanctuary, and shutting up the very doors of the temple, and erecting altars in every corner of Jerusalem! 2 Chronicles 28:2-4; 2 Chronicles 28:24.”

And now Hezekiah, his son, gave orders for the re-opening of the temple, and sanctifying it afresh in all its parts; and in the short space of eight days it was accomplished. He then determined to keep the Passover, which had been neglected and suspended for many years; and, not content with summoning his own subjects to observe that blessed ordinance, he sent messengers to all the ten tribes of Israel, to invite them to unite with him in the observance of it. The greater part of that apostate nation poured contempt upon his message; but a large number yielded to his entreaties, and came to join in that divine service. God had appointed, that, if any, by being on a journey, or sick, were incapacitated to attend that ordinance on the fourteenth day of the first month, he might come with the same acceptance on the fourteenth day of the second month. Of this concession Hezekiah availed himself, to bring together as many as possible from among the ten tribes, as well as of his own subjects.

But multitudes from among the ten tribes, being called so suddenly, had not time to sanctify themselves from the pollutions which they had contracted; and no alternative was left to them, but to serve God in a less acceptable manner, or to neglect his service altogether.

To the former they were encouraged by King Hezekiah; but, perceiving God was offended with them for coming in so unfit a way, he prayed to God for them, that his judgments might be removed from them, and that they might be restored to the divine favor. This prayer was heard and answered; and the answer given to it will afford me a fit occasion to consider,

I. The leading features of this history.

They are two:

1. The jealousy of God respecting his own ordinances and appointments.

It was ordained by God that none who were, by whatever means, in a state of ceremonial impurity, should eat of the paschal feast. But from the suddenness of the invitation given to those of the ten tribes, it happened that many were ceremonially unclean. This was ascertained after they had come up to Jerusalem; and, as this was the second month, no other opportunity would be afforded them to celebrate that ordinance for nearly a whole year; so that they must either be sent back to their own country, under a state of grievous disappointment, or be admitted without a suitable preparation. The latter was the alternative adopted; and God, in some way not known to us, but fully known to Hezekiah and the people themselves, expressed his displeasure against them on account of it. God executed judgment on the Philistines who had taken captive the ark (1 Samuel 5:6-12.); and similar judgments were inflicted on the Church at Corinth, for an irreverent attendance on the Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:30.

And this he did, in order to show, that no man can be justified in the commission of presumptuous sin; and that no ordinance of his should ever be willfully violated by any man with impunity. (I apprehend that Hezekiah erred in not consulting Jehovah, as Moses and others had done, to obtain specific directions in this emergency.) It was no excuse to say, that this was a mere ceremonial enactment; it was ordained of God; and that was sufficient; for the history of all former ages had proved beyond a possibility of doubt, that it was at the peril of man to violate, knowingly, any, even the least, of God’s commandments!

It was but a positive injunction (not a moral one) that Adam in Paradise Genesis 2:17, and that the Sabbath-breaker (who was stoned for his offence) Numbers 15:32-36, transgressed; and that Uzzah also, who was struck dead upon the spot, presumed to violate, 1 Chronicles 15:13. These instances abundantly demonstrated the evil and danger of departing from any ordinance of God, however trifling that ordinance might be thought.

Just so, we have the very same intimation given to us under the Christian dispensation; for our blessed Lord has left it as his unalterable determination, that “whoever shall break one of the least of God’s commandments, and shall teach others so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven, Matthew 5:19,” that is, be accounted the furthest from it.

We must never, therefore, consider any commandment of God as small; for whatever it may be, his authority is vested in it; and it must be obeyed at the peril of our souls, James 2:10-11. If ever there was an occasion on which an ordinance of God might be overlooked, methinks, it was that very occasion to which my text refers; but if that could not be, without bringing on the transgressors the divine displeasure, much less can any be overlooked at this day, when only two ordinances are left for our observance.

2. The condescension of God towards the upright, under their manifold short-comings and defects.

The people had really “set their hearts to seek God, the Lord God of their fathers, though they were not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” Though, therefore, God showed that this was no excuse for their transgression, he heard the prayer of Hezekiah in their behalf, and healed them, precisely as he healed Abimelech and his servants, when the general integrity of the offender was made known, Genesis 20:17-18. Thus does God show, that he is “not extreme to mark what is done amiss;” for, if he were, “who could ever stand before him?”

Our blessed Lord apologized for his disciples at the very time that they were guilty of the most criminal neglect, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!” And the same tender regard he will show to us also, under our manifold infirmities. He knows, that, though “the spirit lusts against the flesh, the flesh still continues to lust against the spirit, so that we cannot do the things that we would, Galatians 5:17;” and that, even when “we delight in the Law of God after our inward man,” there is yet a law in our members warring against the law in our minds, and bringing us into captivity to the law of sin which is in our members; so that even the best of men are often constrained to cry, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:22-24.”

Were God “to regard iniquity in our hearts, then no prayer, whether of others or of our own would be accepted by the Lord, Psalm 66:18.” “The retaining of even a right hand or a right eye,” with deliberate determination, would exclude us from all hope of his favor, Mark 9:43-48. But if we are really upright before him, and with sincerity of heart bemoan our defects, “he will be our Advocate with the Father, and approve himself to us as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, 1 John 2:1.” He is appointed by God to “bear the iniquity of our holy things, Exodus 28:38;” and he will so bear it, that, if mourned over and resisted, it shall never prevent our ultimate acceptance before God!

These being the principal features of the history, I proceed to notice,

II. The leading instructions to be derived from it.

I will here confine myself to two:

1. That we are not to trust in our duties, however well we perform them.

The Israelites on this occasion did what they could; but this did not justify them before God. And, for argument sake, I will suppose that we also, in our respective spheres, have done the same. Still I must say, that, if this were the case, “we are only unprofitable servants,” and have nothing to boast of in the sight of our Divine Master!

But who, I would ask, has done as well as he could? The paschal feast, which commemorated the redemption of Israel from Egypt, typified our redemption from a far sorer bondage, by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; as the Apostle says, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.”

Inquire then, I beg you, whether, in remembering this stupendous mercy, at the Lord’s Supper or in the daily habit of your minds, you have been so careful to purge out all the old leaven of your corrupt nature, that, when inspected by the eye of the heart-searching God, you will be found “cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary!”

Who must not shrink back from such an examination as this? Who can ever stand such a test as this? And, if we cannot, what remains for us, but shame and confusion of face in the presence of a holy God! If even holy Job could not endure such a scrutiny, if not even he could answer God for “one action in a thousand,” and was constrained to acknowledge, that, “if he were to justify himself, his own mouth would condemn him, Job 9:2; Job 9:20,” assuredly nothing is left for us but, with the convicted leper, to put our hands on our mouths, and our mouths in the dust, crying, “Unclean! Unclean! Leviticus 13:45.”

Let me, then, affectionately guard you, my brethren, against “trusting in yourselves as righteous,” because of your diligence in any duties whatever. Do not mistake me; I would not decry diligence in duties; on the contrary, I would have everyone among us as diligent and abundant in them as ever the Apostle Paul was; but if we place any dependence on them before God, we totally destroy all their value, and render our very obedience a stumbling-block over which we shall fall to our eternal condemnation! If we possessed all the righteousness of the Apostle Paul, we must renounce it all in point of dependence, and “seek to be found in Christ, not having our own righteousness, but his! Philippians. 3:9.”

2. That we are not to be discouraged from duties, because we cannot perform them as well as we would.

A truly pious man can be satisfied with nothing short of absolute perfection. But this is no reason that he should be discouraged in, and still less be diverted from, the path of duty. If God himself “does not despise the day of small things,” then much less should we, Zechariah 4:10.

Under the Law, it was forbidden to offer to the Lord, honey, or leaven, or any beast that was mutilated; yet, as a votive-offering, every one of them might be presented with acceptance. See Leviticus 7:13; Leviticus 22:23; Leviticus 23:17. This shows how God will condescend to the infirmities of those who endeavor to honor him according to their power.

A burnt-offering, of whatever kind it was, must be perfect; because it could not otherwise atone for sin, or shadow forth the Savior, who was to die for the sins of the world; but, as a voluntary offering, its imperfections were overlooked; and the offerer was accepted of the Lord. Know then, brethren, that, as where people had not a lamb to offer, God accepted “two turtle-doves or young pigeons,” and even a small portion of meal, Leviticus 5:7; Leviticus 5:11—so will he receive at your hands the imperfect services you present, “accepting them according to what you have, and not according to what you have not, 2 Corinthians 8:12.”

A clear distinction is to be made by you between the sins of infirmity, which still cleave to the most pious soul, and those which were committed in an unregenerate state with the full consent of his will. Respecting a person under the influence of the latter, Christ says, “If I wash you not, you have no part with me!” But respecting one that, in despite of all his exertions, is overtaken with the former, Jesus says, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.” That is, a man who has been bathing, does not need again the same total immersion which he has just recently experienced; but, however few his steps have been from the bath, he has contracted some defilement, from which he requires a fresh ablution.

Thus a saint, that has been washed in “the Fountain opened for sin and for impurity,” is cleansed, in a general view, from all his guilt. But, from his remaining infirmities, every step he takes in this corrupt world will more or less defile him. But if he habitually applies to himself the blood of Christ for that end, and cries to God for pardon in the Savior’s name—then he shall be regarded as pure in the sight of God, and shall to all eternity be accepted by him!

APPLICATION.

Thus, then, you see brethren, the just medium between presumption and despondency. You are no more to trifle with sin than if there were no mercy attainable by transgressors. On the other hand, you are no more to despair of mercy than if no judgment whatever had been at any time denounced against transgressors. Your faith must never so prevail as to exclude fear. Nor is your fear ever to reign so as to prevent the exercise of faith. In the whole of your deportment, you are ever to keep in combined exercise, confidence with humility, and vigilance with composure.

Charles Simeon