prison for it. The King of Judah and Ahab went down to the battle. Ahab disguised himself to escape the prophet's prophecy, while he cunningly persuaded Jehoshaphat to fight in his royal robes, that the enemy might be attracted to him. But vaincare the devices of man against the purpose of God-"a certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote the King of Israel. .and he died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound .and dogs licked up his blood," 1 Kings 22, as the Lord had told him by Elijah three years before would be his end.*

...

See also the end of the nobleman, who refused to believe the Lord's word by the mouth of Elisha, 2 Kings vii. 2, 17.~

Go through the judgments upon Rehoboam, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, Jehoahaz, Jehoĵakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, kings of Judah, as recorded in the books of Kings and the Chronicles; and behold them all provoking the Lord to jealousy by their unbelief of Him, manifesting itself in the overt sin of idolatry, of various kinds and degrees, both of Heathenish and Israelitish abominations-and the people partaking of the same sin, and provoking the Lord *See chap. xxi. 19.

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to the same jealousy, and sharing in the same judgments.

Rehoboam and the people " built them high places, and images and groves, on every high hill and under every green tree," 1Kings xiv. 23; as did also Manasseh, 2 Kings xxi. 3, as the nations did, God having forbidden it, and commanded his people to go and worship only at Jerusalem.*

Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz and Manasseh "walked in the way of the Kings of Israel, as did the House of Ahab," 2 Kings viii. 18, 27, xvi. 3, xxi. 3. Now Ahab was exceedingly idolatrous, and worshipped even the gods of the Heathen, for he "did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him, and it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him."+

Amon, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah "did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord," the usual description of the sin of idolatry," according to all that" their "fathers. had done,” 2 Kings xxiii, 32, 37, xxiv. 9, 19. +1 Kings xvi. 30, 31.

*See Deut. xii. 2.

Amaziah, Azariah and Jotham, who sinned less against God, by doing in other things "that which was right in the sight of the Lord," still sinned in unbelief and its accursed consequences, disobedience and idolatry—" howbeit, the high places were not taken away, as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense in the high places," 2 Kings xiv. 3, 4, xv. 3, 4, 34, 35.

Even Asa was faithless and unbelieving, and God judged him for it-" in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians, and Asa slept with his fathers and died," 2 Chron. xvi. 12, 13.

In the days of Zedekiah, great, exceeding great, was the profaneness of King, Priests and People" moreover, all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the Heathen, and polluted the House of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem." Great, exceeding great, were the Lord's goodness and forbearance to them" and the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwellingplace." Great, exceeding great, were their scorn of Him and unbelief-" but they mocked

the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his prophets," the blotch that always breaks out upon the scorner of God. Great, O! exceeding great, was the Lord's wrath" until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy, therefore❞—even because their profaneness and scorn, and unbelief and misusing of the Lord's ministers, and the Lord's wrath and jealousy for himself and his ministers, allowed of no remedy-" therefore he brought upon them the King of the Chaldees," &c. as his judgment upon them, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14—17.

Job was a righteous man, and "feared God," and worshipped him in faith and fear. But he had an unrighteous family, that feared not God, and worshipped him not and believed him. not. Job, the tender father, trembled for his sons, and his heart misgave him, lest their scorn of all the Lord's words, which they had heard from him from their childhood, and their feasting and merry-making over it, instead of sorrow and repentance, should provoke judgments upon them-" And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them; and it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about,

that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt-offer ings, according to the number of the mall, for Job said, it may be, that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts; thus did Job continually," Job i. 4, 5.-And it may be, that Job's fear for his sons was but too just, and that their sin in cursing God in their heart, provoked the judgments upon their Father, as the sin of Eli's sons did upon Eli and his house.*

Go through the Prophets, foreshewing these judgments, and tremble at the universal witness they give of the connection, which the Lord has ever established, between his judgments, and man's blindness and unbelief.

Read the Lord's text in Isaiah, upon which every judgment in the world is the Lord's commentary, "Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed but understand not, and see ye indeed but perceive not; make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with

1 Sam. ii. 29-34, iii. 12-14, iv. 11, 18.