And all this is because of their neglect of that word of God when they might have fed upon it, and been nourished unto life.

So it is charged upon them in this history. (2 Kings xvii.) "The Lord testified against Israel and against Judah by all the prophets ...notwithstanding they would not hear. And they rejected his statutes and his covenants that he made with their fathers and his testimonies...and they left all the commandments of the Lord their God,... therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah only." Such is the end of Israel. Such their punishment to this day. Yet they are not destroyed. So says the prophet, "Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will utterly destroy it from 'off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." And the same prophet goes on to declare that in the latter days God will bring again the captivity of Israel, and will plant them in their own land. (See Amos ix.)

Thus then should we look with holy awe at this great sight, the bush, the tree of God's planting, burning, but not consumed. And should we not fear? See the severity of God on them that fell. Be not highminded, but fear. We have great privileges, do we use them aright? We have more than prophet's words, more than tabernacle worship, more than the law of Moses. We have the living Spirit among us, the words of Jesus and inspired apostles, the spiritual service of the Gospel ordinances, have we not much to answer for? Are we brought near to God by the blood of Christ? Are we living near God by faith in His Son? Are we the people of God and disciples of Christ, not in name only, but in deed and in truth?

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Be assured the judgments against those that have set at nought all these privileges, will be far more dreadful than these which Israel endured and suffers now. Our God is a consuming fire, let us have grace whereby we may serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear." (Heb. xii. 28. 29.)

HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN.

"And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God.

"And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered." 2 CHRONICLES XXXI. 20, 21.

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It is very refreshing, amidst such a number of bad kings, to come upon one who really served and feared the Lord, and did what was right. And such was Hezekiah. though the son of a bad king, Ahaz, and the follower of many wicked kings, Hezekiah shines forth as a bright exception to the others. And he was, no doubt, one great means of preventing for a little while longer the hastening ruin of the kingdom of Judah.

That ruin was being helped forward by each king who came to the throne; and the state of things was very bad when Hezekiah became king. Uzziah was one of those who went before him, and, though he was not quite so bad as others, yet he himself personally offended against God and was punished. He had a long reign of fifty two

years and yet there is not so much to tell of in it, as in the shorter reign of nine and twenty years of Hezekiah.

Uzziah did indeed restore many cities to Judah which had been taken by enemies. He was indeed "helped by the Lord against the Philistines." He built towns and dug wells and "loved husbandry," increased his army very greatly, prepared for them shields and spears and other arms, and made engines, invented by cunning men, to be on towers and upon the bulwarks to shoot arrows and great stones withal: and his name spread far abroad, for he was marvellously helped till he was strong." And yet, for all this, he was not so great a man as Hezekiah, nor was his reign so important in its results on the nation.

And why! because Hezekiah paid attention to the spiritual part of his kingdom, to the outward ordinances and the inward life of the living Church of God, and the service of the Temple. But Uzziah only regarded the temporal greatness of his people. Uzziah was not sound at heart. And one chief event brought out the real evil of his heart and its pride and rebellion against God. This was his going into the temple of the Lord and burning incense on

the altar, which only was lawful for the priests to do. They withstood him, but he was angry and there and then before the altar, the leprosy rose up into his forehead. "They looked upon him, he was leprous, he was thrust out, yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him.” (2 Chron. xxvi.)

Hezekiah's reformation was real, because it began at the right end, at the religious state of his people: and this because he was a man that knew and served God.

The state of the kingdom after the reign of his father Ahaz is thus described. "For the Lord brought Judah very low because of Ahaz king of Israel, (i. e. Judah); for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord."

Let us now observe some good points in Hezekiah's character and some of the things he did in his reign.

For one thing, we see he began to do good directly he began his reign. He was only five and twenty when he did, but he lost no time, but set about directly to do what he could for the good of his kingdom and the worship of God. Thus we read, He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house.

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