not to do it. (3) Perhaps the saddest fruit of Manasseh's sin was Manasseh's son. He "did evil . . . as did Manasseh his father but trespassed more and more." He humbled not himself before the Lord as Manasseh his f a t h er had humbled himself." So the boy is more apt to imitate his fath- er's faults t h an his virtues; and is likely to do worse. (4) God gave the father many yeaj-s of space for repentance, but moved neither by the consequences of his father's wickedness, nor the example of his peni- tence, Amon was manifestly incorrigible and a f t er two years' probation he was cut off by assassination "in his own house."- II. THE GODLY JOSIAH. (1) It is easier to account for Amon's wickedness than for Josiah's goodness. It was of God's grace. He only can bring a clean thing out of an unclean (Job 14:4>. Josiah was four years old when his grand- f a t h er Manasseh died. It would be no won- der if he who had made little children to pass through fire should have tried to save this little fellow as a "brand snatched from the burning" (Z«c. 3:2). The seeds of t r u th as well as evil may find "good ground" in a four-year-old heart (Mat. 13:23). Old men may make some amentl -by winning young boys, if they love them, and lay themselves out to do it. (2) An early conversion. Wh a t- ever was the cause, Josiah "began to seek the Lord" when 15 or 16 years of age, and there is not much hope for" the youth t h at passes Ithlat period without finding Him, ac- cording to the •'statistics. But Mary Bart- lett was definitely converted at 4 years and served the Lord for 90, and Matthew Henry at 5 had a Christian experience shared by few. - (3) A Thorough Conversion. Josiah once started out,' "declined neither to the right, nor the left." He kept straight for- ward; kept "in the middle of the road;" lived consistent. You cannot doubt t h at sort of a conversion in young or old. (4) He was independent in his piety. Manasseh, and Amon, to go no farther, had complete- ly debauched the people. They were bound to their idols, and it is easy to see t h at the young king by sheer weight of royal author- ity and moral character worked in the face of public opposition, or, at the best, w a nt of sympathetic co-operation. (6) He per- sonally superintended the work of reform. He "meant business;" believed t h at if you w a nt a thing well done you must do it your- self. He ' did not mean to be foiled like Jehoash, whose .orders for the repairs of the temple were ignored. 23 years (2 Kgs. 12:16). He knew t h at even the priests' hearts were hot with him. so he stood by to see his orders executed, and fully executed. If we had a few executors of his kind there would HO on be a righting of most of our wrongs, for the laws are sufficient, but w a nt "the strong arm." (7) He did thorough work. Even those old sores, "the high places," had
to go. Men in high places are like to es- cape, but not under the Josiahs. "High places," "groves," "carved" and "molten images," "altars of Baalim," were "broken down," "cut down," "broken in pieces," "made dust of," "strowed upon the graves of them that sacrificed unto them;" "There! was not t h at the kind of work needed? So he "purged Judah and Jerusalem." Democ- racy, republicanism, limited monarchy, leg- islature, Congress, parliament, Diet, Duoma, t he whole business could all go for all me to make way for a king like that, one who would take away the high places (of oppres- sion), cut down the groves t h at shadow the iniquities, overturn the altars where m a n- hood, womanhood, childhood are sacrificed and incense burned to the world, the flesh, and the devil; aye, and ma ke dust of the cannon; burst the barrels, and smash the bottles. And H e is coming. Josiah carried his work of "purging" beyond Jerusalem and Judah. The r emn a n ts of the ten tribes were Israelites; Josiah recognized himself as "king over all Israel." The days of di- vision were over, perhaps a reunion might be effected, with the blessing of God. At Bethel he destroyed the high place where Jeroboam set up the calf worship, and ful- filled the prophecy of the man of God (1 Kgs. 13:1-3), made 350 years before: See (2 Kgs. 23:15, 16) wh at annihilating work he did. Such is the way the saint and the church should do with all t h at is contrary to Christ in them. We see t h at Josiah was, on the ground, again, to see the job done, and well done. "What title is that that I see?" (y. 17). It was an inscription .to the man of God, on the tomb where he had slept those centuries through, whose word he had just fulfilled and with whose reproof to Jeroboam he so heartily sympathized. There ho left t h em to rest, the bones of the m an who had done wh at he oould to save Israel from t h e. curse now on them. (8) Destruction must be followed by construc- tion. It is of no use to pull down, unless you build up. Josiah did not destroy the idols to leave a vacancy. He repaired the house of the Lord. Baal's house was over- turned t h at the Lord's house might be m a g- nified. Sin was put a w ay t h at righteous* ness might be practiced. A man cannot serve no master any more t h an he can two masters. You cannot quit serving the devil unless you serve the Lord. You cannot cease to do evil unless you learn to do well (Isa. 1:16, 17). Sin and death are destructive; life and t r u tn a r e constructive.- (9) The Driests and the Levites were commissioned to repair the temple. Two hundred and fifty years had passed since Jehoash repaired it, and we read of no work of the kind, save t h at it was "cleansed" in the days of Heze- kiah. Money was gathered even amo ng the remnant of the northern tribes. The work- men we read did the work faithfully, arwV t h at was much to their credit, as carpenters and stone masons, 'as his work as king was to Josiah.
PITH AND PIVOT—T. C. H.
This lesson is in direct contrast with the last one. It is a good lesson for little people and a great lesson for older people. This is the children's age. There has never been a time in the history of the world when children had so large and important a place in its affairs as they have now, and consequently there has never been a time
of so great peril as now. " Josiah was con- verted at sixteen years of age, verse 3, but many children are now converted when .half t h at age. . We .must give more attention to the winning of children tô the Lord. More t h an half of the children of this country never enter a Sunday School and are with- out any religious training. So f ar as pos-
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