asses, and brought them to Jericho to their brethren. Obadiah prophesied of the destruction of Edom for her pride, and for her wrongs, and violence to Jacob, saying, "There shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the LORD hath spoken it."

Rezin, king of Syria, recovered Elath to Syria; he drove the Jews from Elath, and the Syrians came and dwelt there. Ahaz then sent messengers to Tiglathpileser, asking assistance against Rezin. Ahaz sent the treasures of the temple and of the king's house to Tiglathpileser; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it. He carried the people captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. Tiglath-pileser also invaded. Israel; he conquered the northern parts of Canaan, and carried away the inhabitants into Assyria. Hoshea 'conspired against Pekah, and slew him.

While Ahaz was at Damascus, he saw an altar, the

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS.

to their brethren-a parallel to this act of kindness can scarcely be found even among Christians in the history of those wars which human beings have prosecuted against each other. Obadiah-servant of Jehovah ;' nothing is known of the history of this prophet; he speaks of the pride and cruelty of the Edomites and their destruction, and of the future restoration and prosperity of the Jews. pride-they gloried in the strength and security of their rocky fastnesses; p. 29. Idumea.

drove by the loss of this highly important port, which had been fortified by Uzziah, the kingdom of Judah was deprived of the chief source of its foreign wealth; for by it they had traffic with Arabia, Persia, India and the eastern coast of Africa. p. 289. Eloth.

Tiglath-pileser-lord of the Tigris;' It is said that Sir Henry Rawlinson has discovered the complete annals of this Assyrian king. p. 295. Nineveh; p. 302. Assyria; Pul.

treasures-being renewed from time to time by spoils taken in war, they were generally sufficient, as well as available, for the purpose of bribing off an assailant or hiring the aid of a foreign power.

He carried, &c.-this is the second cap-
tivity of Israel; it is distinctly record-
ed on the Assyrian sculptures recently
discovered. p. 302. carried away.
Kir-a district which was under the
dominion of Assyria, through which
the river Kir flows; this river falls
into the Caspian Sea, probably the
country now called Kurdistan, which
is partly in Turkey and partly in
Persia.

slew-he who had plotted the death of
Ahaz is now slain, and his kingdom
absorbed in the rapidly increasing
dominion of Assyria.

northern parts-including the land of Naphtali, and parts of Asher, Gad, and Manasseh.

conspired-he who conspired to overthrow the purpose of God respecting the family of David, becomes the victim of a conspiracy in his own kingdom.

While-Ahaz went to Damascus to meet his powerful ally, to congratulate him on his successes. Ahaz received no advantage from the purchased assistance of Tiglath-pileser, for the loss of the treasures he sent him impoverished the kingdom, and the conquest of those parts of Israel, which lay between Judah and Assyria, prepared the way for the invasion of Judah by

'pattern of which he sent to Urijah, that he might make an altar of the same kind. Upon this altar, when he returned from Damascus, he offered sacrifice. Ahaz defaced the vessels of the temple, and made altars in every corner of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, on which he burnt incense to false gods.

After Pekah's death there were wars and disturbances in Israel for nine years, when Hoshea began to reign. Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria came against him and compelled him to pay him tribute.

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. the Babylonians which occurred some time after.

pattern-he seems to have been a refined as well as an infatuated idolater. offered-no doubt to propitiate the gods of Syria, who, as he supposed, were indignant with him for purchasing the aid of Tiglath-pileser against Syria. This was a heathen practice. p. 226. against thee.

every corner-p. 246 gods of the hills. Hoshea-salvation;' he was the son of Elah, and the last of the kings of Israel.

HEATHEN ALTARS.

THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD.

Behold the Lord, adore his name,
And bow with humble dread;
His awful judgments walk our streets,
And strike our comforts dead.

Our pastures mourn beneath his stroke,
Our cattle languish round;

O'er their untasted food they fall
Expiring on the ground.

Our towns he visits with his scourge,

And sweeps our strength away;
Foul spots soft beauty's form deface,
And youthful charms decay.

Our foes against our boasted forts
With haughty scorn prevail;

Through gates of brass they burst their way,
And all our bulwarks fail.

Oh! that the nation thus chastis'd,
Thy Righteousness might learn,
And, humbled by thy mighty hand,
To him that smites them turn.

DODDRIDGE.

107. HEZEKIAH'S REFORMS.

2 Chron. xxix-xxxi. 3. 2 Kings xviii. 3-6 AFTER the death of Ahaz, his son Hezekiah began to reign. He did that which was right as his father David did. He destroyed all forms of idolatry, and he broke the -brazen serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness; for the people in those days burnt incense to it. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so there was none like him among the kings of Judah, before nor after him. He restored the temple service, and sent priests into the temple to cleanse it, as well as all the holy vessels and altars. The temple was afterwards sanctified by burntofferings, and by the worship of the king and all the congregation. And the people sang praises to the Lord with gladness in the words of David.

Hezekiah then commanded the people to bring their sacrifices and burnt-offerings into the house of the Lord, and keep the passover, and he sent posts throughout his kingdom bearing letters from himself, "Ye children of

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS.

Hezekiah-strength of Jehovah;' he
was the twelfth king of Judah; he
ascended the throne in the twenty-
fifth year of his age.
brazen-p. 78. brazen, looked, healed.
burnt-the worship of the serpent
prevailed in many ancient countries,
especially in Egypt; it exists in India
at the present day; its origin is
supposed to be deprecatory, suggested
by a traditionary fear of his power to
inflict injury. The serpent was the
symbol of power, wisdom, and the
healing art; under all the modifications
of its worship it was made the re-
presentative of something good or
beneficent. The worship of the
Brazen Serpent by the Israelites was
probably induced by the serpent wor-
ship of neighbouring nations; and
strengthened by the consideration of
the fact that in the wilderness their
wounded ancestors looked upon it and
were healed. Hezekiah boldly tram-
pled on this venerable and inter-
esting relic, and upon those feelings of
regard with which he as well as others
naturally viewed it, when he perceived
the idolatrous tendencies of the people.
He called it Nehushtan because he

valued it only as 'a piece of brass.' It had stood 726 years, a monument of God's mercy to their fathers in the wilderness.

restored-the Temple had been now shut for fourteen years, during which time no sacrifices were offered excepting to the idols which Ahaz had commanded to be worshipped. 2. Chron. xxviii. 24,25.

passover-this seems to have been the first attempt made by any of the kings of Judah to call back the subjects of the kingdom of Israel to the observance of the passover in Jerusalem; it is but reasonable to suppose that Hoshea's permission had been obtained to allow Hezekiah's messengers to pass through his country; besides which, Hoshea was one of the best of the kings of Israel, and as the Assyrians had taken away the golden calves, the people had already begun to go up to Jerusalem to worship. Prideaux vol. 1. Anno. 729. p. 53. passover p. 56 further instructions.

posts-king's messengers; men who were light of foot and confidential.

Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever; and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him." Some of the inhabitants in Ephraim Manasseh, and •Zebulun, mocked the messengers, but others came to Jerusalem.

Some of those who came to this feast of the passover were not sanctified according of the law of Moses. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers." They kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with gladness. Then they took counsel to keep it other seven days: and all the congregation of Judah, and the congregation that came out of the land of Israel, and the strangers also rejoiced, for since the time of Solomon there was not the like in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to God's holy

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS.

turn-he does not ask them to turn unto
him as their rightful sovereign, but
unto the pure worship of Jehovah.
sanctuary-p. 203 sanctified.
Ephraim, &c.-see p. 94. Divisions of
Canaan.

others came-there is no mention of any
worshippers having come out of the
tribe of Ephraim; that powerful tribe,
characterised from an early date for
its haughtiness, sustained the idolatry
of the calves in proud opposition to the
temple-service. Those who came to

Jerusalem were from the northern parts, p. 309. where the ravages of Tiglath-pileser had been experienced. not sanctified-not ceremonially clean; the commandment was urgent, for the passover was near. In order to allow the fullest time for the people to prepare, the passover was deferred from the first to the second month, beyond which it could not be postponed.

since the time-because the Ten Tribes had been separated from the worship of God.

dwelling-place, even to heaven. When all this was finished, Israel went out to the cities of Judah, and destroyed all images and altars in Judah, Benjamin Ephraim and Manasseh; after which they returned, every man to his inheritance. Then Hezekiah commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and Levites, that they might be encouraged in the Law of the Lord.

dwelt in Jerusalem-they had in the reign of Ahaz withholden the dues from the Levites, and priests; it was right that they should set the example of resuming the payment of them, for,

living near the temple, they were at no expense in attending its services, while they profited by the great influx of people from all parts of the country. p. 92, forty-eight.

SECRET PRAYER.

Go when the morning shineth-
Go when the moon is bright-
Go when the eve declineth-
Go in the hush of night-
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thought away,
And in thy chamber kneeling,
To God, in secret, pray!
Remember all who love thee-
All who are loved by thee-
Pray, too, for those who hate thee,
If any such there be!

Then for thyself in meekness
A blessing humbly claim,
And join with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name!
Or if 'tis here denied thee,
In solitude to pray;

Let holy thoughts come o'er thee,
When friends are round thy way!

E'en then the silent breathing
Of thy spirit raised above,

Will reach his throne of glory,
Who is mercy, truth, and love.

O! not a joy or blessing,

With this can we compare!
The power that he hath given us
To pour our souls in prayer!
Whene'er thou pin'st in sadness,
Before his footstool fall

And remember, in thy gladness,

His grace who gave thee all! MRS. FOLLEN.