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In that day, when stout-hearted rebels shall tremble for fear before the God of the whole earth. When worldly-hearted formalists shall find all their ceremonies and lip-service to be of no avail; you shall hear those heart-cheering words, Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Let this hope encourage you under every misgiving; strengthen you in every conflict; gird you up to fight the good fight of faith.

You need not halt between two opinions; you need have no doubt about the end of the conflict. There are more with you, than against you. Almighty power is on your side. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm. He is thy helper. You will be—you are-more than conquerors, through him that loved

you.

May the God of peace remove every distressing doubt from your minds, fill you with hope and joy; stablish, strengthen, settle you! To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON VII.

HEARTLESS RELIGION WITHOUT VALUE.

2 CHRON. xxv. 2.

HE DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD; BUT NOT WITH A PERFECT HEART.

SUCH is the sentence pronounced by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of the inspired historian as the character of Amaziah, king of Judah.

The circumstances of this man's life are so remarkable, and the instruction which may be drawn from them of such general application, that I trust a consideration of the subject may not be unprofitable to us.

The beginning of this king's reign bears out the first part of the text, He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. The after part of his life abundantly proves that he had never done it with a perfect heart.

One of the first acts of Amaziah, after he was established in the kingdom, was to inflict just punishment on the servants who

had put the last king, his father, to death. And this punishment he inflicted in the most righteous manner. He slew his servants who had killed the king, his father; but he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law of Moses; where the Lord commanded, saying, the fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. And this certainly was right in the sight of the Lord. He proved himself the minister of God; a revenger to execute wrath upon evil doers; and he also did right in not involving the children in the punishment of their fathers.

The next event in his reign, although his motives might be of a more mixed nature, yet at least leads to the conclusion, that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He was preparing to make war upon the Edomites, and hired, in addition to his own forces, one hundred thousand men from the kingdom of Israel; having paid them one hundred talents of silver in advance.

Now Israel having departed from the worship of Jehovah, since the days of Solomon, there came a man of God to Åmaziah, warning him against so unholy an alliance, and he said, O King, let not the army of Israel go with thee, for the Lord is not with Israel. But if thou wilt go, do it. do it. Be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before

the enemy, for God hath power to help and to cast down.

If the heart of Amaziah had been right with God, he would not probably have thought of seeking help from the people of Israel: much more may we suppose, that, being warned that God was not with them, he would at once have dismissed his ungodly allies. But Amaziah did nothing with a perfect heart. He had paid these allies a large sum of money, so that, when advised by the man of God to dismiss them, his reply to him was, But what shall we do for the two talents of silver which I have given to the army of Israel? The man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. Upon this, Amaziah sent away the Israelites. In this, he did right. But it was not until he had been first warned by the man of God of the danger of keeping his allies, and after assured, that he would probably be no loser by sending them away. So that it was not from any desire to please God; but with a view to his own welfare.

Religion had evidently some power over him but it was only such as influenced his selfish fears or hopes. Still he did right. And verily he had his reward, for when he strengthened himself and led forth his people, he smote ten thousand of the Edomites, and took ten thousand of them captive.

Thus the Lord gave him the victory in battle, and the spoil taken from the enemy

would amply repay him the money he gave to the Israelites. So long, therefore, as Amaziah did right, he prospered. But it is written, the prosperity of fools shall destroy them and so it proved in the case of this wicked king.

;

His real character now began to manifest itself. With savage cruelty, he murdered in cold blood, the immense number of the enemy whom he had taken. And, then, with an infatuation of wickedness, brought the gods of the Edomites, and bowed himself before them, and burned incense unto them!

By the command of the Lord, a prophet came to him a second time, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? Mark the king's reply. Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; Why shouldest thou be smitten? Before, when the man of God warned him, he listened to the warning, and it was to his profit. But now success has lifted him up, and he despises what might have saved him. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. And so the prophet forewarned him. I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel. Nor was it long before he was hurried, by his pride and vain confidence, to his ruin.

It appears, that when the ten thousand

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