2 Kings xxiii. 3. And the king stood hy a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keeji his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with
^7/ their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
LITTLE do men in general consider the benefit they receive from the sacred oracles, and the stated ordinances of divine worship. Without these, the remembrance of God would soon vanish : whereas by these we are constantly reminded of the obligations we are under to love and serve him. In the days of King Josiah the inspired volume was altogether lost, and the Temple of Jehovah had been suffered to fall into decay. The pious monarch having ordered the temple to be repaired, the book of God was found. Immediately the contents of it were read to him: and, when he saw what judgments it denounced against his nation, he sought to avert them by turning to the Lord his God. He summoned all the priests, and prophets, and people of Jerusalem, and engaged them to make a solemn covenant witli God, that they would henceforth serve him with their whole heart.
This instructive record shews us, that,
I. Persons in authority should use their influence to
promote religion —
[Many of the Jewish kings were patrons of real piety : but among them all there was not one who equalled Josiah in integrity of heart and devotedness of soul^. The use which he made of his authority is sufficiently declared in the history before us. But we must not imagine that such exertions belong only to rulers and governors : whether our influence extend over a kingdom, or only to a parish, or a single family, it should be improved for God. Ministers should labour by aU possible means to bring their people to God : and every parent, or master of a family, should study to advance the eternal interest of those, who, by the providence of God, are committed to his care. Nor should any be deterred by the degeneracy of the times : for the state of religion cannot well be reduced to a lower ebb than it was in the days of Josiah : and, if it were, that would only be a reason for our more earnest exertions in the cause of God. Nor can we easily conceive how much good might be done by the labours of an individual. The effects of Josiah's reformation continued
a ver. 25.