tho seo.ts of the three tribes of Reuben, Ge.cl, campoign in Pbilietio., and rlesigns against ond Mono.seeh. This tro.ct wo.s for easier of Jerusalem, see the comment upon eh. xii. ocoess than the other, ond was more tempt- 17, 18.) ing, being the richest po.rt of Po.lcstine. Ver. 34.-Now the rest of the acts of lehu, The region comprised all the land of Gilead and all that he did, and all his might. This -i.e. the more southern region, reaching last phrase is remarkable, considering that from the borders of Moo.b on the eonth to Jebu's wars, after be became king, seem to the Ilicrome.x or Sherio.t-el-Me.ndhftr upon have been entirely unsnccessfal ones, that tho north, the proper lund of the Gadites, he lost a large portion of his dominions to and the Reubenites, and [e. portion of] the Syria, and (as appears by the Black Obelisk) l'!le.nassites-together with Basbe.n, the more pa.id tribute to the Assyrians (' Records of mirthern region, which belonged wholly to the Paet,' vol. v. p. 41). "Might" has been Mo.m1sseb-from Aroer (now Arair), which ascribed by the writer of Kings only to is by the river Amon-the Wady-el-Mojeb, Ba.asha and Omri o.mong previous Israelite which was the boundary between Israel o.nd monarchs, e.nd only to Asa and Jehoshaphat Moab (Numb. xxi. 13, 24), both in the earlier among previous Jewish ones. "All his and (Isa. xvi. 2) in the later times-even might" bas only been used of Asa.. We Gilead and Bashan. There is other evidence, must probably understand, that, although besides this, that Hazael was one of the defeated, Jehn gained much distinction, by most warlike of the Syrian kings. We find his persona.I prowess nnd other military him, on the Black Obelisk of She.lmaneser qualities, in the Syrian wars, and was II., mentioned e.s e. stubborn adversary of the reckoned" a mighty man of va.lon:r" in spite Assyrian arms. In the seventeenth campaign of the ill success of his wars. Are they not of She.lmaaeser, o. gree.t battle was fought written in the book of the ohronicles of the between the two monarchs. Hazael brought kings of Israel l (see the comment on eh, i into the field more the.n twelve hundred 18). cha.riots, but was defeated, and obliged to Vers. 35, 36.-And Jehu slept with his retreat, his camp fa.Bing into the hands of fathers : and they buried him in Sama:ria., the enemy(' Records of the Paet,' vol. v. p. And J ehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. 34). Four years later Shalme.neser invaded And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel He.mel'd territory, and took, according to hie in Ba.maria wo.a twenty and eight years. own account (ibid., p. 35), four cities or for- Twenty-eight years was a long reign for a.n tresses belonging to him. He does not claim, Israelite king, only exceeded by one other however, to have made him a tributary; and king in the entire list, viz. Jeroboo.m II., by his le.ter annals it is evident that he who is said in eh. xiv. 23 to have reigned avoided further contest, preferring to turn forty-one years. The kings of Judah were his arms in other directions. (On Hnza.el's longer lived.
HOMILETICS. Vers, 1-7.-Thefear of man a stronger motive with the wicked and worldly than the fear of God. Revolutions subject to severe trial most of those who occupy high stations at the time of their occurrence. Such persons have to determine, at very short notice for the most part, the line which they will pursue, the side which they will embrace, and the lengths to which they will go in their support of it. In making their choice they are apt to think less of what they ought to do than of what their worldly interests require them to do. They" are in a strait betwixt two "-on the one hand is the fear of man, on the other the fear of God. 'l'he one ought to prevail ; the other commonly does prevail. Let us consider a little why this is so. I. REASONS WHY THE FEAR OF Goo IS WEAK, 1. ThEJ wicked and worldly, who form, alas I the vast mass of mankind, do not generally even so much as realize the existence of God. They may not be absolute atheists, but practically they do not have God in their thoughts. 2. Those who believe in God and have sO'T/16 fear of him view him as distant, and his vengeance as a thing that may come or may not. He i£! merciful, and may be propitiated; he is compassionate, aud may not be " extreme to mark what is done amiss." Men hope that ho will forget their misdeeds, or forgive them for his Son's sake, or nccept a tardy repeutance as compensating for them aud lilotting them out. 3. Some view God as altogether benevolent and beneficent, and therefore as incapable of punishing rnon, forgetting that, if he is kind, he is also just, and, if he is forgiving, he is also jealous. '!'hoy take their idea of God, not from what is revealed concerning him in Scripturo, but frorn their own imaginations respecti11g him-imaginations which are echoes of their wish.ea. 216 THE SECOND BOOK OF 'l'IIE KINGS. 1 [on. x. 1-30.