feud, tre.neferring to the children of those by whom they consider themselves to have been injured the animosity which they have long entertained towards their parents. Or when they treat II man with coldness or incivility because his father has done something dis~racerul. Or, generally, when they at:ach blame or discredit to any one, not for nnythmg that be has done, but for eomethmg that somebody connected with him has done. Strict justice requires that each man ehonld " bear his own burden," and stand or fall by his own acts. If we allow anything but his own acts to affect our estimate of a man-still more, if we allow it to affect our demeanour towards him- we act unjustly, we infringe the principle of the law, "Every man shall be put to death [i.e. shall sufferJ for hia own sin." Vera. 8-14.-"Pride goes before a/all." Amaziah's challenge and its result furnish IL remarkable illustration of this maxim. The following points should be dwelt upon. I. THE WEAK GROUND OF THE PRIDE. This was military success, which is just as often the result of good fortune, or one's enemies' mistakes, as of any merits of one's own. Amaziah's after-life showed that he did not possess any great military capacity, and so had nothing on which he ought to have prided himself. Men constantly over- estimate their own merits. II. THE WRONGFUL WAY IN WHICH THE PRIDE VENTED ITSELP. In quarrel, cause- less quarrel with a neighbour. Amaziah had no grievance which he felt it necessary to redress, no need to quarrel with Joash. Having gained one success, he was simply greedy for more. And to gratify his self-esteem he was careless how many lives he sacrificed or what injuries he inflicted (1) on his adversaries; (2) on his own subjects. He forgot that the Israelites were of kindred blood (1 Kings xii. 2-1), of the same religion, a portion of God's people. He plunged into an unnecessary war-in itself always a sin-with a nation towards which he ought to have felt friendly, without obtaining or seeking any Divine sanction, in sole reliance on himself. What wonder that God punished such combined folly and wickedness I III. THE OBSTINACY WITH WHICH THE WRONGFUL COU11BE w AS PERSISTED IN. Proud men dislike above all things admitting that they are in the wrong. Amaziah had ample time to retract his challenge and give up his enterprise. Joa.sh was not at all eager for the encounter; on the contrary, he was quite willing to have remained at peace if Amaziah would have let him. But to retract, still more to apologize, would have been unpleasant. 'l'he pride which had given birth to the challenge absolutely forbade its withdrawal. IV. THE COMPLETF.NESB AND EXTREME IGNOMINY OP THE FALL. Amaziah had, no doubt, counted on an easy victory; he went to war "with a light heart." He would do with Israel as he had done with Edom-smite and slay, and make prisoners, and perhaps punish his prisoners with death (ver. 7). The result is, not a victory, not even a drawu battle, not a long war with alternations of success and defeat, but one crushing blow, from which there is no recovery even for !!-ll instant. His army is defeated, dispersed; he himself is a prisoner in the hands of his enemy, his capital is ta.ken, its walls broken down, its treasures carried off. He is disgraced in the eyes of all his subjects, as well as of the neighbouring nations, and thenceforth remains absolutely quiescent, attempts nothing, but, humbled and confounded," sits in the dust."
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-4 with 7-20.-Oompromise and its consequences. We read here of Amaziah that "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away; as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense un the high places." And we read of him in 2 Chronicles that "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart." To understand the meaning of the statement which we meet with so often, that "the high places were not taken away," we must go back to the period before the children of Israel entered the promised land. At that time the inhabitants of Canaan were heathen-pagans and idolaters. One of the peculiarities of their heathen worship was to have groves <.>f trees, generally 288 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [OH. XIV, 1-29.