The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 244

1md tench men to trust, not to penance& or indulgence& for their acceptance with God, but to the work and merits of Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man. 'l'he countries of the Reformation are marked out among the nations of Europe for their prosperity and industry. The more thorough the work of religious reformation, the stronger has been the national character, the more vigorous the national life. And on the other hand, as we look at the general decay of the Roman Catholic nations, and the corruption that has marked their history, may we not trace the secret of their .iownfe.ll in the words of the fourth verse, "The high places were not taken away "? II. A?ilAZIAH'B COMPROMISE LED TO TEMPORAL DISASTER. Amaziah had elements of strength mingled with the elements of weakness in his character. He was capable of acting upon certain occasions with decision and firmness. What a pity he had not carried that spirit of decision .into the most important duty for every human being- obedience to the Law of God I Once, indeed, he had done so. And the success which followed his obedience to God's command on that occasion should have encouraged him in a similar decision always. He was going forth to battle against the Edomites. He had raised out of hie own kingdom of J uda.h alone an army of three hundred thousand men. In addition to these, he hired out of the kingdom of Israel a hundred thousand men for a huudred talents of silver, that is to say at a cost of about £50,000. But there came to him a man of God, saying, " 0 king, let not the army of Israel go with thee ; for the Lord is not with Israel " (2 Chron. xxv. 7). Amaziah had not yet hardened his heart against God's message. He was not yet blinded to the evil results of forsaking God. So he considered seriously this difficulty, and saw that it would be folly to go forth in defiance of God's warning. But the question a.rose about the payment of these hired soldiers, and he said, "What shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? n And the man of God answered, "The Lord is able to give thee much more than this." Ama.ziah hesitated no longer. He sent a.way these hired troops, though he incurred their anger and vengeance in consequence; but when he went forth against the Edomites, his army gained a most decisive and overwhelming victory. Would that Ama.ziah bad acted in a similar spirit of decision all through his life I Would that be had showed in other matters a similar spirit of dependence on God and obedience to him I Would that be bad always remembered the prophet's words, "The Lord is able to give thee much more than this" I Oh that we would all remember this when tempted to make compromise with the world-when, for the sake of worldly gain, or popular applause, or the favour of men, or earthly rank, we are tempted to disregard the voice of conscience and of God I God's commands are clear. His promises are equally clear. We never gain anything by making compromise with sin. From the moment that Ama.zia.h forsook God, success began to forsake his banners, He and his army were defeated by the army of Israel, and eventually he himself was slain by a conspiracy of his own servants. Let us learn that we should never, for the sake of any temporal advantage, make a oompromise with sin, or disobey the command of God. We may be the losers for the time, but the Lord is able to give us much more than this. In an interesting book lately published, which gives an account of the mission to the fishermen in tile North Sea, we are told that some of the owners of the fishing-vessels refused to allow their vessels to be used for a prayer-meeting or other religious service ; but expected the men to work on the Lord's day as on others. There was a small fleet, all the skippers of which were anxious to have no fishing on Sunday, and accordingly sent home a "round robin" to the owners, praying for this concession, They waited anxiously for the return of the cutter with the owners' reply, and when at length it reached them, their hopes were utterly de.shed, for the employers, while saying they would not forbid the skippers to keep their fishing-gear on board, gave them clearly to understand that o.ny skipper doing so would run the risk of losing his berth at the end of the voyage. The matter was quietly and prayerfully discussed, and eventually all but one agreed, " We ought to obey God rather than man;" and so sabba.th after sabbath this solitary dissentien, laboured with hie gear, while all the other vessels were lying-to. As ea.eh skipper's voyage expired, he ran home for the bi-monthly refit, yet not a word was said about discharging him, and as this happened to every skipper in turn, they ma.de up their minds that the threat was an empty one. However, at Christmas the secret came outi for the owner, according to custom, read aloud to his assembled crews the '(st of the lL JUNG&. 11  THE SEOOND BOOK OF TUE KINGS. [on. xiv. 1-29,