The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 198

the Lord . . . with all their heart and with all their soul 11 \cb. xv. 12); yet here wo find him erring, la.eking confidence in God, and "going down ' to Syria for help. But taki~g this into account, it remains true th11t God distinguishes clearly between thoso of his servants who a.re but faint-hearted and feeble in his service, and those who give themselves_to ~im "with their whole desire." Let there be so thorough and so com• plete a ded1ca.t1on of ourselves, of our powers and of our resources and of our time, to the Person and the ea.use of our Divine S11,viour, that we shall be counted by him among those "whose heart is perfect toward him. 11 We may attain to this, although we may have much still to learn and to acquire as his disciples (see Phil, iii. 12-15). III. His INTERPOSITION ON OUR BEHALF. God would certainly have interposed on behalf of Asa, would have "shown himself strong II in his behalf. He would, said Hanani, have given him a far greater success than that which he attained by his gifts and negotiations with Benhadad (ver. 7). God always succours bis faithful ones. 1. He may deliver tbem/rom their distress; M he had delivered Asa. already, and did afterwards deliver Hezekiah. He may give us the victory over our enemies from without-over bodily ill, over opposing circumstances; he may cause us to triumph as "men count" triumph. 2. Or he may grant us deliverance in our distress; he may grant us such spiritual elevation that we shall" glory in our infirmity," shall" rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer," shall bear the noble testimony of perfect con• tentment with the inferior position (John iii. 29); and thus (literally) "show himself strong in those whose heart is devoted to him" (Keil's translation).-C. Vers. 10-14.-Lessonsfrom last years. We could well wish the account of the last days of Asa to have been different from what it is. Sombre clouds, casting a chill shadow, gathered in the evening sky. Not that there was actual defection, but there was an amount of infirmity that detracts from the honour which his earlier years had laid up for him. We cannot help feeling-· L THAT AGE IS NOT .ALWAYS AB VENERABLE AB IT SHOULD BE; not even a" good old age ; " not even Christian old age. Having enjoyed so much of privilege, and having passed through so much discipline, it ought to exemplify the lessons it has had opportunity to learn-it ought to be calm, pure, steadfast, reverent, godly, pervaded with a Christian spirit. But it is not always thus. Men may be always learning, but never wise ; men may pass through a very forest of privileges and of opportunities, and never pluck any fruit from its trees. And if we do not gather the good which is to be gained as we go on our way through life, we shall sink into an old age in which we have attained nothing and lost much. We must see to it that we do grow as we live; that we are laying up a store of wisdom and of worth that will make old age honourable and beloved. It is sometimes bare and unbeautiful enough; but it may "still bring forth fruit," and be fair to see as it stands in the garden of the Lord. II. TH.AT ONE FALSE STEP IS VERY LIKELY TO LEAD TO ANOTHER. Asa, having made the serious mistake of resorting to the Syrian king instead of trusting in the Lord., now violently resents the rebuke of the prophet of Jehovah; and he even pro• ceeds to an act of positive persecution; and, having gone thus far, he goes yet further by some acts of severity, probably directed against those who sympathized with the imprisoned prophet. Thus wrong leads to wrong, sin to sin. It is the constant course of things. Equivocation leads to falsehood; impurity of thought to indelicacy of speech ancl licentiousness of action ; sternness of ~pirit to cruelty of conduct; irregu• larity in worship to ungodliness, etc. And not only does faultiness commonly lead to sin in the same direction, but, as in this case, it often leads to wrong-doing in another direction. When the heart is led astray from God, and his will is disregarded iu one thing, it is only too likely that that holy will will be defied in another thing. We may well shun the first wrong step, for we have no conception of the consequences it may entail. A wrong act, and still more a. wrong course, leaves the heart exposed to the designs of the enemy; it is often found to be the first of a series. Ill. 'THAT RECTITUDE IS P,ABTLY, EVEN LARGELY, A MATTER OF PROPORTION, (Ver. 12.) Asa rightly enough consulted bis physicians and leaned on their profes. sional skill ; he was wrong in placing too implicit and too great a reliance upon them; he did not ffmer:nber, as he should have done, that all human means avail nothing wi 1,Lout the blessing of God. He had not enough of the spirit of the psalmist in OH, XIV, 1-14.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 199