Vere. 6-9.-Ennobling thr. earthly, or making ,rured tM aecular. Jehoshaphat made hie reign over Judah a continuous act or Divine service. For while that reirn was not without blemish and miete.ke, the king was evidently ruling" in the fear of the Lord," and wae trying to bring hie people into willing e.nd loyal subjection to their Divine Sovereign. In taking the measure he now took he acted with great intelligence. For nothing would be so likely to lead the people to discontentment and rebellion against the existing order as n sense of prevailing injustice, of wrongs unredressed, of rights that could not be realized; nothing, on the other hand, was so fitted to infuse a spirit of loyalty to the administration and to Jehovah himself as a well-regulated system or justice, extending over the whole land. The piety which Jehoshaphat was thus illus- trating he exemplified in detail by giving the instructions he delivered to the judges (vers. 6, 7, 9, 10). In these he showed that the ordinary act of jnd,,"lllent in secular matters might and should be made a trne and sacred service rendered unto God, an act of piety. For he charged them to do everything in their courts, as we should do everything in our homes and in our houees of business- I. UNTO THE Lonn. They were to do all "in the fear of the Lord" (ver. 9); they were to judge" not for man, but for the Lord" (ver. 6). This is an anticipation of the instruction given by Paul in his Jetter t.o the Church at Colosse, where he bids the slaves serve their masters "not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; " whatsoever they do, doing it "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. iii. 22, 23). 'l'here is nothing in which we are engaged, of the humblest kind and in the lowliest sphere, which we may not do and which we should not do "for the Lord" or "unt.o the Lord," by acting "faithfully and with a perfect heart," in euch wise as we are assured he will approve, and with the distinct view of pleasing and honouring him; thue doing we "make drudgery Divine," as George Herbert tells us. IL WITH HIB FELT PBEl!El!IOE Al'ID HIS DIVINE AID. The Lord "is with y01J, in the judgment" (ver. 6); "the Lord shall be vrith the good" (ver. 11). If we can but feel that God is "with ue," that our Divine Master is by our Bide, with his sympathizing and sustaining presence, then we are satisfied, then we are strung. The position we occupy may be very humble, the 11ituation may be a lonely or a perilous one, the opponents may be numeroue and their opposition may be severe, the duties may be very onerous; but Obrist is with us, hie smile is upon us, his arm is working with us nnd for us, hie reward le in his hand; we will go happily and cheorily on our way. III. IN BIB OWN WAY. "For there la no iniquity with the Loril our God," etc. (ver, 7). '!'hey wore to ju1lgo even aa God himseff did, in the BBmo spirit 1m<l on the 11ame principles; aa lmpartinlly, aa righteously, as he did. And our Lord cnlls upon u.11 to elevate our earthly life, to make every part or it sacred and noble, by introducing Into ovorythlng the spirit and the prlnolplea which are Divine. "Du ye purfoct," bo May11, "oven a, your Father In hoavun 111 perfuot;" "Uo yo holy, for [ am holy;" "A1 I have loved you, that yo nlNo lovo ono nnuthor;" "1rullow thou mo." It iN, lndood, a very OJ:oollont an1l pn1ltlvoly lnvaluablo onlarp:umont nncl on11oblu111uut of thl11 hu1J111n Jlro that ovory hour aml ovury not of It 11111,y ho Np1mt 111111 wr11111(ht 1111 llo,l i11 •pcmdlng hi• ntornlty rin<l IN ruling In hlN ntvlno ilo11111l11. 'l'ho vury •1111111 prinulpiud ur J/\lrlty rll(htoou1nuH 111111 1•q11lty thu vory N11mu Nplrlt of 1111•11lll"h1111"" 1u11l l11 v,,, of l(OIILin:11,1111 arul oun11,lnrntor111N•r wl1loh ho 1ll11\1l1y• In hi• l(OVUrlllllllllt 11f lhn 1111lvurn,, wo tn11y ho n11u1l(o11tl1111 In t.110 owlloNt pnthM II whloh wo w11lk lr11111 1l1w t 11 .111.v. A ■ ho l11, po 111ny w11 ho, 11111 llrn we, 11111)' bn llvl111,t, 'l'lmro 11111111.,1 111 11111)11111,( 111 11 1u1 11r P11111ll 11l11,nt "" ror wo 11111v 1,o 11v11rywhur11 11111I In 11v11rvllil111( tl11, 11hilol1·u11 "' 1111r ft11\,l111r wlio I•In 0
l1111wu11 11 (M11U, v, .Jri), In uv,,ry w11ll1 111' lli'u w,, 11111.v l,11 11lt1duly L11lowl11M C1111'1.I;, ---ll, 230 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [cH, x1x, 1-ll.