glancing of an eye, the pointing of a finger, 1 of fact--as to lead us to express our wonder may hold you as in a vice; but without and gratitude in the words of Scripture being able at all to specify, you often feel with reference to the apostles' first miracle : that you are in the presence of a master, “For the man was above forty years old, ! or a king, and must serve and do homage. on whom this miracle of healing was In the case before us, however, we may shewed.” The truth is, that progress is from the history understand at least some education seems to be in inverse order to of the grounds of this influence.

the advancing years. The child learns Take first of all the fact that Joash was more in the firet year of its life than ever under the deepest obligation to Jehoiada. it does afterwards. And even as to educaHe owed to him all, even his life itself. tion in the more technical sense, when it The story is a very tragic one as told from has learned its alphabet, and come to 2 Chron. xxii, 10. Ahaziah is dead, and understand that two and two make four, Athaliah, his mother, by a swift and it has made a greater comparative advance bloody policy, usurps the kingdom. She in literature and the science of arithmetic destroyed all the seed royal--all, that | than ever it does afterwards ; for it has is to say, with one exception ; viz., Joash, 1 bridged the gulf between nothing and somewho, when a year old, is rescued from the thing, and the rest is but following the general massacre by Jehoshabeath, his road. Now I say that during these early aunt, and for six years hidden in the years Jehoiada had all the advantage over Temple. This Jehoshabeath was Jeho Joash of this exclusive training; and is it iada's wife ; and thus these two together not certain that the influence he wielded incurred the risk, saving the boy's life at over him in aster-years may be traced back the imminent peril of their own. Now to this source ? unless Joash was a monster of ingratitude, And yet, looked at in another aspect, which there is no reason to suppose, for approached from the boy's side, was it he had not character enough-at least not altogether to him an advantage? It mas, yet-to be a monster in anything (though I think, well be questioned whether the in the sequel we shall see how he de education of these early years was not of veloped), this must have given to the too secluded a kind. Think of the necessity uncle over the nephew that influence which for concealment. Think of the hiding of a generous benefactor naturally exercises, this child for six years within the precincts except over the most depraved minds. of the Temple. There was, I should think, “The uncle over the nephew," I say; for physically and mentally, perhaps morally, in estimating this influence we must not an unnaturalness, an unwholesomeness overlook this relationsbip.

about it. Athaliah was not a woman, 1 But here was also that influence which | imagine, likely to be easily imposed uponu an exclusive and secluded education | She would probably know that when the secures. Think how completely this boy executioners went to their bloody work was shut up to the teaching of Jehoiada ; | Joash was miesing, and 80 escaped the how from that early age he would be in 1 sword. She would be haunted with susJehoiada's hands as clay in the hands of picion that he was still living; and if so, the potter. Supposing you wished to where, and in whose keeping ? adopt a child, to mould him after your What stratagem, what devices, would own heart and for your own purposes, be needed to evade this. And though the which had you rather that he were, å year | boy himself might be unconscious of it all, old or seven years old ? Of this I am yet the shadow of it would fall upon him. convinced--and let us all weigh it--that A silent, stealthy, strategic life would be more is done towards forming the character his; he knew not why. No buoyancy, no in the first seven years than in the second, | hilariousnees, no jocund outbursts of the and more in the second than in the third, I life within him ; but one long hush, drawn and so on to the time when forming it out through all the seasons and the silent at all seems out of the question, when years. For Athaliah, with her woman's even reforming or converting seems all wit, would have her spies, her tools, !! but impossible, and indeed is quite so, secret places, so that the very walls of the except under the mighty power of God, I Temple's chambers would have ears. Poor and even in this sphere is so improbable | boy ! I pity him. In his case, indeed, is, by comparison with earlier examples of a life was a sad necessity; a necess the power of the Spirit, so rare as matter which, perhaps, Jehoiada, the wise-le

mourned over, and forecasted in his mind priest's character comes out in all its the evils that from it might in after-life breadth and grasp. No mere schemer, no arise. But is there not here a lesson for us peddling politician, was he ; to truculent all? What in this case was necessity may crown-hunter ; but a man whose reach in some cases be imitation, to some extent, and grasp were such as to render failure by parents, tutors, and governors, as a all but impossible, and whose motives were matter of choice, wrongly judging it the patriotic and pure. Being dead, he yet best.

speaks to us; and from the story of his I am far from thinking that no vigilance life we know him and have seen him. is needful in the training of our children; Look at him ; a man of stalwart framo but it is possible to carry this to such an and massive brain, No “narrow, foxy extent as that it defeats itself. We may so face," but one of breadth and clearness, bedge them round about, so compass them calm, resolute, indomitable; withal a man with observances of our own inventions of God, a man of faith and prayer : this is and conceits, that when they take their Jehoiada ; a man such as Dr. Chalmers place in the world, as they must do one had in view when, in describing the day, it will be to them quite a strange elements of a great character, he reckoned world, and by its very strangeness exercise promptitude and power to be the foremost. a fascinating power. We may try to shield Certainly, when you read the story of his them from overy breath of temptation, policy-how he“ strengthened himself” keep them ignorant of every rumour of the with the captains of the hundreds," and evil that is outside the fold where these the Levites, and the chief of the fathers of larbs are preserved ; or perhaps, on the Israel, ere ne struck the blow; and how, contrary, with the idea of warning them, when he did strike, it was as with the exaggerate the evil; but this is not how “hammer of Ther”-you see these elemen are made. In either case the reaction ments in grand and resistless combination, probably comes; the tightened rein snaps; reminding one, both as to his strength and the bent spring, when the pressure is his goodness, more of our own Cromwell taken off, flies in the opposite direction. than of any other man of these modern

Another element in Jehoiada's influence times. Under these influences, then, Joash may be found in his priestly office. All grew up; his mind filled by them with that was solemn, mystic, and holy, would | fear, wonder, reverence, almost worship; be represented to him in the person of | in the nature of the case utterly dependent; Jehoiada ; and perhaps the reverence he taken from the nursery to the throne; a entertained for his uncle, other influences puppet king. Is it wonderful that when being excluded, would develop in him a the hand that held and moved him was kind of spiritual life, or rather religiousness, withdrawn another should of necessity take that was only reflected, fictitious, and its place ? But we are anticipating. Let precocious. A profession of religion” was, us now,I suppose, in our exact sense of that term, II., Look at the extent to which this unknown in those days; but amongst our influence was used. Measured by time it selves have we not sometimes seen this was “all the days of Jehoiada." While profession followed by a speedy declension, the priest lives he never loses his power. from which it seems impossible to rescue When he is old and full of days his hold those who make it “ again to repentance"? upon Joash is as strong as ever. The king, It is not in the least intended by these when a man in the prime of life, is az remarks to dishearten the young, but only plastic in the hands of the minister as to warn ourselves against the well-meant when his baby brow first wore the round but mistaken “forcing" process; the hot and top of sovereignty. And the comhouse plant, in the metaphorical as well as pleteness as well as duration of this influthe natural sense, not being well adaptei ence may be gathered from the history. It to bear the frost and wind to which that of roached over all the affairs of the king and the former sense must be exposed.

his kingdom; to matters personal and Then, too, the brilliant success which domestic, as well as political and religious. attended the policy of Jehoiada in restoring That it would do so may be gathered from the throne of Judah to Joash, its rightful the brief obituary in the fifteenth and sixheir, would inspire the boy with boundless teenth verses : “They buried him in the confidence in the wisdom and power of his l city of David among the kings, because he guardian. It is hore that the force of the I had done good in Israel, both toward God

and toward his house." He was not poli- | not into the mind of Joash. Moreover tician merely, nor priest merely, but a man these men lost no time; promptitude seems complete in all the relationships of life. to have been their gift ; and another which His influence upon Joash in matters per they had, servility, was used to no small sonal and domestic is apparent from the account. For I am disposed to make more fact that he even chose his wives for him. of their “obeisance" than the mere cosAnd though for this state reasons may be tomary homage given to kings. This of pleaded, and similar examples produced, course. But these men, I think, descendeu yet the case before us seems one of such to a “ voluntary humility" because they utter passivity that we infer, not without knew their man. All weak people like to reason, that even in this respect Joash had be made much of; and if you have but no mind of his own: and if it was so here, tact, if you know how to "manage," and can we fix to it any limit at all? In are sufficiently upscrupulous, you may matters political and religious we do seem generally gain your ends by them. But at first sight to get one hopeful gleam of you cannot do this if you respect yoursel, individuality, which, however, upon closer nor, indeed, if you respect them. For the examination, vanishes into the “palpable moment you begin to take advantage of a obscure.” “Joash was minded,” it is said, | man's weakness, so as to use him for your “ to repair the house of the Lord.” Jeho- | purposes, moving bim about as a piece iada is evidently the moving power in this, upon a chessboard, that moment you cease as in everything else. Observe, that so long to respect him. Let us learn to be abore as it seems to be the king's own idea it all this. Let us cultivate that noble, chival. carries with it no authority. He gathered rous spirit, which is the soul of the true together the priests and the Levites, and gentleman and the Christian. “Honour commanded them to “hasten the matter." ALL men.” Be not only respectful in man“ Howbeit they hastened it not.”

ner, but try to cherish a real respect, unless Obedience is the courtesy due to a man has so outlawed himself as to be kings;" but this shadow, this semblance of utterly unworthy of it. While the least a king, failed to secure it until he called for shred or remnant of truth and goodness Jehoiada, and then, in the name of the remains in a man, respect him : hope even king, but with the power of the minister, against hope. Charity believeth all things, the thing was done. “The collection that even to the verge of credulity; and when it Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel can no longer believe, it hopes all things, in the wilderness” was renewed, and they even to the brink of despair; and when it “ gathered money in abundance." But we is forced into the gulf, where hope is not, it pass on,–

endureth all things, and so it never faileth. III., To what happened when this in Where this spirit is—the spirit of sell: fluence was withdrawn.

respect, and respect to others-servility and And first, as was inevitable, wbile the sycophancy are impossible; while con king retains the name and semblance of tempt, and scorn, too, are rarely manifested, authority, the power of the administration | except in those extreme cases which must passed into other hands. In the king him excite them; scorn being freely indulged self is no power: let us see who are his in, not by the noble, but the base, as Ter advisers. Here they are. “Now after the nyson so grandly and beautifully says 1 death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, his “ Guinevere :"and made obeisance to the king. Then the

“For in those days king hearkened unto them."

No knight of Arthur's noblest dealt in scorn; What an inconsistent man he would seem

But if a man were halt, or hunched, in him,

By those whom God had made full-limbed and they to be! What a consistent man he really Scorn was allowed as part of his defect, was! His character is uniform, looked at And he was answered softly by the king below the surface. From the first we have

And all his table." seen that he has no independence, no From the time that Joash hearkened to strength in him ; he must have some one these “princes of Judah”-these esco, to lean on, he must be ruled; and this is phants of the “baser sort," who flattered all we see now. As to his happening to him and despised him--his downwari fall into such hands, there was, we may be

there was, we may be career is swift and certain." They lent to sure, not another Jehoiada in the land. | house of the Lord God of their fathers, and “ The godly man had ceased ;” and “help served groves and idols : and wrath came from the Lord”-the Invisible-enters upon Judah and Jerusalem for this taler

trespass." Yet the Lord was lovg-suffering, | fate from which in ipfancy he had so nar. for he sent to them prophets to bring them rowly escaped. His servants “slew him on again to himself. And one especially, his bed, and he died : and they buried him Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, under the in the city of David,” but “not in the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire, | sepulchres of the kings." with sharp and burning words testified And so this story ends. As to its moral, against them. And now Joash siuks to is it not already told ? Is it not a lesson the lowest deep: he adds to his other sins concerning self-dependence, and the necescruelty and ingratitude ; for ho takes the sity of an inward strength, a strength that life of the son of that Jehoiada to whom he comes only by leaning upon God ? owed his own. Under good influences If we are strong, let us be careful how Joash would, no doubt, have seemed grate we use our strength; let us not so overful to the end of his life, and perhaps have shadow with our influence those who confelt so, while yet, through all apparent fide in us, as to prevent the sunshine and changes, his character would remain essen the storm, which are alike from heaven, tially unchanged; for he had “no root in from developing within them the growth of himself.” When Zechariah died he said, self-respect and self-reliance. And if we “The Lord look upon it, and require it,” are weak, let us trust, indeed, in the wise and the sequel tells us how this intercession and the strong, but not to the exclusion of against Judah prevailed. At the end of the a deeper, holier trust in Him who is the year came up the “Syrian host”-scarcely, wisest and the best. Happy is the man indeed, a host, for they were but a small that hath the God of Jacob for his help! company-and the Lord delivered into HE only can endure as seeing Him who is their hands a very great host. We have invisible. The Jehoiadas die, but there is already compared Jehoiada to our great One who dies not. Our Lord, the Christ, Cromwell : may we not make another continueth ever; for he hath the unchangecomparison. It was when one of the able priesthood. Let us, by faith, lean on princes of the house of Stuart, as weak and him, the “ Beloved," and be will bring us, as wicked as this Joash, sat upon the British at last, to the city of David, the new Jeru. throne, that the nation was insulted by the salem; but in a sense glorious, instead of presence of the Dutch fleet in the Thames ;

dishonourable, not to the “ sepulchres of à thing inconceivable, impossible, while tho the kings," for in that city death and the “ Protector " held the reins. And so, too, grave are cast out, and the kings and the it is inconceivable that while Jehoiada

priests live for ever and over. lived this beggarly company of the Syrians should have vanquished the “ great host"

“Strong Son of God, immortal Love,

Whom we that have not seen thy face, of Judah; but when this patriot priest

By faith, and faith alone, embrace, was in his grave the nation, under an im

Believing where we cannot prove. becile king and a corrupt ministry, fell, and

“ Thine are these orbs of light and shade : wallowed in the slough of its own deep

Thou madest life in man and brute ; degradation.

Thou madest death : and lo, thy foot

Is on the skull which thou hast made." As to Joash, he meets, in the end, the

THE TWO FIELDS.
A HARVEST MEDITATION.

BY THE REV. JOHN cox. " TRAVELLING through a corn district early in the month of August, I felt deeply interested in observing the appearance of the different fields, and in noticing the various kinds of labour going on in them. A few fields had been cleared: over these the gleaners were scattered ; carrying the mind back to the days of Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi, and reminding of the beneficent provision of the Mosaic law. Looking in another direction, wagons were seen passing along heavily laden with the precious grain, and ricks of corn were rising in various

places. The reapers were busily employed in some fields, while others remained the untouched. Towards two of these fields attention was especially drawn, and a LIMIT these I would make a few observations.

The first presented a noble expanse of golden grain. All the ears sted ? erect, except when bowed by the gentle breeze. The field seemed ripened if over, and invited the reaper's hand to come and gather in its treasures. Scartes a weed could be seen: there were no red poppies flaunting about amidst these homely looking ears, though, I dare say, there were weeds underneath that did to not appear on the surface. A very little way from this field, which drew forth B expressions of admiration from all our party, was another, of a very different : appearance. The corn stood thin on the ground, and in many places looked quite green. Weeds were abundant: indeed in some places they were more plentiful than the corn. What a contrast, we all exclaimed, between the two leta fields ! what could make so great a difference? They were so near together that there could be no difference in the climate, nor probably very much difference in the soil. I concluded, therefore, what I afterwards found was the fact, that they were not cultivated by the same farmer, and that the difference chiedy arose from the different treatment of the ground, and the measure of care bestowed upon the crops while advancing towards maturity. The words of Solomon, in Prov. xxiv. 30-34, respecting the field of the slothful, occurred to my mind, and I also “ looked, and received instruction."

Husbandry has ever been used as an illustration of Divine things. This was done by the prophets, and very often by the Lord Jesus. There is one lesson tanghi by it to which I would now particularly refer, and which grows outof viewing these contrasted fields. It is this: There are some things connected with religion, or the salvation of the soul and the service of God, which we cannot do; and there are others which we must earnestly set ourselves to do. If we neglect to be diligent on our part, we have no reason to think that God will do his part. The husband man cannot make the corn grow; but he can prepare the ground, and cast in the seed, and must do so if he would have a crop. He cannot cause the sun to shine, or make the corn ripen; but he can reap the field, and prepare the grain for the market, when God has made it grow, and ripened it. Man cannot control the weather, and God will not do the work man can do. Thus it is spiritual things: the means are ours; the blessing is from God. We must labour and God will give the increase.

But there is another thing which the farmer must do if he would have his field look well and produce much. He must diligently and perseveringly look after the weeds. The seeds of many kinds of weeds, and that in vast numbers, are found in all kinds of ground, the best as well as the worst, and they will be sure to make an effort to occupy the entire surface of the ground. This may be prevented, and generally is, to some extent; and yet for lack of diligence 1 this matter how many fields are almost useless, how many crops are neant spoiled, and what a quantity of seeds of weeds are deposited for future years and carried about to other places.

Christian, here is an important lesson for you. Behold your work, and be heedful not to neglect it for a single day. You must watch the weeds till the very day of harvest. Hark to some of the many words addressed to you on ting point. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, per fecting holiness in the fear of God.” “Let us lay aside every weight, and the en that doth so easily beset us." And note particularly the following: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings." Just before.-1 Peter i.--the apostle had been speaking of the seed of the word being sown in the soul, and having taken root: in the verse but quoted he bids those thus favoured to look well after the weeds. This is tiresome work, and sometimes very disheartening work; but we are not let