they can to send to idolatrous nations the gospel, which softens and purifies the human heart.

When Ahaz was severely punished for his sins, he became no better, but " did trespass yet more against the Lord." He even went so far in his insane zeal for idolatry, as to cut up the vessels used in the service of the temple, and shut up its doors. In a word, Ahaz "respected neither Jehovah, the law, nor the prophets; he broke all the restraints imposed on the Hebrew kings, and regarded nothing but his own depraved inclinations." So vile was his conduct that the people, though wedded to idolatry, would not suffer his body to be deposited in the royal cemetery, but as a mark of disgrace buried it in some other part of the city.

Thus, while Hezekiah was deprived of the public services of religion, the sacrifices and songs of praise in the sanctuary, at home he was constantly exposed to his father's corrupt example, and was often forced to hear scoffs at the worship of Jehovah from one whom nature taught him to reverence. What but the grace of God could save Hezekiah from this deadly influence, and raise up a distinguished champion for the truth from the bosom of such a family? A missionary at the West lately found, in one of his visits, an infidel boy fourteen years old. He tried to convince him that the Scriptures are the word of God, but without effect. That boy's father was intemperate, and probably taught him to raise his

puny arm against the Bible. A depraved heart prompts us all to evil, and divine power alone can break the chain by which an abandoned father draws his child downwards to perdition.

As Hezekiah was born several years before Ahaz began to reign, if not present when his brothers were sacrificed in the valley of Hinnom, he was of an age to understand and be deeply affected by that appalling scene. It might well disgust him with the rites of idolatry, and make his heart cleave more closely to the religion of his ancestors. Especially would this be the case, if, as some suppose, Hezekiah was himself the " son whom Ahaz made "to pass through the fire." These writers think that in the worship of Moloch, children were only made to pass through the flames, or between two fires, where they were not entirely consumed ; but there is no proof that Hezekiah is intended in the passage quoted, nor is it probable that Ahaz would subject his destined successor to this cruel and disgusting ceremony.

The only certain information which the Bible contains respecting the mother of Hezekiah, is her own name and that of her father. Whether she early taught her son to fear the God of Israel and reverence his institutions, or whether she encouraged him to burn incense to idols "in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree," we can only conjecture. Maternal counsels and

prayers often counteract the unhappy influence of a wicked father, and it may be that the good principles which Hezekiah exhibited at the very beginning of his reign, were in part implanted by his mother's hand.

It has been suggested as not improbable, that the Zechariah who, with Uriah the priest, was taken as a witness of a prophecy by Isaiah, Isa. 8:2, was the father-in-law of Ahaz; and that perhaps he is the same Zechariah mentioned, 2 Chron. 29: 13, as a Levite of the family of Asaph, and one of those who early coöperated with Hezekiah in gathering the Levites for the purification of the temple. If such was the parentage of Hezekiah's mother, we might infer with a good deal of probability, that he was indebted to her for the early bias of his mind in favor of the true religion.

But whether Hezekiah was favored or not with the instructions of a pious mother, he had access to the Bible, so far as then written; and we cannot doubt, from his subsequent history, that he read it with care and great delight. When he first comes before our notice, he appears to be familiar with its institutions, and deeply imbued with its spirit. Though daily surrounded by persons of corrupt sentiments and immoral lives, he would often retire to search the Scriptures, and enjoy the society of holy men of other times. There he could commune with Abraham, who, at the call of God, went

out from idolatrous friends to sojourn "in a strange country;" with Moses, who refused to share in the pleasures of an idolatrous court; and with David, whom he seems to have taken as a model in his zeal for the house of the Lord. It is much more probable, too, that the regard for the Scriptures which prompted Hezekiah to make a new collection of the Proverbs of Solomon, originated at this period of his life, than amid the wars and busy scenes after he began to reign.

Hezekiah was several years old at the death of his grandfather Jotham. Of this prince it is recorded, that "he became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God;" and it is no unreasonable supposition that he early taught Hezekiah to venerate the temple and its services.

Corrupt as the people of Judah had become at this period, there were some that still adhered to the God of their fathers; and he had not forsaken the nation nor forgotten his covenant. He sent his servants to recall them to their duty and admonish them of approaching judgments if they continued to be disobedient. Two distinguished prophets were then living in Judah. One of these was Isaiah, who prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, as he had also done during the reigns of Ahaz and Jotham. He was sent, in the boyhood of Hezekiah, while Jerusalem was besieged by the combined forces of Syria and Israel, to assure Ahaz that the city should

be guarded in safety against the attack. The other was Micah, who began to prophesy a few years before the birth of Hezekiah, and continued to prophesy during his reign. He was a native of Maresha, a town about twenty miles south-west of Jerusalem. It seems probable that the young prince was acquainted with both these good men, whose society he would be disposed to seek, and that he was indebted to them for many excellent instructions and counsels. Despairing of a reformation so long as the idolatrous and superstitious Ahaz was king, they would view with deep interest any signs of attachment to the true God in the heir to the throne. Those of the people, too, who were not infected with idolatry, would often in their prayers remember Hezekiah, under whose government they might once more observe the rites of their law, and pay their homage to Jehovah in his own courts. That such was the expectation of pious men in Judah respecting Hezekiah, we may reasonably imagine; for though the Bible does not inform us at what time he began to fear the Lord, in all probability it was in early life. Such a character as he exhibited on ascending the throne, is not formed in a moment, nor such strength of principle attained except through the slow growth of years. Moreover, God manifestly raised up Hezekiah to be a reformer— to restore the worship of the temple and bring back the people from their idolatrous practices; and it is