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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Second Kings, Chapter I].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We here find Ahaziah, the genuine son and successor of Ahab, on the
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throne of Israel. His reign continued not two years; he died by a fall
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in his own house, of which, after the mention of the revolt of Moab
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:1">ver. 1</A>),
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we have here an account.
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I. The message which, on that occasion, he sent to the god of Ekron,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:2">ver. 2</A>.
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II. The message he received from the God of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:3-8">ver. 3-8</A>.
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III. The destruction of the messengers he sent to seize the prophet,
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once and again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:9-12">ver. 9-12</A>.
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IV. His compassion to, and compliance with, the third messenger, upon
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his submission, and the delivery of the message to the king himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:13-16">ver. 13-16</A>.
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IV. The death of Ahaziah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:17,18">ver. 17, 18</A>.
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In the story we may observe how great the prophet looks and how little
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the prince.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ahaziah's Sickness.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 896.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
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2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber
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that <I>was</I> in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and
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said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether
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I shall recover of this disease.
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3 But the angel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise,
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go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto
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them, <I>Is it</I> not because <I>there is</I> not a God in Israel, <I>that</I>
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ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?
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4 Now therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Thou shalt not come down
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from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
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And Elijah departed.
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5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto
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them, Why are ye now turned back?
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6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and
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said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say
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unto him, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>Is it</I> not because <I>there is</I> not
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a God in Israel, <I>that</I> thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the
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god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on
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which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
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7 And he said unto them, What manner of man <I>was he</I> which came
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up to meet you, and told you these words?
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8 And they answered him, <I>He was</I> a hairy man, and girt with a
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girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It <I>is</I> Elijah
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the Tishbite.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, under God's rebukes
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both by his providence and by his prophet, by his rod and by his
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word.</P>
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<P>
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I. He is crossed in his affairs. How can those expect to prosper that
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<I>do evil in the sight of the Lord,</I> and <I>provoke him to
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anger?</I> When he rebelled against God, and revolted from his
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allegiance to him, Moab rebelled against Israel, and revolted from the
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subjection that had long paid to the kings of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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The Edomites that bordered on Judah, and were tributaries to the kings
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of Judah, still continued so, as we find in the chapter before
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+22:47"><I>v.</I> 47</A>),
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till, in the wicked reign of Joram, they broke that yoke
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+8:22"><I>ch.</I> viii. 22</A>)
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as the Moabites did now. If men break their covenants with us, and
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neglect their duty, we must reflect upon our breach of covenant with
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God, and the neglect of our duty to him. Sin weakens and impoverishes
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us. We shall hear of the Moabites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+3:5"><I>ch.</I> iii. 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. He is seized with sickness in body, not from any inward cause, but
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by a severe accident. <I>He fell down through a lattice,</I> and was
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much bruised with the fall; perhaps it threw him into a fever,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Whatever we go, there is but a step between us and death. A man's house
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is his castle, but not to secure him against the judgments of God. The
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cracked lattice is a fatal to the son, when God pleases to make it so,
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as the bow drawn at a venture was to the father. Ahaziah would not
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attempt to reduce the Moabites, lest he should perish in the field of
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battle: but he is not safe, though he tarry at home. Royal palaces do
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not always yield firm footing. The snare is laid for the sinner in the
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ground where he thinks least of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+18:9,10">Job xviii. 9, 10</A>.
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The whole creation, which groans under the man's sin, will at length
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sink and break under the weight, like this lattice. He is never safe
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that has God for his enemy.</P>
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<P>
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III. In his distress he sends messengers to enquire of the god Ekron
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whether he should recover or no,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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And here,
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1. His enquiry was very foolish: <I>Shall I recover?</I> Even nature
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itself would rather have asked, "What means may I use that I may
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recover?" But as one solicitous only to know his fortune, not to know
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his duty, his question is only this, <I>Shall I recover?</I> to which a
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little time would give an answer. We should be more thoughtful what
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will become of us after death than how, or when, or where, we shall
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die, and more desirous to be told how we may conduct ourselves well in
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our sickness, and get good to our souls by it, than whether we shall
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recover from it.
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2. His sending to Baal-zebub was very wicked; to make a dead and dumb
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idol, perhaps newly erected (for idolaters were fond of new gods), his
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oracle, was not less a reproach to his reason than to his religion.
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Baal-zebub, which signifies <I>the lord of a fly,</I> was one of their
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Baals that perhaps gave his answers either by the power of the demons
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or the craft of the priests, with a humming noise, like that of a great
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fly, or that had (as they fancied) rid their country of the swarms of
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flies wherewith it was infested, or of some pestilential disease
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brought among them by flies. Perhaps this dunghill-deity was as famous
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then as the oracle of Delphos was, long afterwards, in Greece. In the
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New Testament <I>the prince of the devils</I> is called
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<I>Beel-zebub</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:24">Matt. xii. 24</A>),
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for the gods of the Gentiles were devils, and this perhaps grew to be
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one of the most famous.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Elijah, by direction from God, meets the messengers, and turns them
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back with an answer that shall save them the labour of going to Ekron.
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Had Ahaziah sent for Elijah, humbled himself, and begged his prayers,
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he might have had an answer of peace; but if he send to the god of
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Ekron, instead of the God of Israel, this, like Saul's consulting the
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witch, shall fill the measure of his iniquity, and bring upon him a
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sentence of death. Those that will not enquire of the word of God for
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their comfort shall be made to hear it, whether they will or not, to
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their amazement.</P>
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<P>
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1. He faithfully reproves his sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Is it not because there is not</I> (that is, because you think there
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is not) a God in Israel (<I>because there is no God, none in
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Israel,</I> so it may be read), <I>that you go to enquire of
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Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,</I> a despicable town of the Philistines
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+9:7">Zech. ix. 7</A>),
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long since vanquished by Israel? Here,
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(1.) The sin was bad enough, giving that honour to the devil which is
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due to God alone, which was done as much by their enquiries as by their
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sacrifices. Note, It is a very wicked thing, upon any occasion or
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pretence whatsoever, to consult with the devil. This wickedness reigned
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in the heathen world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+47:12,13">Isa. xlvii. 12, 13</A>)
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and remains too much even in the Christian world, and the devil's
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kingdom is supported by it.
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(2.) The construction which Elijah, in God's name, puts upon it, makes
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it much worse: "It is because you think not only that the God of Israel
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is not able to tell you, but that there is no God at all in Israel,
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else you would not send so far for a divine answer." Note, A practical
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and constructive atheism is the cause and malignity of our departures
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from God. Surely we think there is <I>no God in Israel</I> when we live
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at large, make flesh our arm, and seek a portion in the things of this
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world.</P>
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<P>
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2. He plainly reads his doom: Go, tell him <I>he shall surely die,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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"Since he is so anxious to know his fate, this is it; let him make the
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best of it." The certain fearful looking for of judgment and
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indignation which this message must needs cause cannot but cut him to
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the heart.</P>
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<P>
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V. The message being delivered to him by his servants, he enquires of
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them by whom it was sent to him, and concludes, by their description of
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him, that it must be Elijah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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For,
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1. His dress was the same that he had seen him in, in his father's
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court. He was clad in a hairy garment, and had a leathern girdle about
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him, was plain and homely in his garb. John Baptist, the Elias of the
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New Testament, herein resembled him, for his clothes were made of hair
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cloth, and he was girt with a leathern girdle,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:4">Matt. iii. 4</A>.
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He that was clothed with the Spirit despised all rich and gay clothing.
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2. His message was such as he used to deliver to his father, to whom he
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never prophesied good, but evil. Elijah is one of those witnesses that
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still torment the inhabitants of the earth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:10">Rev. xi. 10</A>.
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He that was a thorn in Ahab's eyes will be so in the eyes of his son
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while he treads in the steps of his father's wickedness; and he is
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ready to cry out, as his father did, <I>Hast thou found me, O my
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enemy?</I> Let sinners consider that the word which <I>took hold of
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their fathers</I> is still as quick and powerful as ever. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:6,Heb+4:12">Zech. i. 6; Heb. iv. 12</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki1_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Fire Called from Heaven by Elijah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 896.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his
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fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of
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a hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath
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said, Come down.
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10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I
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<I>be</I> a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and
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consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven,
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and consumed him and his fifty.
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11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with
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his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus
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hath the king said, Come down quickly.
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12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I <I>be</I> a man of
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God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy
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fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed
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him and his fifty.
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13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his
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fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell
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on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him,
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O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these
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fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
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14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the
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two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore
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let my life now be precious in thy sight.
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15 And the angel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto Elijah, Go down with
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him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him
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unto the king.
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16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Forasmuch as thou
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hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron,
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<I>is it</I> not because <I>there is</I> no God in Israel to enquire of his
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word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which
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thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
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17 So he died according to the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> which Elijah
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had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year
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of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had
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no son.
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18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, <I>are</I> they
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not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. The king issues out a warrant for the apprehending of Elijah. If
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the God of Ekron had told him he should die, it is probable he would
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have taken it quietly; but now that a prophet of the Lord tells him so,
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reproving him for his sin and reminding him of the God of Israel, he
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cannot bear it. So far is he from making any good improvement of the
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warning given him that he is enraged against the prophet; neither his
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sickness, nor the thoughts of death, made any good impressions upon
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him, nor possessed him with any fear of God. No external alarms will
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startle and soften secure sinners, but rather exasperate them. Did the
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king think Elijah a prophet, a true prophet? Why then durst he
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persecute him? Did he think him a common person? What occasion was
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there to send such a force, in order to seize him? Thus a band of men
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must take our Lord Jesus.</P>
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<P>
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II. The captain that was sent with his fifty soldiers found Elijah on
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the top of a hill (some think Carmel), and commanded him, in the king's
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name, to surrender himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Elijah was now so far from absconding, as formerly, into the close
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recesses of a cave, that he makes a bold appearance on the top of a
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hill; experience of God's protection makes him more bold. The captain
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calls him <I>a man of God,</I> not that he believed him to be so, or
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reverenced him a such a one, but because he was commonly called so. Had
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he really looked upon him as a prophet, he would not have attempted to
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|
make him his prisoner; and, had he thought him entrusted with the word
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|
of God, he would not have pretended to command him with the word of a
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|
king.</P>
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|
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<P>
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III. Elijah calls for fire from heaven, to consume this haughty daring
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|
sinner, not to secure himself (he could have done that some other way),
|
|
nor to avenge himself (for it was not his own cause that he appeared
|
|
and acted in), but to prove his mission, and to <I>reveal the wrath of
|
|
God</I> from <I>heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of
|
|
men.</I> This captain had, in scorn, called him <I>a man of God:</I>
|
|
"If I be so," says Elijah, "thou shalt pay dearly for making a jest of
|
|
it." He valued himself upon his commission (the king has said, <I>Come
|
|
down</I>), but Elijah will let him know that the God of Israel is
|
|
superior to the king of Israel and has a greater power to enforce his
|
|
commands. It was not long since Elijah had fetched fire from heaven, to
|
|
consume the sacrifice
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+17:38">1 Kings xvii. 38</A>),
|
|
|
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in token of God's acceptance of that sacrifice as an atonement for the
|
|
sins of the people; but, they having slighted that, now the fire falls,
|
|
not on the sacrifice, but on the sinners themselves,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
1. What an interest the prophets had in heaven; what the Spirit of God
|
|
in them demanded the power of God effected. Elijah did but speak, and
|
|
it was done. He that formerly had fetched water from heaven now fetches
|
|
fire. O the power of prayer! <I>Concerning the work of my hands,
|
|
command you me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:11">Isa. xiv. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. What an interest heaven had in the prophets! God was always ready to
|
|
plead their cause, and avenge the injuries done to them; kings shall
|
|
still be <I>rebuked for their sakes,</I> and charged to do <I>his
|
|
prophets no harm;</I> one Elijah is more to God than 10,000 captains
|
|
and their fifties. Doubtless Elijah did this by a divine impulse, and
|
|
yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to draw it into a
|
|
precedent,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+9:54">Luke ix. 54</A>.
|
|
|
|
They were now not far from the place where Elias did this act of
|
|
justice upon provoking Israelites, and would needs, in like manner,
|
|
call for fire upon those provoking Samaritans. "No," says Christ, "by
|
|
no means, <I>you know not what manner of spirit you are of,</I>" that
|
|
is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) "You do not consider <I>what manner of spirit,</I> as disciples,
|
|
you are called to, and how different from that of the Old-Testament
|
|
dispensation; it was agreeable enough to that dispensation of terror,
|
|
and of the letter, for Elias to call for fire, but the dispensation of
|
|
the Spirit and of grace will by no means allow it."
|
|
|
|
(2.) "You are not aware what manner of spirit you are, upon this
|
|
occasion, actuated by, and how different from that of Elias: he did it
|
|
in holy zeal, you in passion; he was concerned for God's glory, you for
|
|
your own reputation only." God judges men's practices by their
|
|
principles, and his judgment is according to truth.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. This is repeated a second time; would one think it?
|
|
|
|
1. Ahaziah sends, a second time, to apprehend Elijah
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
as if he were resolved not to be baffled by omnipotence itself.
|
|
Obstinate sinners must be convinced and conquered, at last, by the fire
|
|
of hell, for fire from heaven, it seems, will not subdue them.
|
|
|
|
2. Another captain is ready with his fifty, who, in his blind rage
|
|
against the prophet, and his blind obedience to the king, dares engage
|
|
in that service which had been fatal to the last undertakers. This is
|
|
as impudent and imperious as the last, and more in haste; not only,
|
|
"<I>Come down quietly,</I> and do not struggle," but without taking any
|
|
notice of what had been done, he says, "<I>Come down quickly,</I> and
|
|
do not trifle, the king's business requires haste; come down, or I will
|
|
fetch thee down."
|
|
|
|
3. Elijah relents not, but calls for another flash of lightning, which
|
|
instantly lays this captain and his fifty dead upon the spot. Those
|
|
that will sin like others must expect to suffer like them; God is
|
|
inflexibly just.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The third captain humbled himself and cast himself upon the mercy of
|
|
God and Elijah. It does not appear that Ahaziah ordered him to do so
|
|
(his stubborn heart is as hard as ever; so regardless is he of the
|
|
terrors of the Lord, so little affected with the manifestations of his
|
|
wrath, and withal so prodigal of the lives of his subjects, that he
|
|
sends a third with the same provoking message to Elijah), but he took
|
|
warning by the fate of his predecessors, who, perhaps, lay dead before
|
|
his eyes; and, instead of summoning the prophet down, fell down before
|
|
him, and begged for his life and the lives of his soldiers,
|
|
acknowledging their own evil deserts and the prophet's power
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let my life be precious in thy sight.</I> Note, There is nothing to
|
|
be got by contending with God: if we would prevail with him, it must be
|
|
by supplication; if we would not fall before God, we must bow before
|
|
him; and those are wise for themselves who learn submission from the
|
|
fatal consequences of the obstinacy of others.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. Elijah does more than grant the request of this third captain. God
|
|
is not so severe with those that stand it out against him but he is as
|
|
ready to show mercy to those that repent and submit to him; never any
|
|
found it in vain to cast themselves upon the mercy of God. This
|
|
captain, not only has his life spared, but is permitted to carry his
|
|
point: Elijah, being so commanded by the angel, <I>goes down with him
|
|
to the king,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus he shows that he before refused to come, not because he feared the
|
|
king or court, but because he would not be imperiously compelled, which
|
|
would lessen the honour of his master; he <I>magnifies his office.</I>
|
|
He comes boldly to the king, and tells him to his face (let him take it
|
|
as he may) what he had before sent to him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
that he shall surely and shortly die; he mitigates not the sentence,
|
|
either for fear of the king's displeasure or in pity to his misery. The
|
|
God of Israel has condemned him, let him send to see whether the god of
|
|
Ekron can deliver him. So thunder-struck is Ahaziah with this message,
|
|
when it comes from the prophet's own mouth, that neither he nor any of
|
|
those about him durst offer him any violence, nor so much as give him
|
|
an affront; but out of that den of lions he comes unhurt, like Daniel.
|
|
Who can harm those whom God will shelter?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> The prediction is accomplished in a few days. Ahaziah
|
|
died
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
and, dying childless, left his kingdom to his brother Jehoram. His
|
|
father reigned wickedly twenty-two years, he not two. Sometimes the
|
|
<I>wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power;</I> but those who
|
|
therefore promise themselves prosperity in impiety may perhaps find
|
|
themselves deceived; for (as bishop Hall observes here), "Some sinners
|
|
live long, to aggravate their judgment, others die soon, to hasten it;"
|
|
but it is certain that evil pursues sinners, and, sooner or later, it
|
|
will overtake them; nor will any thing fill the measure sooner than
|
|
that complicated iniquity of Ahaziah--honouring the devil's oracles and
|
|
hating God's oracles.</P>
|
|
|
|
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