princes of the blood in whom she might expect a competition for the government, and held the reins herself seven years. At that time, an heir to the throne unexpectedly appeared in young Joash, a son of Ahaziah, who had been concealed since the massacre of his brethren in the chambers of the temple by his aunt, the wife of Jehoiada, the priest. Preparations being secretly made for his coronation, the levites, the singers, and musicians, in their places, the young prince, at the age of seven years, was invested with the usual solemnities, and without interruption, until the acclamations of " God save the king," with the sound of the cymbals and trumpets, alarming the queen, she rushed into the temple, tearing her robes, and crying, Treason! But her crimes had excited such abhorrence, that not a voice was heard in her behalf, and her life was only spared till she could be conveyed beyond the sacred courts.

FANNY. What were the solemnities observed at the coronation of a king?

MRS. M. He was anointed by the High Priest, the crown put upon his head, and "the book of the law" delivered into his hand-to remind him that he was most diligently to study its precepts, and make them the rule of his whole conduct. In this case, where opposition was apprehended, the guards of the temple were armed, and surrounded the king; and the people, having been greatly corrupted by the disorders of the former reigns, were called upon to renew their covenant of allegiance to Jehovahthe only true God.

The excellent Jehoiada was far advanced in years at the time of this revolution. He lived to the great age of an hundred and thirty, and was an eminent blessing to the nation, for all the days of his life they were obedient and

prospered. The tribute money for the sacred treasury was regularly collected, the temple was repaired, the golden vessels which Athaliah had carried to her idols, were replaced, and the institutions of Moses were all carefully restored. In short, the public usefulness and activity of Jehoiada were so highly esteemed, that his remains were distinguished by the particular honour of a burial in the magnificent sepulchre of the kings.

The great advantage of such a counsellor to a nation was manifested by the disorders which soon followed on the death of this upright priest. The nobles about the young king, who had not been well affected to the reformation, by their flatteries and intrigues, persuaded him to restore the idols, and worship in the consecrated groves. A deaf ear was turned to the prophets, who visited them in mercy, and even Zachariah, the son of their benefactor, Jehoiada, and now the high priest, was ungratefully stoned to death, for presuming to denounce the wrath of heaven!

The next year Jerusalem was invaded by the Syrians— a great number of the nobles were slaughtered, and their inoveable effects carried off to Damascus, the capital of Syria. Joash himself fell by a conspiracy of his own servants, and Amaziah his son ascended the throne of Judah. Amaziah experienced the same fate after a reign of nine and twenty years. His conduct, too, was like that of his father-beginning auspiciously, but terminating in idolatry. Ambitious of bringing back the Edomites to the crown of Judah, he destroyed twenty thousand of that unfortunate people.-Elated by this victory, and ascribing it to the gods of Idumea, he brought their images into the holy land, and burnt incense to them. Meanwhile, the Israelites, in revenge for not having been permitted to

participate in the expedition, fell upon the northern cities of Judah, plundered them, and killed three thousand of the inhabitants, and, advancing to Jerusalem with savage ferocity, they broke down four hundred cubits of the city wall, and rifled both the palace and the temple.

FANNY. That the treasures of the temple should allure the heathen enemies of Judah, is not surprising; but that the posterity of Abraham should have themselves become so lost to all sense of decorum, as to commit the sacrilege of robbing that august depository, is really extraordinary.

MRS. M. It is not surprising, my dear, that they who had cast off the Sovereign, should cease to venerate his earthly habitation. We are very apt to be disgusted by the impiety of the Israelites, but we may often moderate our feelings, by comparing them with ourselves. How often have conquerors, who called themselves Christians, been enriched by the spoils of Christian temples? Pride and ambition are the same in all ages; education and opportutunity do but vary their forms. Uzziah, to whose reign we are now come, was another example of the fatal influence of prosperity. He was virtuous and became powerful. The civil honours of the administration were then not enough. He went to the sanctuary and took a censor to burn incense, but his presumption excluded him ever after from that holy place-for resenting the freedom of the priests, who reproved his invasion of their office, he was smitten with leprosy, and could no more approach the altar.*

Jotham, his son, affords a more pleasing picture. His reign was short, but beneficial, to the kingdom; the waste

* Lev. xiii. 46.

places were repaired, cities and fortresses were erected, and large subsidies obtained from the neighbouring kings.

Again every thing was reversed in the succeeding reign of Ahaz, a most abominable wretch, who exceeded all his predecessors, and all the kings of Israel, in depravity; for he sacrificed his own children in imitation of the heathens ! Greater provocations never reached the throne of Justice : accordingly he was severely chastised by Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin king of Syria.

Confederating together, they invaded Judah with an immense army, besieged Ahaz in the metropolis, and ravaged his territories in every direction. But the punishment of the king, not the total ruin of the empire, being the design of this visitation, Ahaz was encouraged to defend the city by the prophet ISAIAH, who had now begun to shed the lustre of his sublime prophecy on the favoured land. Success crowned his resistance, and his enemies went away disappointed. The heart of Ahaz, however, remaining untouched by his merciful preservation, another chastisement by the hand of the two kings, in the following year, more severely afflicted him. The valuable port of Elath was taken by the Syrians, and the Jews* were driven thence; whilst the Israelites slew an hundred and twenty thousand of their brethren, and carried away captives to the enormous amount of two hundred thousand! These poor people had the good fortune to return to their country. Oded, a prophet in Samaria, reproving the victors for their excessive cruelty to their kinsmen, the elders would not suffer them to be brought into the city; but

This is the first place in Scripture where this name occurs, 2 Kings, xvi. 6.

comforted and refreshed them, and conducted them safely back as far as Jericho. The confederated kings were both slain soon after, as had been foretold by Isaiah, Pekah by his servant Hoshea, as I have already told you in the history of Israel-and Rezin by the Assyrians.

Scarcely was Judah delivered from these powerful enemies, before her territory was invaded on the south and west, by the Philistines and Edomites, who took several cities and villages. In this new distress, instead of asking relief from the gracious hand which had before brought him unmerited deliverance, the degenerate king of Judah sent to Assyria for assistance. Tiglath-pileser, who now reigned, came indeed at his invitation, but it was only to reduce him still lower, by receiving large presents from the nobles, and gold and silver from the temple, the stipulated price of his alliance, without doing any real service to the distracted country. But the treasures of Jerusalem assisted Tiglath in his meditated hostilities against the neighbouring powers. Having brought an army into that quarter, under the pretext of relieving Judah, on his way back, he siezed upon Galilee in the north of Israel, and all their dominions beyond Jordan; then marching on to Sy, ria, he put an end to that kingdom, after it had lasted ten generations, having been founded in the reign of Solomon.*

After all these mortifications, and notwithstanding the ruinous treachery of Tiglath-pileser, Ahaz condescended to meet him on his return to Damascus from the conquest of Syria.

CATHERINE. Perhaps this seeming respect was extorted by his dependence on Assyria.

* See Prideaux, vol. i. p. 4.