And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals. Sermons
I. THAT RELIGIOUS LIFE INCLUDES A FEW GREAT OCCASIONS. The religious life of Israel included some special occasions, of which this was one. Provision was made in the Law for one event of surpassing solemnity in every year (Leviticus 16.). And the very checkered course the nation ran provided a few extraordinary scenes which were great and sacred opportunities. Thus is it with individual lives. During a life of ordinary length and interest there will occur some few events which are signal, striking, critical. Much may depend on them; much use should be made of them. But, after all, it is not by them that our life will be sustained, and it is not upon them that any wise man will rely. It is the regular worship; it is the daily devotion; it is the habitual recognition of God and appeal to him that determines our spiritual position, that makes us to "live before" him and in him. II. THAT THE SERVICE OF GOD PROVIDES A VERY WIDE OPPORTUNITY. How many men, how many classes or orders of men, contributed to this one service! The king inspired and directed it (vers. 1, 2); the Levites "killed the Passover" (vers. 6-11); the priests "sprinkled the blood" (ver. 11). The heads of the orders, from the king downwards, contributed generously of their flocks to supply the people's need (vers. 7-9). The singers sang (ver. 15); the porters "waited at every gate" (ver. 15). So "all the service of the Lord' was rendered, every one taking his place and doing his best thereat (ver. 16). The Church of Christ is one Body with many members, and all the members have not the same office; very various indeed are the offices which are rendered by the disciples of the one Lord. And as, year by year, Christian life, as well as civilized life, becomes more complex and intricate, it becomes more decisively and imperatively our duty to recognize the fact that, while our own particular function has its importance, it is only one among many others, and that every one of us is beholden to his fellows for valuable services which it is not in his own power to render. And it is well also to mark that, in a state so complicated, with so many posts to be filled, there is the less excuse for any idle member. III. THAT THE SERVICE OF OTHERS SHOULD PRECEDE PROVISION FOR OURSELVES. "Afterward they made ready for themselves" (ver. 14). In the kingdom of Christ we are not to stand upon our official rights; we are to claim the supreme honour of serving others, after the manner of our Divine Leader. He was "among us as one that serveth;" he was here "not to be ministered unto, but to minister;" and we never stand nearer to him than when we abnegate any right we might officially claim, and prefer to wait upon others' wants; to minister to their necessities; to make them glad, or to do them good. Of ourselves we may think and for ourselves we may care, but afterward, not first. IV. THAT WE MAY RENDER AN EXCELLENT SERVICE BY A REVIVAL OF THE FORGOTTEN. It does not follow that old usages, though they once had the sanction of Christian custom, should be revived. Possibly they are better left alone. "The old order changeth," etc. On the other hand, the time may come for their revival, if not in the same form, in a different one. That usage, in some form, deserves to be restored which promotes devotion, humility, charity. - C.
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David. I. WHY WE SHOULD SEEK AFTER GOD.1. We are by nature without God. 2. To be without God is certain misery. 3. In God alone we can obtain peace and rest. II. HOW WE ARE TO SEEK AFTER GOD. 1. With respect to God Himself. Josiah sought — not the God of nature; not the God of Providence; but "the God of David his father." And why? David was a type of Christ; the covenant made with David a type of the covenant of grace, and "the sure mercies of David," symbols of the better blessings of the New Covenant. 2. With respect to ourselves. By repentance, faith, and obedience. III. WHEN WE ARE TO SEEK AFTER GOD. (Robert Stevenson.) 1. Earnestly. 2. Promptly. 3. Perseveringly. II. SEEKING GOD EARLY WILL CONDUCE TO HONOUR. 1. It keeps alive religious susceptibilities. 2. It saves from snares. 3. It brings eminent usefulness in life. 4. It prepares for happy death. (J. Wolfendale.) Christian Age. Let us think of some reasons why we should seek God in childhood.1. The first reason is because youth is the best time. 2. Another reason is because youth is the most important time. "Satisfy us early with Thy goodness, that we may be glad and rejoice all our days." What seems a slight mistake at the beginning may make a terrible difference at the end. 3. Another reason for seeking God in early life is because it is noblest to do right now, not to wait until we have spent most of our life doing wrong. (Christian Age.) I. THAT ANY SOUL SHOULD BEGIN EARLY TO SEEK THE LORD, IS AN EVENT THAT WOULD BE THOUGHT UNIMPORTANT BY SOME, BUT IT IS CHRONICLED IN HEAVEN.II. EVERY MAN MUST SEARCH CAREFULLY HIS OWN HEART, AND DETERMINE WHETHER THE DEFINITE DESIRE AFTER GOD IS THERE OR NOT. The desire is equivalent to spiritual sight. To help to build up righteousness is serving God. III. SOME WILL SAY: "BUT I HAVE NO SUCH OPPORTUNITIES AS JOSIAH." Have you sought them? Is not influence on relatives, friends, comrades, fellow-workers an opportunity? Can you never seize suitable occasions for uttering a Christian sentence or scowling on a social sin? IV. A FURTHER OBJECTION IS "BUT I HAVE SO MANY DIFFICULTIES IN MY WAY, THAT I CAN DO NOTHING USEFUL." Think of those Josiah must have met with. V. OTHERS SAY: "BUT I NEVER HAD ANY SPECIAL CALL TO SERVE GOD." What if parents, or brothers, or sisters, or friend never mentioned it? Have you never heard it in your heart, and cannot you hear it now? The very passage of time calls you to serve God. VI. THOSE WHO BEGIN LIFE WITH CHRIST as Saviour, Guide, Helper, Eternal Friend, and who are honestly trying to serve Him, MAY BE SURE THAT HE WILL REJOICE OVER THEM, AND REMEMBER THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEM NAMES MAY NOT BE EMBLAZONED ON ANY GREAT WORLD-ROLL OF HONOUR. VII. SOME ARE CONSCIOUS THAT THEY ARE NOT MAKING A GOOD BEGINNING OF LIFE. They are drifting onwards and towards dangerous rapids and a deathly abyss. Christ comes to save and to give a fresh start. This is an opportunity which is worth seizing. (F. Hastings.) I. WHAT JOSIAH TURNED FROM.1. From what is familiarly called "the way of the world." 2. From the carnal appetites of youth, which craved to be pampered by their gratification. 3. From all vanities of the imagination. 4. From the exercise of power, before weighing its responsibilities. 5. From false friends and evil counsellors. 6. From the delusions of the gaudy appendages of a worldly Court. II. WHAT JOSIAH TURNED TO. He fixed his heart and the faith of his soul upon God, as his — 1. Friend. 2. Father. 3. Guide. III. HE WAS FAITHFUL AND PIOUS FROM HIS EARLIEST DAYS. (A Gatty, M.A.) I. NOTHING IS MORE AMIABLE IN ITSELF, OR MORE PLEASING TO GOD, THAN EARLY PIETY.II. YOUTH IS A SEASON IN WHICH YOU HAVE THE GREATEST ADVANTAGES FOR CULTIVATING THE PRINCIPLES OF PIETY, AND THE GREATEST NEED OF RELIGION, AS A DEFENCE FROM TEMPTATION AND DANGERS. III. BY EARLY PIETY YOU WILL PREPARE TRANQUILITY AND JOY FOR OLD AGE, WHILST BY AN OPPOSITE CONDUCT YOU WILL FILL IT WITH REMORSE AND FEARS. IV. REGARD TO THE FEELINGS OF ALL PIOUS PERSONS IN THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL, A RESPECT TO THE HAPPINESS OF YOUR PARENTS, SHOULD INDUCE YOU EARLY TO DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO GOD. V. ON YOUR CONDUCT IN YOUTH, YOUR SALVATION OR PERDITION ALMOST INFALLIBLY DEPEND. (H. Kollock, D. D.) Essex Congregational Remembrancer. I. We shall briefly notice THE STRIKING EXAMPLE OF YOUTHFUL PIETY HERE PRESENTED TO OUR VIEW.1. He was a decidedly religious character. 2. His genuine religion commenced at an early period. 3. An exemplary life and conversation abundantly proved the sincerity and ardour of his piety. 4. Josiah's early piety is adduced as the pledge if not the basis of his future eminence in religion. 5. Josiah and his country reaped great advantages from his early devotedness to God. II. We shall produce ARGUMENTS URGING UPON ALL OUR YOUNG PEOPLE THE EXEMPLIFICATION OF SIMILAR DECIDED PIETY. 1. A due regard to your personal welfare. 2. The plea of relative usefulness — (1) (2) (3) 3. Many whom you dearly love feel deeply interested in your spiritual welfare. (1) (2) 4. The compassionate Saviour not only claims but kindly encourages youthful piety. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.) 1. God was David's teacher. 2. God was David's comfort. 3. God was David's delight. 4. God was David's defence. II. THE MANNER HOW HE SOUGHT AFTER GOD. He sought God — 1. From a deep conviction that his conduct and the conduct of Israel generally was highly offensive to God, and that they were exposed to imminent peril. 2. In deep self-abasement of soul. 3. By destroying the idols out of the land. 4. By restoring God's true worship and frequenting it. 5. With all his heart (2 Kings 23:25). III. THE PERIOD OF LIFE WHEN HE DID IT. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.) I. AN EARLY SEEKER. Our Queen wears a velvet cap under her crown lest it should hurt her head: this eight-year-old king had more need of such a covering. The crown is a heavy burden for young soldiers. Yet there have been younger kings than Josiah. An old Norse king was called Olaf Lapking because he was king while on his mother's lap. Royal boyhood is often poisoned boyhood. The people of Israel around little Josiah were doing worse than the heathen. The sins and sorrows of that time are described in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, whose heart they had broken, Yet Josiah at the age of eight did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and at sixteen began to seek the God of his father David with more earnestness than ever. God calls us to seek Him earlier. In our Latin exercises there was a story about a simpleton sitting one evening at the river's brink. A traveller coming up wished his company in crossing. "No," he replied, "I am waiting till the river flows past." The tiny stream of difficulties between you and Christ won't flow past, but will flow on, and broaden and deepen, till it grows like an angry torrent, swollen with winter floods, that threatens to sweep down the old man who would ford it. II. JOSIAH WAS ALSO A HEARTY HATER OF EVIL. He did not hate in others the sins he practised himself, He was not like the Czar of Russia who used to say, "I reform my country, and am not able to reform myself." Dr. Arnold used to say, "Commend me to boys who love God and hate evil." Love without hate makes a mere milksop, and Christ's disciples are to be the salt, and not the sugar of society. We need boys who will hate all evil as young Hannibal hated Rome. The young Christian ought to be the sworn foe of the kingdom of darkness. III. JOSIAH WAS A REAL HERO. A hero is one who, in doing duty, scorns great dangers. He had the spirit of , who replied to the threats of the Empress Eudoxia, "I fear nothing but sin." Josiah's love for the Bible would open his soul to all the best influences from the heroic lives of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel and Gideon. Thus was developed in him what Dr. Chalmers calls "the expulsive power of a new affection." IV. JOSIAH WAS MISSED AND MOURNED WHEN HE DIED. There is a night in Spain called "the sad night": and so in the history of Judah, the death of Josiah was "the sad day." The Rabbis say that "the memory of him was like costly incense, and sweet as honey in the mouths of all." (James Wells, M.A.) 7245 Judah, kingdom of The New Temple and Its Worship Importance in Luke's History of the Story of the Birth of Christ Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant. Chronicles |
    |