LIFE OF MANASSEH.

CHAPTER XIII.

CHILDHOOD OF MANASSEH.

The

THREE years after the miraculous recovery of Hezekiah, an heir was born to his throne. advent of the young prince was hailed with warm greetings, not only in the royal palace, but throughout the land. Entering upon life among a people peculiarly favored with the institutions of the true God, in a city which was his chosen residence and in a family highly distinguished by his guardian care, we should expect the child would in future years prove a firm supporter of the national religion, and a rich blessing to the whole realm. From his station in society, he was secure of the best physical and intellectual advantages which the age could supply; but more than this, he was secure, for the first twelve years of his life, of that which courts rarely furnish, the counsels, prayers, and example of a godly father. The presence of so pious and dignified a monarch as Hezekiah, with the hallowed influence which surrounded the

household of such a prince, would leave on the tender mind of Manasseh impressions that neither time nor temptation could easily efface. Though Hezekiah was burdened with the cares of government, he would not be inattentive to the religious education of his son. Some parents, busily occupied with worldly concerns, postpone the moral instruction of their children, thinking they can do at another time what they neglect at present. But the days of Hezekiah, as he well knew, were hastening to a close; the shadow was rapidly going down on the dial of Ahaz, and would no more return.

The condition of the kingdom at the death of Hezekiah was full of promise to his successor. For many years it had enjoyed profound peace. The neighboring nations had been driven from its territories, and either subdued or confined within their own limits. The people, who at the beginning of his reign were depressed in spirit by repeated defeats and the payment of tribute, had regained their vigor through the success which crowned the faith and piety of their king. The public treasury was full; the cities well furnished with the means of defence. Hezekiah had provided for his son abundant possessions of flocks and herds, and every kind of wealth which kings in those times were accustomed to gather in store. Knowing when he must lay down the sceptre, he would

make the most skilful arrangements which his own experience and the wisdom of his counsellors could devise, for the welfare of the kingdom while Manasseh was incapable of administering the government in person.

Nothing seemed wanting to render the reign of the young prince as prosperous and godly as that which had just ended; and yet, when we pass from the history of Hezekiah to that of Manasseh, it is like stepping from a fruitful, beautiful garden, into a waste, howling wilderness. We are almost amazed at the announcement, "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom God cast out before the children of Israel." To what is such a melancholy swerving from the faith and example of his pious. predecessor to be ascribed? We have no authority for saying the heart of Manasseh was naturally any worse than that of thousands at the present day, who pass through life without any stain of crime on their name. For aught we know, he was of as mild, kind, and generous a disposition as the mass of children and youth. How was it, then, that he so early became a gross idolater and a depraved, abandoned prince?

The chief men about the court seem not to have entered heartily into the late reformation. They outwardly abstained from idolatry, through respect

for the king and regard for their own interest; but they doubtless were eagerly anticipating the close of the fifteenth year, when they might be free to worship graven images. Courtiers are always prone, in the old-age of a monarch, to seek the favor of the heir to the kingdom. They neglect the setting sun, and pay their homage to that which is about to rise. In the case of Manasseh, they knew that he would soon succeed his father in the gov ernment. Hence, as he was now ripening into boyhood, by indulging his caprices and flattering his vanity they would attempt to gain an influence which they could turn to their own aggrandizement when he became king. In this way Manasseh would be peculiarly exposed to the wiles of corrupt and cunning men, and be prepared to drink in their insinuations against the religion cherished and sustained by his father. They would represent the restraints which Hezekiah thought it necessary to throw around his son, as undue strictness, a needless check on the innocent pleasures and amusements of youth. While in reality his most dangerous enemies, they would appear to the unsuspecting prince to be his warmest friends. While spreading snares to entrap his feet, he would regard them as only scattering flowers for his amusement.

Doubtless, too, they would not be slow to remind Manasseh that he would soon wear the crown. This would tend to inflate his pride and render him un

willing to submit to parental authority. Rebellious, perhaps, in feeling, if not in conduct, against domestic government, he would be fitting for rebellion. against the majesty of heaven.

The restoration of idol worship may at first have been rather the work of the nobles under whose care he was placed, or by whose counsel he was governed, than the spontaneous movement of Manasseh; but if so, he soon gave it his hearty sanction. "He built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed." This shows a degree of depravity which is not often exhibited so early in life. Respect for his father's memory might have withheld him from such a course; but his advisers and pretended friends would persuade him that Hezekiah was too bigoted; and that the young prince would show independence and freedom from superstition by taking an opposite course. Thus many a son of parents distinguished for piety gives up the Bible, profanes the Sabbath, neglects prayer, and becomes lax in sentiment and in morals, to show his irreligious companions he has too much spirit to be bound down by parental authority and influence.

It was unhappy for Manasseh that he was called so early to the throne, and set to rule over others before he had been accustomed to govern himself. Even with the counsels and admonitions of the venerable prophet who had been a faithful friend