We have before us here the king who made the wise choice, and who consequently ran through a very happy course. In him we have an example; in it a promise for ourselves.

I. THE WISE CHOICE, WHICH IS AN EXAMPLE TO US. Jehoshaphat:

1. Preferred the true God to the false deities; he "sought to the Lord God of his father," and he "sought not unto Baalim." Moreover, he set before him, as that which he should copy:

2. The best part of the best man's life. Not the life of the less perfect Abijah or Rehoboam, or even Solomon, but David; and of his life, not the latter part, which was more luxurious and less pure, but "the first ways of his father David," which were lees luxurious and more pure than the last. Herein he showed an excellent judgment. He could not have done a wiser thing, as he certainly could not have done anything more solemnly and stringently binding upon him, than resolve to cleave to the "God of his fathers" - the God who had called both king and kingdom into existence, to whom he and his people owed all that they were and had. There were certain fascinations connected with the worship of Baalim appealing to their lower nature; but what were these to the weighty and overwhelming considerations that bound him to Jehovah? And he could not have done better than choose for his exemplar the devout and faithful David; and, choosing him, to select the earlier and worthier part of his very checkered and somewhat uneven life. Before us is a similar choice, and we must make up our mind what we will decide upon.

(1) We have to choose what God we will serve; whether the Lord God of our fathers, whether the heavenly Father, the Divine Saviour and Friend of our souls, or whether this passing world with its lower interests, its fading honours, its transient joys.

(2) We have to determine in whose steps we will follow; whether those of the ambitious, or of the pleasure-seeking, or of the aimless man, or those of the reverent and earnest man; and again, if we choose the last, whether we will direct our eye to those elements in his character and to those portions of his life which are not the second-best, but the noblest and worthiest of all.

II. THE HAPPY COURSE, WHICH IS A PROMISE FOR US. Jehoshaphat had all that a king could well wish for.

1. A sense of God's favouring presence (ver. 3).

2. A sense of growing security throughout his kingdom (ver. 5).

3. The testimony of his people's attachment to his person (ver. 5). 4- Honour as well as abundance (ver. 5).

5. Elation of heart, great and continuous gladness in the service of Jehovah (ver. 6).

6. The expenditure of his power m further cleansing usefulness (ver. 6). What rewards of the king's fidelity were due to his royal position we, of course, cannot look for. But if we make the wiser choice we may reckon upon a life of true and real blessedness. To us there will be secured

(1) all needful temporal good (Psalm 37:25; Psalm 34:22; Matthew 6:33; 1 Timothy 4:8);

(2) the conscious and abiding presence of God (John 14:23; John 15:4; Revelation 3:20);

(3) the peace which, not as the world gives, Christ gives to his own, and the joy which no man taketh from us;

(4) the spiritual conditions of holy usefulness, the means and opportunity of exerting a pure and elevating influence on many hearts, and thus of uplifting and ennobling many lives;

(5) the hope that maketh not ashamed. - C.

It is concerning Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, this is said. He was a good king (see vers. 1-6). The one kingdom of Solomon was now disrupted into two. The northern kingdom, known as the kingdom of Israel, was specially given to idolatry, to Baal-worshipping. Along the somewhat irregular line separating the two kingdoms, Asa, the father of Jehoshaphat, had set fortified cities to resist the perpetual incursions of the Baal-worshipping northern kingdom. On coming to the throne, Jehoshaphat immediately saw that these fenced, fortified cities were in good repair, that their garrisons were strong. A young man I knew had charge of the woollen-room in a great wholesale house. His companion clerks were wild, roistering, dissipated, profane fellows. He was of necessity in the perpetual atmosphere of bad speech and profanity. It seemed to him sometimes very hard to withstand it all. What did he do? He did spiritually precisely what Jehoshaphat did physically: he stood his ground. He fortified and kept garrisoned his defences. Years afterward I saw that same man in high and prosperous place. He had won the confidence of his employers. Take you example of Jehoshaphat: place your fenced cities, set your garrisons. What sort of fortified and garrisoned cities ought we to set along the frontiers of our lives, that we may maintain them against encroaching evil?

I. I think the fortified and garrisoned city of A DISTINCT PLAN FOR LIFE. What do I propose to do with my life? That ought to be a question clearly conceived, and distinctly answered by every one of us. I have certain resources — time, talent, education, moral consciousness, etc. All sorts of sudden contingencies spring up in experience. All sorts of moral questions constantly occur. Shall I do this or that? Shall I enter into this or that business? Shall I allow myself in this or that pleasure, indulgence? They are at once met and, decided by the simple presence of the plan. This is Christ's suggestion of moral plan: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

II. I think there ought to be such city, fortified and garrisoned, of AN ENNOBLING LOVE. Jehoshaphat loved Jehovah better than the Baalim, therefore he could stand out against the Baalim. A high, pure love can always hold out against lower ones. The highest, holiest love is that for Christ.

III. I think there ought to be such city, fortified and garrisoned, of QUICK VOLITION. Temporising, to save oneself from brave and instant choice of the right, is useless. It breaks down defences, scatters garrisons. In Thomas Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus" there is a very wonderful chapter on the "Everlasting No." There is a place where this "everlasting no" ought, even thunderously, to be uttered. That place is precisely where the tempting, urgent wrong begins to solicit.

IV. I think there ought to be such city, fortified and garrisoned, of THE DAILY PRAYER.

(W. Hoyt, D.D.)