1. He was a notorious sinner.

2. He was not a hopeless sinner.

II. HIS CONDUCT AS A PENITENT.

1. The period of his repentance is specified. "When he was in affliction."

2. The nature of his repentance is described.

(1)Deep humility.

(2)Fervent prayer. These invariably distinguish the conduct of every true penitent (Jeremiah 31:18, 19; Luke 18:13; Acts 9:11).

III. HIS SALVATION AS A BELIEVER.

1. He obtained the pardoning mercy of God.

2. He received a saving knowledge of God

(Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

II. THE MERCY OF GOD IN SO BRINGING AND RECEIVING HIM.

III. THE REMAINING AND LASTING PORTION OF THE EVIL OF SIN, EVEN AFTER THE INDIVIDUAL IS PARDONED. In the Second Book of Kings it is repeatedly declared that Judah was destroyed on account of the sons of Manasseh.

1. A man looks back with sorrow and contrite concern upon the follies and sins of his youth; but what of his companions in guilt? Some, perhaps, whom he seduced into sin, and many whom he encouraged and confirmed in sin.

2. Some writers have employed their pens in the odious cause of immorality and irreligion. Such persons have lamented their errors; but the publication has done its work; the poison has been circulated, and the corruption is incurable.

(J. Slade, M. A.)

II. THAT SIN IS FREQUENTLY THE CAUSE OF SEVERE AFFLICTION.

III. THAT AFFLICTION, WHEN SANCTIFIED, EXALTS TO PRAYER, AND PROMOTES HUMILIATION.

IV. THAT PRAYER AND HUMILIATION ARE ALWAYS ATTENDED WITH DISTINGUISHED BLESSINGS, AND PRODUCE VALUABLE EFFECTS.

V. FROM THE WHOLE.

1. The patience of God.

2. The sovereignty of God.

3. The wisdom of God in adapting means to the conversion of men.

4. The mercy of God in saving the chief of sinners.

(S. Kidd.)

I. WITH HIS EARLY ADVANTAGES. John Newton states somewhere, "When I was in the deepest misery, and when I was committing the most atrocious sin, I always seemed to feel the hand of my sainted mother pressing my head."

II. WITH THE AFFLICTIONS BY WHICH IT WAS PRODUCED.

III. WITH THE EFFECTS WHICH IT UNFOLDED.

IV. WITH THE SOVEREIGNTY OF DIVINE GRACE.

(A. E. Farrar.)

1. It was in direct contrast to the good reign of. his father.

2. His sin involved many in guilt. He "made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err."

3. He was not moved by the sight of the same wickedness in those whom he despised (2 Kings 21:9).

4. His sin was not checked by God's punishment of others. The heathen had been driven out from the land because of their wickedness. Judah occupied their place and adopted their vice.

II. THE LIFE OF MANASSEH UNDER GOD'S CHASTISEMENT. We learn from recently discovered Assyrian inscriptions what is meant by "among the thorns." The word thus translated means a hook, which was put through the under lips of captives. The depths of Manasseh's degradation may be imagined. Yet it was sent in mercy to turn him to God.

III. HIS REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION.

IV. HIS RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD. Lessons.

1. Never to be ashamed of repentance.

2. We see the meaning of God's chastisements.

3. The power of a single man when he has turned from sin to God.

4. The necessity of solitary communion with God.

5. The patient love of God.

(Monday Club Sermons.)

1. Affliction.

2. Solitary reflection.

3. Prayer.

II. Consider next HOW THE GRACE OF GOD OPERATED IN MANASSEH.

1. He humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

2. He was made to know that the Lord was God.

3. He brought forth fruits meet for repentance.

III. THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH MADE HIS CONVERSION PECULIARLY STRIKING.

1. It was the conversion of an atrocious sinner.

2. Of an aged sinner.

3. It took place at a distance from the ordinary means of grace.

(H. Belfrage, D.D.)

I. ABOUNDING INIQUITY marked Manasseh's course.

1. He was the son of Hezekiah the servant of the Lord. We place this foremost as an aggravation of his sin, that in spite of a father's example he cast off the fear of the Lord and sinned with a high hand against his God. That father, indeed, was early taken from him, for Manasseh was but twelve years old when he began to reign; still, the memory of Hezekiah's piety could not have been utterly forgotten. Too marked had been the interposition of Jehovah in that father's deliverance from Assyria and in his recovery from sickness for the report to have passed away. But Manasseh heeded not these things; "he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger."

2. Manasseh added to his disregard of a godly parent this iniquity also, that he led his children unto sin," he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom."... Some godless parents have shown a happy inconsistency, in that whilst pursuing themselves that path "whose end is destruction," they have desired for their offspring that they should seek the Lord. The force of example, indeed, meeting as it does with "the evil that is bound up in the heart of a child," will in such cases often prove too powerful to be withstood. But Manasseh took no such course, but dedicated his children as well as himself to the service of the false gods. Alas, the reproducing power of evil! Thou that art a citizen of the world, intent on gain or pleasure, can it be expected but that thy children should walk after thee in the same destructive road?

3. Manasseh bade defiance to Jehovah in His own sanctuary. Not only did he build again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, but "he set a carved image," the idol which he had made, "in the house of God." It was not enough that he himself should bow down to idols, and that his children should also do them homage, but with yet more prsumptuous sin he declared himself, in the face of all Israel, an idolater, and desecrated to this base end the very temple, of which the Lord had said, "My Name shall be there." It is the very character of Jehovah that He is "a jealous God," "His glory will He not give to another."

4. But further, Manasseh "shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." The faithful who warned him were doubtless the ones especially sacrificed to his vengeance, and it is supposed that Isaiah suffered death under this fearful persecutor of the Church of God. For the wickedness of Manasseh could not plead this even in palliation that he was unrebuked: "The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not hearken." What depth of malignity is there in the unchanged soul! what pollutions! what ingratitude! what rebellion! Were it not for the restraining grace of God, what a scene of bloodshed and of all enormity would this earth be!

II. MORE ABOUNDING STILL THE GRACE OF GOD.

1. In chastisement the first faint streak of mercy manifested itself. The voice of plenty had spoken to him in vain, the voice of warning had been treated with neglect, but now the voice of correction speaks in tones not to be gainsaid. The alarm of war is heard in that guilty court.

2. His deep penitence bore witness to the workings of grace. He humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers That word "greatly" speaks much as recorded by the Spirit of truth. As with the gospel itself, so with the chastenings of the Lord, they are either "a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death."

3. The voice of prayer went up from that prison-house, "He besought the Lord... and prayed unto Him." Tears, many it may be, fell before one prayer was uttered.

4. Abounding grace, shone forth, too, in the answer granted to prayer. "God was intreated of him." He heard his cry, and hope sprung up in his downcast soul.

5. The workings of God's grace were further evidenced by the fruits of faith in life according to godliness. Manasseh restored to his kingdom, has now but one object in view, the glory of God, and that object he consistently pursued. The idol is east out from the temple, and the altars of the false gods out of the city, and the people are commanded "to serve the Lord God of Israel." He turned not aside from his purpose to bring back to Jehovah those whom formerly he had led away to sin; and this godly course he pursued unto the end.Lessons.

1. The first is, that there is a fulness of grace in God as our reconciled Father in Christ Jesus beyond the power of heart to conceive, or of tongue to utter.

2. But this history also reminds us of the dreadful nature of sin. Deep are its furrows, lasting its effects. Manasseh is pardoned, but,could he repair the evil he had done?

(F. Storr, M.A.)

I. AS A SINNER.

1. He sinned against light, against a pious education and early training. It is a notorious fact that when men do go wrong after a good training they are the worst men in the world. The murder of John Williams at Erromanga was brought about by the evil doings of a trader who had gone to the island, and who was also the son of a missionary. He had become reckless in his habits, and treated the islanders with such barbarity and cruelty that they revenged his conduct upon the next white man who put his foot upon their shore.

2. He was a very bold sinner.

3. He had the power of leading others to a very large extent astray.

II. AS AN UNBELIEVER. He did not believe that Jehovah was God alone.

1. The unlimited power that Manasseh possessed had a great tendency to make him a disbeliever.

2. His pride was another cause.

3. Another cause was his love for sin.

III. AS A CONVERT. He believed in God —

1. Because God had answered his prayer.

2. Because He had forgiven his sin.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

(W. H. Bennett, M.A.)

I. LET US EXAMINE THE CASE BEFORE US.

1. Manasseh was the son of a good father.

2. He undid all his father's actions.

3. He served false gods.

4. He desecrated the Lord's courts. There are some to-day who do this; for they make even their attendance at the house of God to be an occasion for evil.

5. He dedicated his children to the devil. Nobody here will dedicate his children to the devil, surely; yet many do. Have I not seen a father dedicate his boy to the devil, as he has encouraged him to drink? And do not many in this great city, dedicate their children to the devil by allowing them to go into all kinds of licentiousness, until they become the victims of vice?

6. He fraternised with the devil, by seeking after all kinds of supernatural witcheries and wizardries.

7. He led others astray.

8. He persecuted the people of God. It is said, — we do not know whether it was so or not, — but it is highly probable, that he caused Isaiah to be cut asunder with a wooden saw.

9. In short, Manasseh was a compound of every sort of wickedness.

10. Notwithstanding all this Manasseh was pardoned. How it came about?

(1)Being in great trouble, he turned to Jehovah his God.

(2)He humbled himself greatly.

(3)He prayed.

II. LET US CONSIDER WHY THERE SHOULD BE OTHERS LIKE MANASSEH. Judging from many probabilities, that God will save other great sinners as He saved Manasseh.

1. Because He speaks to such great sinners and commands them to repent (Isaiah 1:16-18). Because of the great promises God has given to great sinners.

3. Because of the nature of God.

4. From what I know of the value of the blood of Jesus.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

(W. H. Bennett, M.A.)

     5256   city

2 Chronicles 33:1-25

     5366   king

Manasseh
BY REV. J. G. GREENHOUGH, M.A. "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem."--2 CHRON. xxxiii. l. Fifty and five years--he wore the crown a longer time than any other of the house of David. Of all the kings that reigned in Jerusalem, this man's reign filled the largest space; yet he is the one king of Judah about whom we are told least. In the modern city of Venice there is a hall which is adorned with the portraits of all the doges …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch: …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
The beginning of the circumference was from 'the sheep-gate.' That, we suppose, was seated on the south part, yet but little removed from that corner, which looks south-east. Within was the pool of Bethesda, famous for healings. Going forward, on the south part, was the tower Meah: and beyond that, "the tower of Hananeel": in the Chaldee paraphrast it is, 'The tower Piccus,' Zechariah 14:10; Piccus, Jeremiah 31:38.--I should suspect that to be, the Hippic tower, were not that placed on the north …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Beginning at Jerusalem
The whole verse runs thus: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The words were spoken by Christ, after he rose from the dead, and they are here rehearsed after an historical manner, but do contain in them a formal commission, with a special clause therein. The commission is, as you see, for the preaching of the gospel, and is very distinctly inserted in the holy record by Matthew and Mark. "Go teach all nations," …
John Bunyan—Jerusalem Sinner Saved

The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
OR, GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; BEING A HELP FOR DESPAIRING SOULS, SHOWING THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD HAVE MERCY IN THE FIRST PLACE OFFERED TO THE BIGGEST SINNERS. THE THIRD EDITION, IN WHICH IS ADDED, AN ANSWER TO THOSE GRAND OBJECTIONS THAT LIE IN THE WAY OF THE THEM THAT WOULD BELIEVE: FOR THE COMFORT OF THEM THAT FEAR THEY HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. London: Printed for Elizabeth Smith, at the Hand and Bible, on London Bridge, 1691. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Chronicles
The comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament