I. THAT OUR UPMOST PREPARATION WILL NOT SECURE US FROM ATTACK. Asa endeavoured to make his little kingdom impregnable to assault by

(1) fortifying the outposts, and

(2) training and equipping a large army (vers. 7, 8).

Nevertheless, the Ethiopians came up against him with an army far stronger than his. The military and naval preparations of one country usually incite to greater preparations in another, and instead of war becoming impossible because each nation is invulnerable, it becomes probable because the combative spirit has been developed; one nation considers itself challenged by another, and because a large number of professional men are eager to exert their power and improve their position. But not only does "history repeat itself" thus; we have here an illustration of a wider truth - that whatever efforts we may make to guard ourselves against the inroad of evils, we shall surely fail. Sickness of some kind will attack us; disappointment and disillusion will find their way to our heart; sorrow will surprise us; loss and separation will befall us; death will knock at our door. There are no fortifications we can construct, there are no forces we can raise, Be we never so vigilant and alert, which will keep all enemies from the gate. Spite of fenced cities and many thousands of Jewish spears and Benjamite bows, the Ethiopian army comes up against Jerusalem.

II. THAT IN THE PATH OF MORAL AND SPIRITUAL RECTITUDE WE ARE IN THE WAY OF SAFETY. Asa had no need to be alarmed. Had he wickedly departed from the Lord he might well have been in the greatest consternation, for then the severe warnings of sacred Scripture would have been as a knell in his ears; but as it was, his fidelity to Jehovah was an assurance of safety. He was God's servant; he was in a position to "cry unto the Lord his God" (ver. 11); to say, "O Lord our God;" to claim that the Ethiopian's triumph would be a prevailing against the Lord himself: "Let not man prevail against thee." The king could hide in the cleft of the rock; he could fall back on almighty power; he was safe Before a blow was struck. He did the right thing on the occasion.

(1) He brought his army into the field, well equipped and well arrayed (ver. 10); and then

(2) he made his earnest, Believing appeal to the Lord his God. This is the path of safety, the place of wisdom. Let us, in days of peace and plenty, in the time of joy and honour, seek and serve the Lord our God, and then, when the darkness falls, when the enemy appears, when such power is needed as goes far beyond our small resources, we can turn with a holy confidence and with Christian calmness tot he sucoour of the faithful and the mighty Friend. We shall indeed do as Asa did; we shall summon all our own powers and wisdom to confront the danger, to meet the difficulty; but, like the King of Judah, we shall feel that our true hope is in the living God, and we shall hide in him, our Refuge and our Strength. "In his Name" we shall "go against this multitude."

III. THAT AS THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR GOD WE HAVE A POWERFUL PLEA. As those who are enlisted and engaged in the great campaign against moral evil in this world, we have a strong plea to urge when we draw nigh to God in prayer and seek his conquering power.

1. God is our God; the God of our choice and of his own faithful Word.

2. God is able to give us the victory even against the greatest odds: "It is nothing with thee to help" (ver. 11). "If thou wilt, thou canst." "All things are possible" with him,

3. We do all that we do in his Name, for the extension of his kingdom.

"The work is thine, not mine, O Lord,
It is thy race we run." Let not man prevail against thee.

IV. THAT, GOD WITH US, ANXIOUS FEAR WILL CHANGE TO JOYOUS VICTORY. "The Lord smote the Ethiopians ... and Asa and the people pursued them," etc. (vers. 12-15). The king and the people of Judah went out of Jerusalem with the most grave concern in their hearts; they re-entered the royal city with their souls full of joy and their arms full of spoil. Their courage and, more especially, their fidelity were crowned with a true and a great success. So in due time will ours also. It is true that our fight with wrong and woe is not (like this one of Asa's) a short sharp battle; it is a long campaign; it is a campaign in which fortune wavers, or seems to waver, from side to side; in which many good soldiers of Christ are seen to fall. But there can be no doubt about the issue. The Lord is on our side. Victorious Love is our great Captain, and the time will come when we too shall "return to Jerusalem," with songs of joy and triumph on our lips. - C.

I. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR LABOUR WITH WHICH WE ARE BLESSED. "The land is yet before us."

1. We have liberty to labour.

2. The facilities are great: multiplication of elementary books, circulation of Bibles, etc.

3. The encouragements are numerous. The prejudices of society are in our favour. God's command, etc.

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF LABOURING WHILE WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY.

1. What is the work to which we are called? That of teaching the young the Word of God (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7; Psalm 78:5, 7; Proverbs 22:6).

2. The duty of improving existing opportunities. Conclusion: Address children. If you had to pass through a long and dark passage where there were many deep pits, how anxious, at the beginning, would you feel for light. Such is the Word of God given to you at your entrance into life (Psalm 119:105).

(J. G. Breay, B.A.)