And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
Josiah an example for young men
Of the young king, whose piety is thus described, it is also said in another place (2Ki_23:25), “And like unto him was there noking before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might” according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
I. The piety of Josiah as illustrative of the power of a good example. “He walked in all the ways of David his father.” Few influences are more powerful than that of example. The child imitates his parent; the schoolboy his classmate; the youth his playfellows; and so on through every stage of life. Note in what recorded actions of Josiah there were marks of an imitation of David’s example.
1. The first of these in order of time was his attachment to God’s house, and his devotion to God’s service.
2. His love to the. Word of God. Turn to the narrative in 2Ch_34:14-21. David said of the man who is blessed, that “his delight is in the law of the Lord.” There is no book more valuable to the young,
3. His reverence for godly men (2Ki_23:15-18). We know enough of David’s life to recognise in this respect for a man of God an imitation of his example. The servants are to be revered; to be “esteemed very highly for their works’ sake.” Goodness is always worthy of regard; and he who does not respect it tells us that he has no goodness in himself to be respected.
II. The piety of Josiah as illustrative of the strict integrity of godliness. “He turned not aside to the right hand, nor to the left. The man of the world may turn his creed and shape his course according to the fashion of the varying hour”; but not the Christian. He must bear in mind the words of wisdom: “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.”
1. Josiah was not influenced by the force of ancient custom, when that custom ran counter to the course pointed out by conscience.
2. He was not influenced by any feeling of false shame. When the book of the law was found and read before him, he rent his clothes, feeling that he was a sinner.
III. The piety of Josiah illustrates the course of life that ensures Divine approval. “He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” It is comparatively easy to pursue a course that seems right to ourselves, or that may secure the applause of the world. It is a widely different matter so to live as to ensure the approval and commendation of God.
1. By far the greater part of men seem to live for self. They have no care or consideration for others. Selfishness is the vilest principle that ever spread in this world.
2. Others care most about the approval of the world. These are selfish coo. It is because that applause is gratifying to their selfish vanity. The man who would lick the dust to secure the favour of a fellow-mortal would sacrifice his dearest friend togain.
3. They only are godlike who do and love that which is holy and true; who live not for themselves, but for others and for God. Application--Have an object in life! Live! Do not be content with mere existence. Remember, there is but one unfailing condition of true greatness and that is goodness. (FredericWalstaff.)
Example for Royalty
There is at the top of the Queen’s staircase in Windsor Castle a statue from the studio of Baron Triqueti, of Edward VI. marking with his sceptre a passage in the Bible, which he holds in his left hand, and upon which he earnestly looks. The passage is that concerning Josiah: “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” The statue was erected by the will of the late prince, who intended it to convey to his son the Divine principles by which the future governor of England should mould his life and reign on the throne of Great Britain. (T. Hughes.)
Traits of youthful religion
1. Josiah began to reign when he was eight years old, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. He ascended the throne when vice had taken deep root in the people, and national faults had become stereotyped in the Jewish character. His character and his conduct are exactly those which, judging from reason or historical experience, we should expect from the freshness and energy of a religious boy. That character is thus briefly summed, up by Huldah the prophetess: His heart was tender, his humility was great, he had given a quick and childlike credit to God’s threats against the sins of the people, and had yielded a ready sympathy with penitential acts for sins in which he had taken no part, for under God’s threats he had shed tears, and rent his garments and done his utmost to avert Divine anger. The acts which illustrate this character are seven in number, and inasmuch as they have a natural coherence and agreement with each other, I will sum them up. His first work was to repair the temple, his second to read attentively the newly discovered Scriptures, till alarmed at the threats against sin, he, thirdly, abased himself openly. He then commanded the destruction of the idols and priests of Baal, and the professed profligates of the land. He, fifthly, ordered the public reading of the Scriptures, he brought out to public notice the remains of God’s saints, and lastly, proclaimed a public celebration of the Passover. Now these are just the acts of a fresh and rumple mind, and while many of them are the features of the early days of religion, which we would fain frequently copy, they are at the same time marks of the earlier stages of religion, and cannot be expected to exist in its later day. But while this is the case with regard to the individual character, these will be signs of the early days of a great religious revival, and will speak as much of the zeal of the social body as they do of the individual.
2. To reduce these reflections to some practical bearing, the following character is not uncommon amongst us. A child, a boy, a youth at home, at school, or the university is under the influence of religious principles; he studies attentively the Scriptures of God as they are presented to him through the received translations and interpretations of his day; he follows with earnestness and alacrity a pathway which he strikes out himself in which he has received his impetus from the wonderful coincidences of prophecy or the theological questions raised on the subject of faith and works; he is startled by the mention of the Judgment, and is so keenly sensitive to the subject, that the sublime awfulness of a thunderstorm, or the congregational singing of a hymn about the “day of wonders” will awaken the most sensible alarm in his mind, doter him from a fault, or drive him to an act of devotion and holiness; he will be so anxious lest he should be guilty of mixing too indiscriminately with the wicked and those that know not God that he will be inclined to draw far too rigidly the limits between good and evil, and will be inclined to decide on certain shibboleths of the world and the worldly minded, which will neither stand the tests of reason, scripture, or experience. Certain modes of amusement will be rapidly denounced as sinful which are merely made so by the unguarded or ungracious mind of him who uses them; and certain places and people are placed under bar and ban, which have in them no essential evil whatever. In proportion as the mind of such a youth is fresh in his religious career, he will be painfully conscious of the weight of a committed sin, and will find the flow of penitential tears spontaneous and natural Such will be the features of youthful religion, and such wore the features of the religion of Josiah. There are points in the earlier religion of the child which are ever to be kept in view through after life; lovely echoes of the sweet voice associated with the first can of God still sounding round us; as fresh water drops sprinkled with the kindly hand over the dim and dusty picture of the past; dreams of fresh and happy childhood rousing us to renewed vigour when we wake to the daily strife of life.
(1) And first, a quick and sensitive mind and conscience is to be valued and loved; if we have lost it, we must strive by all means to rekindle it; if we see it still existing in another we should do everything to retain, encourage, and preserve it.
(2) The second feature belonging to Josiah in common with youthful religious characters, is that which I called a deep and sometimes overwrought regard for the Scriptures of God according to their received translations and interpretations. It is natural that the young mind should rest with an exclusive attention on those means of ascertaining the knowledge of its own subject-matter which fall most objectively before its eye, and least dependently on experience and deeper philosophic reflection; consequently that means of knowing God’s will, the written Word, is the one to which it will pay the most unswerving attention; so much so, as at last to form into a certain idolatry its regard for it; while to the mind of the advancing man the analogy of God’s providence, the experience of passing life, the claims of the Church and human authority, the study of physical nature, and the lives of holy men gone by will afford at least equivalent grounds of satisfaction, if not deeper than that afforded by the written Word of God.
(3) But another feature of youthful religion which it is well that we should truly estimate and not allow to overstep its limits, is the drawing rigid lines between good and evil men, with a view to radically extirpating the tares from the wheat. One important practical lesson that we learn in studying such a character as Josiah’s is that we should look out for and admire certain graces in youth wherever we see them, but should be by no means discouraged if we find a comparative lack of them in ourselves. Each age has its own peculiar graces, and what is lovely and true in the child may become transcendental in the youth, and unreal in the man. In short, the features of religion are different in different ages. To one the characteristics belong which I have just described as existing in Josiah. In another we shall find others, a trust in close self-examination, a watchful eye on the course of God’s dealing with the soul, and observation of His providential care and guidance, and of those deep inward visitations and communings which are so full of encouragement and comfort. In another we shall see the satisfaction arising from the study of holy men, their lives, their struggles, and their victories. In another, the strong dependence on the internal proofs of religion in the analogy of God’s Providence and the power and force of the moral sense of man. The features of religion will be different in each, and we must neither force the existence or expression of feelings which, natural to another age, do not belong to ours, nor on the other hand must we despond if we do not see in ourselves many of the features which we admire in another. (E. Monte.)
Early piety
King Josiah, it is said, at eight years feared the Lord. Polycarp, martyred at the age of ninety-five, declared that he had served God eighty-six years, showing that he was converted at nine years. It is commonly held that Jeremiah and John the Baptist, who are spoken of in Scripture as sanctified from their birth, were early children of grace. Coming down to more modern times it is easy to name many eminent servants of God who began to serve him in childhood, as Baxter, for instance, who said he did not remember the time when he did not love God and all that was good. Matthew Henry was converted before eleven. Mrs. Isabel Graham at ten. President Edwards probably at seven. Dr. Watts at nine. Bishop Hall and Robert Hall at eleven or twelve. (H. C. Fish)
