the thought that he was dying childless. They prayed for his recovery
mainly on that ground. He recovered, and married, and a child was
born, and the glad father called him Manasseh, which means, God hath
made me forget--forget my sickness and my sorrow; and all over the land
the ringing of bells was heard and shouts of rejoicing, and the prophet
Isaiah sang of the child's birth in those triumphant words which we
have often heard since in another connection, "_Unto us a son is born,
unto us a child is given_"; and they thought that all would go well now
that there was an heir to the throne, and they prayed that he might be
sturdy and strong, and get over all the ailments of childhood. They
hoped more from the child than they did from God. Their prayers were
granted. God gave them their desire, and the result was such as to
make us doubtful whether we are always wise in pressing such prayers.
We are never sure that it will be good for us, or good for our darling
child, that its life should be spared and prolonged in some time of
crisis. Often the early death which we dread may be far less cruel
than the evil which waits beyond. Better to leave these things in
God's hands, and say that will be best for all which seems right to
Thee. A whole nation prayed for the birth and preservation of this
son. That same nation came to curse the day on which he was born.

Strange that a father like Hezekiah had a child like this. Hezekiah
was, I think, the best of the Jewish kings, wise and brave, gentle and
strong, full of reverence and faith, pre-eminently a man who walked
with God and strengthened himself by prayer, and fought as earnest and
true a battle for religion and righteousness as we have recorded in the
Old Testament. How came it that the son was in all respects his
opposite? Did an evil mother shape him, or what? We cannot tell.
These are among the saddest mysteries of human life. The law that a
child's training and environment determine the character of the man,