wickedness, that her name is a by-word even here in England now--"as
bad as Jezebel," we say to this day. We heard of Ahab in this
morning's lesson letting Jezebel murder the righteous Naboth, by
perjury and slander, to get possession of his vineyard; and then,
instead of shrinking with abhorrence from his wife's iniquity, going
down and taking possession of the land which he had gained by her
sin. We read of God's curse on him, and yet of God's long-suffering
and pardon to him on his repentance. Yet, neither God's curse nor
God's mercy seem to have moved him. But he had been always the
same. "He did evil," the Bible tells us, "in the sight of the Lord
above all that were before him." He deserted the true God for his
wife's idols and false gods; and in spite of Elijah's miracle at
Carmel--of which you heard last Sunday--by which he proved by fire
which was the true God, and in spite of the wonderful victory which
God had given him, by means of one of God's prophets, over the
Syrians, he still remained an idolater. He would not be taught, nor
understand; neither God's threats nor mercies could move him; he
went on sinning against light and knowledge; and now his cup was
full--his days were numbered, and God's vengeance was ready at the
door.

He consulted all his false prophets as to whether or not he should
go to attack the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead. They knew what to say--
they knew that their business was to prophesy what would pay them--
what would be pleasant to him. They did not care whether what they
said was true or not--they lied for the sake of gain, for the Lord
had put a lying spirit into their mouths. They were rogues and
villains from the first. They had turned prophets, not to speak
God's truth, but to make money, to flatter King Ahab, to get
themselves a reputation. We do not hear that they were all