250 AHAZIAH, KING OF JUDAH. CLXXIL PHAZIAH, ING OF pUDAH, £0/EHORAM, king of Judah, fs left only one son. He K)y| was named Ahaziah ; and 7=/| after Jehoram’s death, the the people made Ahaziah king. He was like his father, very wicked. Ahaziah had been brought up wickedly. His parents taught him what was wrong; “his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.” It is sad for children to have bad parents, and bad teachers, who will lead them into what is wrong. Children’s hearts are sinful hearts, loving wickedness better than holi- ness, and liking what is wrong bet- ter than what is right, and, there- fore, they learn evil sooner than good; they learn 1t themselves, they do not need to be taught wickedness, for sin is in their hearts. Kind and good parents try to teach their chil- dren what is right and pleasing to God; but they cannot take away their sin, nor give them new hearts. They can only teach their children to pray, and pray for them, that God may forgive, and love, and bless them. Children, then, must pray for themselves, and ask God to en- able them to attend to all that their kind friends say. Ahaziah’s wicked mother was named Athaliah. She taught her son everything that was wrong, and king of Syria. Ahaziah was always ready to do like her. He loved wickedness, and all the friends he chose were wicked like himself. He went with Joram, the wicked king of Israel, to Ra- moth-Gilead, to fight against Hazael Joram was wounded by the Syrians, and returned to Jez- reel to be cured of his wounds; and while he was lying there sick and ill, Ahaziah went to see him. Both these kings were wicked men; and we may fear that Joram did not care to hear about the things of God in his illness, and that Ahaziah did not want to speak about them. They were not like those happy friends we read about, David and Jonathan. The friendship of Jo- ram and