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, often fails most deplorably.  The wisest man may have a most foolish son; the godliest home may send forth a reprobate; the child of many prayers may live a life of shame.  When a young man goes wrong, it is often both unjust and cruel to lay it on the home training, and to say that there has been neglect or want of discipline, or want of right example there.  It is adding another burden to hearts already weighted with intolerable grief.

For the most part, children will follow their parents in what is good, and those nursed in prayer will grow up praying men.  But there are hideous exceptions, and sometimes the most Christlike people have this cross to bear; and it is the most heart-crushing of all to see children turning aside from all that they have held dear, and by the whole course of their lives mocking the religious ideals and hopes which were cherished for them.  God save all you fathers and mothers from this calamity, and God save all our young people from crushing tender hopes in this cruel way.