--Jeroboam and his people, by apostacy and idolatry, merited the sever punishment Abijah was permitted to execute upon them. It appears from the character of Abijah, 1Ki 15:3, that he was not himself trul religious, yet he encouraged himself from the religion of his people It is common for those that deny the power of godliness, to boast of the form of it. Many that have little religion themselves, value it is others. But it was true that there were numbers of pious worshippers in Judah, and that theirs was the more righteous cause. In their distress when danger was on every side, which way should they look for deliverance unless upward? It is an unspeakable comfort, that our wa thither is always open. They cried unto the Lord. Earnest prayer is crying. To the cry of prayer they added the shout of faith, and becam more than conquerors. Jeroboam escaped the sword of Abijah, but God struck him; there is no escaping his sword __________________________________________________________________

Original Hebrew