was not silenced, the light
of the soul was not entirely extinguished. She felt the need of some
faith--she clung to the altars of her gods. But Athaliah seems to have
sunk into the brutishness of those who own "no God." She seems to have
trampled upon all faith, as she violated all obligation--insensible
alike to the calls of conscience and the aspirations of devotion. She
had no womanly sympathies. She had high mental endowments--she had a
powerful will and strong passions--but she had no affections. There have
been many Jezebels--but few Athaliahs. The affections compose so large a
part of a woman's nature that we disown one who is without them. In her
deepest guilt, in her lowest debasement, they still cling to her; and
raised to the summit of power, they do not often wholly desert her.

The princess of Israel must have been married at an early age, and she
was long restrained by the character of Jehoshaphat from the public
display of her wishes and inclinations. While he lived, Judah still
retained the outward show of reverence for the God of Israel, and
doubtless Athaliah often led her train to the temple of Jehovah; yet the
infection of the character and principles of the daughter of Ahab was at
work. A poisonous leaven spread through the royal family. The younger
princes of Judah were contaminated; and when Jehoshaphat died, this
influence of Athaliah was first manifest in the character of Jehoram. It
is written of him that "he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel,
after the house of Ahab, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he
did evil in the sight of the Lord."

He commenced his reign by the murder of his brethren, the sons of his
father. Jehoshaphat had provided for all his sons, giving them wealth
and appointing them to offices of trust, while he left the kingdom to
Jehoram. And without pretext or apology, Jehoram put them all to death;
and their families were involved, as we may well believe, in their ruin.
They were probably proclaimed outlaws, and then murdered wherever found,
perhaps while dwelling in perfect security and in profound peace; and
with them fell many of the other princes of Judah not so nearly
connected with the royal family. The very commencement of his reign, the
occasion of so much joyful festivity to the court, was thus marked by
crimes which brought utter desolation to the families and terror to the
hearts of the people of his kingdom; and we may well presume that the
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