Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/425

 and ended  well,  although  he  had  begun  evilly.

His son  Ammon  very  unhappily

succeeded to  his  kingdom,  and  ruled  it  unjustly,

so that  he  forsook  the  Almighty  God,

and practised  idolatry,  and  wrought  not  deeds  of  repentance.

Two years  he  reigned  without  prudence;

then his  thanes  agreed  that  they  would  kill  him,

and Josiah  his  son  straightway  succeeded  to  the  kingdom

in youthful  age,  and  imitated  David

in all  goodness,  and  performed  God's  will.

He cast  away  evil,  and  the  wrong  (false)  worships

of the  false  gods  in  which  his  father  had  believed,

and renewed  God's  law  with  all  observances,

and destroyed  the  witches,  and  put  the  wizards  to  flight,

and cast  down  witchcraft,  to  please  his  Lord.

There was  indeed  no  king  who  turned  so  zealously

with his  whole  heart  to  the  Almighty  God

before Josiah,  neither  afterward  came  there

any like  to  him,  who  so  believed  on  God.

One and  thirty  years  he  reigned  gloriously  in  Jerusalem,

and works  of  mercy  according  to  the  law  of  Moses

he ever  practised,  even  as  the  scriptures  tell  us.

We cannot  write  the  manifold  histories

of all  the  Jewish  kings  in  this  little  treatise,

or how  the  people  of  Israel  all  lived;

but we  say  in  truth,  that  he  who  obeyeth  sins

and despiseth  God's  commands,  now  in  the  gospel's  age,

is like  the  kings  who  chose  idolatry,

and despised  their  Creator;  "Who  is  verily

One God  Almighty,  ever  reigning ;

to Whom  be  glory  to  all  ages  of  ages. Amen.