Encouragement in the Ways of the Lord
W. Birch. 2 Chronicles 17:6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. I. The ways of the Lord are DIVINE. Are His ways cold and unpleasant? H we descend a deep coal-pit and look up the shaft into the bright sky, we see the stars, but the pit is cold and dark. So men think that when they commune with God, it is like being in a coal-pit beholding a star; it is a beautiful sight, but makes one cold and unpleasant. Is this the truth? No; the Bible describes God's people as having melody in their hearts, and one of His sweetest names is "The happy God." Some people are afraid of becoming religious, lest they should be miserable; but they mistake the God in whose breast there is an ever-flowing heaven. The man who the most loves God is the happiest in disposition and the most cheerful as well as the most graceful in life. II. His ways are also HUMANE; they constrain us to love our suffering fellow-man, when he can do us no good but when we can do him good. (W. Birch.) Parallel Verses KJV: And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. WEB: His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.