HOMILETICS. ~~rs. 25, 26,-:--C~promise ,i~t ?-llowa~le in religiom ~atters. The struggles of political and soma! hfe, the confhctmg claims of races, nations, states, classes, parties, are usually terminated, nod perhaps, under the existing condition of things, are best terminated, by compromise. Let neither side get all it wants-let both yield some- thing to the other-let the prudent and the moderate on each side seek an intermediate course between the two extremes advocated-and the result is often peace and some- thing approaching to contentment. Compromise is the soul of diplomacy-the idol of clever Parliamentary leaders and party managers-the oil, as has been said, whereby the wheels of the world are made to run smoothly. But in religion, compromise is out of place. (1) There must be no compromise on any question of morality. If a thing is wrong, it must be got rid of, not tolerated under certain restrictions; e.g., slavery, prostitution, vivisection, intemperance. A compromise between vice and virtue is an insult to virtue. (2) There must be no compromise with respect to doctrine. Doctrine is either false or true; and between truth and falsity there is no half-way house. Half a truth is a lie. To compromise the truth, is to give place to a lie. (3) There must be no compromise ·with respect to any Christian duty. The laws of God are plain and must be obeyed. Not to obey them is to disobey them. Moses was ordered to lead his people out of Egypt. To have accepted Pharaoh's offer would have been a :flagrant breach of the command given to him. It was not necessary for him to see any ill consequences, in order that he should feel bound to reject it. Ill consequences-even could none have been foreseen-would have been sure to follow. For he would have forfeited God's blessing-he would have entered on the path of disobedience-to curry favour wi.th an earthly monarch he would have offended against the King of Heaven. Vcrs. 29.-11,e duty of Gorl's servants to rebuke the great of the earth. "Let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more." Deceit is despicable in the meanest of men. How much more in a king! Subterfuge, tricks, lies, are said to be the refuge of the weak, the only resource whereby they can meet and defend themselves against the violence and oppressiveness of the strong. What need has a king of them? A king drags his honour in the dust when he forfeits his word, and does more to lower the dignity of kings in general than fifty rebels or revolutionists. Our own" King Charles the Martyr" has lost ha.If the sympathy which he would otherwise have obtained, by his lamentable want of strai"htforwardness and steadfastness. And when kings err, in this or any other way, it is the duty of those who have the opportunity, to rebuke them. Elijah rebuked Ahab; Azariah, son of Oded, rebuked Asa; Eliezer, Jehoshaphat; Azariah the high priest, Uzziah; John Baptist, Herod .A.ntipas. Jesus himself spoke o! Hero_d o.s "that fox." The great are very apt to urge that whoever says a word m their ilispraise is "speakin" evil of dignities" (Jude 8), and so offending against the law of God. But the e~ples cited show that "dignities" have no claim to exemption from the rebukes and reproofs of God's servants. Dignities ought to be above needing rebuke. They ought to set an example of virtue and hi~hmindednes~, and, above_ all, of recrard for their word, when once they have pledged 1t. What Inight be forgiven in inferior men, cannot be pardoned in them. " Be wise, 0 ye kings ; be instructed, ye judges of the earth." "A city set on a hill cannot be hid."
EXPOSITION. wise the variollll afflictions ha.d calllled nothing CHAPTER IX. but pain e.nd annoyance to the person. Now THE Fll"TH PLAGUE. V ers. 1-7.-Hitherto this was to be changed. Property was to be the plagues had been directed rather against made to suffer. It remained to be seen the perso!IB of the Egypti.e.ns than against whether the Phare.oh would be impressed more their property. Property had perhaps suffered deeply by calamities which impoverished his somewhat in the preceding plague, if it was subject'! than by those which merely co.used reiilly one of the Blatta orientalu; but other- them personal annoyance and suffering. The OD. IX, 1-7.] 'l'HE BOOK OF EXODUS. 199