HOMILETICS. °'er. 20.-Ioolatry con.dem.rud by the idol's weakness and nothingness. An idol is "nothing in the world" (1 Cor. viii. 4)--ha.s no power-cannot even save itself. Nothing convinces men of the vanity of idols.try so much a.s to see their idol destroyed. We read in Bede that Northumbria was convert.ed chiefly through the priest Coifi running a tilt at the great idol of the day, and throwing it to the ground (Eccles. Hut. ii 13). Hence the command given "utterly to abolish idols" (Is. ii, 18). And what is true of idols proper, is true also, in its measure, of all those substitutes for God which the bulk of men idolise. Riches readily ma.ke themselves wings, and vanish, leaving their worshipper a beggar. Wife, mistress, fa.vourit.e child, lover, erected into an idol, is laid low by death, decays, and crumbles in the grave. Reputation, glory, sought and striven for throughout long years as the one sole good, fa.des suddenly away before the breath of slander or the ea.price of fortune. And when they are gone -when the bubble is bunrt-men feel how foolish was their adoration. Their idolatry stands &elf-condemned by their idol's weakness and nothi.n,,an.ess.
EXPOSITION. Ven. 21-24.-AA.lloli TllIIB TO EXCUSE done to him, that he should so act P How BDlSELP. Having tak11n the needful steps for had they injured him, that he should so the destnietioo of the idol, MllieB D&torally greatly injure them?" To this he has no turned upon Aaron. Be had been left ill charge direct reply. Bnt he will not acknowledge of the people, t.o guids them, imtz'net them, himself in fault- he must excuse himself. COllDlllll them ill difficulties (eh. xxiv. H). And his excuse is twofold:-1. It was the Bow had he acquittal. mmself of his t.aak ? peop.e's fault, not his ; they were " set on Be had led the people into a great sin-had mischief." 2. It wa.s a fatality-he threw the at any rate connived at it--allliisted ill it. gold int.o the fire, and " it came out this calf," Mll88li \herefore asks, " What had the people We ace not surprised, after this, to read in CH. IXXII. 21-24,) THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 339
Deuteronomy, that" the Lord wae very angry Ver. 22.-Let not the anger of my lord with Ae.ron to have destroyed him," and wae wu: hot. Aaron's humility is extreme. 1tnd only hindered from hie purpose by the inter- the reeult of a COll8CioUBneBS of guilt. H~ cession of Moses nowhere el•e addresses Moses as "my lorrl. ~ Bet on milahief. Or "inclined to evil'' Ver. 21.-What did Urla people unto thee1 (Kalisch). Moses doee not suppose that the people had Ver. 23.-Kali:e 118 goda. Rntber "Maku really done nnything to Aaron. He aeke the us a god." question ae a reproach-they had done nothing Ver. 24.-There oame out thil oalf. Aaron to thee-had in no way injured thee-and speaks as if he had prepared no mould, but yet thou broughtest this evil upon them. Bo simply thrown the gold into t.he hot fnr- great a llin. Litere.lly, "a great sin "-the nace, from which there issued forth, to his sin of idolatry. If Aaron had offered a etren- surprise, the golden calf. Th.is was not on! y U0118 opposition from the first, the idolatry a INJl'P'Teuio ,um, bnt a lfUggestw fal,,i,. Hav- might not have taken place - the people ing no even pla118ible defence to make, he is might have been brought to a better mind. driven to the weakest of subterfuges.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 22-24.-..daron's euuses. We are all ready enough to condemn Aaron for his insincere and shifty answer ; but do not the apostle's words occur to any of us?- " Therefore, thou e.rt inexcusable, 0 ma.n, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things" (Rom. ii. 1). Do not we all, when we are taxed with faults, seek to shift the blame of them elsewhere? e.g. :- • I. ON THE PEOPLE WITH WBOH WE LIVE. Society, we say, is corrupt--is "set on mischief." Its customs are wrong, we know ; but it is too strong for us. We must conform to its ways. There is no use in resisting them. Public men say-" Such and such changes in the law would be bad-we know it--we admit it--but the people ask for them, so we must lend ourselves to their wishes, and take steps to get the changes made." Or a.gain-" This or that war would be unjust, iniquitous, a flying in the face of Christian principle. To engage in it would be a crime-a disgrace to the age we live in." But let the popular voice call for the war a little loudly-and the public man yields, silences the remonstrances of his conscience, and becomes an active agent in bringing the war a.bout. And the ca.se is the same in private life. Ask a ma.n why he spends on entertainments twice s.s much as he spends in charity, and he will immediately la.y the blame on others--" every one does it." Ask him why he wastes his whole time in frivolous pursuits, newspaper-reading, club-gossiping, card-playing, party-going, and his reply is the same. Descend a little in the social scale, and m the manufacturer why he scamps his goods; the shopkeeper why he adulterates; the ship-owner why he insures ships ths.t he knows to be unseaworthy and sends out to be wrecked-and his answer is parallel-" every one in his line of business does the same." They compel him to follow their bs.d. example. Descend again, ask the confidential servant why he takes " commission" from tradesmen ; the cook, why she hides fresh joints among the broken victuals ; the footman, why he purloins wine and cigars; they defend themselves with the same plea--" It is wrong, they know: but their class has established the practice." "We are ell the victims of our social surroundings; it is not we who are in fault, but the crowd that pushes us on." II. 0N THE NATURE 'l'HAT GoD HAS GIVEN US, ON THE CIBCU11lSTANCES DI WHICH WE ABE PLACED. Sins of temper and sins of impurity are constantly set down by those who commit them to their nature. Their tempers are naturally so bad, their passions naturally so strong. .As if they had no power over their nature ; as if 3.eaai..n, they did not voluntarily excite their passions, work themselves up into rages ; "make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." In thus doing they construct the mould into which the sins run. Sins of dishonesty are commonly attributed to circum- stances: the temptation came in their wa.y, men say, without their seeking it, and was too much for them, was not to be resisted. So with drunkenness, idleness, and the other sine connected with evil companionship; men's plea is theyi were brought into contact with persons who dragged them, almost forced them into evil courses. Had they been . z 2 340 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [en. u:nt. 25-29.