Consider again, with respect to the "cities" which the children of Reuben and Gad" built" - 1. THAT AT THE TmE, AS COMPARED WITH THE TENTS AND BOOTHS 011' THE WIL• DERNESS, THEY SEEMED NO DOUBT TO BE IMPORTANT AND PERMANENT BETTLEME1'TS 1 DUT THEY PROVED TO BE VERY TEMPORARY. Even BO there is nothing fixed or abiding in nny religious life short of that perfect life unto which we are called. It is not only the "fashion of this world," but "the fashion" of the "religious world," which pnsseth 11w11y, because it is in truth only putly and provisionnlly Christian. Il. THAT IN AFTER DAYS THEY MOSTLY FELL INTO THE HANDS OF THE CRUEL AND IDOLATROUS MOAB, AND RESUMED THEIR OLD HEATHEN NAMES. Even BO a manner of life which is not distinctly Christinn, albeit lived by Christians, ie for ever slipping bnok into practicnl heathenism, and reverting to the evil and sinful conditions from which it seemed to h11ve been rescued. III. THAT THE CURSE OF REUBEN (Gen. xli:x. 4) BEllAN NOW TO DE FULFILLED 'l'FIROUOH UNHAPPY CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH WERE YET ENTIRELY OD' HIS OWN SEEKING, It wns he that settled himself close upon the frontier of Moab, where he could _not Imve pe11ce or prosperity for any length of time. Even eo that incapncity to excel in nnything which seems to cling to some Christian people like a curse ie after all due to their own precipitate unwisdom in pl11cing themselves nt a permanent dis- adv11ntage for the sllke of immediate gain or ease,
Consider once more, with respect to Machir-- I. THA'I' THEY BEEM TO HAVE ACTED INDEPENDENTLY OB' MOSES, AND TO HAVE TAKEN THEIR OWN WAY, Even so there nre those in the Church whose great nntural abilities and singular daring lead them to net without much reference to the lnw of Christ, and yet it ie not easy to condemn them, or to refUBe their aid. II. THAT THEY DID LITTLE OOOD TO THEMSELVES BY CONQUESTS SO REMOTE, BUT THEY DID MUOH GOOD IN MANY WAYS TO ISRAEL, Even BO these irregulnr chnmpions of the Church &"nin little spiritual profit to themselves, but they are often the mell!ls of manifold gam unto their brethren at large.
K II .l ,20 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. [OH. XD:U. 1- 41.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 28.-" B_e sure your M wulfi'fld, gou ;1ut." . These words, though ultimately true of every sm, are spoken of actions which, gomg forth from us, perform their mischievous errands, but will come home again, bringing retribution with them. The Eastern proverb is true of crimes as well ae curses: " Curses, like chickens o.lwe.ys come home to roost." God urges this truth as one out of many motives for str~ugthen• ing us against allurements to sin. Sinners indulge vague hopes of impunity• they act as though they said, "The Lord shall not see," &c. (Pa. xciv. 7). But they cannot escape from sin. Lapse of time will not annihilate sin; careful concealment will not hide it up; mere repentance will not avert all its consequences. Nor will death screen from detection. '\Ve cannot escape from our sins- I. BY LAPSE OF TIME. "Sin is the transgression of the law.'' It is a disturbing element, like a poison in the blood, or an error in a calculation as to the cou.rse of a. ship. It is useless to say, "Let bygones be bygones" (cf. Ps. l. 21, 22 and Eccles, viii.11). There is no" statute of limitations" in regard to the debt of sin. Illustrations: -Lot going to live in Sodom, and reaping domestic ruin years afterwards; Adoni-bezek (Judges i. 5-7); Saul's "bloody house" (2 Sa.m. :x:xi 1). II. CAREFUL co!'JCEALMENT. A sin may appear to be safely buried (like a murdered corpse), and grass may grow on the grave; but a resurrection a.waits it. No im- munity, because no concealment from God. In the law of Moses certain secret sins are mentioned which, through the ignorance or connivance of the judges, might escape punishment (Levit. xvii. 10; :x:x. 1-6, &c.); but God himself threatens to be the executioner. Conscience may at last make further concealment impossible. (Confessions of murderers.) .A sinner should stand in awe of himself and dread the spy within him. Or a strange combination of circumstances may bring the sin to light when detection seemed almost impossible. Illustration :-Dr. Doune finding a nail in a skull dug up in his churchyard. Apply Eccles. x. 20 to the greater danger of sinning against God (Job x:x. 27; Eccles. xii. 14). III. BY "REPENTANCE. The penitent who trusts m Christ is forgiven; but a sin when committed may have put in motion a series of temporal results from which no subsequent repentance may be able wholly to deliver us; e. g. habits of dissipation, or single acts of passion or of falsehood. Illustrations :-Jacob's receiving in the course of his life "the fruit of his doings'' after having wronged Esau and deceived Isaac; David, pardoned, yet followed by the consequences of his sin (2 Sam. xii. 10--14). Thus God would make us wary of sin, as of a mad dog, or a poison that may lurk long in the system (Matt. vii. 2). God's caution signals against sin, IV. BY DEATH. After death, in the fullest sense, sin must find the transgressor out. There is a fearful contrast suggested by the benediction in Rev. xiv. 13: " Cursed are the dead that die in their sins ; for they have no rest from their tram,- gressions, but their gnilt follows them." Think of being found out in that world where the prospect is of "eternal sin" (Mark iii. 29). The ouly true salvation is from sin itself, assured to us through repentance and faith (Matt. i. 21 ; Titus ii. 14).-P. Vere. 1-5.-.A bird in the Ji.,a,,,ul, worth two in the b'l.l,81,,. This common proverb, eo limited in the scope of its application, and so liable to be misused by tiruid and selfish people, is clearly illustrated iu the conduct of these two tribes. Doubtless it is a sound principle to hold a small certainty rather than run the bare chance of a. large possibility. But principles are nothing unless we rightly apply them, and the .:bildren of Reuben and Gad were forsaking the most certain and enduring of oil precious things, and leaning to their own frail understanding. It is a poor exchange to leave the path of Divine providence for that of purblind human prudence. CONBIDEB HEBB TEB MISTAKEN PRACTICAL NOTIONS BY WHICH REUBEN AND GAD WERE LED INTO TBIB BEQUEST. 1. .An e:caggerated e$f-imate of the importance o.l temporal prueu&it:ma. Reuben and Gad had a great multitude of cattle ; the land"s of ~azer and Gilead were places for cattle; and so the way is straight.to the con• clwuou that these landa were the proper habitation of these tribes. It is the man of Oll, XltXII. 1-42.] TltE BOOK OF NUMBl:RS. 421