HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 14-18.-.Afercy in the mi.dst of judgment. .As the sin of Israel continues and multiJ?lies, the :3-nger ?f the Lord ":axes hot. ~s. the_ mis~ry of his people deep~ns, his compass10Il:s ~ail not.. _There 1s no contrad1cti?n m tlus. The mercy of God 1s not a weakness, 1t 1s the mm1ster and honoure~ of !us !aw.. The judges, who represented the mercy of God, by whom they were raised up m faithless times were also witnesses of his righteousness, and living embodiments of his kingdom aU::ongst men. I. THE MERCY OF Gon DOES NOT CONSIST IN ALTERING TIIE LAWS OF HIS KINGDOM, BUT IN LEADING MEN TO CONFORM MORE PERFECTLY TO 1'IIEM. The covenant is still ~elt as 3: living_power even when it is ignored. The evils fo~etold come to pass, and m ever-mcreasmg force. But God pursues a plan of restoration. This plan is never one of destruction or reversal. Not one jot or tittle of the law has to pass in order that the gospel may have effect. God seeks to change the hearts of his erring chil- dren, and by the punitive operation of the laws of his kingdom to make them loyal subjects. The law that curses will also, when obeyed, be found to bless. The judges were a continuous witness to righteousness and protest against sin, and by the prestige of their mighty acts and the constant influence of their lives they Jed men back again to God and goodness. They were the embodiments of his mercy. !I. THE VICTORIES OF SIN ARE NEVER CONSIDERED BY HIM AS IRREVERSIBLE. It was said in praise of English soldiers that they did not know when they were beaten. How much truer is this of God and his people I The most appalling apostasy has not daunted our Heavenly Father, or driven him utterly away from his world. "Where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound." Some of the best of men and most comforting of doctrines were born in ages of spiritual darkneRs. He has never left himself without a witness. The course of revelation is never stopped. The succession of prophets, apostles, and martyrs is never interrupted. The servants of God in Old Testament times might be driven away or destroyed, but they, being dead, yet speak, and in the fulness of time he sends his Son ; he, too, may be crucified, but nevertheless the Father will send the Comforter in his name. .And so in the individual life this law will be found to operate. The darkest conscience has not been without its light. Ill ON THE WHOLE THE SPIRITUAL GAINS OVER THE CARNAL IN THE PROGRESS OF THE XINGDOM OF GoD AMONGST MEN. One judge passes away and another rises. The apostasies which they have to correct may become darker and more terrible; but greater deeds are forthcoming. The teetimony is more and more emphatic. The principles of God's kingdom are illustrated and honoured, and Israel gradually eman- cipated from ite ignorance and inexperience.-M.
Vere. 21, 22.-Tested 'by tempt.atwn. The pagan nations of Canaan were a con- stant source of temptation to idolatry and immorality. H they were left in the land, the fidelity of Israel would be tried by the way in which this temptation was met. I. TEMPTATION IS NOT IMMEDIATELY BENT BY GoD. Israel had been commanded to expel the Canaanites ; it,was owing to th~ indo!ence and :we~kness of the invaders that their work was not completed. Having failed on their Ende, they now find that God will no longer secure them victory over their enemies. The temptation which thus resulted from the presence of the heathen in their midst grew out of their own conduct. God never tempts us (James i. 13). Temptation often arises out of negligence indolence, needless pleasure, wilful presumption. It is vain to pray, "Lead us ~ot into temptation," while we are creating temptations for ourseh·es. 011. m. 1--S. J THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 27
II. 'l'EMP'fA'l'ION MU8'f OFTEN DE REGARDED IN TEE LIGHT OF A PUNISHMENT. 1. It frequently comes as the consequence of former sin. The memory of sin, the con• tl'l\cted hubit of sin, the assocb.tions of sin, and the weakness resulting from sin ars nll sources of new temptation. 2. Temptation is one of the most painful conse- quences of sin. If we have any love for goodness, one of the saddest results of onr sin must be the consciousness of new temptations to which it renders us liable. For n good man to suffer temptation is to suffer pain. 3. We must therefore con- clude that all the temptations we meet with are not unavoidable and necessary. We bring them on ourselves ; we might have escaped them ; they are dangerous calami- ties which we must deplore. We need not wish to be tried. If temptation is often 11 punishment, it is better to rest humbly ignorant of our own weakness than to court trial which will reveal the extent of it. III. TEMPTATION IS USED BY Goo AB A TEST OF FIDELITY. The people of Israel would be proved by the temptation arising out of the presence of immoral idolaters in the midst of them. 1. F!deli_t~ consists (1) in ca:e and_.fi.rmness,-" to keep the way of the Lord,"-and (2) m diligence and progressive activity-" to walk therein." 2. This :fidelity is tested by the attractions of evil ways. We cannot be said to keep the way simply because we are found in it. But when the way is contested, or a more pleasing path opens out near to it, the strength of our :fidelity will be put to the test. Some men need the test of temptation more than others. If they have already shown weakness, the punishment which comes in the form of a temptation may be a useful means of self-revelation. This need of proof, however, is u humiliation. It is better to be so clearly true as neither to invoke the punishment of temptation r,or require the test it affords.-A.