nntion or people in tho world depends on the degree to which they subscrvc ,;,,,!'~ purpose, nnd not on the extent to which they fulfil their own. Nations have hut a. passing loan of power from the Great ::-lupreme, held in trust for his honour and tbe world's good; nnd when they lose sight of that, they are grievously forgettin,., the thincrs wbich belong unto their peace, 2. If n nation is to preserve itself for God: corruptitcr influences are to be put away, We have seen (Homily on eh. ii. 24) how much importance is attached by God to the training of the family. We see in this paragraph how much importance is also attached to those influences which go beforehand to make the family, How does thfl Most High set himself against all those corruptions that poison the social fabric and break up the sacredness of the home! And how jealously does ho guard his own worship from the defiling additions and commaodments of men ! 3. ,vhen a nation is loyal to its God, by putting away sin and nurturing righteousness, it will ensure the Divine blessing and its own permanence (ver. 9). God reserves the entry through the gates of honour tc> "the righteous nation which keepeth the truth." 4. The elevation ensured and given to nations which promote righteousoess is the one which, if we see as God sees, we shall value most. Godless men may col'et an ascendency backed by guns and swords, armies and fleets. The believer in God covets only an uplifting that comes of the Divine blessing on "a wise and nnderstandincr people." 5. If loyalty to God and truth is wanting, a nation ensures its own downfall (ver. 10; see Ezek. xvii.; xxvii. 3; xxviii. 2-10; Amos ii. 9; Obad. 3, 4). 6. What Israel was designed to be among the nations, regenerated men are in their own nation- " a holy people unto the Lord their God." 'fhey are "the light of the world," "the salt of the earth." The earth is full of corruption, and is and must be rapidly decom- posing unless some salt be thrown into it to check the decomposition. Christians are the "salt" of the earth. Their value is in their "savour," not in their name. And if they let the "savour" die out, no name of discipleship will be of any use to them. (On savourless salt, see Thomson's 'Land and the Book,' p. 382.) Christians may not separate their Christianity from their citizenship. They are to be Christian citizens; and do we not learn by abundant teachings in the Old and New Testament that God spares many a guilty city for the sake of the righteous that are therein? (See the history of Abraham's intercession for Sodom.) And can we forget the teachlng of the prophet Ezekiel, that nations may become so 1::orrupt that even the righteous element therein avails not to stay the ruin (Ezek. xiv. 12-21)? 7. Hence the principles involved in this paragraph should convey, and should be made the basis of, an earnest warning and appeal to men to remember that the day of grace for the nation, as well as for themselves, has its limit. God is long-suffering. He bears long, but he will not bear always (cf. Isa, v. 3-7; i. 5-24; Luke xix. 41-44; xiii. u-9; Matt. x:xi. 33--44; Rev. ii. 21-23). Oh, how earnestly should men turn to God while yet there is hope! For their own sakes, that they may be saved, and for the sake of others too, that they may become co-operators with God in purifying and saving men!
Vers, 12-15 ..-Temporal prosperity a result of obedience to Divine Law. The aged lawgiver in this paragraph shows the people how largely their well-beiug depends on obedience to God, and also to what an extent that well-being would be manifest even in temporal matters; in the healthfulness of body which would be enjoyed by them, and in the success with which they should tend their flocks and herds. They should be free from the sicknesses and diseases with which Egypt abounded; and should, in the enjoyment of such immunity, have the sign and token of the blessing of Hea,eu on an obedient people. Now, it has long been regarded as one mark of the old covenant, that, in condescension to the people, God spake so much of temporal blessings as the reward of obedience in the early messages which were delivered to our fathers. It is also looked on as one specific mark of New Testament teaching, that the promises of God now lie mainly in the direction of spiritual good; and so much has this aspect of things come in our days to be looked at, that it is by no means unlikely that we may be in danger of carrying our views thereon to such an extreme as to regard temporal comforts ~s no mark at alt of Divine approval. It is well worth our while, therefore, to look Into this matter, to see if we can so formulate the teaching of God's Word thereon as to show the harmony between it and the actual facts of life on this question: How far may abundance of temporal good and freedom from sickness be looked at as a proof of 140 'l'HE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY;