But In the present life there is e. foretaste given of the vengeance which embraces the life to come, which _me.y bo ~ummed up, as given(~ these verses (v~rs. 23-25), in the terms hunger, pestilence, wild beasts, 11nd war. 1 he fn,thle~s nation experienced all these, e.s an earnest of the Divine vengeance which justly burns even to the lowest hell. 'l'ho only limit to it iij lest the enemies employed to exeu•Jte part of the vencreance should say, "Our hand is high, 11,nd the Lord bath not done all this" (vers. 26 21). The Lord will modify and limit his vengeance, lest his instruments should regard' it as their work e.nd not his. Ill. 'fmJ REGRET ADOUT POSSIBILITIES THROWN' AWAY WILL FORM PART OJ' THE D1vrnE VENGEANCE. Very pathetically is this put in this son~ (vers. 29-31). The Israelites, though in a vast minority sometimes, ha<l been carried by their most faithful Father and GoJ. to victory, and this would gave still characterized them had they remained faithful to him. 'l'hey would have proved his "invincibles." And no effort of faithless souls can keep regret at bay. We see Milton very properly putting it into the mouth of the archangel when he says- ,, Farewell, happy field.<i, Where joy for ever dwells I " and subsequently summons his associates from "the oblivious pool," where they are lying astonished. Unholy ~pirits may doubtless see the vanity of regret, but they cannot dismiss it. Indeed, it is one of the test struggles of the Christian life to put regret away. We need the rousing words of the poetess continually- " Rise I if the past detains you, Her sunshine and storms forget; No chains so unworthy to hold you As those of a vain rr.gret. Se.d or bright, she is lifeless ever; Cast her phantom arrus away, Nor look back, save to learn the lesson Of a nobler strife to-day." How deep a sorrow this regret must be to all who despise God and reject his love we cannot ir. this lifo tell. IV. APPARENT PROSPERITY WILT, PROVE REAL DIS..l.STER. Just as the osher plant, which flourishes best near the site of Sodom and Gomorrha, presents apparently most luscious and attractive fruit, which yet prove but bags of air and ashes, so the apparent prosperity of the faithless souls proves emptiness and bitter disappointment at last. All the investments, so to speak, which seem so fortunate turn into splendid mistakes and miseries. Upon the whole life, opposed as it is to God, there broods a curse. V. 'l'HE PROGRAMME OF VENGEANCE IS CAREFULLY PREPARED. This is the spirit of the remaining verses (vers. 35-43). God makes his calculations calmly and deliberately. The foot of his enemies shall slide in due time, and his work of vengeance, like all his other work, prove perfect. As God refuses to exercise'' unprincipled mercy," so will he refuse to execute random wrath. The great Jonathan Edwards has a remarkable sermon on ver. 35, entitled' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,' which may be distasteful to some easy-going theologians, but is nevertheless weighty with doctrinal and convincing truth. 'l'he idea should surely be got rid of that there is any difference in principle hetween the Old Testament and the New. The prerogative of vengeance so powerfully asserted in this song of the Lord, put into the mouth of Moses, has not been renounced nor laid down for an instant. The Lord still claims it, as Rom. xii. 19 ; Heb. x. 30, and other passages show. VI. 'l'HE POLICY OF THE LORD SHALL HAVE A SPLENDID CONSUMMATION. After the cycle is complete, Jews and Gentiles, as ver. 43 dis~inctly indi~ates, shaH be found rejoicing in concert before the Lord, who bas shown himself merciful to his land and his people. We need not in this Homily enter upon the discussion of the great differ- ence between the Hebrew of ver. 43 and the LXX. It does not affect the truth we draw from the remarkable passage. However the individuals may suffer through the Divine vencreance it will not be lost as a lesson upon the race. Jew and Gentile shall alike recognize 'its justice and the compensating mercy which always lay for men in the THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. [011. xxxu. 1-52,
knder h1rnds of God. The ,engeimce is forced upon him-the judgmcnt is his etrange work ; bnt he ddightcth in mercy. Yll. Morns SUMS UP THE LESSON OF THE SONG DY URGING ODEDmNOR UPON THl!I PEOPLE AS THEIR LIFE. And when we remember that God is the source of life• that spiritual life lies in his favour nnd fellowship; then it is clear that the Israelit~s had hut one duty to discharge-to obey God and live. All the energy of Moses and all the urgency of God are devoted to secure this obedience. Tho remembrance of God's love the recognition of his vengeance and descn·ed wrath, and the consummate wisdon: manifested in the whole pulicy pursued, should move our hearts to love and obey, Let us accept of the mercy, and not force the Lord to judgmeut 1-R. M. E.