1wnnl ly. w0u ld be t00 severe as the awRrd for their high-handed offences. Every vestige ()f merit h:is ,lisn]'pcnreil. The consensus of all righteous beings requires unreserV1ld con,lcmnntion. Nor cnn the condemned offender himself escape this conclusion. When his cnnscience nwnkcs to 110nder his guilt, he joins in his own condemnntion; he c,,nfesses the juslicc of his sentenco. If the demerit of the sinner were tho only qn<'slion to be soh-ed, the answer would be at once forthcoming; the verdict would bo ,·,>1nplcte destrnction. l l. \\"i; !,EE Gon's F0TIESIGHT EMBRACING WIDER INTERESTS. 1. TIie advantage of o/1,.,,- races is, by God, tal.·cn foto the account. What effect upon other nations will the cc;1dip1 punislnnent of Israel have? Will it make them self-confident, Rrrogant, 9-efio.nt? '.i'hc true king hns at heart the well-being of all his subjects. 2. The honour of God himse{( must be tal~cn into accou,it. The pnblic reputation of God is indissolubly bound up with the well-being of his intdligcnt creatures. His honour is dear to him; for his honour is nothing more than his native ei.::cellence illustrated and made known. 3. How graciously ti,e Most High accommodates his speech to suit the conceptions of mm 1 As a mau may fenr tbc wrath of his foes, so God (to bring his doings within the compass of the hunmn understanding) speaks of himself as the subject of fear. In our present state we cannot rise to the comprehension of God as he is: our knowledge of him i~ conditioned bv our limitations of mind. 111. Gon's-GRIEF FOR HUMAN FOLLY. The tender affection of God in pleading with men to avoid sin is very impressive; but more impressive still are his ei.::clamations of grief when the final step has been taken, and when, for many, recovery is impossible. Thus when Jesus looked down from Olivet upon the g11ilty metropolis, and knew that the die was cast, he nevertheless wept and said, "How often would I have gathered your children, as a hen her brood; but ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate ! " So too in the Psalms God thus speaks, " Oh that my people bad hearkened unto me! that Israel had walked in my ways!" The measure of God'~ love transcends all known limits; its forms are infinite in their variety I When every remedial mcnsure has been tried in vain, loYe can only weep.-D.
Ver. 29.-Gorl's pathetic appe,al, to men. Wisdom is far-seeing. Not content with estimating present ex pcriences and fortunes, it embraces the remoter issues of our choice; it takes in all the possibilities of the future. J. As TilEJ::E H.All BEEN A BEGllTh'ING OF THE PRESENT LIFE, BO THERE WILL COME AN EKD. Il. THE EKD OF PROBATIONABY LIFE DEMANDS OUR SERIOUS CONSIDERATION. Ill. THE HIGHEST WISDOM FOB.ECABTB THE WHOLE BEACH OF LIFE, BOTH PRESENT AND FUTUil.E.-D. V'en:. 30-35.-.77le devil's counterfeit coin. It is not in the power of Satan to originate any new thing. Knowing that his power is restricted, the utmost he can do i:; to make spurious imitations of God's good things. His base purpose is to deceive man with spectral illusions. His nefarious design is to raise before the world's eye an empty mirage of a carnal paradise. l. EVERY MAN CRAVES FOB SOME GROUND OF CONFIDENCE, EXTERNAL TO HIMSELF. To the men of the East, this external foundation of trust was best described as a rock. H7,at the solid rock is amid the loose alluvial soil of Egypt, or amid the shifting sand of the desert, that God is designed to be unto every man. Complete independence is impossible to created. man. He can never be self-contained nor self-nourished. Pure atheism has never been a permanent resting-place for the human heart. ,vhen the invi,;ible God is forsaken, the human mincl swings toward idolatry. 'l'he carnal mind finds delight in a ground of confidence that b visible and tangible. Some god we must have, if it be only the shadowy deity named Fate, or Law, or Chance. II. CoMPLETE CONTRAST EXISTS BETWEEN TIIE OBJECTS OF HUMAN TRUST. 'fhe only µ,int of similarity is the name. The devil borrows this, so as the better to throw dust in the eyes of his followers. Our God is a Rock; the world al~ has _its counterfeit ro~k. By the judzments and verdict of worldly men, our Ilock differs in toto from theirs. 'fbeir rock, they acknowledge, is unstable and unreliable. 'l'hey trust it simply Lecause they know not a better. It is misnamed a rock. '!'heir rock ofttimes deserLs on. xu:11. 1-62.] '!'HE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 531