Vers. 15-17.-God,'sjudgments =t unfrequentlyfall in this life, though sometime, they are deferred to the life beyond the grave. The Athaliahs and Mattans of history seldom come to a good end. Though the wicked man be often seen in prosperity, though he " flourishes as a green bay tree," yet it is not often that he continues flourishing to the close of his days, or dies in comfort, peace, and happiness. The psalmist was satisfied when he saw "the end" of the man whose long-continued prosperity had vexed and grieved him (Ps. lxxiii. 2-22). Heathen wisdom br.de men "never to pronounce any one happy before his death," since in human life chanaes were of continual occurrence, and the higher a man's exaltation above his fellowi:' at a given time, the lower was likely to be his depression and degradation at another. The 1·ational,e of the matter seems t,o be- I. Goo HAS ATTACHED PENALTIES TO VICE m THE WAY OF NATURAL CONSEQUENCE, l\'HICH TAKE EFFECT IF Tll!E BE ALLOWED. Tyrants lay up for themselves a con- stantly increasing amount of hatred and resentment, which naturally bursts forth and sweeps them away after a while; e.g. Hipparchus, 'l'arquin, Dionysius, Caligula, Nero, Drunkards, gluttons, an<l profligate persons <lestroy their health. Reckless spendthrifts reduce themselves to poverty and want. Unfaithfulness strips men of their friends, and leaves them weak and defenceless against their adversaries. The prosperity of the wicked is naturally but for a time-give them the full term of human life, and, before they die, their sin will, to a certainty, find them out, and they will cease to prosper. II. Goo DOES, ON OCCASION, VISIT moH-PLACED, PBOSPEBOUS BINl-"ERB WITH SUDDEN, 6IGNAL .PID.'ISHHENTB DEALT BY ms OWN HAND. Scripture gives us a certain number of examples, as those of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Saul, Jezebel, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod Agrippa, and the like, whose afflictions are distinctly declared to have been sent upon them by God himself in the way of punishment. While, no doubt, great caution is necessary in applying the principle thus indicated to other persons in history, and especially to living persons, we need not shrink from some application of it. God. ,peaks to us in history, not only in his Word. When selfish usurpera, who have deluged whole continents in blood, and sacrificed tens or hundreds of thousands of lives to gratify their ambition, are cast down from their thrones, and die in exile or banishment, it is almost impossible not to see his hand in the occurrences, executing judgment. When an .Arius, bent on the disruption of the Church, and seemingly at the point of triumph, expires silently in the night, or a Galerius, the most cruel of persecutors, perishes in most horrible agonies, there is no want of charity or of reverence in once more recognizing his finger interposed to save his Church or to avenge his martyred ones. "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment" (1 Tim. v. 24); and, when the judgment falls, it would be wilful blindneHs on our part not to recognize it. We must be cautious, and remember that those en whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, were not sinners above the other dwellers in Jerusalem (Luke xiiL 4); but, if it was God's vengeance that destroyed the cities of the plain, and that visited Nadab and A.bihu, Korab, Dathan, and Abiram, Sihon and Og, Balaam, A.donizedek and his brother kings, Eglon, Sisera, Zebah, Zalmunna, A.bimelech, Agag, Doeg, Sbimei, Jezebel, Haman, Ananias, Sapphira, Herod Agrippa, Elymas, so we may be sure that it has fallen on hundreds of others whose names do not occur in Scripture, coming suddenly upon them, and cutting them off in their iniquities, generally when neither they nor others Wllre in the least expecting it. God is still, as he has ever been," the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in work; his eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give eve y one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. xxxii. 18, 19). Hither in this life or in the life to come he will execute vengeance (lfl, XI, 1-21,) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 236
upon evil-doers, Well for them if it is in this life, and if they so escape the dreadful lot of those" to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 13).