btlmilinUon, but in heaven Christians are called to the-joy d 'rietory-to be "m01e than oon~uorors ''; (Ilom. viii. 37).-W. It', A. Vers. 12-17.-The sweet taste of sin and iJs 'lntter afte'1'-ta&te. I. 'l'HE SWEET TABTB OI!' BIN. How can we account for the fact that if sin is essentially an evil thing it should ever bo. attractive to us? Surely its natural hatefulness should make it repul- sive. If it is hideous in the sight of God, by what witchery can it be made to appear fascinating to our eyes? 1. It appeals to our' lower' desires. It makes its first appeal to nature, 'l'here was no evil at first in Adam and Eve, and yet sin was ma.de attrac- tive to them. Christ could not have been tempted unless sin had been ma.de to wear a fair mask in his presence, The bodily appetites and the self-seeking desires are natural and innocent in themselves. But they should be kept under by our hi"her nature. If, however, the tempter appenls to them directly, he appeals to the prospect of natural pleasure. 2,' It is aided by our selfish nature. We are all fallen creatures. If'the fall has not taken the form of sensuality, it has certainly been accomplished in selfishness. Now sin appeals to our selfish nature, and promises personal gratification at the expense of righteousness. 3. It is intensified by corrupted desires. Sin perverts the natural appetites and corrupts the mos_t innocent desires. The wicked thing which is first sought because of some promised result comes to be loved on its own account. As. the mise~ love~Ms money, so the si,nber loves his sin-first for what it can purchase, then on 'its own account. He is like a hypnotized person, to whom gall tastes like sugar, because he is deluded into believing evil to be his good. ·n. THE BITTER_ AFTER-TASTE OF BIN. Zophar rightly enlarges upon this subject. We do not need any amplification of the delights of sin. The very presentation of them to tbe imagination is degrading. The soul is soiled by contemplating them. We are quite ready to admit their strength. But it is not so easy to imagine vividly and to keep well in view the dreadful after-results. They are remote, unattractive, uncongenial. . 'l'herefore we need to be forced to see the results of sin in detail. Zophar narrates them with graphic vigour. Let us, then, consider the disagreeable details of the bitter a(ter-taste. 1. lt is pain within. The morsel is sweet in the mouth, and it is hidden under the tongue to keep it safe and to prolong the delicious enjoyment of it; yet when it is swallowed it becomes like the gall of asps. The recollection of past sin is a. pain ·of conscience. Its very delights are turned to bitterness in the after-thought. Just Jn proportion to their tempting fascination before the deed is their repulsiveness after' it bas been committed. The foolish victim of temptation looks back on his orgies with disgust.· He loathes himself, he grovels in humiliation. How could he have been such a fool as to sink to this shame and degradation? 2. It rerults in the less of future delights. The sinner is made to give up his riches. He ia denied " the brooks, the rivers, the: torrents of honey and butter," which he was greedily looking forward to. The justice of God will not permit him to revel for ever in wickedness. By his indulgence iQ. sinful pleasures he has destroyed the faculty of innocent ·joy. His debauch has turn·ed the 'garden of innocent delights into a desert. For such a man. there is ,no hope but in complete regeneration. Yet that is possible. Even he can be converted, and.'maqe a new creature in Christ Jesus.-W. F. A.
Ver~'. 19, 20.-Oppressing the poor. This is a sin most frequently referred to in the Bible, a common wrong against· which the prophets of Israel contiuually protested with vehement indi~nation. Christ,' usually mild and gentle, spoke in great anger of this wickedne~s (Matt. xxiii. i4), St. James detiouuced it as not unknown among Christians (Jas, v. 4). • L Tri· BIN. 1. Its various forms. It is not always seen in the bare and open fashion of primitive times.. The sheikh exacts more than is due from his tribe, the Eastern landowner grinds down his fellaheen, the baron euslaves and robs his serfs, and we denounce the manifest ~rong. But is not the same evil to be seen in the more decorous injustice of mode!n Western civilization? The great body of working inerl is' now emancipated from the tyranny of past ages, and is able to BSsert itself and claim its rights.. But below this powerful class is " mass of unskilled workers, the helpless, fu~ •and women who crowd the lower quarters of great citiea-the really poor; 'When advantage is tnken of the poverty of these miserable people to grind THE BOOR. OF JOB. [on. xx. 1-29