Ver. 23.-The penitent's return and rest&ration. I. THE BETUBN. 1. To God. All sin is departure from God; and repentance is a return to God. As the fall is from personal relations, so the recovery is a renewal of personal relations. When the sinner conies to himself, he sees that his one hope is to "arise and go unto" his Father. Thus the v.ery Being against whom he has sinned is sought for pardon and restoration. Now, it is,not possible to mend our ways without thus coming back to God. His power and presence a.re the inspiration of the new life. The very thought of God as the Almighty is a help in this return. Although we a.re first moved by perceiving his goodness and mercy, we are conscious that we a.re helpless in ourselves and need heavenly aid to regenerate our souls. Thus the invincible power of God, which was our terror while we remained impenitent, becomes our hope as soon as we repent. 2. From sin-taking the last clause of the verse as a condition of God's help. We must put away iniquity from our tabernacles if we are to expect God's restoring mercies. (1) Sin must be rejected. We cannot return to God and retain our sin. Tbat mnst ever remain at a distance froru him. Therefore we can only return by cutting our- selves off from it, and leaving it behind.. It is necessary to abandon the practice of sin as well -as to regret the past sin. (2) Sin must go from the home-from the "•'tabernacles." Private sin must be abandoned; though now curtained in secret, it may not be harboured any longer. Cherished sin must go. Habitual sin must be cast out.,· ,Jt is easy to renounce the strange sin that only touches us now and again. The difficulty is with,the besetting sin-that which dwells in the tabernacles. Yet this too must go . . II. THE BEBTORATION. The returning penitent is to bo "built up." 1. On fulfil- ling the conditions. He must return to God; he must renounce sin. There is a foolish notion: that God's goodness will blot out the consequences of sin without these conditions being fulfilled. To do so would be to outrage justice as well as to fly in the face of nature. We oannot have the rewards of grace without first acceptin()'0 its inward influences. Forgiveness is not merely the cancelling of penalties; that is but an incident of the trnnsRction; in itself it is f\ very personal thing, and until the per- sonal reconciliation in which it consists is accomplished, only the lowest views of God's 888 TRE 13001! OF JOB. [on. xxrr. 1- -80.
gove~ment i:ould 1~ us to l~k for tb~ oxtemal advantage& 2. ,,. per,onal t•eco11ery. The 111nner himself 1s to be built up. Sm breaks a ma.n down-breaks down chal"Roter reputation, faculty, energy. The fallen life is a. broken life. Now, the ftrst aot of Divine restoration touches the nature of the sinner himself. He is lifted up from the d'llllt and set on bis feet-. Like a. ruined building, she.ken down by the earthquake, be it! built up again, that he -himself-and not merely bis belonginga-may be strong a.nd beautiful. '!'bus the re8tored penitent is ma.de II temple for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, a fortress to keep out future inva.sions of evil, a palace in wbioh the fairest grace~ of the kingdom can be nonrished, a hospital and asylum for the sick a.nd miserable, 11 school of new thoughts and enterprises, a home of prayer aud love. 3. In external pro~ty.. It is o':11Y too likely 1_hat poor Elipba.z thought exclUBively, or at all events quite d1sproport1onately, of this when be spoke of Job being built up again. The patriarch's ruined fortune could be restored. This is not the chief part of II Divine restoration. Still in some way-though not always in restored wealth-it does follow that the outer as well as the inner life is favoured by a penitent return to God.-W. F. A.