phR~es of being. This mRy seem to many an unjustifil\bly dogml\tio stl\tement, Text for text we ml\y find pa~sRges of Scripture to support it and to contradict it. It IR when we tRke into account the drift of the whole Word of God, the character of Go<l tberc•in revealed and the purposes of punishment and of l\ll dark facts of pro- vidence as far as these purposes Rre made known to us, that we are led more and more to believe in the ,ictory and duration of the blessed and the overthrow and cessation of the evil phases of experience. II. THE E1'""D OF PU1'ISHMENT IS DETERMINED BY ITS OBJECT. What is the objeot of punishment ? This mny be manifohl. 1. It is not the satisfaction of vengeance in One wlw ,~ ,oronged. For (1) such a satisfaction could only be required by sinful human passion, never by the good will of God; and (2) if such a satisfaction were required, it would not be punishment, which is quite another thing. 2. It is partly the deterring of possible o.ffenders. In so far as law must be vindicated for the sako of its future observance the punishment must be severe, but not beyond that point. 3. It i,s chiefly for the restoration of the offender. This was the reason given for the terrible calamities that overwhelmed tbe guilty city of Jerusalem. Human punishment under criminal lo.ws is so far a failure that the primary end of it is rarely achieved. nut with God's all-wise government it is held in view and mainly aimed at. Therefore the punishment is calk'<i "chastisement." What is required of chastisement is that it should be sufficient. For it to be endless would be to defeat its object. Moreover, it does not require to be rueasured by the offence alone. Even if it were so measured it need not be everlasting, since no finite being can commit an infinite sin. But it is measured by the change required to be wrought in the iuilty person. !II. THE PROSPECT OF THE IrnD OF PUNISHMENT SHOULD HELP UB TO BEAB IT. God sends chastisement on earth. And he does not except any from it-at all events he does not except Christians, for "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.n If there were no hope to the chastised, and punishment were a sign of being cast off for ever by God, we might well sit down in sullen despair. But there is encourage- ment in the tliought that it is temporary, is working our good, and may be lightened and shortened by prompt repentance and patient submission. IV. THE GUILTY AGENTS OF PUNISHMENT WILL BE PUNISHED. Edom had triumphed over Jerusalem. Edom was to have her sin discovered and punished when Jerusalem was restored. So Babylon's doom was promised (Isa. xiii.). Satan, the great enemy of souls, may be used as an instrument for our chastisement. But his day of doom is drawing near. Then be can torment us no more. V. CHRIST PUTS AN END TO PUNISHMENT. It is not necessary that we should endure our punishment to the end. If we had to do so where would the end be? The awful prospect would shut out all view of any end, whatever we might reason about its far-off certainty. But Christ has accomplished for us by his suffering and sacrifice a work of redemption which will save with full, free, and immediate pardon all who repent and trust in him.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTIIORS. Ver. 1.-Th~ gold dimmed. Present adversity brings to mind, by force ot contrast, the prosperity of bygone days. The Hebrew prophet of sorrow might well recall the golden days of old. "A poet's crowr. of sonow is remembering happier things." His touching and poetic language affords- L A LESSON OF HUMAN MUTABILITY. The exclamation reminds us of those oft- quoted words, Ilium fuit ! Troy was, but is no more I 'l'he proudest cities have crumbled into ruins, the most splendid palaces have mouldered into dust. IL A LESSON THAT PRECIOUS THINGS MAY TUBN TO VILE. The homes of kings, priests, and propbets, were possessed by the brutal soldiery; the city of David and Solomon resounued with the ferocious cry of th ~ Chaldeans. Sin can bring the brightest and the most glorious of human aocieties a.nd iustitutions into decay and contempt. OH. IV. 1-22.] 'l'HE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 73
III. A LESSON THAT SACRED TITINGS MAY BE PROFANED. "The stones of the sanctuary,, were flnng about. The very temple of Jehovah became a ruin, the sacre,i solernnitie3 came to an end, and the voice of the priests and the Levites ceased in the precincts. Bin ce.n rnst even the fine gold. IV. A LESSON OF THE UNSPARING ENMITY OF MAN. The Chaldeans were not deterred by any consideration from carrying out their wrath to the bitterest extremity. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Vm victis I is an old cry. V. A LESSON AB TO THE EXACTING NATURE OF DIVINE RETRIBUTION. The hand was the hand of the Chaldeao, but the jndgrnent was the judgment of God. When men rebel against him, no human power or splendour can prCl:lerve them from his righteous indignation and just retribution.-T.
Ver. 2.-" Precious sons ... fine gold, n ... becl)me "earthen pitchers." The prophet's appreciation of the proper dignity and value of his nation was naturally very exalte<l; in proportion were his sorrows and humiliation when his country rebelled against the Lord, and became, in consequence, a prey to the despised and hated foreigner. The reflections are applicable, not to Judah only, but to all the sinful and rebellious among men; for there is no escape from the action of the moral law, from the chastisement of the righteous Judge. I. THE TRUE VALUE AND PROPER DIGNITY OF lllAN. Comparable to "fine gold" in beauty, preciousness, and use, is our humanity when in the state designed by the Creator, free from the corroding rust of sin, and minted and stamped with the image and superscription of the Most High. II. SIN INVOLVES CHASTISEMENT, AND CHABTIBElllENT BRINGS DISGRACE. The striking contrast between gold, fine and solid, on the one hand, and "earthen pitchers" on the other band, is a pictorial and effective representation of the change which took place in Judah. A holy nation, a kingdom of priests, the chosen of the Eternal, was reduced to the level of the poorest, meanest tribe vanquished and despoiled by an unsparing enemy. Here, as so often, the chosen nation was an emblem of humanity. For though man be by nature the sublimest of God's creatures, when he is abandoned to sin and all its consequences be sinks below the level of the brutes. APPLICATION. Only Divine grace and power can restore the beauty and dignity of which sin has robbed humanity. The gospel of Christ transforms the earthen pitcher into the fine gold of the sanctuary.-T.