n course of conduct is placed before him by which he may recover himself. But the course ie unpltllleing; it involves pain and trouble. Pride has to be humbled in the <lust, confession and restitution have to be made, pet sins have to be surrendered, self-denial h(IS to be attempted, often the whole course of the life hitherto lived has to be altered, an:tl II new departure made from a new beginning. To the naturnl man this seems hard, as to Moab the resumption of a tributary position; it seems intolerable, impossible, not to be thought of. And, after a longer or a shorter struggle, the second stage is reached- . II. 'l'HE OFFER SPURNED, The sinner desires mercy and forgiveness; but he will not :onsent to pay the price. Immediate suffering, though not of any great severity, seems harder to bear than the prospect of future intense suffering. Or perhaps he flatters l,imself that the future suffering may be escaped. He thinks that he may repent later; or he doubts whether God will punish so severely as he has threatened; or he even doubts whether there is any God at all. • On one ground or another be spumg the offer made him.,..-puts it ,a$ide,:ccases to think of itj ~ractically rejects ii. , And then comes the final, result.- : . , , , · • UI.. THE BPURNING OF THE OFFER P,HIISHED. Punishment may be in this life or in the nexti • That of nations must be in this life ; that of individuals may be in either, or in"botb. Usual11=-i~ ,is-.in both. Our sin finds us out. Unpleasant physical con- seq·t\cnces.follow·upon most sinful indulgences. Others bring loss of character and of nien's:respeet. • Othens;.again, lead: to poverty and earthly ruin. AU are liable to be follpwed, bf.never-ending regret and remorse; feelings as painful as:aay known to man. Further,, the consciousness of ill deserb cannot but arouse a fear of judgment to corne- a fear which, as death. approaches, becomes often a constant agonizing dread. To all this has to be added· the punishment that in another world awaits those who have spurned God's· offers in this-punishment shadowed out to us in Scripture under the images of the "undying worm,": and. the "fire. that never shall be quenched." It is surely worth while for sinners to ask themselves whether the enjoyment which they derive from their sins is really of sufficient value to them to compensate for all this weight of after suffering. Would they not a.et more prudently, as well as more virtuously, if they accepted God's offer of mercy as soon as it is placed before them, and forsook: tb.eir sins at once, and ·repented and turned to God?
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. V~~- 1-6.-The King in Zi~ . . ":i ha;e set. my King. upon my holy hill of Zion" (L'si ii.). The destined Ruler of the world, he shall spread the wing of his mild govern- ment and protection over the nations in their harassment and despair, as now over Moab. . . I. 'l'HE CALL TO:THE FUGITIVES. They have.fled into Edom, as far as to Petra, near Mount Hor. It was a region surrounded by rocky cliffs. Sela itself means rock or cliff. Between Petra-whose ruins the Arab g.uide of Seetzen said he must weep over every time he saw them-mid Jerusalem lies a desert, through which the tribute flocks must pass. ,1. Demand of tribute. "Send ye the lambs of the prince of the land from Sela desert-wards to the mount of the daughter of Zion." In former days Mesha, the King of Moab, was,said to be a." sheep-master," and he rendered a yearly tribute of a hundred· thousand. lambs, and o. hundred thousand rams, with the wool, to the King of Isra.a1 till the death of Ahab (2 Kings iii. 4). Who.t was then sent to Samaria must uow be sent to Jerusalem. Under the form of this demand is signified nn appeal to the people of Moab to submit to the house of David as their only hope of safety. Spiritu- 111ly, the appeal may be construed,a.s tho call to nations and to men to submit to the 6piritual rule of the Messiah, a.s anointed King and Saviour of the world. 2. Effect of the ·summons. The "daughters" of Moab, i.e. its cities and villages, are seen in commotion. They flutter about. like birds driven from their nests, at the fords of the Arnon, Moab's chief river. 'fho first effect of the" long-drawn trumpet blast" is fear nud B"'itation, '!'he nnrr.,e of J udnh is n spell of terror; the band of Jehovah is felt tc, be .held out and to 1,o shaken in menace over the nations, and they become like women (cf. eh. xix. ,G). He clcmanus of their flocks ancl their merchandise. Will they 280 THE BOOK OF TllE PROPHET ISAIA.ll:, (on. xvi. 1-14,