II. A WRONG NOTION OF HOW THIS AIM WAB TO BE ATTAINED, Jehoiakim thouahi he could get grfat renown for himself individually by building a splendid pal;ce. 'rher<3 would be such a contrast between it and the common houses in Jernsalcm as tc make people ask at once, "Whose abode is that 1" and, in so acting, J clioiakim showed that he understood pretty well the way in which popular opinion is most ea:sily influenced. The way of the world is to estimate men by the visible splendours they can gather around them. One -,.,ho lives in a wide house is looked at through the medium of bis possessions, and thus becomes correspondingly magnified himself. Ilut with all the worldly shrewdness of Jehoiakim, he was taking the wrong Wil.Y to become really celebrated: Even supposing he had not been guilty of the peculiar wickedness rebuked in this passage, he \'j'ould not have attained his end. The building c,f a big h9use sufficiently showed his ambition; but it did not of necessity show auy of those peculiar pouicrs by which men live Jives that are remembered. Many of those whose fame :will last as long as the world lasts, lived and died poor men. At least, they di<l not reside in wide houses. And thus the careers of such men, whenever they are considered, cast a permanent irony on the pursuit of mere external wealth. Ill. 'l'HE PECULJ'.AR WICKEDNESS CONSEQUENT ON THE TAKING OF THIS WRONG WAY. Jehoiakim's scheme was not only vain-glorious and delusive in itself, but very op- pressive to his subjects in the carrying of it out. What we read of here makes us regard ··rery dubiously many of the monuments of architectural power bclon.~ing to ancient civilizations. We ma.y suspect that only too many of them were constructed by forced labour. How much of unrequited toil there must have been, not only in temples, palaces, Pyramids, but also in such plainly useful works as road~, bridges, and aqueducts! The results have been pleasing enough to the eye, and rich iu giving resources to the lovers of art; but their beauty becomes only deformity, if we have reason to believe that force, fraud, and cruelty had a considerable share in the pro- duction of them. Even Christian cathedrals and churches may have been built in ·this way to a greater extent than we sho"uld like to think possible. There must always be a great temptation to the natural greed of man to get the largest amount of labour with the least remuneration. And this prophecy here shows that God bas his cyo on all such doings. • _His prophet 8ets forth principles which are the condemnation of slavery in all its forms, and by which every ~tortionate and greedy spirit will have to be judged. IV. A CONTRAST WITH ONE WHO TOOK TIIE nIGHT WAY. Jeboiakim had been favoured with constant nearness to a good example of how a kiug should live and act-, which n1ade his wickedness the greater. Josiah, succeeding to a throne, had also wished to be more than a nominal king. But ho bad very different uotions from his son as to bow authority _should be exerted. He was just and righteous, anJ. paid special attention to the poor and humble, and the result was that all went well with him; Jehoiakim may have been feared, but ho would be hated at the same time, or, if loved, loved only by those who found their chances in :helping his pretentious schemes. Josiah was feared, but by the extortioners and knaves among his subjects. Ancl he would be equally loved by all who, needing justice, knew that at his throne it was never sought in vain. V. THE DISGRACEFUL END OF JEIIOIAKIM's PRIDE. He would die unrcgrctted, and be buried like a beast. None of all who had been his associates while alive, would .pay the slightest regard to him when dead. '1.'be prophecy here does not, of course, mean that Goel approves of such indecency to a corpse. He is simply pointing out how little Eclfish men may expect from their selfish associates. He who squeezes others like sponges, and throws them nway when be can s_qucczc no more, only meets what may be expected when be comos to be thrown away 1u turn.-Y.
EXPOS!TIO~. marizod in eh. x:d., xldi. Like Isniah, our OHAPTER XXIII. prophet follows up denunciation with con• The fl~st eight versos form the necessary solntion, and will have the mind rest ou eonclusion of the group of discourses sum- the sure promises of God for tho Mossinni<-' THE BOOK OF 'l'HE PROPHE'l' JEREMIAH. [err. x.xm. 1-40.