stirred up to e. flnme, and the act of wickedness is const1rnmated. The general thought is the syetematio character of the sin, ite deliberatenesE in being previou~ly conceived, planned, prep11rcd for-the soul, thereafter, being held as it were in readiness for il3 execution. Three lllustrntions, though the figure appliee strictly only to the fir~t and la.~t. I. THE HEAT OF LUST. (Ver. 4.) "They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker," etc. Their debaucheries, i.e., were not the fruit of mere impulse. They were gone into ae the result of forethought and preparation. Libidinous thou•'.hts were encouraged. New gratifications were planned; the matter was reflected on cand matured; the act of indulgence was anticipated in imagination. Timo was thus given for the lustful desire to permeate the whole nature, when, like dough fully leavened, the evil intent was ready to be converted into deed, Lust, to use the figure of James, conceives, and brings forth sin (Jas. i. 15). Learn: 1. The impO'l'tance of guardirig against the inception of lust. It is in its beginnings that lust is most clangerons. The wrong thought, the lustful look, the dallying with desire,-it is there the evil lurks. From this there is but a step to evil intent. 'l'he fire bums, the dough is prerared; it will be a wonder if actual sin is not some day the outcome. 2. The importance of 'regulating thought as a means to the =trol of the passions. Thought can be so directed as to feed and inflame passion ; it can also be so ruled as to check and control it. The wicked use this power of thought for a. bad purpose ; nor less earnestly should we attempt to use it for a holy one. It is only through care of the thoughts, and through strict control exercised over them, that inward and outward purity can be preserved. II. THE HEAT OF WINE. (Ver. 5.) "In the day of our king the princes have made him sick [ or, 'are sick'] with heat of wine," etc. Royal feast days were days of recog- nized and premeditated debauch. Wine maddens and inflames the nature. 1. Drunken- ness stands in close 'relation to lust, with which it is here brought into connection. It is lust's most powerful auxiliary. "Whoredom and wine" (eh. iv. 11). Sensuality, in turn, predisposes to excess in drinking. It loosens restraint. It destroys self- control. It inclines to animal indulgence generally. 2. D'funkenness is degrading in its own effects. (1) Degrading to the body-" made sick." It sickens and bestializes. It injures health. It bloats and disfigures the countenance. A more degrading spectacle can hardly be conceived than a helplessly intoxicated man. (2) Degrading to the soul. It takes from it its self-respect. It begets a heartless, scoffing, irreverent disposition, and leads to association with those who are of this character. The King of Israel is here represented as striking up fellowship with "scorners "-mockers at Divine things. 3. Drunkenness prepares the way for strife and plotting. The drunkenness is the nexus between the adulteries and the conspiracies. Pot-corn panions are rarely stable friends. They do not really trust each other. Carousals lead to quarrelling. The strong and unscrupulous see with contempt the weaknesses of the rulers, and plot against them. III. THE HEAT OF ANGER. (Vers. 6, 7.) "They have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait," etc. We have here the result of the carousals and the scorning in plots and conspiracies. These are: 1. Sec-retly prepared; like the oven got ready beforehand, the dough also being kneaded and leavened. 2. Silently irnited upon. It takes time for a plot to mature, a.a it takes time for the leaven to permeate the dough. A good example is furnished in the case of A bsalom, who first, by fair speeches and complaisances, stole the hearts of the people of Israel; then, after the leaven had had time to work, got leave of absence, and, with two hundred men accom- panying, had himself proclaimed king (2 Sam. xv. 1-14). 3. Hotly executed. 'There is no mercy in the fierceness which at length breaks out in bloody deeds. The pent-up heat burns like an oven. 'l'he anger of the wicked is ruthless, cruel, unsparing. lt had proved to be so in Israel's history. Dynasty after dynasty bad been swept away by assassinatinn. Pekah, probably the then reigning king, w~s bi1;11self afterwarcl~ murdered by Hoshea. Yet Israel refused to take the lesson. "'I here 1s none of them that calleth upon me" (ver. 7). -J. O.
Vers. 8-10.-Mixing with the ungodly. "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself amnng the people "-had adopted heathenish ways, had set at nought the comm:inu of God 234 THE BOOK· OF . .HO$J!JA.