by a debt too heavy for them to bear-it will be due, not to thia mistake of polloy or to that unfortuna~ war, but to the fact that.as a people we had forsaken righteousness and mercy. This deterioration will precede that desolati,in. It is true of individuals as of nations. If a man sinks into an abyss of despair or of vicious indulgence it will he, not through the force of his circumstances, but through the worthlessncs~ of his character. To such a one G0d says, "Thou hast destroyed thyself; but in mo. is thine help." !n treating of self-destruction we will 11pook of (1) it,s causes; (2) its fielusions; and (3) its remedy. I. ITS CAUSES, The importance of the subject is seen from the frequency with which its lamentable issues occur. "Wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat." 1. Neglect of the means of grace. The Word which reveals God, the Son who declares him, etc. "This is life eternal, that they may know thee," etc. A. man who denies himself food till he perishes of starvation, or refuses medicine till the disease proves fatal, practically ",destroys himself." 2. Inward iniquity. The passions, the worldly spirit, the self-will, etc., which unfit for fellowship with God and prevent all desire for it, a.re the ea.uses. of spiritual ruin. These, and not death. are the true causes of destruction. When a dead tree is cut down as a cumberer of the ground, it is not the gleaming axe which we can see and hear that destroys it. The tree is destroyed ):>efore the axe is laid at its root, and perhaps only after its fall will the cause of death be revealed. 3. Outward trans- gre.ssion. Show how sin committed le.ads to other sins, how the sense of shame dies out with the frequency of the a.et, how ha.bits of evil-doing grow till there seems no escape, a.nd to a.11 holy influence the man seems dead. Conscience says, "Thou hast destroyed thyself." .. .. IL ITS DELUSIONS. Whatever, in a moment of despair, a ma.n might do with his natural life, he would surely not destroy all hope of spiritual life unless the words were true, " The god of this world ha.th blinded the eyes of them that believe not. n Some justify their irreligiousness to their own consciences: 1. By referring to God's per}ec- tions ; e.g. to his sovereignty (" If I a.m to be saved, I shall be"), or tc, his mercy (" God is too merciful to punish"). 2. By referring to the condition of their fe/,low-men. Of the godless, they urge they are so numerous that it is not credible that they should a.11 be in the wrong ; of Christians, they say that they a.re too scrupulous for ordinary bociety, or else that they a.re so inconsistent that religion cannot be of great worth. 3. By referring to their own state. If they are moral, they " thank God that they a.re not as other men a.re; " if licentious, they argue that they a.re "committed to do all these abominations;" if ignorant, they declare ,they a.re not scholarly enough to under- stand the teaching of the Church; if intellectual, .they maintain that they require no spiritual illumination ; if attentive to the externals of religion, their spirit is that of the Pharisee who said, "I fa.et twice in the week," .etc. III. lTs REMEDY. "In me is thine help." The Speaker is" the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength.'' He alone can save. When there wa.s no eye to pity, he brouO'ht to men salvation. The remedy is to be found: 1. In the atonememt Christ l;a,s 'TIULd,e, "He was wounded for our transgressions," etc.; "The blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth from all sin." 2. In the intercession he presents. "Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us." 3. In the grace he gives. When the Holy Spirit is come, " he will convince the world of sin," etc. The Spirit comes to cast out the strong ma.n armed. By his !rra.ce he vivifies, purifies, sanctifies, until at last we shall stand faultless before God's throne. "Thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.n "Neither is there salvation in ar,y other, for there is none other name given under heaven whereby we can be saved." CoNCLUBION. In the text there a.re (1) enlightenment for the ignorant; (2) warning for the self-righteous; (3) hope for the despondent; a.nd (4) a song for the redeemed.-A.. R.
Ver. 2.-" They liin more and more." The tribe of Ephrab.:. was especially upbraided by the prophet on account of their a.ddictedness to idol-worship. Separating themselves from the religious observances which were proper to tho descendants of Abraham, Isaac, aud Ja.cob, the mem hers of this powerful and central tribe had distinguiahed themselveij OH, XIII, 1-16,] THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 419