The Pulpit Commentary — Obadiah — Section 44

working; the.t Omniscience observes Hin all ite workings ; and that a terrible retrih11 lion awe.its it in 1111 its forms. Now social retrf:buUon is the subject before us, and this subject wo have touched on 11lready. There a.re two great popular errors concerning the subject of retribution. 1. That retributicm is reserved entirely for the future gtate. That the future statfl will be e. state of retribution-a state in which every man shall be rewarded according to his works-mu.at be admitted by every thoughtful student of the Bible. But retribution is not only future; it is here; retribution is an eternal principle of the Divine government; it follows sin at all times and for ever. The men and nations whose acts are registered in the Bible proclaim the grand truth, "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked e.nd the sinner" (Prov. xi. 31). "Bishop Butler, in accordance with the same doctrine, lays it down as an axiom that this life is the allotted and appointed period of retributive justice. Having assumed this e.s an undoubted fact, he proceeds to infer therefrom the certainty of the future judgi:nent. How many masters in Israel arrive at the same wholesome conclusion on quite opposite premisses-the entire absence of systematic retributive justice during this life I • We find,' he says,' that the true notion of the Author of our nature is that of a Master or Governor, prior to t.he consideration of his moral attributes. The fact of our case, which we find by experience, is that he actually exercises dominion or government over u.a at present, by rewarding and punishing us for our actions in as strict and proper a sense of these words, and even in the same sense, as children, servants, subjects, are rewarded and punished by those who govern them.'" Did not retributive justice strike our first parents and Cain at once? Did it not strike the antediluvian world, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.? Another popular error concerning retribution is: 2. That it is a special infliction of God. We do not say that God may not break through the established order of things to inflict punishment, nor that he has not done so ; for the Bible furnishes us with instances to the contrary. All we say is-this is not the general rule. Divine punishments are natural events. Divine justice works as naturally as Divine goodness. Sin and punishment are indissolubly linked as cause and effect. The text suggests two thoughts in relation to social retri'bution. l. 'fHAT IT IS OFTENTIMES A RETURN TO THE OFFENDER OF THE BAME KIND OP SUFFERING As HE INFLICTED ON HIS VICTIM. " As thon hast done, it shall be done unto thee : thy reward shall return upon thine own head." The bitter cup thou wt given to thine enemy shall come round to thee, and of its dregs thou shalt drink. This principle is stated by Christ. "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The Bible is full of examples of this principle. Isaac told a lie, affirming that his wife was hie sister; e.nd he is told a lie by his son Jacob, who declared himself to be Esau. Jacob had deceived his aged parent in relation to Esau; his sons deceive him with regard to Joseph. He had em bittered the declining years of his aged sire; his children em bittered his. Agaiu, Joseph was sold by his brethren as a bond-servant into Egypt; in Egypt his brethren are compelled to resign themselves as bond-servants to him. All history is full of examples, and everywhere in modem society illustrative cases may be selected. The deceiver himself is deceived, the fraudulent is himself cheated, the hater is himself hated, the cruel is often ruthlessly treated. Thus "as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee." "Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies: He that ho.tee truth shall be the dupe of lies." (Cowper.) II. 'fHAT IT OFTEN APPEARS TO COME AS A SPECIAL VISITATION OF ALMIGHTY GoD. 11 The de.y of the Lord is near upon all the heathen." All days are his days. But it is not until the guilty conscience is smitten with a sense of sin that it sees him and feels that the day is full of God. Electricity pervades the universe, is ubiquitous; but men become conscious of it and talk of it only when it flashes in lightning and sounds in thunder. So with God's justice. It is everywhere; but when the guilty conscience feels its punitive touch it calls it the day of jndgment. The righteous are now going into life eternal, every righteous deed is a step onward; the wicked are now going into everlasting punishment, with every sin they tramp downward. CONCLUSION, Learn that no soul ce.n sin with impunity; that every sin carries with it punishment. "'fhe gods are just, and of our pleasant vices make whips to scourge us."  40 THE BOOK OF OBA DJ AH. [1-21.