The Pulpit Commentary — Obadiah — Section 45

It may be, indeed, through the deadneu of your conscienoe and the ■uperabunde.nt merol• of this life, that you feel not the retributive luh 88 you will feel It at ■ome future time; but retribution is working here. "We still have jndgment here that we but woh Bloody ineLl'notiomi, whioh, being taught, return To pl11gne the inventor. This even-handed justioe Oommenrle the ingredients of our poisoned ohalloe To our own lipe." (Shakespeare.) D,T. Ver. 17.-'l'he trill Church; or, tM community of tM good: 1, A beneficent powe1·, "But upon Mount Zion shall be deliveranco, an<l there shall be holiness ; and the house of Jacob a;ball possess their possessions." Oba.d.iah here commences bis predictiona respecting the restoration of the Jews from Babylonish captivity, their reoccupation of CB&nan, and the reign of the Messiah. While the surrounding n11tions were to disap- pmr, the J ewe should regain possession of the land of their fathers. , Mount Zion may be taken here as the symbol of the true Church of God, that is, the community of godly men existing on this earth. In this sense it is referred to in Hebrews. Here the whole paseage may be taken as representing this true Church, or godly community, in three upects-as a beneficent power; a consuming power; and an aggressive power. Th, enbject of the sketch ill on the Church as the beneficent power, which we have in the eeventeenth verse. Three thoughts are suggested by the words concerning the Church u a beneficent power. L IT rs co:i."NECTED WITB DELIVERANCE, "Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance," Mount Zion was the asylum for those who had escaped. In Mount Zion shall be the acaped. From Babylonian captivity and enffering they returned to Mount Zion, or Jerusalem, and were safe. There they enjoyed their old protection. In the true Church there is spiritual safety ; it is a refuge that ie built upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail age.inst it. It is watched by the infinite love and guarded by the almighty power of Christ; its blessed Keeper never slumbers nor sleeps. Oh, ye imperilled spirits pursued by the powers of bell, led by the devil captives, and sold under sin, flee to this Mount Zion, this true Church of God, this community of godly men, which ill at once the organ and the residence of Obrist. II. IT lB CONNECTED WITH PURITY, "There shall be holiness." Moral pollution, or sin, ill the source of all the ce.lamities that befall men. Mount Zion is a consecrated spot. If there is holiness anywhere it is in connection with that community of men called the Church, which embraces the principles, cherishes the epirit, follows the example of the Son of God. True, the members are not perfect yet; but they are in the process of cleansing, and are already holy as compared with the pollutions of the ungodly world. IIL IT IB OO:!>'NECTED WITH ENJOYKENT. "And the house of Ja.cob shall posseBB their posseesione." "Though the hoUBes of Jacob and Joseph are here spoken of separately, it waa not the intention of the prophet to teach that the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel would be re-eetabliehed. Yet the special mention of Joseph clearly shows that the ten tribes were to return at the same time, and jointly with Judah and Benjamin, to possess the land of Palestine and the neighbouring regions (see Isa. xi. 12-14; Hos. i. 11). Tho restored Hebrews would unitedly subdue the ldumeans; which they did in the time of John Hyrcanus, who compelled them to be circumcised, and so iucorporated them with the Jews that they henceforward formed part of the nation." The word "possess" here means enjoy-njoy their possessions. The com- munity of the true Church alone enjoy their possessions. Thel. ore a happy people; all things are theirs ; tl,ey are full of joy; they even glory in tribulation. " Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound l" (Ps. lx.uix, 16),-D. T. Ver. 18.-Tl,e true Church; or, el,e community of the good: 2, A consuming power, "Aud the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flamo, and the house of Esa.11 for stuLble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and thcro shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord bath spoken it," There is a nre iD the true Church. Notice-- 1-21.J THE BOOK OF OBADIAH.