were deecendante of the father of the faithful and the friend of God. Upon these special privilegee the prophet here dwelle and expatiates, with a view to bring home to the offendere the magnitude of their sin. J. A NATION SHOULD TBA.OE THE HAND OF GOD IN THE DELIVERAN0ES Wl\OU0HT ON ITS BEHALF. Israel was established in the land of the Canaa.nites, of whom the Amorites are in this passage ta.ken as the representatives. These foes of the chosen notion are pictured majestic as the cedar and mighty as the oak. Yet Jehovah bad smitten them in the lofty branches, end had extirpated them from the roots, and had planted in their stead the vine brought out of Egypt. It was not by Israel's sword or bow, but by the right hand of the Lord, that the Amorites had been vanquished. A devout mind will trace the presence and the action of Divine Providence in a nation's history. In great crises England has beea succoured by the interpositioa of Omni- potence from the assaults of powerful and unpitying foes. The "good hand of our God" has been upon us to protect and to deliver. II. A NATION SHOULD BEMAllK THE GUIDANCE OF THE ALL-WISE GOD APPARENT IN THE EVENTS OF ITS POLITI0AL LIFE. " I led you: " such is the language in which Jehovah reminded the forgetful and unfaithful Hebrews of his treatment of his chosen. The epoch of wilderness-wandering was the critical epoch of Israel's life; it was then that the nation was consolidated and disciplined. A marvellous story it remains to this day, the story of the forty years in the Peninsula of Sinai. Fraught, too, with encouragement for all who trust God. What Christian nation bas not reason to give thanks to "him who led bis people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever"? The eye must be dull which cannot see, the heart must be cold which does not confess, the directing hand of the Eternal in the career of such a nation as our own. Ill. A NATION SHOULD GRATEFULLY HONOUR GOD FOB RAISING Ul' WISE AND HOLY MEN AS NATIONAL TEACHERS AND EXillPLES. The prophets and Nazarites of the Jews may represent men of sanctified genius and insight, and mental and moral force, whom Providence appoints to be the inspiration of the community towards all that is beautiful and good. A people's greatest strength and most valuable possession must be sought in its finest, purest, ablest men. God did much for Israel in the way of outward guidance and interposition; but all his mercies were transcended by the gift of heroes and saints, judges and seers, valiant, true-hearted kings, fearless prophets, faithful priests. Rieb as our own country is in many other respects, its true wealth must be sought in its noblest, most unselfish sons. God give us grace to appreciate and to profit by his goodness in this respectl-'1'. Ver. 13.-Men's sins a Divine burden. The figure of the text is one taken by Amos from his own experience as a husbandman. In the harvest-field the cart is piled high with shenves to be taken to the garner or the threshing-floor. The wain groans-as poets put it-beneath the load. Even so, it is represented that the sins of Israel oppress Jehovah; he is distressed by their magnitude and their aggravations. I. LIOHT IB 0ABT BY THIS LANGUAGE Ul'ON THE CB.ABA0TER o~· GOD. 1. His repu.g- fUJnce to sin is here brought before us. The deities of the heathen do not seem to have been represented as hating sin, though they were pictured as resenting the neglect of their worshippers. It was otherwise with Jehovah, for he was not an invention of human ignorance and frailty. The Old Testament writers, with one consent, represent the Eternal as holy, and as hating sin as sin. 2. His distress at sin is conveyed in this declaration. This is no imperfection. Mere disapproval would have been an imperfec- tion. But it is an encouraging view which we are justified in taking of the Divine character, as we read that God is pained by human iniquity. What an appeal to sinful man is this, " I am pressed under you" 1 II. LIGHT IS 0AST BY THIS LANGUAGE Ul'ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN SIN. Men's transgressions are not unheeded by God, neither are they a matter of indifference to him. The Supreme Being is not oppressed by the vast care of the material universe. But sin is so heinous and awful tbnt it affects bis feelings-if we may use language so human. Shall man be careless with regard to that which is so felt by the infinite heart? Of all ills there can be none like this. IJI. LIGHT IS 0ABT BY THIS LANGUAGE UPON TllE PROSPECT OF REDElli'TION. Th.id light may be dim, but it is an advance upon darkness. If man's sin is so distressio~ 38 THE BOOK OF A'MOS. (oH. n. 1-18.
to God, there is reason to hope that Divine wisdom and grace will conour to provide means for its forgiveness and its oanoelling. The feeling which is uttered in the figurative langnage or the text found full expression in tile cross of Christ, in the gospel of aalvation.-T.