CoNOLUBION, Therefore, amidst the wreck and the fall of mnch that seems precioug, ]et your hearts as Christian men be quiet from fear of evil. Have trust in God, who commands and controls, and believe that amidst all his cares you are not forgotten, amidst all these perils you will be safe. Because good is stronger than evil, and Christ is miuhtier than our adversary, the words of his promise are true to all believers, "They shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand."-A. R. Vere. 1-4.--Great sin,, great calamities, great efforts. "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar," etc. "'!'bis chapter commences with an account of the fifth and la.9t vision of the prophet, in which the final ruin of the kingdom of Israel is represented. This ruin was to be complete and irreparable; and no quarter to which the inhabitants might flee for refuge would afford them any shelter from the wrath of the omnipresent and almighty Jehovah." The prophet in vision seeR the Almighty standing upon the altar and hears him give the command to smite the lintel of the temple door that the posU: may shake; in other words, to destroy the temple. The temple here is not, I think (though the allusion is uncertain), the temple at Jerusalem, the temple of true worship, but the temple of idolatrous worship. The passage suggests three remarks. ' J. THAT UNDER THE RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT OF GOD GREAT SIN EXPOSES TO GREAT 0ALAMJ.TY. How terrible the calamities here referred to! The Israelites, when threatened by the Assyrians, would flock in crowds to Bethel and implore protection from the golden calf. But the very place where they sought protection would prove their ruin. Jehovah ea.ye, "Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them ; and I will slay the last of them with the sword," etc. The sin of these Israelites in their idolatrous worship was great. They .were the descendants of Abraham, the friend of God. As a people, they were chosen of God and blessed with a thousand opportunities of knowing what was right and true in doctrine and in practice. Yet they gave themselves up to idolatry. Hence these terrible calamities. The greater the sin, the greater the punishment. "Unto whom much is given of him shall be much required ; " " He that knoweth his Lord's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes ; " "It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah," etc. II. THB CONBCIOUBNJ!:SB OF APPROACHING CALAMITIES WILL STIMULATE 'l'O GREAT EFFORTS FOB ESCAPE. "Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them ; • though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down." There are here sup- posed attempts at escape. There is the supposed attempt to get into hell-Sheol, the dark realm of shadows, where they could conceal themselves. There is an attempt tD climb Mount Carmel, twelve hundred feet in height, there to conceal themselves under the shadows, intricacies, and the crowded forests of oak, pines, laurels, etc., and also in the deep caves running down to the sea. Men in view of great dangers always seek refuge. The sinner here, when he finds death approaching, what strenuous efforts does he employ in order to escape the monster's touch I On the great day of retribution sinners are represented as crying to the rocks and mountains to fall on them. III. THE GREATEST EFFORTS TO ES0APE MUST PROVE UTI'ERLY FUTILE WHEN GOD BAB GIVEN THE BINNER m>. "Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them," etc. There are many similar passages to these in the Bible, such as the follow- ing: "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Ps. cxxxix. 8); "Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung : they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?" (Job xx. 6, 7); "Though Baby- .Ion should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord" (Jer. Ii. 53); "Though thou. exalt _thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bnng thee down, saith the Lord" (Jer. xlix. 16). Whatever the efforts of the sinner in the prospect of approaching danger, there is no escape for him. God. is everywhere, and everywhere all-seeing, all-just, and almighty. CoNOLUBI0N. The only way to escape utter ruin is to renounce your Bin, and mmmit yourself unto the sa.fa keeping of him who is the Redeemer of ma.nkind.-D. T.
Vere. 5-10.-God as the Administrator of justice. "And the Lord God of hosts is he AMOS. 0 THE BOOK OF A~OS. [crt. IX. 1-15.