The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 26

to honour the king ; but such a king as this Sennacherib, who can honour ? A king, to be honoured, must be honourworthy; he must be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord. II. OonRUPT KINGB OFTEN RUIN TBEm KINGDOMS. " Though they be quiet and like- wise mnny, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he Rhall paes through.' Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more." These words seem t.o be addressed to Judah concerning the Utter destruction that will befall their enemies, and their consequent deliverance from all fear from that quarter. It was here said they should be destroyed: 1. Notwithstanding their military completene8B. "Though they be quiet." 'l'he word "quiet" means complete. No doubt t'he military organization, rliscipline, a.nd equipment of Sennacherib's mighty army, a~ he led them up t.o attack Jerusalem, were as complete as the intelligence, the a.rt, and the circumstances of the .a.ge could make them. Notwithstanding this, ruin befell them. 2. Notwith8tanding their nwmerical forr,e. "Likewise many." Their numbers were overwhelming, yet bow complete their destruction I They were "cut down," and their na.me ceased. Nineveh has been long since blotted from the earth. The account given of the destruc- tion yoq have in 2 Kings xix. 35, "And it ea.me t.o pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyria.as an h11.ndred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Then followed, in dne course, the complete destruction of Nineveh itself by the forces of the Medes and Babylonians. So utterly was it destroyed, that even the references of classical writers to it are to a city that is long since extinct. It wa.s a wonderful city; it stood, according to the account of some, on an area ten times the size of London ; its walls a hundred feet high, and so broad that three chariots could be driven on them abreast. It bad fifteen h11.ndred towers, each two hundred feet in height. In 1842 Botta began to excavate, and three years afterwards La.yard commenced his interesting and successful explorations. The remains which were discovered by these excavators filled the world with astonishment. "A city, an empire, had risen from the silent slumber of ages; its kings could be numbered, and its tongue mastered; while itll history, manners, customs, and dwellings formed an nnexpected revelation, wondrous in its variety and fulness." Who brought all this ruin on this grand old city ? Sennacherib, a ruthless despot and a bloody warrior, and his successors, as savage as himself. And what cities and empires have been ruined by such men in all ages I Who broke 11.p ancient dynasties? Despots. And in modem times who has brought all the suffering, the disorder, and the spoliation that has befallen France during the last sixty years? Despots. Until despotism is p11.t down, such will con- tinue to be the case. III. THE RUIN OF CORRUPT KINGDOMS IS A BLESSING TO THE OPPRESSED. "For now will I break his yoke from off thee [that is, 'thee, J uda.h '], and will bmst thy bonds in sunder." "Yoke" here refers to the tribute imposed upon Hezekiah King of Judah by Sennacherib (2 Kings xvili. 14). And so it ever is-when despotism has fallen, the oppressed rise to liberty. What teeming millions of men a.re groaning, not only in Asia.tic countries, but in European countries, under the tyranny of despots! These arrogant, haughty autocracies must fall, as Assyria. and other ancient despotisms fell, before the yoke shall be taken from the neck of the oppressed, and their bands burst asunder. CONCLUSION. 1. Realize the trnth of prophecy. When Nahum uttered these fearful predictions in relation to Nineveh, Nineveh shone in unabated splendour, and stood in unabated strength; but after a very few generations had passed away the predicted ruin ea.me, and Nineveh has long since been buried in the oblivion of centuries. Have faith in the Word of God. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of hie Word shall fail to be accomplished, 2. Realize the importance of promoting education among the people, By education I do not mean what is merely technical or scientific, but chiefly moral. The education that teaches the people the sense of personal independency and responsibility, the duty of self-respect, the inalienable right of private judgment, and a liberty of action circumscribed only by the rights of others. It is when snch an education as this spreads among the peoples of the world that despotisms will moulder to dust. When men shall know the moral truth, the more.I re&lity, then the truth shall make them free.  THE BOOK OF N AllUM. (oa. r. 1-15.