Ver. 6.-Man's religio'll,S nature. "For all people will walk every one in the name ,,f his god, and we will walk in the Ne.me of the Lord our God for ever and ever." It is t.rite to say, what has been said & thousand times, that; ,man has a roligious nature, Albeit the practical recognition of the fact is of immense importance; without it, more than half the history of the world would be inexplicable, all methods for ita true improvement would be futile, and man would pass through this world to another without a God or any hope for a future. This verse suggests the wrong and the right development of this nature. I. THE WRONG DEVELOPME1'"T. What is that? Idolatry. " All people will walk every one in the name of his god." Polytheism proper is, and generally has been, the most popular religion in the world. Men have gods which they have made, palpable objects which they fashioned after au ideal, and the ide.al not unrrequently of the most base and loathsome kind. And they walk after these gods. The mariners in Jone.h's ,·es.~el, when the storm came on, cried every man unto his god. Whence the cauij11 of polytheism? The one gr~at cause, which comprehends all others, is depravity. Depre.,·ity : 1. Involves moral corruption. What are heathen gods, as a rule, but the deification of the lower passions and vices of mankind? 2. Involves carnality. Depraved men are so carnal that they have no idea of real things which have not size and form and tangible properties. Hence they want a god they can see and handl11 and touch. 3. Involves thoughtlessr,ess. Polytheism Cl\nnot stand reasoning. It is supported by the thoughtless millions through the craft and sophistry of the priests. Every true thought will shatter a heathen deity. IL Tm: RIGHT DEVELOPMENT, What is that? Practical monotheism. " We will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever." 1. This is rational. The one God is the sum total of all moral properties, the Proprietor of all resources, and the Bestower of all the existences and all the blessings therewith. What can be more rational than to walk in his way? In truth, it is the only true rational way in life. 2. This is obligatory. No man is bound to walk in the name of an idol; nay, he is commanded not to do so. But every man is bound to walk in the Name of the Lord- bound on the gronnd of his supreme excellence, his relations to man, and the obliga- tion springing therefrom. 3. This is blessed. To walk in his Name is to walk through snnny fields abounding with all beauty and fruitfulness.-D. T.
Vere. 6-8.-The moral monarchy of Chrue in the world. "In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I havo afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, 0 tower of the flock, the strong hold of the d.aughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Whether the subject of these verses is the restoration of the Jews after the Babylonish captivity or the gathering of men by Christ into a grand spiritual community, is a question on which there has been considerable discussion among biblical scholars, and therefore should preclude any- thing like dogmatism on either side. I am disposed, however, to entertain the latter idea, because it seems most in accordance with the previous verses, in which there is an undoubted reference to the gospel age, and because it gives the passage a wide practical application. Delilzsch says, "' In that day' points back to the end of the days. At the time when many nations shall go on pilgrimage to the highly exalted mountain of the Lord, and therefore Zion-Jerusalem will not only be restored but greatly glorified, the Lord will assemble that which limps and is scattered abroad."_ We shall take the words, then, as illustrating certain facts_ connected with the moral •monarchy of Cl,rist in the world. L lT EMBRACES AMONGST ITS SU13JECTS THE MOST WRETCHED AND BOATTERED OF lrlEN. "In that d.ay, saith the Lord, will I assemble [gather] her that halteth [that which lirn1,eth], and I will gather her that is driven out [that which was thrust out], and her that [which] I have afflicted; and I will make her that [that which] halted [lirn1,s] a remuant, and her that [that which] was cast far off a strong nation: and the LorJ ~Lall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for <:ver." Christ ,., as bC~t to tbe lost ebeep of the house of brael (Matt. x. 6), aQd his invitation waa CJH, IV, 1-13.] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 65