WHOSE ADVENT THIS PROPHET PREDIOTED, AND TO REJOIOE IN RIB WORK ON OUR nEHALF, We cannot meet God on the ground of obedience to bis pure Law. If we take that stand, then he righteously and imperatively requires that the whole Law be kept; and this i& impossible to m1, since even if we were capable of perfect obedience in the future, this would not atone for the:ranures of the past. The true meeting-place ia not Sinai, but Calvary (2 Tim. i. 9; Rom. iii. 20-26). Ver. 16.-The inflmnre of evil men. These are the last recorded words of Micah declarative of coming judgment; and they are deeply impressive as setting forth the influence exerted by evil men. I. ITS PERPETUITY. "For the statutes of Omri are ke§t, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels" (ver. 16 . God had separated this peopl~ from among _the nations, and ~ad specially favou~e them with a revelation of his will. He bad given unto them his pure Law. Thell' fathers had gathered in the olden time at Sinai, that " Separate from the world, their breast Might duly t.ake and strongly keep The print of heaven t.o be ex1 rest Ere long on Zion's steep." (Keble.) God had conferred signal honour upon them in constituting them the depositaries of his truth, and his witnesses unto the ends of the earth. They were bound by the most sacred obligations, the most solemn vows repeatedly renewed, and by pains and penalties too, "to keep his statues" and " to obey his commandments." But they lamentably failed to fulfil their h~h mission, and the failure is iu no small degree traced in these records to the influence of their kings. Jeroboam, Omri, and Ahab stand out con- epicuonsly in the history of the kingdom of Israel as having sinned and caused Israel to Bin, and the evil influence thus exerted spread to the kingdom of Judah, and descended from generation to generation. One hundred and seventy years had passed since the death of Ahab, nearly two hundred since the death of Omri, and about two hundred and thirty since the death of Jeroboam; yet their pernicious influence was still felt., and the people were keeping their statutes instead of God's, and walking in their ways instead of in "the way of holiness." It is clear, then, that, whilst we may by a true life be helpers, even to those who come after us, in all that is good, we may also, by the perversion of this power, prove hinderers to them, and keep them back from the highest bliss. Evil deeds as well as good actions have the stamp of per- manence upon them. "Being dead," men" yet speak" for ill as for good. You cannot limit the influence of wrong-doing to the men who commit it. Generations yet unborn will experience the <lire effects of the sine men are committing now. " For the statutes of Omri" (ver. 16). IL ITs PERNICIOUSNESS. "That I should make thee," etc. (ver. 16). The injurious effects thus wrought in a nation are here specially set forth. 1. It leads on to national decay. "That I should make thee a desolation" (ver.16). 2. It excites the contempt of the adversaries. "And the inhabitants thereof an hissing" (ver. 16). 3. It Jaye spiritual honour in the very dust, and causes the foes of God and of his truth to blaspheme. " Therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people" (ver. 16; Ezek. xxxvi 20; Pa. lxx.xix. 4; xliv. 13-16).
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ven. 1-5.-..4. protest and a retrospect. The serious state of the case between Jehonh and his people is showu by this appeal to the hills and mountains. As though among all the nations none could be found impartial enough to be umpires, or even witnesses, inanimate nature must B11pply its testimony. (Illustrate from Job xii. 7, 8; lea. i. 2, 3; Luke xix. 40; 2 Pet. ii. 16.) The mountains have stability; not BO the favoured nation. They have survived many generations of God's ungrateful beneficiaries, and have been witnesses of the blessings those thankless ones have <JIJ, VI. 1--16.] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 97