HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1, 2.-~ moral dearth in the land. The prophet, speaking in the name of the godly remnant of the land, laments their terrible isolation. We are thus reminded of the sad condition of a land in which there is a dearth of good men. For: 1. They are the choice fruit of the land-wholesome, fragrant, delicious. The ideal Israel is compared to "grapes" and "the first ripe in the fig tree" (Hos. ix. 10). The Lord n ta.keth pleasure" in such ; they satisfy the hunger of the Divine heart for godliness in the creature (Ps. cxlvii. 11 ; cxlix. 4 ; Prov. xi. 20). So far as they share the spirit of Christ, they are, like him, "beloved of God," and should be attractive to men. 2. They are the salt of the earth-the one element that preserves from universal corruption. The picture presented to us is the gradual dying out of the godly; they "cease" (Ps. xii. 1), they "perish" (Isa !vii. 1). Some few remain, " two or three in the top of the uttermost bough," which fVere not touched, or those unripe which were but imperfect and poor, or those which had fallen, " and thus were fouled and stained, and yet were not utterly carried away." The promise, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children" (Ps. xiv. 16), is no longer fulfilled. The sons and daughters of the godly do not rise up to fill their places in the Church. 'l'he few godly survivors a.re heard lamenting and longing for the pious companions of former days; " my soul desireth the 6.rst-ripe fig" (desiderio tam cari capitis). The fewer the good that remain, the more difficult it is for them to retain the fervour of their piety. Embers dispersed soon die out. It is hard to keep up a June temperature under December skies. From this dearth of the godly many evils follow. Thero is a loss of confidence, fi.rst in spiritual fellowship, and then in social relations (ver. 5). There is a loosening of the most sacred family bonds. Depravity and degradation become deeper and darker (vers. 3, 4). The little remnant of God's servants are increasingly depressed and dis- couraged: "Woe is me!" ( cf. Ps. cxx. 5 ; Isa. vi. 5). This results from constant contact with sin and from the heart-sickness which it causes; "great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart" (Rom. ix. 2). Thus we learn : 1. The greatest calamity to a nation is not war, pestilence, or famine, but the withholding of the Spirit of grace to convert the hearts of men, and consequently the dying out of the righteous. The famine of bread is bad ; the famine " of hearing the words of the Lord'' is worse. But worst of all is the dearth of living witnesses for God in the land. 2. The winning of souls to God is the greatest wisdom and the most enlightened patriotism. 3. The welfare of a nation is bound up with the living God, the true Church, and believing prayer.-E. S. P. Ver, 3.-Earnest sinflff'B. A contrast is suggested between various grades of evil- doing. Some are not so much active as passive in sin. They drift; they are led ; when sinners entice them they "consent," perhaps reluctantly at first. For want of resisting power they are found walking "in the counsel of the ungodly." Ere long they bestir themselves to gratify some sinful desire. At first they are half-hearted in
~ service of sin, for memory and consci,mce still restrain them. "Their heart is ided," and it is only one hand they stretch out to grasp the forbidden fruit. Their er hand has still hold on the book of the Law of their God which they learned at t ir mother's knee. 'l'hey soon find that they cannot serve two masters. The book -of God is dropped ; the hand that held it, released from the mysterious magnetic power which the Bible exerts on those that study it, is stretched out to co-operate with its fellow in deeds of sin. Practice makes perfect; the appetite grows by what it feeds upon; and soon the transgressor, who not so long a.go blushed even at the enticements to sin that were addressed to him, now is foremost among those who "do evil with 1both hands earnestly." ln these earnest sinners we note the following points. 1, Unity 118 THE BOOK OF MICAH. [err. VII. 1-20.