as a cilfaen of tMs erurth. "Godliness iR profitable to all things." 2. That even lhls occasional expression of God's regard for moral conduct is sufficient to justify the belief in tho doctrine of 11. future and universal retribution. Antecedently, we shoul,i infer thnt, under the governmen~ of an all-wise, all-powerful, a.ad all-just God, man's secular circumstances would be according to his moral worth. It would have been ~o, had m&n not fallen, no doubt. It is sometimes so now, as in the case before us. It will bo universally RO one day-the great day that awaits humanity. IIJ, 'fHAT THESE FACTS OUR MIGHTY MAKER REQUIRES US PROFOUNDLY TO STUDY. "Now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward." This call to consider the facts is thrice repeated. Consider why the adversity came upon you in the first ca8c, and why the blessing is promised in the second case. It was, in one caae, because you neglected your moral duty, and in the second because you began to discharge it. Wby should these facts be studied? 1. That we may have a practical consciousness that God is in the world. In all the elements of nature, in all the seasons of the year, in all the varying temperatures and moods of nature, we see God in all things. " The place whereon thou standest is holy ground." 2. That we may have a practical conscious- ness that God recognizes moral distinctions in human society. Good and evil are not alike to him. The good he sees, he approves; the evil he beholds, he loathes. 3. That we may have a practical consciousness that retribution is at work in the Divine government.-D. '.I.'. Vere. 20-23.-Terrible revolutions. "And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, Governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will over- throw the throne of kingdoms," etc. This is the fourth address. These verses remind UB- I, THAT TllE REVOLUTIONS AMONGST MANKIND ARE SOMETIMES VERY TERRIBLE, Here we read of the "shaking of the heavens an<l the earth," the "crash of thrones," the "destruction of kingdoms," the "overthrow of chariots," etc. "What the particular revolutions referred to here are cannot be determined. Alas ! we know well enou:.:h that such terrible catastrophes have been too common in every age and land. Duri~g the last forty years what tremendous revolutions have occurred in Europe and in America I The political heavens and earth have been shaken to their very centre, and even now the political world throughout Christendom is heaving with earthquakes and thundering with volcanoes. Such revolutions imply the existence and prevalence of two antagonistic moral principles in the world-good and evil. These are t'i.a Titanic chieftains in all the battles, the elemental forges in all the convulsions of the world. It is truth against error, right against wrong, liberty against thraldom, virtue against vice. II. THAT Goo HAS TO DO EVEN WITH THE MOST TERRIBLE OF THESE REVOLUTIONS. "I will shake the heavens, ... I will overthrow the throne," etc. "I will destroy the strength," etc. Inasmuch : 1. As God is eternally against the false and the wrong and the tyrannic, he may be said to be the Author of these revolutions. 2. As he can prevent them, he may be said to be the Author of these revolutions. He does not otiginate them, but he permits them. He could annihilate all wicked doers by a volition; he allows them to fight themselves often to death in battling against the right and the true. Hence God permits and controls all human revolutions. This should inspire us with confidence in the most terrible scenes. "The Lord sitteth upon the flood." He sits in serene majesty, controlling all the fury of the battling forces. He "holds the winds in his fist." Ill. THAT THE GOOD MAN IS SAFE IN THE MOST TREMENDOUS REVOLUTIONS OF TIME. "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, 0 Zerubbabel, mv servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts" (ver. 23). What is here said 0f Zerubbabel suggests three thoughts. 1. That good men sustain the highest office. Zerubbabel was not only i servant, but a" chosen servant." He was selected for the work ot' rebuildin:; the temple. 'fhe highest honour for moral intelligence is to be the appointed servant of .Jehovah. 2. That good men will receive the highest distinction. "I will make tl,ee ~ a signet." A signet indicates: (1) Worth. It was,, ring with a seal on it, worn THE BOOK OF HAGGAI. [on. 11. 1-23,
0n the finger, as &n ornament of great V&lue. Good men are elsewhere represented as God's jewels. (2) Authority. 'l'he signet of an Eastern monarch was a sign of delegated authority. A good man is invested with the highest authority-the authority to fight against wrong &nd to promote right, at all times and in every place. 3. That good men will al,wa,y, be safely kept. Jehovah says this to Zerubbabol. Amidst all evil, "God is my Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble." -D.T HOMILETICAL INDEX '1'0
THE BOOK OF HAGGAI.
OHAPTER I. TIJEHlll PAGll TDEll1C PAOB The Silver and the Gold : a Sermon Divine RevelBtiona 4 on Money 29 The Mistakes of the Temple-builders: The Latter Glory of " this House ; " a Warning 6 or, "the Glory that excelleth" 29 Considering One's Waye 8 The Parable of the Holy and the Hard Times 9 Unclean 30 Ancient Temple.builders 9 Zerubbabel the Son of Shealtiel 31 The Introduction . . . 11 Returning Despondency and Renewed Procrastination 12 Stimulus 33 The Stirring Appeal 12 The Prophet's Messianic Prophecy 34 The House of the Lord lying Waste 14 The Real Presence 35 The Hearty Response 15 God's Temple filled with Glory 3~ Duty revealed 15 The Consecration of Wee.Ith 36 Duty adjourned 16 The Peace of God . .. 37 Duty divinely vindicated 17 The Past and the Future ... 38 The Finul Message 39 CH.APTER II. God's Message to his People by Haggai 40 Past aud Present 24 The Moral Progress of the World 40 The Shaking of the Heavens and the Hnman Duty 41 Earth ... 26 Man's Temporalities 42 "The Desire or All Nations" 26 Terrible Revolutions 43