lead," OB though never requiring to be opened again. See what our Lord long after- wards ea.id to the Jewe in Matt. xxiii. 32 (comp. Gen. xv. 16), with apparent reference to this vory prophecy, and, as some think (Matt. xxiii. 35), to this very prophet. Aleo compare what is said concerning the sin of" stealing," in ver, 4 of this chapter, with what our Saviour also said to the Jewe of that day in Matt, xxi. 13; and see Dan. viii. 23 ; 1 'fhess. ii. 16. II. 'l'HE WARNING FULFILLED, This eeems shown ue by the following emblems: 1. The emblem of captivity. The " woman," or nation, with its "wickedness," being, os already noted, shut up in the ephah, 2. The emblem of settled pwrpose. As exhibited by the appearance of" two" persons to effect the same thing. Compare such passages os Amos iii. 3 ; Gen. xix. 1 ; xii. 32 ; and note how " two " angels declare both the resurrection and the second coming of Christ (John xx. 12; Acts i. 10). 3. 'l'he emblem of irresistible removal. The "two women" spoken of are naturally able to overcome and lift up the one in the ephah (Eccles. iv. 9, 10). The same idea ma.y also be conveyed by their having the "wings of a stork," the most familiar of all birds of migration (Jer. viii. 7); also by their having" the wind" in their wings, their natural strength being made stronger still (so this may mean) by the appointee! course of events (comp. Ps. cxlvii. 18; cxlviii. 8); also once more, perhaps, by the ephah being so "lifted up from the earth" that nothing earthly could have the power to prevent its removal. 4. The emblem of permanent stay. The ephah being taken to "Shinar," or Babylon, a land of long captivity to Israel in the past (Jer. xxix. 4, 5), and having a house "built" for it there, and being" established" there on a base of its own. All which seems to have been fulfilled when the Romans came, after the " filling up" of the sins of the Jews by their rejection of Christ, and took away their" place and nation" (John xi. 48), carrying them away captive by irresistible might and evidently Divine assistance into their long exile in the great city of that mystical "Babylon," which is also, spiritually, "called Sodom and Egypt'' (Rev. :xi. 8; :xiv. 8 ; xvii. 1, 5, 18, etc.), and settling them there (so it possibly means) on a" base" of their "own," i.e. in a kind of life and under a Divine dispensation peculiar to themselves (comp. Numb. xxiii. 9, end). We see, in this prophecy so viewed, in conclusion : 1. The cumulative nature of sin. As nations and men continue in disobedience, so also, and even more, does the amount charged against them, as by a terrible kind of compound interest, continue to increase. The sins of yesterday greatly aggravate the sins of to-day, Besides passages supra, see Rom. ii. 5; Jae. v. 3; Deut. xxxii. 3, 4. 2. The necessary limits of sin. Sin, in its ultimate essence, is simply rebellion against God (1 John iii. 4; Ps. Ii. 4). Even in the case, therefore, of Israel, who was dealt with in especial mercy and love, there must he some boundary beyond which the accumulation of sin cannot be allowed to proceed. What becomes, else, of God's rule? What of his holiness too? Judex damnatur cum nocens absolvitur (see Gen. xviii. 25, end). 3. The ultimate issue of sin. If not repented of, if not atoned for, what can this issue be except" banishment"? And what can such banishment mean except "death" (Matt. xxv. 41 ; Ps. xvi. 11; Rom. vi. 23; l'rov. xxix. 1)?
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-4.-Retribution. I. PROVOKED. Sin is the transgression of the Law. Here two kinds singled out. 1. Sins against the second table. "Stealeth." Fraud, injustice of all kinds. False to man. 2. Sins against thtl first table. "Sweareth." Profanity. Self-will. False to God. These are samples of sius infinite in number and variety. Bold and flagrant offences, opposed to all law and order, defiant of God. II. PROCLAIMED. Symbolically set forth. Sin will be judged, not according to custom or public sentiment, but by the measure of the sanctuary, the eternal Law of God. " Flying roll." 1. Broad enough to cover oil offences. 2. Swift to seize all transgressors in its fatal embrace. 'l'he warning comes in i;uercy. "Flee from the wrath to come." See refuge under the shadow of the cross. Justice pursues the sinner, but it stops satisfied at Calvary. UL INFLIC'l"ED, Sooner or_ later judgment will come. Inevitable and st1re, just 64 THE BOOK OF ZECHAHIAH. [err. v. 1-11,
because God is God. Society must be purified. The be.d will have to give place to the good. The e&rth will end with Eden, as it began. "My own hope is, 11, 81lil will pieroe The thiokest cloud e&rth ever stretched; That, after le.et, returns the :first, Though a wide compass round be fetched : That what bege.n best can't end worst, Nor what God blessed once prove e.ccuret." (Browning.) F. Vers. 5--11.-WorZdliness in the Church. L SADLY PREVALENT, "This is their eye "-what they mind and what they lust after. There is a climax. First two classes of sinners are figured, next one great indistinguishable mass. Then "wickedness" is personified. as one woman. This teaches how worldliness is: 1. Common. 2. Absorb- ing. 3. Debasing-corrupting all that is beautiful and fair. II. SPECIALLY OFFENSIVE. Be.d in the world; infinitely worse in the Church. 1. Opposed to the Spirit of Christ. 2. Incompatible with the service of God. 3. Obstructive t.o the progress of the gospel. IIL RIGHTEOUSLY DOOMED. Even now restrained. Limited as to place and power. But the end cometh. The judgment set forth implies: 1. Disinheritment. They defrauded others, and will themselves be impoverished. Like Satan, cast out. Like Esau, lose their birthright. 2. Banishrnent. Judgment based on sympathies. What is right in law is tree to feeling. Society cleansed. The bad go with the bad. Ungodliness is driven to the land of ungodliness. Captivity leads to captivity. Judas went" to his own place." 3. .Abandonment. Judgment swift, thorough, irresistible. There is a terrible retention of character. "The wicked are driven away in their wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death."-F.