the pooplc's unworthy sacrifices, without attempting to reprove them, QI' endeavourinrr tQ nwnken t.hem to worthier and more spiritual views of sacrifice. When the mini;try hn~ become e. fountain e.nd a support of religious negligence and formality, the nation is placed in extreme peril, e.nd severe providentie.l dealings for the national and the priestl_v humilintion me.y be expected. The Divine threatening here is," I will curse your blessings." 'fhis may mee.n either of three things; it may, quite possibly, include all three. It me.y meau, "I will turn the gifts of the people into cnrsee." Or, "I will make the harvest of your work in the fields a failure and a curse instead of a blessing." Or, "I will make the blessing which you priests pronounce upon the people prove a curse to them." It should, however, be noticed that we now use the term "curse" with a connotation which is much more severe than that of Malachi. Our word "denuncie.tion" would better fit the prophet's meaning. I. TURNING THE PEOPLE'S GIFTS INTO CUBSEB. The priests received tithes, portions of the sacrifices, and offerings. God's judgment on the irreverent priests would come in limitation of tithes, disease from eating of the sick beasts offered as sacrifices, and the worthlessness of the offerings; for he who could give a. mean thing to God would be sure to give mean things to his servants. Let God withdraw his added blessing, a.ad our very" good things" fail to do us good. The psalmist recognizes this by praying that God would curse the blessings of his enemies (see Ps. lxix. 22). This is the permanent truth for all the ages, " The blessing of the Lord, it ma.keth rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." Illustrate by the "little book" of Revelation, which was sweet to the taste, but bitter to the soul. II. TURNING THE HABVEBT OF TOIL INTO A CURSE. (Ver. 3.) What a blessing the harvest of the fields is, let the He.rvest Home testify. These priests and Levites were compelled to go to their homes, and try and gain a living by the tillage of their land. But the judgment of God on irreverence and indifference would follow them thero, and make their harvest a "heap." They would find that, whatever they touched, there was no Divine blessing on their work. Ill. TURNING THE PRIESTLY BLESSING OF THE PEOPLE INTO A CUBSE. The words of the priestly blessing are given in Numb. vi. 23-27. It is the deepest view of this Divine threatening to see it to mean this-The blessings which you, negligent and irreverent priests, pronounce in your formal way shall break in curses upon the heads of the people.-R. T. Ver. 4.-Judgments recalling covenant obligations. Ver. 3 gives the great feature of God's judgment, first as a fact, and then by a. figure. The Levites might shirk their temple duties, and go off to their fields ; but God's hand would be upon them there; he would " corrupt" the seed they sowed, so that their harvest would be a failure. And so they would stand before the people impoverished, disgraced. and contemptible; with the stamp of failure on everything they touched. A recent account of the ceremony connected with the recovery of a Brahmin who had broken hie caste explains the Ea.stern custom indicated in this verse. One pa.rt of the ceremony was the plastering of his entire body, except his eyes, with filth; he was then plunged into the river, and when the filth was washed a.way, the man was restored. The idea of ver. 4 is that this Divine judgment on unfaithful Levi must take the place of the covenant of life and peace which God had ma.de with Levi, and would gladly have kept with his descendants. "I gave to Levi (that is, to you, the priestly tribe) a pledge of favour; but you have forfeited it, and it is now therefore turned into a threat of reprobation for your sins. No longer a covenant of peace, but of woe." I. JuoGMENT 1s Goo's STRANGE WORK. It has not been sufli.cientlv noticed, that God never threatens without indice.tion of deep feeling of regret that he should be compelled to threaten. This may be illustrated from every part of Scripture, and especially in Divine dealings with the e.ntediluvians, the Sodomites, the Israelites, e.nd the Ninevites. The key-note is given in this exclamation," Have I any pleasure at a.II in the dee.th of the wicked?" God is most unworthily misrepresented when he is thought of as punishing in a spirit of coldness and indifference. To judge and afllict is holiest pain to him. 11. JuoGUENT lB Goo'li NE0l!;BSARY WORK. Punishment belongs to moral discipline. THE DOOK OF MALACHI. [ell, II. 1-17,
It is an essenti11l fo11tnre of it. It is part of all p1tternity. It ie involved in the trust of childlwoo.. God could not be his own Divine self if he aid not punish. To let sin go woul,I be unworthy of God. Fathet or King, he must be severe on wrong-doers. III. THTIEATEKING OF JUDGMENT IS Gon's HUMBLING WORK, God always threatens befor,, pnnishin2:. Threatening recalls obligations. Recalling obligations sots conduct in contrllst with dnty, 11.nd humbles us in the dust. Nothing bows us into penitence like sreing before us what we pledged ourselves to be, and being forced to place beside it what we are.-R. T. •