The Pulpit Commentary — Malachi — Section 39

Others suppose it means the pretext they employed for doing so by the permission of Moses (Deut. xxiv. 1). Others suppose the garment means man's reputation, and that he would damage his influence by it. Whatever the particular meaning of the passage is, it is certain that the outr&,ge of the institution of matTiage is fraught with great c,ils. OoNcLUSION. .A.n extract from my Marriage Service in the • Biblical Liturgy' may not be out of place here. "Marriage is an institution of God: it accords with the dictates of nature and the laws of inspiration. It is coeval with human society; it was an essential ingredient in the happiness of Eden. It heightened, it perfected, the pure, fresh, and serene joys of that garden, the scene of every beauty and the temple of God. In mercy it has bc,m perpetuated to the present hour as a social blessing to soothe and sustain our nature amidst the depressing circumstances of our fallen state. Jesus threw around this relationship a peculiar grandeur. He clothed it with sublimity: to his holy eye it was a holy thing; he ratified its contract, he guarded its obligations, he uponnded its laws, he graced its celebration with his presence; the first miracle ,his sacred bands performed was at a bridal feast. The apostles caught the idea of t)leir Master, a~d invested it with a ~stic solemnity by representing it as a type of the substantial, invisible, and ev&'iastm.g union existing between Ch1ist and his Church. It involves the most tender, close, and lasting ties that can unite human beings together in this life. • Therefore shall a man leave father and mother. and cleave unto his wife; and they both shall become one :flesh.' It combines the earthly interest, fortunes, and happiness of two; it may influence the destinies of many. The interests of the parties united, the triumphs of truth, and the upward progress of humanity are all dependent on the nuptial bond."-D. T. Ver. 17.-The 'WOT<is <if scepticism. "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of jud,.,,<TJI1ent?" These words are directed against the spirit of sceptic_ism and discontent which prevailed amongst the Israelites in the time of the prophets, and they lead us to offer two remarks on the words of scepticism. I. THEY All.E WORDS OF COMPLAINT A.GA.INST Goo. "Ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord." This is what they said; this was perh>1ps their current talk. A very old topic of complaint was theirs. It means this: "Wherefore doth the wicked prosper?" Wherefore are the righteous afflicted? This was the chief problem of the Book of Job ; this was the burden of Ps. Ix.xiii. Since vie~ ,is here triumphant and virtue oppressed, "Where is the God ofjudgment?" If there is a God who governs the world, his righteousness is not seen; on the contrary, he shows more favour to the eril than to the good. " Where is the God of judgment?" We want him to put an end to this state of things. IL THEY ARE WORDS UNGRATEFUL TO THE EAB OF Goo. "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words." Observe: 1. God hears the words of men. Every syllable enters his ears; be understands our thoughts afar off. 2. Sceptical words are offensive to him. "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words." Wearied him with their ignorance, their falseness, their impiety. The creating and the supporting of a universe does not weary God, for he "fainteth not, neither is weary." But the endless chatterings of sceptical and discontented souls weary him. 3. The authors of sceptical words are ii,different to this terrible/act. "Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?'' They go on talking against God in their families, their cl~bs,_ in their public halls, in the!r workshops and their warehouses, and are utterly indifferent to the fact that their words are offensive to the ears of the All-hearing One. CoNoLUBION. "I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Every idle word. Not merely the pro1ane and impious language of the scoffer and blasphemer, but every idle word- words that have little or no meaning, the most airy words of wit and humour spoken in jest, not to delude or pain, but simply to please.~D. 'l'. Oil. m. 1-18.] THE BOOK OF MA.LA.CHI. 39