men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of BMl" (ver~. 3 4). How little Elij11h knew of the true state of affairs I '£here is ~lw:ays a great danger, even amoni:;t those who are most ze:1loue for the truth, of deprec1a.t10g or under-estim'l.tin,,. the "''""I that is in others. Want of charity to others may sometimes be found ev~n in '.;ood men. Their very zeal leads them to depreciate others. If others do not come up to our standard of Christian doctrine, or Christian character, or Christian work, we are apt to imagine that they a.re not Christiane e.t e.11. No doubt these other seven thousand servants of God were to blame for not having declared themselves more openly on the Lord's side. Had they taken their proper place, and done their duty, they would have encouraged Elijah's heart and sustained hie hands ; they would have made him fa?,) that he was not alone in his efforts for the true and right; and they might even have pre- vented hie flight. But there was no excuse for Elijah's wholesale condemnation of every one in Israel except himself. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart." Especially in these latter days, when there are so many divisions amongst Christians, we need to cultivate that charity "whlch thinketh no evil," which "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." II. A WARNING TO THE CARELESS. One of the great dangers of our time is indif- ference. Many who regularly attend our churches do so as a mere matter of custom or respectability. They hear the Word of God, but it has no power on their hearts, no influence upon their lives. The fate of rejected Israel is a solemn warning to the care- less and indifferent (vers. 7-10). If we do not use our privileges, they will one day be taken from us. The neglect of talents or opportunities is as much a sin as the abuse of them. Men very soon become gospel-hardened. Hence the "more con- venient season" to which they look forward never comes. They cease to think seriously about their souls; the,1 cease to have any desire for salvation. The spirit of slumber comes upon them-that fatal sleep of spiritual indifference. Their eyes are darkened, and they do not see how fast they are hurrying to their own destruction. Oh, how it becomes us to urge upon men the 1'resent acceptance of the present offer of salvation, the present performance of the duties that lie e.t their door !-C. a L
Vers. 11-32.-The Jewish people: their past history and their future prospects.. The Jew is_ the greatest modern miracle. He is an absolutely unique figure in the history of the world. In every nation you find him, an exile and a fugitive, a stranger e.nd a foreigner. Whence came he? how ea.me he hither? He claims our re~t, our o.ttention, our pity, our Christian sympathy. These verses a.re a strong enforcement of the lessons of Israel's history e.nd a stirring appeal on Israel's behalf. I. THEIR PAST HISTORY. 1. They wm·e the chosen people of Goel. This is an abso- lutely unique distinction so far as races of men are concerned. All who o.re believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, of whatever nation they may be, are in tho.t sense the chosen people of God. But no single nation can ever claim to be the chosen people of God, except the Jews. 2. They were chosen to be a blessing to the world. The promise to A bro.ham was, "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Wherever they went they carried with them the knowledge of the one true God; they have been a testimony to the no.tions or God's faithfulness and justice; and e.t the same time they uecuted God's judgments upon the nations for the preserving and purifying of the world. The Jews have been the historians of the world. A Jewish hand wrote the history of the creation. Jewish hands wrote the history of lsr3el's connection with Egypt and Assyria and other great nations, which modern discoveries of ancient monu- ments e.nd relics a.re confirmin~ more strongly every day. When the Greek historian Herodotus, who he.s been cnllee1 "the fother of history," was only beginning to writtl, Nehemiah, the last of the Old Testament historians, was already beginniug to write. 'l'he Jews have been the teachers of the wo,-ld. Unto them were committed the oracles of God. They prepared the we.y, too, for the coming of the Saviour. 3. Ei·,m in th~ir lmmiliation and dispersion they have brought blessing to the world. " The fall of them " hns been "the riches of the world, Rnd the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles" (ver. 12). "'l'hrough their fall sl\lvation has ~?me to_ the _G,mti\es" ( ,:er. 11). "God hnth not cnst nway his people whom he foreknew. Re 1s still thti G1."1 ot lsrneL The Jows may bo dos11i~od, they mny be hated by 1nou, thuy m:,y bv uogl~d.uJ. even 828 THE EPISTLE OF PAOL TO THE noMANS. (on. :n.1-ae.