nnd (2) the unjust, or those who have no respect for the la,v of rectitude human or m~ ' II. THE CORRESPONDING DISTINCTION OF TREATMENT ON TIIE PART OF THE Lonn AND J lJDGE OF MANKI])."D. 1. The go,lly are not exempted from temptation, but are delivered out of it. In illustration of this principle of the Divine "overnment St. Peter refers to Noah, whose lot was cast in a generation of sinners and s~offers, but whe> was preserved from yielding to the evil solicitations to which he was exposed; and to Lot, who though vexed with the lascivious life and lawless deeds of his wicked neiahbours, wa; yet delivered from participation in their guilt and their doom. Certain it i~ that Di vine providence allows the purest and the best to come into constant contact with the bond- slaves of sin, doubtless in order that their virtue may be tested and their character stren~thened. But never does God abandon those who confide in his care, and who comply wi~h his conditions of safety. 'l'he means by which he protects and delivers his o~n are known to himself, and he makes use of them in his own time. Thus, how- ever formidable may be the temptations to which the godly are exposed, a way of escape is made for them, an<l they are delivered from the hanri of the enemy. 2. 'fhe unrighteous cannot escape just retribution. It does not matter how high is their static"ll, in ~hat esteem they are held by their fellow-creatures, what is their power and their skill. All who defy and all who forget God must surely learn that they are subject to the control of infinite justice, administered by omnipotence. The apostle, in the context, adduces illustrations of retributive righteousness, and reminds his readers that the rebel angels were cast into Tartarus, that a flood was broui(ht upon the ancient world of the ungodly, and that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into ashes. For all impenitent sinners there is punishment, even here and now; and the Scriptures reveal the approach of a day of judgment iu which God shall render to every man according to his works, and in which those who have exalted themselves against the holy Supreme shall awake to "shame and everlasting contem1Jt."-J. R. 'I',
Ver. 15.-The sini,er's liire. In the course of hie denunciation of abandoned sinners St. Peter makes use in two places of this remarkable expression, "the wages of unrighteousness," or "the hire of wrong-doing"-in the fifteenth verse as something loved and sought by Balaam, and in the twelfth verse as that which shall be the portion of the impenitent transgressor. The idea was one which evidently took very forcible possession of the aposLle's mind, and, however little it may be in harmony with the sentimental and purblind type of religion too prevalent in our time, it is an idea in perfect harmony with the stern and righteous government of God. Upon the sug- gestion of the twofold application of the thoughts in this chapter, it may be well to treat this serious and awful subject under two aspects. L THE 6INNEB18 IT.LUSION AS TO BIS WOBK AND ms WAGES. Life is represented as a bondman's service, and in any case the representation is appropriate and just. But experience of human character and history leads to the conclusion, which coincides with the teaching of revelation, that men constantly engage and continue in the service of sin under a double illnsion. 1. They imagine the work which they under- take to be easy and agreeable. By many devices the tyrant sin disguises the evils of his service, and induces his victims to continue iu it to their souls' injury and ruin. The pleasures of sin are for a season, aud they who indulge in them are like those who eat of the lair apples of the Dead Sea, which turn to ashes in the mouth. 2. They imagius the reward of the service to be liberal and satisfactory. As Balaam lusted for the gold which was to be his hire, as Judas clutched the thirty pieces of silver which were the price of his Master's blood, so the bondmen of ungodliness deceive themselves with the imagination that the reward they will partake will enrich and satisfy their nature. Whether it be wealth or pleasure, power or praise, they set their hearts upon it, and it becomes to them as the supreme good. In such an illusion years of sin and folly may be pa.ssed.. lL 'l'HE SINNER'S AWAKENING TO A SENSE OF THE REALITY AS TO BOTH THE WORK AND THE WAGES OF BIN. 1. 'l'he service is, sooner or later, found to be mere slavery, 'l'he chains may be gilded, but they are chains for all that. The dwelling may have the semblance of a palace, lint it is in fact a prison. The master's speech may be honeyed, but it is the speech of a tyrant, cruel and relentless. 2, The hire of wrong- ott. n. l-22.] T.11m SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 6[)
doing is not po.yrnent, but punishment. "The way of transgressors" is found to be "bard." "'l'be wages of sin is death." APPLICATION. Let these considerations lead the sinner to forsake the tyrant's service, repudiate the tyrant's claims, and fling back the tyrant's bire.-J. n. T.