II. The mitigation. The doom is not utter. " In wrath God remembers mercy.'' God never delights to punish, never gives one blow more than is absolutely necessary ; does not hate, but pities and grieves for the victim. So Zedekiah 's life is to be spared, and he is to receive a measure of honour in his captivity. There are degrees of punish- ment in the Divine execution of justice — some will be beaten with few stripes, some with many (Luke lii. 47, 48). In this fact we may see the hope of mercy to the penitent, for God does not wholly cast a soul off. The shadows fall thick, but the darkness is not that of midnight. When trouble comes we are too ready to complain if we do not fall into despair. We should look for mitigating circumstances, those rifts in the clouds that tell of the mercy not yet wholly gone, and give hopes of lisht after the storm is over. But it is foolish for any to take spiritual comfort to himself for the future life in such thoughts as these, for we may well fear that the lightest doom then will be unspeakably terrible. The refuge we are to seek is not in that poor mitigation, but in the full forgiveness and perfect salvation of Christ now offered to the worst men, even to those over whom hangs the heaviest threat of doom (Heb. vii. 25).
Yen, 8—11. — Superficial repentance. In liberating their slaves under the influence
38 THE BOOK OP THE PROPHET JEREMIAH, [oh. xxxiv. 1— 22.
of terror, and reclaiming them when the cause of alarm had disappeared, the Jews afford a striking instance of superficial repentance. This must he distiutruished from an insin* cere repentance referred to in an earlier prophecy (oh. iii. 10). That is nothing but a • hollow mockery fi-om the first, a mere pretence of conscious hypocrisy; but this is genuine go far as it goes— only it goes but a very little way.
I. The 0AU8B op superficial eepbktanoe is feab of painfdl consequences. When the invader was at their gates Zedekiah and his people were so terrified that they were willing to do and promise anything that would mitigate the wrath of God who had permitted the calamity to visit them for their sins. Fear was the sole motive of their hasty covenant of emancipation. Now, this may be a useful initiative of » thorough repentance ; but then it must lead to deeper feelings of hearty detestation of Bin on its own account. Fear of penalties, without any abhorrence of the moral evil that merits them can only produce superficial results. Earnest repentance involves a turning from sin rather than a flight from its penalties. Hence the importance of seeking to lead men to repentance through influencing the conscience, rather than by means of mere appeals to selfish terror. Thus St. Paul reasoned with Felix "of righteousness and temperance " as well as of "judgment to come " (Acts xxiv. 25). Lurid pictures of the horrors of hell may work upon the feelings of people with visible effect, but if these take the place of the far more di£5cult rousing of the moral sense, the effect of them will be very superficial and not all spiiituaL Such a sen- sational style of preaching is tempting because it is easy, and apparently very effective, but its fruits are disappointing, and come short of the less pretentious efforts that aim at awakening the conscience,
II. The oharacteeistio op sdpbrfioiaIi bepentanoe is ohanob of conduct with- out ohanqe of heart. That was no genuine reformation which Zedekiah hurried through in the face of imminent danger. True, the slaves were freed and the Law was obeyed. But there was no indication of a revived respect for the Law, nor of a lessen- ing of greed and cruelty, nor of a larger recognition of the rights of fellow-citizens. There was no chnnge of heart, in fact. Such is the result of a repentance of fear without conviction of conscience. This reformation is worthless in the sight of God, who looks at the disposition of the heart.
IlL The effect of superficial bepentanoe is a tempobaby befobmation. As Eoon as Nebuchadnezzar withdrew his army, the Jews renounced their covenant and took back their slaves. The motive for the change was gone, and with it the change ceased. A repentance of terror is not likely to outlive the terror. The fears of the night are forgotten in the thoughtless confidence of the day. This is strikingly illus- trated in the vacillation of Pharaoh — willing to let the Hebrews go while a plague was raging, but withdrawing bis promise as soon as it was stayed. Therefore this superficial repentance is practically worthless. Nothing can be solid and enduring in life that does not spring from personal conviction and true feeling. We need a real desire to turn from sin, and a determination to seek a better life for its own sake, in order to secure a lasting change. For this we must seek Divine grace, in order that we may be " born from above."
Ver. 17. — Liberal punishment for tlliberal wnduct. The Jews will not set free their enslaved fellow-citizens ; God therefore liberates sword, pestilence, and famine upon them. If they are illiberal in their conduct, Gbd will not be stinted in his punish- ment of them.
I. The evils op life abb under the restraint op God. They appear to be uncontrolled, but they are really God's slaves. He holds in the hounds of retribution with his leash. They would fain tear their victim. But they vent their rage in vain till their Matiter lets them loose. Men can only be tormented by Satan when they are delivered over to Satan (1 Cor. v. 5).
II. Oub conduct determines oue fate. The terrible doom is no chance accident, nor is it a cruel act of despotism. It depends upon our behaviour whether or no God will liberate the powers of evil to do their fell work upon us.
III. Illiberal conduct will lead to personal loss. The mean man overreaches himself. " There is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty" (Frov. xL 24). History has proved that slavery is a commercial failure. Slave laboui
OH. XXXIV. 1—22.] THE BOOK OP THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 89
Is most expensive. But beyond this it may bring upon itself justly earned calamities. Slavery was the curse of the ancient world — the scene of its blackest iniquity, and the root of its direst misery. Few things are more terrible in the history of Rome than the social wars rising out of slavery. The persistent clinging to slavery by the Southern States of America caused the evils of war to be set free amongst them.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHOR&