Vers. 1 — 10. — Devils incarnate. 1. If ever tliere was such a one, this Ishmael was of whom these verses tell. His atrocities remind us of the Indian Mutiny, its leader, and the well at Cawnpore (cf. ver. 9). Treachery, ingratitude, murder, massacre, greed, cowardice, — all are gathered in this detestable character (cf. Mr. Grove's article " Ishmael," Smith's ' Dictionary of the Bible '). 2. And such men are permitted to be. Si> clearly Been is this, that every drama has its villain; they are recognized as having definite place and function in this poor life of ours. History is full of them. But for them one might almost say there would be no history. 3. Can we explain this permission ? Wherefore are such men created and preserved? It is a part of the great question of moral evil, for the full solution of which we must wait. Like as was said to a lad of one of our public schools, who had heard his master say in a sermon in the school chapel that in mathematics there were lines in the same plane ever converging but which never met. The lad heard this, and as he knew something of mathonatics himself, he believed and said to a senior in the school that the master was wrong. The senior defended the master, and told tlie lad of the lines that mathematicians call asymptotes. "Bnt explain," said the astonished lad. "No, I can't," said the other. " Tou must wait till you get there." The lad had not read on so far in the science as that, and hence there was nothing for it but to believe that, though it was at present incomprehensible to him how such lines as those spoken of could be, nevertheless, when he had read on further, he would see it clearly enough. And so we have to hear and see things which, to fully reconcile with the existence and superintendence of an all- loving and all-powerful God, is beyond our power, and there is nothing for it but that we must " wait till we get there" — there where the reading of these problems will be ready and clear. But the existence of such men as this Ishmael is but one out of the many terrible facts in God's providence, such as plague, famine, earthquake, etc. In regard to such men, we can see some purposes that they subset ve.
I. They make evident the hideous capacities of evil which are in our nature, and the need, therefore, for God's restraining grace.
IL They are warnings to increased watchfulness on the part of those in whom the tendencies to like evil exist.
III. They are God's scourges for men's sin (of. Attila, the Scourge of God).
IV. They weld together the people they oppress in one common league against them, and thus out of scattered tribes a nation is formed.
v. They clear out much that is evil (cf. French Revolution ; Napoleon). But some- times, as hero, we cannot see what good they do ; and then we can only wait.
Conclusion. But we can get above these and all such afSictors of our lives. The fear of God will lift us up above their power.
" Fear him, ye saints, and you will thea Have nothing else to fear."
On the wings of the fear and love of God let us mount up ; and like as the little birds escape the hawk by keeping above it, so shall we escape all fear of fiercest human evils if we are upborne by the fear and love of God. — C.
Ver. 8. — Bin hindered by sin. " So he forbare," etc. This was a case of blood thirsty cruelty versus greed. Ishmael would have killed these men but for his greed of the wealth they had. It is satisfactory to think he never gained possession of it. Never- theless, his greed made him guilty of one sin less. This story sujgosts that —
I. God has many ways of hindeeinq sin. There is : 1. The best way of all. By granting a true repentance and his Holy Spirit, creating the clean heart and renewing the light spirit. 2. But there areother ways. By keeping the opportunity and the will apart. How much of our freedom from sin do we owe to this blessed providential ieverance ! By fear of present evil consequences of our sin. 3. And sometimes, as here, by one sin getting in the way of another. Thus pride holds back not a few ; not love of God, gratitude to Christ, love of holiness, but pride. And coveleousness checks the sinner in many sins he would be gu'lty of but for this. Anger, breaking up th«
168 I'HE BOOK OP THE PROtHET JEREMIAH. [oh. xll 1— IS
alliances of transgressors ; as when, in the days of Jehoshaphat, the Ammonites wh# were coming against him fell out one with the other (2 Chron. xx. 22). The old saying is, " When thieves fall out, honest men come by their rights." Sensual self-indidgence. The vilest Roman emperors were those who least persecuted the Church — Tiiierius, Com modus, etc. They were too absorbed in their own indulgences to trouble about the Christians.
II. But these otheb ways leave men as obeat snntEBS as befobb. The queation is not as to your freedom from transgression so much, but — What kept you free ? Only the first and best way is accepted of God.
III. Nevertheless, let us be thankful that sin is selp-destbuctivb ts its VEBT NATUBE. It is a blessed anarchy, for it protects many who would otherwise suffer.
rV. But fob oubsbltes let us seek that sin mat be destroyed by Chbist. — C.
Vers. 11 — 15. — The devil a lad paymaster. These verses record the pursuit and overthrow of Ishmael. He had sold himself to work all manner of wickedness. What had he not been guilty of? And now we hear the last of him. He is seen in flight to Ammon, whence he came out, escaping with his life, but stripped of all his captives and his plunder. He had taken a world of trouble, incurred a load of guilt, tilled his soul with evil, dishonoured his name for ever. And this was what came of it alL Every one of his purposes, plans, hopes, all his toil and villainy, all his apparent success, utterly lost and gone. He is one out of many more proofs of the miserable wages of sin. Now —
I. It is eveb so. Men may go on in sin for a long time, and be undisturbed save by conscience ; may find their sin very pleasant and very gainful, and they may seem to escape with utter impunity ; but the visitation of God comes upon them, sometimes here in this life, certainly, if not here, hereafter. The Bible history, the world, are full of proofs of tills.
II. But men oannot be got to believe this. Else why do they persist in evil ways ?
III. Why is it that they will not believe? They do not wish to believe. Sentence against evil work is not executed speedily, sometimes not at all here in this world in any visible way.
IV. Why, then, does not God deal diffebently with sin ? Because his purpose ie to foster trust and love, neither of which could find place in a system of prompt and visible punishments such as some would desire.