perhaps, when it is too late, all your old feara will be awakened. You may send to your minister upon that bed of death, and he may come, but by your bedside he may be speechless; his very power to pray may depart from him, and in trying to ask mercy for you all his utterances may be choked ; and you may go from that wretched dying bed to hell. And as you sink down into the pit, the millstone about your neck will be the abominable thing which Ood hates " (Rev. S. Martin). — 0.
Vers. 17, 18. — The apparent profitableness of sin. This was what they asserted. And there seemed something in the assertion. All the great nations aronnd them, and of which they knew anything, were idolaters — Assyria, Tyre, Babylon, Egypt, and the powerful Philistine, desert and other tribes. But Israel was in great trouble and humiliation. But the argument would have been valid if at the time of their fidelity they had always suffered, and if in their disobedience they had always prospered. They knew, if they would speak the truth, that the very reverse was the fact. When faithful, a thousand fell at their side, etc., but it came not nigh them. But when disobedient — though Qod bore with them for a while, and this forbearance they perverted into an argument for their sin, as so many do still — then it was their troubles came. But, no doubt, ungodliness did and does at times seem to be the most profitable course. This is so because —
I. If it were not so, then there could be no such thing as faith.
II. Nor could there be holiness — no love of goodness and God for their own sake.
III. The ungodly are held back by no scruples as the godly are.
IV. And they have the advantage of concentration of energy. They care only for one world ; the believer cares for two, and most not for this but for the next.
V. The long-suffering of God may lead them to repentance.
VL Therefore, let us not grudge the wicked their prosperity, nor deem their ways better than the ways of God. — C.
Ver. 17. — Wretched reasons /or a wrong resolve. When we come to a good reso- lution there can always be found good reasons for it. But when we come to a bad resolve the reasons for it do not always appear so bad as they are. They cau be plausibly nrged and maintained, and appear very valid until they are more closely examined and the lijiht of God's Word is brought to bear upon them. Then they appear what they really are. That Word is the Ithuriel's spear, which detects and declares what seemed to be something altogether different. Thus is it with the reasons urged here by the miserable exiles in Egypt for their persistB&ce in their idolatry. Note—
I. Theib resolve. It was (1) that they would not hearken to the prophet of Qoi ; and (2) they would go on paying their vows, and burning their incense " unto the queen of heaven." Now, (3) this was a resolve proved to be wrong by the plain Word of God, the example of the noblest men of their race, the experience of their forefathers, and by the sorrows that had come and were yet to come upon themselves. But they urged—
II. Theib reasons. These were : 1. Tlieir vows. As if a sinful vow could be made less sinful by keeping it ; of. Herod's vow to Herodias's daughter. Bad promises are ever better broken than kept. 2. Custom, which they said had in its favour : (1) Antiquity. Their fathers did so. Yes ; some of them had ; but nut all, nor the best. (2) Authority. Their kings, princes, etc. But this, also, largely false. (3) Unity. They all did it. But there were a faithful few still. (4) Universality. It was done everywhere. Not everywhere, but, no doubt, extensively and very much, it was true, in Jerusalem, the metropolis of their land. All this was but a portion of the truth. 3. They pleaded advantage. They were better off when they acted thus ; only trouble came when they worshipped God. No doubt sentence against their evil work was not executed speedily, and for a while their prospeiity was not interrupted. Hence they perverted this forbearance of God — as men do still — into a pretext for going on in their evil way Then when the judgments did come, and under the lash of them they gave up theii idols, it was only an outward abandonment, not a genuine repentance, and such con- duct did not bring back the forfeited favour of (ioA. Hence, they said, it had been better not to have forsaken their idols at all.
CH. XLIT. 1— 30.J THE BOOK OF THE PKOPHET JEREMIAH. 197
in. And these wretched beabons abb in force still. How many excuse and defend their idolatry of the world and self and sin on the ground of custom, of gain thereby, and of loss if thty act otherwise ! And the force of these so-called reasonings is great indeed with " men of this world." Where, tlien, can be found that reasoning which will beat back and beat down their fatal force ? In this alone — the Divine Spirit acting through a consistent, believing, happy Church. — G.
Ver. 19. — The liusband's responsibility. " Did we make her cakes to worship her , . . without our men t " These women pleaded that they had their husbands' sanction for what they did. It could not have been otherwise considering the subordinate position women occupied in Oriental nations. No doubt, therefore, the husbands and the male heads of families generally not only permitted, but even prompted these things. Hence it was some sort of excuse and defence for these women thus engaged in idolatrous worship. Such defence is allowed in human law. For the husband, by Clirist's law as well as man's, is the head of the wife. If so, then the chief responsibility and the chief guiltiness on account of the sin of the household rest on the man at the head ot it. The especial blessing of Ood was pronounced on Abraham because, says Uod, " I know him, that he will command his household after him." The anger of God came on Eli because he failed to do this. To escape such guilt, let husbands : 1. Be in the Lord themselves. 2. Marry only in the Lord. 3. Be careful to maintain family religion. 4. Set themselves to seek the grace of God's regenerating Spirit for all their households. — 0.