III. Note what mischief it works. These are seen strewn over every pathway along which this spirit hath been ; like the bleached bones in the desert show the trikck of the caravan.
IV. Consider, therefore, some sapequarus against it. God himself at times under- takes its cure. He did so with Peter. He let him go his way and fall, and in that crash the spirit of boastfulness was for ever crushed. But we shall he aided by remembering the words of Christ and his apostles and of all his most laithful servants. They all warn against this spirit, and urge the spirit of watchfulness and prayer. Bemember, too, that better men than ourselves have fallen. The very fact that armour is provided shows that we need it. And note that there are chinks in your armour ; and that some armour is of very worthless sort.
Conclusion. Whilst bidding you boast not, with equal emphasis we say, " Despond not." " The gist of all this is, confide in God, but distrust yourselves. Have done with every glorying except glorying in the Lord. . . . There is nothing like full assurance for excellence, and nothing like presumption for worlhlessness. Never mistake the one for the other. You cannot trust God too much nor yourself too little. I read a book one day called ' Self-Made Men,' and in its own sphere it was excellent ; but spiritnally 1 shouhi not like to be a self-made man. I should think he would be an awful specimen of humanity. At any rate, a self-made Christian is one of a sort the devil very soon takes, as I have seen a child so take a bran doll and shake it all out. He likes to shake out self-made Christians till there is nothing left of them. But God-made men, — these are they that do exploits ; and God-made Cliristians, who fall back upon the eternal strength at all times and confide there, — these are the men to hold on their way and to wax stronger and stronger " (Spurgeon). — 0.
Ver. 10. — The terror of sacrifice without its blessing. The ancient sacrifices had much about them that was very repulsive. The slaughtering and dismemberment of the vast herds of animals that were year by year brought to the altar must have involved in it very much that was of a revolting nature. No doubt their sensitiveness to luch scenes of blood was for less than ours ; but at the best it must have been a
218 THE BOOK OF THE PllOPHET JEREMIAH. £oh. xlvl 1— 2a
most pMufal spectacle. Hence scoffers have called it the religion of the shambles But the Balvation and blessinj; that came through the sacrifices divested them of all that was painful or repulsive to tlie offerer. But there may be all that is terrible about sacrifice — agony, blood, death, carnage — without any corresponding blessiug. Such is the meaning here. Slaughter, but no salvation. The same word for " sacrifice " is used as in those which were ull'ered according to the Law on the altar in the temple. And so in the parallel passages in Isn. xxxiv. 6 and Ezek. xxxiz. 17, which should be compared with this, and which are alluded to by St. John in the Revelation. In all these there is the terror of sacrifice, but none of its blessing. And there is that which corresponds to this now. Even Christ's sacrifice may be a terror and not a salvation, it is so to: 1. Those whore/use it. 2. Those who apostatize from it, who count the blood of the covenant an uniioly thing, trampling undtifoot the Son of God (Heb. x.). 3. Those who make it the minister of sin. Who " turn the i^race of God into lasoivious- ness." There is, then, a twofold aspect of the Lord's sacriflce. Either it must be that by It we rise or fall. " This child is set for the fall and rising a.i^ain." The gospel is "a savour of life unto life, or," etc. Christ is a Rock on which we may build, or which, falliug on the impenitent, crushes him to powder. Which for ourselves 1 — 0.
Ver. 15. — The real cause of the decline of empires. " Because the Lord did drive them." If we read ordinary histuries, the overthrow of any monarchy is traced to such an invasion or to the loss of such a battle, or to some other ordinary and well- known cause. And no doubt it is true that, through and by these things, the said results have been brought about. But there is ever a moral cause which lies behind, and it is to that must be traced up the series of events which have followed. The history of most ancient empires, in their origin, progress, decline, and fall, has been very much the same. A hardy, temperate, courageous people, driven by necessity or attracted by the hope of gain, fall upon some decrepit power, destroy it, and on its ruins build their own fortunes. For a while the same courage and virtue which enabled them to gain possession of their prize are manifested in consolidating their power and in building up their rule. But after the laptie of years, they have gained secure foothold and are able to live less on their guard as^ainst enemies. Wealth and luxury increase and exert their enervating power. In this soil the vices, what- ever they may be, to which as a people they are predisposed, grow rapidly and affect the national habit and character. Then their decay has begun. It hastens rapidly on until, in their turn, this once victorious people are vanquished, overthrown by a nation more bold and righteous and therefore more powerful than themselves. This law can be readily traced in the histories of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and in more modern instances as well. Were there no moral causes at work in the overthrow of the French empire under Napoleon I. ? In all cases it will be seen that, in one form or another, God's love of righteousness has been outraged, and ven- geance has speedily, or surely if not speedily, come. What was the Reformation but the revolt of men's consciences against the abominable sins of the Catholic Church ? But how came that Church— once so fair, so beautiful, so glorious — to have sunk so low as to become hateful in men's eyes ? It was this same enervating influence of wealth, power, and other forms of earthly prosperity which sapped her spiritual strength until she became utterly unworthy of men's confidence, and sha was pun- ished, and is so to this day, by the loss of well-nigh all Northern Europe, the noblest half of her ancient domain. Therefore learn —
L What abb not a oountbt's sapeouards, THOtroH often thought to bb. Not commerce, or Tyre would not have fallen. Not art, or Greece would never have perished. Not strong political organization, or Rome would have continued. Not reliyious profession, or Jerusalem and Catholic Rome would not have suffered the disasters that befell them. Not ancient renoton, or Egypt would have stood fast. All these things have been relied on, and especially vast armies, but they have one and all been tested and have proved ropes of sand, battlements taken away because they are not the Lord's. Therefore note —