III. But their position is insecure, and destruction, though delated, wnx be the more certain and complete. The uncertainty of worldly prosi)erity is represented frequently and under many figures in Holy Writ. It is " that which moth and rust corrupt, and thieves steal ; " it " lakes to itself wings and flies away ; " the whole life of which it is the material embodiojent, is "even as a vapour, which appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away " (Jas. iv. 14). Here the metaphor is that of a tilted vessel. There wdl come a day when the cup of a nation's or individual's iniquity will be full ; then will they be as Sodom and Gomorrah, whose cry was great and their sin very grievous (Gen. xix. 20). It is just this confido..oe, born of long impunity, that becomes intolerable to (}od and provokes his wrath. The rich fool (Luke xii. 16— 21)i — M.
Ver. 13. — Betrayed by their gods. This statement, as it is more especially fron the religious standpoinv, is a generalization of the cause of MoaVs ruin, full of spiritual insight and sagacity. It is in such directions as these we ai-e to seek for the reasons of human success or failure; everythin^x else is but superficial.
The true causes of human success or failure, happiness or mibebt, abk of a moral or spiritual kind. We do not know the exact nature of the Chemosh-wcrehip of Moab, but it is evident that, like other idolatries, it favoured materialism and tb" gratification of passion (ver. 7). The idol was the centre and representative of the whole life of tbe people. 1. Material circumstances are in themselves indifferent towards the achievement of national or individtml greatness, but trust in material circumstances is an invariable precursor of ruin. It is the virtues that are the true bulwarks of a people. " If all the historians who record the ultimate extinction of nations were inspired of God to give the true reasons of their fall, we should often meet this testimony: 'Perished of national pride, producing contempt of G"d and of fundamental morality '" (Cowles) ; Prov. xiv. 34. 2. The chief object of desire to any one is his ruler and destiny. The god is the embodiment of all the sentiments and passions associated with its worship ; the leading desire attracts towards itself and assimilates all others. It gradually but inevitably becomes his god. His whole life will henceforth take its complexion and direction from it. He conceives it to be the best and to be able to secure lor him all that is desirable. From this we see : (1) Th« peril of idolatry. Pandering to the worst and most selfish passions, it blinds and
238 THE BOOK OP THE PROPHET JEREMIAH, [oh. xiviii. 1—47
infatnateg its yotaries and leads them eventually to their ruin. (2) The importance of a true worship. It cultures the nature according to its essential principles, and secuies the supremacy of the mural and spiritutd. And all true guidance, help, and comfort are afforded in answer to believing prayer. — M.
Ver. 6. — " The heath in the wilderness." Such will the sinner be ; for, like it, he will be : 1. Barren. No rich, strength-sustaining fruit does the heath bear. A mere hard berry. The camel and the ass may browse thereupon, but it is no food for man. " Can men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? " And thus barren of good is the sinner. 2. Unlovely. There is no form nor beauty about the heath; a stunted, misshapen shrub. Its wood can be used for no manufacture. It is fit only to be burned. And when our eyes are opened to see things as they are, sin and the sinnc will appear in all moral unloveliness ; all present outward charm gone, and only thei- evil deformity seen. 3. Alone. Surrounded by drear expanse of sand ; no companion trees to form it into a grove or a verdant mass of plant-life. And so will the sinner be one day. Christ goes with the believer down the dark vallej', but th? sinner goes forth alone. He stands at the bar of God with no advocate. IS'one of all his old com- panions can redeem his soul or give to God a ransom for him. Alone ; helploss. 4. Z%e gracious influences of Heaven do him no good. The dew and tlie rain, the sun's warmth, come upon it ; but it remains the milovely, solitary, barren thing it ever was. So the impenitent man is visited by the influences of Heaven, the ] /leading of the Spirit, the varied means of grace ; but they avail him not. 5. Soon to perish. The driving sand, the scorching heat, the browsing camel, the encampment fire, all threaten its life, and by one or other of them it soon perishes. And they wlio are like to it are never safe. " How are they destroyed as in a moment 1 " Conclusion. But the godly a.-e not so. " He shall be like a tree planted by," etc. (Ps. i.). — C.
Vet. 10. — Doing the work of the Lord deceitfully. We observe—
I. Thk work of the Lord is of varied kinds. Htre it has reference to the vengeance to be taken on Moab, and denounces a curse on that soldier who failed to do his duty in the most thorough and terrible manner. No pity, no motive of any kind, was to lead them to spare the doomed nation. But whilst such dread work may be at limes the work of the Lord, the expression more commonly points to that which is spiritual, and tends to man's highest good. In the apostolic Epistles we have constant reference to the wojk of the Lord in this happier sense.