III. It is one bt which thet will sooneb ob lateb be destboted. 1. It is often so tit this life. Men will league themselves together against a liar as against a wild beast or serpent, to destroy it. In the hearts of all men there is a protest against lies. That protest cannot be stifled universally, or for long, or over wide reaches of the world. It will break forth. It did break forth, and down went the paganism of the Roman empire, the priestly lies of the Church of Rome in the days of the Reformation, the political lies of despots as in the French Revolution, the Jesuitical lies by which that order has been disgraced and on account of which it has once and again been driven forth in shame. And the like of all this is seen in the condemnation and punishment j( the convicted liars even now. 2. But yet more will it be so hereafter. See the awful doom that is pronounced against liars in the Word of Ood : " All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which is the second death."
Conclusion. 1. Dread this sword. 2. Love and cherish truth, in thought, word, and deed. 3. Give yourself to him who is the Truth. — C.
Ver. 46. — The fall ofhM, Babylon is continually taken in Scripture as the type of the kingdom of evil, that which our Saviour termed " the gates of hell." Her antiquity, her vast power, her wickedness and cruelty, her utter overthrow, all justify the simili- tude which St. John especially so frequently employs. But the kingdom of evil is to be destroyed. For this purpose " the Son of Ood was manifested, that he might destrOT the works of the devil." And as when the literal Babylon fell there was a " cry, so shall it be when that yet more dread power of which she was the type shall, in its turn, fall and perish. But that cry will be of a varied nature. On the part of all those who have trusted in and served it there will be —
L A OBT OF tebbob. Their confidence, their pride, will be shattered, and they will quail at " the wrath of the Lamb " which they have provoked. But there will be many who will behold that overthrow and from them —
II. A CRT OF wondeb will be heard. That kingdom of evil lo widespread, so ancient, su established, so seemingly undisputed in its possession inring all the long age?
286 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH, [oh. 1. 1—48
hitberto^ now completely overthrown. How many valiant soldiers of the cross and faithful servants of God have in past ages hurled themselvas against her ramparts and tried to storm her citadel, and have, apparently, but thrown their lives away 1 There- fore, when at length it is proclaimed, " Babylon is fallen I " what wonder and astonish- ment will fill the minds of all beholders I But it will be also — ^
IIL A OBT OF JOT. It will be the day oi jubilee, the setting free of the oppressed, the opening of the prison doors, the giving of liberty to the captives. Hence the psalms perpetually bid us sing unto the Lora — sing a new song ; " for he cometh, he Cometh to judge the earth." We are accustomed to speak of the judgment day as one of terror only ; we forget that it will be a day of unspeakable joy to the multitudes of the oppressed, like as, when Israel saw the Egyptians dead oa the seashore, they sang their song of triumph. And it will be also —
IV. A OBT OF THANKSGiviNO, of adoration and praise. How can it be otherwise ? " The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together " beneath hell's dread oppression. Shall there not be unspeakable gratitude felt when the Lord crushes this awful tyranny and destroys it for evermore ?
Conclusion. 1. Remember that this overthrow mil take place. They who believe in this kingdom of evil say, " We shall never be moved." But they are deceived and will, one day, be terribly awakened. 2. Which cry shall be ours ? — 0.
Vers. 4, 5. — Eeunited Israel seeking Jehovah. I. The voluntabiness of this QUEST. How it is exactly that Israel becomes master of its own choice is not indicated here. Nor need we stop to notice the indications elsewhere. The great thing to note is that Israel, being free to choose, chooses the right thing. Israel might have chosen to stop in Babylon. Thus a great difference is indicated between the circumstances in which the first covenant with Israel was made, and these circumstances of the second covenant. We search the Book of Exodus in vain for any evidence of such a free and profoimdly penitent spirit as we find here. God has shown by the history of Israel that a covenant made in constraint may be necessary, but also it can only be preparatory. All the elements here are of strong voluntary action. The people come ; they are not driven. They weep with the noble emotion of penitence. All the waste of past centuries stands before them, seen as it might have been seen before if only they had had eyes to see. Then there is the seeking, hoping spirit to be considered. The people are wiUing now to go to God, whom so long they had forsaken in idolatry and unrighteousness.
II. Thb union of those who had been uhnatueallt sepabated. Why this distinction between the children of Israel and the children of Judah ? The very names indicate something wrong, something having its basis in self-will and jealousy. For the children of Judah were also children of Israel. Thus the common Christianity under- lies all sectarian names. These names originate in certain historical necessities, and the sects keep them because they are thinking of the different starting-points whence they have come rather than of the common goal whither they tend. In imitdng thus together, Israel and Judah were doing things meet for repentance. They were doing all they could do while they remained in exile. Past alienations and antipathies weru sub- merged in the rise of a strong feeling of desire after their God. When men want to be brothers and companions, most difficulties in the way can be easily pushed aside.
III. A SUBORDINATE ELEMENT IN THB QUEST OF Jehotah. The people know they must turn their footsteps toward a certain place, even Zion. God is always to be sought in a certain appointed way. Seeking Zion, the people are doing a great deal towaids finding God. The people knew the way to look toward Zion, even from afar ; we have illustration of this in the praying attitude of Daniel, who bowed his knees three times a day, his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem. Whether we shall find God depends upon where we are disposed to seek him. We shall certainly never find him apart from Jesus Christ, tor anywhere else than as connected with the heavenly Zion, the city of the living God. The vague aspirations of natural human sentiment promise a great deal, hut they peiform nothing. They follow an ignis/ituus, and not the star that goes on till it stands over Bethlehem. God is to be found by those who will accept the guidance of his Spirit, making known to them the riches which are in Christ. — Y.