haracter is essential to Christian influence among men. 2. Loss of power entails loss
flibeirty. Jerusalem weakenid and conquered becomes a vassaL Only the strong can
le free. Spiritual failings lead to the loss of spiritual liberty. 3. When the Church
ease* to influence the world she will hecorrte subject to the world. The fallen suzerain
l)ccomes a vassal. The Church can only retain her liberty by maintaining her supre-
iiacy. This is the great truth the abuse of which has led to the monstrous pretensions
■ it Kome. The lawful supremacy of the Church must be spiritual, and this may be lost
md the Church suhject to the spirit of the world, even while she is greedily grasping
after temporal power, perhaps just because she does hanker after this lower advautage,
Ver. t. — Comfortless. In her distress Jerusalem looks for comfort to those neigh- bouring nations which flattered her during her prosperity and behaved then as " lovers ; " but she is disappointed in finding that they all desert her in the hour of her need.
I. It is natural to seek for comfort in ADVEBSirV FROM THE FRIENDSHIPS OF
PROSPEBmr. Jerusalem had her " lovers." This fact throws a significant light on the statement that she had " become as a widow " (ver. 1). What shame that she, the wife of the Eternal, should have to be spoken to of " lovers " ! But having them she must find her comfort in them. She dare not look to her husband for comfort. In plainer language, the Jews had adopted the idolatry of neighbouring nations as well as renounced the exclusive and retiring position which had been required of them by their Goi It 'vas fitting that they should find their consolation from the Babylonian invasion in these foreign connections and religions. If we let our business, our pleasure, our umbition, or any other earthly thing usurp the place of God in our hearts, the time will come when we shall have to try what help we can get in trouble from our idoL
II. Unworthy connkctjons wili. afford no comfort in times of trouble. The lovers are for pleasure ; adversity dismisses them. How bitter is the disappointment! how mortifying is the revelation I The true husband could have been depended on, but the bad lovers for whom he was forsaken coldly turn from the piteous pleading of the sufferer. Thus must it be with every one who forsakes the one Friend and Comforter. No other balm of Gilead will heal the broken heart. What can the pleasures of society say to one who has failed and disgraced himself? What consolation can a materialistic philosophy whi'<per in the ears of the mourner by the grave? How will the science cf the history of religion smooth ti e pillow uf the dying man?
HI. 'J'he last drop of the bitter cup is to be comfortless. Mere formal consoling to • weariness when it is not an insult to grief. But the comfort of sympathy, the
•H.1,1— 22.J THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. »
•oothing of love, and the cheering of congenial companionship are Divine remedies foi sorrow. They are lights in the gloom, though they do not hring the day ; gentle hands to wiiie away the tears, the flowing of which they may not be able to stanch. The must desolate picture is that of one like Jerusalem in this elegy, weeping sore in the night, with no friendly ray to break the darkness, and no one to remove the tears that fall upon the cheeks unheeded and neglected, crying for comfort only to the pitiless silence. 1. Let us learn to dwell in faithfulness with God, that we may enjoy his unfailing sympathy. 2. Let us extend hands of brotherly compassion to the sorrowing, that, whatever be the grief, its last anguish may be spared ; and then, through human comfort, we may lead up to the Divine consolations.
Ver. 4. — The abandoned /easts. Jerusalem was the religious centre of the nation. Thither the tribes came up to present themselves before the Lord. Great assemblies and joyous feasts were held there for the benefit of all the Jews. Bat after tha Babylonian destruction all this was suspended. None now came to the solemn feasts. The high-roads which were wont to be thronged with pilgrims mourn for the lack of travellers ; the gates through which they used to press are unused ; priests sigh with weariness and distress, having no glad offerings to present ; and the virgins who led th« song and dance in honour of God are smitten with afSiction.
I. It IS A CALAMITY FOB PUBLIC woBSHip TO 0EA8B. Some regard public worship as an onerous duty and others as a superfluous infliction. But they who enter into the privileges of it heartily and spiritually know that it is a boon to the worshipper. As the sabbath is made for man, so also is the institution of worship. To be deprived of it is to suffer loss. 1. The lo3s of the joy of worship. There is a gladness in expressing love to earthly friends which should be found in the outpouring of our devotion to God. To mingle with the song of the angels is to taste the joy of the angels. 2. The loss of the eltvating influence of worship. The soul rises on the wings of its own prayer. Worship is aspiration, and aspiration elevates. If we never worship we stagnate in worldliness. True worship is spiritual and may be enjoyed most in private. But public worship greatly helps this spiritual worship with most people. 3. The loss of the social influence of worship. Public worship affords mutual help in worship. Numbers giv« warmth and life to it. ^
II. It IS A CALAMITY FOB JOYOUS FESTIVALS TO CEA8B. The loSS IS twofold. 1. The
loss of the joy itself. The gladness <if worship is no small part of the brightness of • devout man's life. Rob him of this, and you darken his sky. There are clouds enough ; we cannot afford to lose the sunlight which pierces and sometimes illumines them. 2. The loss of the influence of the joy. (1) This joy purifies. It keeps out unholy pleasures by satisfying the soul with its own blessedness. (2) This joy strengthens. In gladness we can serve God most earnestly. If, then, the unavoidable loss of joyous exercises of religion is a calamity, how great is the error of those who voluntarily convert religion into a thing of gloom 1
III. It is A CALAMITY FOB BBLIGI0U8 INTBBC0UE8E BETWEEN MEN TO CEASE. The