by other sins, such as rapacity, or carnality, or idolatry, which were sure causes of ruin, these peoples nevertheless find the chief explanation of their doom in the "because," and the "therefore,” that in this vision connect their envy with their doom. (3) That these peoples would each suffer in the very sphere in which they cherished sin-Ammon in its cherished agriculture, Moab in its boasted forts, Tyre in its merchandise, Sidon in its thriving populations, first found the object of self-glorification, and then the very scene of their shame and suffering. (4) That these peoples' ruin would be more complete than that of the Jewish nation. For instance, Tyre would " never be found again," and Egypt, whose boast had been in power, the power that found emblems in a proud line of Pharaohs, could so utterly suffer in the coming retribution, that the kingdom would be as a broken-armed man, whose arm could not be set again. The universal and permanent lessons of all this are clearly— I. THE INTEREST OF A TRUE MAN IN OTHER NATIONS BESIDE HIS OWN. The agony of Ezekiel about Jerusalem revealed a patriot's heart. His "dirge over the nations" proclaims the philanthropist. So it is with the genuinely godly. They are ever in some degree worthy of the title of this Hebrew seer— "Son of man. Every great soul breathes the spirit of Terence, "Homo sum, et humani a me nil alienum puto." And most evidently none can be true followers of the Christ, whose favourite name for Himself was "The Son of man," who have not a deep sympathy with humanity in its world-wide struggles and destiny, rather than simply with its Saxon or Jewish developments. The Jehovah II. THE UNIVERSALITY OF GOD'S DOMINION. of the Jews was none the less the All-Father, the Universal King. And Tyre, and Egypt, and Israel, and all the people who were seen by the prophet to be under the reign of a Moral Governor, are but illustrations that all the nations that are, or are yet unborn, are girded with the iron laws of God's righteousness, and spanned by the heavens of God's love. III. THE SIMILARITY IN THE LAWS OF MORAL HISTORY IN ALL LANDS AND TIMES. The visions of the sins and penalties that were experienced by Israel and the seven pagan nations, serve to show the action of moral cause and effect, without any distinction between the sacred and profane. And pages from the annals of Greece and Rome, and France and Spain, compared with these pages from the book of the old Hebrew prophet, show that in our study of moral sequences and divine laws we should pay little heed to the artificial barriers of ancient and modern in history. ACCORDING ΤΟ THE IV. THE DEGREES IN RETRIBUTION DEGREE OF SIN. There was still a holy seed in Israel; and, as we have seen, that prevented the extinction and pledged the recovery of that people. The nations that were corrupt in theory as well as practice, that knew no struggles to a higher life, no influential faith in Right, or God, or the Future, suffered irreparably. "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Bristol. URIJAH R. THOMAS. The Preacher's Finger-Post. Subject: CHRISTMAS-THE SON "But thou, Beth-lehem, Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."-MICAH v. 2. WHAT Christendom regards as the anniversary of our Lord's birth has come round again, and urges as ever upon Our attention one of the grandest subjects of human thought. The text leads us to consider I. His birth AS THE SON of MAN. Two remarks First: He was born in obscurity. "But thou, Bethlehem," etc. "Bethlehem Ephratah," where Jacob says, "Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way when yet there was but a little way to come into Ephrath, and I buried her in the way of Ephrath the same is Bethlehem," or "Bethlehem Judah," so called to distinguish it from Bethlehem in Zebulon. It is a few miles south-west of Jerusalem. Bethlehem means, the house of bread: Ephrath means, fruitful. Both names referring to the fertility of the region. Though thou be little among though thou be scarcely large enough to be reckoned among, etc. It was insignificant in size and population; so that in Josh. xv. 21, it is not enumerated among the cities of Judah; nor in the list in Neh. xi. 25. Under Rehoboam it became a city (2 Chron. xi. 6). "He built Bethlehem." 66 The Scribes' quotation of Micah, in answer to Herod's inquiry, prompted by the wise men of the East, who asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" (Matt. ii. 6) seems to contradict Micah, "thou art not the least;" but the contradiction is only seeming. What is meant in Matthew is, that though thou art least in worldly importance, thou art morally greatest, inasmuch as thou art the birthplace of the Messiah." was the Illustrious One thus born in such obscurity? He had, what no other man ever had, the power of selecting His own parentage and birthplace. He might have been born of royalty and nursed in a palace. No doubt there was the highest reason for this. It was a protest to the ages against the popular Why and influential opinion that human dignity consists in birth and ancestral distinctions. Secondly: He was born according to Divine plan. Out of thee shall He come forth unto Me-Who? Jehovah. The fact of His birth, the scene of His birth, the object of His birth, were all according to a Divine plan. "He shall be called GREAT, and the Son of the Highest." "Behold My servant whom I uphold, Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth. He shall come forth to Me. (1) According to My will. (2) To do My will. Thirdly: He was born to an EMPIRE "To be ruler in Israel." He is the Prince of Peace, on whose shoulders the government is laid. He is a ruler, not a temporary ruler. Temporary rule is but a shadow. He is to rule thought, intelligence, soul. He is the greatest king who governs mind; and no one has obtained such a government over mind as He who, eighteen centuries ago, forth out of Bethlehem Ephratah." His kingdom is increasing every day. "Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty," etc. Speed the time when the "kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ," etc. came II. His HISTORY AS THE SON OF GOD. "Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting;" or, as Delitzsch has it, "Whose goings forth are from olden time, from the days of eternity." Micah does not announce here the eternal proceeding of the Son from the Father, or of the Logos from God, the generatio filii æterna, as the earlier orthodox commentators suppose. Eternal generation is a theological fiction, a philosophical absurdity. "He who was before all time.' "I was set up from everlasting," etc. "In the beginning was the Word." "He was foreordained before "Oh! who can strive To comprehend the vast, the awful truth Of the eternity that hath gone by, And not recoil from the dismaying sense Of human impotence? The life of man Is summed in birthdays and in sepulchres; But the eternal God hath no beginning; He hath no end. Time had been with Him For everlasting, ere the Dædal world Rose from the gulf in loveliness. Like Him, It knew no source; like Him, 'twas uncreate. What is it then? The past eternity!" DRESS. ALL FUTURITIES UNDER FATHERLY AUTHORITY. the foundation of the world, Subject: A NEW YEAR'S ADbut was manifested in these last times." "Glorify thou Me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee." "Whose goings have been from of old, from everlasting." "Goings forth!" What for? To furnish immensity with innumerable worlds, and to people them with sentient and intelligent beings, to participate in the infinite bounty of God. As the Son of God, He has never had a beginning, and has always been active. "The Father worketh hitherto, and I work." activity explains the origin and phenomena of the universe. "By Him were all things created that are in heaven or on the earth," etc. His "And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power."-Acts. i. 7. These words,-Amongst the last words of the world's Great Teacher, may be looked upon in two aspects. It First As a rebuke.. was intended as a rebuke to His disciples, who, from a curiosity inspired by old prejudices and worldly thoughts of wealth, grandeur, and empire, desired to know whether He was about establishing in Israel that material kingdom which would make Jerusalem the imperial mistress of the world. "Wilt Thou at this time restore again the king dom to Israel?" As if they had said, "We know the kingdom will be restored sooner or later: what we want to know is, has the time come?" To this Christ replies, "It is not for you," that is, it is not your business to inquire into such matters. Let the future alone; it is a realm impenetrable to your vision. future will reveal itself in history, time enough; your duties are the present, out of which your future grows. Live righteously in the present, and you will do well in coming time. Would that modern prophet-mongers would listen to this rebuke! The The words may be looked upon:-Secondly, as an encouragement. Their encouragement is, that the Father has the future in His own power, under His own authority. How great is the future, stretching on through interminable ages, involving the histories of untold myriads of beings, worlds, and systems -an ocean illimitable, ever heaving, ever flowing, whose billows are breaking ever on the shores of time! When we attempt to think of our individual future, all the probable events along the centuries and millenniums through which are to pass, we feel confounded and overwhelmed. But that which makes the future not only tolerable but inspiring, is that all is under the management of a Father, that He has all its waters in the hollow of His hand and all its winds in His fist. This being the case, we draw the following practical lessons: I. DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT COMING TIMES. There is a tendency more or less in all to antedate both their trials and their joys. "Take no anxious thought for the morrow,' says the Teacher; and the reason Heassigns is a fatherly providence is over you. Do not be anxious about (1) the needs of the future. Do not distress yourself as to whether you shall have sufficient to carry you and your family through this old world or not. Rest assured that the Lord will provide. The same fatherly care that has been over you in the past will superintend you through all future. Do not be anxious about (2) the trials of the future. Trials you will have, great and heavy. There are storms ahead, severe and terrible; but remember, that He who has the future under Him knoweth your frames and remembereth that you are dust, and He will give you strength according to your day. The Father hath in His own hand every trial for you. Not one will fall on you by accident, not one will come on you with unkindness. Another practical lesson is: II. DO NOT EXPECT ANY NEW CONDITIONS OF WELL-BEING IN THE FUTURE. The conditions |
