Flee, save your lives. Jeremiah 48:6 The Christian's flight C. A. Maginn, M. A. Such was the warning addressed to Moab by the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. The Chaldeans were about to lay waste the land of the Moabites — a punishment which they justly deserved for their iniquities and for their long-continued opposition to the people of God But even "in wrath the Lord remembers mercy"; or, to use the beautiful language of the prophet, "He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the east wind." Though Moab shall be punished, her cities overturned, and the country laid waste and desolate, her princes, people, and priests carried into captivity, yet an opportunity is afforded for at least a remnant to escape. "Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness." I. FROM WHAT ARE WE TO FLEE? In a word, from everything that would wean his heart from God and endanger the safety of his soul, the Christian is to flee — "from all evil and mischief, from sin, from the world, the flesh, and the works of the devil, from hardness of heart and contempt of God's Word and commandment." II. FOR WHAT ARE WE TO FLEE? The life of your soul is concerned; and unless you flee from what stands in your way to God, and blocks up your return to Him, the wrath of God will assuredly overtake you, and you will become a prey to your enemies, to those who seek your life. It is for glory, and honour, and immortality we should flee — blessings of infinite value, prizes beyond all price — nay, far beyond the power of human tongue to tell of their inestimable preciousness; we should flee for the favour of God, the forgiveness of our sins, the worth of our souls, the love and glory of Christ, and the beauty and happiness of holiness. And we should hasten our flight, for the time is short, and death advancing. III. WHERE SHOULD WE FLEE? "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life; and we believe," &c. Such was Simon Peter's declaration. Such is the confession of God's people still. To the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, must the sinner flee. He must go as he is, and "he like the heath in the wilderness," destitute of fruit or value, fit only for fuel, and seek to be engrafted in the living Vine. For Moab, we may observe, was commanded merely to "flee." Whatever would oppose their progress should be put away. ( C. A. Maginn, M. A. ) Flee for your life H. Macmillan, D. D. I. WHENCE YOU ARE TO FLEE. II. WHERE YOU ARE TO FLEE. III. HOW YOU ARE TO FLEE. IV. WHEN YOU ARE TO FLEE V. WHY YOU ARE TO FLEE. ( H. Macmillan, D. D. ) Cursed be he, that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully. Jeremiah 48:10 The sin of lukewarmness in acquiring G. Mathew, M. A. I. AS IT CONCERNS OUR RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND RESOLUTION. Some, professedly earnest in their search of truth, make no other use of the light that is given them than to dispute and philosophise about it. Others, acknowledging the testimonies advanced in favour of it, are discouraged by the difficulties which it presents: consulting, yet dreading to be instructed; the slaves of their appetites, more than of their errors, rejecting truth manifested to them, because it would break the fetters which they love. Others again, still more deceitful in their work, convinced, in a great degree, of religious truth in their own minds, yet judge not of it by the light which it leaves there, but by its effect on the rest of mankind. The knowledge of Divine truth must spring from penitence and humility. Cease to have an earthly interest in wishing to find religion false, and you will soon perceive it to be true. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God; His grace shall then be sufficient for you, and will lead you into all truth. But cursed is he that doeth any work of that God deceitfully, who, whilst He giveth His grace to the humble and sincere, has always scorned the prevaricating and the proud. II. THE SILENCE WHICH WE OBSERVE IN DEFENCE OF CHRIST, AMIDST THE CLAMOURS OF THE PROFANE AGAINST HIM. God wants not your aid to support His truth. But He wants to see His pretended servants not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: and, although He actually wants not your aid, if He choose to adopt any other method of preserving His truth in the world, yet it appears to be the method, which in His wisdom He has adopted, to disseminate it by means of man to man. Your silence will be taken advantage of by the enemies of your Saviour: and they will think that he, who says nothing, has nothing to say. He, that is not with Me, saith our Saviour, is against Me. Let it not be said that the world has its defenders, and that Jesus Christ has none. III. AN ACCOMMODATION OF THE SOLEMN TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL TO THE WISHES OR PREJUDICES OF THOSE WITH WHOM WE ARE CONCERNED. Thousands are the miseries that might have been spared this world if the professed believers in God had all been true to their trust. How many a brother might have been prevented from imbruing his hands in a brother's blood, if they, to whom the cause of dispute was referred, had been firm to the dictates of truth. But the false notions of honour which their friends felt in the moment of anger, they in their cool moments will sanction and applaud: and, palliating, by every modification, the sin of murder, will deliberately second a black and wicked passion, and calmly behold two fellow-creatures, who trusted to their decision, attempting to hurl each other into the presence of their eternal Judge! ( G. Mathew, M. A. ) Of lukewarmness and zeal Bp. Jeremy Taylor. I. HERE THEN IS THE DUTY OF US ALL. 1. He that serves God with the body without the soul serves God deceitfully. "My son, give Me thy heart"; and though I cannot think that nature was so sacramental as to point out the holy and mysterious Trinity by the triangle of the heart, yet it is certain that the heart of man is God's special portion, and every angle ought to point towards Him.(1) For to worship God with our souls confesses one of His glorious attributes; it declares Him to be the searcher of hearts.(2) It advances the powers and concernments of His providence, and confesses all the affairs of men to be overruled by Him; for what He sees He judges, and what He judges He rules, and what He rules must turn to His glory; and of this glory He reflects rays and influences upon His servants, and it shall also turn to their good.(3) This service distinguishes our duty towards God from all our conversation with man, and separates the Divine commandments from the imperfect decrees of princes and republics.(4) He that secures the heart, secures all the rest; because this is the principle of all the moral actions of the whole man.(5) That I may sum up many reasons in one: God, by requiring the heart, secures the perpetuity and perseverance of our duty, and its sincerity, and its integrity, and its perfection: for so also God takes account of little things; it being all one in the heart of man, whether maliciously it omits a duty in a small instance or in a great; for although the expression hath variety and degrees in it, in relation to those purposes of usefulness and charity whither God deigns it, yet the obedience and disobedience are all one, and shall be equally accounted for. 2. He that serves God with the soul without the body, when both can be conjoined, "doth the work of the Lord deceitfully." Paphnutius, whose knees were cut for the testimony of Jesus, was not obliged to worship with the humble flexures of the bending penitents; and blind Bartimeus could not read the holy lines of the law, and therefore that part of the work was not his duty; and God shall not call Lazarus to account for not giving alms, nor St. Peter and St. John for not giving silver and gold to the lame man, nor Epaphroditus for not keeping his fasting days when he had his sickness. But when God hath made the body an apt minister to the soul, and hath given money for alms, and power to protect the oppressed, and knees to serve in prayer, and hands to serve our needs, then the soul alone is not to work. 3. They are "deceitful in the Lord's work," that reserve one faculty for sin, or one sin for themselves; or one action to please their appetite, and many for religion. We reprove a sinning brother, but do it with a pompous spirit; we separate from scandal, and do it with glory, and a gaudy heart; we are charitable to the poor, but will not forgive our unkind enemies; or, we pour relief into their bags, but please ourselves and drink drunk, and hope to commute with God, giving the fruit of our labours or effluxes of money for the sin of our souls: and upon this account it is, that two of the noblest graces of a Christian are to very many persons made a savour of death, though they were intended for the beginning and the promotion of an eternal life; and those are faith and charity. 4. There is one deceit more yet, in the matter of the extension of our duty, destroying the integrity of its constitution: for they do the work of God deceitfully, who think God sufficiently served with abstinence from evil, and converse not in the acquisition and pursuit of holy charity and religion. Many persons think themselves fairly assoilzied, because they are no adulterers, no rebels, no drunkards, not of scandalous lives: in the meantime, like the Laodiceans, they are "naked and poor"; they have no catalogue of good things registered in heaven, no treasures m the repositories of the poor, neither have t e poor often prayed concerning them, "Lord, remember Thy servants for this thing at the day or judgment." 5. Hither are to be reduced as deceitful workers, those that promise to God, but mean not to pay what they once intended; people that are confident in the day of ease, and fail in the danger; they that pray passionately for a grace, and if it be not obtained at that price, go no farther, and never contend in action for what they seem to contend in prayer; such as delight in forms and outsides, and regard not the substance and design of every institution; that pretend one duty to excuse another; religion against charity, or piety to parents against duty to God, private promises against public duty, the keeping of an oath against breaking of a commandment, honour against modesty, reputation against piety, the love of the world in civil instances to countenance enmity against God; these are the deceitful workers of God's work; they make a schism m the duties of religion, and a war in heaven worse than that between Michael and the dragon; for they divide the Spirit of God and distinguish His commandments into parties and factions; by seeking an excuse, sometimes they destroy the integrity and perfect constitution of duty, or they do something whereby the effect and usefulness of the duty is hindered: concerning all which this only can be said, they who serve God with a lame sacrifice and an imperfect duty — a duty defective in its constituent parts — can never enjoy God; because He can never be divided. II. The next inquiry is into the INTENTION OF OUR DUTY. "Cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently," or remissly: as our duty must be whole, so it must be fervent; for a languishing body may have all its parts, and yet be useless to many purposes of nature. And you may reckon all the joints of a dead man, but the heart is cold, and the joints are stiff and fit for nothing but for the little people that creep in graves: and so are very many men; if you lure up the accounts of their religion, they can reckon days and months of religion, various offices, charity and prayers, reading and meditation, faith and knowledge: catechism and sacraments, duty to God, and duty to princes, paying debts and provision for children, confessions and tears, discipline in families, and love of good people; and, it may be, you shall not improve their numbers, or find any lines unfilled in their tables of accounts; but when you have handled all this, and considered, you will find at last you have taken a dead man by the hand, there is not a finger wanting, but they are stiff as icicles, and without flexure as the legs of elephants. 1. In every action of religion God expects such a warmth and a holy fire to go along, that it may be able to enkindle the wood upon the altar, and consume the sacrifice; but God hates an indifferent spirit. Earnestness and vivacity, quickness and delight, perfect choice of the service, and a delight in the prosecution, is all that the spirit of a man can yield towards his religion. The outward work is the effect of the body; but if a man does it heartily and with all his mind, then religion hath wings, and moves upon wheels of fire; and therefore, when our blessed Saviour made those capitulars and canons of religion, to "love God," and to "love our neighbour," besides that the material part of the duty, "love," is founded in the spirit, as its natural seat, he also gives three words to involve the spirit in the action, and but one for the body: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," and, lastly, "with all thy strength." If it be in motion, a lukewarm religion is pleasing to God; for God hates it not for its imperfection, and its natural measures of proceeding; but if it stands still and rests there, it is a state against the designs, and against the perfection of God: and it hath in it these evils:(1) It is a state of the greatest imprudence in the world; for it makes a man to spend his labour for that which profits not, and to deny his appetite for an unsatisfying interest: he puts his moneys in a napkin, and he that does so, puts them into a broken bag; he loses the principal for not increasing the interest.(2) The second appendant evil is, that lukewarmness is the occasion of greater evil; because the remiss easy Christian shuts the gate against the heavenly breathings of God's Holy Spirit.(3) A state of lukewarmness is more incorrigible than a state of coldness; while men flatter themselves that their state is good, that they are rich and need nothing, that their lamps are dressed, and full of ornament. These men are such as think they have knowledge enough to need no teacher, devotion enough to need no new fires, perfection enough to need no new progress, justice enough to need no repentance; and then, because the spirit of a man, and all the things of this world, are in perpetual variety and change, these men decline, when they have gone their period; they stand still, and then revert; like a stone returning from the bosom of a cloud, where it rested as long as the thought of a child, and fell to its natural bed of earth, and dwelt below for ever. 2. It concerns us next to inquire concerning the duty in its proper instances, that we may perceive to what parts and degrees of duty it amounts; we shall find it especially in the duties of faith, of prayer, and of charity.(1) Our faith must be strong, vigorous, active, confident, and patient, reasonable and unalterable, without doubting, and fear and partiality.(2) Our prayers and devotions must be fervent and zealous, not cold, patient, easy, and soon rejected; but supported by a patient spirit, set forwards by importunity, continued by perseverance, waited on by attention and a present mind, carried along with holy, but strong desires; and ballasted with resignation, and conformity to the Divine will; and then it is as God likes it, and does the work to God's glory and our interest effectively.(3) Our charity also must be fervent: "He that follows his general with a heavy march, and a heavy heart, is but an ill soldier." But our duty to God should be hugely pleasing, and we should rejoice in it; it must pass on to action, and do the action vigorously; it is called in Scripture "the labour" and travail of love." He that loves passionately, will not only do all that his friend needs, but all that himself can; for although the law of charity is fulfilled by acts of profit, and bounty, and obedience, and labour, yet it hath no other measures but the proportions and abundance of a good mind; and according to this, God requires that we be "abounding, and that always, in the work of the Lord." ( Bp. Jeremy Taylor. ) Cursed laziness Joseph Muir. These words form a scriptural bomb which might with advantage be thrown into the midst of a great many of our Churches, where everything pertaining to the service is gone through in a precise and proper manner, but where there is an utter absence of zeal, enthusiasm, and Christlike earnestness. In the A.V. this passage does not attract much attention. That a curse should be hurled at the head of the traitor who does "the work of the Lord deceitfully" surprises no one. But to find a curse aimed at the merely negligent worker makes us pause, and think, and ask ourselves questions. The persons here referred to are amongst those who are doing "the work of the Lord." — They profess and call themselves Christians. They have entered the kingdom of God, and by so doing they have enrolled themselves as servants of Christ, and are pledged to do His will. For be it never forgotten, the two must go together — namely, salvation and service. When in the sixteenth century Martin Luther blew the reveille of the Reformation, the slumbering Churches were roused and rallied by the call; and breaking off the fetters of delusion and superstition which had previously bound them, they joyously inscribed on their banner "Salvation by faith." And for three centuries that blessed truth has been floating before the eyes of reformed Europe. But "Truth" though it is, it is not the whole truth. The time has more than come for the uplifting of another banner with an inscription completing and explaining the first, by declaring that "Faith without works is dead." Soul-saving faith makes soul-saving men. I do not think that any man is ever saved except by the direct or indirect intervention of some other man. Christ alone can call the Lazarus forth, but there is a stone to be rolled away before, and there are wrappings to be removed after the miracle is wrought. And hence God is but working out His own economy in demanding that every member of His kingdom shall be a servant and a worker. Through all time the test of saintship is service. But this is not all. The Divine claim is not exhausted by the mere demand for work. It is declared again and again that no service is acceptable unless it be rendered with the whole heart. Partial, perfunctory, half-hearted service He sternly rejects; and upon those who mock Him by offering it He pours His righteous wrath. What think you is the greatest of all the obstacles which impede the progress of the kingdom of Christ? It is the negligence or laziness of its members. To be an idler in the world is bad enough, but to be an idler in the Church is ten thousand times worse. It is an act of impious and audacious hypocrisy, and he who is guilty of it stands before God and man self-branded as an impostor. We often Bear and speak of "Church work," but if we would speak correctly that phrase must be discarded. There is no such thing as "Church work." The work in question is God's work, and as such — if for no other reason — claims our best energies. If any of us were commissioned to do work for the king would we not tax our powers to the very uttermost in order to present it as perfect as possible? Much more should we do so when the commission comes from the Court of heaven. "The King's business requireth haste," and all who are engaged in it must acquit themselves as servants of "the Most High God." Dull sloth must be shaken off, and with hearts aglow with zeal and eyes aflame with earnestness we must give ourselves to the task committed to our care. Remember also the intrinsic importance of the work itself. Have you ever been present at a critical surgical operation? What earnestness, what concentrated attention, what careful precautions against the dreaded possibility! How is all this tension of faculties brought about? It is created by the importance of the work in hand. It is a case of life or death, in which negligence would mean murder. Ay! and when the Christian worker is alive to his duty, and all that it involves, negligence is impossible. It is fraught with possibilities which cannot be told. Its issues belong not to time but eternity. Look around you and see how active and earnest are the forces arrayed against us. From centre to circumference the kingdom of darkness thrills and throbs with earnestness. Every subject is a soldier, and being s soldier he fights. Every subject is a servant, and being a servant he serves. There is no dilly-dallying or make-believe in the enemy's camp. Then why should there be any in ours? Has the Cross no longer its power? Has the sacred passion exhausted its inspirations? Does the love of Christ no longer constrain and the Holy Ghost no longer energise? ( Joseph Muir. ) Half-and-half religion If you are not to make religion the principal thing in your lives, don't go in for it. It is better, and much easier, to go in for it entirely, than half and half — merely flirting with it. It was the saying of a shrewd thinker: "If it is worth while being a Christian at all, it is better to he a downright Christian" Moab hath been at ease from him youth, and he hath settled on his lees. Jeremiah 48:11, 12 The shrill trumpet of admonition For a considerable season the country of Moab had been free from the inroads of war and the terrors of pestilence. The nation had, therefore, become so conceitedly secure, that the lord said, "We have heard the pride of Moab (he is exceeding proud), his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart." The people became vain, hectoring, and boastful, and mocked at their afflicted neighbours the Israelites, manifesting ungenerous joy in their sorrows. "For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy." From this pride sprang luxury and all those other vices which find a convenient lair in the repose of unbroken prosperity. The warriors of Moab said, "We are mighty and strong men for the war"; as vainglorious sinners, they defied all law and power; trusting in Chemosh, they despised Jehovah, and magnified themselves against the Lord. The prophet compares that country to wine which has been allowed to stand unstirred and unmoved: it settles on its lees, grows strong, retains its aroma, and gathers daffy fresh body and spirit. "But," saith he, "the day shall come when God shall shake this undisturbed liquor, when He shall send wandering bands of Chaldeans that shall waste the country, so that the bottles shall be broken and the vessels shall be emptied, and the proud prosperity of Moab shall end in utter desolation." The fact that continued prosperity breeds carnal security, is not only proved by the instance of Moab, but is lamentably confirmed in the history of others. I. I shall first speak to THE UNCONVERTED, THE GODLESS, THE PRAYERLESS, THE CHRISTLESS. 1. The bold offenders who are at ease in open sin. They began life with iniquity, and they have made terrible progress in it. They go from iniquity to iniquity, as the vulture from carcass to carcass; they labour in the way of evil, as men dig for hid treasure; "And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?" "And if He doth know," say they, "what care we? Who is Jehovah, that we should obey Him? Who is the Almighty, that we should tremble at His word?" Yet, Oh, ye haughty ones, take heed, for Pharaoh, who was your prototype in the olden days, found the way of pride to be hard at the end. 2. A far more common form of that carelessness which is so destructive, is that of men who give themselves wholly up to the world's business. Such men, for instance, as one whom Christ called "Fool." Gain is the world's summum bonum , the chief of all mortal good, the main chance, the prime object, the barometer of success in life, the one thing needful, the heart's delight. And yet, Oh, worldlings, who succeed in getting gain, and are esteemed to be shrewd and prudent, Jesus Christ calls you fools, and He is no thrower about of hard terms where they are not deserved. "Thou fool," said He, and why! Because the man's soul would be required of him; and then whose would those things be which he had gathered together? 3. A third case is more common still, the man who forgets God and lives in slothful ease. It is not enough to abstain from outward sin, and so to be negatively moral; unless you bring forth fruits unto righteousness, you have not the life of God in you; and however much you may be at ease, there shall come a rough awakening to your slumbers, and the shrill sound of the archangel's trumpet shall be to you no other than the blast of the trumpet of condemnation, because ye took your ease when ye should have served your God. 4. There are many in the professing Christian Church Who are in me same state as Moab. They have the virgin's lamp, but they have no oil in the vessel with their lamps; and yet so comfortable are these professors, that they slumber and sleep. Remember, you may think yourself a believer, and everybody else may think so too, and you may fail to find out your error until it is too late to rectify it; you may persevere for years in "the way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Be ye not, Oh, ye professors, like Moab, that had settled upon his lees! 5. Equally true is this of the mass of moral men who are destitute of faith in Jesus. "I have no doubt but what it will be all right with me at last. I pay my neighbours their own; I give a guinea to a hospital, when they ask me for it; I am a first-rate tradesman. Of course, I have sown a few wild oats, and I still indulge a little; but who does not? Who dares deny that I am a good-hearted fellow?" Do you envy him? You may sooner envy the dead in their graves because they suffer no pain. II. We speak to THE BELIEVER. A Christian man finds himself for a long time without any remarkable trouble: his children are spared to him, his home is happy, his business extremely prosperous — he has, in fact, all that heart can wish; when he looks round about him he can say with David, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Now, the danger is that he should think too highly of these secondary things, and should say to himself, "My mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved." He has not been poured from vessel to vessel; he has not been sternly tried by Providence, or sorely tempted by the devil; he has not been led to question his own conversion, he has fallen into a profound calm, a deep dead peace, a horrible lethargy, and his inmost heart has lost all spiritual energy. The great disease of England is consumption, but I suppose it would be difficult to describe the causes and workings of consumption and decline. The same kind of disease is common among Christians. It is not that many Christians fall into outward sin, and so on, but throughout our Churches we have scores who are in a spiritual consumption — their powers are all feeble and decaying. The rapid results of this consumption are just these: a man in such a state soon gives up communion with God; it is not quite gone at first, but it is suspended. His walk with God is broken and occasional. His prayers very soon suffer. By degrees, his conversation is not what it used to be. He was once very earnest for Christ, and would introduce religious topics in all companies. He has become discreet now, and holds his tongue. He is quite ready to gossip about the price of wheat, and how the markets are, and the state of politics, and whether you have been to see the Sultan; but he has no words for Jesus Christ, the King in His beauty. Spiritual topics have departed from his general conversation. And now, strange to say, "the minister does not preach as he used to do": at least, the back-slider says so. The reason why I think he is mistaken, is, that the Word of God itself is not so sweet to him as it once was; and surely the Bible cannot have altered! After a while the professor slackens a good deal in his liberality; he does not think the cause of God is worth the expense that he used to spend upon it; and as to his own personal efforts to win souls, he does not give up his Sunday-school class, nor his street preaching, nor distributing of tracts, perhaps, but he does all mechanically, it is a mere routine. He might just as well be an automaton, and be wound up, only the fault is, that he is not wound up, and he does not do his work as he should do; or, if he does it outwardly, there is none of the life of God in what he does. Very much of this sluggishness is brought on by long-continued respite from trouble. It were better to be in perpetual storms, and to be driven to-and-fro in the whirlwind, and to cling to God, than to founder at sea in the most peaceful and halcyon days. The great secret danger coming out of all this is, that when a man reaches the state of carnal security, he is ready for any evil. We have heard of two men who were accustomed to go into the bush to pray, and each of them had trodden a little path in the grass. Presently one of them grew cold, and was soon found in open sin; his black brother warned him that he knew it would come to that, because the grass grew on the path that led to the place of prayer. Ah! we do not know to what we may descend when we begin to go down hill; down, down, down, is easy and pleasant to the flesh, but if we knew where it would end, we should pray God that we might sooner die than live to plunge into the terrors of that descent. I must pass on to observe God's cure for this malady. His usual way is by pouring our settled wine from vessel to vessel. If we cannot bear prosperity, the Lord will not continue it to us. We may pamper our children and spoil them; but the Divine Father will not. Staying for a while in the valley of Aosta, in Northern Italy, we found the air to be heavy, close, and humid with pestilential exhalations. We were oppressed and feverish — one's life did not seem worth a pin. We could not breathe freely, our lungs had a sense of having a hundred atmospheres piled upon them. Presently, at midday, there came a thunder-clap, attended by big drops of rain and a stiff gale of wind, which grew into a perfect tornado, tearing down the trees; then followed what the poet calls "sonorous hail," and then again the lightning flash, and the thunder peal on peal echoing along the Alps. But how delightful was the effect, how we all went out upon the verandah to look at the lightning, and enjoy the music of the thunder! How cool the air and bracing! How delightful to walk out in the cool evening after the storm! Then you could breathe and feel a joy in life. Full often it is thus with the Christian after trouble. What ought we to do if we are prospering? We should remember that prevention is better than cure, and if God is prospering us, the way to prevent lethargy is — be very grateful for the prosperity which you are enjoying; do not pray for trouble — you will have it quickly enough without asking for it; be grateful for your prosperity, but make use of it. Do all you possibly can for God while He prospers you in business; try to live very close to Him. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Ease injurious to Christian character W. M. Taylor, D. D. I have somewhere read the following incident in the life of a distinguished botanist. Being exiled from his native land, he obtained employment as an under-gardener in the service of a nobleman. While he was in this situation, his master received a valuable plant, the nature and habits of which were unknown to him. It was given to the gardener to be taken care of; and he, fancying it to be a tropical production, put it into the hothouse (for it was winter), and dealt with it as with the others under the glass. But it began to wither away and decay. And the strange under-gardener asked permission to examine it. As soon as he looked at it he said, "This is an Arctic plant; you are killing it by the tropical heat into which you have introduced it." So he took it outside, and exposed it to the frost, and, to the dismay of the head-gardener, heaped pieces of ice around the flower-pot; but the result vindicated his wisdom, for straightway it began to recover, and was soon as strong as ever. Now, such a plant is Christian character. It is not difficulty that is dangerous to it, but ease. Put it into a hothouse, separate it from the world, surround it with luxury, hedge it in from ev

Benson Commentary Jeremiah 48:1 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. Jeremiah 48:1 . Against Moab — Hebrew, ????? , To, or, concerning Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts — This prophecy concerning the Moabites, as also the following which respect the Ammonites, Edomites, and other neighbouring nations, are supposed to have been fulfilled during the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar: see note on Jeremiah 47:1 . Many expressions and passages are found in this chapter which Jeremiah seems to have borrowed from a prophecy of Isaiah, chap. 15., and 16., concerning a like calamity which befell Moab, in all probability when Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, seized upon their cities and fortresses, and ravaged their country, on his march through it to invade the kingdom of Israel. By comparing the parallel places much light may be mutually thrown upon them. Kiriathaim, one of the cities of Moab, here mentioned, was given by Moses to the Reubenites, as appears by Joshua 13:10 , but the Moabites afterward recovered the possession of it. Blaney thinks the word which our translators have rendered Misgab, as if it were the proper name of a city, is rather to be considered as an appellative, especially as it has an article prefixed. He therefore renders it, the high fortress, observing that it may either mean Kiriathaim, before mentioned, or any other high fortress of Moab. Jeremiah 48:2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. Jeremiah 48:2-6 . There shall be no more praise of Moab — The glory of Moab shall be contemned, as Isaiah speaks, Isaiah 16:14 . Every thing for which it was famous shall be destroyed. In Heshbon they have devised evil against it — Heshbon was the capital city of the Moabites: when the Chaldeans made themselves masters of Heshbon, a place of great importance, they consulted how to carry on their conquests over the rest of the country. Thou shalt be cut down, or, brought to silence, Isaiah 15:1 . O Madmen — A city in Moab. Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard — Or, sent forth a cry. Both small and great were involved in this calamity, but the word ???? , signifies great as well as little: and the Chaldee paraphrast renders it here lords; which seems to be the sense in which it is used. For in the going up, &c. — The ascent of Luhith is in tears, and their weeping is increased, because, in the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard the cry of the sufferers: see Isaiah 15:5 . Flee, &c ., and be like the heath — Resort to the most solitary places, and continue in obscurity where no enemy can find you out. Jeremiah 48:3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Jeremiah 48:4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. Jeremiah 48:5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. Jeremiah 48:6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. Jeremiah 48:7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. Jeremiah 48:7-10 . Chemosh shall go, &c. — Chemosh was the idol of the Moabites, Numbers 21:29 . The valley also shall perish and the plain — Those who live in the country, with their flocks and pastures, shall be involved in the same calamity with the inhabitants of the cities. Give wings to Moab, &c. — It is not a common speed that can deliver him from that imminent danger which threatens him. Cursed be he, &c. — God executes his judgments upon sinners by the ministry of men, and those oftentimes as great sinners as they who suffer by them. He had declared by Jeremiah his purpose of making the Chaldeans his instruments in punishing the Jews and the neighbouring countries: see Jeremiah 25:9 . And it is here signified, that they would expose themselves to the divine wrath and curse if they spared Moab, and did not execute judgment upon it effectually. Jeremiah 48:8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken. Jeremiah 48:9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Jeremiah 48:11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Jeremiah 48:11-12 . Moab hath been at ease — Or, hath been opulent, as the Chaldee renders ????? , from his youth — Moab was an ancient kingdom, and had enjoyed great tranquillity, though a small country and surrounded with potent neighbours. It had now been in a state of peace and prosperity since the time of Shalmaneser, having experienced no particular calamity since the judgment foretold by Isaiah, and inflicted by that prince; so that there were forty years between that affliction and this here spoken of. The comparison between the state of the Moabites and that of wine is elegant, and is kept up with great propriety. All wines, it is said, ought to be kept for some time upon their lees, in order to preserve their strength and flavour; on which account the lees are expressed by a word that signifies the preservers. Wine is apt to be damaged by being drawn off too soon into other vessels. By this allegory, therefore, Moab is represented as having enjoyed singular advantages from having constantly remained in his own country ever since he became a people. And the prophet’s words imply, that the Moabites had increased in pride and insolence in proportion to the duration of their national tranquillity and prosperity. Behold, saith the Lord, I will send unto him wanderers — The Chaldean soldiers, that come out of a foreign country. These shall make a prey of him, and carry off as much of his wealth as they can, and spoil the rest. Blaney thinks the allegory begun in the preceding verse, is here continued and accordingly renders ????? , tilters, observing, that the Chaldeans, who are here designed, “should lower the vessels of Moab, namely, the cities, and empty them; and also break to pieces their bottles or pitchers, that is, destroy the lesser towns and villages, dependant on the cities; to which the bottles, or pitchers, answer, being filled with the redundancy of the larger vessels.” Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. Jeremiah 48:13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence. Jeremiah 48:13-17 . And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, &c. — They shall be disappointed in their expectations of succour from their tutelary idol, as the ten tribes have been in the trust they reposed in the calf they worshipped at Bethel. Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities — The words out of are not in the Hebrew; therefore some render this clause, Moab is spoiled, and the cities to which she ascended; that is, those situated on high eminences. All ye that are about him bemoan him — His calamities are so great as must needs make all who see him, or have heard of his former fame and glory, bewail his misfortunes. How is the strong staff broken — A staff, or rod, is an emblem of authority, and thence comes to signify a kingdom, or government, especially such a one as oppresses its subjects, or neighbours, Isaiah 9:4 ; Isaiah 10:5 . Jeremiah 48:14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? Jeremiah 48:15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. Jeremiah 48:16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. Jeremiah 48:17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! Jeremiah 48:18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds. Jeremiah 48:18-25 . Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon — Thou that art exalted in pride, and rendered effeminate through luxury: Dibon being one of the chief cities of Moab; come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst — Submit to a mean condition, wherein thou shalt feel the want of all the conveniences of life. The Hebrew language expresses a barren land, which yields no sustenance by a thirsty ground, Psalm 63:2 ; Isaiah 35:7 ; Ezekiel 19:13 . O inhabitant of Aroer — A town in the borders of Moab; stand by the way and espy, &c. — The prophet describes the great concern and fear that were upon them, which made them hearken to every little report that was stirring. Howl and cry — There will be just cause for a general lamentation. Judgment is come upon the plain country, &c. — The inhabitants of the low grounds have suffered the punishment they deserved. The horn of Moab is cut off — The authority and power of Moab are taken away. This is a metaphorical expression, taken from horned beasts, whose power to defend themselves, and injure other creatures, lies chiefly in their horns. And his arm is broken — His strength is exhausted, the arm of man being the instrument whereby he chiefly discovers his strength. Jeremiah 48:19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? Jeremiah 48:20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, Jeremiah 48:21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, Jeremiah 48:22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim, Jeremiah 48:23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon, Jeremiah 48:24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. Jeremiah 48:25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 48:26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. Jeremiah 48:26-27 . Make ye him drunken — God’s judgments are often represented under the metaphor of a cup of intoxicating liquors: see note on Jeremiah 25:15 . Moab also shall wallow in his vomit — The judgments which God sends upon him shall expose him to the scorn of his enemies; just as a drunken man is the object of men’s laughter and derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? — Didst not thou insult over the calamities of the Jews when they were carried away captive? Israel is here put for Judah. Was he found among thieves? — Though the sins of Israel were great in the sight of God, yet, as he had done no injury to the Moabites, there was no reason why they should use him with the same despite and contempt as if he had been a common thief and robber, whom all men think they have a right to abuse. For since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy — This translation, Blaney observes, seems quite foreign to the purpose, and does not accord with the literal meaning of the Hebrew, ??? ????? ?? ?????? , which, he thinks, may be properly rendered, That thou shouldest insult him with all the power of thy words. The sense then of the sentence will be, “Didst thou find Israel among thieves, coming to rob thee of thy property, that thou shouldest think thyself entitled to break out into all manner of revilings against him? Compare Ezekiel 25:8 ; Zephaniah 2:8 ; Zephaniah 2:10 . Lowth suggests another interpretation, which the words will very well bear, and which agrees with the Chaldee paraphrase, namely, For the words thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be carried captive. To this purpose also the Vulgar Latin, propter verba tua quæ adversum ilium locutus es, captivus diceres. Jeremiah 48:27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. Jeremiah 48:28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth. Jeremiah 48:28 . Ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities — The walls of which will not be sufficient to defend you from the sword of the enemy. And dwell in the rock — Hide yourselves in the rocks and caverns of your country. And be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth — That is, on the edge of the precipice, as Blaney interprets the expression, or the brink of destruction. The Moabites are here, therefore, “exhorted to retire for safety to those places where the apprehensions of danger would secure them from the enemy’s pursuit. That doves build in the clefts, or natural hollows of rocks, see Song of Solomon 2:14 . Dr. Shaw, in his Travle, p. 162, fol., mentions a city on the African coast, called Hamanet, from the number of wild pigeons that are bred in the cliffs of the adjacent mountains.” Jeremiah 48:29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. Jeremiah 48:29 ; Jeremiah 48:39 . We have heard the pride of Moab — The several synonymous terms made use of in this verse are meant to express the great pride and insolence of Moab. Though some of these terms are not found in the parallel passage, ( Isaiah 16:6 ,) yet in the main they agree therewith; and “while they describe the overweening pride and haughtiness of Moab, and the intemperance of his rage, they intimate the small pretensions he had for such high assuming, either in respect of the extent of his power, or his actual performances.” I know his wrath — Hebrew, ????? , his fierce wrath, or rage; but it shall not be so — He shall not be able to execute it, or bring to pass what he thinks to do: his power shall not be equal to his malice. His lies shall not so effect it — Or rather, have not so effected, the verb being in the past time. But this latter part of the sentence seems more properly rendered by Blaney, thus: “But he is not alike,” (that is, equal to his wrath and threats,) “in the extent of his ability he is not alike in performing.” Jeremiah 48:30 I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it . Jeremiah 48:31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres. Jeremiah 48:31-33 . Therefore will I howl for Moab — See note on Isaiah 15:5 . I will cry out for all Moab — The whole country of Moab: the phrase is the same with whole Palestina, Isaiah 14:31 . For the men of Kirheres — See note on Isaiah 16:7 ; Isaiah 16:11 . O vine of Sibmah — The expressions here denote the destruction of the fruitful vineyards of Sibmah; the loss of which the neighbouring places of Jazer would have reason to lament. Thy plants are gone over the sea — The vineyards of Sibmah seem to have been of a vast extent, and to have been greatly celebrated: see note on Isaiah 16:8-9 . And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field — The gathering in of the harvest and other fruits of the earth is usually accompanied with great expressions of joy; but there would be no occasion for this in the land of Moab, as the enemy would spoil or carry away their crop and vintage. None shall tread with shouting — They shall not have a vintage left sufficient to excite them to shouts of joy, or to induce them to exhort and encourage one another to labour diligently. Jeremiah 48:32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. Jeremiah 48:33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Jeremiah 48:34-39 . From the cry of Heshbon — When Heshbon was taken by the enemy, the cry of the inhabitants reached as far as Elealeh and Jahaz: the same was likewise heard from Zoar to Horonaim. As a heifer of three years old — The meaning undoubtedly is, that the cry of Moab, beginning at Heshbon, was continued on from city to city, till the whole country resounded as with the lowing of a cow that runs from place to place in search of her calf that has been taken from her. An image singularly expressive: see notes on Isaiah 15:4-6 . I will cause to cease in Moab him that offereth in the high places — For an explanation of this and the next verse, see notes on Isaiah 16:11-12 . For every head shall be bald, &c. — This and all the other expressions of this verse signify the greatness of the affliction, intimated by the manner of mourning, which is such as was used in the greatest calamities: compare Isaiah 15:3 . I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure — As earthen vessels, if they are not fit for the use for which they were designed, are broken to pieces without any concern or regret, so as never to be repaired; thus have I broken Moab, saith the Lord. They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! — Hebrew, ??? , broken to pieces, as the same word is twice rendered Jeremiah 50:2 . The prophet persists in his allusion to the breaking of an earthen vessel. Jeremiah 48:35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. Jeremiah 48:36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. Jeremiah 48:37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. Jeremiah 48:38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 48:39 They shall howl, saying , How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him. Jeremiah 48:40 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. Jeremiah 48:40-44 . Behold, he shall fly as an eagle — Conquerors are often compared to eagles and other birds of prey; and the encamping of their armies is represented by the spreading of the wings of such fowls. The mighty men’s hearts shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs — They shall be dismayed at the apprehension of the evils that are coming upon them, and shall lose their wonted courage and resolution. Moab shall be destroyed from being a people — From being a nation or government, as it was before. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, &c. — These words, and those of the next verse, are taken from Isaiah 24:17-18 , where see the notes. Jeremiah 48:41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. Jeremiah 48:42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD. Jeremiah 48:43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 48:44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 48:45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. Jeremiah 48:45-46 . They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon, &c. — They that fled for fear of the enemies’ forces thought to find shelter and safety in Heshbon, a strong fenced city. Or, instead of, because of the force, the Hebrew ??? , may be rendered for want of force, or strength, namely, force of their own to withstand the enemy. But a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon — That is, of the city of Sihon, meaning still Heshbon. When the enemies have possessed themselves of Heshbon, they will quickly spread like fire over the rest of the country. Thus the prophet fitly applies to the present case the words of an ancient poem made upon Sihon’s conquests over Moab, and recited by Moses, Numbers 21:27-28 , where see the notes. And shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones — By the corner may be meant the borders, or extreme parts of the country. So the Hebrew word ??? signifies, Numbers 34:3 ; Nehemiah 9:22 . The nobility, who are the stay and support of the government, are expressed by the crown of the head. By the tumultuous are meant those that are proud and haughty in their state and plenty, and insult over their inferiors. Wo be unto thee, O Moab! — This verse is likewise taken out of Numbers 21:19 . The people of Chemosh perisheth — People are sometimes denominated from the God they worship: so the Jews were called the people of the Lord, or Jehovah. Jeremiah 48:46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives. Jeremiah 48:47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. Jeremiah 48:47 . Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab — “The Moabites were afterward restored to their country, as appears from Josephus, Antiq. lib. 13. c. 17. But these and similar promises of mercy after judgment are chiefly to be understood of the conversion of the Gentiles under the gospel, called the latter days in the prophets. The conversion of idolaters is expressed by returning from their captivity, Ezekiel 16:53 .” — Lowth. See also Calmet’s Dissertation upon the return of the Moabites, &c. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Jeremiah 48:1 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. CHAPTER XIX MOAB Jeremiah 48:1-47 "Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah."- Jeremiah 48:42 "Chemosh said to me, Go, take Nebo against Israeland I took itand I took from it the vessels of Jehovah, and offered them before Chemosh."-MOABITE STONE. "Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days."- Jeremiah 48:47 THE prophets show a very keen interest in Moab. With the exception of the very short Book of Joel, all the prophets who deal in detail with foreign nations devote sections to Moab. The unusual length of such sections in Isaiah and Jeremiah is not the only resemblance between the utterances of these two prophets concerning Moab. There are many parallels of idea and expression, which probably indicate the influence of the elder prophet upon his successor; unless indeed both of them adapted some popular poem which was early current in Judah. It is easy to understand why the Jewish Scriptures should have much to say about Moab, just as the sole surviving fragment of Moabite literature is chiefly occupied with Israel. These two Terahite tribes-the children of Jacob and the children of Lot-had dwelt side by side for centuries, like the Scotch and English borderers before the accession of James I. They had experienced many alternations of enmity and friendship, and had shared complex interests, common and conflicting, after the manner of neighbours who are also kinsmen. Each in its turn had oppressed the other; and Moab had been the tributary of the Israelite monarchy till the victorious arms of Mesha had achieved independence for his people and firmly established their dominion over the debatable frontier lands. There are traces, too, of more kindly relations: the House of David reckoned Ruth the Moabitess amongst its ancestors, and Jesse, like Elimelech and Naomi, had taken refuge in Moab. Accordingly this prophecy concerning Moab, in both its editions, frequently strikes a note of sympathetic lamentation and almost becomes a dirge. "Therefore will I howl for Moab; Yea, for all Moab will I cry out. For the men of Kirheres shall they mourn. With more than the weeping of Jazer Will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah. Therefore mine heart soundeth like pipes for Moab, Mine heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kirheres." But this pity could not avail to avert the doom of Moab; it only enabled the Jewish prophet to fully appreciate its terrors. The picture of coming ruin is drawn with the colouring and outlines familiar to us in the utterances of Jeremiah-spoiling and destruction, fire and sword and captivity, dismay and wild abandonment of wailing. "Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. Every head is bald, and every beard clipped; Upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. On all the housetops and in all the streets of Moab there is everywhere lamentation; For I have broken Moab like a useless vessel-it is the utterance of Jehovah. How is it broken down! Howl ye! Be thou ashamed! How hath Moab turned the back! All the neighbours shall laugh and shudder at Moab. The heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day Shall be like the heart of a woman in her pangs." This section of Jeremiah illustrates the dramatic versatility of the prophet’s method. He identifies himself now with the blood thirsty invader, now with his wretched victims, and now with the terror-stricken spectators; and sets forth the emotions of each in turn with vivid realism. Hence at one moment we have the pathos and pity of such verses as we have just quoted, and at another such stern and savage words as these:- "Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, Cursed be he that stinteth his sword of blood." These lines might have served as a motto for Cromwell at the massacre of Drogheda, for Tilly’s army at the sack of Magdeburg, or for Danton and Robespierre during the Reign of Terror. Jeremiah’s words were the more terrible because they were uttered with the full consciousness that in the dread Chaldean king a servant of Jehovah was at hand who would be careful not to incur any curse for stinting his sword of blood. We shrink from what seems to us the prophet’s brutal assertion that relentless and indiscriminate slaughter is sometimes the service which man is called upon to render to God. Such sentiment is for the most part worthless and unreal; it does not save us from epidemics of war fever, and is at once ignored under the stress of horrors like the Indian Mutiny. There is no true comfort in trying to persuade ourselves that the most awful events of history lie outside of the Divine purpose, or in forgetting that the human scourges of their kind do the work that God has assigned to them. In this inventory, as it were, of the ruin of Moab our attention is arrested by the constant and detailed references to the cities. This feature is partly borrowed from Isaiah. Ezekiel too speaks of the Moabite cities which are the glory of the country; { Ezekiel 25:9 } but Jeremiah’s prophecy is a veritable Domesday Book of Moab. With his epic fondness for lists of sonorous names-after the manner of Homer’s catalogue of the ships-he enumerates Nebo, Kiriathaim, Heshbon, and Horonaim, city after city, till he completes a tale of no fewer than twenty-six, and then summarises the rest as "all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near." Eight of these cities are mentioned in Joshua { Joshua 13:15-28 } as part of the inheritance of Reuben and Gad. Another, Bozrah, is usually spoken of as a city of Edom. { Jeremiah 49:13 , possibly this is not the Edomite Bozrah.} The Moabite Stone explains the occurrence of Reubenite cities in these lists. It tells us how Mesha took Nebo, Jahaz, and Horonaim from Israel. Possibly in this period of conquest Bozrah became tributary to Moab, without ceasing to be an Edomite city. This extension of territory and multiplication of towns points to an era of power and prosperity, of which there are other indications in this chapter. "We are mighty and valiant for war," said the Moabites. When Moab fell "there was broken a mighty sceptre and a glorious staff." Other verses imply the fertility of the land and the abundance of its vintage. Moab in fact had profited by the misfortunes of its more powerful and ambitious neighbours. The pressure of Damascus, Assyria, and Chaldea prevented Israel and Judah from maintaining their dominion over their ancient tributary. Moab lay less directly in the track of the invaders; it was too insignificant to attract their special attention, perhaps too prudent to provoke a contest with the lords of the East. Hence, while Judah was declining, Moab had enlarged her borders and grown in wealth and power. And even as Jeshurun kicked, when he was waxen fat, { Deuteronomy 32:15 } so Moab in its prosperity was puffed up with unholy pride. Even in Isaiah’s time this was the besetting sin of Moab; he says in an indictment which Jeremiah repeats almost word for word:- "We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud, Even of his arrogancy and his pride and his wrath." { Isaiah 16:6 } This verse is a striking example of the Hebrew method of gaining emphasis by accumulating derivatives of the same and similar roots. The verse in Jeremiah runs thus: "We have heard of the pride ( Ge’ON ) of Moab, that he is very proud ( GE’EH ): his loftiness ( GABHeHO ), and his pride ( Ge’ONO ), and his proudfulness ( GA’aWATHO )." Jeremiah dwells upon this theme:- "Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, Because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah." Zephaniah bears like testimony:-{ Zephaniah 2:10 } "This shall they have for their pride, Because they have been insolent, and have magnified themselves Against the people of Jehovah Sabaoth." Here again the Moabite Stone bears abundant testimony to the justice of the prophet’s accusations: for there Mesha tells how in the name and by the grace of Chemosh he conquered the cities of Israel; and how, anticipating Belshazzar’s sacrilege, he took the sacred vessels of Jehovah from His temple at Nebo and consecrated them to Chemosh. Truly Moab had "magnified himself against Jehovah." Prosperity had produced other baleful effects beside a haughty spirit, and pride was not the only cause of the ruin of Moab. Jeremiah applies to nations the dictum of Polonius- "Home-keeping youths have ever homely wits," and apparently suggests that ruin and captivity were necessary elements in the national discipline of Moab:- "Moab hath been undisturbed from his youth; He hath settled on his lees" He hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel; He hath not gone into captivity: "Therefore his taste remaineth in him, His scent is not changed. Wherefore, behold, the days come-it is the utterance of Jehovah- That I will send men unto him that shall tilt him up; They shall empty his vessels and break his bottles." As the chapter, in its present form, concludes with a note- "I will bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days-it is the utterance of Jehovah"- we gather that even this rough handling was disciplinary; at any rate, the former lack of such vicissitudes had been to the serious detriment of Moab. It is strange that Jeremiah did not apply this principle to Judah. For, indeed, the religion of Israel and of mankind owes an incalculable debt to the captivity of Judah, a debt which later writers are not slow to recognise. "Behold," says the prophet of the Exile, - "I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." { Isaiah 48:10 } History constantly illustrates how when Christians were undisturbed and prosperous the wine of truth settled on the lees and came to taste of the cask; and-to change the figure-how affliction and persecution proved most effectual tonics for a debilitated Church. Continental critics of modern England speak severely of the ill-effects which our prolonged freedom from invasion and civil war, and the unbroken continuity of our social life have had on our national character and manners. In their eyes England is a perfect Moab, concerning which they are ever ready to prophesy after the manner of Jeremiah. The Hebrew Chronicler blamed Josiah because he would not listen to the advice and criticism of Pharaoh Necho. There may be warnings which we should do well to heed, even in the acrimony of foreign journalists. But any such suggestion raises wider and more difficult issues; for ordinary individuals and nations the discipline of calamity seems necessary. What degree of moral development exempts from such discipline, and how may it be attained? Christians cannot seek to compound for such discipline by self-inflicted loss or pain, like Polycrates casting away his ring or Browning’s Caliban, who in his hour of terror, "Lo! ‘Lieth flat and loveth Setebos! ‘Maketh his teeth meet through his upper lip. Will let those quails fly, will not eat this month One little mess of whelks, so he may ‘scape." But though it is easy to counsel resignation and the recognition of a wise, loving Providence in national as in personal suffering, yet mankind longs for an end to the period of pupilage and chastisement and would fain know how it may be hastened. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.