The Duty of the Afflicted.
ix. 9–14. And all the people shall know, &c.
God here complains of what Israel did when grievous and prolonged afflictions, sent by God, fell upon them:[1] then they left undone what they ought to have done, and did what they ought not to have done; and this opens up the great subject of the duty of the afflicted.
An entirely different interpretation has to be put upon affliction in the case of men whose sincere desire is to govern their lives according to the will of God, and in the case of men who are living wholly unto themselves. It is exclusively of afflictions that befall men of the latter order that we intend now to speak, though many things that will be said apply to all the afflicted.
I. In the case of the ungodly, the design of the affliction is in the first instance corrective, and then, in the event of its not accomplishing this end, punitive.
II. Their duty is—1. To recognise that their afflictions come from God. This is a fact that wicked men are very slow to recognise; they prefer to attribute their troubles to “bad luck,” miscalculations on their part, superior ingenuity or force on the part of their human adversaries, &c. They prefer anything to a recognition of the awful fact that it is God who is dealing with them (H. E. I. 143). 2. Submission to the will of God. This is frequently the result of recognition that the affliction comes from Him; men cease to use such language as is attributed to the Israelites (ver. 10). Were it not that sin dethrones the reason, this would always be the case; but it is not so,—men can be found so hardened in iniquity that they resolve to fight against God. Stoutheartedness in affliction is an admirable thing; there is a place for it; but it is utterly misplaced when it leads men to struggle against the Almighty. The only and inevitable result is heavier affliction and ultimate ruin (vers. 11–14. H. E. I. 146, 147).[2] 3. Repentance toward God. (1.) Repentance is more than submission (H. E. I. 4206–4209). (2.) God will be satisfied with nothing less than change of heart towards Him. (3.) Here we reach one of the most terrible results of iniquity; by it men are incapacitated for naturally doing that which is indispensable to their salvation. Did not God pity sinful men, they could never attain to that state of heart and mind without which it would be impossible for God to forgive them. But Christ has been “exalted . . . for to give repentance and forgiveness of sins.” With the outward stroke of affliction there comes to the heart the inward grace of Christ: let transgressors be prompt to submit to the one, and to avail themselves of the other (H. E. I. 145, 4210).
These, then, are the duties of sinful men upon whom affliction has come. Let your compliance with them be—1. Prompt. Not to comply with them is to perish. Not to comply with them promptly is an aggravation of all your former iniquity (H. E. I. 4247, 4248). By delay you may exhaust the Divine patience (Prov. xxix. 1). 2. Thankful. Adore the benignity of God, in that He is willing to receive you on your mere repentance; a repentance which He Himself enables you to exercise. Remember that where God sees it, He does not merely turn away His chastisements from the penitent transgressor; He receives him into His favour, and blesses him as a son in whom He delights (Luke xv. 22, 23). Men do not act so. When their foes submit, they require from them an indemnity for the wrong that has been done; often an indemnity that is intended to be crushing, e.g., Germany and France. But God in all His dealings with penitent sinners shows Himself to be a God of grace (Micah vii. 18, 19). 3. Intelligent. Do not imagine that there is anything meritorious in your repentance (H. E. I. 4225–4228). Remember that God thus deals with you solely for Christ’s sake, through whose atonement it has become possible for Him to show mercy to penitent transgressors. Here is an additional argument for the exercise of repentance, that God Himself, at so great a cost, had laid the foundation on which He can deal with you otherwise than in the way of justice. If you persist in your iniquity, and by your stubbornness leave Him no alternative but to destroy you, He will be able with absolute truth to say to each of you, “Thou hast destroyed thyself!” Even in pronouncing judgment upon you, He will clear himself; as did our Lord when He left Jerusalem to its fate (Matt. xxiii. 37, 38).[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Ten Tribes had already suffered many an affliction; their political organisation had often been broken up by civil wars and foreign invasions, as the house of unburnt brick dissolves into mud before the rain, and the flower of the people had been cut down as lavishly as men cut down the cheap sycamores; but with that stoutness of heart, that obstinate toughness which in all ages to the present has marked this race, the men of Ephraim and Samaria seem to rise superior to every calamity; like Solomon, they will change the sycamores for cedars, and they will replace the brick with hewn stones. The conversion of Damascus from an ancient enemy into an ally encouraged them in their hopes; but Jehovah will confound their policy by bringing the conquerors of Damascus upon them.—Strachey.
[2] A man under God’s affliction is like a bird in a net; the more he strives, the more he is entangled.—Bishop Hall.
[3] When the monster-taming Hercules overcame all in the Olympics, Jupiter at last, in an unknown shape, wrestled with him: the victory was uncertain, till at length Jupiter descried himself, and Hercules yielded. No striving with supreme powers: we must submit ourselves unto the mighty hand of God, acknowledge our offences, call to Him for mercy. If He strike, as it is with them that are wounded with the spear of Achilles, He alone must help.—Burton.
Leadership.[1]
(An Ordination Sermon.)
ix. 15, 16. The prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail, &c.
I. The world is so constituted that leaders of the people are at present a necessity. It is no disparagement of oak trees to say that few of them are sixty feet high; and it is no disparagement of our fellow-men to say that few of them are qualified to lead others. In both cases we have to do with an ordinance of God. We are all included in it. We all need, in some respect or other, to be led. This arises from the disparity between human needs and human powers. Our faculties and time are too limited to allow any man to dispense with guidance. Even the accomplished statesman needs to be guided in the matter of health by the physician; the skilled physician needs to be guided in building by an architect, and so on through all the grades of human life. Men need guidance in commerce, politics, literature, art, philosophy, and in religion. There is to be a time when in this last respect guidance will not be needed (Jer. xxxi. 33, 34), but that time is not yet. The people still need guidance in religion, because, 1. While in some of its aspects it is so simple that a child is capable of it, in others it is so profound that they need the most thoughtful instruction concerning it. 2. There are many false forms of religion seeking to win acceptance (Matt. xxiv. 24; 2 Pet. ii. 1; 1 John iv. 1). 3. The natural tendency of the human heart inclines it to the acceptance of those forms of faith which are most unscriptural. This is the real secret to the power of Romanism. To-day, therefore, the people still need religious leaders, and leaders of the highest order. Even with the Bible in their hands, most men need guidance (Acts ix. 30, 31). Woe to them, if they take as their guides men who have not themselves been taught of the Holy Ghost!
II. Leadership involves for the leaders the highest honour or the deepest shame. Many aspire to lead: few think of the difficulties and responsibilities of leadership. 1. The man who leads his fellow-men well is entitled to the highest honour. He cannot do it without noble qualities of mind and heart. Those who are well-led are, as a rule, not slow to acknowledge and reward the service that has been rendered them. 2. But leadership does not necessarily involve any honour at all. The post of prominence may only bring out into view the leader’s incompetency, mental and moral. “The fierce light that beats upon a throne,” and upon a pulpit, reveals every speck and flaw in its occupant. It is a perilous thing to exchange the pew for the pulpit. 3. Through leadership a man may reach the most utter degradation and shame. He may do this (1.) through his incompetency. Admiral Byng might have lived and died a respectable English gentleman, if he had not been made an admiral. Many envied him when he was so gazetted: none envied him when he was shot. Many a “stickit minister” would have made a highly respectable and useful church-member. (2.) Through his dishonesty. Many a leader, claiming to be the head of a community, has really been its “tail,” carried by it, not carrying it on in paths of truth and honesty. His aim has been, not the welfare of his followers, but his own aggrandisement and popularity; his concern has been, not to speak the truth, but to say what would be pleasant. His was the sin of many who claimed to be prophets in Israel (Isaiah iii. 12, v. 20; Jer. v. 31). It is a common sin to-day, both in the political and religious world. Let those who claim to be ministers of God shun it. Self-seeking, everywhere despicable, is in the pulpit most hateful and criminal (P. D. 2482). Let every preacher regard as warnings those base prophets of Israel; let him endeavour to realise that wonderful picture of a true leader drawn by Christ’s enemies (Matt. xxii. 16).
III. Leadership involves for the led salvation or destruction. It is not a trivial matter to be well or ill led. How true this is politically, commercially, legally; it is not less true religiously. That community shows little wisdom that chooses its leaders carelessly. That community is insane which demands that its prophets shall prophesy unto it only smooth things (Isa. xxx. 10). The following of religious leaders who are themselves led by the Spirit of God will result in temporal and eternal well-being; but trust in “religious” demagogues, whose aim is not to speak the truth, but to flatter those who listen to them, results inevitably in social and spiritual ruin. In self-defence, then, demand of your minister that he speak to you, not what is pleasant, but what is true; and count him not your enemy, but your best friend when he utters what, just because it is the truth of God, shall smite and wound as if it were a sharp two-edged sword (Heb. iv. 12).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See outline: [“Blind Leaders,”] p. 92.