i. 9. _Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small
remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have
been like unto Gomorrah._
God had humbled His people because of their transgressions, but He
had not utterly destroyed them, as He might have done in strict
justice. This reminds us--1. That the punishments that befall wicked
men in this world frequently fall short of their deserts. 2. That
this disproportion between guilt and chastisement occurs because God
is not so much concerned to punish sin as to reclaim sinners. God
chastises, in the first instance, that He may correct, and it is with
reluctance that He increases the severity of His strokes.[1]
These facts should lead us--1. _To adore the divine benignity._ How
worthy of our love and worship is this God who is no mere vindictive
avenger of broken law, but a loving Father who chastens us, not for
His pleasure, but for our profit! 2. _To gratefully acknowledge the
mercy that has mingled with the judgments which our sins have drawn
down upon us_ (Lam. iii. 10).[2] 3. _To shrink with abhorrence from
any abuse of the divine long-suffering._ The fact that God is so
reluctant to punish, instead of encouraging us in rebellion, should
incite us to prompt and loving obedience. Nothing can be more _base_
than to "turn the grace of God into lasciviousness;" and nothing
could be more dangerous[3] (Prov. xxix. 1).