i. 24-27. _Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of
hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: and I will turn
mine hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and
take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at
the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning:
afterwards thou shall be called, The city of righteousness,
The faithful city. Zion shall be welcomed with judgment,
and her converts with righteousness._
The denunciation of the iniquity of Jerusalem (vers. 21-23) is
followed by a solemn announcement of God's determination to punish
it. +I. God will certainly punish sin.+ "Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies." See preceding outline,
and that on verse 20. +II. In punishing sin God is not moved by any
vindictive purpose.+ True, He speaks here of taking vengeance upon
His enemies, but these words coming from the lips of Jehovah must not
be interpreted as we should have to interpret them if they came from
the lips of a Genghis Khan or a Tippoo Saib. We must remember that
this is the utterance of the Mighty One of Israel, who is infinitely
uplifted above every unholy passion. Whatever misconstruction the
phrase, taken alone, might be open to, is entirely obviated by the
declarations which follow it, which teach us--+III. That God's aim
even in the severest chastisements is the reformation of the
offenders, and their restoration to true blessedness.+ For what
purpose will He turn His hand upon Jerusalem? Not that He may destroy
her, but that He may purify her, as silver is purified in the
furnace; and through this painful process she is caused to pass, that
she may be restored to her former dignity and blessedness. It is for
these purposes that God chastises nations and individuals to-day.
_Application._--1. Those who are living sinful lives may certainly
expect severe judgments. Sin and sorrow are inseparably linked, and
God is solemnly pledged not to "clear" the guilty. 2. Those on whom
judgments on account of sin have fallen should neither despise them
nor be driven by them to despair (Heb. xii. 5). These are two great
evils. Indifference to chastisement brings on still severer
strokes.[1] God will break the stubborn sinners who refuse to bend
(ver. 28).[2] Despair defeats the very object for which our
chastisements are sent, and is itself a grievous offence against God.
Instead of yielding to despair, we should be filled with hope, for
God has loving purposes towards us, and our prayer should be, not
that the afflictions should be removed, but that God's purposes in
them should be fulfilled. It is worth while to go into the furnace,
if thereby we may be cleansed from the dross by which we are defiled.