v. 18. _Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of
vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope._[1]
There is a certain oddity and grotesqueness in these words as they
stand. It disappears as soon as we perceive that we have here an
instance of Hebrew parallelism. (Compare chap. i. 18.) _"Sin"_ is a
noun, not a verb, and is a synonym for iniquity; to sin men yoke
themselves as it were with "cords of vanity" or as with "a
cart-rope." _"Cords of vanity"_ are such as have no substance in
them, that will not stand any real strain; "a cart-rope" will stand
an immense strain. Where, then, is the propriety of describing that
by which the sinner binds himself to his sin by such opposite terms?
In this, that in the first clause these bands are regarded from the
point of view of a sound judgment, in the second from the point of
view of the sinner's experience. Subjected to a real examination they
are seen to be of no strength at all, and yet they suffice to bind
the sinner to his sin as thoroughly as if they were strong as "a
cart-rope."
What are these "cords of vanity"? They are false ideas--of God, of
truth, of duty. This is plain from verse 19, which is an
_explanation_ of this one. There we have an illustrative case.
Certain men are represented as bound to their iniquity by the false
idea that God will not fulfil His threatenings against iniquity.
Our text furnishes the solution of a mystery which often perplexes us
in daily life. We see men cleaving to ruinous iniquities, and
cleaving to them in spite of the remonstrances and entreaties of
their friends and of God's servants. We who have felt "the powers of
the world to come" wonder that men do not repent and believe, and so
escape from "the wrath to come." Here is the explanation: they are
bound to their ungodly practices as it were with a cart-rope; and yet
they are just enslaved by what, when rightly tested, are only cords
of vanity. They are like a horse tied to a post by a bridle-rein: it
could snap the rein in an instant, but it does not attempt to do so
because it has no suspicion of the weakness of the rein. Look at some
of the "cords of vanity" by which men are bound to their iniquities;
the exposure of their essential weakness may excite some who are not
fettered and bound to make an effort to attain to moral freedom.
I. One prevalent "cord of vanity" is _unbelief in God's threatenings
against iniquity._ That God has threatened to do certain terrible
things to impenitent sinners is admitted, but there lurks in the
sinner's heart the idea that God is like certain foolish parents who
threaten their children with punishments which they are much too
good-natured ever to inflict. But whence did you derive this idea of
God? Certainly not from _His Word._ He there distinctly forewarns us,
that, though He is merciful and gracious, He will "by no means clear
the guilty" (Ex. xxxiv. 7). Not from any intelligent examination of
_His dealings in providence._ There neglect or infraction of law is
invariably followed by punishment. If a whole nation were to neglect
to sow its fields, would God be too good-natured to permit it to
starve? But if God invariably punishes men for their infractions of
His material laws, what reason can we have for hoping that He will
not fulfil His threatenings against those who despise His spiritual
ordinances? And why should we hope this? What reverence could we have
for, what trust could we repose in, a God who did not fulfil His
threatenings? How could we then trust in His promises? Surely this is
a "cord of vanity!" and yet how many are bound by it as if it were "a
cart-rope"!
II. Another cord is the reflection, _"We are no worse than others."_
Men compare themselves with others, perhaps even more iniquitous than
themselves, and so arrive at the conclusion that they are not in any
great danger. They do this even in temporal things,--_e.g.,_ in the
matter of drainage. The authorities of a country village or town will
listen with the most complete indifference to the warnings of a
Government inspector, that they are inviting an outbreak of fever or
cholera; and the ground of their indifference is that they know of
other villages or towns as badly drained as their own. But does
_that_ afford them any protection against the dangers of which they
are warned? Men act as foolishly in spiritual matters. Because there
are so many sinners they close their eyes to their own dangers or
sins. Will God be either unable or afraid to punish transgressors
because they are so numerous? Surely this also is a "cord of vanity;"
and yet thousands are bound by it to their eternal destruction!
III. _"We shall be able to shake ourselves loose from our evil habits
by and by."_ They imagine that they can repent and reform at any
time, and they are firmly resolved to do so before death. Perhaps
there could not be found a single sinner who does not secretly
cherish in his breast wicked Balaam's desire, "Let me die the death
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" But this idea
that men can repent and reform at any time is a delusion. As men
continue in sin (1) _The power to reform decays._ (2) _The desire to
reform dies out._ The love of sin takes entire possession of the man.
It enwraps him as ivy unchecked will enwrap a tree; at first with no
more strength than a child's finger, in the end with the strength of
a thousand giants. It is the oldest sinners who cling to their vices
most desperately, who are bound by them as by cart-ropes. (3) _The
opportunities for reform rapidly diminish and often end unexpectedly_
(Prov. xxix. 1; 1 Thess. v. 3).
Inquire by what cords of vanity _you_ are bound. Break them! (Dan.
iv. 27.) Look to Jesus, who came into the world for the very purpose
of setting at liberty them that are bound.