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]