xxvii. 9. _By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob
be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin._
The history of God's ancient people is a Divine teaching. He had
brought them into special relations to Himself, and had conferred on
them special privileges. They were intended to be witnesses for Him
in the world. To a large extent they failed. Instead of persistent
faithfulness to their mission, they repeatedly fell into idolatrous
practices. Punishment came. They repented. But when the impression
was gone, they renewed the sin. For centuries this continued, until
the captivity. Then they finally renounced idolatry. This was the
Divine design in permitting that disaster to befall them. The prophet
foretold it with suggestive accuracy. "By this shall the iniquities
of Jacob be purged," &c.
Their conduct, and the Divine dealing with them, finds its parallel
in the history of the modern Church. The parallel holds--