the gospel! To close their eyes against that light, to reject the warnings and instructions which are multiplied upon them, is exactly the case contemplated in this passage. Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet, for a testimony against them. Verily Isay unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. For then shall be realized the words of Wisdom, (Prov. i. 24,) "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hands, and no man regarded: but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind: when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord." But whoso hearkeneth unto truth "shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." Matt. xiv. 1-13. LECTURE LXXXVII. HEROD CONSENTS TO THE DEATH OF JOHN JESUS PITIES THE UNINSTRUCTED PEOPLE. MARK VI. 14-34. 14. And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was Luke iii. spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. 19. 15. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded he is risen from the dead. 17. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias's sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not : 20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. Very observable is this account of Herod. A strong conviction must have rested upon his mind of John's divine authority, when on hearing of the 'Herod was called by the title of king, as governor of Galilee. miracles of Jesus, his first impression was, It is John; he is risen from the dead. Yet this conviction had led to no effective repentance. Herod had feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. He heard John gladly: but he heard without obeying: what he heard, made no change in his mode of life. He did many things; but he did not the one thing which it was his first duty to have done; he did not "cease to do evil :" he did not put away Herodias. Therefore his sin remained. Nay, its heinousness was much increased by the conviction which he had felt, and the warning which he had received. No divine grace rested on him and "the latter end of that man became worse than the first." This case is far more common than might be supposed. Multitudes have the sort of belief in Christ, which Herod had in the authority of John. They do many things which they would not do, if Christianity were not established in the land : perhaps they have no doubt of its truth: perhaps they hear the preacher gladly. But the heart still remains unsubdued; unsubdued, though not unconvinced no effectual faith attaches them to Christ: no surrender is made of the soul to God: they are not brought to "cleanse their hands," or "purify their hearts" from sin. And what is the end? When any temptation closely presses, and the matter comes to a decided trial, then it is evident that Satan is still holding possession; still reigning dominant. Or even, if the commission of heinous wickedness, as in the case of Herod, does not render this plainly manifest in the sight of man, the heart is known to God, and he sees that whatever stings may pierce and pain the conscience, the will is still alienated from him. Either death comes upon them, and finds them uncon verted, and therefore unprepared; or their sins, like those of Herod, increase in heinousness, and "go before them unto judgment." Therefore, "if iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away" from thee; and "let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles :" whilst that is allowed a lodgement, there must be a separation between thee and God. 21. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it to thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger, the head of John the Baptist. 26. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and 2 Job xi. 14. commanded his head to be brought and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28. And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. This act appears as the completion of Herod's wickedness, the finishing stroke to his bad character. And the history acquaints us with one point on which it turned. For his oath's sake, and for the sake of those that sat at meat with him, he would not reject the demand, but consented to a deed at which his conscience revolted, and which made him exceeding sorry. A wavering undecided heart is always swayed by the fear of man. He dared not say, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" It would have been the first step towards a new life; but a step which he had not the faith or the grace to take. And very many are prevented, through a similar fear of man, from entering upon a course of obedience or repentance. They are kept short of that complete surrender of themselves, which is required by the words, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." They are kept short of that earnest endeavour after heaven, which is "seeking first the kingdom of God." They are kept short of that decided line, that determined walking with God, to which all the promises of Scripture are confined. They "halt between two opinions," and try to "serve God and Mammon." It is a course which may not end as Herod's ended: but it must equally end in "everlasting destruction |