8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land. At the very outset of his government he would promptly deal out justice
to the worthless; he would make them leave their wickedness or feel the lash of
the law. Undue leniency to the bad is unkindness to the good. When our Lord
comes in judgment, this verse will be fulfilled on a large scale; till then he
bids people leave their sins and find pardon. Under the Gospel we also are
bidden to suffer long, and to be kind, even to the unthankful and the evil; but
the office of the magistrate is of another kind, and he must have a sterner eye
to justice than would be proper in private people. That I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
Jerusalem was to be a holy city. Judgment must begin at the house of God. How
pure ought the church to be, and how diligently should all those who hold
office therein labor to keep out and chase out people of unclean lives.
Honorable offices involve serious responsibilities; to trifle with them will
bring our own souls into guilt, and injure beyond calculation the souls of
others. Lord, come to us, that we may walk before thee with perfect hearts.
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