"those who have the itch Of craving more, are never rich;" and who has missed all apprehension of the grand secret that "Wealth cannot make a _life_, but love." From the vanity of earthly thrones, whether of Egypt or of Judah, thrones whose glory is transitory, and whose power to help and succour is so ill-assured, the prophet lifts his eyes to the one throne whose glory is everlasting, and whose power and permanence are an eternal refuge. "Thou Throne of Glory, High Seat from of old, Place of our Sanctuary, Hope of Israel, Iahvah! All who leave Thee blush for shame; Mine apostates are written in earth; For they have forsaken the Well of Living Water, even Iahvah!" It is his concluding reflexion upon the unblest, unhonoured end of the apostate Jehoiakim. If Isaiah could speak of Shebna as a "throne of glory,"[73] _i.e._, the honoured support and mainstay of his family, there seems no reason why Iahvah might not be so addressed, as the supporting power and sovereign of the world. The terms "Throne of Glory" ... "Place of our Sanctuary" seem to be used much as we use the expressions, "the Crown," "the Court," "the Throne," when we mean the actual ruler with whom these things are associated. And when the prophet declares "Mine[74] apostates are written in earth," he asserts that oblivion is the portion of those of his people, high or low, who forsake Iahvah for another god. Their names are not written in the Book of Life (Ex. xxxii. 32; Ps. lxix. 28), but in the sand whence they are soon effaced. The prophets do not attempt to expose "The sweet strange mystery Of what beyond these things may lie." They do not in express terms promise eternal life to the individual believer. But how often do their words imply that comfortable doctrine! They who forsake Iahvah must perish, for there is neither permanence nor stay apart from IAHVAH, whose very Name denotes _He who Is_, the sole Principle of Being and Fountain of Life. If they--nations and persons--who revolt from Him must die, the implication, the truth necessary to complete this affirmation, is that they who trust in Him, and make Him their arm, will live; for union with Him is eternal life.