+III. Oppression of the poor is among those sins which are certain to be most terribly punished.+ The oppressor proceeds on the idea, that the man whom he oppresses has no friends to succour and avenge him. What a mistake! All the oppressed have a friend and avenger in GOD. Shall oppression go unrequited? Nay, verily! For, 1. It is an offence against God's _laws._ He has distinctly commanded us to _love_ our neighbour as ourselves, and how manifold are the applications of this great commandment! 2. It is an offence against God's _feelings._ In a peculiar manner His sensibilities are outraged when His children act cruelly towards each other. Oppression of the poor kindles within Him mingled disgust and indignation.[1] APPLICATION. 1. _A new consideration of our text would deter men from the sin here denounced._ The question which God now addresses to oppressors He will, with a slight difference, put to them again--when they shall be gathered at His bar! "What _meant_ ye that ye did beat my people to pieces, and did grind the faces of the poor?" Bethink you, O ye oppressors, what will ye answer then? Will it be, "Lord, we thought Thou were too great to take any notice of what men did on earth"? or, "Lord, we oppressed them because they were weak, and we saw we could make a good profit out of their defencelessness"? Do these excuses seem to you too flimsy to be seriously suggested? Consider, the, what more valid vindication will be at your command in that day. In that day you will stand "speechless!" 2. _A remembrance of the prevalence of the crime denounced in our text will give soundness and vigour to our theology._ The demand of our day is for "a God all mercy." Men are endeavouring to cover up hell with the rose-leaves of a spurious benevolence. But a remembrance of the wrongs that are done upon earth, the frightful cruelties that are every day perpetrated, will convince us that hell is a moral necessity. "A God all mercy" would be not only "a God unkind," but a God unjust, a God worthy only of the pity and contempt of His creatures. 3. _A due consideration of the manner in which God intervenes on behalf of the wronged and defenceless, will inspire all noble minds with veneration and admiration for His character._ Jehovah is no Brahma, throned in eternal calm, and indifferent to the sins and sufferings of mankind; He is a Father, prompt to feel and to avenge the wrongs of His children. Let us resolve to be like Him. Let us not only avoid oppression in all its forms; let us be swift to sympathise with all and to succour the oppressed. FOOTNOTES: